ToxProbe Today
Environmental, Occupational Health & Risk Assessment News April 2002 (Vol. 1- 4)
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ToxProbe Today |
Environmental, Occupational Health & Risk Assessment News April 2002 (Vol. 1- 4) |
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Legislation Environment Canada has issued a Notice with Respect to Certain Salts of Ammonia (Canada Gazette, Part I, April 27, 2002). The Notice requires persons to report if they manufactured, imported or exported more than 500,000 kilograms of specified salts of ammonia during 1997-2001. The deadline for reporting is June 21, 2002. Publication of Final Decision on the
Assessment of a Substance - Ethylene oxide - Specified on the Priority
Substances (Subsection 77(6) of the Canadian Environmental Protection
Act, 1999) (Canada Gazette Part I, April 13, 2002). The Notice recommends
that ethylene oxide be added to the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule
I to the CEPA, 1999. It also states that consultations be held on the
development of a regulation or instrument respecting preventative or control
action in relation to ethylene oxide. Publication of Final Decision on the Assessment of a Substance - N-Nitrosodimethylamine - Specified on the Priority Substances List (Subsection 77(6) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999) (Canada Gazette Part I, April 13, 2002). The Notice recommends that N-Nitrosodimethylamine be added to the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule I to the CEPA, 1999. It also states that consultations be held on the development of a regulation or instrument respecting preventative or control action in relation to N-Nitrosodimethylamine. Order Adding Toxic Substances to Schedule I to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (Canada Gazette Part I, April 27, 2002). The Order proposes the addition of ethylene oxide, formaldehyde and N-Nitrosodimethylamine to the list of Toxic Substances in Schedule I of CEPA, 1999. The deadline for public comment is June 26, 2002. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment is proposing tougher standards for well construction, and higher performance standards for well contractors and technicians. Proposed amendments to the water wells regulation (O. Reg. 903), under the Ontario Water Resources Act, include mandatory training and education for those who construct wells, re-testing for licence holders every three years, tougher standards for well construction, and improved reporting of well location, condition and status. The deadline for public comment is June 04, 2002. http://204.40.253.254/envregistry/017831er.htm Publications Industrial Ecology: A Commentary by the EPA Science Advisory Board (U.S. EPA SAB, 2002). The commentary was prepared by the Environmental Engineering Committee (EEC) of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board. Industrial ecology uses a systems approach to environmental analysis and examines not just industrial emissions, and not just specific products, but the complex networks of services, products and activities that make up the economy. The purpose of the Commentary is to bring industrial ecology to the attention of a wider audience and to articulate key research needs. Occupational Health The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued a Hazard Information Bulletin for dental laboratories on how to prevent exposure to beryllium. Exposure to beryllium can cause chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a debilitating and often fatal lung disease, or lung cancer. The bulletin informs dental labs and workers of the potential hazards and offers effective methods to prevent exposure to beryllium. Under OSHA's current beryllium standard employees cannot be exposed to more than 2 micrograms of beryllium per cubic meter of air for an 8-hour time-weighted average. Recent information suggests that compliance with this exposure limit is not adequate for preventing the occurrence of CBD. (www.osha.gov) Environmental Health Frogs given trace amounts of DDT and other pesticides experience a near-total collapse in their immune systems. The research project funded by Health Canada and Environment Canada has received peer review and will be published in a research journal later this year. In laboratory experiments, the research team injected northern leopard frogs with sublethal doses of DDT, dieldrin or malathion. The experiments found that frogs injected with DDT or malathion had only 1 to 2% of normal antibody production, while dieldrin led to 30% of normal production, two weeks after exposure. It took frogs 20 weeks of living in a pesticide-free environment to have their immune systems return to normal. DDT and dieldrin have been banned in Canada. Malathion is still widely used on crops in Canada and for mosquito control. Technical Guidelines The Ontario government recently announced that it is expediting its consultation with stakeholders on standards and testing requirements for sewage biosolids and pulp and paper sludge. This will include an immediate review of the consultation and notification requirements of land application programs and a review of the criteria for issuing certificates of approval. The government also reaffirmed the government's commitment to Bill 81 - the Nutrient Management Act - in the upcoming legislative session. The proposed statute, if passed by the legislature, would provide a framework to establish comprehensive province-wide standards to address the potential effects of land application of materials containing nutrients. Research & Development Dr. Czene, an epidemiologist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, recently released a study on the influence of genes and lifestyle on cancer. Her research reveals that certain types of cancers are 50 times more likely to be inherited than others. Dr. Czene used a database detailing the lifestyles of nearly 10 million people going back to the 1930s. Her research will appear in a recent edition of the International Journal of Cancer. Dr. Czene and her team looked at factors contributing to 15 cancers. They divided the causes into four groups: genetic, childhood environment, environment shared with other adults such as spouses, and environmental factors not shared with other family members. For the majority of cancers, the most important causes were environmental. For example, almost 99% of cases of leukemia and stomach cancer were caused by environmental factors. http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/0020-7136/ Scientists at the Research Institute
of the McGill University Health Centre have discovered that environmental
contaminants can interfere with fetal and immune-system development. The
research team conducted a pair of studies on the effects on fetal development
from ingesting a mixture of organic pollutants found in industrial chemicals
such as paints, cleaning solvents and pesticides. The results showed that
rat pups exposed to these chemicals in the womb had adverse effects on
post-natal growth and on the development of the testes and ovaries. In
a second study, researchers looked at contamination of the Canadian food
supply with a compound used in marine paint called tributyltin, or TBT.
Rat pups of mothers fed varying quantities of TBT were found to have overactive
immune systems and abnormal development of their reproductive systems.
The McGill studies are part of an initiative established by the federal
government in 1998 to promote research into the links between toxic substances,
environmental damage and human health. Risk Trivia Rank the lifetime risks of the following events happening, from least to greatest (e.g. 1 in 100): 1. You will die of heart disease. Answers will be provided in next month's
issue of ToxProbe Today. Answer: March 2002 Risk Trivia Rank the annual risks of the following events happening, from least to greatest (e.g. 1 in 100): 1. You will be injured. Answers: 1. 1 in 3.
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