ToxProbe Today
Environmental, Occupational Health & Risk Assessment News Aug 2002 (Vol. 1- 8)
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ToxProbe Today |
Environmental, Occupational Health & Risk Assessment News Aug 2002 (Vol. 1- 8) |
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Legislation/Regulation Environmental Emergency Regulations (Canada Gazette Part I, August 10, 2002). The proposed Environmental Emergency (E2) Regulations, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, target an initial list of 174 substances. Any companies that store or use the substances, above specified minimum quantities, will be required to provide information to Environment Canada about the maximum amounts and locations of the substances. This information will help police, fire and other emergency response personnel to respond effectively in an emergency. The deadline for public comment is October 8. Environment Canada will consider comments before finalizing recommendations to the Minister. The regulations are expected to be finalized and in place early in 2003. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment has decided not to proceed with its proposed Criteria for the Management of Excess Soil. The EBR posting states that the Ministry is still interested in providing a clearer and more comprehensive definition of inert fill; however, any such amendments will be made in conjunction with the Brownfields Statute Law Amendment Act, 2001 and the soil quality and other regulations to be developed in support of that Act. http://204.40.253.254/envregistry/009466er.htm The Ontario Ministry of the Environment
has amended the Step by Step Guideline for Emission Calculation, Record
Keeping and Reporting for Airborne Contaminant Discharge to clarify
reporting requirements for reporters subject to O.Reg.127/01. The Ministry
has amended the Guideline as it relates to: The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture,
Food and Rural Affairs has proposed Stage 1 Draft Nutrient Management
Regulations under the Nutrient Management Act. The Stage 1 draft
regulations and protocols under the Nutrient Management Act specify
the content requirements for nutrient management plans and strategies
for prescribed agricultural operations. They also propose categories of
farm operations, and the dates that new, expanding and existing operations
in each category would be required to have approved nutrient management
plans and/or strategies. Written submissions may be made until October
19, 2002. http://204.40.253.254/envregistry/018748er.htm Publications North America's Environment: A Thirty-Year State of the Environment and Policy Retrospective (United Nations Environment Programme, 2002). The report provides an integrated analysis of the state of resource assets and 30-year trends in nine major themes: atmosphere, biodiversity, coastal and marine areas, disasters, freshwater, forests, human health and the environment, land, and urban areas. Global Assessment of the State-of-the-Science
of Endocrine Disruptors (International Programme on Chemical Safety,
2002). The report was prepared by an expert group on behalf of the World
Health Organization, the International Labour Organisation, and the United
Nations Environment Programme. The report assesses the current state of
knowledge on the effects of endocrine disruptors and concludes that exposure
to certain endocrine disrupting environmental contaminants is harming
wildlife; however, the report finds scant evidence that endocrine disruptors
are harming humans. The study is available in full at: http://www.who.int/pcs/emerg_site/edc/global_edc_TOC.htm Occupational Health The Ontario Ministry of Labour recently
issued a hazard alert for equipment blocking. The Alert is for anyone
who operates, cleans, services, adjusts or repairs machinery or equipment
to be aware of the hazards associated with that machinery. The Alert notes
that it is critical to block all forms of hazardous energy, including
gravity, hydraulic pressure, or stored electrical or mechanical energy.
The lack of blocking may allow equipment to move or drop, striking workers,
leading to fatal and critical accidents. http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/ohs/a23e.html Environmental Health A panel of six physicians appointed Florida
Department of Health to study the use of chromated copper arsenate (CCA),
a wood preservative that contains arsenic, recently concluded that normal
use of pressure treated wood in playgrounds is not harmful to children.
The Florida Physicians Arsenic Workgroup conducted an extensive review
of the medical literature concerning the toxicity and carcinogenicity
of arsenic, its environmental and natural occurrence, bioaccessibility
and bioavailability, and past medical uses. In their report, the panel
wrote "the amount of arsenic that could be absorbed from playground
soil and CCA treated wood is not significant compared to natural sources
and will not result in detectable arsenic intake," As a result, the
physicians concluded that the level of "arsenic in or around CCA
treated wood in playgrounds and recreational facilities does not appear
sufficient to adversely affect the health of children or adults."
http://www.preservedwood.com Research & Development The Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project recently released three research papers from one of the largest and most comprehensive environmental epidemiologic studies ever undertaken to explore the environmental factors that may trigger breast cancer. The seven year study of breast cancer clusters on Long Island, New York found no link between the disease and exposure to organochlorine compounds, such as DDT. But a separate study found that high exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pollutants found in cigarette smoke and vehicle exhaust) was linked to a modest increase in risk of developing breast cancer. High levels of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), appears to elevate women's risk of breast cancer by 50 percent in New York's Suffolk and Nassau counties. The research papers in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention and at http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/LIBCSP A recently published study reports on the analyzed population-based childhood cancer incidence rates throughout California in relation to agricultural pesticide use. During 1988-1994, a total of 7,143 cases of invasive cancer were diagnosed among children less than 15 years of age in California. Building on the availability of high-quality population-based cancer incidence information from various sources, the researchers used a geographic information system to assign summary population, exposure, and outcome attributes at the block group level. The researchers generally found no association between pesticide use density and childhood cancer incidence rates. http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110p319-324reynolds/abstract.html The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
Association recently released a research report claiming the gasoline
additive MMT significantly increases vehicle emissions. The additive is
often added to gasoline to increase the octane of the fuel. The study
claims seven out of eight passenger cars failed emission certification
standards when driven over time on gasoline containing MMT. http://www.autoalliance.org/mmt_program.htm Risk Trivia How many time as likely is it for blacks to die from the following causes than whites (e.g. 3 to 1)? 1. Cerebrovascular disease. Answers will be provided in next month's
issue of ToxProbe Today. Answer: July 2002 Risk Trivia How many time as likely is it for females to die from the following causes than males (e.g. 3 to 1)? 1. Breast cancer. Answers: 1. 170 to 1.
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