ToxProbe Today
Environmental, Occupational Health & Risk Assessment News February 2002 (Vol. 1- 2)
|
ToxProbe Today |
Environmental, Occupational Health & Risk Assessment News February 2002 (Vol. 1- 2) |
|
Legislation Tetrachloroethylene (Use in Dry Cleaning and Reporting Requirements) Regulations (Canada Gazette, Part I, August 18, 2001). There is a delay in the implementation of the proposed regulation. Environment Canada is currently considering all the comments that have been received on the proposed regulatory text that was published. A final decision on possible changes to the regulatory text, including the proposed coming into force date, will be made in the next few months. The purpose of the proposed Regulations is to reduce releases of tetrachloroethylene, commonly called PERC, to the environment from dry cleaning facilities. The reporting provisions in these Regulations apply to persons who import or recycle PERC for any use and to persons who sell PERC to dry cleaners. http://www.ec.gc.ca/CEPARegistry The U.S. EPA recently published interim toxic air emission standards and revised compliance provisions for hazardous waste incinerators and cement kilns. The interim standards will be in effect until U.S. EPA issues replacement standards that satisfy the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The U.S. EPA expects the interim standards to make compliance easier for business and states, while still achieving significant emission reductions. The rule regulates emissions of dioxins, furans, mercury and other toxic metals and hazardous air pollutants. All hazardous waste combustion sources must comply with these interim standards by Sept. 30, 2003. http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/combust/preamble.htm Publications Agreement Respecting Canada-wide Standards for Dioxin and Furans: Iron Sintering Plants (Canada Gazette, Part I, February 2, 2002). The Agreement calls for dioxin and furan emission targets for new iron sintering plants constructed or existing plants expanding their production. Environment Canada is seeking comment on the proposed Agreement until April 3, 2002. http://canada.gc.ca/gazette/hompar1_e.html Agreement Respecting Canada-wide Standards
for Dioxin and Furans: Steel Manufacturing Electric Arc Furnaces (Canada
Gazette, Part I, February 2, 2002). The Agreement calls for new dioxin
and furan discharge limits within a specified time frame. Environment
Canada is seeking comment on the proposed Agreement until April 3, 2002.
A recent report by the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) has shown that elevated nitrate concentrations in water
supplies used for drinking water threaten residents of both the United
States and the People's Republic of China. Because of the increased use
of fertilizers worldwide since the 1950s, drinking water derived from
aquifers in both countries have seen increased levels of nitrate, a plant
nutrient regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act in the U.S. and by the
Ministry of Water Resources in China. Elevated concentrations of nitrate
in water have been known to cause illness in babies, and there is indirect
evidence that they can also cause cancer. Occupational Health The Associated Press recently reported that an upcoming report of the Inspector General of the U.S. EPA states that not enough research has been done to ensure the safety of sewage sludge used as fertilizer. The Associated Press states that the U.S. EPA’s internal watchdog is citing “gaps in the science” that the agency used when approving sludge fertilizers, or biosolids, over the past decade. In the U.S., 60 percent, or about four million tons a year, of the sewage sludge or biosolids produced is now spread on land as a fertilizer. Despite the fact that sewage sludge contains limited amounts of heavy metals, pesticides, toxic chemicals and disease causing pathogens, the EPA has determined that its use as a fertilizer poses no risk to human health or the environment. http://www.epa.gov/oigearth/recent.htm Environmental Health Dombind The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld an Ontario Ministry of Environment decision to eliminate the use of Dombind by October 31, 2002. The Court of Appeal has dismissed Norampac’s latest legal challenge, which was the fifth attempt to overturn the ministry’s orders. As a result of the decision, the ministry will enforce its order requiring Dombind spreading to cease on or before October 31, 2002. Dombind is a black sticky material used as a dust suppressant on Ontario’s rural roads. The Ministry of the Environment claims Dombind has the potential to build-up dioxins in the environment, which could be harmful to human health. http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/news/2002/index.htm Chromated Copper Arsenate Recently, U.S. lumber companies agreed to stop using arsenic-based preservatives in the wood used in residential projects. The agreement, which followed discussions with the U.S. EPA, would end the use of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) by December 2003 in almost all the lumber used for residential projects. CCA is a powerful pesticide used to protect lumber from decay and insect damage. Industry will gradually replace CCA-treated lumber with wood treated with preservatives that do not contain arsenic, which can cause cancer. http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/citizens/cca_transition.htm Mercury Environment Canada and the Canadian Dental
Association (CDA) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
that will lead to a reduction in the amount of dental amalgam waste discharged
into the environment. Under the MOU, the CDA will commit to best management
practices aimed at a 95% national reduction in dental amalgam waste discharges
into the environment by 2005. To achieve this goal CDA will promote to
Canadian dentists the use of dental amalgam separators, and Environment
Canada will assist by providing dentists with information and technical
support. Research & Development Agent Orange Scientists who advise the United States government recently rescinded a report that had linked Agent Orange, used to strip jungles during the Vietnam War, with childhood leukemia. The revised Institute of Medicine report says there is not enough evidence to say whether children of Vietnam veterans have a higher risk of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a deadly blood cancer. Less than a year ago, in April 2001, the institute reported that there was a probable link between AML in children and their parents’ exposure to Agent Orange, a herbicide that contains the known carcinogen dioxin, in Vietnam. But a few months later, Australian researchers whose study was key to the institute’s report said they had made substantial errors. After correcting for faulty data, the Australian study no longer showed that children of Australia’s Vietnam veterans faced a greater risk of AML. http://www.iom.edu/iom/iomhome.nsf/Pages/Recently+Released+Reports Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) There is a growing call by environmentalists and some scientists to ban the chemical flame retardant, polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), which is commonly used in foam furniture padding. In 1998, Swedish scientists reported that levels of PBDE in breast milk had increased 40-fold since 1972. In December 2001, it was reported in the journal Environmental Science & Technology that North American mothers have breast-milk PBDE levels at least 40 times the highest concentrations found in Sweden. PBDE is a persistent organic pollutant that can remain in the environment for years without breaking down. Little is known about the toxic nature of PBDE. Developmental neurotoxicity studies conducted at Uppsala University in Sweden have shown that one large dose of PBDE delivered early in a mouse’s life can cause permanent brain damage. Similar experiments by Per Ola Darnerud of Sweden’s National Food Administration have determined that in mice, the smallest dose of PBDE that can cause observable health effects is about 1 million times greater than current human exposures. But those experiments both involve relatively large amounts of PBDE given to animals over a short time. Nobody really knows how lower doses delivered over decades will affect humans. http://pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag/ Asthma in Children Recently published research conducted
by the University of Southern California provides strong evidence that
smog can not only aggravate existing childhood asthma but may actually
be one cause of the life-threatening disease. The study is being published
in the current issue of the Lancet, a British medical journal. The new
findings could invigorate the debate over how quickly, and how cleanly,
air should be scrubbed of pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides and
particulate matter. Risk Trivia Sort these environmental risks by size (descending order). Estimate risks (if you are brave). 1) Chemical exposure at most uncontrolled
hazardous-waste sites. Answers will be provided in next month’s issue of ToxProbe Today. Answer: January 2002 Risk Trivia Rank the annual risks of the following events happening, from least to greatest (e.g. 1 in 100): 1) You will have an auto accident. Answers: 1) 1 in 12. |