ToxProbe Today
Environmental, Occupational Health & Risk Assessment News Feb 2003 (Vol. 2-2)
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ToxProbe Today |
Environmental, Occupational Health & Risk Assessment News Feb 2003 (Vol. 2-2) |
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Legislation The Ontario Ministry of the Environment recently issued a Draft Brownfields Regulation relating to the filing of a record of site condition. The purpose of the proposed regulation is to facilitate the cleanup and redevelopment of former industrial or commercial sites. The draft regulation provides clear rules for contaminated site assessment, standards for cleanup and requirements for reporting this cleanup that must be met before a record of site condition is filed. The Ministry has prepared a compendium document that describes the ten components of the proposed regulation, titled "Compendium to the Draft Regulation under the Brownfields Statute Law Amendment Act, 2001 regarding the filing of a Record of Site Condition." The Ministry will accept public comment until April 29, 2003. http://204.40.253.254/envregistry/019448er.htm Environment Canada recently issued a Significant New Activity Notice for 1,2,3,4-Butanetetracarboxylic acid, tetrakis(1,2,2,6,6-pentamethyl-4-piperidinyl)ester, CAS Registry Number 91788-83-9 (Canada Gazette, Part I, February 8, 2003). Under the Notice, a proponent must provide specified information to the Minister, at least 90 days prior to the beginning of the proposed new activity (other than an industrial light stabilizer in the automobile or construction industry). The Ontario Ministry of the Environment recently proposed to establish an Ontario Drinking Water Standard for Cyanobacterial Toxins (Microcystin LR) of 0.0015 mg microcystin per litre. The Canadian Drinking Water Guideline (CDWG) for cyanobacterial toxins of 0.0015 mg microcystin per litre was established after assessment of the results of toxicological studies and the application of standard risk assessment and risk management practices by Health Canada and the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water. Current data supports a maximum acceptable concentration of 0.0015 mg/L based on human health. The Ministry will accept written submissions on the proposal up to March 05, 2003. http://204.40.253.254/envregistry/019715ep.htm The Ontario Ministry of the Environment
recently proposed to establish an Ontario Drinking Water Standard for
antimony (0.006 mg/L) in accordance with the current Canadian Drinking
Water Guideline for antimony. The Canadian Drinking Water Guideline (CDWG)
was established in 1997 after assessment of the results of toxicological
studies and the application of standard risk assessment and risk management
practices by Health Canada and the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee
on Drinking Water. Current data supports an interim maximum acceptable
concentration of 0.006 mg/L based on human health (i.e., protection against
increased blood cholesterol and decreased blood glucose, as well as prevention
of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea upon short-term exposure). The Ministry
will accept public comment until March 05, 2003. http://204.40.253.254/envregistry/019716ep.htm Publications America's Children and the Environment:
Measures of Contaminants, Body Burdens, and Illnesses (U.S. Centers
for Disease Control, 2003). Drawing on information from various sources,
the report shows 1) trends in environmental contaminant levels in air,
water, food, and soil; 2) concentrations of contaminants measured in the
bodies of children and women; and 3) childhood illnesses which may be
influenced by exposure to environmental contaminants. Dr. Jim Pirkle,
deputy director for science at the CDC, said previous CDC studies from
1991 to 1994 estimated 4.4 percent of U.S. children aged 1 to 5 years
had toxic blood lead levels. The current study, with data from more than
2,000 people taken in 1999 and 2000, estimated only 2.2 percent of children
had a toxic lead level. http://www.epa.gov/newsroom/headline_022403.htm Occupational Health Health Canada recently issued an Information Bulletin entitled Radiation Safety of Microwave Ovens. The bulletin was issued to address any concern about the potential health effects of exposure to microwave energy when through the use of microwave ovens. The bulletin states that any microwave energy that may leak from a microwave oven would pose no known health risks, as long as the oven is properly maintained. Health Canada has established a regulation that limits the amount of leakage allowed from any microwave oven sold, leased or imported into Canada. This limit is well below the level of microwave exposure that would cause any known health effects. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/iyh/products/micro_ovens.html Environmental Health U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) recently issued a warning that children face increased risks of
developing lung or bladder cancer if they use playground equipment made
of wood treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA). The CPSC study found
that 2 to 100 of every one million children frequently exposed to CCA-treated
wood risk developing lung or bladder cancer from that exposure. The increased
risk from CCA-treated wood is in addition to other risks of developing
cancer. The EPA is conducting a study of the risks that may be associated
with CCA-treated wood and expects to release the report in late 2003. Britain's Food Standards Agency recently
issued a warning that pregnant women, breastfeeding women and those planning
babies should limit their consumption of tuna because mercury found in
the fish could present a health hazard. The groups concerned are advised
to eat no more than two medium-sized cans of tuna a week due to a low
risk that mercury in them could harm an unborn child's developing nervous
system. The new advice was issued after a review by Britain's independent
Committee on Toxicity (COT) on the possible risks. The committee compared
levels of mercury found in fish against World Health Organisation safety
guidelines for weekly intake of mercury. Technical Guidelines The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently
upheld U.S. EPA's rule setting limits on the permissible level of radionuclides
in drinking water. The regulation retains the existing standards for the
radionuclides radium-226, radium-228, and certain beta/photon emitters,
and establishes standards for uranium for the first time. The court rejected
all arguments raised by the petitioners (two trade associations and several
municipal water systems), including claims that the drinking water standards
set by EPA were not based upon the best available science. The court also
rejected claims that EPA failed to perform required cost-benefit analyses
for the drinking water standards and failed to adequately respond to comments
submitted during the rulemaking process. 2/26/03 http://www.epa.gov/newsroom/headline_022603.htm Research & Development A panel experts appointed by the independent
U.S. National Research Council affirmed a report that said nuclear fallout
from atmospheric atomic bomb tests reached virtually every part of the
United States, causing at least 11,000 cancer cases over 50 years. The
atmospheric bomb tests were carried out mostly between 1951 and 1962 and
sent radioactive dust thousands of feet into the air, where it was carried
around the world. The report was compiled by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute at the request of Congress.
http://www.cdc.gov/ Risk Trivia What is the annual risk of an average American from the following? 1. Seriously injured at home. Answers will be provided in next month's
issue of ToxProbe Today. Answer: January 2003 Risk Trivia What is the annual risk of an average American from the following? 1. A fractured skull. Answers: 1. 1 in 100. |