ToxProbe Today

Environmental, Occupational Health & Risk Assessment News January 2002
(Vol 1-1)

Legislation

Ontario Administrative Monetary Penalties

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment has issued proposed administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) regulations under The Environmental Statute Law Amendment Act. Administrative monetary penalties are financial penalties that can be imposed by a Ministry Director to enforce compliance with the statute, associated regulations or requirements of Ministry instruments such as permits, approvals and orders, without resorting to the courts. They have been described as the environmental equivalent of a parking ticket. The penalties will be assessed and imposed by the Ministry in accordance with the criteria and procedures prescribed in the regulation.

U.S. Brownfields Legislation

New Brownfields legislation in the United States, signed by President Bush in January 2002, should limit Superfund liability and promote redevelopment of contaminated sites. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, Public Law 107-118, provides significant funding for brownfields redevelopment, limits on liability for purchasers of contaminated property and limits on the ability of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to bring enforcement actions against parties that participate in state cleanup programs. Federal funds totaling approximately US$1 billion over 5 years have been authorized to support brownfields initiatives and to characterize, assess, remediate, and even purchase environmental insurance for brownfields sites.

Publications

The Sixth Annual Report on Ontario’s Environment (Canadian Institute of Environmental Policy and Law, 2002).

The North American Mosaic - State of the Environment Report (Commission for Environmental Cooperation, January 2002). The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an international organization created by the three parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The CEC was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. The report concludes that North America’s natural resources are being consumed at a rate that simply cannot be sustained.

Deadline Dates

February 15, 2002 is the deadline for registration as a hazardous waste generator under Ontario’s new hazardous waste information network. February 15, 2002 is the deadline for comment on Environment Canada’s working document regarding pollution prevention planning for dichloromethane.

Occupational Health

As of December 31, 2001, the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Act mandates new requirements for “certified” members of a Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). The act requires the employer or constructor and workers to each be represented by at least one certified JHSC member. To be certified, a JHSC member must have completed Part Two “workplace-specific hazard” training. This training is in addition to Part One “basic certification” training. The WSIB's deadline for completion of Part Two Certification training was December 31, 2001. Employers are responsible for ensuring this training has been conducted. JHSC members who have only completed Part One Certification training will no longer be considered certified by the WSIB.

The Ministry of Labour enforces OHSA requirements for certified members of JHSCs. When a contravention is found, the inspector will issue an order to the employer or constructor to comply with the requirement.

Environmental Health

Expectant mothers living near hazardous-waste sites have a significantly higher risk of bearing children with chromosomal abnormalities leading to conditions such as Down's syndrome, says a paper published today in The Lancet, a British science journal. The finding was based on a review of birth records around 23 hazardous-waste landfill sites in five European countries. Researchers found that rates were 41 per cent higher for those born within three kilometres of the dumps compared with those born between three and seven kilometres away. The researchers say they don't know if the sites are responsible or if other factors are at play.

Technical Guidelines

Experts from some 100 governments recently met in Geneva Switzerland to adopt a set of technical guidelines for protecting human health and the environment from the improper management and disposal of plastic wastes. To offer a benchmark for best practices, the Technical Guidelines for the Identification and Environmentally Sound Management of Plastic Wastes and for their Disposal was adopted by the Technical Working Group of the Basel Convention on the Control of the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.

Research & Development

Clean-up Technology

A new technology for cleaning up hazardous waste using a sugar made from corn starch has won an $830,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. A group of researchers form the University of Rhode Island, the University of Arizona, the Colorado College of Mines, and the University of Texas-San Antonio have developed the innovative system to quickly and economically remove a wide range of toxic materials from groundwater using a substance called cyclodextrin. Due to the chemical structure of cyclodextrin, many toxic materials like solvents, pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are attracted to it. To clean up a site, cyclodextrin solution is injected into contaminated soil and groundwater. After allowing the material to move through the earth and attract the contaminants, it is pumped out of the ground. The most innovative part of the cleanup process is how cyclodextrin is recycled. The researchers have developed a method of stripping the contaminants from the cyclodextrin so it can be used again.

E. Coli Contamination

Researchers from Rutgers University in New Jersey recently found lettuce fertilized with manure or irrigated with water contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7 can take the bacteria up through its root system. The researchers, who report their findings in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, add that because the bacteria is internal, it could render surface cleaning useless.

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.

2) You will have a heart attack (if you are over 35).

3) You will injure yourself on a chair or bed.

4) You will injure yourself shaving.

5) You will choke to death on food.

Answers will be provided in next month’s issue of ToxProbe Today.