ToxProbe Today

Environmental, Occupational Health & Risk Assessment News May 2003 (Vol. 2-5)

Legislation

Environment Canada recently issued a Notice requiring the preparation and implementation of pollution prevention plans for acrylonitrile (Canada Gazette, Part I, May 24, 2003). The Notice applies to any facility involved in the manufacture of synthetic rubber.

Environment Canada recently issued a Notice with Respect to Hexachlorobutadiene in Certain Chlorinated Substances (Canada Gazette, Part I, May 24, 2003). The Notice requires facilities that possess chlorinated substances listed in Schedule 1 in excess of information reporting threshold, to provide an information report to Environment Canada by July 17, 2003.

Environment Canada recently issued a Notice with Respect to Submitting Samples for the Determination of Hexachlorobutadiene in Certain Chlorinated Substances (Canada Gazette, Part I, May 24, 2003). The Notice requires facilities to submit information and samples of specified chlorinated substances if they are used in excess of the information reporting threshold. The deadline for submission is July 3, 2003.

Environment Canada recently issued a Notice to anyone engaged in the use of Methyl Bromide. Users of methyl bromide are invited to submit their application for "critical" use exemptions from the provisions of the Montreal Protocol for the year 2005. The deadline for submissions is July 31, 2003.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment has promulgated a new Drinking Water Systems Regulation (formerly the Drinking Water Protection Regulation), made under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 (SDWA) and eight administrative regulations to support the Drinking Water Systems Regulation. Four regulations are made under the SDWA and four under the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA). One of the Regulations under the SDWA is the Ontario Drinking-Water Quality Standards Regulation (Reg. 169/03). Reg. 169/03 lists the standards that apply to the required tests in the Drinking Water Systems Regulation. The schedules in Reg. 169/03 list microbiological, chemical and radiological standards that drinking water must obtained. http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/env_reg/er/documents/2003/ra03e0001.htm

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment recently proposed a regulation banning the land application of portable toilet waste. The draft regulation, if promulgated, will ban the land application of untreated portable toilet waste by July 31, 2003. Portable toilet waste, which has been treated to meet the requirements in the draft regulation, may continue to be land-applied. The draft regulation includes a table listing standards for regulated metals for treated portable toilet waste.

Publications

Use and Releases of MTBE in Canada - A report based on responses to Environment Canada's May 26, 2001 information gathering notice on Methyl (Environment Canada, 2003). The report summarizes findings from a survey of Canadian use of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE). It includes an assessment of the extent to which MTBE has been detected in ground water and drinking water in Canada, and discusses federal government action on the issue. http://www.ec.gc.ca/CEPARegistry/documents/part/MTBE/MTBE_Report_e.pdf

Framework for Cumulative Risk Assessment (U.S. EPA, 2003). Cumulative risk assessment is the analysis of the combined risks to human health or the environment from multiple pollutants transmitted through multiple pathways of exposure. This holistic approach differs from the traditional study of one pollutant's effect on one population through one medium, in recognizing that people and ecosystems are impacted by a number of stressors simultaneously through different pathways. The Framework identifies key terms and basic elements of the assessment process and provides a flexible structure for addressing relevant scientific issues. http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/raf.

Occupational Health

The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently released a Fact Sheet entitled Limiting Potential Exposures of Workers to Asbestos Associated with Vermiculite from Libby, Montana. Vermiculite is a mineral that expands when rapidly heated. Expanded vermiculite is used in construction and consumer materials (e.g., loose-fill insulation, acoustic finishes, spray-on insulation, and concrete mixes for swimming pools), agricultural and horticultural products (e.g., potting mixes and soil conditioners) and in industrial products (e.g., brake shoes and pads, drilling muds, furnaces, and insulation blocks). Vermiculite ore mined near Libby, Montana, which accounted for more than half the worldwide production of vermiculite from 1925 to 1990, was contaminated with asbestos and asbestos-like fibers. Workplace exposure to these fibers caused a serious health problem in local miners and millers, as well as some downstream workers. The Fact Sheet discusses precautions workers should take to prevent exposure asbestos-containing vermiculite. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/vermicu.html

Environmental Health

A recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals will require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to propose a formal rule if it wants to refuse data from human experimentation used to evaluate the safety of pesticides. Prior to the ruling, the U.S. EPA held the position that it would consider the results of pesticide industry human tests on a case-by-case basis.

Technical Guidelines

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment recently adopted the Canadian Drinking Water Guideline (CDWG) for antimony. A limit of 0.006 mg/L is now the Ontario Drinking Water Standard (ODWS), as part of the Ontario Drinking-Water Quality Standards Regulation (O. Reg. 169/03) under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002.

The Ontario MOE has recently adopted the Canadian Drinking Water Guideline (CDWG) for cyanobacterial toxins. A limit of 0.0015 mg microcystin per litre is now the Ontario Drinking Water Standard (ODWS), as part of the Ontario Drinking-Water Quality Standards Regulation (O. Reg. 169/03) under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002.

Research & Development

A recent study at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory showed that when adult male fish are exposed to short term and low concentrations of a synthetic estrogen, their fertility can drop by as much as 50 percent. Scientists conducting the experiments examined the possible mechanisms for reduced fertility, specifically sperm motility and decreased hormone levels. While they were able to rule out sperm motility as the mechanism, their research revealed increased - not decreased - hormone levels in the blood plasma of fish exposed to 10 nanograms per liter of ethynylestradiol (the chemical in oral contraceptives). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 1272-1280.

U.S. EPA recently identified metals as components in air pollution that may affect the severity of asthma. The study is the first to link animal and human data to show the possible role of metals in aggravating asthma. The study was done in collaboration with researchers at the German Research Center for Environment and Health. http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/

Goodbye, Risk Trivia!

From this month forward, Risk Trivia will be retired from the newsletter. Goodbye, Risk Trivia … we'll miss you!

Answer: April 2003 Risk Trivia

What is the annual risk of an average American from the following?

1. Birth of baby with serious birth defect.
2. Attack from a deadly weapon.
3. Death from riding bicycle.
4. Death in bathtub.
5. Death by lightning.

Answers:

1. 1 in 6.
2. 1 in 261.
3. 1 in 130,000.
4. 1 in 1,000,000.
5. 1 in 2,000,000.