While still valid, limits in representation affect the accuracy of the EPA's 2010 Toxics Release Inventory.

From iwatchnews.org:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has unveiled its analysis of the 2010 Toxics Release Inventory, a database containing information on the disposal or release of 650 potentially dangerous chemicals used by almost 21,000 facilities. Though there were some increases between 2009 and 2010, it found that releases of these chemicals have generally decreased, with the total down 30 percent since 2001.

However, the EPA has acknowledged that a lack of all chemicals or all sectors in the U.S. economy, self-reported estimates, out of date risk estimates, and spotty coverage of the utility sector are all shortcomings that must be considered when assessing the conclusions drawn from the database.  These limits in representation and reporting result in a database that presents only a partial picture of the nation's pollution.

For the full article at iwatchnews.org by Corbin Hiar, click here.

Ten years after 9/11, former-EPA scientist and well-known whistleblower Cate Jenkins is fighting to raise U.S. alkaline corrosivity standards. The weak standards currently in place lead to the harmful dust breathed in by first-responders to the WTC on 9/11.

From the NYT:

Cate Jenkins argues that EPA has operated under weak alkaline corrosivity standards that subjected first responders at the World Trade Center site to dust particles that were so caustic they caused severe respiratory disabilities and death.

Jenkins, who spent more than 30 years at the agency and worked in EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, believes EPA has undertaken a coordinated effort to downplay the human health dangers of the dust that was thrown into the air after the destruction of the World Trade Center.

It was a subject that Jenkins raised for nearly 10 years as a senior scientist at the agency until she was fired earlier this year over an incident in which she threatened one of her managers. Jenkins has argued that the incident was manufactured to finally remove her from her position at EPA.

Read the article in its entirety here.

Photo courtesy: National Human Genome Research Institute

A new phase in the Tox21 collaboration between several federal agencies has arrived as a robot system has been out in place to study over 10,000 chemicals. While not the sole component of the project, the new robot system allows researchers to understand the chemicals on a deeper level and more accurately determine the impacts of exposure.

From the EPA:

The robot system, which is located at the National Institutes of Health Chemical Genomics Center (NCGC), was purchased as part of the Tox21 collaboration established in 2008 between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Toxicology Program, and NCGC, with the addition of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010. Tox21 merges existing resources – research, funding and testing tools – to develop ways to more effectively predict how chemicals will affect human health and the environment.

“Understanding the molecular basis of hazard is fundamental to the protection of people’s health and the environment,” said Dr. Paul Anastas, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development, “Tox21 allows us to obtain deeper understanding and more powerful insights, faster than ever before.”

The 10,000 chemicals the robot system will screen include chemicals found in industrial and consumer products, food additives and drugs. Testing results will provide information useful for evaluating if these chemicals have the potential to disrupt human body processes enough to lead to adverse health effects.

To read the EPA's press release, click here. To view footage of the robot in action, click here.

Submitted by Patrick McQueen

Photo courtesy of visitusa.com

While tests show that the radioactive levels are at or below safe levels for drinking water in Pennsylvania, the EPA has called for further investigations into waste-water processing plants and drinking water samples, to ensure that drinking water is kept safe.

From the New York Times:

The results come at a time of growing scrutiny of the potential hazards of radioactivity and other contaminants in wastewater from natural-gas drilling. The wastewater is routinely sent to treatment plants in Pennsylvania, which then discharge their waste into rivers.

In a letter sent to the state on Monday, the federal Environmental Protection Agency noted the state’s test results, but instructed officials there to perform testing within 30 days for radioactivity at drinking-water intake plants.

“E.P.A. is prepared to exercise its enforcement authorities as appropriate where our investigations reveal violations of federal law,” the letter said.

Read more.

Submitted by Andrew Fatato

Today the New York Times published a piece detailing the struggles of the EPA to enforce rules and investigate environmental threats. The practice of ignoring EPA science and recommendations has been going on for decades, according to the article. Experts fear that the same tactics might be used by industry groups as they attempt to downplay the EPA's findings related to fracking.

From the New York Times:

More than a quarter century of efforts by some lawmakers and regulators to force the federal government to police the industry better have been thwarted, as E.P.A. studies have been repeatedly narrowed in scope, and important findings have been removed.

For example, the agency had planned to call last year for a moratorium on the gas-drilling technique known as hydrofracking in the New York City watershed, according to internal documents, but the advice was removed from the publicly released letter sent to New York.

Now some scientists and lawyers at the E.P.A. are wondering whether history is about to repeat itself, as the agency undertakes a broad new study of natural gas drilling and its potential risks, with preliminary results scheduled to be delivered next year.

Read the entire article here.

Submitted by Patrick McQueen

The EPA announced on Feb. 11 that workers and union representatives may now participate fully in EPA Clean Air Act inspections. The move mirrors that of OSHA, which allows the same participation during its facility inspections.

From a memo by New Jersey Work Environment Council Director Rick Engler:

We are pleased to tell you that on February 11, 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced, as promised, their policy for engaging workers and their union representatives during Risk Management Program Inspections under Clean Air Action Section 112(r). This policy supersedes their interim policy issued on April 2, 2010 and is effective immediately. The document clearly lays out the obligation of EPA (and employers) to afford employees and union representatives the opportunity to participate during EPA inspections and audits at approximately 13,000 facilities using high hazard chemicals.

This is a landmark new policy that can help workers and unions point out hazards, assist EPA inspectors, and protect communities and the environment.

Additional information can be read here, including the full risk management plan.

Submitted by Patrick McQueen.

Union and environmental leaders have joined through the BlueGreen Alliance to support the EPA's Clean Air Act, especially its ability to make worker's safer through pollution controls.

From the BlueGreen Alliance:

"These attacks on workers, the attacks on the EPA's ability to protect our land, water, air and health - they are all coming from the same place: corporations and their political allies," said Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. "We can't stand down now. We have to fight together as union members and environmentalists to protect our rights, to protect our families and to protect our environment. These rights are fundamental to our democracy."

"We can't move forward as a country by throwing working people out on the street and we can't ignore the economic and environmental impacts of unchecked greenhouse gas emissions. But by putting people to work confronting these problems, there is enormous opportunity for economic growth," said Leo W. Gerard, International President of the International Steelworkers. "What is happening in Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire and elsewhere, is a veiled attack by industry to stop the things that will create jobs and protect workers. Working people have to take power back, and we stand with environmentalists for what we believe in - good jobs and a clean environment."

Read more.

Submitted by Andrew Fatato

Federal regulatory agencies are reporting higher numbers than ever when placing a monetary value for human life. This number is important because it dictates how much money is spent to prevent deaths.

From the New York Times:

The Environmental Protection Agency set the value of a life at $9.1 million last year in proposing tighter restrictions on air pollution. The agency used numbers as low as $6.8 million during the George W. Bush administration.

The Food and Drug Administration declared that life was worth $7.9 million last year, up from $5 million in 2008, in proposing warning labels on cigarette packages featuring images of cancer victims.

The Transportation Department has used values of around $6 million to justify recent decisions to impose regulations that the Bush administration had rejected as too expensive, like requiring stronger roofs on cars.

And the numbers may keep climbing. In December, the E.P.A. said it might set the value of preventing cancer deaths 50 percent higher than other deaths, because cancer kills slowly. A report last year financed by the Department of Homeland Security suggested that the value of preventing deaths from terrorism might be 100 percent higher than other deaths.

Read more.

Submitted by Andrew Fatato

A typical biomass burning facility in California, though not the facility involved in the fines. Photo courtesy of calbiomass.org.

The California EPA has issued a nearly $1 million fine - highly unusual in Ca. regulatory history - to Global Ampersand of Boston, in relation to Ozone pollution from two of its biomass burning facilities in Ca.'s San Joaquin Valley.

From the Fresno Bee:

Ampersand agreed to the fines for violations that began in 2008 at the Ampersand Chowchilla Biomass in Madera County and Merced Power near El Nido, the EPA said. The biomass plants burn woody waste from farms and cities to create electricity.

Ampersand agreed to reduce ozone-forming oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

The large fine reflects the amount of pollution and duration of the violations. The violations took place during 2008, 2009 and 2010.

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District discovered the problems.

Biomass plants are considered a cleaner option than open-field agricultural burning, which has been mostly banned in the Valley.

But modern biomass plants must meet strict standards to prevent adding to the air-quality problems, especially in the Valley.

Valley ozone pollution is among the worst in the nation.

Read the entire story here.

Submitted by Patrick McQueen

Photo courtesy of TPMMuckraker.

Rep. Darrel Issa's ongoing campaign to identify regulations that impede job growth has entered a new phase, as he has now released the responses to his inquiry by industry groups. Last week saw the launch of his American Job Creators website, while Thursday the congressman will hold a hearing on his efforts.

Of particular note in the industry responses is that of the American Iron and Steel Institute. Talking Points Memo highlights their efforts to ease EPA restrictions:

Among the groups griping about the EPA is the American Iron and Steel Institute, a trade association representing steel-making companies. They complained that in the past two years -- since Obama has been in office -- "the EPA has undertaken an extensive regulatory agenda, proposing a substantial number of new regulatory initiatives in a number of program areas, including air, water, toxic chemicals, and solid waste."

They go on to detail the regulations that "threaten the restoration or preservation of manufacturing jobs," including greenhouse gas regulations, the Clean Air Act and OSHA.

"There are a number of regulations from both the EPA and OSHA that, if not implemented correctly and appropriately, could limit the steel industry's global competitiveness, investment and job growth in coming years," they conclude.

What do you think? Let Rep. Issa know which regulations are saving lives by getting involved at his website.

Submitted by Patrick McQueen