Toxic chemicals

$2 million NIEHS award to support development of a radio frequency identification (RFID) vapor sensor that can be part of a badge and worn on clothing

17 November 2009 -- NISKAYUNA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Global Research, the technology development arm for the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), today announced a $2 million award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health to develop wearable RFID sensors to alert people to the presence of environmental chemical agents in the air and sample exhaled breath to serve as an early indicator of disease.    » read more »

Chemical Has Been Shown To Lead To Developmental Problems And Cancers

November 16, 2009 -- On the heels of a new Consumer Reports’ study showing that the toxic chemical bisphenol-A is now in a wider range of products used and consumed by children and in higher concentrations than previously thought, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today unveiled his legislation that bans BPA in food and beverage containers marketed to kids aged three and under.    » read more »

(CHICAGO - Nov. 12, 2009) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has announced that two of Wisconsin’s lead-based paint programs have been federally authorized. They are the Lead-based Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting program, and the Pre-Renovation Education program.

Wisconsin is the first state authorized to administer and enforce the Renovation, Repair and Painting rule which mandates training and licensing in lead-safe work practices for construction contractors, property managers and others that work in homes and child-occupied facilities built before 1978. Gov. James E. Doyle has certified that the Wisconsin programs, to be administered by the division of public health, are at least as protective as EPA’s and provide adequate enforcement.    » read more »

November 13, 2009 -- Corpus Christi—The United Steelworkers Union (USW) is asking why elected officials from Corpus Christi did not appear at a community forum Nov. 11 to discuss the dangers of using hydrogen fluoride (HF) in area refineries and its alternatives.

“Their failure to appear at this forum is especially disheartening since a serious refinery accident in July that involved a fire and HF release left one worker fighting for his life,” said Jim Lefton, sub-director of USW District 13. “Residents around the refineries wondered why city and county officials deserted them.”    » read more »

By applying just the right compression to thin films of bismuth ferrite, Berkeley Lab researchers have produced a lead-free alternative to the current crop of piezoelectric materials.

November 13, 2009 -- BERKELEY, CA - There is good news for the global effort to reduce the amount of lead in the environment and for the growing array of technologies that rely upon the piezoelectric effect. A lead-free alternative to the current crop of piezoelectric materials has been identified by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC), Berkeley.    » read more »

Chemical Used in Countless Products Including Baby Bottles, Canned Formula and Canned Food

November 13, 2009 -- On the heels of a new Consumer Reports’ study showing that the toxic chemical bisphenol-A is now in a wider range of products used and consumed by children and in higher concentrations than previously thought, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today unveiled his legislation that bans BPA in food and beverage containers marketed to kids aged three and under.    » read more »

November 09, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens) today applauded the House passage of the Chemical and Water Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2868), which would increase the security and safety of the country’s chemical plants and water facilities. Maloney is a co-sponsor of the legislation, which passed the House late Friday afternoon by a vote of 230 to 193.    » read more »

11/04/2009 -- LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a Unilateral Administrative Order to Texaco Inc. that requires the company to assess soil and groundwater contamination and evaluate additional cleanup options, for the Pacific Coast Pipeline Superfund Site (commonly known as the “Texaco site”) in Fillmore, Calif.

“With this UAO, EPA looks forward to moving the Site cleanup into its final phase, so the property can be returned to productive reuse by the community,” said Keith Takata, Director of the Superfund program in EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. “This cooperative effort builds on prior cleanup work and will result in a protective cleanup for the community.”    » read more »

11/03/2009 -- WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is adding three new hazardous waste sites that pose risks to human health and the environment to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country.

To date, there have been 1,610 sites listed on the NPL. Of these sites, 340 sites have been deleted resulting in 1,270 sites currently on the NPL (including the three new sites added in today’s rulemaking). There are 63 proposed sites awaiting final agency action: 58 in the general Superfund section and five in the federal facilities section. There are a total of 1,333 final and proposed sites.    » read more »

Listing makes cleanup of Tooele County facility a high priority

(Denver, Colo. -- November 2, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with support from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ), today announced it has added U.S. Magnesium, LLC, in Tooele County, Utah, to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites.

Listing U.S. Magnesium on the NPL makes the cleanup of the site a high priority nationally. It also enables EPA and UDEQ to use Superfund authority under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act to initiate and oversee the cleanup of the site. Sites listed on the NPL are among the nation’s most contaminated places.    » read more »

October 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is marking National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week by announcing several actions the agency proposes to take to prevent lead poisoning. Lead poisoning may cause a variety of adverse health effects, including brain and nervous system disorders, high blood pressure, and hypertension. Children six years old and under are most at risk.

EPA has issued a proposed rule to expand the coverage of the 2008 Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule. The new rule proposes to eliminate a provision that exempted some housing from the rule’s requirement that contractors be trained and certified and use lead-safe work practices when renovating, repairing or painting a pre-1978 home.    » read more »

October 18 -24 is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week

(San Francisco, Calif. -- 10/19/2009) National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, October 18-24, is set aside to educate parents and children about the dangers of lead exposure, especially lead-based paint hazards in housing.

Lead poisoning is the number one environmental hazard threatening children in the United States -- affecting more than 300,000 children who are less than six years old. Lead exposure can harm young children and babies even before they are born, and children who appear healthy can also have high levels of lead in their bodies. The behaviors and rapid growth of children less than six years old make them more likely to be harmed by lead.    » read more »

Erin Brockovich, public health and environmental advocates urge State EPA to set safe standard to protect Californians

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Oct 18, 2009 – Hexavalent chromium (hex chrome), the notorious cancer-causing chemical made famous in the film Erin Brockovich, contaminates drinking water in over 500 California communities, according to environmental and public health experts. The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) held a hearing today to take public comment on a proposed level for hex chrome in drinking water.    » read more »

10/15/2009 -- WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on a plan to develop interim preliminary remediation goals (PRGs) for dioxin in soil at contaminated sites. The plan includes a review of current dioxin cleanup guidance that has been established by the EPA, states and other countries, including the latest fully peer-reviewed dioxin toxicity assessments.

EPA will release the draft interim PRGs for public comment in December 2009, and anticipates issuing the final interim PRGs in June 2010. EPA is currently undertaking a reassessment of dioxin, the results of which are expected to be released by the end of 2010.

More information on the plan and how to comment: www.epa.gov/superfund/policy/remedy/sfremedy/remedies/dioxininterimplan....    » read more »

Levels of Benzene Found in Tonawanda's Air as High as 75 Times the Amount Allowed in NYS, Posing a Real and Present Threat to Residents' Health

October 14, 2009 -- Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer demanded owner and CEO of the Tonawanda Coke Corporation meet with community groups and listen – in person – to their complaints about the pollution coming from the Tonawanda facility and to explore potential solutions.

In a letter to Schumer, Crane wrote that the type of allegations being made against the Tonawanda coke plant “cannot be sustained when viewed in the clear light of supportable facts, science and analysis,” and blamed the elevated benzene levels on automobile traffic.    » read more »