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(ACC Mentioned) Study Examines Improving Sorting Efficiencies in MRFs
Jul 9, 2015 | Recycling Today
Five national trade associations representing a variety of packaging types—the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the Association of Postconsumer Plastics Recyclers (APR), the Carton Council of North America (CCNA), the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) and the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR)—have commissioned a study exploring ways to optimize recycling of postconsumer packaging. -
(ACC Blog) False Start: Popular Morning Show Gets it Wrong on Phthalates and Plastics
Jul 9, 2015 | American Chemistry Matters
By Anne Kolton
Morning shows can be a helpful way to get our morning news and start the day – when they are accurate. But, sometimes, those seemingly harmless morning wake up shows leave you saying, “Huh?!?” http://blog.americanchemistry.com/2015/07/false-start-popular-morning-show-gets-it-wrong-on-phthalates-and-plastics/ -
(ACC Mentioned) EDCs Interfere with Regulation of Placenta, Study Finds
Jul 9, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Philip Lightowlers
Phthalate metabolites and phenols in pregnant women’s blood have been found to increase levels of three kinds of micro ribonucleic acid (RNA) in their placentas. -
Is Microwaving in Plastic Safe? Tips to Reduce Your Risk
Jul 9, 2015 | Today Health
By Scott Stump
Before you pop that plastic container into the microwave, you might want to take a look at the fine print. -
Phthalate Replacements Linked to Child Health Problems
Jul 9, 2015 | Chemistry World
By Ida Emilie Steinmark
Supposedly safe replacements for a harmful plasticiser have been found to positively correlate with both increased blood pressure and insulin resistance in children and adolescents. -
Industry Renews Push For EPA To Reconsider TCE's Birth Defects Risk
Jul 9, 2015 | InsideEPA
By Dave Reynolds
Industry is asking EPA to reconsider its rejection of a petition questioning the agency's use of a controversial study to conclude that the solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) causes cardiac birth defects, arguing the agency's refusal earlier this year to grant the request for correction under the Information Quality Act (IQA) relied on flawed peer review. -
EPA Plans To Revise Guidance On Reducing Risk From PCBs In Schools
Jul 9, 2015 | InsideEPA
By Suzanne Yohannan
EPA is in the final stages of developing updated guidance on addressing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) when found in schools, in an effort to correct inconsistencies among different guidance documents and emphasize risk reduction through PCB-containing light fixture replacements and best management practices, according to an EPA source. -
Is Asbestos In Your Children’s Toys?
Jul 9, 2015 | Environmental Working Group
By Megan Boyle
Where are your child’s crayons? In a drawer, a shoebox, a backpack or an arts and crafts kit? Wherever they are, they’re probably among your child’s favorite plaything -
'Different Engineered Nanomaterials May Interact in Environment'
Jul 9, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Emma Davies
Interactions between different types of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in the environment could affect their toxicity, according to a US study. -
US Trade Groups Raise GHS Compliance Concerns
Jul 9, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
Some downstream formulators, who petitioned for additional time to comply with the 2012 Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), say they may still face challenges, despite receiving enforcement relief from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (CW 3 March 2015). -
Utilities Lobby Top Obama Officials on Climate Rule
Jul 9, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Lobbyists representing major electric utilities met with top Obama administration officials this week, urging them to roll back provisions of the upcoming climate rule for power plants. -
Future of Interior-EPA Spending Bill in Doubt After Flag Dispute
Jul 9, 2015 | PoliticoPro
By Darren Goode
House Republicans punted an Interior-EPA spending bill Thursday after Southerners revolted over language that would have barred displays of the Confederate flag at federal cemeteries. -
GOP Pulls Interior-EPA Bill Over Confederate Flag Clash
Jul 9, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Amanda Peterka
House leadership today pulled a fiscal 2016 spending plan for the Interior Department and U.S. EPA off the chamber floor after the introduction last night of a controversial amendment on the Confederate flag. -
House Republicans and McCarthy Trade Barbs Over Science, Regs
Jul 9, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Amanda Peterka
Republican members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee today pummeled U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy with questions over the science behind high-profile environmental regulations. -
White House Blasts Senate EPA, Interior Spending Bill on Riders
Jul 9, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Hannah Northey
A top White House official today blasted the Senate's fiscal 2016 spending plan for the Interior Department and U.S. EPA as a threat to the Obama administration's ambitious new climate and clean water goals, saying the language is riddled with problematic riders. -
Market Approaches Like Cap and Trade are Best Way to Comply with Clean Power Plan -- Report
Jul 9, 2015 | E&E - Climatewire
By Scott Detrow
As U.S. EPA finalizes its Clean Power Plan ahead of a final release later this summer, a new report from the Advanced Energy Economy Institute is making the case that a market-based approach would be the cheapest, fastest way for states to meet the rule's carbon reduction goals.
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(ACC Mentioned) Study Examines Improving Sorting Efficiencies in MRFs
Jul 9, 2015 | Recycling Today
Five national trade associations representing a variety of packaging types—the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the Association of Postconsumer Plastics Recyclers (APR), the Carton Council of North America (CCNA), the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) and the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR)—have commissioned a study exploring ways to optimize recycling of postconsumer packaging. The “MRF Material Flow Study” examines how numerous materials flow through several different types of material recovery facilities (MRFs) with the goal of better understanding how to get more recyclables actually recycled. It looks at where packages end up in the sorting facility, why packages flow in certain ways and what potential changes to the sorting processes could improve recovery.
“The recycling facility is where the proverbial rubber meets the road when it comes to recycling,” says Derric Brown, vice president of sustainability for the Carton Council of North America and director of sustainability for Evergreen Packaging, Memphis, Tennessee. “Even in a community with a robust recycling program inclusive of many materials, such as cartons or rigid plastics, if those items do not flow efficiently through a sorting facility and to the right place, all or some of their value may be lost and they may end up as residue, possibly in a landfill.”
He continues, “We understand that managing programs and motivating consumers to recycle is challenging enough, so we want to help by finding and communicating the study findings.”
Five U.S. MRFs representing a range of operations, including those of different sizes and those processing single- and dual-stream collected recyclables, were selected for the study. Materials, including paper and plastic cups, clamshells, containers, domes/trays, bottles, tubs, lids and gable-top and aseptic cartons, were added to the mix of standard recycling items coming in to these facilities. Materials were processed and then sample bales of paper, plastic and residue were tested, with bale contents being sorted into more than 100 categories, to where the materials flowed naturally, without intervention from the MRF operators, according to the study’s funders.
“The study reinforced that everyone plays a role in ensuring recycling is effective and efficient and that there are actions that can be taken at all steps in the process to help ensure items get their maximum value when they are recycled,” says Jim Frey, CEO of Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), Ann Arbor, Michigan, one of the architects of the study. “One such action is asking residents, and other recycling customers, not to flatten items before placing them in recycling containers. The study found that three-dimensional objects (packages in their original form) versus two-dimensional (flattened/crushed objects) have a higher likelihood of making it through the system to the appropriate container lines and bales. This is not only a helpful finding but an actionable one which illustrates that even everyday actions in the home can help boost recovery.”
The organizations say they look forward to finding ways to apply this knowledge to increase recovery and to working closely with stakeholders, such as communities and facilities.
The study was developed and delivered by RRS; Reclay StewardEdge, Toronto; and Moore Recycling Associates, Sonoma, California. To access the study, learn more from the funders and about how facilities and communities can apply their suggestions, visit www.CartonOpportunities.org/MRFStudy.
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(ACC Blog) False Start: Popular Morning Show Gets it Wrong on Phthalates and Plastics
Jul 9, 2015 | American Chemistry Matters
By Anne Kolton
Morning shows can be a helpful way to get our morning news and start the day – when they are accurate. But, sometimes, those seemingly harmless morning wake up shows leave you saying, “Huh?!?”
Like today… A couple of network morning shows aired segments about new studies that reported to observe a correlation between exposure to two phthalates and high blood pressure or insulin resistance. Definitely a “Huh?!?” moment not only for consumers, but also for scientists who know better.
Why? Let’s start with the fact that phthalates are among the most thoroughly studied chemistries in use today. Contrary to the study’s characterization, DINP and DIDP are not new substitutes. They have been studied for more than 50 years. Regulators and health agencies have reviewed them and have found them safe for all current consumer uses. And consumers have come to rely on them since they are used in a variety of products to make them more durable and more pliant. Furthermore, the studies fail to show that exposure to phthalates causes any particular effect, and the purported statistical correlation wasn’t even particularly strong.
But setting aside the underlying issues with the new study’s conclusions, the author seems to go off the deep end when he connects his study and microwaving plastic. Perhaps an attempt to create an alluring click-bait headline? Unfortunately, the gang at CBS This Morning, including the show’s own version of “Dr. Doom,” took the bait – hook, line and sinker.
First, the Doc brought along some food container props and said all of them are “coated” with phthalates. NOT TRUE. In fact, phthalates aren’t even used in plastic food containers or food wraps. So, there is no exposure to the chemicals in the study from food containers, whether microwaved, put in the dishwasher or not.
But even if they were, the FDA reviews and approves as safe any material that is meant to come into contact with food – like plastic food containers and food wraps. This being the second thing their Doc got wrong. He stated that the FDA and other regulatory agencies only looks at these products when there is a problem. NOT TRUE. They cannot be sold or used until the FDA gives them the green light.
There were several other misstatements, but these two mistakes are MAJOR and they mean that all the CBS viewers have BAD INFORMATION that does them no good.
So, while morning shows are great for their summer concerts, their compilations of funny cat videos and trending styles, it’s important that viewers think twice about what they hear on more complex matters of health and science.
- See more at: http://blog.americanchemistry.com/2015/07/false-start-popular-morning-show-gets-it-wrong-on-phthalates-and-plastics/#sthash.Kik4JMl7.dpuf
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(ACC Mentioned) EDCs Interfere with Regulation of Placenta, Study Finds
Jul 9, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Philip Lightowlers
Phthalate metabolites and phenols in pregnant women’s blood have been found to increase levels of three kinds of micro ribonucleic acid (RNA) in their placentas.
The findings, by a research team from Harvard University and Medical School, suggest these chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA) and benzophenone, can interfere with genetic regulation of the placenta and may interfere with the growth of the foetus.
The paper, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, details how the researchers studied a group of 179 American mothers, who gave samples of placental tissue after birth and provided a urine specimen, during the first three months of pregnancy. The urine was analysed for levels of 11 phthalate metabolites and eight phenolic compounds. The RNA content of the placenta was extracted and analysed to find microRNAs that were expressed differently across the group.
MicroRNAs are short sections of RNA which pair with messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that code for protein synthesis in a cell. By pairing with and disabling mRNA, microRNAs are mechanisms by which cells suppress the synthesis of proteins and, thus, the expression of the genome. They are a heritable, epigenetic mechanism which is not yet fully understood (GBB February 2012).
The study found phthalate metabolites and phenols in about 80-100% of urine samples and that three microRNAs were found to be associated with these contaminants.
The scientists used computer models to predict which mRNAs these three microRNAs could bind with. They concluded that the results suggest the pathways likely to be affected were serine/threonine kinase activity and insertion of proteins into mitochondrial membranes – both targets which are likely to be involved in the programmed cell death mechanism – also known as apoptosis.
Other targets that could be involved include insulin signalling and the development of the nervous system.
The researchers point to previous studies, which show that BPA induces programmed cell death in human placental tissue. Phthalates are also known to cause oxidative stress in the placenta. But the study did not find that any exposures or microRNA changes were associated with any birth outcomes, including gestational age, birth weight or length.
The scientists said: “Overall, our data indicate that prenatal phthalate and phenol exposure may interfere with several biological processes that have previously been implicated in placental and foetal health.” And they urge more research as microRNA may be a significant epigenetic toxicity mechanism.
Responding to the study, the American Chemistry Council said: “This study does not provide enough information about the source of potential exposures and the study participants themselves to draw conclusions about the findings. In addition, the authors themselves acknowledge that more studies are needed to know whether or not microRNA regulation changes are caused by prenatal exposures to these chemicals, and whether or not those changes are significant. Most importantly, the study fails to draw any conclusions about negative health effects associated with potential exposures.”
The European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (Ecetoc) was unable to comment in detail. However, its scientific committee chairman Bennard van Ravenzwaay recognised, in its 2014 annual report, that micro or non-coding RNA was among the strategic new research areas for human health.
The society has now formed a Non-Coding RNA expert group to focus on the topic.
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Is Microwaving in Plastic Safe? Tips to Reduce Your Risk
Jul 9, 2015 | Today Health
By Scott Stump
Before you pop that plastic container into the microwave, you might want to take a look at the fine print.
A new study linking certain chemicals in plastics to a higher risk of diabetes and high blood pressure has experts offering several tips to reduce risk when putting plastics in the microwave or dish washer.
In a study published in the medical journal "Hypertension" conducted by NYU Langone Medical Center, two chemical substitutes that are used in place of the potentially harmful Bisphenol A to strengthen plastic wrap, soap, cosmetics and processed food containers have correlated with a rise in the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes in children. The two substitute compounds are known as phthalates, a class of chemical, and the takeaway from the study is to be aware of what plastics make up that container you are putting in the microwave or dishwasher.
"The FDA does regulate the plastics that come in contact with food, and the most important take-home message is to read the label on the package or the container,'' Dr. Natalie Azar, NBC News medical director, told Hoda Kotb on TODAY Thursday. "If it says, 'microwave safe,' it is microwave safe. If it contains the recycling numbers 3, 6 and 7 on the other hand, then you know that those products were actually made with those chemicals of concern."
"Those are the things that you might not want to microwave, (and) you might not want to put them in the dishwasher because it gets so hot. You want to hand wash it."
The researchers analyzed data from a national health and nutrition examination survey of 356 children ages 12 to 19 taken between 2008 and 2012 for urinary levels of the two chemical compounds. Azar stressed that there is no direct link between heating the plastics and medical issues in children.
"It was definitely not a study that was meant or designed to look specifically at these plastics and their health effects on children,'' she said. "That's very important to get out from the beginning. But they found a correlation or an association between some of these compounds and a higher risk of hypertension in these kids. Observational only. It was absolutely not a cause-and-effect finding."
A Columbia University study from last year linked prenatal exposure to phthalates to lower IQ.
"Phthalates are among the most thoroughly studied family of chemicals and government regulatory bodies support the safety of phthalates for consumer uses,'' the American Chemical Council said in a statement to TODAY. "Phthalates are highly unlikely to be used in microwaveable plastics, however any material that is intended for food contact is reviewed and approved as safe by the FDA."
Glass containers are another option for those with concerns, and Azar said checking the surface of a plastic container is also important before microwaving it.
"Once they're scratched they're at a higher risk of leaching out those chemicals,'' she said. "It doesn't mean you should suddenly stop microwaving your Tupperware. Those things are regulated enough, we believe, to consider them safe enough for use."
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Phthalate Replacements Linked to Child Health Problems
Jul 9, 2015 | Chemistry World
By Ida Emilie Steinmark
Supposedly safe replacements for a harmful plasticiser have been found to positively correlate with both increased blood pressure and insulin resistance in children and adolescents.1 The scientists behind the study are now calling for regulatory changes to ensure that chemicals are tested for toxicity before they are put on the market.
A study of 1329 US children aged between eight and 19 found that increased urinary levels of two phthalates, DINP and DIDP, significantly correlate with increased systolic blood pressure. A previous study by the same group2 also found an association between increased levels of DINP and insulin resistance. These phthalates are replacements for another, DEHP, which is an endocrine disruptor in young children.
In the EU, DEPH is banned in concentrations over 0.1% in all toys, and DINP and DIDP are banned in concentrations over 0.1% in toys ‘which can be placed in the mouth by children’. Similar bans are in placein the US. However, the researchers suggest phthalates leaking into food when plastic food containers are heated is another source of these chemicals.
The scientists also expressed concern about the US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which does not currently require chemicals like phthalates to undergo toxicity tests to get regulatory approval. Concerted efforts are currently being made in the US to reform the TSCA.
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Industry Renews Push For EPA To Reconsider TCE's Birth Defects Risk
Jul 9, 2015 | InsideEPA
By Dave Reynolds
Industry is asking EPA to reconsider its rejection of a petition questioning the agency's use of a controversial study to conclude that the solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) causes cardiac birth defects, arguing the agency's refusal earlier this year to grant the request for correction under the Information Quality Act (IQA) relied on flawed peer review.
The Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, Inc. (HSIA) in a recent request for reconsideration of the group's November 2013 IQA petition reiterates industry's long-standing assertion that EPA should not have relied on a 2003 toxicology study by Paula D. Johnson showing a risk of cardiac birth defects in lab rodents exposed to TCE, which industry argues is flawed and unreproducible.
"The study should not have been used by EPA as a principal study for drawing conclusions about the ability of TCE to cause cardiac birth defects, much less for deriving toxicological values," according to HSIA's request for reconsideration. Risk values "for TCE should be withdrawn and established without reference to the unreproducible dose-response report by Johnson."
EPA rejected HSIA's 2013 request for correction with a March 19 letter, contesting the group's factual assertions and arguing that the agency's finding in a September 2011 Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment that TCE poses a risk of cardiac birth defects was backed by numerous studies, as well as agency science advisors.
The IQA allows groups to challenge the quality of federal data, though judges have denied suits over petition responses under the Administrative Procedure Act on grounds the responses are not "final" agency actions, so an EPA denial of HSIA's request for reconsideration could end industry's long-standing fight over the data.
In the June 17 request for reconsideration, HSIA faults a Science Advisory Board (SAB) panel that reviewed a draft of the IRIS assessment for TCE, arguing a scientist affiliated with the University of Arizona laboratory where the Johnson study was conducted inappropriately participated in the review.
HSIA also argues EPA's rejection downplays or ignores other reviews of TCE toxicity and the agency's use of the Johnson study, including an internal EPA review that industry sources have previously said provided only a "tepid endorsement" of the agency's conclusion that TCE poses a risk of cardiac birth defects.
And HSIA points to corrections by authors of the Johnson study to argue the study failed to follow proper procedures.
Risk Values
HSIA's ongoing push for EPA to base risk values for TCE on an endpoint other than cardiac birth defects continues long-standing opposition from industry and some Republican lawmakers who have argued in letters to and meetings with agency officials that the Johnson study drove EPA to set overly stringent reference dose (RfD) and reference concentration (RfC) risk values, which are leading to unnecessarily costly cleanups at contaminated sites around the country.
Additionally, EPA is weighing a rare ban of certain uses of TCE under section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), despite objections from the chemical sector which claims the agency's assessment supporting potential regulation under TSCA inappropriately relied on the Johnson study, and overstates health risks.
In the request for reconsideration, HSIA says EPA's denial emphasizes the findings of an SAB review panel that backed relying on the Johnson study for deriving risk values, but downplays or ignores advice from other peer review panels.
HSIA argues the SAB review was "tainted" by the participation of Dr. Ornella Selmin who the group says should have recused herself from the panel's discussions on the weight given to studies, such as Johnson, conducted at the University of Arizona and that show a link between TCE exposure and cardiac birth defects. HSIA says Selmin has written papers reporting on those results.
During the review, Selmin backed the Johnson study, HSIA says, and proposed the inclusion of publications that support conclusions based on the Johnson study, and which she co-authored. The coalition of producers and users of TCE argues Selmin's participation in the SAB panel violated National Academy of Sciences conflict of interest policy, which the White House Office of Management and Budget has directed federal agencies to adopt.
"Dr. Selmin's active participation in the discourse resulted in the SAB panel's recommendation that her laboratory's controversial unreproducible work be the basis for the RfD/RfC for TCE, and would seem to constitute a clear conflict of interest under this policy," HSIA says.
In an email to Inside EPA, Selmin declined to comment.
'Clear Reservations'
As for EPA downplaying other reviews, HSIA says an internal EPA review shows that agency scientists have "very clear reservations" about using the Johnson study to derive RfC and RfD risk values.
The agency review "TCE Developmental Cardiac Toxicity Assessment Update" issued last summer, found that overall evidence, including the Johnson study, supports a birth defects risk from TCE exposure, though HSIA notes that "none of the EPA scientists had more than low to medium confidence" in using the Johnson study to derive risk values.
HSIA also faults the conclusion of the internal review that relying on the Johnson study to support a risk of cardiac birth defects from TCE exposure is appropriate.
"The Update appears to separate the quality of the study from methodologies used in the dose-response analysis and point of departure determination," HSIA says. "This is analogous to evaluating the quality of a house construction while ignoring the fact that the foundation is inadequate."
HSIA also argues EPA's denial of its request for correction ignores concerns of some peer reviewers of EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) draft assessment of certain uses of TCE, which found the substance poses risks to workers from degreasing in small shops and in dry cleaners when used as a stain remover.
During a summer 2013 review of the draft OPPT assessment, several reviewers faulted the inclusion of the Johnson study as part of the review's hazard assessment.
HSIA also challenges EPA statements in the March denial disputing the industry claims that the Johnson study lacked adequate controls. In the rejection, EPA says its review of an erratum to the Johnson study, which HSIA has argued shows the study is flawed, found that the study did include a control group of test animals.
In the request for reconsideration, HSIA says that errata on the Johnson study, published in 2005 and 2014, offer "flawed and inconsistent information" and fail to show use of adequate controls.
The "data reported in Johnson et al. (2003), even as amended in two subsequent errata, do not allow for data analysis generally accepted as essential to interpreting outcomes of developmental toxicity study findings," HSIA says. "The lack of data availability and clarity sufficient to construct key analyses associated with a key study should disqualify the use of that study in important agency decisions such as RfC/RfD derivation."
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EPA Plans To Revise Guidance On Reducing Risk From PCBs In Schools
Jul 9, 2015 | InsideEPA
By Suzanne Yohannan
EPA is in the final stages of developing updated guidance on addressing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) when found in schools, in an effort to correct inconsistencies among different guidance documents and emphasize risk reduction through PCB-containing light fixture replacements and best management practices, according to an EPA source.
In particular, the agency plans to revise recommendations currently contained in a question and answer (Q&A) document on PCBs to reflect new advice EPA is giving to schools, and to ensure consistency among guidance documents, according to the source. The new guidance will be available for school districts to view on EPA's website.
The agency is expected to recommend that if a school was built or renovated between 1950 and 1979, the school district should remove all light fixtures and ballasts from that time period and replace them with energy efficient lights, and should use best management practices (BMPs) that include deep cleaning to remove dust particles containing PCBs and clean ventilation systems, the source says.
EPA's effort appears to build on research and other updates the agency has done in recent years to address PCBs in schools.
The updated schools guidance also comes as EPA staff is beginning work on an Integrated Risk Information System assessment of PCB mixtures, an effort that EPA officials say was prompted in part by requests from the agency's regional offices for non-cancer risk numbers related to air concentrations measured in schools and other buildings.
Banned since 1976, PCBs are regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Under current regulations, PCBs must be removed at levels higher than 50 parts per million (ppm), but no federal requirement exists for testing materials for PCBs, EPA points out in a fact sheet on its recent research into the substance. PCBs were used in a variety of commercial products such as caulk, electronics, fluorescent light ballasts and other building materials between the 1950s and late 1970s, EPA says.
Beyond the upcoming recommendations to remove light fixtures and implement BMPs, there are disagreements within the agency over how much testing and cleanup EPA should recommend or require for PCB materials in schools, according to the source.
If the dust and light ballasts are removed, it is likely the PCB exposures have been mitigated, the EPA source says, noting the updated recommendations are expected to prioritize actions in a way that spends money on risk reduction. Under existing EPA guidance on PCBs in caulk, the agency advises that school administrators should "consider testing to determine if PCB levels in the air exceed EPA's suggested public health levels."
PCB Regulations
But the agency is now considering whether resources should be spent on removal upfront rather than testing, the source says. PCB regulations require immediate removal if PCBs in caulk are detected at levels above 50 ppm, according to the source.
Public concerns raised over PCBs in schools prompted EPA in 2009 to announce a number of steps for building owners and school administrators to take in order to lower PCB exposures to caulk and other materials in buildings, the fact sheet says. At the same time, the agency started researching PCB sources to determine potential pathways of exposure and study mitigation and remediation methods, it says.
There are about 60,000 schools that fall under the time period in which PCBs were used in buildings, so a substantial portion likely contains PCBs either in light fixtures or other building materials, according to the source. According to EPA's current Q&A guidance on PCBs in caulk, PCBs have been detected in schools and other buildings at concentrations ranging from 50 ppm to 440,000 ppm. "In many cases, PCBs were used in caulk with a concentration as high as 30%," it says.
In November 2012, the agency relied on the research results to update guidance on how to lower PCB exposures at schools. These updates included suggestions to minimize PCBs in indoor air by ensuring ventilation systems are properly working, adding to an existing recommendation to replace PCB-containing ballasts even if not leaking, EPA says on its website. Even intact ballasts present a risk because they may still emit PCBs during use, and could rupture or leak causing high emissions, human health exposures and larger cleanup costs, it says.
In its 2012 update, EPA also explained that both primary -- caulk and ballasts, for instance -- sources of PCBs exist, as well as secondary sources, such as dust, paint, and ceiling and floor tiles, the agency says on its website. EPA also in 2012 removed statements from existing guidance suggesting greater concern over deteriorating caulk, "adding language indicating that old caulk that is still flexible or in visibly good condition could be a source of PCBs in the air," it says.
Parent groups and a group that often represents government whistleblowers have pressured EPA to take enforcement action against schools where PCBs have been tested and high levels found. For example, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has sued the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, CA, and EPA to require further removal of PCB materials from schools there. The case is currently pending, PEER says.
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Is Asbestos In Your Children’s Toys?
Jul 9, 2015 | Environmental Working Group
By Megan Boyle
Originally published on Healthy Child Healthy World by Megan Boyle.
Where are your child’s crayons? In a drawer, a shoebox, a backpack or an arts and crafts kit? Wherever they are, they’re probably among your child’s favorite playthings.
But a new study commissioned by EWG Action Fund found those crayons and other toys could contain a surprising–and highly toxic–substance that many Americans believe was banned decades ago: asbestos.
Twenty-eight boxes of crayons and 21 crime scene fingerprint kits for kids were tested for asbestos by the Scientific Analytical Institute in Greensboro, N.C., using the most sensitive detection methods available. Four of the crayon brands and two of the fingerprint kits revealed traces of asbestos—toxic mineral fibers that cause lung cancer and other serious diseases.
All of the contaminated products were made in China. Several were licensed with popular kids’ characters, such as Mickey Mouse and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Read the full list of products that contained asbestos.
Kids lovingly wear down crayons through frequent use—as many as 730 crayons by age 10, according to Crayola—and sometimes chew or eat them. Fingerprint kits contain loose powders that kids blow and possibly inhale; the kits even include brushes and straws that make this easier.
The suspected origin of the asbestos in the items that tested positive is talc, a binding agent in crayons and an ingredient in fingerprint powder. Asbestos deposits are frequently found in talc mines and may contaminate talc products. Although the crayons pose a lower risk than the powders, scientists agree that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.
Check out five things you need to know about asbestos.
The dangers of asbestos have been public since the 1970s. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has known about asbestos in crayons for 15 years, and eight years ago asbestos was found in another brand of fingerprint toy. Shockingly, these products are legal in 49 states—only Connecticut bans asbestos in children’s toys.
Read the full story here.
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'Different Engineered Nanomaterials May Interact in Environment'
Jul 9, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Emma Davies
Interactions between different types of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in the environment could affect their toxicity, according to a US study.
“Engineered nanomaterials get discharged inadvertently to environmental systems and then the environment processes them in unexpected ways,” says joint lead author Kimberly Gray from Northwestern University, Illinois, US. “Whereas many people thought the nanomaterials would be rendered harmless by this environmental processing, we're showing that's not the case,” she adds.
The team's research shows that interactions can be complex, in some cases reducing overall toxicity, while in others potentially increasing it.
Using water from Lake Michigan, the researchers exposed bacteria to combinations of nanomaterials, monitoring damage to cells as well as levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which hint at metabolic activity and cell stress.
The team is currently using the test system for combinations of silver nanoparticles and titanium dioxide. The results are still under wraps but “it looks as if we're making some new nanoparticles that have greater toxicity than either of the two components,” says professor Gray.
The work builds on a study of titanium dioxide and soluble zinc oxide. Both types of nanomaterials have many applications, including in sun creams, and are known to have worked their way into water systems.
The study showed that both damaged bacterial cell membranes under simulated solar irradiation, but did not have an additive effect. Indeed, zinc oxide reduced the phototoxicity of titanium dioxide particles. The results took the team by surprise. “We thought that titanium dioxide would control zinc oxide behaviour but it was the complete opposite,” says professor Gray.
The researchers think that the two types of nanomaterials interact to form aggregates that have less contact with bacterial surfaces than the titanium dioxide alone. Zinc oxide is not very stable and dissolves to release zinc ions, which suppress ATP levels, reflecting a “big stress on cells”, explains professor Gray. When mixed with titanium dioxide, the zinc ions have less of an effect on ATP levels.
“Comprehensive assessments of potential ENM toxicity in the environment require careful integration of complex physico-chemical interactions between ENMs and various biological responses,” write the researchers in Environmental Science and Technology. Such a task is far from easy, professor Gray concedes.
“Our concern is what kinds of ecological impacts these materials may be having. We have the slow release of nanomaterials at very low levels, but which may accumulate – perhaps over a decade – to a level that could be of concern,” she says.
Professor Gray adds: The science is complicated and “illustrates the challenge of teasing out all these interactions and the even bigger challenge of how to develop meaningful policy to protect against these harmful interactions.”
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US Trade Groups Raise GHS Compliance Concerns
Jul 9, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
Some downstream formulators, who petitioned for additional time to comply with the 2012 Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), say they may still face challenges, despite receiving enforcement relief from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (CW 3 March 2015).
The extension was issued, following an industry petition, last year, raising concerns around Osha's final rulemaking, which brought the HCS in line with the UN's Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
The primary concern, identified by the coalition of nine industry trade groups, was that the 1 June 2015 compliance deadline was the same for both chemical suppliers and downstream formulators. The group said that without updated, accurate safety data sheets (SDSs) from suppliers well before June, formulators would not be able to comply with it.
Osha's enforcement relief, first published in February, granted formulators a six month extension to create a compliant SDS, starting from when they receive the last raw material SDS for a product. They were also given an additional six months, after completion of their SDS, to update a product's label.
Consequently, manufacturers with many formulated products may face an extensive rolling calendar of SDS and label conversion deadlines, depending on when the raw material ingredient hazard information arrives for each product.
Compounding the delays are intermediate mixtures, such as resins or polymers, which have SDSs of their own that must be submitted to the complex mixture formulators who use them. According to the petition, “often this involves a supply chain that is three to five layers deep.”
Mark Collatz, director of regulatory affairs for petitioning trade group the Adhesives and Sealants Council (ASC), said that the ASC has been counselling members to thoroughly document their efforts to come into compliance, but added that it will be difficult to know if manufacturers have adequately satisfied Osha's “reasonable diligence” and “good faith efforts” requirements until the inspector visits. “The question in all of our minds now is, how is this going to be enforced over the next year?” said Mr Collatz.
John Schweitzer, vice president of government affairs at the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA), noted that an area of concern for their group is the lack of clarity on how to reconcile inconsistent SDS reports in the case of a formulator sourcing chemicals from multiple providers. The ACMA, which also signed the petition, anticipates potential confusion over how to communicate chemical hazards to employees or to develop downstream product SDSs, when vendors of the same upstream material detail different hazards.
Industry representatives have also reported that some SDS software providers are backlogged three to six months as they struggle to keep up with the volume of SDS requests. The coalition noted that smaller manufacturers typically have around 1,000 formulated products, while larger companies will have as many as 25,000.
“Osha deserves credit for paying attention to this formulator issue and working to find a solution,” said Mr Schweitzer, “but there are a lot of questions that are still left to be addressed and worked through.”
The American Coatings Association (ACA), a coalition member, reported that, in the final weeks of May, their members had still not received the majority of their upstream suppliers' SDSs.
“It's safe to say that if the coalition's petition for relief had not gone through, a lot of product formulators would be out of compliance today,” said Stephen Wieroniey, ACA director of occupational health and product safety.
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Utilities Lobby Top Obama Officials on Climate Rule
Jul 9, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Lobbyists representing major electric utilities met with top Obama administration officials this week, urging them to roll back provisions of the upcoming climate rule for power plants.
While recent weeks have seen dozens of lobbyists opposing and supporting the regulation meetwith the White House, the two utility meetings were unique in the number of high-ranking Obama administration officials attending.
Top Obama adviser Brian Deese attended the meetings on Monday and Wednesday, as did Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air pollution chief Janet McCabe, top Obama OMB director Howard Shelanski and others, according to records from the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The Monday meeting included leaders from some of the nation’s largest power companies opposing provisions of the carbon limits, including American Electric Power Co., Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Duke Energy Corp. and DTE Energy, along with Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute, the main lobby for investor-owned utilities.
On Wednesday, executives from Pacific Gas & Electric Co., Exelon Corp., National Grid and other companies had their own White House meeting with similar officials.
The Edison Electric Institute said it used the Monday meeting to reiterate the concerns it has already registered to the EPA on its rule, which it plans to issue in August.
“This meeting was part of our ongoing outreach efforts on the Clean Power Plan,” Quin Shea, vice president for environment at the group, said in a statement. “EEI’s comments submitted to EPA in December outline several areas of industry concern with the guidelines as they have been proposed, and provide suggestions to address those concerns.”
Those formal comments warned that the EPA is seeking “dramatic changes” in the way electricity is produced, transmitted and consumed, and asked for more flexibility in important parts of the rule.
The OMB is obligated to meet with any interested stakeholders about rules it is reviewing from federal agencies.
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Future of Interior-EPA Spending Bill in Doubt After Flag Dispute
Jul 9, 2015 | PoliticoPro
By Darren Goode
House Republicans punted an Interior-EPA spending bill Thursday after Southerners revolted over language that would have barred displays of the Confederate flag at federal cemeteries.
The dramatic move dimmed the prospects for the underlying appropriations measure, which had already faced a tough road in the House, as well as a veto threat from the president, and it could sideline a bill for the two agencies until the fall when attention may turn to a continuing resolution or omnibus spending bill to prevent a government shutdown.
House Speaker John Boehner said Republican leaders would discuss the bill’s future today before deciding on next steps, and it was not immediately clear whether Thursday’s move spelled doom for the standalone Interior-EPA bill.
“We hope not,” Appropriations Committee spokeswoman Jennifer Hing said Thursday.
The drama started Wednesday, when Southern Republicans objected to language Democrats had successfully added the to the bill the night before — with virtually no debate — to bar displays of the flag at federal cemeteries and other sites. That prompted Appropriations cardinal Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) to quietly offer a new amendment that would reinstate some flag displays shortly before the chamber adjourned Wednesday night.
GOP leaders told appropriators after the last votes early Wednesday evening that there were enough complaints from southern Republicans over two of Democratic amendments barring the sale and display of Confederate flags on National Park Service Confederate graves and other property to put in doubt the chances for passage of the spending bill.
But it quickly became clear Thursday morning that even a vote on the Calvert amendment would not be enough to save the bill. Democrats jumped on the controversy, which came as South Carolina prepared to remove a display of the flag from its Capitol.
Even before the flag flap, Republican leaders had little room for error in whipping up majority support for an Interior-EPA spending bill that has already proven contentious amid complex political dynamics in the House that has created obstacles for other spending bills. A razor-thin 216-210 vote in June for a House Transportation and Housing and Urban Development spending bill underscored the difficulties of GOP leaders face in wrangling support from fiscal conservatives and moderates, especially with the almost unanimous opposition from Democrats.
This is the first time the Interior-EPA spending bill as even made it as far as the House floor since 2010. Several moderate Republicans had sided with Democrats this week in trying to eliminate several GOP riders trumping EPA and other environmental regulations.
One aide said the steep cuts — including around nine percent for EPA — may have been enough to get enough fiscal conservatives on board with the underlying bill, but the margin was expected to be thin.
The House had planned to pass the Interior spending bill before the July Fourth recess but delayed consideration so members could attend funeral services for victims of the South Carolina shooting, the event that spurred renewed attention to displays of the Confederate flag in the first place.
Before the bill was formally pulled, lawmakers and aides were concerned that the amendment reluctantly offered Wednesday night by Calvert, who chairs the Interior-EPA subcommittee, may not have assuaged enough of the southerners.
“Is it as far as maybe some of the southerners want? No,” an aide said. “It’s a middle ground.”
Republicans from southern states including Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, Alabama and Virginia, related their concerns to GOP leaders Wednesday, before Calvert introduced his amendment.
“The amendment offered last night to the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill was brought to me by leadership at the request of some Southern Members of the Republican Caucus,” Calvert said in a statement Thursday.
Calvert went on to clarify that he does “wholeheartedly support the Park Service’s prohibitions regarding the Confederate flag and the amendment did nothing to change these prohibitions.” He also cited “regret [for] not conferring with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle” prior to offering the amendment from GOP leaders “and fully explaining its intent given the strong feelings Members of the House feel regarding this important and sensitive issue.”
The amendment from leaders was intended “to clear up any confusion and maintain the Obama administration’s policies with respect to those historical and educational exceptions,” Calvert said.
Republican aides contended the amendment would have actually gone further than current law in restricting the display and sale of Confederate flags.
That would have been accomplished by codifying two existing Obama administration directives, including one issued June 24 by the National Park Service as a response to the June 17 shooting in Charleston that allowed park superintendents to remove Confederate flag-related items from within its concessions and gave them authority to determine what items may be appropriately sold within concessions located at the site.
A second Obama directive from July 2010 specifies how and when the U.S. and POW/MIA flags may be displayed and restricts the display of the Confederate flag on historic grave sites to certain state-designated Confederate Memorial Days.
Democrats were furious about the Republicans’ amendment and took the opportunity to call for a broader reassessment of their approach to spending bills.
“I hope the Committee and Republican leadership think long and hard about how they got themselves into this mess, and will begin working constructively to repair the damage,” Appropriations ranking member Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.
“It should be crystal clear to everyone at this point that it is impossible to enact Appropriations bills at inadequate levels mandated by the Republican budget resolution,” she added, “but adding damaging and ideological riders like Chairman Calvert’s Confederate battle flag amendment in order to attract the more extreme Republicans makes the impossible even harder to accomplish.”
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GOP Pulls Interior-EPA Bill Over Confederate Flag Clash
Jul 9, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Amanda Peterka
House leadership today pulled a fiscal 2016 spending plan for the Interior Department and U.S. EPA off the chamber floor after the introduction last night of a controversial amendment on the Confederate flag.
In his weekly press conference, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the bill would sit "until we come to some kind of resolution on this." The bill had been slated for a vote on final passage later today.
To protest the dust-up over the flag, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) unsuccessfully moved for the House to immediately adjourn.
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), ranking member of the House Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, introduced the amendment in question last night as the House wrapped up debate on the $30.17 billion bill.
The amendment would have undone Tuesday voice votes by the House to remove the Confederate flag from cemeteries on public lands and to restrict the sale of the flag at National Park Service facilities. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), ranking member on the subcommittee, last night requested a recorded vote on the amendment that would have occurred later this afternoon.
The House has been debating the Interior-EPA bill since Tuesday. That day, Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) introduced three amendments to restrict the display of the Confederate flag at national parks and at cemeteries on public lands. All three amendments passed on voice vote.
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This morning, Democratic members of the House took to the floor to protest the amendment. The Confederate flag has sparked widespread backlash since the killing last month of nine African Americans in a church in South Carolina. The amendment coincided with a vote in the South Carolina Legislature to remove the flag from the statehouse.
"It is appalling that House Republicans stealthily offered an amendment to the FY2016 Interior Appropriations bill last night that would require the National Park Service to continue allowing the display or sale of the Confederate flag -- less than twenty-four hours after the House adopted amendments restricting its use," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said in a statement this morning.
In his press conference, Boehner said he believed that Confederate flag should not be at federal cemeteries.
"I think it's time for some adults here in Congress to sit down and have a conversation about how to address this issue," he said. "I do not want this to become some political football."
Calvert released a statement shortly after leadership pulled the bill, saying he regretted not "fully explaining his intent given the strong feelings" that members have on the issue. He said that he introduced the amendment at the behest of leadership.
"The leadership amendment would have codified existing National Park Service policy set by the Obama administration," he said in the statement. "Those Obama administration policies prohibit the sale and display of the Confederate flag on National Park Service properties, except when displayed in an educational context.
"To be clear," he added, "I wholeheartedly support the Park Service's prohibitions regarding the Confederate flag and the amendment did nothing to change these prohibitions."
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a leader of the civil rights movement, slammed that argument.
"There's not any room on federal property for the display of the Confederate battle flag," he said.
Leadership had expressed a desire to work through all appropriations bills in regular order. With today's action, the future of the spending plan for Interior and EPA is in doubt.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said that the bill's progress was likely halted "just to keep a circus-like atmosphere to happen" and that the bill would likely come back to the floor at some point.
"It's a difficult bill always. It's a challenging bill ideologically. And it's a bill that will not get very many, probably no Democratic votes on," he said. "So if you start interjecting policies that are divisive inside the Republican conference as well."
The legislation overall would provide the Interior Department, EPA and related agencies with $30.17 billion, or $246 million below current spending levels and $3 billion below President Obama's fiscal 2016 request for the agencies. EPA would take a hit of about 9 percent, or $718 million, under the spending plan.
The bill includes slight funding boosts for Interior agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service, while funding for the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service -- which is housed within the Agriculture Department -- would remain roughly level.
"This spending bill is finally drowning under the weight of its own extremism," Friends of the Earth climate and energy campaigner Lukas Ross said in a statement. "Apparently the only thing that matters more to House Republican leadership than sacrificing American's air and water is defending the legacy of slavery. We can only hope that this bill stays dead and buried."
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House Republicans and McCarthy Trade Barbs Over Science, Regs
Jul 9, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Amanda Peterka
Republican members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee today pummeled U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy with questions over the science behind high-profile environmental regulations.
At the hearing, Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) called the proposed Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants an example of EPA relying on "secret science," "questionable" legality and "flawed analyses." He also singled out the agency's proposed update to the national ozone standard and the agency's final rule to change the scope of waters in the United States that receive automatic protection under the Clean Water Act.
Smith slammed EPA for its responses to requests for data from the House Science panel on the three rules.
"Producing documents in bits and pieces after months or years of delay are not the actions of an open and transparent administration," he said. "They are the actions of an agency and administration that has something to hide."
Other GOP members of the committee grilled EPA over the rules, arguing that EPA has not taken into account potential negative effects for American citizens.
The hearing prompted one lawmaker, Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.), to accuse EPA of acting like a "Palpatine" with states rather than a "partner," referring to the evil Emperor Palpatine from the "Star Wars" series.
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Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) suggested that EPA was using science that had been manipulated to achieve a "preconceived notion." He called McCarthy "naive" when the administrator said she did not know any specific examples of data manipulation happening, and he accused the agency of undermining the Constitution by not making more data publicly available.
Smith put in a plug for the "Secret Science Reform Act" passed by the House earlier this year that would bar EPA from issuing regulations that are not based on data that are "transparent or reproducible." The House earlier this week added a provision sponsored by Smith to its fiscal 2016 spending plan for the Interior Department and EPA that would prohibit funds from going toward finalizing any regulation based on research that is "secret" or held in contravention of the Freedom of Information Act.
McCarthy and Smith sparred over the proposed provisions, with the EPA administrator arguing that the agency cannot make information public that includes private data about American citizens and that the bill would force EPA to gather data it has "no authority to gather." Redacting personal data from health studies backing air regulations would be "impossible," she said.
"EPA totally supports both transparency as well as a strong and independent peer-reviewed science process," McCarthy said. "But the bill I don't think will get us there."
Smith also charged that EPA had failed to respond to all the committee's requests for documents and information. In response to what Smith described as a "pattern of obstructionism," earlier this week he offered another successful amendment to the spending plan that would cut the EPA offices of the administrator and congressional relations in retaliation.
McCarthy said that, since Jan. 1, EPA has received 10 letters and one subpoena from the House Science Committee. She said the agency had generated thousands of papers in response, written several letters, held 10 conference calls and communicated by email or phone with the committee 35 times.
Ranking member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) defended the agency, calling the portrayal of EPA as a secret agency a "caricature."
"I have seen grocery carts of documents rolled into here on your agency," she told McCarthy.
Johnson slammed the hearing as "investigative theater" and said GOP members, as well as industry lobbyists, have a sole mission of attacking EPA's work.
"The chairman is trying to paint a picture of EPA being engaged in secret deals with the environmental community," she said. "The reality is that the Obama administration has done far more than the previous one to make sure that the water we drink and the air we breathe are clean."
The hearing came one day after the House voted to slow EPA's review of the national ozone standard. In November, EPA proposed to lower the ozone limit from 75 parts per billion -- set in 2008 during the George W. Bush administration -- to between 65 and 70 ppb. The House provision would bar EPA from updating the standard until 85 percent of counties have met the 2008 limit; critics have argued that a lower standard would come with high compliance costs.
McCarthy affirmed that EPA would move forward on the proposal and issue the final rule by a court-ordered deadline of Oct. 1.
"The science behind ozone is one of the most robust bodies of science that we have," she said.
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White House Blasts Senate EPA, Interior Spending Bill on Riders
Jul 9, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Hannah Northey
A top White House official today blasted the Senate's fiscal 2016 spending plan for the Interior Department and U.S. EPA as a threat to the Obama administration's ambitious new climate and clean water goals, saying the language is riddled with problematic riders.
Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan told Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) in a letter that the proposed spending plan threatens to underfund EPA and Interior and would hamper key climate, ozone and water regulations.
Donovan reiterated that the White House has "serious concerns" with the language, and the president is unwilling to lock in sequestration spending levels. Senior presidential advisers, he added, are calling for President Obama to veto any legislation that would implement the current Republican budget framework that blocks critical investments.
The fiscal 2016 bill approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee in June would provide EPA with $7.6 billion, a cut of $538.8 million below current funding levels. The Interior Department would see $11 billion and the Forest Service $5.12 billion under the bill (Greenwire, July 8).
Democrats, notably, voted against the bill in committee for what they called 11 "poison pill" riders aimed at environmental regulations, including language that would block EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from livestock operations.
Donovan also outlined the administration's concerns with those policy riders, namely language that would prevent EPA from working with states to reduce carbon emissions from existing power plants under the Clean Power Plan or update the national ambient air quality standards for ozone.
Other riders, he said, would block the administration from clarifying the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, undermine federal environmental reviews and impede the use of the social cost of carbon in a number of upcoming rules.
"The administration believes that the Congress should consider appropriations bills free of ideological provisions," Donovan wrote. "The inclusion of these provisions threatens to undermine an orderly appropriations process."
The Senate bill, he said, would slash almost $1 billion from EPA's overall budget and hamper implementation of the agency's clean water rule and Clean Power Plan, as well as efforts at the Department of the Interior to bolster climate resilience.
Donovan applauded Senate appropriators for boosting Bureau of Land Management funding but expressed disappointment that appropriators didn't accept the administration's proposed inspection user fee that would allow work to advance "at no net cost to taxpayers."
In the lower chamber, the House is nearing final passage of a controversial spending plan that would grant Interior, EPA and related agencies $30.17 billion, or $246 million below current spending levels and $3 billion below Obama's fiscal 2016 request for the agencies. EPA would take a hit of about 9 percent, or $718 million (E&E Daily, July 9).
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Market Approaches Like Cap and Trade are Best Way to Comply with Clean Power Plan -- Report
Jul 9, 2015 | E&E - Climatewire
By Scott Detrow
As U.S. EPA finalizes its Clean Power Plan ahead of a final release later this summer, a new report from the Advanced Energy Economy Institute is making the case that a market-based approach would be the cheapest, fastest way for states to meet the rule's carbon reduction goals.
The institute -- which is affiliated with the Advanced Energy Economy, a business member group focused on "enabl[ing] the rapid growth of advanced energy companies" -- looked at how the power sector used market approaches to comply with three previous EPA regulations: restrictions on leaded gasoline, acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide, and regional SO2 and nitrogen oxide emissions.
In all three cases, the report found that "emissions were reduced more quickly than policymakers had expected, that compliance costs were significantly lower because of the flexibility provided by market mechanisms, and that well-functioning private markets evolved rapidly in response to the opportunities created by EPA's rules."
The study views the acid rain cap-and-trade program established by a 1990 Clean Air Act update as a particularly striking success story. Pointing to analysis showing that power plants saved $20 billion over a 17 year period by trading emission allowances, Matt Stanberry, AEEI's vice president for market development, said, "the numbers are pretty stark. ... No matter what type of emission reductions you're going after, when you enabled markets, you got better results."
The paper details several scenarios of how market approaches could be used to comply with the Clean Power Plan, which aims to reduce the power sector's carbon footprint 30 percent below 2005 levels over the next 15 years.
In addition to straightforward power-plant-to-power-plant trading, AEEI envisions generating units and utilities trading renewable energy credits, or swapping allowances with zero- and low-emission energy sources like renewable and nuclear power.RGGI vs. regional 'standards'
Stanberry said several regional groups have discussed creating state implementation plans "that would make their plans ready for trading -- not that they'd have to come to a formal agreement to join [the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative], but actually work with their neighbors informally to do some elements of their plans in similar fashions." One example he mentioned, which both Western and Midwestern blocs of states have discussed, would be using regional standards to measure and credit renewable and energy efficiency.
He's also confident EPA will lay the groundwork for market-based compliance in the federal implementation plan it will create for states that don't come up with their own approach. Stanberry said one scenario would allow power generators to meet carbon reduction requirements on their own. "Or," he said, "they could go out into a marketplace for credit for actions taken in other places -- renewable energy, energy efficiency, etc. All that's needed is tracking of megawatt-hours or crediting of megawatt-hours, and then an accounting system that tracks those credits."
More informal and optional trading scenarios are viewed by some as a politically appealing option for Republican-controlled states that are wary of joining formal efforts like RGGI or California's cap-and-trade market.
Stanberry said it "seems pretty clear" that EPA will allow, or even encourage, market compliance. But there are some specific things AEEI is looking for in the final rule: more details about how reductions would be tracked, and how, exactly, renewable and efficiency efforts would be credited, in terms of megawatt-hours.
EPA is expected to release the final rule this month or in August.
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