Preview Newsletter
PM ACC 3/30/2016
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(ACC Mentioned) BPA Is Still Present in 60% of Cans in the U.S.: Study
Mar 30, 2016 | TIME
By Justin Worland
Non-profit campaigns and health-advocacy groups have devoted years to alerting the public about how the chemical Bisphenol A, known as BPA, may cause hormone disruption—which is of particular concern for... -
(ACC Mentioned) Osha Lowers Occupational Exposure Limit to Respirable Crystalline Silica
Mar 30, 2016 | Chemical Watch
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) has issued an amendment to its standards for occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica. -
Infographic for Buyer Beware: Toxic BPA and Regrettable Substitutes
Mar 30, 2016 | Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families
By Mike Schade
We created this infographic to provide a visually striking snapshot summarizing some of the key findings of the new report, Buyer Beware: Toxic BPA and regrettable substitutes in the linings of canned food. -
Lead, America’s Unfinished Business
Mar 30, 2016 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Andy Igrejas
The recent Congressional hearing on the crisis in Flint, Michigan made headlines for the scathing partisanship but it was also substantive and illuminating. -
TTIP Negotiations Reveal ‘Useful’ Exchanges on Priority Chemicals
Mar 30, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
Several EU member states are now actively engaged in exchanges with US technical experts on individual priority chemicals, according to a European Commission report on the latest (12th) round of negotiations... -
Commission Seeks Listing of D4 Under UN POPs Convention
Mar 30, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
The European Commission is seeking a Decision that would enable it to submit a proposal, under the UN Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), for the listing of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4). -
EPA Floats New HFC Limits but Rejects Industry-Advocates' Phaseout Deal
Mar 30, 2016 | InsideEPA
By Abby Smith
EPA has issued its long-awaited proposed rule delisting several high global warming potential (GWP) hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants, though the measure adopts speedier phaseouts for some chemicals... -
Industry: Fast Tracking CMR Restrictions in Textiles sets ‘Dangerous Precedent’
Mar 30, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
A group of trade organisations is calling for the European Commission to abandon its proposal to “fast track” the restriction of 286 carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic (CMR) substances in textiles consumer articles. -
The Real Deal Behind Kraft’s “New” Mac & Cheese
Mar 30, 2016 | Environmental Working Group
By Elaine Shannon, Jose Aguayo, and Megan Boyle
Kraft made headlines a year ago when it announced changes to its famed, kid-favorite macaroni and cheese. The company vowed to replace artificial dyes yellow 5 and 6 with natural ingredients... -
EPA Again Urges Companies to Voluntarily Seek Out Methane Leaks
Mar 30, 2016 | Fuel Fix
By James Osborne
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched another voluntary program urging oil and gas companies to seek out methane leaks in their production system of their own accord. -
Climate Policy’s Advocates Take Page From Same-Sex Marriage Playbook
Mar 29, 2016 | New York Times
By Coral Davenport
Two months ahead of a federal court hearing on President Obama’s signature climate change rule, a coordinated public relations offensive has begun — modeled after the same-sex marriage campaign... -
Advocates Urge EPA To Immediately Curb Oil & Gas Activities' Air Toxics
Mar 30, 2016 | InsideEPA
By Bridget DiCosmo
Environmentalists are urging EPA to take immediate action to further reduce hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from certain sources related to oil and gas production activities including separators, compressors, and condensate tanks... -
EPA Abandons Malfunction Immunity with Final Toxics Rule
Mar 30, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
U.S. EPA is standing by its decision to drop a legal shield for power producers that violate the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards because of equipment breakdowns. -
Chevron Phillips Sees Demand Coming, Moves to Seize It
Mar 30, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Nathanial Gronewold
Anticipating a forthcoming surge in petrochemical supplies, a famous joint venture is moving to add even more. -
EPA Rule on Plant Safety Takes Flak from Both Sides
Mar 30, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Sam Pearson
U.S. EPA's proposed updates to a program meant to boost safety at high-risk chemical facilities drew criticism from all sides during a public hearing in Washington, D.C., yesterday. -
Cuomo: Aging Bolts at Indian Point Show Facility’s Flaws
Mar 30, 2016 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Scott Waldman
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday used another incident at the Indian Point nuclear facility to make the case that the facility should be closed. -
New Regs for Thursday: Seafood, Endangered Fish, Hazardous Materials
Mar 30, 2016 | The Hill - Regulation
By Tim Devaney
Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for trucks carrying hazardous materials, imported seafood, and endangered fish. -
Trump, Cruz Would Reverse Obama’s Work on Climate and Energy — Conservative Group
Mar 30, 2016 | Wall Street Journal
By Amy Harder
The top leading Republican candidates for president are advocating conservative energy and environment agendas that would unwind virtually everything President Barack Obama has done in that realm over the last eight years. -
Even Before they Start Breathing, Babies Can be Harmed by Air Pollution, Scientists Say
Mar 29, 2016 | Washington Post
By Chelsea Harvey
Air pollution in the U.S. may be causing thousands of premature births each year, a new study suggests — costing the nation billions of dollars along the way.
Industry and Association News - There are no clips to report at this time.
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(ACC Mentioned) BPA Is Still Present in 60% of Cans in the U.S.: Study
Mar 30, 2016 | TIME
By Justin Worland
Non-profit campaigns and health-advocacy groups have devoted years to alerting the public about how the chemical Bisphenol A, known as BPA, may cause hormone disruption—which is of particular concern for young children and pregnant women. Now, thanks in large part to those campaigns, many food companies have said they will remove the chemical from their cans.
But a new report from a group of non-profits shows that many cans on U.S. grocery stores shelves still contain BPA. More than two thirds of cans tested, including products by some of America’s largest food companies, contain the chemical, according to the report. Even in cans where BPA has been removed, the report claims, food companies have provided little information about what they are using in their canned good instead.
“This is shocking to us because we’ve been hearing for years now that the canned food industry en masse was moving away from BPA,” says report co-author Janet Nudelman, director of program and policy at the advocacy group Breast Cancer Fund.
According to the report, all of the Campbell’s cans tested, 71% of those from Del Monte and 50% of sampled General Mills cans contained BPA. Amy’s Kitchen, Annie’s Homegrown, Hain Celestial Group and ConAgra have all transitioned away from BPA—and that was reflected in the test results in the report, as well; those tested in this study were free of BPA. The report says that some of the companies found to have BPA in their cans have previously made commitments to phase out the chemical.
On Monday, Campbell’s announced that it would “complete a transition to cans which do not use Bisphenol A (BPA) linings by the middle of 2017″—the completion of a promise first made back in 2012. Del Monte also announced this week that it would phase out BPA this year. Whole Foods was among the companies that have made commitments to eliminate BPA but which was found in this report to have some products that still contain it, has said that “buyers are not currently accepting any new canned items with BPA in the lining material.” Similarly, Alberstons says that it is transitioning away from the chemical in “as many products as possible.”
A body of research in recent years has suggested that BPA is an endocrine disruptor linked with infertility, obesity, diabetes and reproductive problems. A study published this week suggests that it may be associated with preterm birth. Some of this evidence, taken together, prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to announce a ban of the chemical from some baby products like sippy cups in 2012. The agency maintains that the chemical is still safe for adults. (A spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council trade group did not return a request for comment on the safety of BPA.)
Complicating things is the fact that despite the outcry over BPA, scientists have yet to find a reliable alternative that can effectively serve the same purpose as BPA—keeping the can from corroding and affecting food—without many of the same concerns. Many of the alternatives that have been employed thus far, including Bisphenol S and F, exhibit the same properties in BPA, a recent study showed.
“The question is ‘What did they replace it with?'” says University of Calgary researcher Deborah Kurrasch, who has written on BPA alternatives.
The report was published by product-safety advocacy groups including the Breast Cancer Fund, Campaign for Healthier Solutions, Canada’s Environmental Defence and Safer Chemicals, among others.
http://time.com/4275601/bpa-replacement-canned-food/
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(ACC Mentioned) Osha Lowers Occupational Exposure Limit to Respirable Crystalline Silica
Mar 30, 2016 | Chemical Watch
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) has issued an amendment to its standards for occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica.
The final rule lowers the permissible exposure limit (PEL) from 100 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) to 50μg/m3, as an eight-hour time-weighted average. It also imposes additional requirements, related to controlling and assessing exposure, hazard communication and recordkeeping.
Occupational exposures to respirable crystalline silica can result in increased risk of death from silicosis, as well as respiratory diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and kidney disease.
It is released when quartz, sand, granite, or other minerals containing it, are ground, drilled, chipped or cut. The rule covers more than two dozen industries.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) crystalline silica panel said that science and data “show that the current Osha PEL for quartz of 100μg/m3 of air is an appropriate limit to protect against silica-related disease in general industry, provided it is adhered to strictly.” It said that achieving full compliance with the existing standard would be the “best and most cost-effective way to protect silica-exposed workers”.
But the American Thoracic Society (ATS) said that the new standard “will greatly reduce exposure to this known and potentially deadly occupational hazard”.
https://chemicalwatch.com/46003/osha-lowers-occupational-exposure-limit-to-respirable-crystalline-silica
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Infographic for Buyer Beware: Toxic BPA and Regrettable Substitutes
Mar 30, 2016 | Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families
By Mike Schade
We created this infographic to provide a visually striking snapshot summarizing some of the key findings of the new report, Buyer Beware: Toxic BPA and regrettable substitutes in the linings of canned food. Scroll down to see the full graphic.
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http://saferchemicals.org/2016/03/30/buyer-beware-infographic/
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Lead, America’s Unfinished Business
Mar 30, 2016 | The Hill - Congress Blog
By Andy Igrejas
The recent Congressional hearing on the crisis in Flint, Michigan made headlines for the scathing partisanship but it was also substantive and illuminating. Days later, a report commissioned by Michigan’s Governor, Rick Snyder, laid the majority of the blame at his own feet (as reported in The Hill), though it confirmed that EPA also bears some fault. The first order of business, clearly, is making amends in Flint, providing safe water and the needed health interventions for the city’s children. But it should also be clear that the entire nation has unfinished business with lead.
Lead policy has often been cited as a public health success story. High blood lead levels were once widespread. Congress intervened to ban lead in residential paint, the gasoline used in cars, and in new water service lines and plumbing fixtures. Levels began a long, steady drop (in the general population) as measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As levels dropped, the medical understanding of lead increased. Doctors saw that lead impaired brain function at much lower doses than previously thought. We now know that there is no “safe level” of lead and health authorities have steadily lowered the “action level” seen as requiring intervention.Lead is therefore often seen as a “legacy” environmental issue – meaning it is about past economic activity. That view is true up to a point. The biggest sources tend to be old pipes and old paint in old housing. Soil contamination in industrial areas also plays a role. Remediating all of these sources is a matter of resources rather than know-how. This country has the resources.
But lead is not entirely a legacy issue. Active commercial uses include “industrial paints and coatings” – a broad category that includes cars, boats, and civil engineering. The gasoline used in smaller propeller-driven airplanes has lead, exposing people near small airports. Lead wheel weights are used in some trucks, often falling off and eventually breaking down into dust. Lead has also been found in vinyl school supplies, garden hoses, and children’s lunchboxes. It has even been found in food, most recently in several brands of chocolate. Current commercial uses of lead do indeed continue, and will be the legacy exposures of the future.
Here’s what can be done. Congress can make the biggest difference because it controls federal spending.1. The legislation providing emergency funds to address the Flint crisis should be passed right away. But it should not stop there.
2. Senator Cardin and Representative Tonko have introduced bills to replenish the federal drinking water “revolving fund” – which provides resources for communities to upgrade or remediate old pipes.
3. Legislation has also been introduced to provide tax credits for private plumbing and paint remediation, to change outdated policies at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that result in child lead poisoning for children participating in HUD programs, and to test school drinking water fountains.
Also, the Obama Administration can grab the bull by the horns and take some of the needed action on its own. EPA should move up the timeline for tackling current commercial uses of lead under its chemical “Work Plan” program and expedite revisions to the ‘lead and copper rule.’ Instead of waiting for legislation, HUD should act on the recent petition organized by the Health Justice Project of Loyola Chicago Law School and Sargent Shriver Center which calls for an end to several policies. For example, we should be more proactive rather than waiting until children are often officially poisoned above action levels before remediation is required. And we should make it easer for children to move from contaminated public housing. Finally, Health and Human Services should do more to ensure states comply with Medicaid’s requirement to screen children for lead.
All of the attention to the Flint tragedy should result first and foremost in justice and concrete aid for Flint, but it should also serve as a wake-up call that America has unfinished business with lead.Andy Igrejas is national director of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, a coalition of 450 health, business, labor, and environment groups working to reform the nation’s chemical policies.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/274690-lead-americas-unfinished-business
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TTIP Negotiations Reveal ‘Useful’ Exchanges on Priority Chemicals
Mar 30, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
Several EU member states are now actively engaged in exchanges with US technical experts on individual priority chemicals, according to a European Commission report on the latest (12th) round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
“Member states have indicated that they find these exchanges useful, and have confirmed that this has not led to either additional work or to any delays in the planning and execution of their own activities,” the report said.
Pilot projects on the classification and labelling of substances, and on priority chemicals, are continuing. The parties agreed to keep under review the potential interest in facilitating data exchange between regulators, including the formats for such exchange, while considering the need for protection of confidential business information.
Due to a focus on other priorities, "no progress had been made on the pilot project, concerning differences in classifications as appearing in safety data sheets", since the last round of meetings.
The Commission has also issued a revised proposal on regulatory cooperation for TTIP, but this does not specifically mention chemicals.
On cosmetics, officials continued to discuss enhanced cooperation within the International Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation (ICCR) – a voluntary international group of cosmetics regulatory authorities from the US, Japan, EU, Canada and Brazil.
The EU proposal for a strategy for strengthened international cooperation in this area, presented at the ICCR's annual meeting, last November in Brussels, will continue to be discussed under the TTIP talks, during this year.
Although the US EU approaches to the safety assessment of cosmetic ingredients "differ fundamentally", says the report, the two sides " are discussing how to continue expert level discussions" on their assessment methods.
Earlier, UK-based NGO CHEM Trust said proposals to align regulations between the US and the EU coulddelay or undermine chemicals safety. The European consumer organisation, Beuc, also released a position paper on the proposed TTIP treaty, arguing the same points.
https://chemicalwatch.com/45997/ttip-negotiations-reveal-useful-exchanges-on-priority-chemicals
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Commission Seeks Listing of D4 Under UN POPs Convention
Mar 30, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
The European Commission is seeking a Decision that would enable it to submit a proposal, under the UN Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), for the listing of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4).
The proposed Decision says D4 should be added to "Annex A, B and/or C". These, respectively, relate to the elimination, restriction or unintentional production of a substance.
The Commission says D4 should be added to the convention because of its long-range environmental transport (LRT) potential to remote regions, such as the Arctic, where it can be found in a wide range of organisms. Due to its LRT potential, it says, measures taken nationally, or at EU level, are not sufficient to safeguard the high level of protection of the global environment and human health.
At meetings in early March, Echa’s Committees on Risk Assessment (Rac) and Socio-economic Analysis (Seac) backed proposed restrictions under REACH on D4 and another siloxane, D5.
Following proposals brought to the committees by the UK competent authority, Echa found that D4 and D5 fulfil the REACH Annex XIII criteria for persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) and very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) substances in the environment.
The main use of D4 and D5 is as a feedstock for the production of silicone polymers. According to the Echa dissemination website, the registered tonnage band for D4 is 100,000 to 1,000,000 tonnes a year.
https://chemicalwatch.com/45955/commission-seeks-listing-of-d4-under-un-pops-convention
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EPA Floats New HFC Limits but Rejects Industry-Advocates' Phaseout Deal
Mar 30, 2016 | InsideEPA
By Abby Smith
EPA has issued its long-awaited proposed rule delisting several high global warming potential (GWP) hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants, though the measure adopts speedier phaseouts for some chemicals than what several industry and other stakeholders had sought, prompting early criticism over the plan.
Among other things, the March 29 proposal rejects a consensus agreement sought by a coalition of commercial refrigeration industry groups and environmentalists to phase out chemicals by 2025, and instead seeks a speedier phaseout by 2024.
The agency similarly rejected commitments by the home appliance manufacturing sector to voluntarily phase out certain chemicals by 2024, proposing instead to phase out the chemicals by 2021.
EPA's proposed rule removes a second round of high-GWP HFCs from a list of acceptable substances under the agency's Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program. The proposed rule, which cleared White House review March 28, builds on an initial SNAP rulemaking promulgated last July and comes as EPA and State Department officials prepare to kick off negotiations to reach an international deal on the pollutants this year.
EPA had been expected to release the proposed rule this week in an effort to build momentum headed into next week's talks in Geneva, where countries will begin work toward an amendment under the Montreal Protocol setting a global phase-down schedule for HFCs.
“This new proposal would reduce the use and emissions of some of the most harmful HFCs, which are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide, and approves safer, more climate-friendly alternatives to protect public health and our environment,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in a statement announcing the rule.
She added: “In support of President Obama's Climate Action Plan, this action will not only result in significant reductions of harmful greenhouse gases, but it expands the options for safer alternatives available on the market.”
But commercial refrigeration industry stakeholders expressed disappointment and shock that EPA did not incorporate the terms of a first-time deal reached between industry and advocates setting a schedule for the phaseout of three high-GWP HFCs -- HFC-134a, R-407C and R-410A -- in all commercial chillers.
EPA instead proposed a Jan. 1, 2024, deadline by which more than a dozen various HFC chemicals must be phased out, one year earlier than the Jan. 1, 2025, date brokered between the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
AHRI and NRDC proposed their deal to EPA in a Feb. 1 letter, noting the “consensus-driven, comprehensive nature of this recommendation to be a strong statement of support for EPA's forthcoming SNAP proposal,” and both industry stakeholders and advocates were optimistic the agency would incorporate their recommendations in its then-forthcoming proposal.
Representatives of the groups had also lobbied White House officials to codify the deal during a March 22 meeting.
Detailed Technical Analysis
Yet the agency in its proposed rule, while noting it is “encouraged” by the negotiations between industry and advocates, offers as its “lead proposal” the January 2024 phaseout deadline, which it believes would allow for adequate transition time for the industry, though it says it is considering a range of dates from January 2022 to January 2025.
EPA in its proposed rule notes the AHRI-NRDC letter “did not provide detailed technical analysis or timelines of why this date but not an earlier date was offered.” However, the agency does outline portions of the deal's reasoning, including allowing time for manufacturers to “optimize the energy efficiency of their products” and for the update of safety and building codes that currently prohibit the use of some low-GWP alternatives.
AHRI and its members are “disappointed EPA didn't accept the agreement” reached by industry and advocates, Francis Dietz, AHRI's vice president of public affairs, told Inside EPA, particularly in light of the fact that “it's not that often that AHRI and NRDC get together on something” and many times are “on opposite sides” of an issue.
EPA has requested comment from stakeholders on “any technical or other reasons that NRDC and AHRI proposed January 1, 2025 in their joint letter,” as well as the range of dates from January 2022 to January 2025 and “information on any potential environmental or other impacts of EPA adopting a date other than January 1, 2024.”
Dietz says AHRI intends to submit comments to the proposal, in large part to defend the January 2025 deadline for chillers requested in their deal with NRDC. He notes that it is also “quite possible” the two groups will “team up” on comments to address EPA's request.
Despite the disappointment, Dietz remains optimistic, noting that “it is a draft rule, and we will be providing comment. If we provide the analysis that they ask for to their satisfaction, maybe they'll change” the chiller deadline to reflect the agreement.
EPA also rejected a commitment by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) whose members had pledged to voluntarily phase out certain HFCs used in household refrigerators and freezers by 2024.
AHAM in a Feb. 9 annoucment committed to transition away from high-GWP HFCs beginning in 2024, the year that, “with everyone's full cooperation,” is the “earliest possible transition date.”
Instead, EPA proposes to phase out the substances by 2021.
SNAP Proposal
EPA did, however, agree with AHAM's request that the agency not include phaseout dates for substances used in home air-conditioning units and commercial ice makers, consistent with the expectation of several industry sources that this SNAP proposal would focus largely on the commercial sector.
At a March 15 meeting with administration officials, AHAM distributed a Feb. 8 letter calling on EPA to avoid including HFC phaseout dates for room air conditioners, portable air conditioners, dehumidifiers and commercial ice makers, “given the absence of proven, viable alternatives and/or safety standards that permit the use of flammable refrigerants in sufficient quantities for these products.”
Stakeholders may begin comment on the proposed rule for a period of 45 days once it appears in the Federal Register, which could be as soon as this week though EPA did not provide a specific date. The agency will also hold a public hearing on the proposal 30 days after its publication in the Register.
http://insideepa.com/daily-news/epa-floats-new-hfc-limits-rejects-industry-advocates-phaseout-deal
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Industry: Fast Tracking CMR Restrictions in Textiles sets ‘Dangerous Precedent’
Mar 30, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
A group of trade organisations is calling for the European Commission to abandon its proposal to “fast track” the restriction of 286 carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic (CMR) substances in textiles consumer articles.
Responding to the Commission’s consultation on the proposal, the group of textiles and wider industry associations, which includes Euratex, the Foreign Trade Association, EuroCommerce and the American Chamber of Commerce for the EU, raise a number of concerns in a joint statement.
Among these, it says the use of Article 68 (2) – which sets out the fast-track procedure under REACH – would ignore the importance of the “evidence-based usual restriction process under REACH”.
The fast-track approach, it says, is not appropriate for such a large number of substances, sets a dangerous precedent for bad regulation and could also impact the European economy negatively.
The group says it is “under the impression” that the potential impact of the proposed restriction has not been assessed adequately and that “political motivations are driving the overly ambitious procedure”.
It questions the "appropriateness" of addressing a list of 286 substances in the two-three months, allocated by the Commission.
“Considering the substantial amount of time, work and resources spent in the exercise of responding to the consultation, it is arguable whether the European Commission is willing to support European SMEs, and design EU policies and laws that achieve their objectives at minimum cost and informed by the best available evidence,” it adds.
This, it continues, contradicts the principles of the Commission’s ‘Better Regulation’ agenda. “We are seriously worried about the precedent that such rushed, unscientific and inconsistent proposals would set.”
However, chemicals and policy officer at NGO ChemSec, Jerker Ligthart, told Chemical Watch that using the fast-track approach is the “right way to go”, due to its focus on consumer protection and the well-known hazardous properties of these classified substances.
“It is widely agreed that known and classified CMR substances do not have a place in consumer articles, especially in the consumer textiles product group as it is worn directly on the skin,” he added.
Last month, ChemSec said the proposal should be expanded to cover all CMRs used in the industry, not just category 1A and 1B classified substances.
Consumer groups have even called for the proposed restriction to go beyond just CMRs. European Consumer Organisations, Beuc and Anec, say persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic (PBT) very persistent, very bioaccumulative (vPvB), (neuro)toxic, endocrine disruptors and substances with probable serious effects to human health, such as sensitisers or irritants, should also be included.
They also recommend establishing a separate, product-specific regulation for textiles, which would allow it to address all substances of concern in an “appropriate way”.
In a separate response, textiles trade body, Euratex, proposes that an ad-hoc industry scientific committee is established to support decision making.
This committee, it says, would include a representative panel of industry-appointed experts to discuss with the Commission and advise on the feasibility of restriction, valid replacement options and the impact of decisions.
The Commission says it is collating responses and will evaluate them in "due course".
https://chemicalwatch.com/45962/industry-fast-tracking-cmr-restrictions-in-textiles-sets-dangerous-precedent
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The Real Deal Behind Kraft’s “New” Mac & Cheese
Mar 30, 2016 | Environmental Working Group
By Elaine Shannon, Jose Aguayo, and Megan Boyle
Kraft made headlines a year ago when it announced changes to its famed, kid-favorite macaroni and cheese. The company vowed to replace artificial dyes yellow 5 and 6 with natural ingredients – paprika, turmeric and the seed extract annatto – and to eliminate artificial flavors and preservatives.
Now, nearly a year later, Kraft has unveiled a massive marketing campaign for what the company calls the “world’s largest ‘blind taste test’.” Kraft released the new formulation in December, and in the months that followed, claimed to sell more than 50 million boxes while satisfied customers #didntnotice.
The ad campaign is smart and appealing: better ingredients, same taste, imperceptible change. Some journalists and bloggers have latched onto the idea, and Kraft hopes shoppers will, too. The company has struggled financially for years and merged with ketchup giant Heinz in 2015.
It’s not the only company trying to keep up. As shoppers demand more natural foods and transparent product labels, manufacturers are slowly, but increasingly, responding. Hershey’s, Mars Inc., Nestle and Campbell Soup have announced similar plans to improve their products, as have fast food or fast casual restaurants such as Subway, Panera and Chipotle.
At Healthy Child Healthy World, powered by EWG, we know that natural foods can be just as delicious and satisfying as artificial alternatives – often more so, and healthier, too. We celebrate companies that prove it.
But has Kraft successfully done so? Does the new mac and cheese deliver on its promise to kids and families who love it?
The ads claim the new product tastes the same and cite sales figures as evidence. Yet the reality of food distribution makes us wonder how many consumers have actually tried the new product. Grocery stores – and our kitchen cabinets – can take months to use up and replace existing inventory. And do the taste testers in Kraft’s commercials mean what they say? Your guess (or skepticism) is as good as ours.
More importantly, is the new mac and cheese any better for us?
The answer is no, not really. The old Kraft Mac & Cheese scored a 6 in EWG’s Food Scores database, which rates thousands of products on nutrition, ingredient and processing concerns. In addition to artificial colors, the old formulation contained a significant amount of saturated fat and sugar and an excessive amount of sodium – nearly 40 percent of the Institute of Medicine’s recommended daily intake per serving.
The new Kraft Mac & Cheese still scores the same 6. While Kraft’s reformulation removed artificial colors and slightly lowered the sugar content (from 7 grams to 6 grams per serving), it did nothing to address the saturated fat or high sodium content. And when it comes down to it, these factors are the most significant for both kids and adults.
So if your family still craves some of this creamy, cheesy treat – and let’s be honest, we all probably do – reach instead for one of these healthier options: Pastariso Yellow Cheddar Mac & Cheeze, Back to Nature Organic Macaroni & Cheese, or even Kraft’s own Organic Macaroni & Cheese.
And keep showing companies like Kraft what’s important to you and your family. Search EWG’s Food Scores for products your family loves and put your dollars behind companies that support your health as much as their bottom line.
http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2016/03/real-deal-behind-kraft-s-new-mac-cheese
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EPA Again Urges Companies to Voluntarily Seek Out Methane Leaks
Mar 30, 2016 | Fuel Fix
By James Osborne
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched another voluntary program urging oil and gas companies to seek out methane leaks in their production system of their own accord.
Speaking at the Global Methane Forum in Washington D.C. Wednesday, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said 41 companies had already signed on to what she described as “a platform for companies to transparently report actions to reduce methane emissions and to be publicly recognized as leaders in reducing methane emissions in the United States.”
President Obama has set the goal of reducing U.S. methane emissions 45 percent by 2025, as part of a larger strategy to slow climate change. In December he joined leaders from close to 200 countries in pledging to work on limiting the rise in average global temperatures no more than 2 degrees Celsius.
Methane, while on 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, is believed to have a warming effect 25 times that of carbon dioxide. Leaks from oil and gas production, along with the cattle industry and landfills, have been identified as principal sources of the gas.
The voluntary program is designed to supplement stepped up enforcement efforts by both EPA and state environmental agencies, which are using infrared cameras both during on-site inspections and aerial surveys to identify leaks not visible to the naked eye.
EPA launched its first voluntary program on methane emissions back in the 1990s. While McCarthy was critical of industry participation to date during a press conference in February, EPA said this week participants had saved 1.2 trillion cubic feet of methane from escaping into the atmosphere. Methane is the principal component of natural gas, which currently trades around $1.90 per million cubic feet.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/03/30/epa-again-urges-companies-to-voluntarily-seek-out-methane-leaks/
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Climate Policy’s Advocates Take Page From Same-Sex Marriage Playbook
Mar 29, 2016 | New York Times
By Coral Davenport
Two months ahead of a federal court hearing on President Obama’s signature climate change rule, a coordinated public relations offensive has begun — modeled after the same-sex marriage campaign — to influence the outcome of the case.
A national coalition of liberal and environmental advocacy groups, state attorneys general, mayors and even some businesses are adhering to the strategy that a network of gay rights and other advocacy groups began in the months before the Supreme Court heard arguments in the same-sex marriage case, Obergefell v. Hodges, last year. Those advocates cannot be certain, but they said they believed it had influenced the opinions of the justices, who ruled in June that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage.
While such campaigns are common before major Supreme Courtarguments, it is unusual to see a national effort aimed at a lower court hearing. But the climate change case, West Virginia v. the United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency, to be argued June 2 before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is unusual.
“The reason there is all this focus is that this is arguably the most important environmental regulation ever,” said Richard L. Revesz, the director of the Institute for Policy Integrity at the New York University School of Law. This week, the institute and several other groups will file briefs in support of theE.P.A.’s position in the case.
At stake is a sweeping federal rule intended to cut the emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases from coal-fired power plants. While environmentalists see the rule as the largest step ever taken by the United States to tackle climate change, the coal industry sees it as a huge threat.
If enacted, the rule could shut down hundreds of coal-fired power plants and rapidly escalate wind and solar power, transforming the American electricity industry. The rule also provided Mr. Obama with a pivotal tool during negotiations of last year’s Paris Accord, the first deal committing action from every country in the world to fight climate change. If the rule unravels, it could severely weaken that global pact.
Meanwhile, the vacancy on the Supreme Court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last month has also heightened the national impact of decisions by lower courts. If the decision by the Federal Circuit Court is appealed to the Supreme Court — as is widely expected — and the eight justices are evenly split, the decision of the lower court will stand.
“If the Supreme Court is divided 4 to 4, it would make sense that you want to pour resources into the outcome of the lower court, if that’s the one that’s going to matter at the end of the day,” said Allison Orr Larsen, a law professor at the William and Mary Law School.
The campaign by the advocates kicked off Tuesday morning, timed to highlight the E.P.A.’s Monday afternoon filing of its legal briefs in the case and an expected Tuesday court filing by about 20 states and other outside groups, such as the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council, which support the rule.
Even more groups planned to file briefs this week in support of the administration. In New York, Al Gore, the environmental advocate and former vice president, joined several state attorneys general, led by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, at a news conference supporting the Obama administration’s position.
The groups backing the administration began posting quotable excerpts from the legal briefs on Twitter and Facebook on Tuesday. Several more such events are planned for this week, and the public relations push will escalate for the next eight weeks, culminating in a rally outside the federal courthouse on the day of the hearing.
The White House is aware of the campaign, but is not coordinating with the groups or planning any messaging of its own, said Thomas Reynolds, who until last week directed climate change communications efforts for the White House, but this week moved back to a similar position at the E.P.A.
While developing the campaign, the environmental advocates closely examined the messaging tactics of the same-sex marriage efforts — particularly the message that the issue affects individual lives beyond the gay community.
“On gay marriage, it was that everyone has a friend, a neighbor, a sibling who could be impacted,” said Joshua Dorner, a strategist at the Washington political communications firm SKDKnickerbocker, who worked on the same-sex marriage public relations campaigns ahead of the Supreme Court argument. The same message could be applied to a campaign on climate change, “showing how it directly impacts people’s lives,” he said.
To that end, the environmentalists will deploy several mayors, like Dawn Zimmer of Hoboken, N.J., who will speak at news conferences over the coming months in support of the climate rule.
“After Hurricane Sandy, we had senior citizens stranded in their apartments who couldn’t get medicine,” she said. “Substations were flooded, and we were without power for two weeks. The threat to Hoboken from climate change and rising sea levels is very real, and the predictions are it’s getting worse.”
But the plaintiffs in the case, including over two dozen states and the nation’s largest coal companies, are not planning a similar public campaign. Those groups began planning their legal attack on the administration’s climate change rules long before they were made final, and are expected to focus their attention on the legal arguments.
“There’s people on both sides of the aisle who specialize in this kind of thing, but the idea that you’re going to affect these judges on the D.C. Circuit and their clerks is ridiculous,” said Michael McKenna, a Republican energy lobbyist who is closely involved in the legal and public relations strategy for the coal companies. “It may work at the Supreme Court level. But every judge and clerk I’ve ever met at this level would be insulted at the suggestion that they could be influenced by something like this. It’s a colossal waste of money.”
Ultimately, it may be impossible to know the impact of campaigning in the courts. “The theory is that you want to influence them just like you influence any other citizen,” Ms. Larsen said of the judges. “But the only person who knows the influence of something like that is the judge herself.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/us/politics/climate-change-advocates-take-page-fromsame-sex-marriage-playbook.html
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Advocates Urge EPA To Immediately Curb Oil & Gas Activities' Air Toxics
Mar 30, 2016 | InsideEPA
By Bridget DiCosmo
Environmentalists are urging EPA to take immediate action to further reduce hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from certain sources related to oil and gas production activities including separators, compressors, and condensate tanks, citing new studies that the advocates say show the sources are "high priority" air toxic emissions points.
The American Petroleum Institute (API), however, counters that some upstream and midstream oil and gas facilities "rarely" qualify as "major" sources of air toxics subject to strict Clean Air Act regulation. The group also cautions that imposing HAP limits on certain sources such as small dehydrators would be "problematic."
EPA took comment through March 11 on its November information collection request (ICR) seeking data on oil and gas sector emissions, which is expected to inform the agency's pending reconsideration of its 2012 national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) that set certain air toxics limits for the industry. The ICR sought data not available at the time that the agency crafted the 2012 rule.
The agency asked for information on emissions of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) from storage vessels without potential flash emissions and information on controls for BTEX emissions. EPA also requested data on a potential compliance issue related to regulated small glycol dehydrators.
EPA's 2012 air toxics rule targeted only certain glycol dehydrators, tanks, and gas processing plants, according to March 11 comments filed by a coalition of environmental groups including Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council and others. The 2012 rule is "woefully inadequate" at addressing the full suite of potential impacts to communities near drilling sites from exposure to HAPs, they argue.
They charge that a literature review found evidence that certain sources such as separators and compressors "are particularly important demonstrated sources of HAP emissions that should receive high priority from EPA for toxics regulation. . . . In particular, the results from the review provide evidence that separators, compressors, and condensate tanks are particularly important demonstrated sources of HAP emissions that should receive high priority from EPA for toxics regulation."
Compressors included the largest numbers of HAPs at detectable levels from ambient air monitoring studies, including the BTEX compounds, methanol, formaldehyde, hexane, mercury and others, the comments say. Some of the highest levels of benzene, many exceeding health based thresholds, have been measured in association with separators and condensate tanks, they argue.
The comments also focus on potential adverse impacts from oil and gas activities' HAPs to human health, saying that "studies where comparisons were made between measured levels of HAPs and health related thresholds showed that levels measured could pose acute and chronic cancer and non-cancer threats."
Data Review
The environmentalists' review of more recent data indicates that EPA "must reevaluate health threats associated with the oil and gas sector and update the health risk assessment required under" the Clean Air Act, and "set stronger standards to assure the requisite ample margin of safety to protect public health."
The groups are also the stressing the importance of including in new regulations HAPs created via precursor emissions, "which EPA has previously ignored," according to the comments. For example, they say research has identified emissions of some types of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which can alone, and with other compounds, act as primary precursors for formation of HAPs such as formaldehyde and related compounds.
Environmentalists claim both the 2012 NESHAP and the underlying residual risk review are inadequate to protect human health and unlawful under the Clean Air Act, saying the agency improperly relied on outdated emissions inventory estimates from 2005, which contained values for only roughly 25 percent of the sources subject to the rule. They say this leaves several air toxics either insufficiently regulated or unregulated.
For example, they charge that there are no limits in the agency's 2012 NESHAP include trichloroethane, chloroethane, chloromethane, and vinyl chloride, and insufficient limits for hexane and "BTEX compounds."
The 2012 NESHAP updated the agency's 1999 air toxics limits for the industry for oil and gas production, transmission and storage operations. EPA issued the final revised rule in 2012, alongside updated new source performance standards (NSPS) for the sector, which set controls for VOC emissions.
The agency is in the process of issuing a new NSPS rule for the sector, which includes first-time methane controls and expands the 2012 limits for VOCs to a wider universe of sources in the sector.
Industry and advocates challenged the 2012 rules in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit case, API v. EPA which is currently in abeyance pending a joint status report due July 12.
API's March 11 comments on the ICR says that upstream and midstream oil and gas facilities are rarely major HAP sources. The group also notes that small dehydrators were regulated prior to the 2012 NESHAP and that it would be "problematic" to impose emission limits on the equipment.
http://insideepa.com/daily-news/advocates-urge-epa-immediately-curb-oil-gas-activities-air-toxics
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EPA Abandons Malfunction Immunity with Final Toxics Rule
Mar 30, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Sean Reilly
U.S. EPA is standing by its decision to drop a legal shield for power producers that violate the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards because of equipment breakdowns.
The agency had proposed that step early last year as part of a package of "technical corrections" to the original 2012 emissions standards. In the final document quietly posted online this month, agency officials again cited a federal appellate court's 2014 ruling that they lack authority to create an "affirmative defense" protecting power companies from lawsuits related to unavoidable malfunctions. In the ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit also said it was the job of the courts, not EPA, to decide whether civil penalties are warranted in Clean Air Act suits.
Although that ruling grew out of a challenge by the Natural Resources Defense Council to emissions regulations for cement kilns, EPA officials are also applying it to the power plant standards, notwithstanding some utilities' opposition.
"The EPA appears remarkably unconcerned about the potential consequences of its decision to entirely abandon its policy for malfunctions," Larry Monroe, chief environmental officer for Atlanta-based Southern Co., wrote in a comment on the proposal last year. The outcome, Monroe suggested, will be a flood of lawsuits from environmental groups, with power producers exposed to penalties that vary from state to state.
"That inconsistency will have a cost," he wrote, and could "arbitrarily" encourage more industrial activity in areas "where unavoidable malfunctions are not penalized."
In a separate filing, lawyers for the Utility Air Regulatory Group raised the possibility that the EPA proposal ran afoul of the U.S. Constitution's ban on unjust punishments. In addition, they wrote, "the imposition of liability for 'unavoidable,' and therefore innocent, conduct would also infringe on substantive due process principles" under the Constitution's Fifth Amendment.
But in light of the 2014 court ruling, the agency had no choice, John Walke, the NRDC's clean air director, said in an email to Greenwire.
"The only thing truly noteworthy one could have found in this final rule is if EPA had ignored and repudiated" the ruling, Walke said. Industry critics have no legal case, he added, "because EPA is following a controlling federal appellate court decision and the plain language of the Clean Air Act."
The final package of corrections to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards is now awaiting publication in the Federal Register.
The 2014 appellate court decision also helped lead EPA to rescind state affirmative defense provisions intended to deal with excess emissions that occur during industrial plant startups and shutdowns, as well as those that result from equipment failure.
Florida and 16 other states are challenging that decision before the D.C. Circuit Court (Greenwire, Aug. 12, 2015). The case, filed last August, is pending. States and business groups turned in briefs this month; EPA is scheduled to follow suit in July, with NRDC and other environmental groups that have intervened in the litigation submitting a joint brief in August.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/03/30/stories/1060034821
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Chevron Phillips Sees Demand Coming, Moves to Seize It
Mar 30, 2016 | E&E Energywire
By Nathanial Gronewold
Anticipating a forthcoming surge in petrochemical supplies, a famous joint venture is moving to add even more.
Chevron Phillips, a manufacturing partnership between the oil and refining giants Chevron Corp. and Phillips 66, yesterday announced that it will soon begin expanding its capacity to produce lubricants at a facility in Baytown, a Houston suburb at the entrance to the Houston Ship Channel.
The company said that it foresees strong growing demand for high-performance industrial lubricants used in automotive and other applications. The announcement bucks broader concern about the health of the global economy and whether the petroleum sector in general may be overestimating demand growth for energy and petroleum products.
Chevron Phillips said beginning in April it will begin construction to add 10,000 metric tons per year of production capacity at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown. The expansion increases production capacity by about 20 percent.
"The expansion will allow the company to meet the increasing demand for high-performance lubricants in automotive and industrial applications, as demand for higher energy efficiency and high-quality base stocks continues to grow," company representatives said in a release.
Among the oil- and natural-gas-related industries, petrochemicals stands out for its ongoing aggressive global capacity expansion as companies remain bullish on prospects for demand growth for industrial materials and plastic. Some analysts are beginning to question this optimistic outlook given recent reassessments of global energy demand growth.
Market analysts anxiously observing a likely global economic slowdown and slowing economic growth in China raised their concerns at a recent petrochemical industry gathering held in Houston earlier this month. Companies in the midst of major expansion initiatives faced skeptical Wall Street investors worried that the industry might be at risk of getting ahead of the actual demand curve with abundant new supplies of petrochemical capacity planned or being built in North America, the Middle East and Asia (EnergyWire, March 18).
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/03/30/stories/1060034780
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EPA Rule on Plant Safety Takes Flak from Both Sides
Mar 30, 2016 | E&E Greenwire
By Sam Pearson
U.S. EPA's proposed updates to a program meant to boost safety at high-risk chemical facilities drew criticism from all sides during a public hearing in Washington, D.C., yesterday.
Industry groups lined up to warn that provisions in the rule would create burdensome and unnecessary challenges for companies. Environmental justice and chemical safety groups, for their part, said EPA had erred by failing to consider a more far-reaching change.
The proposed rule stems from an executive order President Obama issued in the wake of a 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, that killed 15 people. But industry groups slammed the rule as burdensome and ineffective.
Ron Chittim, a senior policy adviser at the American Petroleum Institute, said EPA's proposed rule was "a wish list of regulations arguably unrelated to the executive order or the West, Texas tragedy."
Many industry groups also accused the agency of moving too fast, noting EPA had rejected several requests to extend the public comment period. The agency issued the proposed rule earlier this month (E&ENews PM, March 11).
The proposal would, for the first time, require high-risk plants in certain sectors to perform audits to determine whether they can switch to safer chemicals or chemical processes. The rule would, however, not require them to make the changes.
Companies would have to perform a root-cause analysis after a reportable incident or a near miss. They would also have to share more information, within limits, with local emergency response committees.
Companies must take "a hard look" at safer technology options, said Mathy Stanislaus, EPA's assistant administrator for land and emergency management.
"We're not mandating a particular conclusion," said Stanislaus. "We believe that the chemical industry is in the best position, once they conduct an analysis, to make a business judgement considering all other important considerations."
The proposal also sets new standards for how plants engage with auditors. Companies would be barred from hiring outside auditors that have done business with the firm in the past three years.
Industry groups warned that the proposal could curtail auditors' business, prompting them to leave the field. It could also force chemical firms to hire auditors they are not familiar with and who may perform shoddy work.
This arrangement was "problematic, and frankly, probably illegal in several states," said Steve Arendt, the vice president of global oil, gas and chemicals at Houston-based ABS Group of Companies Inc.
'Very good balance'
Safety groups, meanwhile, said the plan lacked teeth and could go further to prevent chemical releases. It also failed to improve public access to information on chemical facilities, said Yogin Kothari, a senior legislative associate at the Center for Science and Democracy, part of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"I'm going to be very blunt right up front," said Paul Orum, a chemical safety consultant who has worked with environmental groups. "I think this rule is very poorly done. It sort of embarrasses me to come here and say that."
The rule's conditions would not require safety assessments for nearly half of chlorine bleach plants, Greenpeace Legislative Director Rick Hind said, and would exempt water treatment facilities where large quantities of hazardous chemicals are stored.
Meeting with reporters before the hearing, Stanislaus said the comment period was appropriate because the agency had spent nearly three years engaging with stakeholders on the issue.
Other issues not included in the proposed rule could be included in future rulemaking, Stanislaus said, though that would not take place this year.
The changes to auditing rules came from EPA's desire to "add more rigor" to the process, Stanislaus said, including from "the value of independence" when the documents are generated.
Stanislaus said the fact the proposal has critics on both sides means EPA has "struck a very good balance." He said, "We're going to move forward as quickly as possible" to complete the rule before the end of the year.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2016/03/30/stories/1060034823
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Cuomo: Aging Bolts at Indian Point Show Facility’s Flaws
Mar 30, 2016 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Scott Waldman
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday used another incident at the Indian Point nuclear facility to make the case that the facility should be closed.
An inspection of the plant revealed aging on some of the bolts used in one of plants. Hundreds of bolts warrant further inspection. The state will continue its investigation of Indian Point’s safety while ensuring that the bolt issue is immediately addressed, Cuomo said.
“This is the latest in a long series of incidents that raise deep concerns about the management, maintenance and equipment standards at this plant,” Cuomo said in a statement. “While there is no immediate danger to public health and safety, this troubling news further validates the State’s ongoing investigation into the operations of this aging power plant and our position that it should not be relicensed.”
The bolts, which are about two inches long, hold plates together inside the reactor. The faulty bolts were discovered during an in-depth inspection of the Indian Point nuclear reactor vessel scheduled for once every decade. The inspections of more than 2,000 bolts found 11 percent that require further analysis, according to Entergy. Issues were identified on bolts on the face of the removable liner.
"Safety is always our first priority, and the hundreds of inspections performed over the last few weeks demonstrate these programs work as designed," said Larry Coyle, the site vice president at Indian Point, in a statement. "Safeguards and automatic detection equipment are in place to alert plant operators of impacts on safe operations.”
https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard
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New Regs for Thursday: Seafood, Endangered Fish, Hazardous Materials
Mar 30, 2016 | The Hill - Regulation
By Tim Devaney
Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for trucks carrying hazardous materials, imported seafood, and endangered fish.
Here’s what is happening:
Seafood: The National Marine Fisheries Service is delaying new rules for a seafood import monitoring program.
The rules would establish record keeping requirements when fish are imported as a way of enforcing a prohibition on certain fish entering the U.S.
The rules were proposed in February, but the comment period is now being extended to April 12 to give the public more time to consider the changes.
Trucks: The Department of Transportation is moving forward with new hazardous materialsregulations.
The Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced Wednesday new rules for commercial motor vehicles that transport “reverse logistics shipments” that contain hazardous materials.
The changes go into effect immediately.
Endangered: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is considering new protections for endangered salmon.
The FWS released a draft recovery plan Wednesday for Atlantic salmon that reside in the Gulf of Maine. These fish were originally listed as endangered in November 2000, but the agency will use recovery objectives in the draft recovery plan to monitor its status.
The public has 60 days to comment.
http://thehill.com/regulation/274659-new-regs-for-thursday-seafood-endangered-fish-hazardous-materials
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Trump, Cruz Would Reverse Obama’s Work on Climate and Energy — Conservative Group
Mar 30, 2016 | Wall Street Journal
By Amy Harder
The top leading Republican candidates for president are advocating conservative energy and environment agendas that would unwind virtually everything President Barack Obama has done in that realm over the last eight years, according to answers they offered in a survey released Wednesday by a conservative interest group.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and businessman Donald Trump offered some of their most detailed views on a range of energy and environmental policy issues when responding to a series of questions posed by the American Energy Alliance, a conservative interest group.
The candidates’ answers were similar in most instances: They called for the review and possibly elimination of most environmental regulations and opposed a carbon tax.
Both candidates said they would review a 2009 Environmental Protection Agency finding that climate change endangers public health and welfare. That conclusion underpins Mr. Obama’s entire regulatory agenda to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Any attempt to review that finding, let alone a successful attempt, would likely prompt a divisive political and legal battle over climate-change science. Messrs. Trump and Cruz have both questioned the scientific consensus that humans’ burning of fossil fuels is causing Earth’s temperature to rise.
The group has also requested answers from GOP candidate John Kasich and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, though it has yet to hear back, according to a spokesman for the alliance.
The differences between Messrs. Trump and Cruz in the survey focused on issues briefly touched on in the campaign so far, including ethanol and federal lands.
Mr. Cruz said he favors states controlling the federal lands within their boundaries, whereas Mr. Trump said the federal government should maintain “the aesthetics of the land while finding ways to gain revenue that would benefit both the federal and state governments.”
Mr. Cruz said he supports phasing out and ultimately repealing the renewable-fuel standard, a federal mandate requiring ethanol to be blended into gasoline that was created during the George W. Bush administration, over five years. Mr. Trump, meanwhile, said Congress shouldn’t repeal the standard “at this time.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/03/30/trump-cruz-would-reverse-obamas-work-on-climate-and-energy-conservative-group/
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Even Before they Start Breathing, Babies Can be Harmed by Air Pollution, Scientists Say
Mar 29, 2016 | Washington Post
By Chelsea Harvey
Air pollution in the U.S. may be causing thousands of premature births each year, a new study suggests — costing the nation billions of dollars along the way. The study, published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, lends support to a growing body of research pointing to the grim health consequences of air pollution all over the world and its spectacular economic burdens.
The new study focuses on a type of pollution known as fine particulate matter — tiny particles, less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, that can be emitted by traffic, factories and other industrial activities. Exposure to particulate matter has been implicated in all kinds of adverse health outcomes, particularly cardiovascular problems, and is believed to be responsible for millions of premature deaths every year. Now, increasing evidence is also linking it to problems related to pregnancy and birth, including preterm birth, saidLeonardo Trasande, an associate professor of pediatrics at New York University’s School of Medicine.
The mechanisms behind this phenomenon are not entirely understood, but it’s believed that exposure to air pollution can cause inflammation of the placenta during pregnancy, which can ultimately lead to an early delivery. Preterm birth — which is usually defined as delivery that occurs more than three weeks ahead of term — is associated with a variety of medical problems including an increased risk of infant mortality, breathing and feeding difficulties, cerebral palsy, increased risk of developing other diseases and developmental delays that can lead to cognitive impairment throughout life.
What’s less clear are the economic implications of these complications — and that’s an important factor to consider in discussions about air pollution, which often split into two sides: the costs of pollution reduction, which generally fall on the shoulders of the industries responsible for creating it in the first place, versus the social costs of continuing to pollute.
“So we decided to quantify the disease burden and costs of preterm birth that could ultimately be traced to fine particulate matter,” Trasande said.
Trasande, along with New York University colleagues Patrick Malecha and Teresa Attina, took data on air pollution from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and data on preterm births from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They used previous research on the risks of preterm birth associated with exposure to particulate matter to estimate how many premature babies were caused by pollution exposure in 2010. They concluded that just over 3 percent of all the preterm births that year could be attributed to fine particulate matter — nearly 16,000 in all.
The researchers then turned their attention to the costs associated with these preterm births. Using a report from the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, they concluded that the direct medical costs came to about $760 million in 2010. Far weightier, though, were the costs associated with lost economic productivity.
One common consequence of preterm birth is the appearance of developmental disabilities. The researchers were interested in estimating the economic losses that result from these disabilities — essentially, the economic productivity that’s lost over the course of an individual’s lifetime as a result of cognitive impairments and the reduced ability to work.
Previous studies have drawn connections between preterm birth, decreases in IQ and an individual’s lifetime earnings. Drawing on that research, Trasande and his colleagues estimated that more than $4 billion were lost in 2010 as a result of reduced economic productivity. Altogether, the medical costs and lost economic potential added up to just over $5 billion.
While these are national estimates, the researchers did find that the effects were more severe in some parts of the country than others. The greatest percentage of preterm births attributable to pollution exposure was generally found to occur in major urban areas, and was overall highest in the Ohio River Valley, Southern California and the Southeast, as well as New York City, southeastern Pennsylvania and Chicago.
“The implications also spread beyond the U.S. to other parts of the globe where air pollution is likely to be more of a substantial problem,” Trasande said. “Insofar as exposures in third world countries where regulations are much more limited, it’s likely that air pollution contributes more substantially to preterm birth.”
The results highlight the importance of stricter pollution regulations to both public health and the economy, said Bruce Lanphear, a health sciences professor at Simon Fraser University in Canada. He cited a variety of concrete actions that could be taken to address the problem, such as improving public transportation in cities to cut down on traffic emissions and refraining from building schools or residential developments near major sources of pollution.
But he also noted that, when it comes to preterm births, there are a variety of other environmental influences besides fine particulate matter likely having an effect, including lead and mercury exposure. “It no longer makes sense to pit one risk factor like air pollution against another,” he said. “Instead we should be recognizing that preterm birth is the consequence of cumulative exposure to a series of risk factors.”
Still, there’s value in conducting targeted studies like Trasande’s, he said. “They estimate that air pollution accounts for about three percent of all preterm births, which is quite sizable,” he said, adding that these types of focused studies can help draw attention to specific policy changes that need to be made — which, when all combined, can have substantial impacts on public health.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/03/29/even-before-they-start-breathing-babies-are-harmed-by-air-pollution-scientists-say/
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