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ACC Test (8/6/17)
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US EPA Round-Up
Jun 8, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By The Editors
The EPA has announced receipt of information submitted pursuant to a rule, order or consent order under TSCA for octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4). -
Industry Speaks out against California Spray Polyurethane Foam Proposal
Jun 8, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
Industry groups have united in opposition to California’s proposal to name spray polyurethane foam (SPF) containing diisocyanates as a priority product under the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) programme. -
Norway Proposes Adding Second PFC to UN POPs Convention
Jun 8, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
Norway has submitted a proposal to list perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and related compounds, for action under the UN Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs). -
Consumer Groups Protest FDA’s Perchlorate Decision
| Food Poisoning Bulletin
By Linda Larsen
The consumer groups Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and others sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Gottlieb this week, objecting to the FDA’s denial of a petition to remove perchlorate from food packaging. The denial was issued on May 4, 2017. Those groups claim that the FDA ignored evidenced that shows the compound disrupts brain development in infants and children. The FDA was sued by those groups to force them to act on the petition in April of 2016. -
Flame Retardant Contamination Sites Clustered along Delaware River
Jun 8, 2017 | State Impact (NPR)
By Susan Phillips
A national mapping project detailing tap water contaminated with toxic chemicals used in fire fighting foams and nonstick frying pans shows a large number of those public water systems along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Researchers at Northeastern University and the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based their map on federal drinking water data and documented cases of pollution by a group of chemicals known as perfluorinated compounds. -
Toxic Nonstick Chemicals Contaminate Drinking Water for 15 Million Americans
Jun 8, 2017 | Environmental Working Group
By Monica Amarelo
New research from EWG and Northeastern University in Boston uncovered highly fluorinated toxic chemicals, known as PFCs or PFASs, in the drinking water of 15 million Americans in 27 states, and from more than four dozen industrial and military sources nationwide. -
IG Investigating Possible Collusion in EPA's Glyphosate Review
Jun 8, 2017 | InsideEPA
By The Editors
EPA's Office of Inspector General (IG) is investigating whether a former EPA official colluded with pesticide producer Monsanto to downplay potential human health risks of glyphosate, the world's most commonly-used herbicide or promised to deter the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from reviewing the substance -
A More Sustainable Way to Refine Metals
Jun 8, 2017 | Lab Manager
By McGill University
A team of chemists in Canada has developed a way to process metals without using toxic solvents and reagents. The system, which also consumes far less energy than conventional techniques, could greatly shrink the environmental impact of producing metals from raw materials or from post-consumer electronics. -
DOE Crafts State Regs Database
Jun 8, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Pamela King
The Energy Department is soliciting feedback on a new tool to track state water policies that intersect with energy systems. -
First Tanker with US Natural Gas Reaches Poland
Jun 8, 2017 | ABC
By Monika Scislowska
The first ever tanker with liquefied natural gas from the United States arrived in Poland on Thursday as part of the country's — and the region's — efforts to cut its dependence on Russia. -
Calif. Regulators Rethink Additional Natural Gas Units
Jun 8, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Ivan Penn
In the face of an electricity glut, California regulators are rethinking plans to build more power plants in the state. -
Wisconsin Senator's Freight Railroad Addresses Challenges Cited by Shippers
Jun 8, 2017 | Logistics Management
By Jeff Berman
Even though legislation introduced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) may have a keen focus on her home state, it essentially also doubles as a wish list of sorts for rail shippers throughout the country. -
Existing Climate Efforts Expected to Keep US Goals on Track
Jun 8, 2017 | The New York Times
By The Associated PRess
The momentum of climate change efforts and the affordability of cleaner fuels will keep the United States moving toward its goals of cutting emissions despite the Trump administration's withdrawal from the Paris global accord, business and government leaders in a growing alliance said.
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Jun 8, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By The Editors
Receipt of information under TSCAThe EPA has announced receipt of information submitted pursuant to a rule, order or consent order under TSCA for octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4).
D4 is used as an intermediate for silicone copolymers, in industrial processing and in a variety of consumer and commercial applications. It is subject to testing requirements under an enforceable consent agreement.
The agency received an environmental testing interim progress report.
Public teleconference of Science Advisory Board (SAB)
The EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) is holding a public teleconference on 29 June to discuss the agency's autumn 2016 semi-annual regulatory agenda.
The Board convened a workgroup to review the unified regulatory agenda – released 17 November 2016 – and the science supporting the EPA's planned actions. The SAB will discuss the group's recommendations in its upcoming teleconference.
SAB risk and technology review (RTR) methods panel meeting
The SAB panel on risk and technology review (RTR) methods is holding a public meeting on 29-30 June in Arlington, Virginia. It will be conducting a peer review of EPA's draft document Screening methodologies to support risk and technology review (RTR).
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Industry Speaks out against California Spray Polyurethane Foam Proposal
Jun 8, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
Industry groups have united in opposition to California’s proposal to name spray polyurethane foam (SPF) containing diisocyanates as a priority product under the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) programme.
The agency initiated a formal rulemaking to list SPF systems with unreacted methylene diphenly diisocyanates (MDI) in March. If adopted, the designation would require manufacturers of such products to complete an alternatives analysis. The state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) could subsequently consider imposing appropriate regulations.
In comments to the department, the American Chemistry Council said the proposed listing was "unwarranted and misdirected", as it "is based on inaccurate characteristics of spray foam products, ignores safety practices and fails to consider exposure profiles associated with their use".
It says the department oversimplified the breadth of technologies within the SPF category. And it says that the proposal fails to demonstrate how these various products present exposures that "contribute to or cause significant or widespread adverse impacts" – a criteria for prioritisation.
The DTSC, it adds, has "mischaracterised" several studies and "ignored" product stewardship, safety recommendations and industry practices that curtail potential exposure to MDI.
A coalition of four building, contractor and property organisations similarly urged the department to withdraw the proposal. "Unsupported by science, the listing of SPF insulation will jeopardise its use as an important tool that will help enable California to meet its ambitious energy efficiency and climate change goals," they said in comments.
The Insulation Contractors Association of America (ICCA) said that existing workplace controls and regulations are sufficiently protective. The proposed regulation, it said, is "redundant and unnecessarily burdensome".
Naima – the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association – agreed that in place of the proposed listing, the spray foam industry should partner with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) to form and "aggressively implement" a product stewardship programme to educate the public on possible health consequences of the material.NGOs - alternatives needed
But a coalition of five NGOs – including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) – said that workplace controls may fail or be inadequate, and that workers "continue to be harmed by SPF systems containing isocyanates".
The groups added that Osha agencies do not require substitution of hazards, but rather seek to impose controls to manage them – as opposed to the SCP programme’s alternatives approach.
"The accurate and effective use of green chemistry is to identify and eliminate hazards before they have a chance to affect people or their environments," they said.
The NGO Healthy Building Network added that while there are few direct chemical alternatives to the isocyanate formulation in SPF, there are many technologies on the market that can accomplish the same physical functions. These include a variety of insulation options and a wide range of caulking materials to air seal houses.
The nonprofit said the DTSC is "highly justified" in going forward with the alternatives assessment, given that eliminating the exposure could "have a tremendous benefit to many thousands of workers and occupants, without a negative impact on important energy considerations in the building".
The proposal to list SPF and MDI as a priority product is the second initiated under the SCP programme. Thefirst rulemaking – to designate children’s foam-padded sleeping products containing the flame retardants TDCPP or TCEP – is currently underway.
https://chemicalwatch.com/56696/industry-speaks-out-against-california-spray-polyurethane-foam-proposal
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Norway Proposes Adding Second PFC to UN POPs Convention
Jun 8, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
Norway has submitted a proposal to list perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and related compounds, for action under the UN Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
If approved by the parties to the convention, it will become the second listing of a perfluorocarbon under the treaty, joining perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts and its precursor, perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride.
The PFHxS compounds are used in firefighting foam, carpets and textiles, electronics and non-stick cookware.
The Norwegian environment ministry says these qualify as POPs because they are persistent, bioaccumulative, travel long-range distances and are toxic.
Earlier this year, Norway added the chemicals to its national list of priority substances, which means emissions must be eliminated or substantially reduced by 2020 and companies must find safer alternatives.
As well as describing them as a very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) substance, Norway says they are suspected of being an endocrine disruptor.
According to Trine Celius, the ministry’s senior adviser on biocides and chemicals, PFHxS, its salts and related compounds make up a group of about 50 substances which are mainly produced in China.
They have been pre-registered under REACH and are under evaluation for inclusion on the candidate list, based on a SVHC dossier produced by Sweden.
Ronald Bock, EMEA risk management manager at Chemours, a global manufacturer of fluorinated substances, told Chemical Watch that PHFxS is mostly produced as a degradation product of fellow fluorinated chemical PFOS. To the best of his knowledge, it is not used or sold in the EU but he said it may be used in China as a substitute for PFOS in certain applications, mainly in the galvanic metal plating industry.
The proposal will be considered by the convention's POPs Review Committee at its October meeting in Rome. If it decides the substance meets the screening criteria, it will forward the proposal, and its own evaluation, to the convention's parties and observers.
https://chemicalwatch.com/56634/norway-proposes-adding-second-pfc-to-un-pops-convention
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Consumer Groups Protest FDA’s Perchlorate Decision
| Food Poisoning Bulletin
By Linda Larsen
The consumer groups Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and others sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Gottlieb this week, objecting to the FDA’s denial of a petition to remove perchlorate from food packaging. The denial was issued on May 4, 2017. Those groups claim that the FDA ignored evidenced that shows the compound disrupts brain development in infants and children. The FDA was sued by those groups to force them to act on the petition in April of 2016.
Perchlorate is used in herbicides, explosives, and rocket fuel. Those groups say that the FDA’s own data shows that the chemical migrates from packaging into food. Perchlorate is added to packaging to reduce the buildup of static.
The letter states that “The serious flaws in the agency’s legal and scientific approach to perchlorate are numerous. The agency’s decision and its underlying analysis grossly underestimated the extent to which perchlorate migrates from packaging and food handling equipment into dry food. In measuring this migration, FDA relied on a single study using a test designed for small packaging that was conducted by a company with a vested interest in the outcome. This migration test bears little relevance to the actual conditions of use of the perchlorate in bulk packaging allowed by FDA. It was not designed to assess the abrasive and compressive forces driving the migration of perchlorate into food from this use. It also was not relevant to the contribution of perchlorate into food from food handling equipment. Despite these serious shortcomings, the company’s test still showed that perchlorate migrates into food.”
The FDA’s own data showed that perchlorate in dry food plastic packaging “likely contributed to the high, even shocking, levels of perchlorate found in dry baby food cereals by FDA in its Total Diet Study samples,” according to the letter. The FDA approved the use of perchlorate in 2005. Before that time, perchlorate concentrations in those baby food cereals were relatively low. Now, high concentrations of perchlorate in those products “suggest that they may result from use of the perchlorate-laden plastics.”
The law states that additives must be “reasonably certain to cause no harm under the intended conditions of use.” But samples collected from 2008 to 2012 shows that mean cumulative exposures to perchlorate increased 36% for infants 6-11 months old, and 24% for toddlers two years old.
The letter also states that the decision shows a “disturbing failure to account for the accumulating body of evidence that perchlorate poses a risk of irreversible harm to the fetal and infant brain.” Almost all Americans have some perchlorate in their bodies.
The letter lays out three objections to the denial, including that the FDA relied on a flawed interpretation of the definition of a food additive; that FDA first accepted all petitioner requests as properly filed, then later determined that they were not eligible; and that FDA failed to make a timely decision on the petition.
The petitioners are asking for a formal evidentiary public hearing on this issue. They have filed a formal request. Other groups included in the petition are Clean Water Action, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Center for Environmental Health, Center for Food Safety, Environmental Working Group, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Improving Kids’ Environment.
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Flame Retardant Contamination Sites Clustered along Delaware River
Jun 8, 2017 | State Impact (NPR)
By Susan Phillips
A national mapping project detailing tap water contaminated with toxic chemicals used in fire fighting foams and nonstick frying pans shows a large number of those public water systems along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Researchers at Northeastern University and the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based their map on federal drinking water data and documented cases of pollution by a group of chemicals known as perfluorinated compounds.
The chemicals, commonly referred to as PFC’s, (and include PFOA and PFOS), are used by manufacturers in making non-stick pans, waterproof clothing, take out food packaging, and flame retardants.The compound is no longer manufactured in the U.S., but increasing numbers of drinking water sources have been found to contain levels that exceed EPA’s maximum contaminant levels.
The EPA says that long-term exposure to PFOA and PFOS at above its health-advisory limit may result in kidney and testicular cancer, damage to the liver and the immune system, developmental problems such as low birth-weight in infants, and thyroid problems.
The highly stable chemical compounds are what makes it useful to keep stains off carpets and food from sticking to frying pans, but that also makes it harmful to public health. The carbon bonds are strong, and don’t break down easily.
The report, entitled “Mapping a Contamination Crisis,” reveals 15 million people are exposed to PFC’s through their drinking water resulting from use of the chemical at manufacturing sites and military bases across the country. The map allows users to find contaminated sites, and the sources of the contamination.
The Delaware Valley includes a number of high profile sites like the Naval Air base facilities in Horsham, Warminster and Willow Grove, as well as the DuPont facilities in Deepwater, New Jersey and New Castle, Delaware.
Recently, high levels of the chemical were found in Burlington County, New Jersey, in a stream that runs from a wastewater plant at the Maguire-Fort Dix-Lakehurst military base to Rancocas Creek. PFC’s were detected at a combined level of 1,127 parts per trillion (ppt), the highest level detected so far, according to EWG. The EPA currently says long term exposure should be limited to 70 ppt.
David Andrews, a senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group, says the bulk of the data came from the EPA, which required drinking water facilities that served more than 10,000 people to test for PFC’s between 2013 and 2016 and report findings to the federal government of levels above 20 parts per trillion for PFOA and 40 ppt for PFOS. Andrews says they found 162 systems serving 15.1 million people had high PFC levels.
Seventeen of those tap water sources were located in Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware along the Delaware River. Harrisburg’s water system also showed detectable levels of PFC’s.
New Jersey had done its own testing in 2006, using a much more sensitive test, according to Andrews, which revealed 75 percent more contaminated water systems than the EPA test.
“What that means is the prevalence is likely much more common, especially in very industrialized areas,” Andrews said.
Andrews also said that although it’s no longer made in the U.S., manufacturers are now using alternatives, which he says could pose similar dangers.
“They haven’t been studied to the same extent,” he said. “So we’re really trying to raise concerns about this whole family of chemicals.”
The American Chemistry Council, an industry lobby, says the newer replacement chemicals are safe. The FluoroCouncil, which is associated with the ACC and represents companies that produce these chemicals said in a statement it has voluntarily stopped producing harmful PFOA’s.
“We have replaced them with newer, approved chemistries that are equally effective and also have improved health and environmental profiles. FluoroCouncil works with regulators in support of the global transition away from PFOA, and other long-chains, toward more sustainable short-chain chemistries. The FluoroCouncil also works with stakeholders to encourage best practices when using FluoroTechnology products to help minimize emissions to the environment.”
But questions remain about what to do regarding regulation of the chemical that has entered into groundwater and surface water. Environmentalists and public health advocates have raised concerns about the EPA’s standard for safe levels of PFC’s in drinking water. They say the agency’s advisory that concentrations of PFC’s should not be above 70 ppt is too high. New Jersey officials have recommended lowering the maximum levels from 70 ppt to 14 ppt. Some have suggested it should be as low as 1 ppt.
The Delaware Riverkeeper Network recently petitioned Pennsylvania officials to set a lower level than the federal standard based on new peer-reviewed research into the health impacts. The Riverkeeper’s Tracy Carluccio says she doesn’t expect the EPA under Trump to do anything about the problem, so their focus is on the state, which had heavy industry up and down the Delaware River.
“The number of contaminated sites just keeps growing,” she said. “Whether its manufacturing or fire fighting foams. It’s there because it doesn’t break down. We’re looking at a permanent contamination problem unless we do something about it.”
https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2017/06/08/flame-retardant-contamination-sites-clustered-along-delaware-river/
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Toxic Nonstick Chemicals Contaminate Drinking Water for 15 Million Americans
Jun 8, 2017 | Environmental Working Group
By Monica Amarelo
New research from EWG and Northeastern University in Boston uncovered highly fluorinated toxic chemicals, known as PFCs or PFASs, in the drinking water of 15 million Americans in 27 states, and from more than four dozen industrial and military sources nationwide.
EWG and the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute at Northeastern collaborated to produce an interactive map that combines drinking water data from the Environmental Protection Agency and information on all publicly documented cases of PFC pollution from manufacturing plants, military air bases, civilian airports and fire fighter training sites.
“This is a one stop shop to track how pervasive the PFC contamination problem is in the U.S.,” said Bill Walker, co-author of the report and managing editor of EWG. “For the first time we’re reporting the full results of the EPA water testing, as well as known industrial spills and sites with military contamination, to provide a complete picture of where these PFCs are detected.”
Of the 47 locations where the source of the contamination is known or suspected, 21 sources are military bases, 20 are industrial facilities and seven are from civilian firefighting sites. Some locations have multiple sources of contamination.
“We were struck that PFASs are a ubiquitous global contaminant and have a multi-decade history of contamination episodes around the world,” said Phil Brown, director of the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute at Northeastern University. “The contamination tracking project is an effort to document and share how exactly PFAS contamination is discovered. Fundamentally, our work reveals the inadequacy of U.S. chemical regulation, and highlights the need for health-protective, precautionary chemical policy.”
In 2014, the institute received a grant by the National Science Foundation to study the social and scientific discovery of PFASs. As more communities were informed of the pervasive nature of these chemicals, residents, localities and states began actively testing for the compounds. Concerned residents and military communities were central to the scientific investigation.
But there is great concern that not enough is known about the sources or ubiquity of this pollution. The EPA’s limited unregulated chemical testing only covers water systems serving more than 10,000 people, and is only mandated to test 30 chemicals per three-year testing period. In other communities, like the village of Hoosick Falls, N.Y., drinking water tests commissioned by citizens found PFCs in the water. It is crucial to identify how these toxic chemicals continue to pollute the water.
“Americans should be outraged,” said David Andrews, Ph.D., a senior scientist at EWG. “As we uncover the pervasive pollution of drinking water, the chemical companies have already shifted production to a similar set of chemicals that are likely no better. Federal agencies have known for decades that this entire family of chemicals is toxic and they haven’t passed drinking water regulations. These chemicals do not break down in the environment and the amount of PFCs in your blood could be 100 times higher than the level of the chemical detected in your drinking water.”
The known extent of contamination of communities with PFCs linked to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened immunity and other health problems continues to expand with no end in sight.
“It’s remarkable that the richest country on Earth can’t guarantee its citizens that their drinking water is completely safe and has no long-term health implications,” said Walker.
The EPA has not added a new drinking water contaminant to the Safe Drinking Water Act in 25 years. The agency is stretched thin from a lack of resources and the chemical industry has fought against any regulations. The best chances for progress in setting limits for these chemicals in the short term are at the state level.
EWG previously reported that contamination of even very tiny concentrations of the Teflon chemical PFOA in drinking water poses a serious threat to public health. The average levels detected in each state are between five and 175 times too high to be considered safe. Even the lowest concentrations of PFOA tested in a study by the National Toxicology Program harmed animal fetuses.
In February, DuPont and its spinoff company Chemours agreed to pay $671 million to settle about 3,500 lawsuits from West Virginia and Ohio residents whose drinking water was poisoned by a cancer-causing chemical used to make Teflon. Although the settlement closes the most infamous case involving the chemical PFOA, its toxic legacy lingers worldwide.
The map, which will be updated as more contamination is discovered, is the most comprehensive resource available to track PFC pollution in the U.S. Its release coincides with a major PFAS conference June 14 and 15 at Northeastern which will bring together scientists, regulators, activists and others to examine a class of pollutants that contaminate water, soil, and the bodies of animals and people worldwide. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences awarded a grant to fund this international conference.
http://www.ewg.org/release/toxic-nonstick-chemicals-contaminate-drinking-water-15-million-americans
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IG Investigating Possible Collusion in EPA's Glyphosate Review
Jun 8, 2017 | InsideEPA
By The Editors
EPA's Office of Inspector General (IG) is investigating whether a former EPA official colluded with pesticide producer Monsanto to downplay potential human health risks of glyphosate, the world's most commonly-used herbicide or promised to deter the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from reviewing the substance.
In a May 31 letter to Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), first obtained by the Huffington Post, IG Arthur Elkins says that he has instructed his office to investigate allegations reported in the New York Times that Monsanto ghost wrote academic research on glyphosate's risks, and that an EPA official assured the company that HHS would not review the substance.
“As you are aware, there is considerable public interest regarding allegations of such collusion,” Elkins says. “As a result, I have asked the EPA OIG Office of Investigations to conduct an inquiry into several agency glyphosate review-related matters.”
Elkins says IG will notify Lieu after completing its investigation and address concerns the congressman raised in a May 19 letter requesting an inquiry.
The IG review highlights long-standing disagreement over glyphosate's potential cancer risk, a driving concern in EPA's ongoing Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act registration review of the herbicide. The agency plans to issue human health and ecological risk assessments of glyphosate for public comment later this year.
Environmentalists have long sought stricter oversight of glyphosate, pointing to a 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer finding that glyphosate probably causes cancer, a conclusion that conflicted with other risk findings, even from within the WHO.
Industry and congressional Republicans, including Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), have faulted EPA for not quickly completing its registration review of glyphosate given the agency's September finding that the substance is not likely to cause cancer.
In March, an agency advisory panel split on whether to back EPA's conclusion.
The IG investigation, requested by Lieu, grows out of litigation in federal court in California brought by plaintiffs who allege they contracted non-Hodgkin lymphoma after exposure to Roundup, which contains glyphosate.
Citing a New York Times report, Lieu says filings in the case reveal Monsanto ghost wrote research and that former EPA official Jess Rowland assured the company that HHS would not review the substance.
“I have deep concerns with the Environmental Protection Agency's registration review of the pesticide glyphosate, a potentially harmful chemical to humans,” Lieu says. “There are reports that an EPA employee may have colluded with Monsanto to conduct a biased review of glyphosate.”
Lieu asks IG to investigate any communications between EPA staff and Monsanto that may show wrongdoing, whether evidence exists that the review is biased or unfair, and whether an EPA employee suggested the agency would prevent a HHS review of the substance.
The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) in a June 7 statement, backs the IG investigation. “The EPA is supposed to protect us from toxic chemicals, not go out of its way to protect the profits of chemical companies,” a CBD official says. “I’m glad to see the inspector general investigating these disturbing indications that one of the EPA’s top staffers may have been working with Monsanto to hide the truth about the dangers of glyphosate.”
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A More Sustainable Way to Refine Metals
Jun 8, 2017 | Lab Manager
By McGill University
A team of chemists in Canada has developed a way to process metals without using toxic solvents and reagents.
The system, which also consumes far less energy than conventional techniques, could greatly shrink the environmental impact of producing metals from raw materials or from post-consumer electronics.
"At a time when natural deposits of metals are on the decline, there is a great deal of interest in improving the efficiency of metal refinement and recycling, but few disruptive technologies are being put forth," says Jean-Philip Lumb, an associate professor in McGill University's Department of Chemistry. "That's what makes our advance so important."
The discovery stems from a collaboration between Lumb and Tomislav Friscic at McGill in Montreal, and Kim Baines of Western University in London, Ont. In an article published recently in Science Advances, the researchers outline an approach that uses organic molecules, instead of chlorine and hydrochloric acid, to help purify germanium, a metal used widely in electronic devices. Laboratory experiments by the researchers have shown that the same technique can be used with other metals, including zinc, copper, manganese, and cobalt.
The research could mark an important milestone for the "green chemistry" movement, which seeks to replace toxic reagents used in conventional industrial manufacturing with more environmentally friendly alternatives. Most advances in this area have involved organic chemistry—the synthesis of carbon-based compounds used in pharmaceuticals and plastics, for example.
"Applications of green chemistry lag far behind in the area of metals," Lumb says. "Yet metals are just as important for sustainability as any organic compound. For example, electronic devices require numerous metals to function."
Taking a page from biology
There is no single ore rich in germanium, so it is generally obtained from mining operations as a minor component in a mixture with many other materials. Through a series of processes, that blend of matter can be reduced to germanium and zinc.
"Currently, in order to isolate germanium from zinc, it's a pretty nasty process," Baines explains. The new approach developed by the McGill and Western chemists "enables you to get germanium from zinc, without those nasty processes."
To accomplish this, the researchers took a page from biology. Lumb's lab for years has conducted research into the chemistry of melanin, the molecule in human tissue that gives skin and hair their color. Melanin also has the ability to bind to metals. "We asked the question: 'Here's this biomaterial with exquisite function, would it be possible to use it as a blueprint for new, more efficient technologies?'"
The scientists teamed up to synthesize a molecule that mimics some of the qualities of melanin. In particular, this "organic co-factor" acts as a mediator that helps to extract germanium at room temperature, without using solvents.
Next step: industrial scale
The system also taps into Friscic's expertise in mechanochemistry, an emerging branch of chemistry that relies on mechanical force—rather than solvents and heat—to promote chemical reactions. Milling jars containing stainless-steel balls are shaken at high speeds to help purify the metal.
"This shows how collaborations naturally can lead to sustainability-oriented innovation," Friscic says. "Combining elegant new chemistry with solvent-free mechanochemical techniques led us to a process that is cleaner by virtue of circumventing chlorine-based processing, but also eliminates the generation of toxic solvent waste"
The next step in developing the technology will be to show that it can be deployed economically on industrial scales, for a range of metals.
"There's a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done to get from where we are now to where we need to go," Lumb says. "But the platform works on many different kinds of metals and metal oxides, and we think that it could become a technology adopted by industry. We are looking for stakeholders with whom we can partner to move this technology forward."
http://www.labmanager.com/news/2017/06/a-more-sustainable-way-to-refine-metals#.WTmH3OuGPIU
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DOE Crafts State Regs Database
Jun 8, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Pamela King
The Energy Department is soliciting feedback on a new tool to track state water policies that intersect with energy systems.
Developed by DOE's Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis, the database offers insight on oil and gas wastewater, power plant cooling water, and surface and groundwater regulations. The agency says its goal is to improve policy analysis, data visualization and stakeholder communication.
"Historically, energy and water systems have been developed, managed and regulated independently and without significant acknowledgement of the connections between them," according to DOE's request for information. "The energy and water policy landscape is thus highly fragmented, which can make it difficult for industry, utilities, government and other stakeholder groups to effectively balance energy and water goals."
Utah, for example, requires reuse and recycling of water produced by hydraulic fracturing operations, as well as a water plan prior to drilling, the database shows.
West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Michigan require water management plans, and Ohio and Illinois ask for plans pertaining to the source of water used for fracking.
The scope of the database extends beyond fracking to include regulations surrounding electricity generation, hydropower and thermoelectric cooling.
DOE is asking for feedback on the quality and completeness of its information, as well as the functionality and usefulness of its database.
Responses are due by Aug. 4.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/06/08/stories/1060055706
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First Tanker with US Natural Gas Reaches Poland
Jun 8, 2017 | ABC
By Monika Scislowska
The first ever tanker with liquefied natural gas from the United States arrived in Poland on Thursday as part of the country's — and the region's — efforts to cut its dependence on Russia.
It was the first delivery of U.S. gas to eastern and northern Europe, which is building a new network of energy sources and gas transportation. Last year, Poland opened its first terminal for liquefied natural gas, or LNG, in Swinoujscie, on the Baltic Sea coast, to be able to receive such gas from distant suppliers like the U.S. or Qatar, which has already made some deliveries.
During a ceremony welcoming the U. S. tanker "Clean Ocean," Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said it was a historic moment that improves the region's energy security.
"Today Poland can say that it is a safe and sovereign country, also because we have such wonderful investments" like the LNG terminal, Szydlo said. "Days like this go down in history."
She urged the U.S. to develop "further and more efficient cooperation."
The region is trying to cut its reliance on Russia, which has occasionally used its gas exports to exert political pressure. It is planning to bring in gas from the North Sea and also to boost its own production.
The U.S. State Department said in a statement that LNG exports "support American jobs, lower energy prices for our partners abroad, and contribute to Europe's energy security goals using a reliable, market based supplier."
Officials did not reveal the size of the delivery or the cost of the deal, which was made with Houston-based Cheniere Energy, Inc.
The U.S. is rich in shale gas and has been exporting the fuel to southern European nations such as Spain and Turkey, but not yet to nations in the continent's north.
Another U.S. delivery to Poland is expected this summer.
Polish officials have also indicated that the current gas supply deal with Qatar has not been disturbed by recent developments in which some Middle Eastern nations cut diplomatic ties with the country.
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Calif. Regulators Rethink Additional Natural Gas Units
Jun 8, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Ivan Penn
In the face of an electricity glut, California regulators are rethinking plans to build more power plants in the state.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced Tuesday that it has temporarily suspended a $2.2 billion plan to rebuild several aging natural gas plants.
While the plan remains in suspension, the department will study clean energy alternatives to meet electricity demands.
The move comes after a Los Angeles Times investigation found that California's power plants are on track to produce at least 21 percent more electricity than needed by 2020.
Green groups such as the Sierra Club and Earthjustice were quick to praise the move.
"As our city struggles with the worst smog we've seen in years, we appreciate that LADWP is taking some much-needed time to reassess its plans to build fossil fuel power plants," Angela Johnson Meszaros, an attorney at Earthjustice, said in a statement.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/06/08/stories/1060055696
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Wisconsin Senator's Freight Railroad Addresses Challenges Cited by Shippers
Jun 8, 2017 | Logistics Management
By Jeff Berman
Even though legislation introduced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) may have a keen focus on her home state, it essentially also doubles as a wish list of sorts for rail shippers throughout the country.
Entitled the “Rail Shipper Fairness Act,” the legislation is geared towards challenges rail shippers face along the lines of a need to reduce costs and improving rail service.
Some of the key aspects of the legislation include:requiring rail service to be efficient and reliable; clarifying STB authority to address service emergencies for shipments moving under contract; and expanding fines and equitable damages that railroads can be forced to pay for poor service. allowing competitive switching for interchanges within 100 miles; removing the presumption that market dominance cannot exist when a shipper is served by two carriers; and revising rail transportation policy to reflect shipper priorities in addition to railroad priorities;suspending collection of rate increase while a rate case is pending; requiring use of market-based revenue methodology in stand-alone rate cases; shifting the burden of proof to railroads in stand-alone cost cases; and eliminating the qualitative market dominance test; prohibiting railroads from charging customers for fuel in a way that does not correlate with actual fuel costs; andremoving the revenue adequacy test and cap railroad cost of equity at a reasonable level
This legislation is the most recent example of rail shippers’ collective efforts to re-regulate the freight railroad sector to a large degree.
Speaking from a Wisconsin perspective Senator Baldwin said in a statement that Wisconsin businesses need a quality and responsive railroad system to effectively get their goods to market.
“In order to continue building a strong Made in Wisconsin economy that is fair to farmers, manufacturers, and consumers, we need to give these shippers a seat at the table,” she said. “This legislation will address the challenges faced by local businesses and help drive our Wisconsin economy forward.”
In some regards, this bill resembles and leverages the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015, which was signed into law by Congress.
Baldwin’s bill was warmly embraced by Ann Warner, executive director of the Freight Rail Customers Alliance, whom noted that the legislation would also positively reinforce current proceedings before the STB on rate reasonableness, expediting rate cases, and competitive switching.
As for the freight railroads, they have been consistent in saying for years that the existing regulatory railroad environment has produced—for North American railroad shippers—a freight railroad system that is the envy of the world, adding that while it is not perfect, to deprive the industry of its ability to earn its cost of capital could have a chilling effect on capital investments to support traffic growth and it could begin to reverse the great strides freight rail has made after Staggers in the areas of rail safety and service reliability.
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Existing Climate Efforts Expected to Keep US Goals on Track
Jun 8, 2017 | The New York Times
By The Associated PRess
New York, California and 11 other states representing nearly 40 percent of the U.S. economy, mayors of about 200 cities, and leaders of business giants including Amazon, Apple and Target have signed pledges to keep reducing their fossil-fuel emissions after President Donald Trump announced he would withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 Paris climate accord.
"Our coalition wants to let the world know that absent leadership from our federal government," the country will keep cutting its emissions from fossil fuels, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown told reporters Tuesday.
California, New York, Virginia, Connecticut, North Carolina, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Washington state, Vermont, Massachusetts, Delaware, Oregon and Washington, D.C., have signed pledges. The states, most led by Democrats, represent $7 trillion of the U.S. gross domestic product, or 38 percent.Continue reading the main story
Texas, the largest producer of climate-changing carbon dioxide in the U.S. and the biggest state economy after California, is a key figure absent from the list. More than two dozen other states, mostly in the country's middle, already had been fighting stepped-up federal emissions-cutting programs before Trump's announcement.
Top Texas leaders have had little public comment on the withdrawal from the global accord, although the state's attorney general praised the move.
New York and California are the only states in the country's top 10 list of carbon emitters to sign pledges.
Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupsi, who joined former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "We Are Still In" campaign, along with mayors of Houston, Atlanta and hundreds of other local leaders, cited the economics for her state: Utah has a $1 billion skiing industry threatened by climate change and marked 65 percent growth last year alone in solar power, as one of the country's sunniest states.
"Utah is warming at twice the global average, and our drinking water is at risk," said Biskupsi, saying she was acting "for the well-being of the planet I'm leaving to my sons and your children."
Undoing most existing U.S. programs that curb car pollution and other climate-changing emissions would probably take years and court battles if Trump tries, climate experts say. A few efforts, such as a reduction on methane emissions introduced by the Obama administration, could be overturned more easily.
The momentum of existing climate-change efforts and the availability natural gas, wind and solar power mean those loyal to the Paris accord in the U.S. will have an easier time, with emissions expected to fall overall for years, said Robert Perciasepe with the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, who worked with Bloomberg's group on the climate pledge.
Some studies suggest the United States will cut emissions as much as 19 percent by 2025 if it simply moves forward as is, he said. That's not far from former President Barack Obama's goals for a reduction of 25 to 28 percent as part of the Paris accord, Perciasepe said.
Since Thursday, commitments from cities, universities and businesses were happening so fast that organizers had to set up a website where they could sign up automatically, Perciasepe said.
The support from local governments, public institutions and businesses show that climate change efforts are getting something they have long lacked in the U.S. — vocal and enthusiastic support, said William K. Reilly, a former chief of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who is not involved in the alliances.
"It does perhaps reflect an increasing activism on the part of the public at large" on climate change, Reilly said. "Trump can take some perverse credit for that."
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/06/07/us/ap-us-paris-accord-loyalists.html?_r=0
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