Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 03/05/18
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(ACC Blog) EPA’s Proposed Rule on Transparency in Regulatory Science Gets it Right When It Comes to the Best Available Science and Non-Linear Modeling Approaches
May 3, 2018 | American Chemistry Matters
At ACC we’re still doing a deep dive in our review of EPA’s recently proposed rule: Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science. -
(ACC Mentioned) McNiff's Riffs: The Last Plastic Straw
May 3, 2018 | KARE11.com
By Tim McNiff
It was summer. -
(ACC Mentioned) EPA’s Top Spokesperson to Depart
May 3, 2018 | Politico
By Emily Holden
EPA’s top spokeswoman is leaving the agency, the latest in a string of departures by key staffers amid the swarm of investigations into Administrator Scott Pruitt’s potential ethical lapses. -
(ACC Mentioned) Another Top EPA Official Is Leaving, Sources Say
May 3, 2018 | Bloomberg
By Jennifer Jacobs
A third top EPA official is leaving the agency amid intensifying scrutiny of Administrator Scott Pruitt’s travel, spending and condo rental, said two people familiar with the move. -
(ACC Mentioned) EPA's Top Spokeswoman Resigns, But Scott Pruitt's Chief of Staff Downplays Turmoil
May 3, 2018 | Washington Examiner
By Josh Siegel
The Environmental Protection Agency's top communications staff member has resigned amid turmoil inside the agency while Administrator Scott Pruitt attempts to fend off multiple scandals. -
(ACC Mentioned) Pruitt’s Top Spokesperson Latest to Leave Embattled EPA
May 3, 2018 | AP (In The Washington Post)
By Ellen Knickmeyer
Scott Pruitt’s top spokesperson said Thursday she was leaving the Environmental Protection Agency, the latest high-profile departure as the embattled EPA administrator fights ethics allegations. -
(ACC Mentioned) The Latest: Pruitt's Top Spokesperson Leaving EPA
May 3, 2018 | AP (In The New York Times, The Washington Post)
Scott Pruitt's top spokesperson is leaving the Environmental Protection Agency, the latest high-profile departure from the embattled agency. -
(ACC Mentioned) Pruitt's Top Communications Aide Resigns
May 3, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender and Kevin Bogardus
EPA boss Scott Pruitt's top communications staffer is leaving the agency as the embattled administrator continues to come under fire for allegations of ethics lapses. -
Pruitt Aides are Getting Out
May 3, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender and Kevin Bogardus
Some of Administrator Scott Pruitt's closest aides are leaving EPA, underscoring the turmoil engulfing the agency's political ranks. -
BASF, Solenis to Combine Paper and Water Chemicals Businesses
May 3, 2018 | Reuters (In The New York Times)
By Maria Sheahan
BASF SE and Solenis have agreed to combine their paper and water chemicals businesses, BASF said on Thursday. -
(ACC Mentioned) Environmentalists Seek to Boost TSCA Ethics Claim
May 3, 2018 | Inside EPA
Environmentalists challenging EPA's rules for prioritizing and reviewing existing chemicals are seeking to include additional documents in the administrative record on Nancy Beck, the top political appointee in EPA's toxics office, in an effort to bolster their claim that the former chemical industry lobbyist has a conflict of interest and inappropriately revised the rules. -
US Cosmetic Ingredient Review Hits Back at Bias Accusation
May 3, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
An industry-backed body that reviews the safety of cosmetics ingredients in the US, has hit back at accusations that its assessments are "inadequate" and tainted by an inherent conflict of interest. -
Texas Officials Ignore Dioxin Spread in Houston Waterways
May 3, 2018 | AP (In The New York Times, The Washington Post)
Evelyn and Jerome Matula were still polka-dancing newlyweds in 1950 when they spotted a half-finished cottage in the woods along the San Jacinto River east of Houston. -
Procter & Gamble to Reveal Product Safety Process This Year
May 3, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble has committed itself to revealing how it makes product safety decisions by the end of the year. -
Hawaii Passes Bill Banning Sunscreen That Can Harm Coral Reefs
May 3, 2018 | The New York Times
By Elaine Glusac
On May 1, Hawaii became the first state to pass a bill banning the sale of sunscreen containing chemicals believed to harm coral reefs. -
NMP Added to REACH Restricted Substances List
May 3, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The European Commission has added 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) to REACH Annex XVII – the restricted substances list. -
Echa Round-Up
May 3, 2018 | Chemical Watch
Echa is running a webinar on 17 May on the imminent REACH deadline. -
MEPs Call for Global Ban on Cosmetics Animal Testing
May 3, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Clelia Oziel
The European Parliament has voted by a vast majority to adopt a resolution calling for a global ban on animal testing for cosmetics products before 2023. -
Business Group Supports Regulation of Proxy Advisers
May 3, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Soraghan
Concerns about shareholder resolutions from activist investors has a Washington business group supporting more regulation. -
Judge Rules DHS Can Keep Facility Info Secret
May 3, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly
The Department of Homeland Security can keep secret information about certain chemical facilities, a federal judge ruled yesterday. -
Absent Federal Action, Communities and Corporations Commit to Renewables
May 3, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Grant Smith
While the Trump administration is promoting coal, a dirty and dangerous fossil fuel headed for the scrap heap of history, a growing number of communities and companies across the nation are embracing a future powered by clean, safe, renewable energy.
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Transportation and Infrastructure News - There are no clips to report at this time.
Environment News
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May 3, 2018 | American Chemistry Matters
At ACC we’re still doing a deep dive in our review of EPA’s recently proposed rule: Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science. We look forward to submitting comments to help the agency ensure the final rule increases transparency and public confidence in the agency’s regulations while protecting personal privacy, confidential business information, proprietary interest and intellectual property rights. That said, one thing we already know they got right is the rule’s focus on dose response data and models.
For far too long and far too often EPA has relied on default linear dose-response models that have frequently resulted in inflated risk estimates. These inflated risks create misperceptions and confusion about true risks and can lead to unwarranted and costly risk management decisions. The good news is that EPA’s proposed rule calls on agency scientific staff and decision makers to give appropriate consideration to non-linear models or threshold models (i.e. dose models that show a level of exposure to a substance below which no harm is expected to occur). In other words, to use the best available science by presenting non-linear modeling approaches consistent with the available data and scientific understanding of endogenous exposures and mode of action, in lieu of, or at a minimum in addition to, the linear default.
“EPA shall evaluate the appropriateness of using default assumptions, including assumptions of a linear, no-threshold dose response, on a case-by-case basis. EPA shall clearly explain the scientific basis for each model assumption used and present analyses showing the sensitivity of the modeled results to alternative assumptions. When available, EPA shall give explicit consideration to high quality studies that explore: A broad class of parametric dose-response or concentration-response models; a robust set of potential confounding variables; nonparametric models that incorporate fewer assumptions; various threshold models across the dose or exposure range; and models that investigate factors that might account for spatial heterogeneity.”
The proposed provision has been characterized in some corners of the environmental NGO blogosphere as granting industry an “ask.” Wrong. It’s simply a recognition by EPA that old default assumptions may not always represent the most up to date science. Notably, it is an approach a strong bi-partisan majority of Congress supported in the 2016 amendments to Section 26 of the Toxic Substances Control Act: When it comes to the science, EPA should “show its work.”
Backed by the best available 21st century science, ACC has long advocated for use of non-linear, threshold models in cases where available data and scientific understanding support such models. In fact mode of action and non-linear models are integral components in our well-known Risk Principles, found here and here.
UTILIZE MODERN SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION AND TOOLS RATHER THAN CONTINUING TO RELY ON OUTDATED ASSUMPTIONS: Reliance on defaults should be minimized. In many cases, government hazard and risk assessment programs rely on assumptions and default approaches developed in the 1970s [i.e., linear, no-threshold dose response]. Today’s scientists and health professionals have a wealth of knowledge including 21st-century understanding of how the human body works and the way chemicals interact with the body [i.e., mode of action and non-linear dose response] and the environment at different levels of exposure. This modern-day knowledge must be applied when determining chemical safety.
CHARACTERIZE HAZARDS AND RISKS FULLY AND ACCURATELY: Hazards and risks must be objectively characterized and presented in a manner understandable to stakeholders and risk managers. The characterization should provide a full picture of what is known and what has been inferred and should also present results based on alternative plausible assumptions [i.e., not just the default, but also scientifically plausible modes of action and non-linear dose response]. When a screening level assessment indicates potential concern, prior to initiating additional risk management actions, a refined assessment should be conducted to more accurately determine hazards or risks. When going beyond screening level, assessments should include central estimates and ranges; it is not sufficient to rely on theoretical maximum exposure estimates to characterize potential risk.
EPA got it right. We welcome this aspect of the Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science proposed rule and look forward to working with the agency to help ensure that it continues to recognize and act on advances in scientific knowledge and the best available, most relevant scientific data and integrates this into its regulatory decision making processes.
https://blog.americanchemistry.com/2018/05/epas-proposed-rule-on-transparency-in-regulatory-science-gets-it-right-when-it-comes-to-the-best-available-science-and-non-linear-modeling-approaches/
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(ACC Mentioned) McNiff's Riffs: The Last Plastic Straw
May 3, 2018 | KARE11.com
By Tim McNiff
It was summer.
I was about 12-years old, and on my way up to my neighbor’s cabin on Lake Pokegema when we stopped at Tobies in Hinckley for lunch. When my drink arrived, I carefully tore-off one end of the paper wrapper on my straw and pulled the wrapper about an inch out from the end, leaving the rest covered, then put the exposed part of the straw to my lips, and blew.
Of course, I was aiming at somebody’s head as I did this. My intended target was the much younger brother of one of my best friends.
I say “intended”, because about 90% of the way to the kid’s head that paper wrapper took a sudden, unexpected and unfortunate hard left-turn, and instead drilled the melon of a really, really large man, seated in the booth next door.
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/mcniffs-riffs-the-last-plastic-straw/89-548366592
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(ACC Mentioned) EPA’s Top Spokesperson to Depart
May 3, 2018 | Politico
By Emily Holden
EPA’s top spokeswoman is leaving the agency, the latest in a string of departures by key staffers amid the swarm of investigations into Administrator Scott Pruitt’s potential ethical lapses.
The exit of Liz Bowman comes after Pruitt’s lead security agent Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta and EPA's Superfund task force head and adviser Albert “Kell” Kelly both quit earlier this week. Perrotta has cited negative media attention as contributing to his decision. His role in Pruitt’s security spending was under review by the agency’s inspector general, and he was interviewed by House Oversight Committee staffers on Wednesday.
EPA also confirmed Kelly was leaving after attracting controversy over his ban from the banking industry.
Bowman, who will move to a job on Capitol Hill, has been associate administrator for public affairs since shortly after Pruitt was confirmed in early 2017. She was previously director of issue and advocacy communications for the American Chemistry Council.
“I leave extremely thankful for the opportunity to serve the Trump Administration and Administrator Pruitt,“ Bowman said. “Being a member of the EPA team has allowed me to further my skills, learn from my mistakes, and make lifelong friendships. It has also provided me the opportunity to develop a new, and deep, respect for the public servants who serve the American people, day in and day out, to ensure that we all have access to clean air, land, and water.”
EPA chief of staff Ryan Jackson said Bowman “has been an invaluable lead of our public affairs office during this past year.”
“I congratulate her on pursuing great and new opportunities on Capitol Hill where we’ll continue to work with her just in a different capacity,” he said.
Bowman’s last day at EPA is May 11.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/03/epa-top-spokesperson-to-depart-566105
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(ACC Mentioned) Another Top EPA Official Is Leaving, Sources Say
May 3, 2018 | Bloomberg
By Jennifer Jacobs
A third top EPA official is leaving the agency amid intensifying scrutiny of Administrator Scott Pruitt’s travel, spending and condo rental, said two people familiar with the move.
Associate Administrator Liz Bowman, the top public affairs official at the Environmental Protection Agency, is set to handle communications for Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing personnel matters before a formal announcement.
Bowman’s departure follows two others just this week: the exit of Albert "Kell" Kelly, the top EPA adviser on Superfund cleanups, and former Secret Service agent Pasquale "Nino” Perrotta, who led Pruitt’s security detail. Longtime Pruitt ally Samantha Dravis announced her resignation last month.
The exodus comes amid steep criticism of Pruitt -- including calls by at least 170 Democrats and four Republicans for his ouster. There are at least 10 formal investigations into Pruitt, including over his rental of Capitol Hillbedroom from a lobbyist for $50 a night under unusually generous terms, frequent taxpayer-funded travel to his home state of Oklahoma, questionable spending decisions at the EPA and raises for two top aides over White House objections.
QuickTake: Here’s a Scorecard of the Scott Pruitt Investigations
As the associate administrator for public affairs, Bowman has been on the front lines of the EPA’s sometimes rocky relationship with the news media, delivering sharp critiques of reporters covering the agency.
Bowman is one of several political appointees who arrived at the EPA from the American Chemistry Council, a trade group representing Dow Chemical Co., BASF SE and Monsanto Co.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-03/trump-s-tariffs-are-making-things-even-worse-for-u-s-newspapers
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(ACC Mentioned) EPA's Top Spokeswoman Resigns, But Scott Pruitt's Chief of Staff Downplays Turmoil
May 3, 2018 | Washington Examiner
By Josh Siegel
The Environmental Protection Agency's top communications staff member has resigned amid turmoil inside the agency while Administrator Scott Pruitt attempts to fend off multiple scandals.
Liz Bowman, the top communications staffer at the EPA, resigned Monday. The Washington Examiner is the first to report her departure.
Bowman, the EPA’s associate administrator of public affairs, has managed an approximately 40-person EPA press shop that has been increasingly on the defensive in recent weeks responding to a series of ethics and spending allegations facing Pruitt.Barone's Guide to Government: Freedom of the Press — Pentagon Papers casesWatch Full Screen to Skip Ads
Bowman says she decided to resign for reasons unrelated to the Pruitt scandals, and is leaving the EPA on good terms. Bowman, who began working in the EPA in March of last year, is headed to Capitol Hill, where she will be director of communications for Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. She previously directed communications for the American Chemistry Council.
Bowman’s last day at EPA is May 11.
“I leave extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve the Trump Administration and Administrator Pruitt,” Bowman said in her resignation letter to EPA chief of staff Ryan Jackson, dated April 30 and obtained by the Washington Examiner. "Being a member of the EPA team has allowed me to further my skills, learn from my mistakes, and make lifelong friendships. It has also provided me the opportunity to develop a new, and deep, respect for the public servants who serve the American people, day in and day out, to ensure that we have access to clean air, land, and water.”
Colleagues credit Bowman with leading outreach to conservative groups and figures who embrace Pruitt’s deregulatory agenda, and for helping Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the No. 2 official at EPA, survive a tough confirmation process through the Senate.
“Liz Bowman is a true professional who really helped me through the confirmation process,” Wheeler told the Washington Examiner. “She is respected by the staff at the agency and will be sorely missed.”
Her departure comes amidst other high-level departures of aides close to Pruitt. But, Pruitt's chief of staff says scandals aren't causing departures of top aides.
Jackson is downplaying perceptions of turmoil among EPA rank-and-file and political staff, and insisted agency employees are still motivated to work for Pruitt.
“People are principally focused on doing their jobs whether in the press office or program offices,” Jackson told the Washington Examiner in an interview Wednesday night. “We respond to a lot, but at the same time we have policies that we are working on and finalizing and that gives career and political staff a lot of gratification.”
The EPA earlier this week announced the departures of Albert "Kell" Kelly, who led the agency's Superfund program that helps clean up hazardous sites, and Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta, the head of Pruitt's security detail, a major figure and witness in federal probes of Pruitt’s spending and ethics.
Pruitt, in testimony before two House committees last week, downplayed his role in various spending, hiring, and security decisions at the agency, mostly blaming career and political staff who work under him.
Jackson, in the interview with the Washington Examiner, expressed regret at Bowman leaving, but excitement for her new opportunity.
“We always appreciate when folks want to pursue other options,” Jackson said. “She has a great opportunity ahead of her at the Senate. I came from the Senate. The Senate is great place to work. I loved my time there. I don't blame her at all. She will work for a great member that has a great future in front of her.”
“What Liz brought to the table at EPA was good judgment, good management, good organization. She speaks her mind. She might even spoken her mind to a fault. But I loved it. I am going to miss her,” Jackson added.
Jackson joined EPA after nearly 20 years working in the Senate, as chief of staff to Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., a close Pruitt ally from his home state, and staff director of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
He has found himself as a central figure in the Pruitt investigations.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has requested a transcribed interview with Jackson, and other top Pruitt aides, as part of its probe into the EPA administrator’s spending and ethics.
Jackson has taken responsibility for authorizing massive raises for close aides to Pruitt who used to work for him when he was Oklahoma’s attorney general.
The EPA gave the raises after the White House refused to approve them.
To give the raises, the EPA used a 1977 provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act that authorizes the agency to hire up to 30 people without the approval of the Senate or the White House
The provision was designed so the EPA could quickly hire senior management and scientific personnel during times of critical need. Critics say those qualifiers do not apply in the case of Pruitt’s former political staffers from Oklahoma.
At least two other EPA press officers, James Hewitt and Jahan Wilcox, were hired via Pruitt’s safe-water authority, the Washington Post has reported.
Jackson told the Washington Examiner Bowman was not hired that way, but he defended the broader practice.
“I’ve got to be candid with you, sometimes there is a lot flexibility for this hiring authority which every administration has used,” Jackson said. "Sometimes, it is the most direct and convenient way to bring someone aboard quickly.”
He said he doesn’t expect a broader staff shake-up after the resignations of Bowman, Kelly, and Perrotta, while acknowledging that there “might be one other” change to the communications staff.
“I am really not [concerned],” Jackson said. “I gotta tell you that it doesn't bother me at all that for some of these folks who are moving on to other opportunities that their proving ground was at EPA and at our shop.”
Jackson added he’s “proud” of staff who he says are focusing on the EPA’s agenda, despite Pruitt’s uncertain status, citing recent work on a “science transparency” rule, efforts to change fuel efficiency standards, and replacing the Obama administration’s Waters of the U.S. regulation.
Pruitt is the subject of 11 federal investigations, involving his frequent first class travel, hefty spending on a 24/7 security detail, hiring practices, and a $50-per-night rental agreement he had with the wife of an energy lobbyist with business before the EPA.
“I am exceptionally proud of the team at EPA,” Jackson said. “We had a great announcement last Tuesday with the science transparency rule. We will have very shortly a new rule with CAFE [vehicle efficiency] standards, and very soon we will have a new WOTUS rule. So we are moving. EPA is moving.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/epas-top-spokeswoman-resigns-but-scott-pruitts-chief-of-staff-downplays-turmoil
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(ACC Mentioned) Pruitt’s Top Spokesperson Latest to Leave Embattled EPA
May 3, 2018 | AP (In The Washington Post)
By Ellen Knickmeyer
Scott Pruitt’s top spokesperson said Thursday she was leaving the Environmental Protection Agency, the latest high-profile departure as the embattled EPA administrator fights ethics allegations.
Liz Bowman, EPA’s associate administrator for public affairs, confirmed by phone she was leaving, but refused to discuss what motivated her departure.
In an emailed statement, Bowman said she was grateful to serve under President Donald Trump and Pruitt.
“Being a member of the EPA team has allowed me to further my skills, learn from my mistakes, and make lifelong friendships,” said Bowman, who left the American Chemistry Council trade group to work for Pruitt.
Her departure comes a week after Pruitt’s security chief and Superfund administrator left amid a growing series of federal ethics investigations of Pruitt’s tenure at EPA.
Former security chief Pasquale Perrotta appeared for an hours-long closed-door interview Wednesday with staff on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
In interviews and before lawmakers, Pruitt has consistently blamed subordinates for questions about spending by his office, including round-the-clock security and first-class plane tickets for Pruitt.
Last week, the EPA head told congressional lawmakers that he had no idea staffers had spent $43,000 on a soundproof booth after he asked for a private, secure communications set-up.
His former deputy chief of staff, Kevin Chmielewski, denied that, telling ABC News in a segment aired Wednesday that Pruitt knew the booth would be in “the tune of over $40,000.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lobbyist-tied-to-pruitt-pushed-clients-committee-candidates/2018/05/03/171ad44a-4e8b-11e8-85c1-9326c4511033_story.html?utm_term=.a79aed92e6ad
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(ACC Mentioned) The Latest: Pruitt's Top Spokesperson Leaving EPA
May 3, 2018 | AP (In The New York Times, The Washington Post)
The Latest on Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt (all times local):
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12:05 p.m.
Scott Pruitt's top spokesperson is leaving the Environmental Protection Agency, the latest high-profile departure from the embattled agency.
Liz Bowman, EPA's associate administrator for public affairs, has confirmed that she is stepping down. In a statement, Bowman says she was grateful to serve the Trump administration and Pruitt.
Bowman came to the EPA from the American Chemistry Council trade group.
Her departure comes a week after Pruitt's security chief and Superfund administrator stepped down amid a growing series of federal ethics investigations of Pruitt's tenure at EPA.
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6:40 a.m.
A memo from the Environmental Protection Agency is raising new questions about EPA chief Scott Pruitt's relationships with lobbyists.
The memo from last August released Wednesday shows that the lobbyist whose wife had rented a condo to Pruitt for $50 a night sought EPA committee posts for a lobbying client.
The senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Frank Pallone of New Jersey, says the request shows the extent to which special interests providing Pruitt with gifts have sought specific favors from EPA in return.
The memo makes for the latest in a monthslong barrage of news reports and federal investigations questioning spending and other actions at Pruitt's EPA.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/05/03/us/politics/ap-us-trump-epa-the-latest.html
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(ACC Mentioned) Pruitt's Top Communications Aide Resigns
May 3, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender and Kevin Bogardus
EPA boss Scott Pruitt's top communications staffer is leaving the agency as the embattled administrator continues to come under fire for allegations of ethics lapses.
Liz Bowman, who joined EPA’s public affairs office in March 2017, is leaving next week to work as communications director for Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
Bowman has been leading the press office in an agency that's been under siege in recent weeks as allegations have come about Pruitt being too cozy with lobbyists, misusing taxpayer cash and sidelining staffers who oppose him.
Before joining EPA, Bowman worked at the American Chemistry Council, where she handled issue and advocacy communications. She also worked at public affairs firm HDMK and at the Pew Charitable Trusts.
After joining EPA in March, Bowman was named the office's acting head by June 2017. She permanently took on the top public affairs job last August.
"I leave extremely thankful for the opportunity to serve the Trump Administration and Administrator Pruitt," she told E&E News today in a statement.
"Being a member of the EPA team has allowed me to further my skills, learn from my mistakes, and make lifelong friendships. It has also provided me the opportunity to develop a new, and deep, respect for the public servants who serve the American people, day in and day out, to ensure that we all have access to clean air, land, and water."
Ernst spokeswoman Leigh Claffey said today in an email, "Ms. Bowman brings years of invaluable experience in public affairs and public relations, and we are thrilled for her to lead the senator's communications operation."
It's unclear who will take over for Bowman in EPA's press shop.
Bowman is the latest of several top Pruitt aides to leave the agency. One of his close advisers, Albert "Kell" Kelly; the head of his security detail, Pasquale Perrotta; and his policy director, Samantha Dravis, have also resigned.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060080731/search?keyword=%22american+chemistry+council%22
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May 3, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Robin Bravender and Kevin Bogardus
Some of Administrator Scott Pruitt's closest aides are leaving EPA, underscoring the turmoil engulfing the agency's political ranks.
Liz Bowman today announced she's stepping down as communications director. The administrator's longtime friend and adviser, Albert "Kell" Kelly, has also resigned, and Pruitt's head of his personal security detail, Pasquale "Nino" Perrotta, is out. Pruitt's policy chief, Samantha Dravis, left EPA last month.
The turnover in the upper ranks is happening as Pruitt continues to come under fire for ethical allegations. He's at the center of multiple ethics probes across the government, some of which have also ensnared some of his political staffers. The controversies aren't expected to die down anytime soon, and Democrats and Republicans alike have called for President Trump to fire his embattled EPA boss.
This type of staff exodus is unusual, according to Bill Reilly, who led EPA during the George H.W. Bush administration.
"A transition like this usually occurs when there's a change of administrator. You don't see this kind of hemorrhage as a matter of ordinary course, especially not after just a year in office," Reilly said. But, he said, staff turnover has been common throughout the Trump administration. "Longevity doesn't appear to be a characteristic of staff service in this administration anywhere."
EPA staffers and sources close to the agency say it's been a tough place to work as critical reports about Pruitt's behavior have continued to pile up.
"I think it's probably pretty miserable for folks right now, lots of uncertainty," a former Republican Senate aide said.
Pruitt appeared on Capitol Hill last week, where he faced outrage from lawmakers. His strategy was in part to deflect some of the criticism by pinning blame on his staffers.
"It can't be a happy experience to have your boss throw you under the bus," Reilly said. "I can well imagine that the prospects for the near term are not pleasant for a number of people whom he blamed for giving him bad advice on expenses." He added that it's unclear "whether [Pruitt] has lost confidence in his staff or they in him."
Maura Cowley of the Sierra Club said of the staff departures, "Whether EPA staff are getting implicated for supporting Pruitt's corrupt behavior or getting thrown under the bus by their boss, Pruitt is making the EPA a terrible place to work. Those are just a few of the reasons he should be the next one out the door."
While some other top staffers might also leave amid the controversies, some aren't expecting mass departures.
Staffers who came from Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe's office, for example, won't likely "be leaving anytime soon," the former Republican Senate aide said. Because Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler — a former Inhofe aide — would likely step in if Pruitt is fired or resigns, "a lot of those guys might feel even safer," that person said. Pruitt's chief of staff, Ryan Jackson, and other top EPA political appointees are alumni of Inhofe's office.
White House aides are exhausted from the drumbeat of negative headlines following Pruitt, with several wishing Trump would fire Pruitt. On CBS News' podcast "The Takeout" this week, Marc Short, the White House's legislative affairs director, acknowledged that Pruitt could better manage the agency.
"We have to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, and I think that we take that promise seriously to the American people. I think that there are certain areas that the administrator would acknowledge were mistakes that he would want to fix," Short said.
Bob Sussman, a former EPA deputy administrator during the Clinton administration and once senior policy adviser to former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, said Pruitt's closest aides are leaving the agency, which could hinder EPA operations.
"The core management team around the administrator is beginning to dissolve," Sussman said. "These are important positions. Having worked at the agency in leadership, these are not positions that are easily filled, and you need the very best people."'It seems like it's a scandal a day'
Bowman, who is leaving to join the staff of Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), led the press shop tasked with fielding questions about Pruitt's behavior.
Former EPA boss Reilly said of the agency's press operation, "It seems like it's a scandal a day, and of course you're constantly in war mode."
Bowman said today in a statement, "I leave extremely thankful for the opportunity to serve the Trump Administration and Administrator Pruitt."
Under Bowman's watch, the EPA press office frequently sparred with reporters over their coverage of Pruitt and the Trump EPA.
Journalism groups and even some administration officials have been critical of EPA's press shop under Pruitt.
"You can argue that the lack of transparency on the part of the comms team has added to the administrator's problems because it resulted in the media digging farther than they would have otherwise," said a former administration official.
The agency's public affairs office issued an unusual press release last September that took issue with an Associated Press story, criticizing a reporter by name and citing other stories that were critical of his coverage. That drew sharp rebukes in response, including from Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), a top House appropriator, who scolded EPA for misusing taxpayer dollars in issuing the release (Greenwire, Sept. 12, 2017).
EPA announced Kelly's resignation earlier this week (see related story).
The former Oklahoma banker is considered a close friend of Pruitt's and was tasked with leading the agency's Superfund task force. He has come under scrutiny after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. banned him for life from the financial industry.
Kelly canceled an appearance at a congressional hearing this January. Democrats have called on the EPA inspector general to investigate on how Kelly was hired.
Perrotta also stepped down this week. He was a career special agent at EPA who served as a member of several administrators' personal security details over the past decade.
Perrotta was promoted to take charge of Pruitt's detail and had a hand in several of the EPA chief's controversial security measures, including frequent first-class travel, a secure phone booth and 24/7 security for Pruitt. Those decisions are already under IG review, and Perrotta met with House Oversight and Government Reform Committee staff for a transcribed interview this week.
Sussman said Pruitt may be shedding staff in order to reduce his exposure to any potential wrongdoing at EPA.
"In the current mode that he is in, I think Pruitt is all about survival, and survival might mean severing his ties with people he is close to so he can reduce his liabilities," Sussman said. "His ability to execute as administrator has been undermined. He has lost some of the key staff that are essential to doing his job effectively."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/05/03/stories/1060080777
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BASF, Solenis to Combine Paper and Water Chemicals Businesses
May 3, 2018 | Reuters (In The New York Times)
By Maria Sheahan
BASF SE and Solenis have agreed to combine their paper and water chemicals businesses, BASF said on Thursday.
The combined business, which had pro-forma sales of 2.4 billion euros (2.1 billion pounds), will be 49 percent owned by BASF, while funds managed by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice will hold the rest, it said.
No financial details of the transaction were disclosed.
BASF has embarked on an organisational revamp. It has agreed to spend billions on agricultural seed assets from peer Bayer. BASF is also planning to merge its oil and gas division with rival DEA and float it on the stock exchange.
But Martin Brudermueller, who will take over as CEO has thrown his weight behind the chemical group’s strategy of keeping divergent businesses folded into one company, at a time when its major rivals such as DowDuPont are breaking themselves up.
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/05/03/business/03reuters-basf-solenis.html
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(ACC Mentioned) Environmentalists Seek to Boost TSCA Ethics Claim
May 3, 2018 | Inside EPA
Environmentalists challenging EPA's rules for prioritizing and reviewing existing chemicals are seeking to include additional documents in the administrative record on Nancy Beck, the top political appointee in EPA's toxics office, in an effort to bolster their claim that the former chemical industry lobbyist has a conflict of interest and inappropriately revised the rules.
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/environmentalists-seek-boost-tsca-ethics-claim
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US Cosmetic Ingredient Review Hits Back at Bias Accusation
May 3, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
An industry-backed body that reviews the safety of cosmetics ingredients in the US, has hit back at accusations that its assessments are "inadequate" and tainted by an inherent conflict of interest.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review convenes a quarterly panel of medical and scientific experts to check the safety of cosmetic ingredients in what it says is "an open, unbiased and expert manner".
However, in a recently published report, the NGO Women Voices for the Earth accuses the CIR of a conflict of interest, because it is funded by the Personal Care Products Council – the trade association representing the majority of US cosmetic manufacturers.
The report, Cosmetic Ingredient Review: Failing the public. Failing manufacturers, also claims the expert panel, which has no regulatory powers, has determined safe for use chemicals linked to adverse health effects, including allergies, hormone disruption and cancer.
"These companies have an inherent interest in establishing the safety of the ingredients they use, and a significant financial disinterest in public pronouncements that the ingredients they use are unsafe," the WVE report says.'Baseless claims'
In response, senior figures in both the PCPC and CIR have hit back at the accusations. Alexandra Kowcz, chief scientist at the PCPC, issued a statement dismissing the report's claims as "baseless".
"The report, either negligently or intentionally, misrepresents the relationship between CIR and PCPC in an effort to undermine the independence of CIR and CIR's ability to operate free of bias," she said.
And CIR director, Bart Heldreth, also defended the expert panel's independence. "Anonymous peer-review evaluation of all CIR final reports is a key safeguard of scientific integrity," he said.
"When CIR arrives as the same conclusions as industry, it merely reflects that industry has done a good job, not that some nefarious collusion is going on," Dr Heldreth said.
WVE has participated in public CIR meetings, he added, and have had their comments "fully addressed".
"A failure of the panel experts or other international expert bodies to agree with [WVE] is not evidence that the process is fundamentally flawed, or the conclusions are wrong."Scope, data concerns
In its report, the WVE also criticises the scope of CIR evaluations and says the body makes determinations without sufficient data.
According to the NGO, their "very specific and limited scope" excludes concerns for workers and the environment. A conclusion of safety from the CIR is therefore "highly misleading for consumers, workers, manufacturers, and regulators alike who are equally interested in these broader impacts of cosmetic chemicals."
WVE also accuses them of having a history of "erroneously assuming that data gaps are equivalent to a lack of health effects".
It gives examples of the preservatives quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea as chemicals which it says were deemed safe for use without sufficient data to prove they were not carcinogenic.
But Dr Heldreth said that the CIR's focus on chemical safety, rather than on environmental or workplace concerns, is "not a rationale for discrediting its safety assessments".
And regarding data gaps, he said that if the scientific literature and information submitted is insufficient to make a safety determination, the CIR calls on industry and other interested parties "to undertake specific studies to address these insufficiencies, or to provide previously unpublished data."
Ms Kowcz added that PCPC members not only consider CIR findings when assessing ingredient safety, but also use "the same science-based approaches" as regulatory agencies like the FDA and EPA.
https://chemicalwatch.com/66392/us-cosmetic-ingredient-review-hits-back-at-bias-accusation
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Texas Officials Ignore Dioxin Spread in Houston Waterways
May 3, 2018 | AP (In The New York Times, The Washington Post)
Evelyn and Jerome Matula were still polka-dancing newlyweds in 1950 when they spotted a half-finished cottage in the woods along the San Jacinto River east of Houston. It seemed idyllic, with panoramic views and a sandy path to the river, where their three children and later their grandchildren fished. Now, the retired refinery worker and former educator fear their kin were poisoned by carcinogenic dioxin in the fish and well water.
Decades ago, paper mill waste barged down the Houston Ship Channel was buried across the river. From their bluff today, the Matulas can see orange buoys marking a federal Superfund hazardous waste site established in 2008.
An agreement announced last month has cleared the way for the San Jacinto Waste Pits to finally be cleaned up. But dioxin damage already has spread far beyond the waste pits, the Houston Chronicle and The Associated Press found.
More than 30 hotspots — small sites where dioxin has settled — have been located in sediments along the river, the Houston Ship Channel and into Galveston Bay, according to University of Houston research conducted from 2001 to 2011 and pieced together by the news organizations.
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The affected areas are alongside parks and residential neighborhoods with thousands of homes. But the residents' wells or yards have not been tested by state health officials.
Details about the hotspots have not been made public by Texas environmental regulators, who used more than $5 million in federal money to pay for the research. In 2012, they ended a fact-finding committee that oversaw the project and had proposed new standards for dioxin and PCBs that could have been costly to corporate polluters.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality refused to release the full results of the studies that identified the sources of dioxin and PCBs, even to academic researchers, Harris County officials and lawyers who later sued companies over environmental damage. The research funding ended in 2011, leaving unanswered questions about whether toxic damage spread even farther during hurricanes Ike and Harvey.
The university data linked hotspots primarily to three sources: the leaking waste pits, the original site of the paper mill in Pasadena and a major chemical complex in nearby Deer Park that is part of another Superfund site, records show. None has been cleaned up.
Under the Clean Water Act and state law, Texas authorities were required to address dioxin and PCBs in the river and ship channel, waterways officially designated as "impaired." Setting such standards could have forced the responsible companies to clean up and upgrade contaminated stormwater and wastewater treatment.EDITORS’ PICKSHow One Interview Question Fuels the Gender Pay GapThey Survived a Massacre. Then the Lawyers Started Calling.A Very German Love Story: When Old Left and Far Right Share a Bedroom
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All three TCEQ commissioners, appointed by the governor, declined an interview request.
Carl Masterson, a former Houston-Galveston Area Council staffer who for years served as a facilitator for the committee, said state regulators failed to do their duty. Once "the meetings were done, the project was over and the findings were in, the TCEQ should have approved" the committee's recommendations, he said.
In a statement, the agency said it's still working on "a document summarizing the source characterization of dioxin loads in the Houston Ship Channel/Upper Galveston Bay system."
The state's approach to dioxin follows the same pattern the Chronicle and AP previously identified in an investigation into air and water pollution releases from Hurricane Harvey. The news organizations found that state and federal regulators did little in response to massive releases of toxic pollution reported during and after Harvey's torrential rains.
Similarly, Texas regulators have not followed up on the dioxin research with additional testing to see if wells, parks or property also are contaminated by the pollutants that formed the toxic hotspots.
In the Matulas' case, their grandson Sean, a 33-year-old emergency manager, paid to have samples from the cottage's two wells tested after learning he suffers from long-hidden heart and kidney defects that may shorten his life.
His mother had moved to the cottage when she was pregnant with him. Recent test results showed that the family well used at the time he was born tested at twice the level of dioxin considered healthy for human consumption.
"I have been told," Sean Matula said of conversations with his doctor, "that I am lucky to be walking."
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LEAKING WASTE PITS
The Texas Department of Health Services warned in 1990 that catfish and crabs in the San Jacinto and parts of upper Galveston Bay area contained so much dioxin that local seafood posed potential health risks — and banned its consumption by children and pregnant women.
The Environmental Protection Agency already had been funding initiatives to clean up the nation's impaired rivers and identify sources of toxic substances in sediments and water that poisoned fish. The actions came in response to revelations in the 1980s that one of the most dangerous dioxin forms had been unleashed into the environment from paper bleaching and chemical manufacturing.
Even in microscopic doses, those dioxin types have been linked to birth defects as well as cancer and reproductive problems.
Some of the most likely sources were two former paper mills and the huge chemical complex in Deer Park. Then a state park employee discovered sand pits near a highway bridge where pulp from the larger paper mill in Pasadena had been barged in the 1960s, buried and forgotten.
A video of the site taken around 2009 shows that fishermen and others had carved a path across unmarked sand pits partially submerged by the river. Particles of what looks like an egg carton were shearing off the shore into the water. Those crystalline fragments are examples of dioxin sediment, said Larry Koenig, who for 10 years was the TCEQ staff member assigned to the dioxin study.
He and other experts have estimated that about half the waste originally buried in pits already had escaped into the environment before the site was rediscovered.
Koenig retired in 2010, in part, he said, because of frustration over inaction on any proposed water quality standard.
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A dozen hotspots identified by teams of University of Houston researchers were scattered around those pits.
Some of the worst hotspots became part of the San Jacinto Waste Pits Superfund site a decade ago. But others are miles downstream, near riverside neighborhoods in Baytown and LaPorte.
Another source of hotspots was chemical plants along Patrick Bayou in Deer Park, according to the committee's reports and research. The bayou had been identified as a priority site for Superfund cleanup even before the state committee's dioxin water quality work began.
The committee formed by state regulators to study dioxin included representatives of two companies ultimately found to be major contamination sources: Shell Chemical and OxyVinyls, a subsidiary of Occidental Chemical.
By 2009, the corporate representatives, along with environmentalists and government officials, had reviewed proposed water quality standards for PCB and dioxin that could have sparked regulatory or legal action against their companies.
Most of Patrick Bayou's dioxin and PCB pollution was from historic industrial activities. But Shell and Occidental Chemical would likely have faced pressure to address contaminated runoff, according to TCEQ documents, UH research, EPA records and Hanadi Rifai, the UH environmental engineering professor who oversaw the research teams.
Representatives of OxyVinyls and Shell expressed no objections to proposed pollution-reduction reforms in public meetings, according to minutes and interviews.
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But EPA records show that during the time the dioxin cleanup committee was making its recommendations, neither company had agreed to pay to address polluted Patrick Bayou. EPA subsequently named Shell Chemical, Occidental Chemical and Lubrizol, all chemical companies with operations in Deer Park, as "potentially responsible parties", according to EPA records.
The companies still have not agreed to fund the cleanup of Patrick Bayou, 16 years after the area was designated as a Superfund site.
At the San Jacinto Waste Pits, federal officials said in April that International Paper Company and McGinnis Industrial Maintenance Corporation had pledged to pay design costs for the plan to remove 161,000 tons of carcinogenic paper mill waste buried there in the 1960s.
Ray Fisher, a Shell spokesman, said the company continues to collaborate "with other relevant parties" on the Patrick Bayou site, adding, "Our focus is on safety of our people and community."
Eric Moses, an Occidental Chemical spokesman, said the company is working with others to complete investigation of the site "and implement effective controls and remedies that will be protective of human health and the environment."
Both Shell and Occidental Chemical have acted more quickly to address dioxin and other pollutants at multiple Superfund sites in other states, EPA records show.
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NO KNOWN THREAT?
In 2012, the Texas Department of State Health Services delivered its public health assessment of dioxin in the waste pits. The report again warned of hazards posed to fish, but it dismissed the idea of contamination in neighborhoods' soil or well water.
Rifai said UH's studies of river water and sediment could not be used to determine whether yards, parks or well water was safe. She is now working with the Galveston Bay Foundation, an independent nonprofit, and Harris County to conduct more testing after Harvey's flooding.
The Matulas have two wells on the cottage property. For decades, they drank from the older, shallow well. About 10 years ago, they dug a deeper one.
After Sean Matula paid for testing, he asked state health officials to review the complex lab reports. They found dioxin in the older well to be more than twice what the EPA considers dangerous for humans of any age to drink. Dioxin levels in the newer well represented an increased risk of cancer for children and adults but were within EPA's drinking water limits.
Houston lawyer Richard Mithoff represents the Matulas and another 600 families. He says he believes he will be able to prove that cancer, birth defects and other ailments reported by many clients who lived around the pits are directly related to the dioxin in the river and its fish.
The EPA cleanup of the waste pits won't undo damage done to those who lived there, Mithoff said, "but it certainly holds great promise for the future and those living there now will be able to rest a little easier."
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/05/03/us/ap-us-harvey-silent-spills-dioxin.html
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Procter & Gamble to Reveal Product Safety Process This Year
May 3, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble has committed itself to revealing how it makes product safety decisions by the end of the year.
The company says it will "publish the principles that guide our efforts on ingredient transparency, the process we use to ensure the safety of our products, and our commitment to continuous improvement of our ingredients and product portfolio".
The commitment was made in the company’s 2030 goals report, released last month. It says that P&G intends to publish these principles by the end of 2018, and to report ongoing progress on them in its annual citizenship report.
"We believe providing people with more insights to the extensive work we do (and have always done) to ensure their safety will help them make more informed choices about the products they use every day," said P&G senior communications manager, Tracey Long.
This is the latest in an ongoing transparency drive by P&G. Last year, the company said it will reveal the fragrance ingredients – down to 0.01% of content – for all products sold in the US and Canada by the end of 2019. It intends to start with its Tide laundry detergents, Herbal Essences shampoos, Febreze air fresheners and Olay skin care products.
P&G has also disclosed its full product fragrance palette and provided a full list of chemicals not used in its fragrances.Consumers driving industry trend
Sarada Tangirala, director of corporate accountability at the NGO Women's Voices for the Earth, told Chemical Watch that the conglomerate's commitment "certainly marks a major shift in industry trends around transparency and disclosure."
And Dev Gowda, director of the campaign for toxic-free products at the US Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG), agreed that the transparency efforts seen by such companies as SC Johnson and Unilever signal "positive change" in the industry.
According to Mr Gowda, consumer pressure is making a "huge difference" in this.
P&G is "acknowledging that consumer demand for more information about products and product ingredients is driving the changes," added Alexandra Scranton, director of science and research at WVE.
"We look forward to a much more detailed explanation of what ‘safety’ means to P&G, and examples of how they go above and beyond regulatory compliance to ensure the safety of their products," she said.Beyond transparency
But Mr Gowda said that increased transparency efforts do not ensure that products on the shelf are completely safe. He called on personal care companies to phase out the use of chemicals of concern.
"Methylparaben and propylparaben are preservatives that have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and reproductive toxicity, and should not be in the products that we apply to our bodies everyday," he said.
P&G’s Ms Long responded that consumers could read about the company’s policy on parabens on its website.
There, the company says the substances have "been proven safe over decades of research". It provides some paraben-free beauty products, and discloses their presence on products that contain them.
https://chemicalwatch.com/66634/procter-gamble-to-reveal-product-safety-process-this-year
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Hawaii Passes Bill Banning Sunscreen That Can Harm Coral Reefs
May 3, 2018 | The New York Times
By Elaine Glusac
On May 1, Hawaii became the first state to pass a bill banning the sale of sunscreen containing chemicals believed to harm coral reefs.
The legislation prohibits the distribution of sunscreens containing the chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate that scientists have foundcontributes to coral bleaching when washed off in the ocean. The Hawaii sunscreen bill now awaits the signature of the governor. The new rules will go into effect Jan. 1, 2021.
An estimated 14,000 tons of sunscreen is believed to be deposited in oceans annually with the greatest damage found in popular reef areas in Hawaii and the Caribbean. In 2015, the nonprofit Haereticus Environmental Laboratory surveyed Trunk Bay beach on St. John, where visitors ranged from 2,000 to 5,000 swimmers daily, and estimated over 6,000 pounds of sunscreen was deposited on the reef annually. The same year, it found an average of 412 pounds of sunscreen was deposited daily on the reef at Hanauma Bay, a popular snorkeling destination in Oahu that draws an average of 2,600 swimmers each day.
Sunscreen isn’t the only enemy of healthy reefs; other polluters include ocean warming, agricultural runoff and sewage dumping. But banning harmful chemicals, say environmental advocates, is one variable swimmers can control.
“Hawaii’s reefs have been slowly dying over the past 20 years, and that death spiral has been accelerating with the impact of an El Niño-induced mass bleaching events and increased local pollution impacts from both tourism and development,” said Craig Downs, the executive director of the Haereticus Environmental Laboratory. “Everyone has come together to support this legislation, from local nurses and doctors, to resorts and airlines, as well as the entrepreneurial spirit of new sunscreen companies to supply reef-safer products.”
Makers of traditional sunscreens opposed the legislation, pointing out that the chemicals in question are approved by the F.D.A. and vital to preventing skin cancer.
Reef-safe sunscreen alternatives like TropicSport and Raw Elementsinclude mineral sunblocks with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. They must be “non-nano” in size to be considered reef-safe. If they are below 100 nanometers, the creams can be ingested by corals. Already, many island resorts and attractions, including Hanauma Bay State Park, are urging visitors to use reef-safe sunscreen.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/03/travel/hawaii-sunscreen-ban.html
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NMP Added to REACH Restricted Substances List
May 3, 2018 | Chemical Watch
The European Commission has added 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) to REACH Annex XVII – the restricted substances list.
The substance, which is suspected of being reprotoxic, is already included in Annex XVII under entry 30. This means that any consumer product on the market containing more than 0.3% NMP is prohibited.
The latest restriction proposal, which was made by the Netherlands, was approved by member states at the REACH Committee meeting in October last year.
The regulation was published in the EU’s Official Journal on 19 April and will enter into force 20 days later. It carries a two-year general deferral of the restriction’s application to allow stakeholders time to take necessary compliance measures.
After 9 May 2020 NMP shall not be used as a substance on its own or in mixtures in a concentration equal to or greater than 0.3% unless manufacturers and downstream users take the appropriate risk management measures and provide the appropriate operational conditions to ensure exposure of workers is below the derived no-effect levels (Dnels) of 14.4mg/m3 for exposure by inhalation and 4.8mg/kg/day for dermal exposure.
"This restriction will further reduce occupational NMP exposure as the listed Dnel is lower than the current occupational exposure limits used by EU member states," Cefic’s 1,4-Butanediol & Derivatives (BDO) sector group told Chemical Watch. Additionally, the group added, it will "significantly" reduce non-industrial NMP applications.
The wire coating industry will have a six-year deferral period because it will have to replace part of its older production lines prematurely to comply with Dnels.
The substance is used predominantly as a process solvent in:industrial applications, such as chemical synthesis;extraction of petrochemicals, such as butadiene (artificial rubber) and aromatics (used to make polystyrene, polycarbonates, polyurethanes and nylons, for instance);microprocessor cleaning (silicon wafers);cathode production for lithium ion batteries; andwire coating for coil production (generators, and e-engines).
https://chemicalwatch.com/66647/nmp-added-to-reach-restricted-substances-list
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May 3, 2018 | Chemical Watch
Webinar with last minute advice on REACH 2018Echa is running a webinar on 17 May on the imminent REACH deadline. The event will offer last minute advice and the opportunity to pose questions to an expert panel. These can be on all aspects of registration from knowing your portfolio and finding co-registrants to preparing and submitting your dossier, the agency says.Last chance to create a joint submission
The agency says those who wish to register a substance as a lead registrant by 31 May, must create a joint submission for it in REACH-IT by 9 May. If there is no joint submission by then, Echa will assume the substance will not be registered.
Downstream users and distributors are reminded, however, that they can then take on the registrants' role and still register a substance with the help of DCG solution 21, to ensure a supply of the substance in EU/EEA countries continues.Microplastics workshop
The agency is to hold a two-day workshop on 30-31 May to discuss the the call for evidence to support the agency's investigation into a possible restriction on the intentional use of microplastic particles in consumer and professional products. Interested parties are invited to submit their expressions of interest to participate.
Call for evidence: restriction of D4, D5 and D6Echa has invited interested parties to submit available information on the use of dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6) in cosmetic and other consumer or professional products. This will form part of the preparation of an Annex XV restriction proposal.
In February the European Commission asked the agency to include D6 within the scope of the Annex XV restriction dossier being prepared for octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5).
There is a background note explaining the potential scope of the REACH restriction and what type of information is needed. Information on D4 and D5 already submitted in the previous call for evidence does not need to be resubmitted.
The deadline for comments is 18 June.Updated use mapsThe European Federation for Construction Chemicals (EFCC) and the Association of the European Adhesive and Sealant Industry (Feica) have published updated use maps packages. They are also available in Chesar format and can be directly imported into the tool.
The associations have extended the coverage of their packages and streamlined information. A summary of the changes is available.
Registrants are encouraged to consider the sector use maps, when preparing or updating their dossiers.Online training for dossier preparationThe agency is offering limited places for online training on guided dossier preparation. Registrants will be able to follow step-by-step how to prepare and submit their dossier online, using REACH-IT. Anyone interested should get acquainted with the requirements and register, Echa says.Recording of REACH 2018 Q&A available
The recording on REACH 2018 Q&A on registration preparation form 19 April is now available online.Closure on 10 May
Echa will be closed on 10 May, Ascension Day. REACH-IT will remain open.
https://chemicalwatch.com/66439/echa-round-up
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MEPs Call for Global Ban on Cosmetics Animal Testing
May 3, 2018 | Chemical Watch
By Clelia Oziel
The European Parliament has voted by a vast majority to adopt a resolution calling for a global ban on animal testing for cosmetics products before 2023.
At a plenary session in Brussels today, 620 members of parliament (MEPs) supported the move, 14 voted against and 18 abstained.
Drafted by eight MEPs in October, the resolution calls on the European Commission, Council and member states to:advocate a global ban on animal testing for cosmetics in meetings with institutions from other countries, regions and at the international level – in particular with the UN secretary-general;use their diplomatic networks to build a coalition in support of achieving a global ban;draft an international convention against the testing of animals for cosmetics within the UN framework and, in particular, to call for the global ban to be included as an item on the agenda of the next meeting of the UN General Assembly; andmake sure he EU ban is not weakened by any ongoing trade negotiations or by WTO rules.
Thursday's vote followed an Environment Committee meeting in February when members overwhelmingly approved the draft resolution, with 63 votes in favour and one abstention.
The marketing of cosmetics that have been tested on animals has been has banned in the EU since 2013. The resolution says that the "landmark" ban has shown that phasing out animal testing for cosmetics is possible and the EU sector has "thrived".
Miriam Dalli, a Maltese MEP and co-author of the resolution, said the initiative sent a "strong signal that animal testing for cosmetics in other countries can no longer be justified".'Significant step'
Campaigners Cruelty Free International, an NGO, and UK retailer The Body Shop described the MEPs' vote as a "significant step" in the campaign to end the practice.
"Five years after the full EU bans, the time is right to go one step further," said Michelle Thew, chief executive of Cruelty Free International. "Now it’s time to work together to deliver a global end to cosmetics animal testing and eliminate animal suffering around the world."
And Jessie Macneil-Brown, head of global campaigns at The Body Shop said the EU vote "will take us a big step closer to an international agreement".
The two organisations launched a joint campaign last year to spearhead a call for an international ban on cosmetic animal testing. Their petition has so far received 5.7 million signatures.
As well as adopting the 'marketing ban' in 2013, the EU has prohibited animal testing for finished cosmetic products since 2004. And from 2009, it has also been illegal to market any cosmetic products that contain animal-tested ingredients.
Other countries, such as Guatemala, Iceland, India, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey, have since put in place bans. In addition, South Korea and Australia have made "significant progress" towards such a ban, the resolution says. However, the push for a global ban was proposed because around 80% of the world’s countries still allow animal testing and the marketing of cosmetics tested on animals.
MEPs also note the lack of reliable data on cosmetics tested on animals and then imported into the EU remains "a serious issue".
Most ingredients in cosmetics are also used in many other products, such as pharmaceuticals, detergents or foods, and may therefore have been tested on animals under different laws, they say.
https://chemicalwatch.com/66653/meps-call-for-global-ban-on-cosmetics-animal-testing
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Business Group Supports Regulation of Proxy Advisers
May 3, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Soraghan
Concerns about shareholder resolutions from activist investors has a Washington business group supporting more regulation.
A report this week from the American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF) backs congressional efforts to regulate "proxy advisory firms" that make recommendations to institutional investors in proxy fights.
"The objective of the report is to enlighten those within the financial community about the unchecked power that proxy advisory firms currently have and encourage more oversight of these powerful industry bodies," said Tim Doyle, vice president of policy and general counsel for ACCF.
Energy companies are prominent among those that have grown increasingly concerned about shareholder resolutions on issues such as climate change and fossil fuel divestment.
This report, titled "The Conflicted Role of Proxy Advisors," calls the proxy firms "quasi-regulators" but says they have insufficient accountability and are susceptible to conflicts of interest.
The report specifically mentions legislation co-sponsored by Reps. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) and Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) that would require proxy advisers to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and disclose their methodology for making recommendations.
But backers of the proxy advisers say ACCF is dramatically overstating the firms' influence, implying they dictate proxy voting results.
"There is simply no compelling empirical evidence to support that assumption," said Amy Borrus, spokeswoman for the Council of Institutional Investors.
She said the influence of the proxy firms has declined as institutional investors developed more expertise in dealing with proxy issues on their own.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/05/03/stories/1060080697
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Judge Rules DHS Can Keep Facility Info Secret
May 3, 2018 | E&E Greenwire
By Amanda Reilly
The Department of Homeland Security can keep secret information about certain chemical facilities, a federal judge ruled yesterday.
Judge Timothy Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sided with DHS in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that Greenpeace brought seeking the data.
Kelly, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Trump, ruled the records were exempt from FOIA because they were compiled for law enforcement purposes and their production could endanger people.
The facility information "represents highly useful information for terrorists planning attacks on them," Kelly wrote in the 34-page opinion.
Greenpeace sought a listing of facilities that have reduced their quantities of dangerous chemicals to the point where they are no longer considered "high risk" under DHS's Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards, or CFATS.
Environmentalists say the information would help highlight chemical facilities that have succeeded in reducing their risk, thus providing examples the chemical industry should follow (Greenwire, April 11, 2016).
DHS, though, has long sought to keep the data private. Although a Coast Guard administrative law judge in 2014 recommended release of the records, DHS heavily redacted the list, withholding facility names.
The department reasoned that even facilities no longer considered "high risk" may still possess chemicals that can "present a risk to the lives and physical safety of individuals." Such facilities can be appealing as terrorist targets, DHS warned, because they no longer have to comply with certain security measures.
And the department said that the chemical holdings at facilities regularly fluctuate, meaning a chemical plant that's low risk now may shift to a higher risk level under CFATS in the future.
Greenpeace, though, argued in its lawsuit challenging the FOIA response that facilities with low enough chemical levels to fall below the high-risk threshold are no more dangerous than "thousands of other facilities that are unregulated by CFATS."
The green group also claimed that a lot of the redacted information is available elsewhere, under various databases kept by other government agencies. Greenpeace brought claims both under FOIA and the Administrative Procedure Act against DHS and the department's National Protection and Programs Directorate.
Kelly both dismissed the group's APA claims and ruled in favor of DHS on the FOIA arguments.
Revealing which facilities are no longer high risk "would provide terrorists with valuable insight into how the United States government, including its intelligence services, assesses the risk of attacks on chemical facilities in this country," he wrote.
Terrorists could combine the released data with other publicly available information, such as from EPA, "to make better-informed decisions about which facilities to target," the judge warned.
Kelly also expressed concern that his ruling would prompt FOIA requesters to seek updated information in the future. If a low-risk facility disappears from the list, he wrote it would likely signal that DHS has once against placed that plant on its high-risk list.
That would reveal the identities of "the very facilities DHS is most determined to protect," he wrote.
Greenpeace today said it was still analyzing the decision.
"This decision is disappointing and deflects the public's right to know, reinforcing DHS's general unwillingness to protect communities from chemical disasters to the maximum degree possible, including by opting for policies that require inherently safer technologies and alternatives to chlorine," said Greenpeace Business Policy Director Charlie Cray.
Click here to read the opinion.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/05/03/stories/1060080757
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Absent Federal Action, Communities and Corporations Commit to Renewables
May 3, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Grant Smith
While the Trump administration is promoting coal, a dirty and dangerous fossil fuel headed for the scrap heap of history, a growing number of communities and companies across the nation are embracing a future powered by clean, safe, renewable energy.
According to the Sierra Club’s “Ready for 100” campaign, 135 cities have adopted resolutions to work toward supplying all of their electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind power. Almost 200 mayors have pledged to move their cities toward a sustainable, renewable future. These announcements and policies are occurring in cities large and small: Recently, New York City, Los Angeles and Minneapolis joined the ranks of the 100 percent renewables club.
Why? The reasons go beyond the environmental and health benefits of renewables.
In Minneapolis, Twin Cities Business Magazine reported that city council members who backed the renewables pledge pointed to hostility toward sustainable development at the federal level and uncertainty at the state leve
“An effective way to make sure that energy remains affordable and that our transition to clean energy meets the needs of those most marginalized and historically impacted by pollution is persistent, intentional community engagement from a wide range of people,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told the magazine.
Some communities also want to take control of their energy grids from utilities that often value profit above sustainability. In Decorah, Iowa, citizens pushed for a referendum to have the town investigate taking over the electricity distribution system.
In an interview with Radio Iowa, local activist Emily Neal said the takeover would let the town of about 8,000 “control our energy future . . . [and] save our community millions of dollars every year.”
In the private sector, big corporations and small companies are also hopping on the renewables bandwagon.
The Rocky Mountain Institute reported that in the last five years, corporations purchased more than 10,000 megawatts of wind and solar power to supply their energy needs – enough to power over 1 million average homes. Half of Fortune 500 companies, including a large majority of the 100 largest, have announced renewable energy goals. Most are information technology firms, followed by telecoms companies.
Among the big-name companies that have bought enough renewable energy to meet the majority of their needs are Apple, Google, Microsoft, General Motors, Starbucks, Walmart, Facebook and Budweiser. The biggest buyers this year are AT&T, Walmart, Microsoft, Facebook and Alcoa, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg also reported that smaller companies are getting in on the act. Deals for renewable energy are being structured so that smaller companies can buy power from the same renewables project as large corporations. It’s similar to a shopping center including both large anchor tenants and smaller shops.
The World Resources Institute has estimated that corporate purchases will reach 53 million megawatt-hours per year by 2020. This is more electricity than is produced in 19 states and nearly as much as Iowa alone, according to the Energy Information Administration.
We are witnessing a revolt against politicians, regulators and utilities who deny climate change; who deny their constituents the cost and health benefits of renewable energy; and who choose to live in the past rather than work toward the future. Local governments, their citizens and companies are finding ways to out-maneuver these reactionary forces to bring about changes that can foster climate stability, economic opportunity, environmental and public health benefits, and social justice.
https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2018/05/absent-federal-action-communities-and-corporations-commit-renewables#.WusxJYNubIU
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