WASHINGTON
- March 20 - Following are some Agency developments which may
interest you. If you need more information on any of these subjects,
call the appropriate contact. ---
EPA Finalizes
Voluntary Cancellation of Virtually All Residential Uses of CCA-Treated
Wood
Contact: David
Deegan 202-564-7839 or deegan.dave@epa.gov
On March
17, EPA granted the voluntary cancellation and use termination
requests affecting virtually all residential uses of chromated
copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood. Under this action, affected
CCA products cannot be used after Dec. 30, 2003 to treat lumber
intended for use in most residential settings. This transition
affects virtually all residential uses of wood treated with
CCA, including play structures, decks, picnic tables, landscaping
timbers, residential fencing, patios and walkways/boardwalks.
This action was proposed in February 2002 by the registrants
of CCA-pesticide products used to treat wood. Phase-out of the
residential uses will reduce the potential exposure risks to
arsenic, a known human carcinogen, thereby protecting human
health, especially children's health and the environment. The
current action follows up on the February 2002 publication of
a notice of receipt of voluntary cancellation/use termination
requests, which also provided an opportunity for public comments
to be submitted to EPA. A notice of the cancellation order will
be published shortly in the Federal Register, and that document
will include the Agency's response to comments. Consumers may
continue to buy and use the treated CCA wood for as long as
it is available. The transition to using the new generation
treatment products is well underway. The Agency is deferring
any action on two uses involved in the termination requests,
therefore wood used in permanent wood foundations and fence
posts for agricultural uses may continue to be treated with
CCA at this time. EPA is working with the registrant community
and other stakeholders to ensure that safer, comparable alternatives
will be available. EPA is continuing its work on an ongoing
comprehensive reevaluation of CCA-treated wood that has been
underway as part of the Agency's effort to reevaluate older
pesticides to ensure that they meet current health and safety
standards. More information on CCA treated wood is available
at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/chemicals/1file.htm
---
EPA Working
to Find Solutions on Perchlorate
Contact: Suzanne
Ackerman 202-564-7819 or ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov
EPA is working
with other federal agencies, the states, tribes, water suppliers
and the public to evaluate perchlorate - a component of rocket
fuel - as an environmental contaminant. EPA has been revising
its 2002 draft health risk assessment that contains preliminary
risk estimates that could be used to establish an official reference
dose for perchlorate. (A reference dose is a scientific estimate
of a daily exposure level that is not expected to cause adverse
health effects in humans). However, the 2002 health risk assessment
is not final, and substantial uncertainties remain. EPA has
decided to submit questions regarding perchlorate health science
to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). EPA will not complete
or disseminate a final risk assessment until the NAS scientific
review is concluded and the NAS comments are addressed. Accordingly,
EPA has reaffirmed that its 1999 guidance on perchlorate should
remain in effect pending the outcome of the NAS study. EPA also
is gathering data to determine whether a drinking water standard
for perchlorate is appropriate.
---
EPA Launches
1-866-EPA-Aged to Promote Public Participation in Aging Initiative
Contact: John
Millett 202-564-7842 or millett.john@epa.gov
EPA Administrator
Christie Whitman today announced a toll-free number ? 1-866-EPA-AGED
(372-2433) ? to increase public participation in the development
of a National Agenda on the Environment and the Aging. The National
Agenda on the Environment and the Aging is being developed to
set priorities for research and education to address environmental
hazards that threaten the health of older persons, which include
examining the impact a rapidly aging population will have on
the environment and engaging older Americans to volunteer in
their communities to reduce environmental hazards. EPA is encouraging
public comment and participation in the development of the agenda.
English- or Spanish-speaking callers may offer comments or request
information regarding the National Agenda by calling 1-866-EPA-AGED.
The line is open 24 hours a day, and a customer service representative
will be available Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern
Time. Callers may also register for six public listening sessions
being held to collect input for the National Agenda. The meetings
are scheduled for Tampa, Fla. (April 3); San Antonio, Texas
(April 8); Iowa City, Iowa (April 15); Pittsburgh, Pa.(April
23); Los Angeles, Calif. (April 29); and Baltimore, Md. (May
7). Pre-registration is required to attend or to speak. An EPA
web site describing the National Agenda was launched on March
3, 2003 (http://www.epa.gov/aging)
and a Federal Register notice ? which is available on the web
site ? soliciting public comment was issued on March 4, 2003.
Comments on the National Agenda on the Environment and the Aging
will be accepted through Friday, May 16, 2003.
---
Biodiversity
Protection Plan Proposed; Comments Solicited
Contact: Luke
C. Hester 202-564-7818 or hester.luke@epa.gov
EPA, as
the lead agency for the United States, has developed the Strategic
Plan for North American Cooperation in the Conservation of Biodiversity,
in collaboration with Canada, Mexico and U.S. stakeholders.
This is a long-term strategy for the Commission for Environmental
Cooperation (CEC) for the protection and management of shared
biological resources in North America. The CEC is a tripartate
(Canada, Mexico, United States) organization, which addresses
cross border environmental issues in North America. Public comments
on the plan are solicited by April 21, 2003. The draft is available
at: http://www.cec.org/pubs_docs/documents/index.cfm?varlan=english&ID=1088
To submit comments on the Strategic Plan or to request additional
information, contact Patrick Cotter, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (2260R), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington D.C.,
20460, phone (202) 564-6414, email cotter.patrick@epa.gov
---
EPA Announces
Electronics Recycling Drop-Off Event For Mid-Atlantic Government
Employees
Contact: Dave
Ryan 202-564-7827 or ryan.dave@epa.gov
Following
up October's announcement of the results of the "eCycling" pilot
project, the nation's first collaboration between multi-state
government agencies and the electronics industry to offer citizens
and small business opportunities to reuse and recycle old computer
equipment, televisions and other electronic products, EPA is
sponsoring an electronics drop-off collection event this Sat.,
March 22, in Lindenwold, N.J., (near Camden) from 10 a.m. -
3 p.m. All citizens in the Philadelphia area are invited to
bring in their privately-owned computers and other consumer
electronics for recycling and reuse. The eCycling program helps
prevent toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and
chromium from possibly endangering public health and the environment,
and it saves precious landfill space. Launched in October 2001
out of EPA's Mid-Atlantic regional office in Philadelphia, eCycling
officials evaluate different methods of collecting end-of-life
electronics, compile data about the costs of collecting, transporting
and processing electronics and help define the roles and responsibilities
of government, consumers, electronics manufacturers, retailers
and recyclers in recycling. Using funds so far totaling at least
half a million dollars from EPA, the Mid-Atlantic states, manufacturers
and members of the Electronic Industries Alliance, eCycling
held 45 drop-off events in 31 counties during the pilot project,
collecting over 2700 tons of used electronics from Mid-Atlantic
residents, and preventing over 22,000 cathode ray tubes (CRTs)
in televisions from entering the region's landfills and incinerators.
(CRTs are a source of the hazardous substance lead.) These collection
events will continue to raise awareness of the need to recycle
and reuse unwanted electronics, and will further enable government
agencies to lead by example. All recyclers in the eCycling program
using federal government money must certify that equipment is
recycled safely and will not be dismantled or managed overseas.
As part of these drop-off events, government and industry share
the cost to collect, transport, and process the equipment, and
electronics manufacturers Panasonic, Sharp and Sony pay to recycle
their respective brands of electronics. The Electronic Industries
Alliance, headquartered in Arlington, Va., is a partnership
of electronic and high-tech associations and companies whose
mission is promoting the market development and competitiveness
of the U.S. high-tech industry through domestic and international
policy efforts. For more information about these special electronics
collection events, see: http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/eCycling.htm
---
Enforcement
Wrap-Up
Contact: Teresa
Libera 202-564-7873 or libera.teresa@epa.gov
Utah Medical
Waste Firm Owner Charged With Illegal Discharge to City Sewers
David I. Kali,
former owner of Aseptic Services Inc., in Orem, Utah, was charged
with violating state pretreatment standards for allegedly discharging
wastes into publically owned sewage treatment systems. Aseptic
Services accepted approximately 300 boxes per month of medical
wastes from various federal medical facilities in Arizona, Utah
and Idaho. The wastes were incinerated and produced "quenching
fluid," which is a very caustic waste byproduct and contains chromium,
lead and zinc. Aseptic Services allegedly then discharged this
wastewater into the Orem City Sewers. The water container higher
than permitted levels of chromium, lead and zinc and was extremely
acidic, which then caused corrosion of the concrete sewer pipes
downstream from the Aseptic Services facility. The charged was
filed on March 10 in the Fourth Judicial District Court for Utah
County. The case was investigated jointly by EPA's Criminal Investigation
Division, the Utah Attorney General's Office and the FBI with
the assistance of the Orem Public Works Department; it will be
prosecuted by the Utah Attorney General's Office. The bringing
of charges is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed
innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law.
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