Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, August 9, 2017 at 8:05:14 AM
A membership benefit of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (18 articles)
HUME FOGG HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_TN, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
SIX UPS WORKERS INJURED BY CHEMICAL LEAK AT NEW HAMPSHIRE FACILITY
Tags: us_NH, transportation, release, injury, nitric_acid
3 ARRESTED AFTER THC LAB EXPLOSION AT SPRING VALLEY LAKE HOME
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, clandestine_lab
FIRE FORCES EVACUATION OF ILLINOIS LANXESS CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
GOSHEN CHEMICAL SPILL COVERS ROADWAY
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, ag_chems
NJ LEADS NATION WITH PLAN TO CURB TWO TOXIC CHEMICALS IN DRINKING WATER
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
CALIFORNIA TIGHTENS SAFETY REGULATIONS FOR REFINERIES
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, environmental, petroleum
COURT STRIKES DOWN U.S. RESTRICTIONS ON HFCS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, hvac_chemicals, ozone
12 DOCK WORKERS, ONE FIREFIGHTER INJURED FOLLOWING CHEMICAL SPILL AT PORT OF LONG BEACH
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, solvent
BOMB IN RED BULL CAN RATTLES TOWNSVILLE
Tags: Australia, public, explosion, response, bomb
PLUMBER RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER 'CHEMICAL INCIDENT' AT LOGAN SCHOOL
Tags: Australia, education, release, injury, acids
EPA'S PRUITT WIPES THE SLATE CLEAN ON CHEMICAL REVIEWS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PERFLUORINATED CHEMICALS, AKA PFCS
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
EPA‰??S ANNOUNCED CHANGES TO NEW CHEMICALS REVIEW PROCESS PUT INDUSTRY DEMANDS FOR READY MARKET ACCESS ABOVE PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTION
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
CHEMICAL SPILL IN BEREA HAS RESIDENTS LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
Tags: us_KY, industrial, release, response, petroleum
GERMANS IN UPROAR OVER US MILITARY'S PLANS TO EXPAND TOXIC CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE
Tags: Germany, public, discovery, environmental
CHINA: WORK SAFETY AGENCY CITES REDUCED NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS IN 1H
Tags: China, public, discovery, environmental
ACCOUNTING FOR PUBLIC HEATH GAINS FROM POLLUTION CONTROL
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
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HUME FOGG HIGH SCHOOL EVACUATED DUE TO CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_TN, laboratory, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) ‰?? Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School in downtown Nashville was evacuated Tuesday morning after hydrochloric acid spilled in a classroom.
Students were seen leaving the campus at 700 Broadway beginning around 8 a.m.
Two gallons of the acid accidentally spilled in a fourth floor classroom laboratory, according to the Nashville Fire Department.
Students and staff were moved to nearby First Baptist Church in the meantime, and no injuries were reported.
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SIX UPS WORKERS INJURED BY CHEMICAL LEAK AT NEW HAMPSHIRE FACILITY
Tags: us_NH, transportation, release, injury, nitric_acid
(Reuters) - Six workers were treated for respiratory problems on Tuesday after nitric acid leaked from a package at a United Parcel Service distribution facility in southern New Hampshire, a fire official said.
The facility, in Nashua, about 45 miles northwest of Boston, was evacuated following reports of a chemical leak just after 7 a.m. local time, said Nashua Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Karl Gerhard.
Chemical fumes from a package forced temporary evacuation of the facility, UPS said in a written statement. By late morning employees were allowed to return to the facility.
Six workers who reported minor respiratory symptoms went to two area hospitals for treatment, Gerhard said.
"Nitric acid leaked from a package onto an elevated conveyer belt system they use to sort packages," Gerhard said. He added that a contractor was on site cleaning up the spilled product, which leaked through machinery. Operations would likely be affected for "the better part of the day," he said.
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3 ARRESTED AFTER THC LAB EXPLOSION AT SPRING VALLEY LAKE HOME
Tags: us_CA, public, explosion, injury, clandestine_lab
VICTORVILLE ‰?? In the early hours last Friday morning, the Fire Department and Sheriff‰??s Deputies were called to a home where an explosion and fire occurred. The Gangs/Narcotics Disivion was also then requested to come and help with the investigation.
A search warrant then yielded the discovery of a THC extraction lab. Three suspects were in the home at the time of the fire but decided to flee the premises. Further investigation led to their identification and arrest.
25-year-old Steven Ray Hoover Jr. had suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his face, head, and body. 28-year-old Jesse Karl Bevins had 2nd degree burns on his arm and 26-year-old Paige Nicole Tappe had 2nd degree burns to her arm and back. All three were in the room when the explosion and fire occurred.
Concentrated cannabis (honey oil) sells for more than basic marijuana and produces stronger effects than the traditional method of smoking the plant.
The SBSD says, ‰??The THC extraction process is extremely dangerous and has a high potential for explosion and fire due to the use of large amounts of flammable chemicals and solvents during the extraction process. This chemical process is illegal and is a violation of California‰??s Health & Safety Code.‰??
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FIRE FORCES EVACUATION OF ILLINOIS LANXESS CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_IL, industrial, fire, response, other_chemical
Workers were evacuated from a LANXESS chemical plant in Mapleton, IL on Thursday afternoon after a fire broke out in a chemical tank.
An official with the Peoria County Sheriff‰??s Office told the Washington Times-Reporter that the blaze in the chemical storage tank is thought to have started at about 2 p.m. following a technical malfunction.
The chemical involved in the blaze, a compound of aluminum and alkali, posed a challenge to extinguish as water exposure can cause the chemical to explode and air makes the substance burn faster. Firefighters were forced to use a chemical to put out the flames.
Workers were evacuated for about an hour as emergency responders tackled the fire.
‰??The safety of our employees, processes, the community and the environment are primary concerns of LANXESS,‰?? the specialty chemical firm‰??s chief executive officer and president Antonis Papadourakis, said in a press release published by the Times-Reporter.
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GOSHEN CHEMICAL SPILL COVERS ROADWAY
Tags: us_MA, transportation, release, response, ag_chems
GOSHEN ‰?? Late Monday, Goshen‰??s Police and Fire departments were still searching for the source of a chemical spill that occurred Sunday night on Spruce Corner Road.
Catherine Skiba, a public information officer for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the chemical spill was reported at about 11 p.m. Sunday night. Oily with a strong odor, the spill covered about two miles of the roadway, Skiba said.
By about 11:30 a.m. Monday, cleanup crews had removed most of it. Skiba said the department tentatively believes the spill was a pesticide compound and is treating the substance as a hazardous material.
‰??It‰??s still a mystery right now, because we don‰??t know what vehicle spilled this on the road or when,‰?? Goshen Police Chief Jeff Hewes said. ‰??It did smell pretty bad, but we don‰??t believe it‰??s a danger to anyone in the area right now.‰??
Spruce Corner Road was closed Monday morning at the corner of Route 116 for the cleanup. Though the majority of the spill was gone by then, the smell lingered. Horses and sheep in fields abutting the road stood in the far corners, their noses turned away from the pavement.
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NJ LEADS NATION WITH PLAN TO CURB TWO TOXIC CHEMICALS IN DRINKING WATER
Tags: us_NJ, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Department of Environmental Protection announces new proposed maximum contaminant limits for two likely carcinogens, PFNA and TCP
New Jersey‰??s new plan to impose tough limits on two carcinogenic chemicals in drinking water puts it in the forefront of national efforts to control the substances, and is the state‰??s first such effort for seven years, analysts said.
The Department of Environmental Protection on Monday proposed maximum contaminant limits (MCLs) for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and 1,2,3 trichloropropane (TCP), which are both classified by the federal government as likely carcinogens.
The plan, which would allow the state to regulate the chemicals for the first time, includes a requirement for monitoring and treatment, if necessary, for water systems of all sizes.
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CALIFORNIA TIGHTENS SAFETY REGULATIONS FOR REFINERIES
Tags: us_CA, industrial, discovery, environmental, petroleum
California is requiring its 15 refineries to adopt comprehensive new requirements to improve safety for workers and communities around the facilities.
Regulations that the state issued on Aug. 4 call for refineries to adopt inherently safer designs and systems to the ‰??greatest extent feasible‰?? and increase employer responsibility for the safety of refinery equipment. Those rules authorize workers to shut down equipment in the event of unsafe conditions and allow anonymous reporting of safety hazards to state officials. They also require root cause analysis when an incident results in a major accident or near miss.
The regulatory changes sprang from a state review of refineries after a 2012 accident at a Chevron refinery in Richmond, Calif., at the northern tip of the San Francisco Bay. The accident sent plumes of smoke and particles into the air and led 15,000 residents to seek medical aid.
‰??These are landmark changes,‰?? says Erika Monterroza, spokesperson with the California Department of Industrial Relations, of the new regulations. She explains that the state created a broad task force made up of community members, workers, and industry, state, and local agencies to develop the regulations.
Three years after the state began its regulatory review, another accident, this one at the ExxonMobil refinery in southern California, increased the state‰??s focus on refinery safety. The second accident, in Torrance, sent debris into the community and involved a close call with a storage tank filled with toxic hydrofluoric acid.
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COURT STRIKES DOWN U.S. RESTRICTIONS ON HFCS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental, hvac_chemicals, ozone
A federal appeals court has struck down a U.S. regulation that requires manufacturers to replace hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants with chemicals that are less potent greenhouse gases.
The Aug. 8 decision hands a victory to HFC makers Mexichem Fluor and Arkema. It‰??s a loss for Honeywell International and Chemours, which manufacture hydrofluoroolefins, a new generation of refrigerants which have a very low potential to cause global warming. In a statement, Honeywell says it is ‰??deeply disappointed‰?? in the court‰??s ruling.
The legal case involves a 2015 regulation from the Obama Environmental Protection Agency. The agency restricted HFCs and blends containing HFCs because of their potential to contribute significantly to global warming. Not only did the regulation limit these chemicals in refrigerants for vehicle air conditioners, coolers in groceries and other retail stores, and vending machines, it also limited their use as blowing agents that expand plastic into foam and in aerosol cans.
EPA based its regulation on a part of the Clean Air Act that requires manufacturers to replace substances that deplete stratospheric ozone with safer substitutes. HFCs don‰??t harm the ozone layer, but they were developed as alternatives for chemicals, such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons, that do.
‰??The fundamental problem for EPA is that HFCs are not ozone-depleting substances,‰?? the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled. The section of the Clean Air Act that EPA used as the basis for its regulation does not give the agency authority to require replacement of substances that do not harm stratospheric ozone, a three-judge panel ruled. HFOs, like HFCs, are benign to stratospheric ozone.
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12 DOCK WORKERS, ONE FIREFIGHTER INJURED FOLLOWING CHEMICAL SPILL AT PORT OF LONG BEACH
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, injury, solvent
Twelve dock workers and one firefighter were treated for injuries related to an exposure after a chemical substance leaked from a container ship Sunday morning at the Port of Long Beach.
Of the 12 longshoremen who suffered minor injuries when they were exposed to the leaked concentrated industrial solvent, 11 were treated and released while one was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. A firefighter was injured in a fall, but details were not available.
The exposure happened at about 9:45AM at Pier G, Berth 232, where a flammable liquid leaked from a 6,000 gallon tank on the container vessel, Harbour Bridge, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard captain in charge of the Port then set up a safety zone of 150 yards around the ship for assessment and clean-up operations. The Long Beach Fire Department Hazardous Materials team and Patriot Environmental Services cleaned up the spill.
Authorities identified the chemical as propyl acetate, a solvent that in small doses smells of pears and is used as food flavor. In large amounts and concentrated form, however, it can severely irritate eyes, skin and lungs.
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BOMB IN RED BULL CAN RATTLES TOWNSVILLE
Tags: Australia, public, explosion, response, bomb
A HOMEMADE bomb, believed to be made of chemicals in a Red Bull can, exploded on the city‰??s busiest street as a group of men walked close by.
A police investigation is under way into who placed the explosive in front of City Lane in Flinders St on August 3, with officers scouring security camera footage.
Video from the dashcam of a passing motorist shows the explosion, about 9.20pm, throwing a cloud of mist into the air (pictured), with witnesses telling police it was å-‰??extremely loud‰??.
Senior police have described the incident as serious and believe the explosion could have seriously injured nearby diners or pedestrians.
‰??That explosion has caused a lot of noise, there‰??s potential for the shards of metal to have gone through the air,‰?? Townsville Police Station officer-in-charge acting Senior Sergeant Damien Ahearn said.
‰??Anyone in the general vicinity of that can at the wrong time would have been seriously hurt as a result of what‰??s occurred.‰??
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PLUMBER RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER 'CHEMICAL INCIDENT' AT LOGAN SCHOOL
Tags: Australia, education, release, injury, acids
A plumber was taken to hospital after a drain he was clearing overflowed with a "solvent acid" at a school south of Brisbane.
A plumber had been clearing a blockage in a drain at one of the school's bathroom with solvent acid when it overflowed "back into his face" about 7.30am, a workplace health and safety officer said.
Two Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) crews were sent to Logan Reserve State School. Photo: Jorge Branco
Police confirmed there had been no explosion at the school, despite earlier reports.
The man was treated for facial burns and taken to Logan Hospital.
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EPA'S PRUITT WIPES THE SLATE CLEAN ON CHEMICAL REVIEWS
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it had cleared a seven-month backlog of 600 reviews of new chemicals that had been in place since February.
"I am happy to report that the backlog of new chemical reviews is eliminated," said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. The agency's goal "is to ensure a new chemicals program that is both protective of human health and the environment, while also being supportive of bringing new chemicals to market."
Pruitt committed the agency to making the chemical review process more transparent and predictable.
"Not only do I support reducing the backlogs that have built up at this agency, I also encourage continuous improvement and increased transparency," Pruitt said.
The prompt review of new chemicals is called for by the Toxic Substances Control Act, which was updated in 2016 through the passage of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act.
"EPA can either be a roadblock to new products, or it can be supporter of innovation and ever-improving chemical safety," Pruitt said. "EPA has a tremendous responsibility to review new chemicals intended to enter the U.S. market for safety," he said.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PERFLUORINATED CHEMICALS, AKA PFCS
Tags: us_MI, public, discovery, environmental, other_chemical
Grayling water officials announced in July they had found trace amounts of perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, in the municipal water supply. The levels are nowhere near the concentration of PFCs considered to be a health hazard by the Environmental Protection Agency.
David Andrews, senior scientist with the nonprofit Environmental Working Group spoke with Stateside to help us understand this mysterious family of chemicals and explore exactly what the news means for the Grayling area.
PFCs are entirely man-made chemicals, Andrews said. Useful for repelling grease and water, they're found in a myriad of consumer and industrial products such as carpets, furniture, and clothing. Because of the nature of the chemical bond, Andrews said, PFCs don't break down easily, even after direct exposure to natural elements.
"The contamination that's currently out there may have been released into the environment decades ago," Andrews said. "There's pretty much universal contamination from the first generation of these chemicals released over the last four or five decades. Nearly everyone has some in their body and in their blood."
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EPA‰??S ANNOUNCED CHANGES TO NEW CHEMICALS REVIEW PROCESS PUT INDUSTRY DEMANDS FOR READY MARKET ACCESS ABOVE PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTION
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Last year‰??s Lautenberg Act, which overhauled the badly broken Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), made fundamental changes intended to improve EPA‰??s review of new chemicals prior to their commercialization, by requiring more scrutiny of those chemicals to better ensure they are safe. Until recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was on track in implementing the new requirements in a health-protective manner. With the addition of more staff, EPA was also steadily reducing the temporary backlog in new chemical reviews that had developed ‰?? a result of the fact that the law‰??s new requirements took effect immediately upon passage.
In recent months, however, agency staff have faced relentless pressure from the chemical industry ‰?? and internally from new industry-friendly senior management ‰?? not only to speed up reviews, but to return the program to its pre-Lautenberg practices. There were growing signs that EPA was considering changes that would circumvent the law‰??s requirements in the name of increasing program ‰??throughput.‰?? The agency‰??s press release today makes clear that this is now happening.
While many details of the shifts EPA is making remain murky, EDF is concerned that EPA is moving away from the law‰??s clear requirements that:
EPA rigorously review both intended and reasonably foreseen uses of new chemicals and,
where EPA identifies potential risks or lacks sufficient information, it issue an order imposing conditions on the manufacturer of the new chemical sufficient to mitigate the potential risk.
Among other concerns, EPA‰??s intent not to issue such orders and merely to promulgate so-called significant new use rules to require notification of reasonably foreseen uses ‰?? even assuming it can timely issue such rules ‰?? is squarely at odds with what the law requires.
EPA also appears to be seeking to re-create the infamous Catch-22 of old TSCA under which EPA could only require testing where it already had evidence of risk. In today‰??s release, EPA signals that testing will only be required ‰??to address risk concerns.‰??
Finally, apart from today‰??s release, EPA‰??s recent approach of sharing information on these anticipated changes only with new chemical submitters is highly disturbing, and further undercuts public confidence in EPA‰??s implementation of the reformed law.
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CHEMICAL SPILL IN BEREA HAS RESIDENTS LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
Tags: us_KY, industrial, release, response, petroleum
Residents of Mayde Spur Road in Berea woke to a foul smelling odor early Sunday morning. The alleged culprit was an uncontrolled release of chemicals from KI (USA) Corporation, located nearby on Mayde Road.
‰??Our noses were burning,‰?? said David McGuire in a phone interview with The Register, adding his wife Casie, at first, thought there was a fire outside.
Distress over the smell became exacerbated when the McGuires saw the creek in front of their home.
The water had become dark, grey and murky and was being polluted by an oily substance, which they documented through multiple Facebook Live videos. They also noted fish were dying in the water.
‰??The smell was much like a burning home and rotten eggs. The stench made you sick to your stomach and had most [people] in its presence gagging,‰?? Casie McGuire said.
Multiple agencies responded after the McGuires called 911, among them were the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, Madison County Emergency Management Agency, Berea Fire Department and the Berea Police Department.
A KI (USA) Corporation press release Monday morning addressed few of the citizens‰?? concerns, but stated, ‰??some non-hazardous stamping fluids (were) inadvertently released into the waterway‰?? at the Berea factory.
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GERMANS IN UPROAR OVER US MILITARY'S PLANS TO EXPAND TOXIC CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE
Tags: Germany, public, discovery, environmental
Residents of the Palatinate region of southwest Germany are protesting the expansion of the US military's chemical storage facility there, amid fears for the health and safety of local people.
å© AP PHOTO/ ALIK KEPLICZ
'Moral Blow' to Germany: Poland's Prospects to Get Reparations for Nazi Actions
Residents of the Palatinate region of southwest Germany are fighting to prevent the expansion of a US Army Europe hazardous chemical storage facility, which would make it the US military's largest warehouse of its kind in Europe.
Since 2013, the warehouse has provided US forces operating across Europe with chemicals such as fuel additives and de-icing agents. The US army plans to increase its capacity 27-fold ‰?? from 70 tons at the moment, to 1,900 tons. According to the plans, the warehouse will provide US forces not only with lubricants and oils, but with 50 tons of the most hazardous chemicals.
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CHINA: WORK SAFETY AGENCY CITES REDUCED NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS IN 1H
Tags: China, public, discovery, environmental
China's workplace safety improved in the first half of 2017, with the number of accidents and fatalities both falling, according to data from the country's work safety watchdog.
The State Administration of Work Safety said the number of workplace safety accidents fell 25.4% year on year to 22,400 in the first six months, while related fatalities went down by 17.4% to 16,200.
No "extremely severe accidents" occurred in the first half year, which in China refers to those that cause more than 30 deaths, leave more than 100 severely injured or result in more than CNY100 million yuan (US$15 million) in direct economic losses.
However, the work safety administration said that China reported 113 chemical accidents in the first half of this year. The figure represents a rise of 7.6% from the same period a year ago. They have led to 135 deaths, up by 25%. An official said that the chemical work safety situation in the country remains grim and safety checks need to be overhauled.
Despite regular calls by the government for more focus on work safety, frequent tragedies still occur in the workplace. A lack of safety awareness, poor regulations and lax implementation of safety measures are among the factors leading to accidents. Most of the accidents happened in building sites, coal mines and chemical factories.
Meanwhile, on 31 July, the Communist Party's anti-corruption watchdog said that the head of the work safety administration had been demoted for serious "discipline" problems.
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ACCOUNTING FOR PUBLIC HEATH GAINS FROM POLLUTION CONTROL
Tags: public, discovery, environmental
Despite scientific uncertainties, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency needs to estimate the value of all significant public health benefits when it considers regulating pollutants, a new report says (Science 2017, DOI: 10.1126/science.aam8204).
As it decides whether and how much to control pollution, EPA estimates costs to industry and others as well as benefits from improved public health. But when the agency calculates the dollar value of these benefits, it often fails to include all available health-related data, points out a team of researchers from EPA, New York University, and the University of California, San Francisco.
EPA has long estimated the monetary benefits from reducing exposure to pollutants linked to cancer. It also considers noncancer health effects, such as asthma and other lung problems, when determining the benefits of cuts in major air pollutants, such as ground-level ozone. But frequently, the agency omits noncancer effects from other contaminants, such as those in drinking water or hazardous waste sites, the researchers point out.
‰??Thus, benefits of preventing exposure to chemicals linked to adverse health outcomes such as birth defects, neuroå-developmental effects, and cardiovascular disease are typically not quantified,‰?? the paper says. This could lead the agency to overlook significant pluses when it considers whether and how much to regulate pollution, the authors suggest.
Scientific uncertainty associated with toxicity or epidemiology data has led the agency to exclude such information as it estimates benefits of regulation, explains coauthor Tracey Woodruff of the UCSF School of Medicine. But analytical calculations can account for uncertainty about adverse effects from pollutant exposure in cost-benefit assessments provided to EPA‰??s decision-makers, she says.
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