Fw: OPPT-Newsbreak Tuesdaay, 6 July 99

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>OPPT NEWSBREAK Tuesday 6 July 1999

>

>

> Today's " Toxic News for the Net "

> Brought to you by the OPPTS Chemical Library

> http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/oppt_nb.txt

>

> NEWS

>

> " Explosions Rock Aluminum Plant [Around the Nation]. " Washington

>Times, 6 July 99, A5. " Aluminum Plant Explosion in Louisiana

>Injures 21. " Washington Post, 6 July 99, A16.

> Dozens of people were sent to hospitals yesterday following

> explosions at the Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Co. plant

> that sprayed a red mist containing a corrosive chemical over

> residential areas in Gramercy, Louisiana. Four workers were

> sent to burn units; all residents treated for nausea and

> respiratory problems were released. No report on the cause.

>

> " Administration Calls for Warning Labels on Eggs [science

>Times]. " New York Times, 6 July 99, D6.

> In response to a report released last week by the GAO that

> found inadequacies in the Government's oversight of egg

> safety, the Clinton Administration proposed that warning

> labels be put on eggs and egg products warning consumers to

> illnesses, like salmonella poisoning, that can be caused by

> eggs that are not properly stored or cooked.

>

> " Four Persons Die In Fireworks Accidents [Around the Nation]. "

>Washington Times, 6 July 99, A5.

> Over the holiday weekend, three people were killed in

> Centerville, Arkansas when a fireworks shell exploded

> prematurely and sent a fireball into a trailer. In Peoria,

> Arizona one person died and four others were injured as the

> fireworks they were unloading started detonating. All were

> employees of Lantis Fireworks.

>

> " Crews Turn Back Flames Threatening Utah Towns [Around the

>Nation]. " Washington Times, 6 July 99, A5. " 61,000 Ares Are

>Burned in Central Utah Wildfire. " Washington Post, 6 July 99,

>A16.

> On Sunday, crews contained a wildfire that spread over

> 61,400 acres south of Salt Lake City, Utah which forced

> residents in Eureka and Mammoth to temporarily evacuate

> their homes. The fire, which began in a patch of grass,

> grew with the explosion of a tanker truck carrying diesel

> fuel and was spread by 50 mph winds.

>

> " Schroeder, Greens Postpone Accord On Nuclear Power Phaseout

>[World: Germany]. " Washington Times, 6 July 99, A9.

> Far from an agreement on ending nuclear energy use in

> Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, his Social Democrats

> (SPD) and his ecological allies, the Greens, postponed their

> decision on the phase-out until fall. Negotiations over

> timetables and the closing of some younger reactors will

> begin tomorrow between the SPD and Greens leaders.

>

> " Rising Lake Slowly Stalks a North Dakota Town. " New York Times,

>6 July 99, A10.

> At the rate Devil's Lake is swelling, predictions by the

> Army Corps of Engineers are that homes, farms and a small

> business district in Devil's Lake, North Dakota may no

> longer be on dry land by 2006. The 200 square-mile lake,

> which has risen 25 feet since 1993 and has no natural

> drainage, is expected to outgrow the $300 million in

> temporary measures, like dikes, that federal and state

> agencies have spent to keep the water from eating away at

> dry land and forcing residents to relocate. While the town

> is asking that money be spent on a permanent solution to the

> problem, environmental groups are concerned that man-made

> drainage could bring about flooding elsewhere.

>

> " Hantavirus Warning Issued. Health Officials Say Vacationers and

>Residents of Rural Areas Face Higher Risk This Year. " Washington

>Post Health, 6 July 99, pp 8-9.

> Federal and state officials are warning people visiting

> national parks or living in rural locations not touch or

> feed rodents, and to take extra precautions when cleaning

> rodent-infested areas. Hantavirus, carried by deer mice,

> causes severe lung infection and is often fatal. The

> disease is expected to be a larger problem this year because

> the population of rodents is larger, and the infection rate

> of deer mice in some areas is as high as 35 to 40 percent.

> This is higher that the 30 percent infection rate among mice

> during the 1993 hantavirus epidemic. Although most cases

> have occurred in the Western U.S., warning applies to all

> states because the disease has been found nationwide.

> Suggestions for avoiding the virus include airing out cabins

> before occupying them, checking campsites or dwellings for

> rodent droppings or nests, wet-mopping instead of sweeping,

> and cleaning up rodent droppings with a disinfectant or

> solution of 10 percent bleach.

>

> EDITORIAL & COMMENTARY

>

> " Rethinking Dams. [Editorials/Letters] " New York Times, 6 July

>99, A20.

> The NYT comments on the removal of the Dam on

> Maine's Kennebec River, which was undertaken last week after

> scientific studies showed the environmental and recreational

> benefits of removing the dam outweighed its electricity-

> producing value (it provides only one tenth of one percent

> of Maine's power). The editorial cites evidence that salmon

> populations increased after the removal of dams. The NYT

> urges the federal government to base its decisions regarding

> the fate of four dams on Washington State's Lower Snake

> River on scientific evidence, rather than emotional

> arguments.

>

> ACROSS THE USA, FROM USA TODAY

>

> " Anchorage, Alaska [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 2 July 99, 12A.

> A new study finds that the levels of chemical contaminants

> found in the blubber of Cook Inlet beluga whales are lower

> than levels found in belugas from the eastern Chukchi and

> Beaufort seas, therefore eliminating pollution as a factor

> in the sharp decline of the area's beluga population.

>

> " Carlsbad, New Mexico [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 2 July 99,

>12A.

> Despite having been petitioned by environmental groups who

> criticized the criteria EPA used to let the Waste Isolation

> Pilot Plant open, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided

> not to review the EPA's certification of a federal nuclear

> waste repository.

>

> " Providence, Rhode Island [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 2 July

>99, 12A.

> State lawmakers have ended their main session without making

> changes to the Department of Environmental Management which

> has been criticized for inadequacy and accused of trampling

> privacy rights to find violations.

>

> " Alpine, Wyoming [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 2 July 99, 12A.

> One year ago today 90 people became ill from an outbreak of

> E. coli bacteria. Assessment of the state's water quality

> continues.

>

> AROUND THE BELTWAY: DC/MD/VA REGIONAL NEWS

>

> " Chemical Leak Closes I-95 in Pr. 's [Metro: In Brief:

>land]. " Washington Post, 6 July 99, B3.

> land State Police said that a chemical leak from a

> tanker, believed to have been carrying chlorine, forced the

> closing of Northbound lanes of Interstate 95 at about 9:30

> p.m. The lanes were closed for over two hours while

> hazardous-materials crews from the Prince 's Fire

> Department cleaned up the spill.

>

> " Man Dies When Hit With Pepper Spray [briefly: Virginia]. "

>Washington Times, 6 July 99, C4.

> died despite officers' attempts to

> revive him after they sprayed him with pepper spray and then

> noticed he was not breathing. Mr. escaped twice from

> pursuit by police who were responding to report of a fight

> at the Bow Creek Motel in Virginia Beach.

>

> BIOTECHNOLOGY

>

> " Silver Mulch Linked To More Robust Plants [science Times]. " New

>York Times, 6 July 99, D4.

> Article describes applications of the silver plastic mulch

> system being researched at the University of California's

> Kearney Agricultural Center. Tomato bushes grown using this

> system, that of covering the ground with silver-colored

> plastic, are bigger and have more fruit than those planted

> on bare soil. The plastic, which keeps plants moist and

> helps prevent soil erosion also encourages plant growth by

> increasing light to the plant canopy for more

> photosynthesis. The plastic, being silver-colored, reflects

> ultraviolet light which, in turn, repels crop pests like

> aphids.

>

> " The Genome Race [Commentary]. " Washington Times, 6 July 99, A13.

> , a professor of biology and genetics at the

> Washington University in St. Louis, writes in support of the

> federal government's Human Genome Project, which is

> attempting to sequence the chemical structure of human DNA

> and place this data in the public domain. Celera, a

> commercial company founded by Dr. J. Graig Venter, has begun

> a similar project using a faster technique, which will allow

> the company to finish before the government project. Celera

> intends to release the basic genetic information on the

> Internet, while patenting " single nucleotide polymorphisms, "

> the individual differences between one version of a gene and

> another. These are the types of differences that produce

> inherited diseases like cystic fibrosis, and Celera is

> anticipating that pharmaceutical companies will be willing

> to pay for access to this data. concludes that this

> is like " having to pay a license fee to examine the periodic

> table of the elements, " and he supports the Human Genome

> Project's recent decision to step up its efforts in an

> attempt to finish before Celera, thereby guaranteeing that

> genetic information remains public knowledge.

>

> PHARMACEUTICALS IN THE NEWS

>

> " A Warning Not To Mix Surgery And Herbs [science Times]. " New

>York Times, 6 July 99, D5.

> Article reviews the growing evidence that some herbal

> remedies, including St. 's wort, ginseng, feverfew and

> ginkgo biloba, may interact dangerously with anesthesia

> during surgery. The American Society of Anesthesiologists

> recently warned consumers to stop using herbal medicines up

> to three weeks prior to surgery. Doctors report observing

> problems with blood pressure and bleeding during surgery due

> to these interactions.

>

> " Finding the Right Tactics To Prevent Lyme Disease [science

>Times]. " New York Times, 6 July 99, D5.

> This article cautions that, though the vaccine for Lyme

> disease, Lymerix, has been available since December, being

> vaccinated does not eliminate one's risk of contracting the

> disease. Preventative measures recommended for all people

> are described in the article.

>

> " A New Generation of Contraception [science Times]. " New York

>Times, 6 July 99, D6.

> A brief mention of new birth control methods being tested

> for women including Lunelle, a monthly injection of the same

> hormones found in the pill which researchers expect will

> become available for women to use themselves.

>

> LIVING IN THE INFORMATION AGE

>

> " Closing the Distance. Instant Messaging Is Talk of Online

>World. " Washington Post, 6 July 99, A1, A6.

> The article profiles ICQ, free " instant messaging " software

> that allows members to communicate online with each other

> faster than by using email. The program notifies users when

> someone on their notification list is online, allowing them

> to converse together over the Internet almost

> instantaneously. America Online, , Walt Disney Co.,

> and Tribal Voice offer similar services, and Microsoft is

> also developing an instant messaging tool. Instant

> messaging programs are expected to become major

> communication tools for families and businesses.

>

> CAR CORNER

>

> " Death By The Gallon [special Report]. " USA Today, 2 July 99, 1B,

>2B.

> Lengthy report based on a USA Today analysis of previously

> unpublished fatality statistics suggests that rising deaths

> from car accidents may be related to more people driving

> fuel-efficient smaller cars. The methodology and

> interpretation of the study is accompanied by a timeline

> describing the history of small cars in America.

>

> " Carmakers Detour Around CAFE rules. " USA Today, 2 July 99, 3B.

> This article lists car companies that don't make any models

> fuel-efficient enough to satisfy the federal government's

> fuel economy standards, resulting in fines that companies

> pay and accept as a cost of business. The federal

> government requires that automakers average the fuel

> economies of all the vehicles it sells in a model year,

> called a corporate average fuel economy (CAFE).

>

> INTER ALIA

>

> " Japan Gets The Bugs Out Of Its Vending Machines. " Washington

>Times, 6 July 99, B6.

> Vending machines holding up to 100 live stag beetles each

> were emptied within three hours this weekend by children who

> purchased pairs for $3.35 each at the Mirai Seiko Co. store

> west of Tokyo. The Ogaki machine company decided to make

> money off the beetles it collects while harvesting mushrooms

> off trees. Beetle collecting is a traditional summertime

> hobby for Japanese children.

>

>

>* All items, unless indicated otherwise, are available at the

>U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

>Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxics Substances (OPPTS)

>Chemical Library

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>*Viewpoints expressed in the above articles do not necessarily

>reflect EPA policy. Mention of products does not indicate

>endorsement.*

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