Fw: OPPT Newsbreak - Monday 2 August 1999

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>OPPT NEWSBREAK Monday 2 August 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

>

> " EPA Is Moving To Restrict Use Of 2 Pesticides. " Wall Street Journal, 2 Aug

>99, B5. " Restrictions Coming On 2 Widely Used Pesticides. " USA Today, 1

Aug

>99, 1A. " A Pesticide Balancing Act. " Washington Post, 2 Aug 99, A1, A8.

> Due to evidence of toxicity to children, the EPA will announce

> restrictions on the use of two pesticides that are widely used among

> fruit and vegetable growers: axinphos-methyl and methyl parathion.

This

> action, the first EPA has taken under the 1996 Food Quality Protection

> Act, is expected to put U.S. growers at a disadvantage against foreign

> producers who can sell products in the U.S. that have been treated

with

> these pesticides. Farmers have few alternatives, most of them more

> expensive. Anticipated changes will take effect next year and will

> primarily impact growers of peaches and apples.

>

> " EPA Concedes Gas Additive Has Polluted Water Supplies. " Washington Times,

2

>Aug 99, A8.

> EPA agrees that trace amounts of the carcinogen methyl tertiary butyl

> ether (MTBE) threaten some of the nation's water supply. While the

> substance has helped reduce smog as a gasoline additive since 1990, it

> can now be found in 5 to 10 percent of the drinking water supplies in

> high-smog areas where use of the additive has been required. Groups

> that want to end the use of MTBE say studies have shown that MTBE has

> done little to clean the air and that EPA needs to address possible

> health effects including the links found between medical conditions

like

> asthma and unexplained coughing and MTBE. Reformulated gas is

mandatory

> in land, Virginia and the District of Columbia, three areas with

> severe air-pollution problems.

>

> " Drought Is Worst Since Depression. " Washington Post, 2 Aug 99, A1, A7.

> " Temperatures Drop Across the Midwest. " Washington Times, 2 Aug 99, A6.

> In the mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. the ground is drier than it has

> been since the Great Depression according to Agriculture Secretary Dan

> Glickman. While just an inconvenience to some, the drought has

> devastated farmers and acres of corn and soybeans. 182 people have

died

> from the sweltering temperatures in the northeast half of the United

> States, 30 in Chicago. A statewide emergency was declared for

land

> last week and 11 localities in Virginia have asked for federal

disaster

> assistance. The East Coast is also suffering from poor air quality,

> worsened by the heat and drought. New York's smog conditions are the

> worst they have been in a decade. With no relief in sight, water

> restrictions have been enforced in several areas. Food prices are not

> expected to increase significantly.

>

> " Wells Drying Up in New Jersey Hills. " New York Times, 2 Aug 99, A15.

> Water deep in the bedrock of northwestern New Jersey is becoming

scarce

> as underground water tables and aquifers affected by the summer's

> drought are dropping, causing hundreds of domestic wells to run dry in

> Sussex and Passaic Counties. Well drillers are inundated with

requests

> to deepen existing wells to an average of 450 feet. Municipal water

> officials, concerned for the future of the well fields on the banks of

> the Ramapo River, say conservation efforts are needed beyond the

> restrictions currently placed on lawn watering.

>

> " Flat CO2 Emissions Give Experts Hope [Economy]. " Wall Street Journal, 2

Aug

>99, A2, A6.

> Last year emissions of man-made carbon dioxide dropped world-wide, but

> remained almost flat in the U.S. despite 4% growth in the nation's

> economy. The positive trend in results is expected to make

ratification

> of the global Kyoto Treaty, under which countries are required to cut

> CO2 emissions, easier. As it turns out, the assumption made by

experts

> that economic growth would mean more energy consumption and more CO2

> emissions, is not founded. How this finding changes concerns about

> emissions trading between countries under the Kyoto Treaty is

discussed

> in the article.

>

> ACROSS THE USA, FROM USA TODAY

>

> " Montgomery, Alabama [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 30 July 99, 10A.

> A poll taken by the Capital Survey Research Center shows that 68% of

the

> state's residents want environmental protection to be prioritized.

23%

> of the voters favored industrial development over the environment.

>

> " Daytona Beach, Florida [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 30 July 99, 10A.

> 38 beachfront businesses in Volusia County have been ordered to

> reposition their outside lights because they disorient baby sea

turtles,

> causing them to travel towards the light instead of towards the water.

> Many die of exhaustion or predators.

>

> " Atlanta, Georgia [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 30 July 99, 10A.

> A lawsuit over water pollution violations throughout the city of

> Atlanta's sewer system has been settled with federal and state

> regulators. The city paid $700,000 in fines and agreed to bring its

> sewer system into compliance with the Clean Water Act and the Georgia

> Water Quality Control Act by 2013.

>

> " Houma, Louisiana [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 30 July 99, 10A.

> The Trebonne Parish Council wants state environmental officials to

adopt

> a proposal that will allow local governments to veto, by not sending a

> letter of approval, hazardous waste incinerators within 25 miles of

> their jurisdictions.

>

> " Baltimore, land [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 30 July 99, 10A.

> Environmentalists do not want the Army Corps of Engineers to dump 18

> million cubic yards of sand and silt dredged from the Chesapeake Bay

> shipping lanes to another part of the bay, a decision which the Corps

> has delayed until next summer.

>

> " Pittsfield, Massachusetts [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 30 July 99, 10A.

> State environmental regulators ordered General Electric to test for

PCBs

> at the King Street dump and in part of the Housatonic River, two sites

> at which GE dumped chemicals in the early 1970s.

>

> " Butte, Montana [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 30 July 99, 10A.

> The Forest Service is warning people not to swim in Homestake Lake,

near

> Butte, because of a large and possibly toxic algae bloom that has been

> robbing the lake of oxygen and killing fish there.

>

> " Reno, Nevada [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 30 July 99, 10A.

> The U.S. Postal Service will conduct an environmental assessment on

its

> plan to relocate a mail sorting hub to Reno-Tahoe International

Airport.

> Residents near the airport are concerned about noisy jets and

late-night

> takeoffs.

>

> " ton, West Virginia [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 30 July 99, 10A.

> Effective Sunday, Castle will become the new Director of the

> Division of Environmental Protection. Predecessor Miano

> resigned to take a job with the Division of Highways.

>

> TOXICS IN THE NEWS: POULTRY'S PRICE: THE COST TO THE BAY

>

> " Permitting a Pattern of Pollution [Poultry's Price: The Cost to the Bay:

>Second of Three Articles]. " Washington Post, 2 Aug 99, A1, A10. " Chicken

Waste

>Trucked to land [Poultry's Price: The Cost to the Bay]. " Washington

Post,

>2 Aug 99, A11. " A Look Inside The Modern Poultry Plant [Poultry's Price:

The

>Cost to the Bay]. " Washington Post, 2 Aug 99, A10.

> Harmful amounts, i.e. millions of gallons, of slaughterhouse waste

from

> chickens processed by Perdue Farms Inc. and smaller plants are legally

> dumped into the Chesapeake and coastal bays that are shared by

Virginia,

> land and Delaware. A unified vision among the bay states'

> legislators on how to regulate chicken waste is lacking and the EPA

says

> the water quality is deteriorating. Algae growth is overstimulated by

> the unlimited release of nitrogen, causing depletion of oxygen needed

to

> support water life. In addition to nitrogen, data collected by EPA

> shows there is an increase in phosphorus, which, along with nitrogen,

> scientists have linked to outbreaks of the toxic microbe Pfiesteria

> piscicida. Such an outbreak closed several rivers in land two

> summers ago. The lengthy report continues to describe the operations

> that occur at slaughterhouses, the hundreds of violations that occur

> without fines due to loose interpretations of existing regulations and

> other concerns that are resulting from increased consumer demand for

> highly processed chicken, which requires using lots of water.

>

> BIOTECHNOLOGY

>

> " France's Fickle Appetite [Op-Ed]. " New York Times, 2 August 99, A19.

> Diane , who divides her time between Pairs and San Francisco,

and

> is the author of " Le Divorce, " discusses French attitudes towards

> generically modified food. She concludes by pointing out that the

U.S.

> government has conceded that they have not yet done long-term studies

on

> the effects of genetically altered farm products. " So we are

insisting

> that Europeans accept products of ours that they don't want, but we

> haven't actually done the research yet to prove the safety of these

> products? Neither the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of

> Agriculture, nor the Environmental Protection Agency have thoroughly

> examined genetic modification. They have left it to agribusiness to

> determine the safety of these products. But after the tobacco mess,

> aren't we skeptical of corporate claims? "

>

> SCIENCE POLICY

>

> " Attack of the Killer Toaster [Editorials]. " Washington Times, 2 August

99,

>A18.

> The WT comments on the recent news that Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

> scientist Liburdy falsified information in his studies that

> purported to show a link between electromagnetic fields and cancer.

The

> Times uses this as an example of why the Shelby amendment to the

Freedom

> of Information Act which calls for release of information from any

> federally funded scientific study. They explain why those calling for

a

> repeal are wrong, and how sensitive trade and private information is

> protected.

>

> TOXICS IN THE NEWS: LEAD & PCBS

>

> " When Kids Get Poisoned [Letter To The Editor]. " Washington Post, 2 August

>99, A18.

> Myers, director of the W. Alton Foundation, which

> works to protect the environment, comments on Raspberry's July

> 23 op-ed column " blaming the Brain " which brought of issues of

personal

> responsibility in criminals who have genetically damaged brains. He

> poses the question of whether corporations or landlords could be held

> responsible for lead or PCB damaged children's actions and

disabilities.

>

> LIVING IN THE INFORMATION AGE

>

> " Cutting Through the On-Line Clutter: Media Digests Help Busy Readers Cope

>With Avalanche of Data . " New York Times, 2 aug 99, C10.

> Reporters and editors from many news organizations are among the

> discerning crowd of people that are increasingly relying on Net

digests,

> Web sites where up-to-date collections of Web links to news, gossip or

> alternative sites are compiled. Web addresses are given for several

Net

> digests, including Media Grok and Davenetics (www.davenetics.com) and

> Mediagossip.com.

>

>* 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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>(202) 260-3944; FAX x4659;

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>(Due to copyright restrictions, the library cannot provide photocopies of

>articles.)

>

>*Viewpoints expressed in the above articles do not necessarily reflect EPA

>policy. Mention of products does not indicate endorsement.*

>

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