Fw: OPPT-Newsbreak Tuesday, 15 June 1999

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>OPPT NEWSBREAK Tuesday 15 June 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 Set Scaled-Back Plan to Improve Eastern States' Air

>Quality. " Washington Post, 15 June 99, A14. " After Rulings,

>Agency Alters Plan to Limit Air Pollution. " New York Times, 15

>June 99, A24.

> EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner announced yesterday a

> scaled-back plan to improve air quality in eastern states

> that are affected by pollution from industries in other

> regions. Two recent court rulings overturned new air

> quality standards for smog and soot and suspended the

> implementation of a rule requiring 22 states and the

> District of Columbia to reduce interstate movement of air

> pollution. Under the new plan, the District of Columbia,

> Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, land, Michigan, North

> Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,

> Virginia, and West Virginia will be required to reduce

> emissions of nitrogen oxide by 2003. Browner said, " 'This

> is not the preferred path...The court has taken that

> preferred path away from us. But we felt we still have an

> obligation to people for cleaner air. When we prevail in

> court, we will go back to the original plan.' "

>

> " Belgium Bans Coca-Cola. " New York Times, 15 June 99, A8.

> Upon receiving more than 100 complaints and reports that 50

> children were hospitalized in Lochristi and in Korttrijk,

> the Belgian government banned the sale of all Coca-Cola Co.

> products, including Sprite and Fanta. After consuming Coca-

> Cola, children in different regions complained of nausea,

> stomachaches and headaches. Blood tests on the hospitalized

> children showed that a few had hemolysis, a blood disorder

> that causes the destruction of red blood cells. Coke

> officials are working around the clock to determine details

> of the blood tests and to identify the cause for the

> incidences. Complaints included that the Coke " tasted

> funny " and " smelled strange " .

>

> ACROSS THE USA, FROM USA TODAY

>

> " Portland, Maine [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 14 June 99, 17A.

> The Department of Environmental Protection will ask the

> federal government to conduct a health hazard evaluation to

> see if there is a link between the brain cancer deaths of

> three employees in a unit which responds to hazardous waste

> spills.

>

> " , Mississippi [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 10 June 99,

>11A.

> The state is requesting federal officials to allow cotton

> farmers to use a chemical which is illegal in the rest of

> the nation. They want to use the spray, Chlorfenapryr, aka

> Pirate, on 750,000 acres this year. However, the

> Washington-based American Bird Conservancy believes that the

> chemical is second only to DDT in causing harm to birds.

> DDT was banned in 1972 because it caused havoc to the bird

> population.

>

> " Attica, Ohio [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 14 June 99, 17A.

> A natural gas pipeline has been proposed to link the East

> Coast with cheaper fuel in Canada. It would cut through

> northern Ohio's fields and towns and about one third of

> Pennsylvania. Opponents of the $680 million project cite

> safety and environmental concerns.

>

> EDITORIALS & COMMENTARY

>

> " Environmental Spoils [Letters]. " New York Times, 15 June 99,

>A30.

> Levinson of San Francisco, who directs the

> environmental law program at the Sierra Club, disagrees with

> Herbert Sparrow 3d's June 9 letter about settlements from

> environmental law suits. He notes that after the settlement

> is reviews by the courts and EPA, the environmental group

> that filed the suit does not get payments: " Typically, more

> than half the penalty monies go directly to the Treasury,

> and the remainder goes to supplemental environmental

> projects approved by the court that are aimed at the harm

> caused by the illegal pollution. "

>

> " SUV Hogs [Letters to the Editor]. " Washington Post, 15 June

>99, A32.

> Stanfield, Staff Attorney at U.S. Public Interest

> Research Group in Washington, writes in support of the EPA's

> proposed new standards for emissions from Sport Utility

> Vehicles. " The public deserves to breathe easier, and the

> automakers know how to build clean cars and trucks. "

>

> TOXICS IN THE NEWS: DDT

>

> " DDT Banned [The Century in the Post]. " Washington Post, 15 June

>99, C13.

> This is a reprint of an article that appeared in the Post on

> June 15, 1972, reporting on EPA's ban on nearly all uses of

> DDT.

> BIOTECHNOLOGY

>

> " Smallpox: The Once and Future Scourge? [science Times]. " New

>York Times, 15 June 99, D1, D4.

> Lengthy article on smallpox describes how the virus attacks

> its victims, featuring an illustration of the disease's

> progress from incubation to death; its occurrences in

> history; its eradication; and the complications arising in

> the development and administration of a vaccine to protect

> scientists who work with the virus at the CDC. Federal

> experts who met earlier this month to discuss the nation's

> germ threats ranked smallpox as the primary threat.

>

> " Revenge of the Bugs [science Times: Observatory]. " New York

>Times, 15 June 99, D5.

> Researchers at Kansas State University report that the

> electric bug zappers that people hang outdoors to

> electrocute bugs on summer evenings are not hot enough to

> kill the bacteria and viruses on and in the bugs which one

> or one's food might be exposed to following a bug's

> explosion into a " shower of microbes " .

>

> " Underwater Arsenic [science Times: Observatory]. " New York

>Times, 15 June 99, D5.

> Hydrothermal vents, fissures in the sea floor which spew

> scalding water laden with chemicals and minerals, pump about

> three pounds of arsenic into Tutum Bay in Papua New Guinea

> each day, creating the highest concentrations of arsenic

> found in a marine setting. Contrary to expectations, marine

> life in the small shallow bay has not been adversely

> affected, according to research conducted by scientists from

> the University of Ottawa and the Geological Survey of

> Canada, published in the journal Environmental Science and

> Technology. Scientists found that the bay's coral reef

> ecosystem was as healthy and diverse as those not near

> hydrothermic vents. Dilution with sea water and

> incorporation into precipitating iron compounds may explain

> why the arsenic is not having adverse effects on marine

> life. Findings are expected to influence the development of

> new methods to treat arsenic contamination in other

> settings.

>

> LIVING IN THE INFORMATION AGE

>

> " Resilient Computer Worm Is Continuing to Take a Heavy Toll. " New

>York Times, 15 June 99, C1, C11. " Pesky 'Worm' Virus Wiggles into

>Network Links. " Washington Times, 15 June 99, B9.

> The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) reported that

> the " Worm " virus spreads over local corporate networks and

> not just through attachments to E-mail. In other words,

> computers on a network sharing files with an infected

> machine are at risk of expungement. Microsoft applications

> are the target.

>

> INTER ALIA

>

> " Some Futurists Say Beware, Orwell's Future Is at Hand. "

>Washington Times, 15 June 99, A2.

> This week marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of

> Orwell's " 1984, " and futurists are saying that

> Orwell's vision of a totalitarian society where " Big

> Brother " is always watching " `is much closer than most

> people think.' " Journalist and author Ross worked with

> an Orwell scholar to count 137 predictions or indicators of

> the " `total surveillance future' " envisioned in " 1984 " and

> found that over 100 have been fulfilled. Although Orwell

> did not predict the widespread use of computers, computers

> do provide many of the technologies that Mr. Ross says are

> capable of eroding privacy and personal freedom. Sidebar:

> " Is '1984' Now? " lists developments in privacy and personal

> freedom and military technology that were predicted in the

> book and have become a reality.

>

>

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

>U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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

>Chemical Library

>Northeast Mall, Room B606 (Mailcode 7407)

>Washington, D.C. 20460

>(202) 260-3944; FAX x4659;

>E-mail for comments: library-tsca@....

>(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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