Month: September 2020

Fresh Evidence of Nyc’s Deadly Lead Paint Lies

New York Post

New York, NY – Documents coughed up under the Freedom Of Information Law again show that the de Blasio administration downplayed the true scale and scope of lead exposure crisis in public housing. From 2010 to ’18, city health inspectors found lead in 222 NYCHA units across 93 developments — more than a quarter of all complexes citywide. Experts say that finding lead in one apartment meant the poison likely was present throughout the building. Yet NYCHA leaders opted to avoid costly remediation by challenging findings — successfully, in 158 cases. 

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Low Income and Predominantly Latino Neighborhoods in Santa Ana Affected by Toxic Lead, Report Says

LA Time

by Ben Brazil
Santa Ana, CA – There are potentially unhealthy levels of lead in low-income and predominately Latino neighborhoods in Santa Ana, a new report finds. Local organization Orange County Environmental Justice partnered with UC Irvine and other community members over the last three years for the study. The coalition analyzed more than 1,500 soil samples from more than 500 locations, finding that the samples ranged from 11.4 to 2,687 parts per million, with an average soil sample of 123.1 ppm. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment considers anything above 80 ppm in a residential area as hazardous to health. About half of the soil samples exceeded the California safety recommendation. 

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EPA’s Asbestos Problem: Pending Litigation and Draft Risk Evaluation

National Law Review

Washington, DC – Multiple States’ Attorneys General and asbestos advocacy groups are suing EPA in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs are seeking judicial intervention concerning EPA “arbitrary and capricious” decision to deny states’ earlier petition that requested EPA collect more data on imported asbestos under the authority granted to EPA in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Under the Arbitrary and Capricious standard, plaintiffs must prove that there was no rational connection between the facts found and the decision made by EPA.  

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EPA Says Their Research Continues to Provide Vital Research to Support Toxic Substance Control Act

Washington, DC – In  2016, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act was passed, amending the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Nation’s primary chemical management law, for the first time in 40 years. The amended TSCA included advances such as: mandatory requirements for EPA to evaluate existing chemicals with clear and enforceable deadlines, risk-based chemical assessments, increased public transparency for chemical information, and a consistent source of funding for EPA to carry out its responsibilities under the new law. EPA scientists are providing support for several important TSCA activities including: the development of New Approach Methods for alternative toxicity testing; implementing approaches for chemical pre-prioritization; improving exposure assessment for new and existing chemicals; and supporting ongoing chemical assessments. 

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Denver Marijuana Health Inspections, Mold Report Delayed Due to Covid

Westworld

by Thomas Mitchell
Denver, CO – One of the few local health agencies investigating and disciplining marijuana facilities in Colorado, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment has been responsible for a significant number of marijuana mold and pesticide recalls since recreational pot sales began in 2014. Regularly scheduled health and safety inspections at marijuana cultivations and production facilities paused in March as DDPHE staffers began assisting with COVID-19 response efforts, according to DDPHE spokeswoman Tammy Vigil. 

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A Grim Reality of Reopening: More Mold

Wired

by Louise Matsakis
National – The pandemic has forced all sorts of buildings to sit empty for long periods of time. As people venture back into their homes, schools, and offices again, they may also find an unwelcome surprise inside. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns people who are reopening buildings to watch out for potential hazards like mold and Legionella pneumophila, the bacterium that causes Legionnaires’ disease. Click here for the full text of the article

EPA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals Finds Asbestos Risk Evaluation Flawed in Their Final Report

Washington, DC – The EPA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals released their final report following the TSCA peer review meeting in June of this year. The report states: Overall, EPA’s environmental and human health risk evaluations for asbestos was not considered adequate and resulted in low confidence in the conclusions. This is due to missing data for environmental exposures, coupled with the fact that current estimates for human health risk are created for a narrow group of workers and consumer users based on limited exposure to chrysotile asbestos fibers leading to numerous uncertainties. The relatively meager concentration and exposure data available allows the risk evaluation to use the prudent approach of a reasonable worst-case analysis. 

Click here for the full report and meeting minutes or email info@eia-usa.org.

EPA Researchers Are Working to Determine the Best Way to Clean Up Fentanyl Contaminated Surfaces

Washington, DC – Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever. Because a small amount of fentanyl can be deadly, emergency responders and hazmat teams are concerned about their potential exposure while responding to incidents at mixing houses, pill factories, or in makeshift laboratories found in apartments, hotels, houses, garages, and storage facilities. They are also concerned with exposures from remnants of laboratories that have been dumped illegally and possible fentanyl releases in correctional facilities.  

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