EPA proposes record-keeping rules for nanoscale chemicals

For the first time the agency will use TSCA authority to collect health and safety information on nanoscale chemical substances already in use

The EPA wants companies to submit
information on nanoscale chemicals.

WASHINGTON D.C., – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing one-time reporting and recordkeeping requirements on nanoscale chemical substances in the marketplace.

“Nanotechnology holds great promise for improving products, from TVs and vehicles to batteries and solar panels, said Jim Jones, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

“We want to continue to facilitate the trend toward this important technology. Today’s action will ensure that EPA also has information on nano-sized versions of chemicals that are already in the marketplace.”

EPA currently reviews new chemical substances manufactured or processed as nanomaterials prior to introduction into the marketplace to ensure that they are safe.

For the first time, the agency is proposing to use TSCA to collect existing exposure and health and safety information on chemicals currently in the marketplace when manufactured or processed as nanoscale materials.

The proposal will require one-time reporting from companies that manufacture or process chemical substances as nanoscale materials.

The companies will notify EPA of:

• certain information, including specific chemical identity; 
• production volume; 
• methods of manufacture; processing, use, exposure, and release information; and, 
• available health and safety data. 

Nanoscale materials have special properties related to their small size such as greater strength and lighter weight, however, they may take on different properties than their conventionally-sized counterpart.

The proposal is not intended to conclude that nanoscale materials will cause harm to human health or the environment; Rather, EPA would use the information gathered to determine if any further action under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), including additional information collection, is needed.

The proposed reporting requirements are being issued under the authority of section 8(a) under TSCA. The agency is requesting public comment on the proposed reporting and recordkeeping requirements 90 days from publication in the Federal Register. EPA also anticipates holding a public meeting during the comment period. The time and place of the meeting will be announced on EPA’s web page.

Additional information and a fact sheet on the specifics of the proposed rule and what constitutes a nanocale chemical material can be found here.

Source: EPA press release

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Boston area shop owners opt for carcinogen-free business

The dry-cleaning chemical perc has
been linked to cancer and health issues.

When Myra Vargas and her husband took over a dry-cleaning business in Jamaica Plain last spring, they had to make a tough decision: whether to use a common chemical called perchloroethylene, known as perc, or institute a costly change.

Vargas knew that perc, which they’d been using to clean clothes at their Roslindale shop for nearly two decades, was dangerous.

Years earlier, she’d been warned to stay away from it while pregnant. But she’d recently learned that perc probably causes cancer in dry-cleaning workers.

“We went seventeen years using something that was dangerous for everybody,” she says.

Extra encouragement to make the change to a safe system known as wet cleaning came from a group called Jamaica Plain New Economy Transition, but it wouldn’t be easy.

The couple would need to buy all new machinery and pay to get rid of their old, perc-based equipment. And making the switch would cost more than $100,000, a daunting hurdle. Plus, they’d heard conflicting stories about whether wet cleaning worked as well. But then the project helped them get a $15,000 state grant and launch a Kickstarter campaign that raised another $18,000.

On September 11, J&P Dry Cleaners celebrated its grand opening as the neighborhood’s only wet cleaner and one of only about a dozen in the state.

The shop’s opening was the first success in an ambitious effort to rid Jamaica Plain businesses of chemicals likely or suspected to cause cancer.

Across the nation, Main Street businesses routinely use such chemicals: at beauty and nail salons, hair straighteners and polishes that may release formaldehyde, for instance; at auto shops, brake cleaners that can include perc and solvents with trichloroethylene.

By persuading companies to switch to safer alternatives, the JP project aims to create locally what its leaders are calling “a cancer-free economy.”

Although nationally cancer rates are declining slightly, an estimated 1.7 million Americans will be diagnosed with the disease this year and more than half a million will die of it.

But most of us don’t need stats to tell us there’s a lot of cancer around — everyone seems to know someone.

“Not enough effort, not enough research, not enough funds have been directed toward upstream efforts to prevent carcinogens from getting into the human environment in the first place,” says Richard Clapp, an epidemiologist at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, which is partnering on the Jamaica Plain project.

 “How do we get to the point where we don’t pour this fire hydrant of carcinogenic chemicals into the environment?”

To be sure, exposure to chemicals doesn’t cause all (or even most) cancers. The American Cancer Society attributes 30 percent of US cancers to cigarette smoking and 35 percent to poor diet, inactivity, and obesity.

Other factors, such as genetics and infections, also contribute. But any given cancer case is now understood to have more than one cause, Clapp argues, so the idea of dishing out blame to one factor is flawed.

The JP project, which received a $20,000 grant from UMass Lowell’s Toxics Use Reduction Institute last year and was recently awarded another, is gearing up to approach other neighborhood businesses like auto shops and beauty salons.

And it’s trying to persuade local hospitals, hotels, and senior living facilities to use Vargas’s shop for dry cleaning.

In addition to reducing carcinogens, the project aims to support minority- and immigrant-owned small businesses in JP’s gentrifying economy — communities all too often left out of environmental and health discussions.

The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production is taking an even wider-angle look at creating cancer-free economies.

In partnership with two national groups, it secured foundation support — around $1 million for each of the next three years — to build a network of organizations that will strategize how best to wean the national economy off cancer-causing chemicals, then fund a series of initiatives to help do just that.

Whether the JP project or even the national one can credibly reduce our economic dependence on carcinogens remains to be seen. But we need more of this kind of bold, creative thinking.

And if we want businesses, especially small ones, to change their ways, they are going to need help.

Fortunately, Massachusetts has other like-minded initiatives, including Boston’s Green & Clean small-business certification program and the Toxics Use Reduction Institute’s statewide assistance program.

Without the JP project’s help, Vargas says she would never have given up perc.

But she’s thrilled with the decision: There’s no chemical smell in the shop, wash loads take half the time and less energy, and the whites come out whiter. Her utility bills have dropped, and there are no more fees for disposing of perc.

“At the end, it’s worth it, because now we see the results,” she says. “People like it. It’s better.”

Vargas is planning to send other neighborhood business owners to the group and is helping spread its message of a carcinogen-free Jamaica Plain.

“It’s a big problem and a hard process . . . for them to convince people,” she says. “But I’m hoping they do it.”

Source: Boston Globe

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OSHA to improve tracking of workplace injury and illness

Workplace air quality may affect
employee health and productivity.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it will extend the comment period on the proposed rule to improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses to Oct. 14, 2014.

The proposal, published on Nov. 8, 2013, would amend the agency's record-keeping regulation to add requirements for the electronic submission of injury and illness information that employers are already required to keep.

During the public meeting held on the proposal, many participants expressed concern that the proposal may create motivation for employers to under-record injuries and illnesses, since each covered establishment's injury and illness data would become publicly available on OSHA's website.

Participants also expressed concern that the proposal would lead to an increase in the number of employers who adopt practices that discourage employees from reporting recordable injuries and illnesses. OSHA is concerned that the accuracy of the data collected under the new proposal could be compromised if employers adopt these practices.

"OSHA wants to make sure that employers, employees and the public have access to the most accurate data about injuries and illnesses in their workplaces so that they can take the most appropriate steps to protect worker safety and health," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels.

Therefore, OSHA is soliciting comments on whether to amend the proposed rule to: 1) require that employers inform their employees of their right to report injuries and illnesses; 2) more clearly communicate the requirement that any injury and illness reporting requirements established by the employer be reasonable and not unduly burdensome; and 3) provide OSHA an additional remedy to prohibit employers from taking adverse action against employees for reporting injuries and illnesses.

Individuals interested in submitting comments may do so electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, the federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Comments may also be submitted via mail or facsimile. See the Federal Register notice for details.

Source: OSHA

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Micro-monitors to warn of air pollution hot spots

Small air quality monitors can provide valuable information
about local air pollution levels to citizens and the public.

Louisville is planning to monitor air pollution on a micro-level, potentially shedding light on city "hot spots" that could be damaging people's health.

Using new technology tied to the Internet, Louisville philanthropist Christy Brown is helping to deploy a fleet of micro-monitors about as big as a softball that will continuously sniff the air and provide individuals — as well as the public — a quick view of the pollution surrounding them.

Brown announced the program to deploy the first 100 so-called Air Quality Eggs at a cocktail supper for 200 guests at her northeast Louisville home. They will monitor for nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulates, temperature and humidity.

The goal, Brown said, is to "find a new way to care for each other." And Mayor Greg Fischer, who frequently speaks about the need for compassion and innovation, is endorsing the effort.

"We are living in an extraordinary time ... with all these new tools we have not had available before," he told those at Thursday's event. "You may not understand this egg thing, but go ahead and become a civic entrepreneur."

While not as reliable as government sensors, the readings do give people an approximate idea of pollution levels immediately nearby, so they can be more informed in seeking better air quality, said Dirk Swart, a co-founder of the company that makes the monitors, Wicked Device LLC of Ithaca, N.Y.

"The goal is to make information actionable," by making it immediate and personal, he said.

Ted Smith, the mayor's innovation czar, said that the party's participants purchased as many as 100 of the monitors. When bought from Brown's new nonprofit Institute for Healthy Air, Water and Soil, each monitor costs $200 a piece. That's less than the $243 that the company charges for the same package on its Wicked Device website.

Smith said people can donate the eggs so a project team can place them in strategic locations. That way they can search for potential pollution hot spots that may be missed by the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District's network of six monitoring stations, he said.

"The best possible outcome is a closer connection between health and well-being and our environment," he said.

For those who want to track more pollutants, they may purchase an egg directly from the Wicked Device website, adding packages that detect ozone and volatile organic compounds, which contribute to smog.

All the data will be sent automatically to the Air Quality Egg website, as well as a special website being developed for Louisville, which will include other information such as the location where people who are participating in a related project are having asthma attacks.

The special Louisville website will also compare Egg readings to an index, giving people a sense of what the data means, Smith said.

Accuracy uncertain

The Air Quality Egg was launched in 2012, part of what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls the next generation of air monitoring. There are also businesses that have developed small monitors that connect to smart phone applications, providing instant readings of what their users are breathing.

"In the last two years, we have seen an explosion around these technologies," said Ron Williams, a research chemist with the EPA's Office of Research and Development.

He said EPA has been conducting laboratory and field tests to determine how accurate the personal monitors are, and said "that has yet to be determined. It's certainly not regulatory grade."

Without commenting specifically on the Air Quality Egg, he said "most of these devices have value for low-cost citizen science."

Swart acknowledged that their data can't match the quality of official government monitors.

"We are not trying to be the EPA," he said.

Similar community initiatives are underway with the Air Quality Egg in Boston and the country of Georgia, he said.

Arnita Gadson, executive director of the Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission, said officials working on new air-monitoring initiative will have to be careful about how they communicate with the public, because there are many types of air pollution, and the personal monitors only track a few.

In addition to Louisville's six official monitoring stations, Indiana and Kentucky run several others in the region that are used to determine the community's compliance with federal clean-air rules.

They sample for a variety of pollutants, such as ozone and the smallest of particulates, and have shown that in recent decades, air quality locally has improved.

While those monitors are meant to characterize air quality across a region, air pollution can be different from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Search for hot spots

That's where the micro-level reporting may be especially helpful — helping to identify potential hot spots and their sources.

In general, people who live in more polluted cities don't live as long, said Aruni Bhatnagar, a professor of medicine at University of Louisville.

And there can also be places in cities where air quality is worse, he said, calling them hot spots where air pollution can also damage people's bodies and make them sick.

The effort harkens back more than a decade when Louisville was gripped in a fight over toxic air from industrial sites.

Smith said he plans to seek advice from the Louisville air district and and its health department on where to place the air monitors that people donate.

Air district staff are willing to do that, said Keith Talley Sr., executive director of the agency.

He said it's too soon to evaluate the citizen monitoring program but said it "could point out some stuff we need to look at."

The biggest impact, he said, may be "the community awareness it will bring."

Source: The Courier-Journal
This article has been edited for length.

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Inventions we need: An air-cleaning bike

A photosynthesis system would clean the air during the ride.

Bicycles are often cited as the most efficient modes of transportation in the world. They’re five times more efficient than walking, and 100 calories on a bike can send a person three miles. In a car, 100 calories would only take a passenger 280 feet.

What if a bike of the future could perform more than one function, earning even more efficiency brownie points?

A group of Thai designers and engineers has developed a plan to turn the bicycle into a machine that actually cleans polluted air while cruising down the street.

The air-purifier bike currently exists only in concept, developed by Bangkok’s Lightfog Creative & Design Company. In theory, its aluminum frame would run on a “photosynthesis system” that generates oxygen through a reaction between water and electric power from a lithium-ion battery.

The details on precisely how the air purifier bike would work--like how often the filter and battery would need to be changed, and how much air the tool could filter at which speeds--have yet to be determined. The designers only have mock-ups, which recently won a Red Dot design award. The designers also haven’t yet built a prototype, but soon plan to.

While the air purifier bike might exist comfortably as an idea, reality could challenge the ease of operating such a fleet. There would be the question of where to charge the batteries, for one, and where byproducts, (like sugar, perhaps), might go.

Source: Fast Company

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Cosmetics companies pushed to address toxic ingredients

Many companies are listening to public
concerns about toxins in their products.

An environmental group has ranked Canada’s five largest cosmetics companies based on potentially harmful ingredients in their products.

The report from Toronto-based Environmental Defence says the big five all have issues with chemicals that could be harmful to human health, but some are doing better than others.

And it says public pressure is beginning to exert influence on the ingredients companies use in everything from shampoo and moisturizers to toothpaste and deodorant.

Citing publicly available information and using a basket of five common products, Environmental Defence looked for what it called the “toxic 10″ – 10 chemicals that have faced international scrutiny for their proven or potential health hazards.

The study ranked Proctor and Gamble best among Canada’s big five cosmetics companies, followed by Johnson and Johnson, and Unilever.

Estee Lauder and L’Oreal rounded out fourth and fifth place, respectively, principally because they did not publicly post policies on eliminating toxins such as triclosan and phthalates from their products.

“The good news is that some companies are listening to the growing concerns from their customers about the risks of these chemicals,” Maggie MacDonald of Environmental Defence said in a release.

“Others need to take the old saying to heart – the customer is always right – and act to remove harmful chemicals.”

Chemicals such as formaldehyde and
parabens have been linked to health problems.

Companies starting to eliminate toxic chemicals

Procter and Gamble announced in September that it would eliminate triclosan, a commonly used anti-bacterial agent, and phthalates from its personal-care products in 2014.

Johnson and Johnson committed in 2012 to remove triclosan, phthalates, formaldehydes and parabens from its adult toiletries and cosmetics.

Wal-Mart Stores, meanwhile, announced this fall that it would be working toward reducing chemicals starting in January, and promises a public report in two years on how it has fared.

Health Canada and Environment Canada proposed in 2012 that industry should voluntarily cut the amount of triclosan it uses, particularly in personal-care products that tend to get rinsed away into lakes and rivers. A Health Canada study found triclosan is harmful to the environment, but safe for humans.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing the safety of triclosan, with a report expected imminently.

Concerns have been raised that the widespread use of triclosan may be triggering hormonal changes, or causing anti-microbial resistance that could lead to super bugs.

Phthalates are a family of chemicals commonly used as plasticizers, used to help make plastics flexible. They also help make soaps, cleansers and perfume adhere to skin and are commonly found in synthetic fragrances.

Studies suggest that when ingested, phthalates could cause reproductive and developmental abnormalities in young children.

Source: Global News

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Chemical companies turn to new specialties for growth

A buy-sell strategy doesn't always work,
but it looks promising, experts say.

Triggered by the recession that began in 2008, major chemical companies are aggressively re-inventing themselves through multi-billion dollar overhauls, reports Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.

Rather than growing through the expansion of existing operations into emerging economies, which continue to suffer from the downturn, large chemical firms are now shedding some of those operations and investing in specialty areas with higher growth.

Marc S. Reisch, senior correspondent at C&EN, explains that in the past five years, three of the world's chemical giants — DuPont, Dow and Clariant — and others have acquired specialty companies positioned in areas where they see market potential.

The three companies are currently reorganizing by selling older chunks of their businesses.

The article points out that this buy-sell strategy doesn't always work, but so far, the approach is promising.

DuPont's 2011 purchase of industrial enzyme maker Danisco has been "a game changer" as it sheds its performance chemicals businesses.

Dow has forged its way into the advanced materials market in one fell swoop with the purchase of Rohm and Haas in 2009.

And Clariant, through its acquisition of the German company Süd Chemie in 2011, has added to its portfolio specialty chemicals, such as catalysts and battery materials, meanwhile selling off less desirable assets, such as their textile chemicals unit.

Source: American Chemical Society

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Study: Smoke-free laws do not hurt business

Anti-smoking laws protect workers and customers alike without adverse economic impact

Smoking bans may even have a positive
impact on businesses, data shows.

A large study on the economic impact of smoke-free laws, published in the scientific journal Preventing Chronic Disease, provides new evidence that such laws do not harm the restaurant and bar industry, even in regions with high smoking rates.

These findings came to light just weeks after the Township Liquor Industry Association (TOLIA) denounced new regulations that is expected to come into effect later this year that will ban smoking even in outside smoking areas, claiming that it will be detrimental to their businesses.

However, anti-tobacco groups claim that the tobacco and hospitality industries have used the same excuse when other smoking regulations were introduced, but it has never realized.

“The evidence is clear that smoke-free laws protect workers and customers alike from the proven dangers of secondhand smoke without harming business,” said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The new study analysed economic data from 216 smoke-free cities and counties across nine US states.

The study found that smoke-free laws did not have an adverse economic impact on restaurants or bars in any of the states studied. In one state, West Virginia, the local smoke-free laws were actually associated with a small increase in restaurant employment.

The new study’s findings are consistent with those of other studies, all of which show that smoke-free laws at worst have a neutral impact on the restaurant and bar business and may even have a positive impact.

“These findings highlight why the public, policy makers and media need to be leery of adverse economic claims made by opponents of smoke-free laws. These claims are discredited time and again by impartial economic data,” said Myers.

Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and at least 69 that cause cancer. Secondhand smoke causes heart disease and lung cancer in non-smoking adults and respiratory problems, sudden infant death syndrome, low birth weight, ear infections and more severe asthma attacks in infants and children.

The study was conducted by RTI International and supported by the CDC Foundation.

Source: The South African Health News Service

Invite cleaner air to no-smoking establishments

Activated carbon and HEPA filters will remove
chemicals, odors and particles left behind by smoke.

Businesses that previously allowed smoking on their premises will have to make some changes once smoking bans come into effect.

Lingering tobacco odors may be noticeable, as the carcinogenic chemicals and smoke particles are known to stay behind for a long time.

Electrocorp offers business owners proficient air purifiers for large and small spaces, which feature the most comprehensive air filter systems available.

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Fragrance company claims to be committed to health and safety measures

The fragrance manufacturing company
promised to have odor controls in place.

A Japanese fragrance manufacturer plans to relocate operations from New Jersey to Harriman, officials say.

The international fragrance manufacturing company will spend $10 million dollars to renovate the 130,000-square-foot former Manhattan Beer site, which will employ 80 workers.

The company plans to open in stages and to be fully operational by the end of this year.

Concerns over possible odor problems in Harriman, which used to have some problems with chemical companies and the sewer district plant, have been met with assurances that odor controls will be in place.

Takasago International Corporation was founded in in Japan in 1920, and has developed flavors and fragrances for some of the world’s most successful food, beverage, fine fragrance, household and personal care products, according to the company’s Web site. It operates in 24 countries and has more than 3,000 employees worldwide.

Source: The Photo News

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Random safety inspections work: Study

Safety inspections can lower the risk of injuries, study shows.

Researchers have shown that inspections of industrial workplaces in the US don’t hurt businesses and in fact lower the risk of workplace injuries.

The study showed that there was a decrease in worker injuries in companies that were inspected compared to companies that weren’t.

The inspected companies, chosen by the California’s OSHA for random inspections, had 9.4 percent fewer worker injuries.

Those companies also didn’t hurt in other ways and contrary to public opinion were not forced to cut jobs, lose sales, get lowered credit ratings, or go out of business because of the inspections when compared to those that were not inspected.

Inspections criticized from both sides

The study was inspired by the ongoing criticism against OSHA from both sides – the labor side thinks the agency isn’t doing enough to protect workers and the employer side thinks that it imposes unnecessary costs.

The study involved 409 businesses in California in a variety of industries, including woodworking and metalworking, which were randomly inspected by OSHA between 1996 and 2006 as well as 409 comparable companies that were not inspected.

The study shows that inspections help in keeping workers safe and that they are also good for business, experts say.

Critics argue that the study authors didn’t focus on the main issues – namely, regulations - which may have hurt businesses.

The research is published in the journal Science.

Source: Reuters

Air cleaners to reduce chemical exposure at the workplace

The problem with chemical exposure is that even at presumably safe limits, experts are divided about the effect these exposures can have over the long term – although some long-term exposures have been linked to serious health effects such as cancer and respiratory diseases.

In any case, it’s arguably better to have fewer chemicals floating around in the ambient air than more.

Electrocorp has developed portable and highly efficient air cleaners for industrial and commercial applications that can help remove those harmful chemicals, odors and fumes.

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Chemical exposure: Businesses looking for safer solutions

Smaller businesses listen to clients' concerns about toxic chemicals in household products and materials

Clients and businesses demand safer products and materials.

Small businesses need to be tuned into their clients’ preferences and concerns in order to survive.

Since chemical exposure and indoor air quality is now ranking high as a public health concern, it is no wonder many small businesses are supporting their clients’ wishes for safer alternatives and better regulations.

In Maine, for example, more than 100 businesses have signed or written letters urging government officials to take action on this issue, saying they are worried about recalls and their liability when toxic chemicals are revealed in the products they are using or selling.

More than 150 businesses also participated in a survey, which showed that businesses regularly encounter clients asking about toxic chemicals or potential hazards.

Many consumers and businesses have been calling for an updated federal standard, which would require chemical companies to demonstrate the safety of their products before they are widely used, allow more public information on chemicals and their health impacts, give EPA the best available science to do research on chemicals and support businesses that are developing safer chemicals.

The new Safe Chemicals Act would update the Toxic Substances Control Act from 1976.

Source: Sun Journal 

Cleaner air is safer air

Activated carbon is among the most effective and trusted
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