Women at risk when exposed to chemical used to remove paint and coatings

EPA releases final risk assessment for NMP

Pregnant women and those of childbearing
age were at risk of exposure to NMP: Experts

WASHINGTON - The U.S. EPA released the final risk assessment for N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP), a chemical commonly used to remove paint and other coatings.

The assessment identified risks to pregnant women and women of childbearing age, who have high exposure to NMP through paint or other coating removal.

“By completing this assessment, we have taken an important step in protecting pregnant women and women of childbearing age who are using NMP to remove paint,” said Jim Jones, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

“It is a reminder that as we evaluate these risks, it is very clear that our nation’s chemical laws are in much need of reform. Completing this assessment will now trigger a process to address these unacceptable risks.”

Acute and chronic risks identified for women of childbearing age who use NMP for less than four hours per day may be reduced by use of specific types of chemical-resistant gloves.

However, gloves and respirators do not adequately reduce risks to women of childbearing age who use NMP for more than four hours per day on a single day or repeatedly over a succession of days.

The NMP final risk assessment was developed as part of the Agency’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan, which identified chemicals for review and assessment of potential risks to people’s health and the environment.

NMP is a common alternative to methylene chloride, also known as Dichloromethane (DCM), a chemical-based paint and coating remover.

EPA has also identified risks associated with methylene chloride during the removal of paint and other coatings.

For both NMP and methylene chloride, EPA is considering a range of voluntary and regulatory actions to reduce risks, and recommends finding safer paint/coating removal chemicals, or taking precautions that can reduce exposures, such as using the product outside, in a well-ventilated area, and wearing proper gloves and respiratory protection.

Additional information on the NMP final risk assessment and other work plan chemicals can be found here.

Source: EPA press release

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Pollution choking China's tourism industry

Poor air quality a drawback for tourists.

China's inbound tourism market is still struggling to bounce back in the midst of rising concerns about issues such as air pollution, according to a new report from the China Tourism Academy.

The number of inbound tourists reached 129.08 million in 2013, down 2.51 percent year-on-year, the report said.

About 75.4 percent of inbound tourists were satisfied with their visits in 2013, down 11.41 percent compared with the previous year. Some tourists from overseas expressed dissatisfaction with the water supply, air quality and barrier-free facilities.

"Since the first quarter of 2012, the number of inbound tourists has been down for nine consecutive quarters both on an annual and quarterly basis, and there is no sign that it will bounce back soon," said Dai Bin, head of the academy. "China's inbound tourism market is in a grave situation unseen before."

"And the complicated exterior environment has added uncertainties to the development of inbound tourism," Dai added. "Besides the economic situation and international relationships, issues of weather, environment and terrorism have cast a shadow on the industry."

Jia Zhirong, deputy general manager of Lvmama, an online travel service provider in Shanghai, said his company has seen decreases both in the number of inbound tourists and the money they spend in China in the past three years.

"The majority of our clients are from South Korea, Japan, the United States and Canada," said Jia. "In 2011, the average spending in China for each overseas tourist was around $2,000, excluding transportation and accommodation. The number has been dropping every year."

"I think air pollution is a very important reason," Jia said. "Overseas visitors will not consider traveling to a destination with a potential health risks.

"Besides, the reason overseas visitors found China attractive is the natural beauty of lakes, mountains and ancient architecture. With heavy smog, it is very difficult for them to enjoy that."

Beijing, one of the most important tourism destinations in China, has been plagued by heavy smog for days. The capital's tourism authority told China Daily that it is aware of the impact of air pollution on tourism, but there are more reasons behind the declines.

Source: China Daily Asia

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Another health risk in nail salons

Nail dryers joins risks such as fumes from polishes and gels

Nail salons often use nail dryers to
harden gel manicures.

Nail salon dryers, which use ultraviolet light to speed the drying and hardening of nail polishes and gels, emit varying levels of radiation that can lead to risky skin damage in as few as eight visits to the manicurist, a new study shows.

The nail dryers emit primarily UVA light — the same kind of ultraviolet light used in tanning beds — and are used to dry nail polish or to harden a gel manicure. Gel manicures are popular because they create long-lasting, shiny nails through a chemical gel that is painted on the nail in layers and cured under UV light after every coating.

Case reports of two women who developed squamous cell skin cancers on their hands have suggested an association between cancer and the UV nail light devices, but most doctors agree the risk is low.

In the new study, researchers from Georgia Regents University in Augusta conducted a random sampling of 17 different UV nail lamps found in salons to determine how much ultraviolet radiation is being emitted when clients dry their nails under the lights.

The study, published as a research letter this week in the journal JAMA Dermatology, found wide variation in the dose of UVA light emitted during eight minutes of nail drying or hardening. The dose, measured in joules per centimeter squared, ranged from less than one to eight.

“There is a vast range in the amount of light coming out of these devices,” said Dr. Lyndsay R. Shipp, the study’s lead author and a postgraduate resident at the university’s Medical College of Georgia. The amount of UV exposure ranged from “barely” to “significant,” she said.

DNA damage that can lead to skin cancer is known to occur around 60 joules per centimeter squared, and none of the nail lamps came close to that number. However, the researchers estimated that for most of the lamps tested, eight to 14 visits over 24 to 42 months would reach the threshold for DNA damage to the skin.

The study authors noted that the “risk from multiple manicure visits remains untested,” but the study suggested that “even with numerous exposures, the risk for carcinogenesis remains small.”

Dr. Shipp said, “There is a theoretical risk, but it’s very low.”

Lamps with higher-wattage bulbs emitted the highest levels of UV radiation, but it would not be easy for a salon client to check the wattage before using a machine. Dr. Shipp said she sometimes uses the nail lamps and will continue to do so.

“I do use them every couple of months,’’ she said, noting that “you can get that amount of exposure when driving down the road in your car.”

Clients who are concerned about the risk but want to continue getting gel manicures, which require UV light, have a few options. They can skip the lotion-and-massage portion of the manicure and instead coat their hands with sunscreen before having gel nails applied. Another option is to wear UV-protective gloves with the fingertips cut off so only the nails are exposed to the light. Users of regular nail polish can try fans or air-drying if they want to avoid the devices.

Source: NY Times


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Toxic chemicals a concern for firefighters

Toxic substances released by fires can linger on uniforms
and equipment, leading to high exposure levels.

More than 200 empty pairs of firefighter boots recently lined the steps of the Rotunda in San Francisco's City Hall.

Each pair represented a local firefighter who lost his or her life "with their boots off" due to cancer in the last 14 years, said Tony Stefani, president of the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation.

"In just the last three months, we've had two active and four retired firefighters die of cancer," said Stefani, a retired San Francisco Fire Dept. captain and cancer survivor, in an interview before the event.

The display is one of at least 15 "Give Toxics the Boot" events around the country this week. From Spokane, Wash., to Augusta, Maine, firefighters are calling for stricter regulations on flame retardants and other toxic chemicals they say are causing cancer and other diseases among their ranks.

"We take every precaution we can to minimize our exposure and risk, yet we're still being exposed to these chemicals on a daily basis," said Emmett McNamee, a 20-year veteran Spokane firefighter. "And these are bio-accumulative. They build up in our systems."

Public health advocates are standing alongside firefighters in the heated battle.

"Our first responders and firefighters are disproportionately exposed and affected by the chemicals that are in our homes," said Lindsay Dahl, deputy director for the non-profit Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, one of the organizations participating in the campaign.

"They serve, just like pregnant women and children, as canaries in the coal mine for the health effects we're seeing from chemicals we're exposed to every day."

To fight a fire means confronting a toxic soup of burning chemicals and their byproducts, including dioxins, furans and formaldehyde.

Many of the most toxic fumes released by today's fires actually come from chemicals added to everything from clothes to couches to computers in an effort to retard flames.

But, as an investigation by the Chicago Tribune uncovered, those additives may offer no meaningful fire protection.

A firefighter's exposure to chemicals can continue long after the blaze is out. Chemicals may linger on the skin, uniform, respirator, helmet and other gear. And if a firefighter wears any of that stuff home, their family may be exposed as well.

Scientists recently tested the blood of 12 California firefighters immediately after they responded to an alarm.

The results, published in June, showed significantly greater concentrations of flame retardants and other modern household chemicals in the firefighters compared with average Americans. Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, one common flame retardant, were three times higher in the firefighters' blood.

A separate study, published in October by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, evaluated the health of nearly 30,000 career firefighters in San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Researchers found higher rates of prostate cancer, kidney cancer, multiple myeloma, and other cancers compared with the general population.

Stefani, the former San Francisco captain, said he has a message for the chemical lobbying industry: "We are sick and damn tired of being your canaries sent into the cave every time we fight a fire. We're sick and tired of seeing the men and women of our profession contracting and dying of this insidious disease.

"We're not only concerned about firefighters," added Stefani. "We're concerned about the population in general with ongoing, daily chemical exposures."

Source: Huffington Post. The article has been edited for length.


Toxic chemicals an occupational risk for firefighters

Fighting fires is risky enough - but back in the station or at home, firefighters should not have to be concerned with toxic chemical exposure. Unfortunately, toxins can linger on uniforms, equipment and hair as well as skin, so exposure risks remain high.

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A safer alternative to flame retardants: Milk proteins

Upholstered furniture and plastics often
contain flame retardant chemicals. 

Casein, a protein left over from cheese production, could be an ecofriendly and nontoxic alternative to current phosphate-based retardants

Many compounds currently used as flame retardants in upholstered furniture and plastics have come under scrutiny for their potentially harmful effects on the environment and human health.

Since manufacturers often rely on flame retardants to meet fire-safety standards for certain products, many have looked for nontoxic compounds as alternatives.

Now, researchers in Italy have demonstrated that caseins — proteins found in milk that are a by-product of cheese production — may fit the bill.

Some types of flame retardants, such as organophosphate esters, get their fire-blocking properties from their high phosphorus content. When they burn, a polymer layer of phosphoric acid forms and creates a char that blocks heat transfer to unburned areas of the material, slowing the spread of the fire.

Jenny Alongi of the Polytechnic University of Turin and her colleagues decided to investigate a family of proteins called caseins as alternative flame retardants because they contain a large number of phosphate groups.

Caseins are found in the whey that’s a by-product of cheese production, so in countries that produce a lot of cheese, such as Italy and France, the proteins are cheap and abundant, Alongi says.

Burn test results encouraging

The team coated three materials—cotton, polyester, and a blend of 65% polyester and 35% cotton—with the proteins by soaking the fabrics in distilled water mixed with casein powder. The researchers then submitted the samples to a battery of flammability tests.

The results were encouraging: In cotton- and polyester-only fabrics treated with caseins, flames extinguished themselves, leaving 86% of the cotton and 77% of the polyester unburned. The cotton-polyester blend burned completely but took 60% more time to do so than the untreated material.

The flame-retardant properties of caseins also compared well to those of ammonium polyphosphate (APP), a flame retardant used for fire proofing polyolefins and polyurethanes.

The caseins effectively form a char layer on the fabric samples. But unlike APP, they don’t produce toxic fumes during combustion.

Before caseins can be used as flame retardants, researchers need to work out many issues, such as preventing the proteins from washing off materials.

The team is now testing light-curable resins and molecules such as urea that could bond the casein molecules to the surface of the fabric, Alongi says. Another problem is that materials treated with caseins smell rancid.

Alongi and her colleagues are looking for ways to remove the molecules associated with casein that produce the odor.

The caseins performed well compared to current flame retardants, says Jacob de Boer, an analytical chemist at VU University Amsterdam, who has investigated the impact of organophosphorus flame retardants on the environment. He hopes the team pursues the research further.

Source: Chemical & Engineering News

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Plastics company cited for chemical, other hazards

Employers need to provide safe and
healthful workplaces: OSHA.

CLEVELAND – New Wave Plastics has been cited for 13 safety violations after the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found a lack of training and personal protective equipment at the Cleveland facility, a recycler and plastic products supplier.

After receiving a complaint in November 2013, OSHA initiated an inspection of the facility. Proposed penalties total $51,800.

"Employers have a responsibility to train workers about hazards found in their facilities and to take precautions to prevent injuries and illnesses," said Howard Eberts, OSHA's area director in Cleveland. "Employers must ensure workers are protected from hazards and that they receive the required safety training."

Twelve serious violations involve failing to train workers about wearing personal protective equipment; hazards associated with the use of chemicals in the work environment; forklift safety and fire extinguishers; and failure to provide fire-retardant clothing.

New Wave Plastics was also cited for failing to develop a hearing conservation program, create a hazard workplace assessment and develop a hazard communication program. The presence of combustible dust was also found.

An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.

One other-than-serious violation was cited for not providing required information to workers on OSHA's respiratory standards. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

New Wave Plastics has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.

Source: OSHA

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Unsafe conditions lead to more occupational safety workers

Canadian province adds 12 new occupational safety workers after increase in workplace fatalities

The Nova Scotia government is adding 12 positions to its occupational health and safety division that it says align with recommendations from the province's former auditor general.

Number of workplace fatalities in
Nova Scotia nearly doubled in 2012.

In his fall report, Jacques Lapointe said Labour Department inspectors need to do a better job of following up after identifying safety issues.

Lapointe said only a small fraction of employers in Nova Scotia were given tickets for safety violations over a one-year period, despite missing deadlines.

At the time, Labour Minister Kelly Regan agreed her department had to be more consistent in enforcing its rules.

Regan says the 12 positions are in addition to five new safety inspectors announced last year and will focus on education, enforcement and compliance in the workplace.

The number of workplace fatalities from traumatic injuries in Nova Scotia jumped to 10 in 2012-13, up from six during the same period a year earlier.

Source: OHS Canada

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Flame retardant maker files lawsuit against new law

Flame retardants in furniture have been
linked to health risks, experts say.

A leading manufacturer of flame retardants is suing in an attempt to derail a new California law that seeks to keep the chemicals it makes out of upholstered furniture sold in the state.

The lawsuit filed in Sacramento by Chemtura Corp. argues that the law puts consumers at risk by changing a 4-decades-old flammability test that upholstered furniture must pass to be sold in California.

The intent of the change, which took effect this year, is to discourage furniture manufacturers from using flame retardant chemicals that have been linked to reproductive problems, developmental delays and cancer, as well as health effects that have not yet been studied.

But Chemtura says the new law will risk lives.

"If left unchallenged, California's revised, weakened fire safety standard could tragically lead to more fires and more injuries, deaths and property damage nationwide," said Anne Noonan, the Philadelphia company's senior vice president of industrial engineered products.

Chemtura, the first chemical company to challenge TB-117-2013 in court, has a lot of business at stake.

Under the old law, couches and other furniture with polyurethane foam had to withstand 12 seconds of a small, open flame, akin to a candle or a match. Furniture makers weren't required to use flame retardants but have used them to ensure they would pass the test.

Since then, independent studies have linked many flame retardants to health problems. Other research has questioned the merits of the test because small, open flames cause fewer fires involving residential furniture than smoldering cigarettes.

After a Chicago Tribune investigation in 2012 showed that chemical companies had distorted research to promote the safety of their products, scientists, regulators and advocates sought to reverse the 1975 California law that started it all.

The new law requires furniture upholstery to resist a cigarette-like smolder. Government officials and fire scientists say it will improve consumer safety and eliminate the need for flame retardants. Flame-retardant-free furniture has been trickling onto the market and will be mandatory by the beginning of 2015.

Chemtura, which filed its suit in Sacramento County Superior Court, is challenging the change by saying that the standard weakens fire safety and that the number of fires caused by small, open flames is, in fact, significant.

The law applies to any company that makes furniture to be sold in California, which has the world's eighth-largest economy, making it a major threat to flame-retardant makers. The chemicals are lucrative: A 2011 analysis projected global revenue from flame-retardant sales would reach $5.8 billion by 2018.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

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Failure to disclose health risks dogs chemical company

Judge rules in favor of EPA and orders penalty

WASHINGTON – In an administrative decision issued earlier this week, Elementis Chromium, Inc., one of the largest manufacturers of chromium chemicals in the world, was ordered to pay a penalty of $2,571,800 for failing to disclose information about substantial risk of injury to human health from exposure to hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen.

The Toxic Substances Control Act
requires companies to disclose
information about health risks.

The company was required to report the risks to workers in modern chemical production plants, as required by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

“Our job is to protect all Americans from exposure to harmful chemicals at home, at work and in their daily lives,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

“This decision supports our commitment to public health and reinforces the importance of companies providing key information about the risks their chemicals pose.”

TSCA requires chemical manufacturers, processors, or distributors that obtain information demonstrating that a substance or mixture presents a substantial risk of injury to human health or the environment immediately inform the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

This information allows EPA to understand and limit, when necessary, potential hazards associated with the manufacturing, use, and disposal of chemical substances.

In September 2010, EPA filed a complaint against Elementis with the Office of Administrative Law Judges, alleging TSCA violations for failing to report the results of an industry-commissioned study that documented significant occupational impacts to workers in modern chemical plants.

According to EPA, the study filled a gap in scientific literature regarding the relationship between hexavalent chromium exposure and respiratory cancer in modern chromium production facilities.

Chief Administrative Law Judge Susan Biro held an administrative hearing in December 2011, where both sides presented expert witnesses and additional evidence. On November 12, 2013, Judge Biro issued a decision and assessed a penalty, concluding that Elementis had violated TSCA.

This decision will become a final order 45 days following issuance unless the company chooses to appeal the decision to EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board.

Elementis, which is based in East Windsor, N.J., is a global specialty chemical company with operations worldwide.

Elementis has been manufacturing and distributing chromium-based chemical substances and mixtures for more than 35 years and has two main manufacturing plants in Castle Hayne, N.C., and Corpus Christi, Texas.

Source: EPA News release

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Environment Canada to assess risk of new chemicals

Agency will publish summaries of risk assessments for new chemical substances

New chemicals may pose health and safety risks to consumers.

Environment Canada this fall will begin publishing summaries of risk assessments it conducts on certain chemical substances when they are first proposed for domestic use.

The initiative by the department's New Substances Program has the support of industry and nongovernmental organizations, but industry remains concerned about the potential release of confidential business information while NGOs have ongoing concerns about whether enough information will be released.

The publication of risk assessment summaries is part of an effort to improve the transparency of the department's review process for new chemicals.

It was supposed to start in late 2012 but was delayed to take into account issues raised in a 2012 pilot project, the department told BNA in an emailed statement. The summaries are to be published every six months.

The government has previously not made public any details of its risk assessments of new substances. It has issued notices requiring notification of significant new activity or imposing conditions on the use of new substances, but without identifying them as new substances or indicating on what basis the requirements were being applied.

Government to provide details

The 2012 pilot project conducted by Environment Canada and Health Canada under the New Substances Program published summaries of risk assessments of three new chemicals: carbopolycyclic diol polymer with carbonic dichloride and substituted phenol ester; alkoxy-alkylamine blocked aromatic isocyanate polymer; and poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), alpha-monoalkyl ethers- omega-mono-(hydrogen maleate).

The substances had risk assessments completed, final notification of results provided to industry, and requirements for notification to the government of significant new activities published in the Canada Gazette between August and December 2010, Environment Canada said in a background document.

The summaries provide an overview of each substance, its use, hazards, potential exposure, environmental fate, assessment of ecological risk and human health risk, and proposed regulatory decisions, the department said. The evaluations do not address potential exposure and health risks specifically associated with occupational exposure, nor any assessment of uses of the substance already addressed under the Food and Drugs Act or other federal legislation, the department said.

The Canadian government has been assessing new chemicals since 1994, requiring industry to provide the information needed to determine the risk the substances pose to the environment and human health.

The Environment Canada background document, including links to the three sample risk assessment summaries published in 2012, is available at http://bit.ly/145r5A9.

This article has been edited. Source: Bloomberg BNA

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Public health building in Iqaluit contaminated with mold, asbestos

Some molds can affect
human health and well-being.

No matter how far north you are, mold and asbestos concerns can become a health issue.

The Iqaluit Public Health and the Family Practice clinic building has to undergo extensive renovations to fix mold and asbestos concerns, the Nunavut government announced.

An environmental assessment by Ottawa clean air investigators found mold in the relatively old public health building as well as asbestos in floor tiles.

The renovations will take at least four months, during which time Health and Social services needs a temporary location.

The mold concerns need to be addressed, experts say, because some molds can cause asthma, respiratory infections and poisonous, toxic effects in some individuals.

If the asbestos in the floor tiles is disturbed in any way, people in the building may be exposed to airborne asbestos fibers, which have been linked to lung cancer, mesothelioma and other lung diseases.

Source: Nunatsiaq Online

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Diesel emissions increase cancer risk: Study

Diesel exhaust could
affect your health.

Exposure to diesel fumes could be causing cancer at a greater rate than previously known, researchers say.

A new long-term study by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that miners exposed to diesel engine exhaust are three times more likely to contract fatal lung cancer, and that commuters on busy highways in smoggy, urban areas might face a similar risk.

The study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

While diesel exhaust is currently classified as a “probable carcinogen”, health authorities will review this classification in the months to come.

A change in classifications could mean tighter regulations as well.

The study looked at 20 years of data on miners exposed to diesel exhaust and showed significant increases in the risk of lung cancer deaths with higher level of exposures, especially in miners working more than 5 years.

The study authors warn of the risks to Americans living in urban areas as well, although the risk is lower for lower doses of diesel exhaust.

Drivers getting stuck on long highway commutes may be exposed more than people standing on the sidewalk because of wind tunnel effect, experts say.

Commuters can help protect themselves by

• Leaving windows closed on busy highways and streets
• Setting the air on “recirculate” to keep pollutants out
• Having a HEPA filter installed in the car

Newer diesel cars are much cleaner than older models, experts say, but many older models are still being used on the streets.

Source: The Sun

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