Toxic solvents underneath IBM building defy cleanup

Buildings on contaminated soil may
expose workers to harmful chemicals
through soil vapor intrusion: Experts.

ENDICOTT – After 35 years, IBM Corp. contractors have stanched the flow of industrial solvents into a commercial and residential district in the heart of the village, but they have yet to find a solution for the source of the problem at the company's former flagship manufacturing plant.

Officials recently reported that efforts to intercept and remove the subterranean flow of hazardous chemicals coming from the industrial complex — now owned by Huron Real Estate Associates — have been successful.

Consequently, health risks to a nearby neighborhood have been eliminated.

Yet they have no remedy for a concentrated pool of solvents directly under the manufacturing site, where at least 1,500 people still work.

It may take years before a proven remedy is found, according to Alex Czuhanich, an engineering geologist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, although the agency has no timetable for the project.

The pollution, discovered in 1979, includes trichloroethylene (TCE) and other solvents used as industrial degreasers that have been linked to maladies ranging from cancer to birth defects.

IBM used vast quantities of the solvents to manufacture printed circuit boards during the company's heyday from the 1950s through the 1970s.

The contaminated hot spot — known as "the source area" on DEC records — lies under an area the size of eight village blocks, and it was once bustling with the delivery, handling, storage, transport and liberal use of solvents.

The source area encompasses a railroad corridor where chemicals arrived in bulk, loading docks where they were handled, and a network of tanks and pipelines that stored and transported virgin chemicals and chemical waste to and from various manufacturing lines throughout the campus, according to DEC records.

Situated over and near the source area, and blocking access to cleanup, are dozens of buildings, most of them massive, bunker-like, cement structures built during the Cold War era and some well before.

The contaminated ground is dense with tunnels, boiler rooms, tank rooms, crawl spaces, cables, pipes and conduits.

"There is just so much infrastructure there," Czuhanich said. "Trying to get anything in there (to remedy the problem) is difficult, at best."

To date, nearly 70,000 gallons of solvent — more than 40 tons — have been pumped from the ground. Officials don't know how much is left, according to DEC spokesman Peter Constantakes.

Court records filed by attorneys representing residents suing IBM for damages from the pollution put the solvent pool up to 1 million gallons "that had apparently collected over many years from leaking pipes and tanks."

Reluctance by IBM and the DEC to publicly discuss the source area has added to uncertainty about its status. IBM spokesman Todd Martin did not reply to phone calls or written inquires on the subject.

Safety debated

IBM sold the plant in 2002 to Huron Real Estate Associates, which now rents space to BAE Systems Electronics, i3 Electronics (formerly Endicott Interconnect), Binghamton University and other smaller firms that collectively employ between 1,500 and 2,000 workers.

TCE, the main contaminant under the campus, is not commonly used in bulk by industry in the U.S. anymore, though it is a pervasive contaminant at many Cold War-era industrial and military sites throughout the country.

In addition to the former IBM site, notorious TCE legacy sites in the Southern Tier include the CAE Electronics site in Hillcrest, and the Morse Industrial site in Tompkins County, both linked to contamination of nearby residential neighborhoods.

The TCE problem is as stubborn as it is complex. TCE is one of a class of chemicals that tend to be heavier than water, so they sink through the water table and adhere stubbornly to soil particles.

They also give off toxic fumes that rise from the ground, ending up in basements, crawl spaces and — ultimately — circulating into living spaces through a process known as vapor intrusion.

There is no national standard to limit TCE exposure in air, although there has been a political push to develop one since the federal Environmental Protection Agency determined in 2011 that the chemical was a carcinogen and a "non-cancer health hazard."

Just how much exposure presents a risk remains a controversial topic. Levels that might not affect one person could make another seriously ill. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable.

According to the latest EPA assessment — challenged by the chemical industry — risks for non-cancer illnesses, such as birth defects, from short-term TCE exposure in residential settings are found to increase statistically at levels at or above 2 micrograms per cubic meter.

The agency has set the threshold for risks from short-term exposure in an industrial setting at 7, based on the assumption that people spend less time at work than in their homes.

Cancer risks become discernible for chronic exposure — the type people might experience in homes — at levels beginning at 0.43 micrograms, according to an EPA assessment.

New York state has set a broad guideline of 5 for residential and commercial exposure. But the agency often requires action at levels below the threshold when feasible.

Feasibility remains the issue at the Huron campus. Indoor air samples at 42 buildings collected in 2005 — the last time the state oversaw testing — ranged from zero to 17 micrograms per cubic meter in some areas that tended to be occupied. Levels were much higher in other areas — often registering between 50 and 300 micrograms in tunnels and tank rooms below Building 18, for example.

Concentrations in the soil directly below the buildings often exceeded 10,000 and sometimes were over 100,000 micrograms.

In 2005, the state health department determined that the TCE levels at the Huron campus present a "low" health risk to people working there, according to a report at the time. That means state health officials "do not expect to be able to associate health effects" from exposure.

Health department spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said the guideline remains "under review" as more information comes to light "to ensure that previous decisions and recommendations continue to protect public health."

In 2005, a health department study found elevated rates of testicular and kidney cancers, and birth defects that were "statistically significant" in an area affected by solvent pollution in the area south of the former IBM plant, and several blocks to the southwest of the plant polluted by an undetermined source. (The area has since been cleaned by the IBM remediation efforts.)

The results of a study by NIOSH and the health department evaluating birth outcomes of women who worked at the plant is expected to be released later this year.

By the numbers
• 35: Number of years IBM has been cleaning the pollution.
• 70,000: Number of gallons of concentrated chemicals removed so far.
• 1,500: Approximate number of employees who work at the site.
• 470: Number of structures off-site that have been fitted with vent systems to divert toxic fumes.
• 5: Safety threshold, in micrograms per cubic meter, for TCE exposure in air in New York state.
• 2: Level, in micrograms per cubic meter, at which risks associated with short-term TCE exposure increase statistically.

Source: PressConnects; This article has been edited for length.

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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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Aging brain affected by environmental exposures

The population of Americans aged 65 and older is expected to double between 2010 and 2050,1 and by mid-century the proportion of the human population made up of people over age 80 is projected to have quadrupled since 2000.

Seniors may be affected by poor IAQ and chemical
exposures earlier in life, researchers say.

So factors that affect this aging population are of increasing importance. Of particular concern are the neurological diseases and disorders typically associated with advanced age, among them Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, dementia, and reduced cognitive function.

Investigators are studying the effects of not just present-day exposures and environmental influences such as physical and mental exercise, but also exposures that occurred much earlier in life, whose effects may only become apparent in old age.

It was long assumed that “once the brain received its allotted quota of nerve cells, its destiny was frozen. After that, the passage of time eroded our allotment steadily and irrevocably,” as professor emeritus Bernard Weiss of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry wrote in 2007.3

Now, however, there is increasing evidence that the brain is capable of generating new neurons and other functional brain cells even during advanced age. There is also evidence that the older brain can respond quickly and positively to external influences such as physical exercise and intellectual stimulation.

This is prompting considerable interest in developing strategies for protecting and enhancing neurological function in the elderly.

The two most vulnerable periods for the brain, Weiss says, are early in life, when the organ is first developing, and later in life, when the body’s defenses and compensatory mechanisms begin to falter.

There is a large and growing body of evidence indicating these two vulnerable life stages can be linked when damage incurred during early development contributes to health disorders that may not become apparent until later in life.

Weiss also notes that declining defense mechanisms may magnify vulnerability to contemporary environmental exposures.

He says that when older adults experience cognitive problems, diagnoses rarely consider the possibility that environmental chemical exposure may be involved, simply because questions about such exposures are typically not asked as part of clinical intake.

Over the past 30 years, Weiss says, research attention has focused primarily on environmental influences on early developmental stages. Far less extensively researched, but a subject of increasing interest, are environmental chemical exposures that can affect the health of the aging brain.

Neurotoxic agents

In the past 10 years, however, a number of studies have looked at the effects of chronic low-level lead exposure on adult humans’ cognitive abilities. The findings of such studies suggest that lead that has accumulated in bones can be mobilized over time as part of the aging process, resulting in exposures that adversely affect adults’ cognitive skills later in life.

Other metals may adversely affect neurological function in later life by either acting directly on the brain or adversely impacting other organs or hormones that maintain healthy neurological function.

For example, cadmium can cause kidney disease, which is associated with cognitive problems. Like lead, cadmium is stored in the body, primarily in the kidneys and liver but also in joints and other tissues, where it has a biological half-time of decades.

Similarly, lead and mercury have been associated with liver disease, which itself is associated with adverse neurological health effects, including a condition that produces a type of neuronal plaque associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Chemical exposures that adversely affect kidney and liver function can also hamper the body’s ability to detoxify and excrete environmental toxicants, thus letting them remain in the body—an effect that may be particularly problematic in advanced age when a body’s defense mechanisms are in decline.

There is evidence connecting certain metals (e.g., lead, manganese), pesticides (e.g., paraquat, maneb), and solvents (e.g., toluene, trichloroethylene) with neurological 
symptoms characteristic of Parkinson’s disease. Many of the exposures studied have been occupational, and some were acute, rather than lower-level and chronic. Much more extensive research is needed to determine the precise role environmental exposures to these agents may play in prompting Parkinson’s disease.

More substantial evidence links various solvent exposures to other neurological conditions, including cognitive impairments, neuropathy, and what is sometimes called “pseudodementia,” when temporary neurological dysfunction produces symptoms similar to those of dementia.

Organic solvents, including toluene, have also been found to impair color vision, while other solvent exposures have been linked to hearing loss, particularly when combined with noise exposure.

Such exposures have been primarily studied when they occur occupationally, but some epidemiological studies suggest there is also potential for adverse effects from ambient environmental exposures.

Solvent and pesticide exposures have
been linked to neurological disorders.

These solvent and pesticide exposures can, of course, occur at any age. But because the neurological disorders with which they are linked mirror those associated with motor and sensory-function declines of aging, they can be mistaken in diagnosis for the effects of aging or diseases of old age like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

It also appears that long-term non-acute exposures to solvents and pesticides can affect verbal memory, attention, and spatial skills, with effects that may not become apparent until later in life, when they, too, might be confused with or compounded by aging-related conditions.

More subtle environmental exposures are also thought to be implicated in neurological health effects that can manifest later in life. These include exposures to chemicals that may disrupt the normal function of hormones involved in regulating neurological health, chief among them thyroid hormones.

Hormones are intimately involved with neurological function; a normal brain can’t develop without healthy thyroid hormone function, and the fetal brain is extremely receptive to thyroid hormone.

When environmental factors affect thyroid and other hormones, the result can be health effects associated with conditions that impair neurological function.

For example, there is evidence that exposure to persistent organic pollutants including dioxins and certain polychlorinated biphenyls, halogenated flame retardants, and pesticides can produce hormonally mediated effects that promote obesity and diabetes, which increase risk for vascular health problems.

There is also evidence that exposures to some of these same compounds may directly increase risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

These cardiovascular conditions can, in turn, cause less dramatic neurovascular effects that sometimes result in memory loss, or what’s called “vascular dementia,” when reduced blood flow to the brain deprives brain cells of oxygen and causes the equivalent of small strokes.

Evidence of similar effects has been reported for exposure to chemicals that are pervasive due to widespread use but are not environmentally persistent.

Among these is bisphenol A (BPA).

Laura Vandenberg, an assistant professor of environmental health studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, explains that numerous animal studies indicate early-life exposure to BPA can produce health effects characteristic of metabolic syndrome.

Individuals with metabolic syndrome are at increased risk for hypertension, with its risk for adverse neurological effects. It is also often hard to exercise for those who are overweight or obese or who have cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Yet aerobic exercise in later life appears to be an essential component of maintaining, if not also enhancing, brain function in older age.

Protective Factors

There is now substantial research investigating how physical activity and exercise affect brain function. This is also the area of research where it is perhaps the easiest to make direct comparisons between animal experiments and human studies.

One focus is to understand the mechanisms by which exercise protects and restores the brain.

Of particular interest is learning how physical exercise increases the production of new neurons, and how that may enhance performance of certain memory functions. Functions of interest include what’s called “relational binding”—for example, remembering the name of a person you recently met and where you met that person.

Physical exercise also appears to enhance “visual pattern separation,” which enables you to distinguish and remember different patterns—a process that increases memory accuracy.

Source: Environmental Health Perspectives

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Fathers' solvent exposure linked to cancer in children

Parents' exposure to chemicals such as benzene, toluene and
TCE could be linked to brain tumors in their children.

Brain tumors in children could have as much to do with the father's occupational exposure to solvents as they have to do with the mother's, a new Australian study has found.

The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, has found a link between parents' exposure to chemicals such as benzene, toluene, and trichloroethylene and brain tumors in their children.

Lead author Dr Susan Peters, occupational epidemiologist at the University of Western Australia, says while brain tumors are relatively rare they are a major cause of cancer death among children, and the causes are largely unknown.

"Because most of the cases occur before age five, the question is what are the risk factors because there are some genetic syndromes that are known to cause brain tumors but only in less than five per cent of cases," says Peters.

"The children are pretty young, [so] it could be that some of the parental exposures before or during pregnancy may be a cause."

The new study surveyed nearly 306 cases of parents of children up to 14 years old with brain tumors, which were diagnosed between 2005 - 2010 in Australia.

The researchers compared the parents' occupational exposures to solvents with those of 950 parents whose children did not have brain tumors.

The findings suggest that fathers working in jobs where they are regularly exposed to benzene in the year before their child is conceived are more than twice as likely to have that child develop a brain tumor.

Women working in occupations that expose them to a class of compounds called chlorinated solvents -- found in degreasers, cleaning solutions, paint thinners, pesticides and resins -- at any time in their lives also have a much higher risk of their child developing a brain tumor.

Building on previous studies

While brain tumors in children are relatively rare, previous studies have suggested a link between parental occupation and childhood brain tumors, finding parents working in industries such as the chemical and petroleum industries, car-related jobs, and jobs with regular exposure to paint, have a higher risk of their children developing brain tumors.

Peters says a previous study in rats also found that toluene -- found in petrol, paints, and inks -- had an effect on sperm cells, which points to a possible explanation for the link in humans.

Commenting on the study, Emeritus Professor Michael R. Moore, vice president of the Australasian College of Toxicology and Risk Assessment, says the data shows paternal exposure was a key issue.

"This is the children being directly affected by the father and the father's exposure is taking place prior to the children being conceived," says Moore.

"Parents who are thinking of having children should be thinking about not just what's happening with the mums but also with the dads."

Peters stressed that the study only involved relatively small numbers of cases, and it was still too early to say whether solvent exposure was the cause of childhood brain tumors.

However she said these solvents were associated with a range of other effects so exposure should be kept as low as possible anyway.

Source: ABC

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Xylene detected by employees

Xylene and other airborne chemicals
can be harmful to human health.

Located in the southwest corner of Midland County sits the City of Odessa’s Bob Derrington Water Reclamation Plant; almost invisible to anyone driving south on East Loop 338.

It was here that alert employees discovered the presence of a chemical waste that was dumped into the city’s sewers from a manhole cover, according to an Ector County lawsuit.
Ben Jordan, assistant director of utilities for Odessa, said the discovery occurred Jan. 8 and almost by accident.

With employees doing maintenance at the “top of the plant,” or the area where raw sewage initially comes in, Jordan said the employees noticed a difference in the way the air smelled.

Explaining that after working near sewage for many years, Jordan said the employees can usually detect something different in the water by the way it smells.

“It was sweet, almost like Pine-Sol,” Jordan said. “We just knew it was a different smell.”

Taking a sample, they sent a sample off to be tested and did a second sample on Jan. 30. However, because the sample was not the same quality as the Jan. 8 samples, Jordan said they did not send it in for testing.

“I make sure to do it the same way; that way our tests have integrity,” he said, adding a third sample was sent on Feb. 10.

When the results came back, it showed that there were high levels of xylene in the water.

Xylene, a liquid hydrocarbon obtained by distilling wood, coal tar, or petroleum, and used in fuels and solvents, and in chemical synthesis, is also highly flammable and causes irritation of the skin and birth defects if ingested.

Lab reports done by Ana-Lab Corporation indicate the test in January reported that the water had 17.04 micrograms per liter of xylene in the water.

In a separate test conducted in February, water from the plant again showed elevated levels of xylene, this time at 14.14 micrograms per liter.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website states that federal law allows no more than 10 microgram per liter of xylene in the city’s sewer system.

But the xylene also did more than that. Jordan said it killed all the microorganisms that are used to treat the sewer water.

As the raw sewage comes in, various types of microorganisms start eating at the sewage, and each other, eventually dropping all the fecal matter out of the water as it goes through the process, Jordan said.

Next, chlorine is poured into the water and then taken out with sulfur dioxide because any runoff from the plant goes into the Monahans Draw, which is about a mile south of the plant, Jordan said.

“The state says you can’t have water with chlorine go back out,” Jordan said.

But once the xylene hit the plant, Jordan said it started to kill off the microorganisms, which started to slow down how fast the plant could process water.

Sitting in the tanks halfway through the process is a large amount of dried sludge, which sits on top of the pools, and forces the running water to go under it. But at the end of the process, Jordan pours out some water which is clear.

Because of state standards, Jordan said the water is tested every day, with the employees walking around the plant during shifts to make sure everything is flowing smoothly.

The xylene that came into the plant was the result of 90 barrels of the waste poured into the sewer system by employees with Roywell Services Inc., a lawsuit filed by Ector County alleges.

When Odessa and Ector County law enforcement officials did their investigation, an unnamed employee with the company said he saw two employees use a pump to drain the contents of a lined pit —identified as a mixture of acid, chemicals and water — from the property and into a manhole, the lawsuit stated.

The mixture that was reportedly dumped into a manhole cover at the property located at 2425 West Interstate 20 was “hot,” and was dissolving caliche rock and dirt.

Additional interviews with employees stated that they dumped about 90 barrels of the waste into the sewer system and lifted the manhole cover with company-owned equipment at the direction of one of their managers, the lawsuit stated.

Source: OA Online. The article has been edited for length.

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EPA Reduces Regulatory Burden for Industrial Facilities Using Solvent Wipes

Common-sense exclusion will save industry up to $27.8 million per year

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) modified the hazardous waste management regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to conditionally exclude solvent-contaminated wipes from hazardous waste regulations provided that businesses clean or dispose of them properly. The rule is based on EPA’s final risk analysis, which was peer reviewed in 2008 and published for public comment in 2009, that concluded wipes contaminated with certain hazardous solvents do not pose significant risk to human health and the environment when managed properly. EPA estimates that the final rule will result in a net savings of between $21.7 million and $27.8 million per year.

Wipes are used in conjunction with solvents for cleaning and other purposes by tens of thousands of facilities in numerous industrial sectors, such as printers, automobile repair shops and manufacturers of automobiles, electronics, furniture and chemicals.

“Today’s rule uses the latest science to provide a regulatory framework for managing solvent-contaminated wipes that is appropriate to the level of risk posed by these materials,” said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. “I’ve heard directly from stakeholders about the benefits of this rule and the need to finalize it. The rule reduces costs for thousands of businesses, many of which are small businesses, while maintaining protection of human health and the environment.”

Today’s final rule excludes wipes that are contaminated with solvents listed as hazardous wastes under RCRA that are cleaned or disposed of properly. To be excluded, solvent-contaminated wipes must be managed in closed, labeled containers and cannot contain free liquids when sent for cleaning or disposal. Additionally, facilities that generate solvent-contaminated wipes must comply with certain recordkeeping requirements and may not accumulate wipes for longer than 180 days.

EPA estimates that the final rule will result in a net savings of $18 million per year in avoided regulatory costs and between $3.7 million and $9.9 million per year in other expected benefits, including pollution prevention, waste minimization and fire prevention benefits.

Today’s rule is consistent with President Obama’s Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, which charges federal agencies to monitor regulatory effectiveness and to help make agency regulatory programs more effective or less burdensome in achieving the regulatory objectives.

EPA first proposed modified regulations for solvent-contaminated wipes on November 20, 2003, and published a revised risk assessment for public comment on October 27, 2009. The docket for this rulemaking is EPA-HQ-RCRA-2003-0004 and can be accessed at http://www.regulations.gov once the final rule is published.

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Greener options for the printing industry

Greener practices are possible within the printing industry
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos

The printing industry has had a reputation for being one of the most environmentally unfriendly industrial sectors, but at least one company in Chicago has found a way around that.

Since 1973, Consolidated Printing Company has used alternatives for chemically-laden inks and fountain solutions, as well as solvents used in parts washers.

Rather than using the once common petroleum or chlorinated solvents to degrease parts, this printing company uses recycled cooking grease from restaurants. Inks are made from 100% vegetable products and fountain solutions are VOC free.

The company went one step further by renovating the premises with non-toxic, eco-friendly materials. Conservation has always been an important part of its mandate and it does that by keeping its water waste free of hazardous materials as well as reducing energy consumption by 30 percent.

For decades now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given suggestions on how to reduce pollution.

The EPA's first piece of advice? Start by preventing pollution.  

Reusing by-products, substituting toxic chemicals with safer ones and reducing the release of pollutants in the air are just a few ways to minimize environmental impacts. In 2010, the EPA also hosted a webinar on how the printing industry can lower its carbon imprint through the use of green power.

Unfortunately, volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are still a problem within the printing industry as many manufacturers still struggle with finding alternative products that can do the same job. Though Consolidated Printing Company went so far as to make its own inks and solvents using household products, many companies continue to use products that can be harmful; not only to the environment, but also to their employees. 

Would you do business with a company that uses vegetable-based inks? Tell us what you think!

Source: NBC Chicago

Protecting employees’ health at the workplace

I-6500

Because many chemical and paper products are used in printing, employees are exposed to unhealthy doses of chemical fumes as well as a lot of particle matter during the cutting process.  

Electrocorp has several solutions for small and medium-sized printing companies that use digital and/or offset printers. These shops can benefit from our I-6500 with source captures. This unit connects to HVAC systems, while source captures hanging from the ceilings are positioned above the printers.

The PrintSafe is another good option as it is mobile and the intake hood can be placed right at the source of the fumes, thereby protecting workers from the worst of the chemicals.

PrintSafe

During the cutting process, many fine paper particles enter the air. The Dirty Dog is ideal for dust-filled environments. It uses a bag filter that can reduce particle levels by up to 90 percent.

DirtyDog

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Dangerous chemicals abound when working with cars

Auto body shops and garages often expose workers to toxic chemicals

Working with cars -
an occupational risk?

For those who love cars, repairing them sounds like a great job -- but the occupational health risks can be substantial.

For one former mechanic turned musical activist, more than three decades of working in the auto repair business have opened his eyes to the dangers of chemicals.

Randy Bigness blames his cancer on his long-time exposure to chemicals such as benzene, a common ingredient in fuel, oils and other petroleum-based products.

He also developed chemical sensitivities and allergic reactions to substances such as dust.

The former mechanic has dedicated his life to music and to raising awareness about chemical dangers in his industry, talking to auto shop workers everywhere he goes.

Slow to recognize health effects

Working in his auto repair shop, Bigness thought he was simply tired and says he didn’t realize his immune system was compromised. Only after multiple health issues that wouldn’t respond to antibiotics and an extreme sinus infection did he allow the possibility of a more serious problem.

Tests revealed he suffered from chronic myelogeneous leukemia (CML), a cancer caused by a genetic mutation acquired later in life.

The former mechanic says he worked with benzene all the time when he had to clean parts, breathing in the fumes and getting splashed with the solvent. Benzene is one of the most widely used solvents in the United States.

According to OSHA, benzene is a carcinogen. "With exposures from less than five years to more than 30 years, individuals have developed, and died from, leukemia," the OSHA website states.

"Long-term exposure may affect bone marrow and blood production. Short-term exposure to high levels of benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, unconsciousness, and death."

Are you, or someone you know, a car enthusiast? Tell us what you think about these health hazards.

Source: Popono Record

Activated carbon air cleaners for benzene fumes

The AirRhino can accommodate
a 100 lb. activated carbon filter
to remove VOCs such as benzene.

Benzene vapors as well as diesel and fuel emissions and other volatile organic compounds found in auto repair shops and garages can be mitigated effectively with the right air filters.

Along with adequate ventilation and other protective measures, Electrocorp’s air cleaners for auto repair shops and garages offers deep-bed activated carbon filters to provide cleaner and healthier air.

The activated carbon removes those gaseous pollutants, odors and fumes in the ambient air that can affect the workers over time.

Contact Electrocorp for more information.

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Heart defects at birth linked to solvents at work

Women can be exposed through synthetic textiles
and dyes, among many other sources.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Women who are exposed to organic solvents at the workplace have a higher risk of giving birth to babies with a heart defect, new research shows.

Many pregnant women may be exposed to solvents, which are often used in chemical manufacturing and in industries where substances such as fats, oils and waxes need to be dissolved or cleaned.

Organic solvents are common ingredients in

• Paints
• Varnishes
• Adhesives
• Degreasing and cleaning agents
• Dyes
• Polymers
• Plastic
• Synthetic textiles
• Printing inks
• Agricultural products

By handling these products, workers may breathe in organic chemicals, or they may enter the body through mouth or skin.

The researchers assessed the levels of workplace exposure to solvents in 5000 women in the United States from one month before conception up to the end of the first trimester.

Pregnant women exposed to solvents at work
may put their babies at risk, a study shows.

The women took part in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study and their babies were delivered between 1997 and 2002.

Since exposure to organic solvents (chlorinated solvents, aromatic solvents, hydrocarbons) is relatively common in the workplace, industrial hygienists focused on these chemicals and possible associations to birth defects.

Their approach showed a 4-5% higher risk of heart defects, but they cautioned that the results did not allow the drawing of definitive conclusions on specific types of exposure and specific congenital heart defects.

The study appeared online in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Source: Science Daily Press Release

Cleaner air at the workplace

Since many industries and workplaces rely on the use of solvents, the indoor air quality may be affected by the volatile organic compounds and chemicals known to be a health risk.

Electrocorp has specialized in air cleaners for commercial and industrial applications that come in customizable sizes and with the most efficient filters to provide cleaner and healthier air.

The air cleaners are equipped with an activated carbon and HEPA multistage filtration system to remove airborne chemicals, gases, odors, fumes, VOCs as well as particles and other IAQ concerns.

More than 40 different carbon blends can also target specific chemicals and gases, such as those from organic solvents.

For more information on Electrocorp and its products, contact us.

Show your support for green and healthy working environments by becoming a follower of this blog.

Cleaning services: Is greener also healthier?

Cleaning products may contain irritating
chemicals and toxins.

When it comes to cleaning homes and buildings, those employed in cleaning services used to take the brunt of fumes and chemicals emitted by commercial cleaning products – and started feeling the health effects.

Caustics or solvents that are often found in common household cleaning products can cause health effects such as headaches, irritation to the eyes, nose or throat and more. 

Irritating chemicals are found in oven cleaners, drain cleaners, scouring powders and bleach, for example.

Long-term exposure to some solvents may cause liver and kidney problems, birth defects, central nervous system disorders and cancer. Solvents can be found in furniture polish, silver cleaner, paint remover and wood floor wax, among other products.

Fortunately, a growing industry trend towards greener, non-toxic products may help cleaning businesses protect not only their own workers, but also their clients’ family members, pets and homes or offices.

Cleaning services using organic products report that their workers’ symptoms have all but disappeared and that a growing number of clients are asking about the toxicity of products that are used.

Source: News-Press

Air cleaners for offices, homes and other buildings

The use of organic, non-toxic cleaning products will contribute to better indoor air quality, but pollutants also come from building products and finishing treatments, electronic devices, personal care products, air “freshening” products and many other sources.

Better ventilation may help, but existing HVAC systems often can’t provide the required fresh air exchanges.

This is why Electrocorp has designed portable and powerful air cleaners for offices, homes and other buildings and workplaces.

The air cleaners feature a deep-bed activated carbon filter, a HEPA filter, pre-filters and optional UV germicidal filtration to remove the widest range of indoor air pollutants, including chemicals, gases, odors, particles, dust, allergens, mold, bacteria and viruses.

Contact Electrocorp for more information.

Workplace exposure to solvents can affect thinking skills: Study

Less educated people may have cognitive problems later in life after working with solvents

More education may protect workers from the effects of
exposure to solvents and other chemicals over a lifetime.

Researchers found that people with less than a high school education may be affected by reduced thinking skills later in life if they have been exposed to solvents at work.

However, the same amount of exposure did not affect the thinking skills of people who have completed more education.

More education earlier in life may help build up a buffer for cognitive skills, the researchers theorize, building up a denser network of connections in the brain.

The study included more than 4,000 workers who were employed at the French national gas and electric company for most of their careers.

The researchers assessed their lifetime exposure to four types of solvents:

1. Chlorinated solvents
2. Petroleum solvents
3. Benzene
4. Non-benzene aromatic solvents

The participants’ thinking skills were tested when they were 59 years old. A total of 58 percent of the workers had less than a high school education, and 32 percent had cognitive impairment (problems with thinking skills), compared to 16 percent of workers with higher levels of education.

Non-benzene aromatic solvents showed the highest risk of cognitive problems, followed by benzene solvents and then chlorinated and petroleum solvents.

The study authors say that education earlier in life could serve as a protective shield against a variety of known and unknown exposures during a lifetime.

The study is published in the May 29, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Source: American Academy of Neurology

Air cleaners for airborne chemicals and VOCs

Solvents are a major source of exposure to chemicals and VOCs for workers that inhale them on a regular basis.

Along with other health and safety measures, a portable air cleaner with many pounds of the right type of activated carbon can help remove those airborne gases and chemicals and provide cleaner and healthier air.

Electrocorp manufactures highly efficient air cleaners for industrial and commercial applications that feature some of the largest adsorbent surface areas and longest lasting carbon filters.

Contact an Electrocorp air filtration expert for more information.
  

Vapor intrusion rising as main cleanup concern

Vapor intrusion can become a concern in any
home or building, experts say.

When it comes to human exposure to pollutants, regulators have traditionally been most concerned with contaminated soil and water – but polluted air caused by vapor intrusion is fast becoming a major cleanup issue, experts say.

According to the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council, polluted ground and water have been around for centuries, while vapor intrusion entered the public debate about two decades ago, making it the new kid on the block.

New guidelines, issued in 2010 by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, describe how to investigate and prevent vapors from entering homes or buildings.

Health effects of vapor intrusion

Regulators are becoming concerned about the health effects that potential vapor intrusion issues can cause in building occupants. Many chemicals and solvents have been linked to cancer and other serious health effects.

The EPA is still working on its own guidelines.

Well-known vapor intrusion offenders include dry cleaners. When dry cleaning operations contaminated the ground underneath their business with perchloroethylene (perc), the dry cleaning fluid, the chemical could often be detected in adjacent homes or buildings, having entered through cracks or opening in the foundation or building envelope.

Other solvents and chemical substances can become vapor intrusion concerns, including 1,1 dichloroethene and trichloroethene which were used in industrial applications.

Consultants and industrial hygienist often recommend indoor air mitigation systems similar to those used for radon to reduce risks of exposure.

Source: Sheboygan Press

Air cleaners for the removal of chemicals, gases and fumes

Electrocorp works with environmental consultants to provide industrial air cleaning solutions for facilities and residential dwellings affected by vapor intrusion.

Contact an Electrocorp air quality representative today for more information on vapor intrusion and our advanced activated carbon filtration systems designed to safely remove chemicals, gases, fumes and odors.

Fumes and solvents affecting train shop workers

Hazardous chemicals and toxins may be to blame for
former workers' ailments.

The railroad in Burlington has been an important employer for many family men, but years of chemical exposures and hazardous substances are taking their toll.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe train stops (BNSF) have been handing out settlement checks to workers in the last 10 years for alleged asbestos exposure and other chemical exposures at the shops.

Many former workers have been diagnosed with asbestosis and respiratory diseases, including lung cancer.

The train shops used many organic and chemical industrial solvents, and even though BNSF has been closed since 2003, the site is still contaminated with those.

Train shops have been a fixture in Burlington since the 1850s and were used to repair a lot of locomotives before BNSF moved operations to Illinois and Kansas.

Now all that remains is overgrown old rails and a lingering presence of lead, arsenic, diesel, silicates, PCB-1260, trichloroethylene, chloro-benzene, xylene and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) from the mineral spirits, degreasers, paint thinners and other solvents that were used for decades.

The workers say they handled these industrial chemicals on a daily basis without knowing the risks until in the 1980s a safety officer was hired.

Cleanup of the site has been difficult, since neither the EPA nor the DNR say they have been involved for decades, and confusion reigns over which agency is responsible.

Despite the settlements given to former workers, BNSF maintains it is not responsible for the illness of any workers in Burlington.

Source: The Hawk Eye

Protecting workers from organic and chemical solvent fumes

They come in different sizes and they work:
Electrocorp's RSU series for chemical and
particle control.

Occupational health and safety has become a hot topic, and litigation and settlement payments can be quite expensive for companies.

Prevention is always better than having to react to health problems, and a good preventative management program includes protective equipment whenever necessary, educating workers about hazards, implementing strategies and reducing exposure as much as possible.

Electrocorp has designed powerful air cleaners for industrial and commercial applications that feature a multistage filtration system to improve the indoor air quality in plants, shops and other facilities.

The air cleaners feature a deep-bed activated carbon and HEPA filter system that can remove airborne chemicals, gases, fumes, odors, particles, fibers, dust, bacteria, viruses and mold.

For more information, contact Electrocorp today.
  

Chemical allergies cost shipyard worker his job

Exposure to chemicals can cause adverse
health symptoms in many people.

A BC shipyard worker who developed allergies after being exposed to harsh chemicals did not cooperate enough to keep his job and won’t get it back, a court of appeals has ruled.

The man had worked in the machine shop for 35 years but lost his job in 2007 after failing to do a medical exam to determine what work he could do at the shipyard.

The man was considered a competent and motivated worker when he developed an allergic condition in the 1990s, diagnosed as rhinitis and asbestosis.

The workplace made several changes, including upgrades to the ventilation system and doing certain work only when he wasn’t on shift, but in January 2007, he was exposed to a blast of chemicals from cutting oils and solvents in his office and suffered a bad allergic reaction.

He told his bosses he wasn’t willing to work in the shipyard anymore, but also refused to get tested to see how he could be accommodated.

Source: North Shore News

Remove dangerous fumes and odors with air cleaners

Chemical allergies can affect many people who are exposed to low doses of chemicals over a long time or to a large dose once (chemical injury).

The best way to protect workers is to implement strict health and safety procedures, use less toxic compounds whenever possible, provide adequate ventilation and use an efficient air cleaner.

Electrocorp offers portable as well as other highly efficient air cleaners for commercial and industrial applications that can remove airborne chemicals, gases, fumes and odors as well as other pollutants like particles, dust, mold, bacteria and viruses.

The air cleaners feature a deep-bed activated carbon and HEPA filter system, plus optional UV germicidal filtration.

Contact Electrocorp for more information.
 

Green the way to go for more businesses

An eco-friendly approach to business pays off for
many companies, numbers show.

Earth Day has come and gone, but the environmental movement is a year-round affair – and many businesses are turning green changes into profits.

It helps that many environmentalists demand greener products and feel that it makes financial sense.

From greener and more fuel efficient cars and a variety of organic products to eco-friendly dry-cleaning and lawn care – the choice has been growing for people all across North America.

Green businesses in the United States make up a $175 billion industry, which employs nearly 2 million workers.

Consumers are becoming more aware of a product’s makeup and ingredients, and they are demanding products with fewer added chemicals and synthetic materials.

And even businesses that involved a lot of harmful chemicals and solvents now find ways to become greener:

Car repairs and auto body shops

• Recycle materials such as metals, oil, tires and antifreeze
• Use organic glass cleaners, wheel degreasers, car-wash detergents and other products
• Use bulk products rather than individualized bottles to cut down on waste and packaging

Dry cleaners

• Use eco-friendly laundering agents such as liquefied carbon dioxide, silicone and biodegradable detergents instead of the commonly used solvent perchloroethylene (perc)
• Put clothes in plastic bags that are made from recyclable materials and biodegradable

Cleaning services

• Use nontoxic, biodegradable agents that won’t affect indoor air quality
• Clean with reusable microfiber cloths
• Vacuum with a low-energy, HEPA filtration vacuum

Source: Miami Herald

Improve air quality with carbon + HEPA air cleaners

Greener and less toxic products are the first step towards a healthier and safer work environment, but many people are still exposed to chemicals and other toxins on the job, which can come from building materials, products that are used or manufactured and other sources.

Electrocorp offers portable and powerful air cleaners for the widest range of indoor air contaminants, including chemicals, gases, odors, particles, dust, allergens, bacteria, viruses and mold.

The air cleaners feature a complete air filtration system with deep-bed granular activated carbon, HEPA as well as optional UV germicidal filtration for biological contaminants.

The air cleaners are effective, energy-efficient as well as long-lasting, with reusable carbon canisters and other green features – and they can make a huge difference in the air quality in any space.

See also Electrocorp's air purifiers for auto body shops and garages.

For more information, contact Electrocorp.
  

Parents’ work exposure could lead to children’s autism: Study

Study shows prenatal exposure to solvents at work as a risk factor

Furniture restorers often work with varnishes and solvents,
which could affect their health and well-being.

A pilot study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has linked parental exposure to solvents at work to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in their children.

The results were published in Springer’s Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

The researchers found that parents of children with ASD had higher exposures to lacquer, varnish and xylene than parents whose were unaffected.

They also reported more exposures to asphalt and solvents.

Xylene is often used in the paint and painting industry, biomedical laboratories, automobile garages, the metal industry and by furniture restorers, for example, but many other industries also rely on solvents.

Autism spectrum disorder is a group of developmental conditions that includes full syndrome autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and pervasive development disorder. The causes of the disease are still unknown.

The researchers warned that the results of the study were preliminary and not conclusive, but that they added more evidence that individual exposures may be linked to the development of ASD.

Source: Springer

Air cleaners for solvents, xylene and other chemicals

When it comes to work exposures, less is more – and an industrial-strength air cleaner with the right air filters can help reduce exposures to airborne chemicals, fumes and toxins.

Electrocorp offers industrial strength air cleaner for a wide range of commercial and industrial applications, including

• Auto body shops and garages
• Printing and graphics
• Woodshops and furniture/art restorers
• And many more

The air cleaners can remove the widest range of indoor air contaminants with a deep-bed activated carbon filter (different carbon blends and types of carbons are available for specific chemical concerns), a HEPA filter for particles and dust and optional UV germicidal filtration for pathogens.

Contact Electrocorp for more information and personalized recommendations.

Dry cleaners looking for green laundering methods

Greener dry cleaning machines can reduce
exposure to harmful chemicals.

Some dry cleaning businesses are taking the plunge, investing in new clothes laundering machines that do not use harmful chemicals and solvents.

New closed circuit system machines don’t release volatile organic compounds and work faster than the old machines, helping the company’s bottom line.

Not only do the new machines work 20 minutes faster, they also use much less of a dry-cleaning solution than their predecessors did.

The new machines are much better for the environment and for the air quality inside the business, making it a better health and safety option.

The most common solvent in the dry cleaning industry is still perchloroethylene (perc), a suspected carcinogen that easily becomes airborne or can contaminate the business’ surrounding land, water and air.

The problem is that most dry cleaning businesses are small and located close to schools and homes.

With a closed-circuit system, a smaller amount of solvents is used and the they are contained in the system, making it a much safer and environmentally friendlier choice.

Source: The Spokesman-Review

Clean the air in dry cleaning businesses

Not every dry cleaning operation has the resources to upgrade their equipment right away. However, fumes from perchloroethylene and other petroleum-based solvents remain a concern for the people working there or living close by.

Electrocorp offers industrial-strength air cleaners with deep-bed activated carbon filters, HEPA and other filtration technologies to remove the widest range of indoor air contaminants.

Activated carbon is the most trusted and effective air filter to adsorb chemicals and gases such as perchloroethylene, formaldehyde and petroleum-based fumes.

The air cleaners can be used as stand-alone air purification systems (and can be moved around according to need) or they can be wall-mounted, ceiling-mounted or attached to the existing ventilation system.

For more information and options, please contact Electrocorp today.
 
Related posts:

• EPA to rule on future of dry cleaning chemicals
• Dry cleaning industry concerned with chemical exposure
• Old dry cleaning businesses in need of contamination cleanup

EPA to rule on future regulation of dry-cleaning chemical

Many dry cleaning operations use the
chemical solvent perchloroethylene,
a probable human carcinogen.

Representatives from the dry-cleaning industry have been meeting with the EPA to discuss changes to the national emission standards for perchloroethylene (or perc).

When the EPA released its rules for perc dry-cleaning operations in 2006, it was decried by industry reps as too harsh, and by environmental groups as not being harsh enough.

The rules included a phase-out of the use of perc in businesses that were located in buildings where people also lived.

What is perc?

Perc is a chemical solvent, often called “dry-cleaning fluid,” which is used by the dry cleaning industry to clean clothing and textiles without water.

Perc has been a problem in some instances when it contaminated the ground, water or air surrounding the business. Some studies have shown that perc is retained in dry-cleaned clothes and that levels increase with repeat cleanings.

After meeting with both industry officials and environmental groups (who want a ban on perc, period), the EPA said it would announce its decision by the end of 2011. The new deadline is the end of April of this year.

EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System assessment on perc had been expected to come out in November, but its release has been delayed.

Concerns about chemical risk assessment

The publication Inside EPA reported that the Department of Defense raised concerns about the assessment.

Inside EPA said DOD was concerned that EPA used a different method for assessing perc’s risks than it did for a related solvent, trichloroethylene (TCE), even though the agency acknowledges the two compounds are similar.

EPA’s draft of the perc document was released in 2008 and sent for peer review.

The peer review panel completed its work two years ago, agreeing with EPA’s classification of perc as a “likely human carcinogen” but questioning some of the methodology used by EPA in determining risks for various types of cancer. 

Source: National Clothesline

Cleaner air in dry cleaning operations and adjacent businesses

Perc is a chemical that is easily adsorbed by granular activated carbon (GAC) air cleaners. Activated carbon is the most effective and cost-efficient filter media for gaseous pollutants.

Electrocorp specializes in portable, highly efficient air cleaners with activated carbon and HEPA air filters for businesses and commercial applications.

For dry cleaning operations, Electrocorp offers a range of air cleaners, including the powerful RSU Series.

Contact Electrocorp for more information and options.