EPA moves against harmful chemicals in homes and schools

Poor IAQ can affect staff and student
health and productivity.

The EPA has taken action to protect consumers from new uses and imports of the harmful chemicals Toluene Diisocyanates (TDI).

These chemicals are currently widely used in residual amounts in the production of polyurethanes and consumer products, such as coatings, elastomers, adhesives, and sealants and can be found in products used in and around homes or schools.

Diisocyanates are well known dermal and inhalation sensitizers in the workplace and can cause asthma, lung damage, and in severe cases, death.

The proposed decision would give EPA the opportunity to evaluate the use of, and if necessary, to take action to prohibit or limit all products containing over 0.1 percent of the chemical including imported products that make their way into the United States.

EPA’s proposed action, a Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), would require manufacturers (including importers) to notify EPA at least 90 days before starting or resuming new uses of these chemicals in consumer products at levels above 0.1 percent by weight.

EPA would then have the opportunity to evaluate the intended use of the chemicals and, if necessary, take action to prohibit or limit the activity.

Source: EPA

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More chemicals added to EPA watch list

EPA adds 23 chemicals, including BPA, to key list for scrutiny, possible action

Assessing health risks for chemicals
is hard, ongoing work.

The Environmental Protection Agency has added 23 chemicals — including bisphenol A (BPA), seven phthalates and two flame retardants — to a key list of chemicals that will have particular uses carefully scrutinized for possible regulation or other controls.

The agency on Oct. 23 updated the list of chemicals in commerce that meet certain criteria, such as being used in children's products or being carcinogenic, persistent in the environment or harmful to development, reproduction or the neurological system.

Manufacturers of some of the newly added chemicals include Dow Chemical Co., DuPont, Eastman Chemical Co., Mexichem S.A.B de C.V., Momentive Performance Materials Holdings LLC and Webb Chemical Service Corp.

The EPA also removed 15 chemicals and groups of chemicals from the Toxic Substances Control Act Work Plan list.

The updated TSCA Work Plan now lists 90 chemicals and chemical groups.

The agency is assessing the risks of particular uses of chemicals on that list. It already has completed four assessments and has initiated risk management actions for trichloroethylene (TCE) and methylene chloride.

Assessments for the newly added chemicals will begin after 2017, the agency said.

Depending on the findings of its risk assessments, the agency could decide to regulate one or more uses of the chemical, work with industry to reduce exposures or conclude that its analysis showed a particular use raised no concerns.

Richard Denison, lead senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund, commended the EPA for updating its work plan to reflect new data.

“The work plan should be a living document that is revised as new information emerges,” he said.

Scientist questions removal of chemicals

Denison questioned the agency's decision to remove 13 chemicals because manufacturers didn't report making them in 2011, the most recent year for which the agency obtained production volume information. The agency said it concluded that these 13 chemicals were no longer in commerce.

“Reporting under the Chemical Data Reporting rule is subject to a high threshold of 25,000 pounds per site in the reporting year. In addition, numerous exemptions from reporting are provided,” Denison said.

Given the threshold and exemptions, the EPA should explain how it determined the chemicals are no longer being produced in or imported into the U.S. at any level by any company, Denison said.

The EPA's selection of some of the 23 newly added chemicals isn't surprising, as the agency voiced concerns about possible health or environmental harms they could cause in action plans it released between December 2009 and April 2011.

Those chemicals and chemical groups are decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates and the seven phthalates.

The EPA added the remaining chemicals for reasons such as 2011 Toxics Release Inventory data showing elevated releases into the environment; 2012 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule information showing the chemicals are used in consumer products, including children's products; and the compounds being newly identified as presenting significant health or environmental hazards.

Other newly added chemicals

The 12 chemicals the agency added for such reasons are:

• 1,3-butadiene, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) No. 106-99-0, a commodity petrochemical that the EPA said increasingly is used to make rocket fuels, plastics, commercial latex paints and other compounds. Manufacturers, including Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., Lanxess Corp. and Michelin Corp., reported making or importing more than 4.3 billion pounds in 2011.

• 2,5-furandione, CAS No. 108-31-6, a chemical intermediate that the EPA said is used to make thousands of adhesives, floor polishes, leather treatments, personal care products, water treatment chemicals and other compounds. Manufacturers, including Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Greenchem Industries LLC and Lanxess, reported making or importing more than 572 million pounds in 2011.

• dimethylaminoethanol, CAS No. 108-01-0, which the EPA said is used to make dyestuffs, pharmaceuticals, corrosion inhibitors and other compounds. Manufacturers, including BASF Corp., Huntsman Corp. and Solvchem Inc., reported making or importing more than 120 million pounds in 2011.

• 2-hydroxy-4-(octyloxy)benzophenone, CAS No. 1843-05-6, which the EPA said is used in rubber and plastic products as well as food packaging. Manufacturers, including BASF Corp., Cytec Industries Inc. and SC Johnson & Son Inc., reported making or importing 2 million pounds in 2011.

•  3,3'-dichlorobenzidine, CAS No. 91-94-1, which the EPA said is a probable human carcinogen used to make dyes. No public manufacturing or production volume data were available from the agency's CDR rule website.

• 4,4'-(1-methylethylidene)bis[2,6-dibromophenol], or TBBPA, CAS No. 79-94-7, which the EPA said is used to inhibit combustion in epoxy resin circuit boards and electronic enclosures. Manufacturers, including Albemarle Corp., LG International America Inc. and Sabic Innovative Plastics US LLC, reported making or importing 120 million pounds in 2011.

• barium carbonate, CAS No. 513-77-9, which the EPA said is used in oil well drilling and used to make products including paper, special glass, ceramics, bricks and electrodes. Manufacturers, including Chemical Products Corp., Ferro Corp. and Solvay America Inc., reported making or importing 36 million pounds in 2011.

• dicyclohexyl phthalate, CAS No. 84-61-7, which the EPA said is used to make plastics and as a heat sealer for paper finishes such as price labels and pharmaceutical labels. Wind Point Partners, Lanxess and a company that withheld its name (saying it was confidential business information) reported making or importing between 500,000 and 1 million pounds in 2011.

• isopropylated phenol, phosphate or iPTPP, CAS No. 68937-41-7, which the EPA said is used as a flame retardant. Manufacturers, including Chevron Corp., ICL-Industrial Products America Inc. and Special Material Co., reported making or importing 15 million pounds in 2011.

• molybdenum and molybdenum compounds, a category of chemical used as alloying agents in cast iron, steel and other metals. Because this is a group of chemicals, Bloomberg BNA could not obtain national production data.

• pentachlorothio-phenol, CAS No. 133-49-3, which the EPA said is used to make rubber more pliable. The EPA withheld production volume data for this chemical to protect the proprietary business information of Strucktol Co. of America, the sole manufacturer, which reported making or importing it in 2011.

• triphenyl phosphate or TPP, CAS No. 115-86-6, which the EPA said is widely used to slow fires in polyurethane foam, polyvinyl chloride, printed wiring boards and children's products. Manufacturers, including Albemarle Corp., Chevron and Ferro Corp., reported making or importing 10.7 million pounds in 2011.

Source: Bloomberg News

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Urban air cleaner than ever: EPA

EPA report shows progress in reducing urban air toxics across the United States

Urban air toxics have been reduced, but they
still  pose a threat to public health, experts say.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Second Integrated Urban Air Toxics Report to Congress - the final of two reports required under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to inform Congress of progress in reducing public health risks from urban air toxics.

“This report gives everyone fighting for clean air a lot to be proud of because for more than 40 years we have been protecting Americans – preventing illness and improving our quality of life by cutting air pollution - all while the economy has more than tripled,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

“But we know our work is not done yet. At the core of EPA’s mission is the pursuit of environmental justice - striving for clean air, water and healthy land for every American; and we are committed to reducing remaining pollution, especially in low-income neighborhoods.”

Using national emissions and air quality data, the Urban Air Toxics Report shows the substantial progress that has been made to reduce air toxics across the country since the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

• A 66 percent reduction in benzene;
• A nearly 60 percent reduction in mercury from man-made sources like coal-fired power plants;
• An 84 percent decrease of lead in outdoor air, which slows brain development in children;
• The removal of an estimated 1.5 million tons per year of air toxics like arsenic, benzene, lead and nickel from stationary sources and another 1.5 million tons per year (about 50 percent) of air toxics from mobile sources. This is significant because air toxics (also referred to as hazardous air pollutants or HAPs) are known or suspected of causing cancer and can damage the immune, respiratory, neurological, reproductive and developmental systems;
• And, approximately 3 million tons per year of criteria pollutants, like particulate amtter and sulfur dioxide, have been reduced from cars and trucks as co-benefits of air toxics reductions.

EPA is working with state, local and tribal agencies to promote area-wide and regional strategies to address air toxics and support a number of community-based programs that help communities understand, prioritize and reduce exposures to toxic pollutants in their environment.

For example, in Indianapolis, the EPA is working with partners on the ground through an EPA grant for the “Building Lead Safe Communities” Project in the Martindale-Brightwood and Nearwest neighborhoods. They are addressing the risk of toxic lead exposure in children through outreach efforts and compiling block level soil lead data, identifying hotspots utilizing air sampling and developing synergistic local solutions.

Additionally, recent EPA actions will further address toxic pollution in communities. Since 2005, EPA has taken steps to address air emissions from stationary sources that include major reductions from boilers, power plants, and Portland cement facilities. For example, the 2011 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will prevent about 90 percent of the mercury in coal burned in power plants from being emitted to the air.

The 2007 Mobile Source Air Toxics rule is projected to reduce toxics emitted from highway vehicles and nonroad equipment, which are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health and environmental effects, by 330,000 tons in 2030, including 61,000 tons of benzene, and VOC emissions (precursors to ozone and PM2.5) by over one million tons.

The EPA expects reductions in air toxics from cars and trucks to grow to 80 percent by the year 2030 as newer, cleaner vehicles get on the road. The proposed updates to emission standards for petroleum refineries would reduce emissions from the 150 petroleum refineries across the U.S., many of which are located near communities.

It would also reduce emissions of chemicals such as benzene, toluene and xylene by 5,600 tons per year.  These efforts, along with the implementation and adoption of new and existing national rules for stationary and mobile sources of pollution, will improve public health for all Americans by providing further reductions in air toxics.

Source: EPA

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Formaldehyde threat real: Chemical industry

Formaldehyde is often used in wood products and has
been linked to cancer and other health concerns.

For years, the chemical industry has been winning a political battle to keep formaldehyde from being declared a known carcinogen.

The industry’s chief lobby group, the American Chemistry Council, has persuaded members of Congress that the findings of both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services were wrong and should be reviewed by the National Academy of Sciences.

In 2011, the academy did indeed criticize the EPA’s report on formaldehyde for being unclear. The chemical industry then used that critique to delay dozens of other ongoing evaluations of potentially toxic chemicals.

But recently, the academy issued a second report, which found in effect that government scientists were right all along when they concluded that formaldehyde can cause three rare forms of cancer.

“We are perplexed as to why today’s report differs so greatly from the 2011” report, Cal Dooley, president and chief executive officer of the American Chemistry Council, said in a statement titled “The Safety of Formaldehyde is Well-Studied and Supported by Robust Science.”

Part of the disparity is that in the 2011 report, Congress asked the academy only to critique the EPA’s draft assessment rather than evaluate the dangers of formaldehyde itself. The panel concluded that the EPA’s report was too long, repetitive and lacked explanation.

But after reviewing the scientific evidence itself, the academy concluded that formaldehyde is indeed a known carcinogen.

Formaldehyde is widely used in wood products and clothing.

In a blog posting, Jennifer Sass, a scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, called the American Chemistry Council’s efforts “a vicious attack on government scientific assessments [meant] to distort and discredit any evidence linking toxic chemicals to diseases, disabilities or death.”

Using the academy to review any negative findings from the EPA has become common tactic of the chemical industry.

The Center for Public Integrity reported in June that Rep. Mike Simpson, a Republican from Idaho, got the EPA to turn its negative assessment of arsenic over to the academy. At the same time, Congress also insisted that the EPA redo all ongoing assessments to address the criticisms of the 2011 formaldehyde review. Forty-seven assessments are affected.

The American Chemistry Council said in its statement that the academy “misses an opportunity to advance the science.”

Richard Denison, a scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, countered: “One can only hope that this sorry episode and waste of public resources will help to expose the narrow self-interest of the industry, which for years it has deceptively sought to wrap in the mantle of sound science.”

Source: Center for Public Integrity

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Pilot poisoned by toxic fumes on planes: Scientists

Pilots, crew and passengers may be exposed to toxic fumes
on aircraft, studies show.

Severe headaches. Insomnia. Vision problems. Confusion. Constant pain.

British Airways pilot Richard Westgate had been suffering from a long list of health problems in the years leading up to his death in December 2012, aged 43.

He had been convinced he was being poisoned by toxic fumes that leaked on board the planes that he flew.

In fact, he was so sure about it that he had asked his lawyers to begin legal action against the airline for “breaching health and safety guidelines”.

Now scientists claim they have compelling evidence that shows he was right all along.

Published in the Swiss Journal of Biological Physics and Chemistry, it’s believed to be the first case study of a pilot with chronic ill health following exposure to contaminated cabin air.

The researchers conducted a postmortem examination, analyzed the health problems Mr Westgate had detailed before his death, and retested blood that was drawn while he was still alive.

They concluded that the most likely cause of his death was “organophosphate induced neurotoxicity”. Organophosphates are hazardous chemicals present in jet engine oil and hydraulic fluid.

Frank Cannon, of Glasgow-based law firm Cannons Law, who has been fighting for answers following his client’s death, told the UK’s Mirror : “We believe that constant exposure to fuel leaks in planes contributed to Richard’s death.

“This scientific research proves that Richard suffered from chemicals called organophosphates which cause chronic brain and other problems. This happens because of constant exposure working aboard aircraft.”

The law firm is acting for 25 people who claim they’ve been affected by fumes on planes.

So how do toxic fumes get inside planes?
The cabin air is drawn in from the aircraft’s engines or auxiliary power unit — with the exception of the newer Boeing 787 model — using the engine’s compressors. This “bleed air” heats the air inside, and pressurises the cabin altitude. However, engine seals leak over time or fail, allowing heated oil mist to escape into the bleed air.

Mr Westgate, who had flown for 15 years, had noted that the on start-up, the engines would create puffs of smoke inside the plane followed by an oily smell.

After three years of flying his symptoms started, and progressively worsened to the point where he had severe chest pain, problems walking, and would fall off his bicycle for no reason. He underwent numerous tests and took a range of medications, and was even admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

Overall, he saw 15 specialists. But it was only shortly before he was found dead in his hotel room that he was diagnosed with having symptoms related to exposure to plane fumes.

How big is the problem?

It’s believed many more illnesses and even deaths have been caused by toxic fumes on planes.

However, it’s difficult to establish a causal link as there is no standard on-board system to monitor aircraft cabin-air contamination. That’s despite a series of ad hoc tests reporting contamination events.

Earlier this year an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report ­revealed passengers and crew on Australian aircraft were ­exposed to toxic fumes more than 1000 times over the past five years. There were several occasions when crew had to divert flights or make emergency landings because of the fumes, but passengers were never warned of the dangers.

Former pilot Dr Susan Michaelis, now head of research at the Global Cabin Air Quality Executive, says she collapsed from fumes.

“Sitting in an unhealthy environment and being exposed to chemicals every day made me sick,” she told the Daily Telegraph .

She said there is compelling evidence of the impact these events have on health.

“There is a pattern of chronic ill-health … and it needs to be looked at further. My research has found clusters of pilots with brain cancer in the UK. They were mostly flying short-haul journeys.”

“The way the engines are designed means crew and passengers are exposed to hazardous fumes. These have both short- and long-term health impacts including cancer.”

A British Airways spokesperson told news.com.au: “It would be inappropriate to comment or speculate on the cause of death of an individual. The safety and security of our customers and crew are of paramount importance to British Airways and will never be compromised.”

Source: News.com.au

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Lab lets public use 3-D printing and laser tools

Laser engraving and cutting may release toxic
fumes that can affect people's health, studies show.

On any given day, an unusual cross-section of artists and entrepreneurs might be found tooling away on the cutting and industrial printing machines at a Central Square lab in Cambridge: a maker of percussion instruments, a fashion designer, even the owner of an electronic cigarette retailer.

The lab is called Danger!Awesome, and it is helping to introduce 3-D printing and laser-cutting technologies to people who don’t have the knowledge or access to factory- grade equipment to turn their big ideas into products.

The lab also performs professional-grade jobs for corporate clients, including the nearby Google Inc. offices. But to get 3-D printing to become an everyday technology adopted by the masses, cofounder Ali Mohammad said Danger!Awesome’s main calling is to teach hobbyists and entrepreneurs the technology isn’t all that difficult to master.

“Even if you don’t think you can make something, we will hold your hand through the entire process,” Mohammad said.

Like other labs, Danger!Awesome has both 3-D printers and laser cutters.

The former create solid objects by slowing extruding layers of plastic or other materials, based on a pattern designed in a computer program.

The latter starts with a block of material and meticulously burns away everything except the desired shape.

“You get this satisfaction from creating things,” Mohammad said. “There is something deeply, primally satisfying about building something you can touch.”

The company is among a number of startups in the Boston area anticipating that people will pay for training and access to bleeding-edge fabrication technologies.

In Somerville, Astisan’s Asylum trains members to use a Stratasys uPrint. The Printing Bay in Waltham offers classes and access to a MakerGear M2.

And on Newbury Street in the Back Bay, the 3-D printer manufacturer MakerBot has opened a store where the public can watch demonstrations of 3-D printing, scan and print their own designs, and buy a machine for their own use.

In Burlington, Einstein’s Workshop offers science and engineering classes aimed at children — including courses in 3-D printing and laser cutting for kids as young as second-graders.

“When you give kids access to these machines, it’s amazing what projects they think of themselves,” said workshop founder Henry Houh, who took a laser-cutting class at Danger!Awesome.

Visual artist Lannie Hathaway got so hooked on the new technology that she now works at Danger!Awesome, where she continues to use the machines for her own engraving and illustration projects.

“Using the tools that are used for engineering to make my own work come to life was very exciting,” Hathaway said.

The 3-D groundswell is being embraced by academia, as well.

Northeastern University, for instance, opened a comprehensive 3-D printing, 3-D scanning, and laser-cutting lab as part of its library system last year, and is developing coursework around it.

And the Massachusetts Institute of Technology supports a global network of 3-D printing laboratories through the Fab Foundation,a nonprofit started by the school’s Center for Bits and Atoms.

Mohammad was a doctoral student at MIT in computational linguistics when he stumbled on the technology, sneaking into the labs with laser cutters late at night to try out the equipment.

He became friends with Nadeem Mazen, and they decided to start a business. Their lab does about 50 orders a week, more around the holidays.

This article has been edited for length. 
Source: Boston Globe

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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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WTC cleanup workers can renew health claims, court rules

Cleaners that were exposed to toxic substances
in buildings may renew their claims in court.

A federal appeals court in New York has revived claims by 211 cleanup workers who sought compensation for their alleged exposure to toxic contaminants in buildings near the World Trade Center site after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a lower court judge erred in dismissing the claims, after the workers had answered "none" when asked if they had been "diagnosed" with ailments, injuries or diseases.

These workers were employed by cleaning companies hired by Verizon Communications Inc, Brookfield Properties and dozens of other owners of downtown Manhattan buildings damaged or destroyed in the attacks, the court said.

"The fact that plaintiffs answered 'none' to the interrogatory was an insufficient basis, by itself, for a blanket conclusion that all 211 plaintiffs could not establish their claims against defendants as a matter of law," Circuit Judge Denny Chin wrote for a three-judge 2nd Circuit panel.

The decision overturned an August 2012 dismissal of the claims by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan, who oversees much of the Sept. 11 litigation.

Verizon spokesman Bob Varettoni had no immediate comment. Lawyers for the phone company and the other defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

"I applaud the 2nd Circuit for having the ability and desire to do the right thing," Marc Bern, a lawyer for the workers, said in a phone interview. "It is clear that the exposures that these individuals had led to their injuries."

The 2nd Circuit said Hellerstein should have examined whether each plaintiff suffered a compensable injury, even if it had been undiagnosed or surfaced late.

It also gave examples of workers who reported no diagnosed symptoms but deserved a chance to press their claims.

One complained of dizziness, fatigue and shortness of breath but received no diagnosis when he saw a doctor, while a second reported bronchitis, chronic coughing and difficulty breathing.

"While we appreciate that the sheer number of cases before the district court made its task of managing this mass tort litigation extraordinarily difficult, the district court was obligated to individually consider each plaintiff's answer of 'none' in the context of any other evidence of injury," Chin wrote.

The 2nd Circuit also upheld Hellerstein's dismissal of claims by 31 workers who did not timely pursue their cases.

The case is Markut et al v. Verizon New York Inc et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Nos. 12-3403 and 12-3729.

Source: Reuters

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Occupational diseases on the rise: Nfld report

Occupational disease comes from constant
exposure to irritants at work over a long time.

A new report from the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission (WHSCC) of Newfoundland and Labrador has offered both good and bad news about oh&s in the province.

On one hand, last year’s lost-time incidence rate of 1.6 (meaning 1.6 incidents per 100 workers), the same as the rate for 2012, was the lowest calculated in the WHSCC’s history.

The rate has steadily declined over the past 13 years, the commission claimed in a press release about the report on April 24.

But the report also noted that of the 30 work-related fatalities that had occurred in 2013, 25 of them resulted from occupational illness. This was an increase from 20 occupational disease deaths in 2012.

The province has also seen a rise in the average number of occupational disease fatalities per year over the past decade, according to Leslie Galway, the WHSCC’s chief executive officer.

From 2004 to 2008, the annual average number of deaths from occupational disease was 13; over the subsequent five years, the annual average was 21.

“We’ve been tracking occupational disease and the fatality aspects as one part of that for a long while,” said Galway. “In a working population of this size, we would be concerned with these outcomes.”

Galway defined occupational disease as illness that results from constant exposure to irritants at work over a long period of time.

Common examples of irritants include dust from asbestos or silica, toxic fumes from chemicals and loud noise. The latter can seriously affect hearing over the long run.

As for how the overall rate of workplace injuries and deaths could decline while occupational disease increased, Galway explained that occupational disease is a long-term development.

“So if you think of something like asbestos or silica dust, it’s usually over a career, and it can be that the exposure took place between 10 or 15 years followed by another 20 years of latency while the disease actually develops,” she said.

“So it takes quite a period of time before you actually see this demonstrated as a disease and a claim to the commission.”

Source: OHS Canada

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Toxic fumes on air planes worries experts

Toxic air can affect air plane staff and passengers.

A senior engineer at aircraft giant Boeing warned bosses they would be “looking for a tombstone” unless they tackled the potentially deadly issue of toxic fumes on board passenger planes, a bombshell email reveals.

The Sunday Express obtained a memo written by a long serving employee at the US company in which he complains he and other engineers have been given the “run around” over their fears.

The engineer was so worried about the risk to passengers on board Boeing’s planes he told bosses he was amazed air safety regulators were not taking stronger action.

He said in the email Boeing was fully aware of the issue and some of the events that had been witnessed, including blue clouds of chemical compounds circulating above passengers’ heads, were “significant”.

The email was sent in 2007 and campaigners say it shows how much the aviation industry was concerned despite public statements even today that the air is safe.

The issue of toxic air, which regularly forces pilots to don oxygen masks, is one of the most serious facing the aviation industry, yet passengers are generally unaware it even exists.

According to official Civil Aviation Authority records, the entire crew of a British registered Airbus was taken to hospital for toxicology tests following a “fume event” on an unidentified flight to Geneva last month.

Yet just days later, Transport Minister Baroness Kramer told Parliament passengers had no automatic right to know whether they too might have suffered.

She flatly rejected a call by the Countess of Mar in the House of Lords to force airlines to inform passengers whenever a fume event occurs.

She also said there was little point in installing air quality monitors on board because “it is not clear what a monitoring system would be seeking to detect”.

Experts, such as the highly respected aviation analyst David Learmount, say this potentially endangers the long term health of those who fly.

Unfiltered air inside aircraft

The issue concerns the way breathing air enters the cockpit and passenger cabin.

On almost every aircraft, the air passengers breathe is sucked unfiltered into the cabin from the compression section of jet engines and is known as “bleed air".

Any oil leak at high temperatures in the engine seals, which can occur when pilots change the thrust of the plane, can release a complex mixture of potentially toxic fumes containing organophosphates.

Crew and passengers would only be aware of a possible leak by a strange, pungent, often likened to “smelly socks”.

A build up of these organophosphates has the ability to attack the body’s nervous system, causing serious illnesses.

However, because the term “aerotoxic syndrome” is not widely recognised by the medical profession, doctors will rarely ascribe its symptoms, such as nausea and loss of cognitive ability, to hours of flying.

It is argued the aviation industry deliberately plays down the significance of the issue for fear of the multibillion pound consequences.

Whenever questioned on the issue, airlines and aircraft manufacturers repeatedly state cabin air is safe and point to a much criticised Government-backed study by Cranfield University in 2011 which found no evidence of any harm to long term health.

Source: Daily Express This article has been edited for length.

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New refrigerant in cars may be toxic

Refrigerant in cars: Refreshingly cool, potentially toxic

Combustion of the cooling agent releases
toxic fumes, researchers have shown.

The refrigerant R1234yf is being considered for use in air conditioning systems in cars. Chemists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich now show that, in the event of a fire, it releases the highly poisonous carbonyl fluoride, and urge that its safety be reassessed.

According to EU guidelines, the new compound R1234yf should in future be used as the refrigerant in air-conditioning systems for automobiles.

But the compound is inflammable, and LMU chemists have now shown that combustion of the cooling agent leads to the formation of the highly toxic carbonyl fluoride.

"It has been known for some time now that combustion of R1234yf results in production of the toxic hydrogen fluoride. Our analysis has now shown that 20% of the gases produced by combustion of the compound consist of the even more poisonous chemical carbonyl fluoride," says Andreas Kornath, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at LMU Munich.

He and his co-workers have just published the results of their investigation in the journal Zeitschrift für Naturforschung.

Carbonyl fluoride is structurally related to phosgene (which contains chlorine in place of fluorine), which was used as a chemical weapon during the First World War.

The simplest fluoride, hydrogen fluoride (or hydrofluoric acid, HF) is also highly corrosive and so toxic that burns about as big as the palm of one's hand can be lethal. The agent binds avidly to calcium in body fluids, and this can result in heart failure unless an antidote is rapidly administered.

Carbonyl fluoride is even more dangerous, because it penetrates the skin more easily, and causes severe irritation of the eyes, the skin and the airways. If inhaled, it can damage the alveoli in the lungs, allowing it to reach the circulation and shut down vital functions.

According to guidelines issued by the European Union, automobile manufacturers are legally obligated to use an environmentally friendly refrigerant in the air-conditioning systems installed in their cars.

Use of the previously approved refrigerant R134a in new models has been forbidden in the EU since 2011, as the agent had been shown to contribute to the global warming in the atmosphere.

However, its recommended replacement R1234yf has already been the subject of much heated debate in Germany.

Studies carried out by various institutions and by German auto manufacturers had pointed to the compound's flammability, and shown that, in the event of accidents in which vehicles catch fire, combustion of R1234yf leads to the release of hydrogen fluoride.

"The risk analyses carried out by the manufacturers of the refrigerant so far have not taken carbonyl fluoride into account. In light of our results, we advise that the risks associated with R1234yf should be urgently reassessed," Kornath adds.

Source: EurekAlert! by AAAS 

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Fracking health concerns continue

Air quality complaints and water contamination debated

Fracking sites can emit dangerous levels of
toxic substances over short periods of time.

There are more than 6,000 active gas wells in Pennsylvania. And every week, those drilling sites generate scores of complaints from the state’s residents, including many about terrible odors and contaminated water.

How the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection handles those complaints has worsened the already raw and angry divide between fearful residents and the state regulators charged with overseeing the burgeoning gas drilling industry.

For instance, the agency’s own manual for dealing with complaints is explicit about what to do if someone reports concerns about a noxious odor, but is not at that very moment experiencing the smell: “DO NOT REGISTER THE COMPLAINT.”

When a resident does report a real-time alarm about the air quality in or around their home, the agency typically has two weeks to conduct an investigation. If no odor is detected when investigators arrive on the scene, the case is closed.

“The time that it takes them to respond is something people are concerned about,” said Matt Walker, a community outreach director for the Clean Air Council in Pennsylvania, an environmental advocacy organization. Waiting a few days to two weeks to respond to odor complaints, he said, is “way too long.”

The concerns of residents are not likely to be eased by a study published in Reviews on Environmental Health, a peer reviewed journal.

The study, researchers say, confirms what they have long suspected about natural gas operations — that emission levels from these sites spike drastically over short periods of time, making it hard to assess the true threat to people’s health.

Researchers at the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project collected real-time readings of particulate matter — soot, dust and chemicals — in 14 homes in Washington County, a heavily drilled part of the state.

They found repeated episodes during which measures of contaminated dust rose sharply, to dangerous levels in the course of a day.

David Brown, the lead researcher on the study, said that a person in such circumstances could get what amounted to a full day’s exposure in half an hour.

The Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association declined to comment on the Environmental Health Project’s study but said that the oil and gas industry is “heavily regulated” and that the association’s member companies “strive to comply with numerous federal and state air quality related rules, regulations, and reporting requirements.”

Information provided by the DEP shows that between 2011 and 2014, the department received over 2,000 complaints about oil and natural gas operations. Water quality issues featured prominently in the list of complaints. The DEP also registered 110 of the complaints as odor issues.

John Quigley, a former director of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said the need for greater transparency in the oversight of the fracking industry was real and urgent.

***

Gas drilling operations include several processes that release toxic chemicals into the air. The type and level of chemicals released varies from hour to hour depending on the type of activity taking place on the well pad.

Despite this, researchers and regulators seeking to assess the health threat of fracking operations have typically used measurement devices that capture air emissions over longer periods of time, often 24 hours.

These levels are then, in many cases, compared to the EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which were created over 40 years ago at a time when large, 24-hour-a-day sources of pollution such as coal fire plants and steel mills were dominant.

“You can’t use 24-hour standards if the health effect occurs within a few minutes,” said Brown, the lead author of the study released Friday.

The question of whether episodic bursts of contaminated air from fracking could pose an unappreciated but real health menace was first explored in West Virginia in 2010.

West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection asked Michael McCawley, then a professor at West Virginia University’s Health Sciences Center, to study air emissions from fracking operations in the state. McCawley found the contaminants he detected at fracking sites fluctuated over a wide range.

Those findings mirror those in the Pennsylvania study published on Tuesday.

Research has shown that fracking operations can release an array of toxic chemicals — some carcinogenic, others capable, at significant enough levels, of causing serious neurological and respiratory damage. The worry, Brown says, is that these chemicals are attached to the microscopic dust particles that he detected and can reach the bloodstream after being inhaled.

McCawley and Brown say that the wide fluctuations that they’re picking up on are also attributable to operators not using the best available technology to limit possibly harmful emissions.

State and federal regulations, for instance, do not require operators to use equipment that would capture all emissions during drilling. Often, gases are vented or flared into the air. The regulations also don’t consider activities, like diesel truck traffic, that degrade air quality at the fracking site.

“The law requires best technology,” said McCawley, and the data, he says, is telling us that the gas drilling industry is “not working according to the strict definition of the law.”

Source: ProPublica. This article has been edited for length.

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States take action on toxic chemicals regulations

Toxic chemicals can hide in many
commonly used products.

In Vermont, the Senate has just passed a bill potentially empowering the Green Mountain State to ban chemicals it deems harmful to consumers.

Some 3,000 miles away, in Washington State, environmental reformers weren’t as successful: A bill to ban six toxic flame retardants died in the Senate, beaten back by industry opposition and politicians’ cries of state overreaching.

In state capitols from Maine to Oregon, environmental advocates are filing bills to identify and ban noxious chemicals and industry groups are fighting back with pointed rebukes and high-pitched lobbying. Toxic reform legislation is either breathing with new life or being extinguished altogether.

The toxics tug-of-war in state houses is direct fallout from the muddled environmental politicking of Washington, D.C.

In 1976, Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act, a federal framework intended to safeguard the public from dangerous chemicals. Yet in the nearly four decades since, TSCA, as it is known, has done little more than gather dust.

Among tens of thousands of chemicals in commerce, the Environmental Protection Agency has “only been able to require testing on a little more than 200 existing chemicals,” and banned five, the EPA told The Center for Public Integrity.

Everyone wants to revamp TSCA — from the industry’s $100 million lobbying arm, the American Chemistry Council, to the Environmental Defense Fund, an advocacy group, to the EPA itself.

Yet three years to the month since the late New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg proposed sweeping change through the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011, the TSCA overhaul remains in the works, with proposals, counter-proposals and criticisms about the working draft’s fine print.

Fed up with logjams in D.C., state legislators are filing hundreds of measures in their own states to do what the federal government hasn’t — take action against destructive chemicals, by singling out the most dangerous toxins and seeking to remove them from shelves.

As the Center for Public Integrity reported last year, the American Chemistry Council and other industry groups fight nearly every state measure, contending that a patchwork of state laws would do more harm than good, and that true change should come through TSCA.

Source: Center for Public Integrity. This article has been edited for length.

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Hidden dangers of pesticides

Pesticides may be more dangerous than testing reveals: Study

Testing of pesticides focuses on the active ingredient. But many other "inert" ingredients are added to the pesticide formulation that is actually sold.

Current safety standards may not be enough
to protect human health, researchers say.

A new study suggests that these additives can make pesticides more dangerous to cells than current safety testing reveals.

A team of French scientists has concluded that studies focused solely on the active ingredients of commercially sold pesticides substantially underestimate their potential hazards.

The study suggests that inert ingredients in pesticides can magnify the effects of active ingredients, sometimes as much as 1,000-fold. Eight commercial products out of nine tested were hundreds of times more toxic than their active ingredient alone.

Normally, tests of pesticide safety are carried out only on the active ingredient, the chemical that targets the pest. But pesticides sold to consumers and farmers are complex mixtures of other chemicals deemed "inert," which implies these additives don't have biological effects.

The scientists from the University of Caen exposed three human cell lines to the active ingredients of three herbicides, three insecticides and three fungicides. Then they exposed the cell lines to the commercial formulations, which contained "inerts," and compared the results.

The new finding, if confirmed, has significant implications for pesticide safety because if inert ingredients commonly amplify pesticide effects, then safety standards may not be protective of human health.

In the study, fungicides were on average the most toxic, followed by herbicides and then insecticides.

Roundup, a commercial herbicide sold by Monsanto that uses the active ingredient glyphosate, was by far the most toxic of the herbicides and insecticides tested, according to the study, which was published in the journal BioMed Research International.

Used to kill weeds on lawns, gardens and crops including soybeans and corn, glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States.

With the exception of the herbicide Matin, the commercial formulations were more potent than their active ingredients alone. Tebuconazole showed the biggest difference between commercial formulation and active ingredient, with the formulation more than 1,000-fold more toxic than just the active ingredient, according to the study.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists tebuconozole as a possible carcinogen, and the Swedish Chemicals Agency is analyzing its potential as an endocrine-disrupting compound.

Other formulations in the study include the neonicotinoid pesticides Confidor (Imidacloprid) and Polysect (Acetamiprid), the herbicide Starane (Fluoxypyr) and the fungicide Eyetak (Prochloraz).

These data cannot be used to set safety standards because the study relied upon a simple, short-term and relatively insensitive measurement of toxicity -- cell viability, or what percentage of cells survived. Many adverse effects do not cause cell death, so tests of pesticides need to use more sensitive endpoints, such as endocrine disruption.

Source: Environmental Health News

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Chemical pollutants found in luxury fashions

High fashion does not mean better
products, Greenpeace charges.

Environmental campaign group Greenpeace has found traces of chemicals that can pollute waterways in children's clothing and shoes made by luxury brands, challenging the sector's reputation for higher standards than those of mass fashion, a recent Reuters article reports.

Greenpeace said it found the substances in products from Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Versace, Hermes, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs.

Greenpeace has been campaigning against pollutants used in the textile industry since 2011. It wants major brands and their suppliers to commit to stop discharging potentially harmful chemicals in waste water by 2020.

Concerned about toxicity to aquatic organisms and the fact some do not biodegrade easily, the European Union has restricted the industrial use of some of these chemicals but there are no rules on the sales of textiles containing their residues.

Greenpeace said 12 of the 27 articles it tested contained residues of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs), used in textile manufacturing which it said can break down into hormone-disrupting chemicals when released from garments during washing.

In five items, the group said it also found per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) used to make garments water repellent. Five articles tested positive for phthalates, used in printing designs on clothing, and three for antimony, a compound used to manufacture polyester.

The chemicals Greenpeace tested for have been commonly used in textile manufacturing, but are gradually being phased out by some brands due to concern about their polluting impact.

Reuters could not independently confirm Greenpeace's findings, which two of the companies sought to play down.

Some big brands have become highly sensitive to scrutiny of their environmental standards as shoppers demand more information about how products are made, with companies like H&M and Adidas keen to portray themselves as "green".

They are among two of the 20 brands Greenpeace has already persuaded to make the "Detox" pledge, helped by supporters bombarding the firms via social media. The only luxury names to sign up so far are Britain's Burberry and Italy's Valentino.

Greenpeace said many of the products in its study were labelled as "Made in Italy", usually a by-word for quality, but still contained similar chemical residues to garments made in developing countries.

"It's time these luxury brands lived up to their reputation as fashion trendsetters, and started leading the toxic-free fashion revolution," said Chiara Campione, a campaigner for Greenpeace Italy.

Many clothing retailers have already agreed to make their clothing PFC-free but some outdoor brands have said there are currently no PFC-free technologies that would provide the same lasting level of weather protection.

Source: PlanetArk

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Fewer air pollutants released: EPA

Agency's 2012 Toxics Release Inventory shows air pollutants continue to decline

Companies are required to report their
toxic releases and the info is online.

WASHINGTON - Total releases of toxic chemicals decreased 12 percent from 2011-2012, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) report.

The decrease includes an eight percent decline in total toxic air releases, primarily due to reductions in hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions.

“People deserve to know what toxic chemicals are being used and released in their backyards, and what companies are doing to prevent pollution,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

“By making that information easily accessible through online tools, maps, and reports, TRI is helping protect our health and the environment.”

The 2012 data show that 3.63 billion pounds of toxic chemicals were either disposed or otherwise released into the environment through air, water, and land.

There was also a decline in releases of HAPs such as hydrochloric acid and mercury, which continues a long-term trend.

Between 2011 and 2012, toxic releases into surface water decreased three percent and toxic releases to land decreased 16 percent.

This is the first year that TRI has collected data on hydrogen sulfide. While it was added to the TRI list of reportable toxic chemicals in a 1993 rulemaking, EPA issued an Administrative Stay in 1994 that deferred reporting while the agency completed further evaluation of the chemical.

EPA lifted the stay in 2011. In 2012, 25.8 million pounds of hydrogen sulfide were reported to TRI, mainly in the form of releases to air from paper, petroleum, and chemical manufacturing facilities.

Another new addition to TRI reporting is a requirement for each facility located in Indian country to submit TRI reports to EPA and the appropriate tribe, and not the state where the facility is geographically located.

EPA finalized this requirement in a 2012 rule aimed at increasing tribal participation in the TRI Program.

This year's TRI national analysis report includes new analyses and interactive maps for each U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan area, new information about industry efforts to reduce pollution through green chemistry and other pollution prevention practices, and a new feature about chemical use in consumer products.

The annual TRI report provides citizens with critical information about their communities. The TRI Program collects data on certain toxic chemical releases to the air, water, and land, as well as information on waste management and pollution prevention activities by facilities across the country.

The data are submitted annually to EPA, states, and tribes by facilities in industry sectors such as manufacturing, metal mining, electric utilities, and commercial hazardous waste.

Many of the releases from facilities that are subject to TRI reporting are regulated under other EPA program requirements designed to limit harm to human health and the environment.

Also available is the expanded TRI Pollution Prevention (P2) Search Tool, which now allows users to graphically compare facilities within the same industry using a variety of environmental metrics.

Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), facilities must report their toxic chemical releases to EPA by July 1 of each year.

The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 also requires facilities to submit information on waste management activities related to TRI chemicals.

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Grad student sues for toxic mold in housing

Toxic mold exposure can lead to
ill health and respiratory disease.

A UC Santa Cruz graduate student has filed a lawsuit against UCSC, seeking an excess of $25,000.

Matthew Richert and his wife, Lori George, are suing because they think the toxic mold in their campus apartment caused their daughter's severe respiratory problems.

The couple's daughter Libby, then 1, began to have breathing problems in October 2011, four months after the family arrived.

Santa Cruz doctors couldn't stabilize her, and transferred her to Stanford's pediatric intensive care unit. She spent the next three days in critical condition.

Libby, who was eventually diagnosed with asthma and allergic rhinitis, was hospitalized at Stanford three more times.

At first, the couple was unsure what triggered Libby's attacks, and took their older daughter out of preschool to minimize germ exposure.

The family started noticing mold on their walls in fall of 2011, around the same time Libby first got sick. They tried to manage it, but it returned.

In June 2012, Libby's doctor wrote a letter to UCSC housing requesting the family be transferred if the mold couldn't be removed. Richert and George filed five transfer requests in the following year.

In May, the family conducted an independent mold inspection, which showed five types of toxic mold known to cause severe asthma and allergic rhinitis growing in their apartment.

The university also conducted its own inspection around the same time, which showed damage to the walls. The university transferred the family to a hotel a few days later. The apartment remains unoccupied.

"It's very frustrating, it's very scary and we're not the only ones," George said.

In March 2009, more than 100 residents gathered at Family Student Housing to protest rising rent and substandard living conditions. Many complained that mold was growing in their apartments and allergy attacks kept their children up coughing at night.In April, then-resident Orville Canter collected 142 signatures from residents who said their units were infested with mold, despite cleaning and common-sense prevention methods.

Editor's note: This article has been edited for length.

Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel

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Mold in nose leads to sick building lawsuit and settlement

Plaintiff settled after becoming sick
from toxic mold exposure.

A former prosecutor in Florida has settled a “sick building” suit that claimed the mold in her sinuses was caused by the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.

Stefanie Krathen Ginnis will receive $166,500 in a settlement approved by county commissioners on Tuesday, the Sun Sentinel reports.

She was among 19 current and former courthouse employees who sued and was the first to settle.

The plaintiffs claimed they became sick as a result of toxic mold and asbestos fibers at the courthouse.

Ginnis’ husband, Eric Ginnis, was also a plaintiff. He told the Sun Sentinel his wife had “strong evidence” of cause because the mold found in her nose during complex sinus surgery matched the mold in the courthouse.

Stefanie Krathen Ginnis worked at the courthouse from 2003 to 2010.

Assistant County Attorney Tony Rodriguez said the settlement doesn’t signal that the county is willing to settle all the cases.

"We have to look at all of these on a case-by-case basis,” he told the Sun Sentinel.

Construction has begun on a new courthouse and could be completed in about two years.

Source: ABA Journal

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When school grounds are contaminated...

Some schools have been built on contaminated land
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos

Schools are often newsworthy topics because of the importance they carry in our society. We all want our children to grow up in healthy, educational environments and yet mold infestations and other health hazards often plague these institutions.

Over the years, many studies and reports have come out about schools being built on contaminated grounds. As school boards rarely have much money, they sometimes choose to purchase land that has previously been used for industrial purposes. 

Some school boards may also form partnerships with companies to provide them with a dumping ground in return for the construction of different sports fields. Controversy around this very thing is the most recent story to develop.

Earlier this month, an extensive news article was written about a small New York town that has suffered from what seems like a break-out number of cancer cases in its high school students. Briarcliff is only 30 miles away from New York City, but its 8,000 people are close-knit. Boasting one of the best high schools in the country, Briarcliff is a prized location for parents seeking a quiet life with a good education system.

Unbeknownst to them, however, parents were sending their kids to a school where sports were played on contaminated grounds. Up to eight students fell ill with cancer and at least one died. 

Today, parents want some answers. Though there is no direct proof their children's illnesses were connected to the grounds, speculation abounds.

A short history

In 1998, the fields in Briarcliff were used as a dumping ground for a construction company. Though what was dumped was considered safe, many now doubt that claim. 

One year after the dumping took place, testing was done on the fields and high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were found. Some PAHs are known carcinogens and exposure can occur through inhalation, ingestion or touch.The levels were deemed safe at the time, however, so nothing was done.

The fields your children are playing on
may be contaminated.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos

In 2007, parents started to complain that their children were finding broken glass and nails on the fields. Students were also exposed to a lot of dust and were having trouble breathing. One student spoke of the dust tasting like chemicals. 

The fields were finally closed in 2010, and remain that way today. The school is waiting for soil remediation to be done before re-opening it.

Some parents are considering a lawsuit against Briarcliff, but everyone knows it will be difficult to make a direct correlation between the cancer cases and the land that, though containing several different chemicals, was considered safe for use.

As a parent in this situation, would you bring forth a lawsuit? Let us know your thoughts.

Source: The Huffington Post

Controlling vapor intrusion in the school system

Though there is not much else to do besides soil remediation when the bulk of contaminated land is out on playing fields, many more schools have been built on or near toxic waste sites. Ideally, the schools should be moved, but that is not always possible.

When dealing with vapor intrusion and chemical exposure, the best option for indoor air quality is air cleaners. Not only will they adsorb chemicals and gases with activated carbon filters, but units fitted with our UV technology can also help keep mold from forming. Our medical-grade HEPA filters will add another level of cleaning by removing airborne particles, such as dust and pollen.

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