Greenlist Bulletin 01/22/2010
This is the weekly bulletin of the TURI Library at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Greenlist Bulletin provides previews of recent publications and websites relevant to reducing the use of toxic chemicals by industries, businesses, communities, individuals and government.
- EPA increases transparency on chemical risk information
- Guide for parents: the dangers of heavy metals in children's jewelry
- ECHA lists dibenzoate plasticizers as replacement for phthalates
- African dust bringing toxic chemicals to U.S., Caribbean
- Update on bisphenol A for use in food contact applications
- Prenatal exposure to PBDEs and neurodevelopment
1. EPA increases transparency on chemical risk information
Source: USEPA, January 21, 2010
As part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to strengthen and reform chemical management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a new policy to increase the public’s access to information on chemicals. Starting today, EPA has announced its intention to reject a certain type of confidentiality claim, known as Confidential Business Information (CBI), on the identity of chemicals. The chemicals that will be affected by this action are those that are submitted to EPA with studies that show a substantial risk to people's health and the environment and have been previously disclosed on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Inventory. This action represents another step to use the agency’s authority under the existing TSCA to the fullest extent possible, recognizing EPA’s strong belief that the 1976 law is both outdated and in need of reform.
“Assuring the safety of chemicals is one of Administrator Jackson's top priorities for EPA's future,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. “The American people are entitled to transparent, accessible information on chemicals that may pose a risk to their health or the environment. We will continue taking steps that increase transparency and assure the safety of chemicals in our products, our environment and our bodies.”
Under TSCA, companies may claim a range of sensitive, proprietary information as CBI. Under Section 8(e) of TSCA, companies that manufacture, process, or distribute chemicals are required to immediately provide notice to EPA if they learn that a chemical presents a substantial risk of injury to health or the environment. The Section 8(e) reports are made available on EPA’s Web site. However, until today, companies would routinely claim confidentiality for the actual identity of the chemical covered by the Section 8(e) submission, so the public posting of the information would not include the name of the chemical. The new policy announced today ends this practice for chemicals on the public portion of the TSCA Inventory. This new policy will increase the amount of information available by granting the public access to the chemical identification information submitted, along with other health and safety data under Section 8(e).
In the coming months, EPA intends to announce additional steps to further increase transparency of chemical information.
2. Guide for parents: the dangers of heavy metals in children's jewelry
Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission, January 13, 2010
Author: CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum
"In March 2006, a tragic incident occurred which had a significant impact on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Jarnell Brown, a 4-year old boy from Minneapolis, Minn., swallowed a metal charm that was nearly pure lead. He sadly died four days later. Since 2004, our agency has conducted more than 50 recalls of more than 180 million units of metal jewelry because it contained a hazardous amount of lead. Since August 2009, it has been illegal to produce a piece of children’s metal jewelry with more than 300 parts per million of lead.
Now we hear about cadmium in jewelry. This is unacceptable. Just this week, I sent a clear message warning manufacturers against the use of heavy metals, “especially cadmium,” in a keynote speech that was delivered Tuesday at the APEC Toy Safety Initiative/Dialogue in Hong Kong.
Because of these recent developments, I have a message for parents, grandparents and caregivers: Do not allow young children to be given or to play with cheap metal jewelry, especially when they are unsupervised.
We have proof that lead in children’s jewelry is dangerous and was pervasive in the marketplace. To prevent young children from possibly being exposed to lead, cadmium or any other hazardous heavy metal, take the jewelry away.
We are moving swiftly to stop the replacement of lead with cadmium and other hazardous heavy metals in children’s products imported from China. We are also actively investigating the jewelry cited in the recent AP story and will inform parents and consumers quickly of any actions we take as a result of our efforts. Our investigation is squarely focused on ensuring the safety of children.
It is very difficult for a parent to determine if an item contains harmful levels of a metal in a specific item except by checking recalls listed on the CPSC Web site. Parents should know that swallowing, sucking on or chewing a metal charm or necklace could result in exposure to lead, cadmium or other heavy metals, which are known to be toxic at certain levels of exposure.
We are working to take decisive action at CPSC, using the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, a law aimed at keeping kids safe from toxic chemicals and metals.
The key message that I want parents to know is: We will act to protect young children, but take the metal jewelry away from children who will swallow, suck or chew on it while our work continues."
3. ECHA lists dibenzoate plasticizers as replacement for phthalates
Source: American Coatings Association, May 1, 2009
In a recent report defining alternatives to phthalate plasticizers, the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) named dibenzoate plasticizers as a suitable replacement for phthalates. Dibenzoate plasticizers are commercially known as Benzoflex® Plasticizers, and are produced by Genovique Specialties Corporation, which is based in Rosemont, Ill.
The ECHA Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP) technical report states: "The main direct alternative to BBP in vinyl flooring, and other applications, has been dibenzoate plasticisers." The report calculated Derived No Effect Levels (DNEL) for the BBP alternatives in order to assess their human health effects. The Dipropylene Glycol Dibenzoate (DGD, or Benzoflex 9-88) values were considerably more favorable than the other BBP alternative chemistries examined. The dibenzoate plasticizers, available globally from Genovique Specialties Corporation, are also discussed as alternative chemistries in other ECHA reports on replacing Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) and Bis (2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP).
"Benzoflex benzoate esters have been used for over 40 years in traditional phthalate markets, establishing them as the proven phthalate alternative," says John Kenny, vice president, Genovique Specialties. "Our applications-focused research and development team continues to work to develop environmentally-friendly, cost-effective solutions for each polymer/application combination."
The ECHA commissioned these technical reports to define alternatives to phthalate plasticizers that are on its Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) list. Products on the SVHC list may become subject to sanctions by decision of the European Commission. Therefore, companies using sanctioned materials in the European Union will be required to find a substitute or pay a significant penalty.
4. African dust bringing toxic chemicals to U.S., Caribbean
Source: Investigate West, November 24, 2009
Author: Robert McClure
It’s one of those increasingly frequent stories demonstrating that ecologically, the whole globe is connected — and why that’s not always a good thing:
Pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls are among the contaminants hitching an airborne ride to the United States and other parts of the Western Hemisphere on dust storms blowing out of West Africa. That’s according to new research presented at the just-completed annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
The findings are worrisome because some of the chemicals carried on the trade winds originating in Africa are persistent in the environment, they bioaccumulate, and they are known to be toxic at low concentrations, said U.S. Geological Survey researcher Ginger Garrison, who presented the findings at the SETAC conference in New Orleans.
It’s been known for some time now that dust storms blowing off North Africa make their way across the Atlantic and deposit fine particles of dust. I covered that in my Florida days, the Sunshine State being the U.S. region getting the highest concentrations of the superfine dust.
The dust travels as far west as the Rockies and as far north as New England, and tongues of it have reached out across Central America into the Pacific. It also blankets the Amazon and is a major source of nutrients there.
This finding of contaminants in the dust is a new twist on the story — one that might go on to help explain why coral reefs off Florida aren’t recovering after they are damaged. Research in Australia showed that low doses of individual pesticides caused coral larvae to fail to attach to reefs, meaning they don’t recover from various environmental insults, Garrison said:
"One of the things we’ve been wondering about is … why aren’t the reefs rebuilding? Because they’re not. This would explain one thing."
5. Update on bisphenol A for use in food contact applications
Source: US Food and Drug Administration, January 2010
Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical that has been present in many hard plastic bottles and metal-based food and beverage cans since the 1960s.
Studies employing standardized toxicity tests have thus far supported the safety of current low levels of human exposure to BPA However, on the basis of results from recent studies using novel approaches to test for subtle effects, both the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health and FDA have some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children. In cooperation with the National Toxicology Program, FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research is carrying out in-depth studies to answer key questions and clarify uncertainties about the risks of BPA.
In the interim:
* FDA is taking reasonable steps to reduce human exposure to BPA in the food supply. These steps include:
supporting the industry’s actions to stop producing BPA-containing baby bottles and infant feeding cups for the U.S. market;
acilitating the development of alternatives to BPA for the linings of infant formula cans; and
supporting efforts to replace BPA or minimize BPA levels in other food can linings.
* FDA is supporting a shift to a more robust regulatory framework for oversight of BPA.
* FDA is seeking further public comment and external input on the science surrounding BPA.
FDA is also supporting recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services for infant feeding and food preparation to reduce exposure to BPA.
FDA is not recommending that families change the use of infant formula or foods, as the benefit of a stable source of good nutrition outweighs the potential risk from BPA exposure.
6. Prenatal exposure to PBDEs and neurodevelopment
Source: Environmental Health Perspectives, online January 4, 2010
Authors: Julie B. Herbstman, Andreas Sjödin, Matthew Kurzon, Sally A. Lederman, Richard S. Jones, Virginia Rauh, Larry L. Needham, Deliang Tang, Megan Niedzwiecki, Richard Y. Wang, Frederica Perera
BACKGROUND: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are widely-used flame retardant compounds that are persistent and bioaccumulative, and therefore have become ubiquitous environment contaminants. Animal studies suggest that prenatal PBDE exposure may result in adverse neurodevelopmental effects.
OBJECTIVE: In a longitudinal cohort initiated after 9/11/01 including 329 participants who delivered in one of three hospitals in lower Manhattan, we examined prenatal PBDE exposure and neurodevelopment at ages 1-4 and 6 years.
METHODS: 210 cord blood specimens were analyzed for selected PBDE congeners. Neurodevelopmental effects were assessed at ages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 years of age. There were 118, 117, 114, 104, and 96 children with available cord PBDE measurements assessed at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 years, respectively. Multivariate regression analyses were used to evaluate the associations between concentrations of individual PBDE congeners and neurodevelopmental indices.
RESULTS: Median cord blood concentrations of PBDE congeners 47, 99, and 100 were 11.2, 3.2, and 1.4 ng/g lipid, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, children with higher concentrations of BDE 47, 99, or 100 scored lower on tests of mental and physical development at 1-4 and 6 years. Associations were significant for 12-month Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) (BDE-47), 24-month Mental Development Index (MDI) (BDE-47, 99, and 100), 36-month MDI (BDE-100), 48-month full-scale and verbal IQ (BDE-47, 99 and 100) and performance IQ (BDE-100), and 72 month performance IQ (BDE-100).
CONCLUSIONS: This epidemiologic study demonstrates neurodevelopmental effects in relation to cord blood PBDE concentrations. Confirmation is needed in other longitudinal studies.
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This page updated Tuesday January 26 2010