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Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 11/5/04

Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 11/5/04

This is the weekly bulletin of the TURI Library, reporting a selection of recently published titles we have acquired. Our pledge is to keep the bulletin relevant to your work and brief -- no more than 10 titles. (usually)

Titles here, abstracts below them:

1. EPA Rule Change Aids Polluters, October 2004
2. States Join Forces to Ensure Emissions Cut, October 2004
3. The Precautionary Principle Stimulus for Solutions- and Alternatives-Based Environmental Policy, 2004
4. U.K. Study Identifies 80 Toxic Chemicals in Children, October 2004
5. FR Compounds With Plenty of Color, October 2004
6. EPA, ACC to Study Chemical Exposure, October 2004
7. Study of Pesticides and Children Stirs Protests, October 2004
8. Environmentally-Friendly Physico-Chemical Rapid Ultrasonic Recycling of Fumed Silica-Filled Poly(Dimethyl Siloxane) Vulcanizate, June 2004
9. Indoor Fine Particles: The Role of Terpene Emissions form Consumer Products, March 2004
10. Separating Plastic From Metals Gains Steam, March 2004

1. TITLE EPA Rule Change Aids Polluters
AUTHOR Johnson, Jeff
SOURCE Chemical & Engineering News, October 11, 2004, vol. 82, no. 41, p. 14
ABSTRACT A regulatory change made by EPA a year ago is hampering federal enforcement efforts at some 97 coal-fired power stations, says a recent report from the agency's Office of Inspector General. The report estimates that 1.75 million tons of sulfur dioxide and 629,000 tons of nitrogen oxides emitted by these plants annually could be cut if EPA vigorously enforced - instead of relaxed - Clean Air Act provisions.

2. TITLE States Join Forces to Ensure Emissions Cut
AUTHOR Hogue, Cheryl
SOURCE Chemical & Engineering News, October 11, 2004, vol. 82, no. 41, p. 35
ABSTRACT State officials are uniting in a groundbreaking way on behalf of cleaner air, flexing their muscles against powerful lobbying interests. Regulators from a dozen states are trying to ensure that federal standards limiting emissions from diesel engines will go into effect as planned in 2007, despite pressure for delays by the trucking industry.

3. TITLE The Precautionary Principle Stimulus for Solutions- and Alternatives-Based Environmental Policy
AUTHOR Tickner, Joel A.; Geiser, Ken
SOURCE Environmental Impact Assessment Review, vol. 24, 2004, pp. 801-824
ABSTRACT The precautionary principle is increasingly discussed in debates over appropriate measures to address complex and uncertain risks. The principle has generally been defined as having two main components: preventive action in the face of uncertainty and reversing the burden of proof. In isolation, these two components would suggest that precaution is primarily reactive to potential problems rather than proactive. More recent statements have suggested that thorough assessment of alternatives is critical to the effective implementation of the precautionary principle. Alternatives assessment - also referred to as options analysis and facility planning - redirects environmental science and policy debates from characterizing problems to identifying solutions. In this commentary, we examine the rationale for a focus on alternatives assessment in implementing the precautionary principle. We examine methods and examples of alternatives assessment, as well as opportunities for the principle's integration in environmental policy. We argue that a greater focus on alternatives assessment can enhance the ability of decision makers to make truly precautionary decisions, stimulate innovation toward sustainable production, and more effectively place burdens on those creating risks. Such a focus forms an essential component of a shift from "problem-based" environmental policy to "solutions-based" policy. This shift requires adequate research resources, tools, and a government commitment to a new paradigm of environmental protection. We conclude that we will only reach the goal of sustainable production if we change our environmental protection focus from figuring out how bad the situation will be to seeking alternatives to problematic activities and designing the conditions for a more sustainable future.

4. TITLE U.K. Study Identifies 80 Toxic Chemicals in Children
AUTHOR Sissell, Kara
SOURCE Chemical Week, October 13, 2004, vol. 166, no. 33, p. 7
ABSTRACT Environmental group WWF and the Co-Operative Bank say they have completed a study that identifies for the first time that children in the UK have higher concentrations of certain toxic chemicals in their bodies, and a greater overall number of synthetic chemicals in their bodies, than their parents. The study found 80 synthetic chemicals out of 104 tested for, in blood samples taken from 33 children from seven families across the UK, WWF says. Only 75 of the chemicals were found in the children's parents and 56 in the children's grandmothers. Chemicals identified in the children include brominated flame retardants and perfluorinated chemicals. Substances tested for were from six chemical groups: artificial musks, brominated flame retardants, organochlorine pesticides, phthalates, perfluorinated chemicals and polychlorinated biphenyls. The study "clearly illustrates that industry and government have failed to control these chemicals," says Justin Woolford, director/chemicals and health campaign at WWF. The Chemical Industries Association (CIA) says it cannot guarantee that the chemicals identified in those who took part in the study are harmless. "That's why we, the global chemical industry, are stressing the need to develop the ability to interpret the data and do the analysis itself," says CIA director general Judith Hackitt.

5. TITLE FR Compounds With Plenty of Color
SOURCE Modern Plastics, October 2004, vol. 81, no. 10, p. 70
ABSTRACT Group Repol now offers the Dinalon PA range of colored flame retardant nylon compounds that are halogen- and phosphorus-free. Colorants, from natural or white to intense color tones, do not affect mechanical properties, and reinforcement with glass or mineral fibers is offered. Traditional reinforced flame retardant polyamides, also commercialized by Grupo Repol and widely used in the electric, electronic, and building industrial sectors, are based mainly on halogen flame retardants or red-phosphorous compounds. Initially, the new flame retardant range includes a PA6 30% glass-fiber-reinforced V0 natural; a PA6 30% mineral-charge-reinforced V0 grey; and a PA66 30% glass-fiber- reinforced resin V0 natural. All are available with different percentages of reinforcement and in a variety of colors. www.repol.com

6. TITLE EPA, ACC to Study Chemical Exposure
SOURCE Chemical Market Reporter, October 18, 2004, vol. 266, no. 13, p. 3
ABSTRACT The EPA and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) last week announced a cooperative research and development agreement to conduct a landmark study to learn more about how young children come into contact with household pesticides and other chemicals in their homes. The study is being conducted to understand more about children's exposures to chemicals in their environment. Families will be asked to keep records of their pesticide and household product use, and children will be monitored in their homes. The research is designed to measure the concentrations of chemicals in the children's homes and to determine how children are exposed to chemicals that are present in consumer products used in the home. The study will involve following 60 children, ages 0 to 3 years, for two years in Duval County, FL. It will be coordinated in Research Triangle Park, NC, by the EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory.

7. TITLE Study of Pesticides and Children Stirs Protests
AUTHOR Eilperin, Juliet
SOURCE Washington Post, October 30, 2004, p. A02
ABSTRACT An EPA proposal to study young children's exposure to pesticides has sparked a flurry of internal agency protects, with several career officials questioning whether the survey will harm vulnerable infants and toddlers. The EPA announced this month that it was launching a two-year investigation, partially funded by the American Chemistry Council, of how 60 children in Duval County, FL, absorb pesticides and other household chemicals. The chemical industry funding initially prompted some environmentalists to question whether the study would be biased, and some rank-and-file agency scientists are now questioning whether the plan will exploit financially strapped families. In exchange for participating for two years in the Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study, which involves infants and children up to age 3, the EPA will give each family using pesticides in their home $970, some children's clothing and a camcorder that parents can keep. EPA officials in states such as Georgia and Colorado fired off e-mail messages to each other this week suggesting the study lacked safeguards to ensure that low-income families would be swayed into exposing their children to hazardous chemicals in exchange for money and high-tech gadgetry.

8. TITLE Environmentally-Friendly Physico-Chemical Rapid Ultrasonic Recycling of Fumed Silica-Filled Poly(Dimethyl Siloxane) Vulcanizate
AUTHOR Shim, Sang Eun; Yashin, Victor V.; Isayev, Avraam I.
SOURCE Green Chemistry, June 2004, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 291-294
ABSTRACT Fumed silica-filled PDMS, where quite a strong interaction exists between the filler and matrix via hydrogen bonding, was recycled by means of an extruder with high power ultrasound attachment. It was found that the reinforcing filler plays an important role in the devulcanization process. Compared to the precipitated silica-filled PDMS, higher power is consumed during the devulcanization process of fumed silica-filled PDMS due to a strong interaction between the fumed silica particles and PDMS chains. The decrease in crosslink density after the devulcanization process shows that the process is quite dependent of the concentration of fumed silica. Throughout a simulation of scission of chemical bonds during the process, the influence of the concentration of filler on the devulcanization was investigated. The scission of main chains (Si-O) and crosslinks (Si-O and C-C) concurrently occurs during the process. Crosslinks are predominantly severed in the absence of fumed silica while the main chain rupture tends to increase with the filler concentration. The main chain scission leads to the deactivation of filler which reduces gel fraction and crosslink density of the revulcanizates. The mechanical properties of the revulcanizate show that the fumed silica significantly affects the final properties of the recycled PDMS.

9. TITLE Indoor Fine Particles: The Role of Terpene Emissions from Consumer Products
AUTHOR Sarwar, Golam; Olson, David A.; Corsi, Richard L.; Weschler, Charles J.
SOURCE Journal of Air & Waste Management Association, March 2004, vol. 54, pp. 367-377
ABSTRACT Consumer products can emit significant quantities of terpenes, which can react with ozone (O3). Resulting byproducts include compounds with low vapor pressures that contribute to the growth of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). The focus of this study was to evaluate the potential for SOA growth, in the presence of O3, following the use of a lime-scented liquid air freshener, a pine-scented solid air freshener, a lemon-scented general-purpose cleaner, a wood floor cleaner, and a perfume. Two chamber experiments were performed for each of these five terpene-containing agents, one at an elevated O3 concentration and the other at a lower O3 concentration. Particle number and mass concentrations increased and O3 concentrations decreased during each experiment. Experiments with terpene-based air fresheners produced the highest increases in particle number and mass concentrations. The results of this study clearly demonstrate that homogeneous reactions between O3 and terpenes from various consumer products can lead to increase in fine particle mass concentrations when these products are used indoors. Particle increases can occur during periods of elevated outdoor O3 concentrations or indoor O3 generation, coupled with elevated terpene releases. Human exposure to fine particles can be reduced by minimizing indoor terpene concentrations or O3 concentrations.

10. TITLE Separating Plastic From Metals Gains Steam
SOURCE Modern Plastics, March 2004, vol. 81, no. 3, p. 10
ABSTRACT A 55:45 joint venture formed by MBA Polymers and Guangzhou Iron & Steel Enterprises Holdings Ltd. called GISE-MBA New Plastics Technology Co. Ltd., will build and operate a mechanical recycling plant for end-of-life E/E goods, white goods, and automotive parts in the Nansha development area, using MBA's separation technology. The technology separates not only plastics from the (mostly mixed metals) shredder residue but also separates plastics by material.

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