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Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 01/12/2007

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. You are welcome to send a message to jan@turi.org if you would like more information on any of the articles listed here.

Titles here, abstracts below them:

Base Stations and Wireless Networks: Radiofrequency (RF) Exposures and Health Consequences
From Conceptualization to Commercialization: SERDP and ESTCP Develop Environmentally Friendly Surface Preparation Method for Weapons System Repair
The Future Of U.S. Chemical Regulation: Two views on whether current law overseeing commercial chemicals in the U.S. is tough enough
Best Management Practices for the Manufacture of Electronics with Lead Solder
A Comparative Hierarchical Decision Framework on Toxics Use Reduction Effectiveness for Electronic and Electrical Industries
Bridgeport Diocese Joins 'Greening the Cleaning'
All That Glitters Isn't Green and Other Thoughts on Sustainable Building
Risk-Assessment Plan is Withdrawn
Plastics chemical harms eggs in unborn mice
Springtime for Biopolymers

1. Base Stations and Wireless Networks: Radiofrequency (RF) Exposures and Health Consequences

AUTHOR Valberg, Peter; van Deventer, Tahera Emilie; Repacholi, Michael H.

SOURCE Environmental Health Perspectives, EHP-in-Press, Online 6 November 2006

ABSTRACT Radiofrequency (RF) waves have long been used for different types of information exchange via the airwaves, e.g., wireless Morse code, radio, television, and wireless telephony (i.e., construction and operation of telephones or telephonic systems). Increasingly larger numbers of people rely on mobile telephone technology, and health concerns about the associated radiofrequency (RF) exposure have been raised, particularly since the mobile phone handset operates in close proximity to the human body, and also because large numbers of base station antennas are required to provide widespread availability of service to large populations. The World Health Organization (WHO) convened an expert Workshop to discuss the current state of cell-telephone health issues, and this article brings together several of the key points that were addressed. The possibility of RF health effects has been investigated in epidemiology studies of cellular telephone users and workers in RF occupations, in experiments with animals exposed to cell-phone RF, and via biophysical consideration of cell-phone RF electric-field intensity and the effect of RF modulation schemes. As summarized here, these separate avenues of scientific investigation provide little support for adverse health effects arising from RF exposure at levels below current international standards. Moreover, radio and TV broadcast waves have exposed populations to RF for more than 50 years with little evidence of deleterious health consequences. Despite unavoidable uncertainty, current scientific data are consistent with the conclusion that public exposures to permissible RF levels from mobile telephony and base stations are not likely to adversely affect human health.

WEB LINK http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/9633/9633.pdf

2. From Conceptualization to Commercialization: SERDP and ESTCP Develop Environmentally Friendly Surface Preparation Method for Weapons System Repair

SOURCE SERDP & ESTCP Information Bulletin, Fall 2006, pp1-2

ABSTRACT The Department of Defense (DoD) is increasingly using adhesive bonding to join components and perform repairs that keep aircraft and other weapons systems in service. The integrity of these bonds is critical as failure could compromise the performance and safety of these weapons systems. Adhesive bonding performance is dependent on proper preparation of the metal substrate surfaces prior to applying the adhesives that hold a component or patch in place. Methods traditionally used for surface preparation involve the use of hazardous materials such as hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen, and result in the generation of hazardous waste. An environmentally benign surface preparation alternative developed and commercialized for use on weapons systems with SERDP and ESTCP support not only provides environmental and cost benefits but also enhances mission readiness by decreasing equipment repair time and downtime. To date, high-performance processes used by DoD and the private sector to prepare metal substrates for adhesive bonding involved anodizing or etching the substrate with a strong acid or base and applying hexavalent chromium for corrosion protection. The need to rinse these chemicals from the metal surface after preparation results in a hazardous waste stream. Typically, etching or anodizing is followed by applying a primer containing high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC) as well as hexavalent chromium. Attempts to use alternative processes typically led to poor bonded joint performance and resulted in significant rework and increased risk to aircraft and crews. As regulations for hexavalent chromium exposure, hazardous waste disposal, and air emissions became more stringent, DoD needed improved alternatives to prepare substrates for adhesive bonding without adversely affecting bonded joint performance. Applying a waterborne adhesion promoter to the metal substrate via sol-gel technology represents a viable alternative to the current hexavalent chromium- and VOC-containing surface preparation methods. Sol-gel, a contraction of “solution-gelation,” is a process that has been around for many years but has been studied only in the last 15 years for preparing metal surfaces for adhesive bonding. Sol-gel coatings act as an interface between the metal substrate and the polymer-based adhesive or primer. The molecules in the sol-gel solution contain certain functionalities that chemically bond to the polymer and other functionalities that are attracted to the metal substrate. This direct chemical bonding mechanism results in superior adhesion that, in turn, helps the treated surface resist moisture attack and achieve longterm durability.

WEB LINK http://www.serdp.org/upload/06%20Fall.pdf

3. The Future Of U.S. Chemical Regulation: Two views on whether current law overseeing commercial chemicals in the U.S. is tough enough

AUTHOR Hogue, Cheryl

SOURCE Chemical & Engineering News, v85 n2, January 8, 2007, pp34-38

ABSTRACT The Environmental Protection Agency oversees commercial chemicals through a statute signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1976, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). That law has remained substantially unchanged for 30 years. TSCA established a system for evaluating new industrial compounds for health and environmental effects before they enter the U.S. market. The statute also grants EPA the authority to require chemical manufacturers to conduct toxicity tests on any substance already on the market. n addition, the law gives the agency the authority to control chemicals that pose a risk to health or the environment. This includes banning the production or use of chemicals. EPA used this authority in 1989 to ban products made with asbestos, a known human carcinogen. But a federal court in 1991 overturned the ban, saying that EPA failed to consider less economically burdensome regulatory alternatives. Since that court decision, the agency has not banned the use of any chemicals. The American Chemistry Council (ACC), whose members include major chemical manufacturers, believes TSCA remains a solidly written statute that provides a great deal of authority to EPA for protecting health and the environment. This law, the trade group says, promotes innovation and has strengthened the global position of the U.S. chemical industry. Others say TSCA has serious limitations and needs an overhaul. They point to the European Union's new legislation on the Registration, Evaluation & Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) as a new model for regulating commercial substances. REACH will establish a control system broader than TSCA's requirements, mandating that chemical makers provide toxicity data on the substances they produce, including ones that have been on the market for decades. This "Point/Counterpoint" features: 1) Michael P. Walls, managing director for regulatory and technical affairs at ACC, who has actively spoken out against REACH. He writes about the strengths of TSCA, and he argues that it remains a solid authority for addressing new challenges such as products of nanotechnology. 2) Joel Tickner, assistant professor in the department of community health and sustainability at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and a member of C&EN's advisory board from 2004 to 2006. He argues that TSCA has a number of weaknesses and calls for talks among chemical makers, users, states, and environmental advocates on how to address those limitations.

4. Best Management Practices for the Manufacture of Electronics with Lead Solder

DATE 2006

SOURCE Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. Office of Technical Assistance and Technology

ABSTRACT Changes in state and federal reporting requirements have increased the importance of lead use reduction by manufacturers in Massachusetts, particularly those in the electronics industry. In 1999, EPA classified lead and lead compounds as Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic (PBT) chemicals. PBT chemicals are a concern because they are highly toxic, do not break down easily in the environment, and accumulate in living tissues. Because of these three characteristics, the TRI/TURA reporting thresholds for lead have been reduced from 25,000 pounds per year processed to only 100 pounds per year which means that if your facility uses 270 pounds or more of 63Sn/37Pb solder per year, you trip the threshold. This change is part of a nationwide initiative to reduce the risks to human health and the environment from exposure to PBT pollutants. Waste electronics has become the fastest growing class of waste in the United States. Both the US EPA and Commonwealth of Massachusetts have expressed concern over releases of heavy metals, flame retardants and plasticizers to the air from waste incinerators or to groundwater from landfill leachate. This concern prompted them to impose restrictions, fees, and recycling directives on lead users. Prudent manufacturers of electronic products should minimize waste from the manufacturing process, reevaluate waste recycling or disposal, and design products with less toxic material.

WEB LINK http://www.mass.gov/envir/ota/publications/pdf/
bmp_for_lead_final_web.pdf

5. A Comparative Hierarchical Decision Framework on Toxics Use Reduction Effectiveness for Electronic and Electrical Industries

AUTHOR Kang, Hai-Yong; Ogunseitan, Oladele; Shapiro, Andrew A.; Schoenung, Julie M.

SOURCE Environmental Science & Technology, v41 n2, 2007, pp373-379

ABSTRACT Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) has been used in this study as a decision-making model to investigate the potential benefits of implementing a Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA) in California, based on outcome measures of similar programs in other states, with a focus on the Massachusetts TURA established in 1989. A comparative assessment of trends in the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) characteristics, economic and census statistics, and the environmental performance of electronics and electrical industries in the two states indicated that programs already implemented in California are effective in achieving the goals of the generic Massachusetts TURA. The results of this study provide a crucial baseline for evaluating the effectiveness of industry-targeted waste reduction policies such as California’s new Universal Waste regulation, which covers the disposal of domestic electronic products, effective February 9, 2006.

6. Bridgeport Diocese Joins 'Greening the Cleaning'

AUTHOR Bodach, Jill

SOURCE Wilton Villager, January 12, 2007

ABSTRACT The Diocese of Bridgeport is the first Roman Catholic Diocese in the state to adopt the "Greening the Cleaning" initiative to improve the indoor air quality in its Catholic schools, parishes and facilities. "The environment is a very hot topic right now and the environment is something that everyone is paying attention to," said Louise Stewart-Spagnuolo, director of human resources and support services for the Diocese of Bridgeport. "With all that's going on in the world today, doing what we can to eliminate the use of chemicals is just the right thing to do." "Greening the Cleaning" is an initiative of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology, part of the Hackensack University Medical Center, a not-for-profit corporation in Hackensack, N.J. The Imus Center represents one of the first hospital-based programs with the specific mission to identify, control and ultimately prevent exposure to environmental factors that may cause cancer, especially among children. The initiative would eliminate many of these chemicals from many of the buildings that belong to the Diocese of Bridgeport and replace them with green chemicals that will be used for general cleaning of the buildings.

WEB LINK http://www.wiltonvillager.com/wilton_templates/
wilton_story/288214900483741.php

7. All That Glitters Isn't Green and Other Thoughts on Sustainable Building

AUTHOR Martin, Carlos; Foss, Asa

SOURCE National Building Museum Blueprints, Fall 2006, pp10-13

ABSTRACT The building industry, especially the design profession, has paid increasing attention to green practices in the past decade. Though many of the relevant techniques and underlying knowledge have been around since the early days of the environmental movement (if not much earlier), the issue currently enjoys an unprecedented primacy in both the industry and the popular imagination. Recent events only partially explain the growing sense of urgency associated with the green building movement. The nation was riveted by the 2000–01 rolling blackouts in California, and feared other states would share a similar fate—at least until the whiff of price gouging convinced them that it was okay to leave the lights on. Nowadays, price fluctuations at the gas pump are causing consternation among consumers of all kinds, who are wondering what they mean not only to the individual car owner but also to the economy as a whole. Nonetheless, leading green building advocates were calling for dramatic action well before these perceived crises, though not always using term “green.” Green building was discussed in contemporary terms since as far back as the 1960s “appropriate technology” movement and the 1970s oil crisis (though, as a recent Harvard University report by Becky Russell demonstrates, “green” building during these crises generally meant working toward reduced energy consumption rather than wholesale remodeling of existing structures or rethinking of basic building practices). So, the green building movement certainly owes much of its public prominence to recent energy concerns, but they were not necessarily its direct impetus. The construction industry is not alone in having undergone a quiet revolution in practices that reduce energy use and/or environmental damage. As in other industries, designers and builders face many challenges in determining how best to accomplish green goals. One of the most disturbing trends in the green movement of late is the prevalence of “green-washing”—the deliberate (or occasionally subconscious) effort to misrepresent the environmental impact of a product or initiative. Green-washing has gained a significant foothold in construction as it has in other industries. Many building products promoted as green are green in name only (and are occasionally even painted green for effect!). Such examples, though fairly easy for the seasoned building professional to spot, are often a false bill of goods sold to the eager homebuying public. But even professionals have been the target of green scams. There are products whose actual energy or environmental performance is either exaggerated or entirely fabricated. The most common aspects in which the truth about a product’s greenness is stretched are those that are more difficult to quantify, such as the amount of embodied energy in a material (i.e., the energy required to manufacture and transport the material, which is often highly undercalculated) or its contribution to a completed building’s impact on the local environmental quality (which most often cannot be predicted without knowing exactly how it will be used).

WEB LINK http://www.nbm.org/blueprints/blueprints_pdf/
Blueprintsfall06_web.pdf

8. Risk-Assessment Plan is Withdrawn

AUTHOR Dean, Cornelia

SOURCE The New York Times, January 12, 2007

ABSTRACT The Bush administration yesterday withdrew a proposal to change the way federal agencies assess environmental hazards, health threats and other risks, after an expert panel declared that it was so scientifically flawed that it “could not be rescued.” The panel, appointed by an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, had been convened to evaluate a proposal by the White House Office of Management and Budget to standardize evaluation procedures. The budget office, which proposed the changes a year ago, said they would improve the quality of risk assessments by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation and other agencies. Critics said the proposed changes were an effort to weaken government regulatory protections against environmental and other hazards.

WEB LINK http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/
washington/12risk.html

9. Plastics chemical harms eggs in unborn mice

AUTHOR Khamsi, Roxanne

SOURCE NewScientist.com, January 12, 2007

ABSTRACT Female mice exposed to a common chemical found in plastics while in the womb develop abnormal eggs, according to a new study. Based on this finding, researchers speculate that the chemical, bisphenol A, might increase the risk of spontaneous abortion and genetic disorders in humans, such as Down's syndrome. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is commonly found in hard plastics and the lining of tin cans. The chemical has come under scrutiny before because it can mimic the hormone estrogen. Patricia Hunt at Washington State University in Pullman, US, and colleagues exposed pregnant mice to 20 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of their bodyweight each day over a one-week period. During this same period, the reproductive cells of female mice developing inside in the womb begin a process of division known as meiosis. Researchers followed the female mouse pups that had been exposed to BPA in the womb. When these mice reached adulthood, Hunt's team examined their eggs. More than one in every 20 cells taken from those mice had unpaired chromosomes – an abnormal trait. This trait was completely absent in cells taken from the BPA-free control mice.

WEB LINK http://www.newscientist.com/article/
dn10946-plastics-chemical-harms-eggs-in-unborn-mice.html

10. Springtime for Biopolymers

AUTHOR Chynoweth, Emma

SOURCE Chemical Market Reporter, v269 n24, 19-25 June 2006, pp26-27

ABSTRACT With oil prices rocketing and markets beckoning, biopolymers could be ready to bloom, and not a day too soon. Twenty years since commercialization, biopolymers have yet to fulfill their early promise. The products, made from agricultural crops, score well against traditional fossil fuel-based polymers in environmental terms, but overcoming the price differential and delivering reliable performance have presented higher hurdles. Don Rosato, senior research analyst-plastics, Technical Insights, at Frost & Sullivan, says that many companies supplying consumer products believe they now must have environmentally friendly products and packaging in their portfolio, and decisions by big supermarkets such as Walmart, and Carrefour in Europe are creating significant markets for biopolymers. One chemical company that appears to be making a success out of biopolymers is DuPont, which has developed an alternative feedstock for its Sorona polymer fiber. Rosato notes the key to success in the biopolymer sector is good application technology and marketing.

You are welcome to send a message to jan@turi.org if you would like more information on any of these resources. Also, please tell us what topics you are particularly interested in monitoring, and who else should see GREENLIST. An online search of the TURI Library catalog can be done at http://greenlist.turi.org/ for greater topic coverage.

Compiled by the TURI Library, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2007

This page updated Friday January 19 2007

TURI - Toxics Use Reduction Institute

Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 01/12/2007