January 7, 2008
Toxics Use Reduction Institute Science Advisory Board Meeting Minutes
January 7, 2008
Members Present: Dave Williams, Larry Boise, Chris Swartz, Lorraine Braunsdorf, Hilary Eustace, Anne Marie Desmarais, Veronica Vieira
Others Present: Heather Tenney (TURI), Mike Ellenbecker (TURI), John Raschko (OTA), Mary Butow (TURI)
Welcome and Introductions
December Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the December 19th meeting were approved with changes.
Program updates
The Administrative Council has approved TCE, cadmium, and cadmium compounds for listing as higher hazard chemicals. The reg packet was passed the last week of December.
Appointments: Everyone present has received paperwork from the Governor's office.
Begin Review of Non-Reported CERCLA-only chemicals
EPCRA Category Chemicals
The group began work on the last set of CERCLA chemicals - the ones which have never been reported. This list is large with over 400 chemicals. To begin, the group reviewed chemicals that are specifically listed under CERCLA but reportable as an EPCRA category. These chemicals will be removed from the list as specific chemicals, but will remain reportable as the EPCRA categories. No votes were necessary for these chemicals since reporting will not change, but the group reviewed the spreadsheet. Removing these chemicals from the list lessens reporting confusion.
IARC Chemicals
The next group of chemicals the group reviewed were the IARC chemicals. A spreadsheet was handed out with IARC 1, 2, and 3 chemicals. To remain consistent with past decisions the Board voted to retain all chemicals with IARC 1, 2 and 3 rankings. This vote was unanimous.
Remaining Chemicals
Next, a strategy to review the remaining chemicals was discussed. A proposal was made to distribute the data for the chemicals to the Board prior to the meeting and have members return their spreadsheets with "retain", "no action", "more hazardous" and "more info" columns filled out. TURI will compile the votes prior to the meeting and all unanimous chemicals can be voted on without discussion. The Board agreed to this proposal and this strategy will be implemented for the next meeting. Between 50 and 100 chemicals will be reviewed between each meeting.
There was some discussion of the intent of this review and policy steps it will later go through. The Board was made aware that this process is taking place to simplify the list and help the program focus on the most hazardous chemicals. The Board needs to continue to make decisions based upon science and be aware that TURI's policy recommendation may differ, particularly in areas where the Institute does not expect use above threshold in the state.
Pesticides
The next group of chemicals the group reviewed were the pesticides. A spreadsheet with these chemicals was handed out. There were some questions about whether some of these chemicals are used as pesticides and also some clarification was requested regarding specific uses. The Board voted unanimously to retain any banned or restricted pesticides.
p-toluidine
Finally, p-toluidine was discussed. There was a unanimous vote to retain.
The rest of the chemicals have been broken out into functional groups such as Amines, Benzenes, Ammonium Compounds, etc. These groups will be reviewed for the next meeting. Anne Marie volunteered to populate the carcinogen column with information from IRIS.
Next Meeting:
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Adjourn