scholarly journals Unsafe at Low Levels: Adopt a Federal MCL for 1,2,3-Trichloropropane in United States’ Drinking Water

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Hope Hauptman ◽  
Colleen Naughton
Keyword(s):  
Detection Limit ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Detection Level ◽  
State Legislation ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Contamination Levels ◽  
Potent Carcinogen ◽  
Contamination Problem

1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) is a toxic, man-made chemical used widely in agricultural and other contexts from the 1940s to the 1980s. TCP has settled into the groundwater supplies nearly everywhere it was used. In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) included TCP on the Third Contaminant Candidate list (CCL3) and listed the safe oral reference dose (RfD) for TCP at 0.004 milligrams per kilogram per day. Since then, we have learned that the scope of the TCP contamination problem is greater than first understood. At least 13 states and one territory have contaminated wells. Animal studies show that TCP is a potent carcinogen, and toxicology studies suggest that TCP is unsafe at levels at and above its 5 ppt detection limit. Three states, California, Hawaii, and New Jersey have adopted enforceable maximum contaminant levels of TCP in groundwater. As other states become aware of contamination levels, it is likely that some of them will also regulate TCP, but that could take many years. Federal legislation could mandate EPA advisories sooner than state legislation. The EPA has used the detection limit as the maximum for at least one other chemical, 1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP), a common co-contaminant of TCP. We recommend that the EPA adopt TCP’s lowest detection level, 5 ppt, as the federal maximum contaminant level

scholarly journals Effect of Household Preparation on Levels of Pesticide Residues in Produce

1996 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
pp. 1447-1453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert J Schattenberg ◽  
Paul W Geno ◽  
J P Hsu ◽  
William G Fry ◽  
Richard P Parker
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Pesticide Residue ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Pesticide Residues ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Residue Levels ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

Abstract In 1993, the National Academy of Sciences released a report on the effects of pesticides in the diets of infants and children, indicating that current tolerances do not take into account the eating habits and metabolism of young children. In response to that report, a study was undertaken to determine pesticide residues in raw agricultural commodities at levels below the tolerances established by the Environmental Protection Agency. The objective of the study was to determine whether normal household washing, peeling, and cooking procedures had any effect on pesticide residue levels. Low levels of pesticide residues were detected in 97 (40%) of the 243 samples analyzed. The number of samples containing detectable residues dropped to 47 (19%) after household preparation. Results indicate that residue levels in most commodities are substantially reduced after household preparation.

Tolerance Setting Process in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1989 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 536-538
Author(s):  
Charles L Trichilo ◽  
Richard D Schmitt
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Polar Compounds ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Setting Process ◽  
Federal Food ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Single Laboratory ◽  
The U.S

Abstract The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for setting tolerances for pesticide residues in food, under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The residue chemistry data required to set tolerances include metabolism in plants and animals, analytical methods, magnitude of the residue, and concentration in processed foods. A key aspect of tolerance-setting procedures is the identity of the residue in the matrix of concern; without knowledge of the chemical moieties that occur as residues, it is impossible to develop suitable methods or generate meaningful residue data. For new chemicals, EPA carries out a single-laboratory validation of the analytical method needed to generate residue data and to enforce tolerances. Tolerance enforcement methods need to be rapid and inexpensive and to use commercially available equipment and reagents. Methods are more complex for many newer pesticides, which are polar compounds that leave low levels of residue. EPA now requires that the registrants of older pesticides, for which methods are not acceptable by today's standards, must develop better methods.

scholarly journals Review of Sunset OC/EC Instrument Measurements During the EPA’s Sunset Carbon Evaluation Project

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Brown ◽  
Hilary Minor ◽  
Theresa O’Brien ◽  
Yousaf Hameed ◽  
Brandon Feenstra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Detection Limit ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Chemical Speciation ◽  
Elemental Carbon ◽  
Las Vegas ◽  
Quartz Fiber ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Quartz Fiber Filter ◽  
Evaluation Project ◽  
The U.S

To evaluate the feasibility of the Sunset semicontinuous organic and elemental carbon (OC/EC) monitor, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sponsored the deployment of this monitor at Chemical Speciation Network (CSN) sites with OC and EC measurements via quartz fiber filter collection in Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; St. Louis, Missouri; Rubidoux, California; and Washington, D.C. Houston, St. Louis, and Washington also had collocated Aethalometer black carbon (BC) measurements. Sunset OC generally compared well with the CSN OC (r2 = 0.73 across five sites); the Sunset/CSN OC ratio was, on average, 1.06, with a range among sites of 0.96 to 1.12. Sunset thermal EC and CSN EC did not compare as well, with an overall r2 of 0.22, in part because 26% of the hourly Sunset EC measurements were below the detection limit. Sunset optical EC had a much better correlation to CSN EC (r2 = 0.67 across all sites), with an average Sunset/CSN ratio of 0.90 (range of 0.7 to 1.08). There was also a high correlation of Sunset optical EC with Aethalometer BC (r2 = 0.77 across all sites), though with a larger bias (average Sunset/Aethalometer ratio of 0.56). When the Sunset instrument was working well, OC and OptEC data were comparable to CSN OC and EC.

Scanning electron microscopy of asbestos-containing material where the asbestos fibers are considered locked in a binder

1993 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 472-473
Author(s):  
J. R. Millette ◽  
R. S. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
The United States ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Asbestos Fibers ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Binder Material ◽  
Scanning Electron

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has labeled as “friable” those building materials that are likely to readily release fibers. Friable materials when dry, can easily be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder using hand pressure. Other asbestos containing building materials (ACBM) where the asbestos fibers are in a matrix of cement or bituminous or resinous binders are considered non-friable. However, when subjected to sanding, grinding, cutting or other forms of abrasion, these non-friable materials are to be treated as friable asbestos material. There has been a hypothesis that all raw asbestos fibers are encapsulated in solvents and binders and are not released as individual fibers if the material is cut or abraded. Examination of a number of different types of non-friable materials under the SEM show that after cutting or abrasion, tuffs or bundles of fibers are evident on the surfaces of the materials. When these tuffs or bundles are examined, they are shown to contain asbestos fibers which are free from binder material. These free fibers may be released into the air upon further cutting or abrasion.

Managing the impacts of mining on Ghana’s water resources from a legal perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasirudeen Abdul Fatawu
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Environmental Laws ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Legal Perspective

Recent floods in Ghana are largely blamed on mining activities. Not only are lives lost through these floods, farms andproperties are destroyed as a result. Water resources are diverted, polluted and impounded upon by both large-scale minersand small-scale miners. Although these activities are largely blamed on behavioural attitudes that need to be changed, thereare legal dimensions that should be addressed as well. Coincidentally, a great proportion of the water resources of Ghana arewithin these mining areas thus the continual pollution of these surface water sources is a serious threat to the environmentand the development of the country as a whole. The environmental laws need to be oriented properly with adequate sanctionsto tackle the impacts mining has on water resources. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure needs to bestreamlined and undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and not the company itself.

Short Communication: A Note of Caution to Users of ECOSAR

1999 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus L.E. Kaiser ◽  
John C. Dearden ◽  
Werner Klein ◽  
T. Wayne Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Partition Coefficients ◽  
Short Communication ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Personal Computer Software ◽  
Linear Correlations ◽  
Class Representative ◽  
Chemical Class

Abstract ECOSAR (1998), a personal computer software program available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and affiliated vendors, is used to estimate the toxicity of chemicals to aquatic organisms, particularly fish, daphnid and algae species. It relies on approximately 150 equations, each for a chemical class of substances (Clements et al. 1996), which are linear correlations (SARs) of measured toxicity values of class-representative compounds with their octanol/water partition coefficients, with the latter taken from a database or computed by a companion program.

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Technology Transfer Activities of the United States Environmental Protection Agency

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 685-698
Author(s):  
J. J. Convery ◽  
J. F. Kreissl ◽  
A. D. Venosa ◽  
J. H. Bender ◽  
D. J. Lussier
Keyword(s):  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Outreach Program ◽  
Small Community ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Transfer Programs

Technology transfer is an important activity within the ll.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Specific technology transfer programs such as the activities of the Center for Environmental Research Information, the Innovative and Alternative Technology Program, as well as the Small Community Outreach Program are used to encourage the utilization of cost-effective municipal pollution control technology. Case studies of three technologies including a plant operations diagnostic/remediation methodology, alternative sewer technologies and ultraviolet disinfection are presented. These case studies are presented retrospectively in the context of a generalized concept of how technology flows from science to utilization which was developed in a study by Allen (1977). Additional insights from this study are presented on the information gathering characteristics of engineers and scientists which may be useful in designing technology transfer programs. The recognition of the need for a technology or a deficiency in current practice are important stimuli other than technology transfer for accelerating the utilization of new technology.

The Hornsby Bend Hyacinth Facility in Austin, Texas

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 41-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Dinges ◽  
Jim Doersam
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Performance Data ◽  
Operational Performance ◽  
Fish Production ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Functional Characteristics ◽  
The City

The Hornsby Bend Hyacinth Facility, the first such system built under the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency “Construction Grants Program”, represents the culmination of over a decade of experience at the City of Austin with hyacinth treatment. The facility consists of three culture basins 265 m in length with an area of 1.6 ha. To permit year-round hyacinth culture, basins are covered with a 2.06 ha unitary greenhouse structure. Fenced exclusion areas at intervals along sides of basins serve as natural aerators and enhance fish production. The system, operated in an aerobic mode, was designed to daily treat about three million liters of sludge lagoon supernatant. Exclusion of large vertebrate predators and stocking of basins with selected animal species will provide a unique ecosystem. Basins were planted with hyacinth in late October, 1985 and discharge commenced on February 3, 1986. Functional characteristics and ecological considerations of the facility are discussed and operational performance data are presented. Maintenance harvesting of hyacinth and disposition of plant material are described. Application of greenhoused hyacinth treatment systems are addressed.

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