Recent trends in the industrial use and emission of known and suspected carcinogens in Ontario, Canada

Background:In 2010, Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, implemented its Toxics Reduction Act, Ontario Regulation 455/09 (TRA), which requires four major manufacturing and mineral processing industry groups that already report releases of pollutants federally to the National Pollutant Release Inventory to additionally track, account and report their use and creation. The TRA was modeled after the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act of 1989, which has been very successful and reported significant reduction in toxic use and carcinogen release.Methods:Data from the TRA were retrieved, and the trends in the use and release of 17 known and suspected carcinogens associated with the seven most prevalent cancers diagnosed in Ontario and reported by industrial facilities in Ontario from 2011 to 2015 were examined using methodology adapted from (Jacobs MM, Massey RI, Tenney H, Harriman E. Reducing the use of carcinogens: the Massachusetts experience. Rev Environ Health 2014;29(4):319–40).Results:Carcinogens associated with lung cancers, leukemia and lymphomas were observed as the most used and released carcinogens in Ontario by amount. Overall, for 2011–2015, there was an observed reduction in the industrial use of carcinogens, except among breast carcinogens, which increased by 20%. An increase in the industrial releases of carcinogens was observed across all cancer sites, except among lung carcinogens, which decreased by 28%.Conclusion:The results of this study highlight the potential for reducing the cancer burden by reducing the use and release of select carcinogens associated with particularly prevalent cancers. Toxics use reduction programs can support cancer prevention initiatives by promoting targeted reductions in exposures to industrial carcinogens.

Hazardous Waste

This chapter defines and describes hazardous wastes and their adverse health effects. Historical evolution of the management and public understanding of waste issues is traced. Other parts of the chapter describe hazardous waste management, including disposal landfills, land farming, incineration, and toxics use reduction. Various regulatory measures are described as well as nonregulatory measures for prevention and control of adverse health effects from hazardous wastes. Approaches to evaluating human health effects at hazardous waste sites are described, emphasizing special challenges and opportunities in environmental epidemiology. Social aspects of community involvement are noted. Steps of the Superfund clean-up process are delineated. Governmental contingency plans for coordination in emergency response situations are reviewed. In addition, a section describes pollution prevention and toxics use reduction.

Reducing the use of carcinogens: the Massachusetts experience

Toxics use reduction (TUR) is one part of a comprehensive cancer prevention strategy. TUR emphasizes reducing the use of cancer-causing chemicals by improving manufacturing processes and identifying and adopting safer alternatives. This analysis draws on 20 years of data collected from industries reporting to the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA) program to assess trends in the use and release of chemicals associated with cancer. We used a master list of known and suspected carcinogens developed from authoritative sources and a list of carcinogens grouped by their association with 11 cancer sites to analyze trends in use and release of chemicals by industrial facilities reporting to the TURA program from 1990 to 2010. The trend analysis shows that reported use and releases of carcinogens by these Massachusetts companies have decreased dramatically over time. Reported use declined 32% from 1990 to 2010, and reported releases declined 93% from 1991 to 2010 (1991 is when additional industrial sectors, including electric utilities, were phased into the program). Particularly large reductions were achieved in the use of trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and cadmium and cadmium compounds. The analysis of groups of chemicals associated with specific cancer sites shows similar trends. Important opportunities for further reductions in many carcinogens, including formaldehyde, hexavalent chromium, and a variety of halogenated compounds are identified. Continued work to minimize the use of carcinogens can help to reduce the burden of cancer in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

Higher Hazard Substances under the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act: Lessons from the First Four Years

The Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA) has achieved significant reductions in toxic chemical use in Massachusetts, using a combination of regulatory and voluntary measures. Historically the program has regulated only users of relatively large quantities of toxic chemicals, with services provided to facilities of all sizes on a voluntary basis. Statutory amendments adopted in 2006 created an authority to designate Higher and Lower Hazard Substances (HHS and LHS). The HHS designation extends TURA program requirements to smaller quantity chemical users. This article reports on experiences from the first four years of implementing this new authority. A case study of trichloroethylene is provided as an example. The article also discusses steps taken to regulate n-propyl bromide, a drop-in substitute for TCE that is minimally regulated at the federal level. TURA program experiences may be of interest to other jurisdictions that are working to reach small-quantity chemical users, and to categorize and prioritize chemicals.