Search

In this article the authors discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The focus of the article is the need for an integrated systems approach for effective environmental protection in the 21st century. Topics include an overview of the evolution of U.S. environmental science and policy, the creation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Ash Council, and sustainability science and technology in the 21st century.

The article focuses on China's efforts to reduce pollution. It comments on the environmentally-friendly architecture used to host the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, including such endeavors as recycled water and biodegradable plastics. It mentions that China burns enough coal for electricity and energy and accounts to almost five percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. It comments on the State Environmental Protection Administration of China and the Ministry of Environmental Protection's (MEP) efforts to enforce environmental standards, and of resistance to mandates by local governments in China to keep up environmental growth. It mentions that there is a partnership between the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the MEP to help China improve energy efficiency.

The article discusses the issues involved in deep sea farming in the U.S. Environmental groups and some ocean researchers and public health advocates fear that the new offshore industry will repeat the mistakes of some nearshore farms. Wild catches have leveled off and are widely considered unsustainable, making it the fundamental problem of ocean farms. The introduction of National Offshore Aquaculture Act, being introduced to the U.S. Congress, contradicts the environmental policy at it is aimed at expanding ocean farming and allow the government to lease patches of ocean to private companies to operate fish farms.

We measured the concentrations of 11 polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs), including perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) in 1562 serum samples collected from a representative U.S. population 12 years of age and older in the 1999–2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants represented both sexes, three race/ethnicities (non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic whites, and Mexican-Americans), and four age categories (12–19 years, 20–39 years, 40–59 years, and 60 years and older). PFCs were extracted from 100 μL of serum using on-line solid-phase extraction coupled to isotope dilution-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; limits of detection ranged from 0.05 to 0.2 ng/mL. PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, and perfluorooctane sulfonamide were detected in all samples analyzed; 2-(N-ethyl-perfluorooctane sulfonamido) acetic acid, 2-(N-methyl-perfluorooctane sulfonamido) acetic acid, and perfluorononanoic acid were detected in more than 90% of samples, which suggests prevalent exposures to several PFCs in the U.S. population. The concentrations of most PFCs were similar regardless of the participants' ages but were higher in males than in females. Mexican Americans had lower concentrations than non-Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites, whose concentrations were similar. Higher education was associated with higher concentrations of PFOS and PFOA. These data will serve as a nationally representative baseline of the U.S. population's exposure to PFCs to which other populations can be compared, and will play an important role in public health by helping set research priorities, ranging from health effects studies to defining sources and pathways of exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the number, surface and volume concentrations, and size distribution of particles next to the 1-710 freeway during February through April 2006. 1-710 has the highest ratio (up to 25%) of heavy-duty diesel vehicles in the Los Angeles highway network. Particle concentration measurements were accompanied by measurements of black carbon, elemental and organic carbon, and gaseous species (CO, CO2). Using the incremental increase of CO2 over the background to calculate the dilution ratio, this study makes it possible to compare particle concentrations measured next to the freeway to concentrations measured in roadway tunnels and in vehicle exhaust. In addition to the effect of the dilution ratio on the measured particle concentrations, multivariate linear regressions showed that light and heavy organic carbon concentrations are positively correlated with the particle volume in the nucleation and accumulation modes, respectively. Solar radiation was also positively correlated with the particle surface concentration and the particle volume in the accumulation (40–638 nm) mode, presumably as a result of secondary particle formation. The methods developed in this study may be used to decouple the effect of sampling position, meteorology, and fleet operation on particle concentrations in the proximity of freeways, roadway tunnels, and in street canyons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the largest market basket survey of arsenic (As) in U.S. rice to date. Our findings show differences in transitional-metal levels between polished and unpolished rice and geographical variation in As and selenium (Se) between rice processed in California and the South Central U.S. The mean and median As grain levels for the South Central U.S. were 0.30 and 0.27 μg As g-1, respectively, for 107 samples. Levels for California were 41% lower than the South Central U.S., with a mean of 0.17 μg As g-1 and a median of 0.16 μg As g-1 for 27 samples. The mean and median Se grain levels for the South Central U.S. were 0.19 μg Se g-1. Californian rice levels were lower, averaging only 0.08 and 0.06 μg Se g-1 for mean and median values, respectively. The difference between the two regions was found to be significant for As and Se (General Linear Model (GLM): As p < 0.001; Se p < 0.001). No statistically significant differences were observed in As or Se levels between polished and unpolished rice (GLM: As p = 0.213; Se p = 0.113). No significant differences in grain levels of manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), or zinc (Zn) were observed between California and the South Central U.S. Modeling arsenic intake for the U.S. population based on this survey shows that for certain groups (namely Hispanics, Asians, sufferers of Celiac disease, and infants) dietary exposure to inorganic As from elevated levels in rice potentially exceeds the maximum intake of As from drinking water (based on consumption of 1 L of 0.01 mg L-1 ln. As) and Californian state exposure limits. Further studies on the transformation of As in soil, grain As bioavailability in the human gastrointestinal tract, and grain elemental speciation trends are critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factors associated with sources, transport, and fate of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in groundwater from aquifers throughout the United States were evaluated using statistical methods. Samples were collected from 1631 wells throughout the conterminous United States between 1996 and 2002 as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey. Water samples from wells completed in aquifers used to supply drinking water were analyzed for more than 50 VOCs. Wells were primarily rural domestic water supplies (1184), followed by public water supplies (216); the remaining wells (231) supplied a variety of uses. The median well depth was 50 meters. Age-date information shows that about 60% of the samples had a fraction of water recharged after 1953. Chloroform, toluene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and perchloroethene were some of the frequently detected VOCs. Concentrations generally were less than 1 μg/L. Source factors include, in order of importance, general land-use activity, septic/sewer density, and sites where large concentrations of VOCs are potentially released, such as leaking underground storage tanks. About 10% of all samples had V0C mixtures that were associated with concentrated sources; 20% were associated with dispersed sources. Important transport factors included well/screen depth, precipitation/groundwater recharge, air temperature, and various soil characteristics. Dissolved oxygen was strongly associated with VOCs and represents the fate of many VOCs in groundwater. Well type (domestic or public water supply) was also an important explanatory factor. Results of multiple analyses show the importance of (1) accounting for both dispersed and concentrated sources of VOCs, (2) measuring dissolved oxygen when sampling wells to help explain the fate of VOCs, and (3) limiting the type of wells sampled in monitoring networks to avoid unnecessary variance in the data, or controlling for this variance during data analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass combustion emissions make a significant contribution to the overall particulate pollution in the troposphere. Wildland or prescribed burns and residential wood combustion emissions can vary due to differences in fuel, season, time of day, and the nature of the combustion. Inadequate understanding of the relevance of these biomass combustion emissions is due to the lack of characterization of open combustion emissions and the limited understanding of the differences between these and residential wood combustion. To provide new insight to biomass combustion emissions, sampling was conducted in several types of conditions. Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC) were collected during four separate prescribed burns in three different ecosystems, Mariposa Sequoia Grove within Yosemite National Park, CA, desert brushes of central rural Nevada, and Toiyabye National Forest near Lake Tahoe, NV. SVOC samples were also collected under controlled conditions for several wildland fuels, including conifer needles, wildland grasses, and sagebrush. Fireplace emissions from simulated residential wood combustion were also collected and are included here for comparison. A high degree of variability was found in the emissions of organic carbon, elemental carbon, levoglucosan, methoxy phenols, and organic acids. The variability in the emissions of levoglucosan does not correlate with the PM2.5 gravimetric mass and thus may affect source apportionment estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trillions of gallons are withdrawn every year from U.S. rivers, estuaries, lakes, and coastal waters to cool the turbines of power plants and other equipment in manufacturing facilities. In the process, large numbers of aquatic organisms die from entrainment into the plant or impingement against the outer portion of the intake structure. In this paper, we develop a generalized age-structured population model with density dependent survival of sub-adult age classes, and we use the model to perform a screening analysis of the effects of entrainment and impingement for 15 harvested fish stocks off the California and Atlantic coasts. Stock sizes are estimated to be depressed by entrainment and impingement by less than 1% in 10 of the 15 cases considered, between 1 and 3% in two cases, and between 20 and 80% in three cases. A variety of sensitivity analyses are conducted to evaluate the influence of several sources of model and parameter uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the State Implementation Plan for attaining the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone, the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality has created a Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compounds (HRVOC) Emissions Cap and Trade Program for industrial point sources in the Houston/Galveston/Brazoria area. This program has a number of unique features, including its focus on a limited group of ozone precursors and its provisions for trading emissions based on atmospheric reactivity. This series of papers examines the potential air quality impacts of this new emission trading program through photochemical modeling of potential trading scenarios; this first paper in the series describes the air quality modeling methods used to assess potential trades, the potential for localized increases in ozone concentrations (ozone ‘hot spots’) due to HRVOC emission trading, and the use of reactivity scales in the trading. When HRVOC emissions are traded on a mass basis, the simulations indicate that trading of HRVOC allowances between facilities resulted in less than 0.15 ppb (<0.13%) and 0.06 ppb (<0.06%)increases in predicted maximum, area-wide 1-h averaged and 8-h averaged ozone concentrations, respectively. Maximum decreases in ozone concentrations associated with trading, as opposed to across-the-board reductions, were larger than the increases. All of these changes are small compared to the maximum changes in ozone concentrations due to the VOC emissions from these sources (up to 5–10 ppb for 8 h averages; up to 30 ppb for 1-h averages). When emissions of HRVOCs are traded for other, less reactive emissions, on a reactivity weighted basis, air quality simulations indicate that daily maximum ozone concentrations increased by less than 0.3%. Because these relatively small changes (<1%) are for unlikely trading scenarios designed to produce a maximum change in ozone concentrations (all emissions traded into localized regions), the simulations indicate that the implementation of the trading program, as currently configured and possibly expanded, is unlikely to cause localized increases in ozone concentrations (‘hot spots’). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in collaboration with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, characterized the environments of young children (<6 years) by measuring lead, allergens, and pesticides in a randomly selected nationally representative sample of licensed institutional child care centers. Multi-stage sampling with clustering was used to select 168 child care centers in 30 primary sampling units in the United States. Centers were recruited into the study by telephone interviewers. Samples for pesticides, lead, and allergens were collected at multiple locations in each center by field technicians. Field sampling was conducted from July through October 2001. Wipe samples from indoor surfaces (floors, tabletops, desks) and soil samples were collected at the centers and analyzed using a multi-residue GC/MS analysis method. Based on the questionnaire responses, pyrethroids were the most commonly used pesticides among centers applying pesticides. Among the 63% of centers reporting pesticide applications, the number of pesticides used in each center ranged from 1 to 10 and the frequency of use ranged from 1 to 107 times annually. Numerous organophosphate and pyrethroid pesticides were detected in the indoor floor wipe samples. Chlorpyrifos (0.004–28 ng/cm²), diazinon (0.002–18 ng/cm²), cis-permethrin (0.004–3 ng/cm²), and trans-permethrin (0.004–7 ng/cm²) were detected in >67% of the centers. Associations exist between residues measured on the floor and other surfaces for several pesticides (p-values range from <0.0001 to 0.002), but to a lesser degree between floor and soil and other surfaces and soil. Regional analyses indicate no differences in mean level of pesticide loading between the four Census regions (0.08 < p < 0.88). Results show that there is the potential for exposure to pesticides in child care centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been almost 40 years since scientists and regulators began to publicly recognize that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) differ in their potential to form ozone. Since 1977, our understanding of the mechanisms by which VOCs contribute to ozone formation has grown substantially. An assessment o1 the science indicates that we now have sufficient understanding to develop and implement a more efficient approach to VOC control policy that will promote smarter, more cost-effective V0C controls. Furthermore, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently published Interim Guidance on Control of Volatile Organic Compounds in Ozone State Implementation Plans ‘encourages States to consider recent scientific information on the photochemical reactivity of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the development of State implementation plans (SIPs).’ As has been demonstrated by the California Air Resources Board's Aerosol Coatings Rule and the recent experience in Houston addressing high-reactivity VOCs, reactivity-based regulations may be more effective and efficient than mass-based rules in many applications. It is time for regulators, industry, and other stakeholders to work together to accelerate efforts to bring about a new paradigm in V0C control, in which the focus is on the ozone-forming potential of V0C emissions, rather than the mass of VOCs emitted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an overview of the mercury control technologies aimed at lessening the mercury emissions from coal-fired electric utility boilers in the U.S. The author stressed that mercury emissions from anthropogenic emission sources posed a global threat that needs to be subsided. In response, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proclaimed the Clean Air Mercury Rule to permanently cap and abridge emissions of mercury from coal-fired power plants. Another regulation promulgated is the Clean Air Interstate Rule, which compels further reduction of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from these power plants. Among the control technologies stressed include flue-gas desulfurization and limestone forced- oxidation.

The article focuses on environmental regulation in the U.S. Congress. The legislature decides how much to fund research programs that are aimed at better understanding of the environment. The availability of analytical support for U.S. Congress is occasional. From 1972 through 1995, U.S. Congress had a small professional organization designed to provide legislators with balanced analytical support. The Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was created as a bipartisan entity of the House of representatives and the Senate and was overseen by a joint committee with equal membership from both houses.

Reports on a roundtable discussion of current trends and future directions in environmental protection policies. Roundtable participants; Environmental policy beyond crisis management; Prevention versus protection in environmental decision making; End of command and control regulations; Empowerment of states in environmental law enforcement; Risk assessment paradigm.

The article reports that the U.S. President George W. Bush Administration's campaign for regulatory reform has taken aim at guidance documents that tell businesses and citizens how to implement environmental regulations. The Executive Order 13422 commands agencies to submit significant guidance documents for review by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The executive order, together with OMB's Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices, boost the government's control over a wide range of regulatory activities.

The article reports on the performance of the environmental program called Performance Track established in 2000 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Performance Track is composed of companies with exemplary environmental performance working voluntarily to improve habitat protection, water and energy use, and waste reduction in areas over which EPA has a regulatory authority. With its establishment in 2000, the program has been running off the rails and acted in favor of polluters. This is due to its call to abolish the report that may help improve pollution technologies along with changes that may permit companies to break environmental protection promises. The program has gone far beyond public recognition of the most responsible companies and raises several concerns.

Reports on the US Environmental Protection Agency's impending release of the results of the prospective study of the expected costs and benefits of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments for the years 2000 and 2010. Impact on the particulate/ozone proposed rules; Features of the retrospective study.

Reports on Bradford C. Mank's discussion of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments which concludes that technology-based standards are inflexible and stifle innovation, residual risk standards ignore risks other than cancer and are based on an imprecise science.

The article discusses a report by the U.S. National Research Council about dredging projects being undertaken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report expressed uncertainty over whether these dredging projects would reduce the long-term risk to wildlife and human health. The report has focused on 26 such projects that are under way across the country. The report found that there was a dearth of data to assess the success of the projects.

The article discusses a report by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. about the environmental aspects of the nanotechnology industry in the U.S. The report said that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should expand and strengthen its oversight of the industry to ensure the environmental safety. The report has offered some guidelines for developing a nano-oversight system. The report also said that the EPA should use regulatory frameworks provided under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

This article reports on the regulations issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to a draft report from the Office of Management and Budget, the regulations account for most of the benefits to society from federal rules. In its 10th annual report, the Office of Management and Budget finds that in 2006, seven major rules were issued which provided $6.3 to 44.8 billion in annual benefits. The total cost to the economy is reported at $3.7 to 4.2 billion. Moreover, OMB evaluates the effectiveness of agency-level programs and prepares the president's budget request.

The article reports that university and research laboratory directors have commented that the regulations for handling hazardous waste developed under guidelines in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are designed for large industries and not for small laboratories where students experiment with thousands of chemicals every year. In response, a proposed rule was released by EPA in May 2006 that introduces a performance-based standard streamlined to meet the specific needs of university and research laboratories.

The article reports on the agreement between the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the European Commission and the California Air Resources Board to harmonize international inspection and testing standards for automobile air conditioning systems in the U.S. and European Union countries in 2006. The agreement is expected to result in the creation of global standards that will restrict leakages of the HFC-134a fluorinated greenhouse gas to 40 grams per year from automobiles sold after 2008.

The article reveals that the report entitled "Vulnerability of Concentrated Critical Infrastructure: Background and Policy Options," from the U.S. Congressional Research Service has shown that critical U.S. infrastructure may be at risk for devastating, long-term impact from natural or anthropogenic causes. The report notes that environmental regulations have concentrated critical infrastructure along the coastlines of the country. The Bush Administration observes that the problem is complex in nature because many of the facilities are managed by the private sector.

The article reports on the two published regulation that tightens controls for microbials and disinfection byproducts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Under the Long-Term 2 enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, drinking-water utilities are directed to intensify their monitoring and treatment for waterborne microbial pathogens. Likewise, the Stage 2 Disinfectants and DBP Rule directs utilities to simultaneously understate the presence of substance that contaminates known as disinfections byproducts.

This article presents information on the developments in environmental research. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting outside researchers to use some of its topnotch facilities for their own studies. The only caveats are that scientists must pay user fees and that the research should fit with EPA'S overall mission. Previously, EPA researchers could collaborate with outside scientists, but this change in policy offers non-agency scientists the chance to use the laboratories on their own. About two dozen research laboratories have already opened theft doors; these include the Drinking Water Research Facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Coral Research Facility in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

This article presents a Top 10 list of the most seriously stupid environmental policies in the United States. Heavy applications of pesticides and fertilizers on suburban lawns and golf courses, is a truly needless effort at aesthetic appeal that is damaging water quality. The U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment urban program revealed that significant concentrations of diazinon, atrazine, carbaryl, chiorpyrifos, etc. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is not a Cabinet-level agency. The United States is the only developed country that does not elevate its environmental agency to cabinet status. From ballast water to shipping materials, people lack serious policies to prevent and control invasive species, to achieve critical environmental and social goals, one should change taxes arid subsidies that encourage the use of nonrenewable, polluting substances.

U.S. President George W. Bush's fiscal year (FY) 2005 budget, released in February 2004 requests $7.76 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a $130 million increase over the administration's FY 2004 proposal but as much as 7% less than the $8.4 billion Congress appropriated. The overall science and technology budget takes a bigger hit in the proposed budget, dropping some $93 million, or 12%, from congressional funding for FY 2004. In announcing the budget, EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt focused on the program funds that would increase when they are compared to Bush's request for last year, rather than comparing the figures to what the Congress provided. Leavitt touted the requested $33 million for the agency's operating programs, a 1% increase over Bush's request last year that would be the highest funding level in history. These funds support the agency's core regulatory research, enforcement, and state grant programs.

Reveals the conflicts of existing federal environmental regulations with the Livability Agenda of the administration of United States President Bill Clinton. Conflict of Livability Agenda with the Clean Air Act of 1990; US Environmental Protection Agency's response to the conflict.

Reports on the environmental cleanup activities of states in the United States, according to a study by Environmental Law Institute.

Reports that the Environmental Protection Agency has announced several steps to give states more flexibility in complying with the Clean Air Act and to help them avoid sanctions for failing to meet deadlines.

Reports on the listing of the number of chemicals regulated by the Toxic Release Inventory under the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Regulations for the new reporting requirements.