• Superfund Shortfall Leaves Communities Exposed to Toxic Waste
  
• Cloning a Cow Impervious to Mad Cow Disease
  
• DNA Registry Llinks Genetics, Environment, Illness
  
• Key West Mayor Says Cruise Ships Should Pay to Pump
  
• Michigan Dairy Settles Manure Case with EPA, Sierra Club
  
• California Gravel Mining Emissions Violate Health Standards
  
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Declines to Hear Pigeon Shoot Appeal
  
• Borax Key to Origin of Life on Earth
  

Superfund Shortfall Leaves Communities Exposed to Toxic Waste

The report is a response to inquiries from U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords, a Vermont Independent, and Democrats Senator Barbara Boxer of California, Representative John Dingell of Michigan and and Hilda Solis of California.

In a letter to the four legislators, EPA Inspector General Nikki Tinsley details some of the specific shortfalls.

One of the worst is the abandoned Inter Royal office furniture manufacturing plant in Plainfield, Connecticut. Inter Royal shut down operations in 1985 and went into bankruptcy, leaving an asbestos-laden hulk of a multi-level manufacturing building surrounded by numerous private residences, with a playing field adjacent to the site. The FY2003 funding shortfall is $1.5 million.

The EPA Inspector General reports, "Due to limited funds the scope [of cleanup] was limited to fencing the property and removing the bulk of friable asbestos that could blow out of the building. With more funds the Region would consider removal of entire structure as a permanent solution. The impact now is the abandoned building remains a potential fire threat that could release asbestos to the surrounding area."

EPA Region 7 estimated $2.5 million for the Omaha Mining site for FY 2003 but only obligated $1 million. As a result, fewer residences were sampled for lead contamination.

The remedial project manager for the Libby, Montana vermiculite mine site in Region 8 indicated that an additional $740,000 was needed to take additional samples, analyze the samples taken, and conduct a study to determine a cost-effective method for quantifying the amount of asbestos in the soil.

The list goes on. In Massachusetts, the Atlas Tack Superfund site was budgeted to spend $13.1 on remedial construction in FY2003. No funding was provided. In Indiana, the Continental Steel site needed $39.1 million, but no funding was provided.

The Inspector General's report states that "when funding is not sufficient, construction at National Priority List [Superfund] sites cannot begin; cleanups are performed in less than an optimal manner; and/or activities are stretched over longer periods of time. As a result, total project costs may increase and actions needed to fully address the human health and environmental risk posed by the contaminants are delayed."

America's federal Superfund toxic waste cleanup program ran out of polluter contributed funds on October 1, 2003, leaving taxpayers to shoulder the financial burden and leaving communities across the country at risk. American taxpayers are projected to pay about $1.1 billion for the Superfund program this year, an increase of about 400 percent since the fee expired in 1995.

The four lawmakers who requested the report issued a joint response today aimed a pressuring the Bush administration and the Republican controlled Congress to reinstate the polluter fees. They said the Omnibus Appropriations bill for FY 2004 before Congress further cuts the Superfund program by $7 million dollars from the FY 2003 level.

The Senate is expected to vote on the Omnibus Appropriations bill for FY 2004 on its first day back in session on January 20.

Dingell said, "The Bush administration has dramatically decreased cleanups and opposed efforts to renew the polluter taxes."

"The Bush administration's continued lack of commitment to funding Superfund is slowing down site clean-ups," said Boxer. "This means increased risks to human health and the environment - risks and costs that the taxpayers are covering while the polluters get off scot-free. We must put the fund back in Superfund and reinstate the polluter fees."

"The report confirms that the Superfund program is chronically underfunded, leaving arsenic, PCBs and other toxic wastes festering at sites across the nation," said Jeffords. "Yet the Bush administration continues to oppose reauthorizing the polluter pays fees that would relieve budgetary pressure on the program, accelerate the cleanup of contaminated sites and hold corporate polluters accountable."

Solis said, "Sites that should be cleaned up to protect public health are just being fenced off to keep the public out. This is not only unhealthy for our families and environment, it creates blighted areas in communities that are already struggling."

The Sierra Club says that with more than 1,200 toxic waste sites still in need of cleanup and more being listed each year, the ramifications of a dwindling Superfund trust fund to clean up toxic waste places our communities and environment seriously at risk.

"One in four Americans already lives within a short bicycle ride of a superfund site," said Carl Pope, executive director of Sierra Club "It's unconscionable for the Bush administration not to hold polluters responsible for the cleanup of toxic waste. Polluters, not taxpayers, should be footing the bill."

Philip Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust, said the Superfund shortfall will turn into an election issue later this year. "Congress is going to face a vote this year on reviving the oil and chemical industry tax that originally funded Superfund toxic waste cleanups. This report shows clearly that without the tax, the Bush administration isn't allocating enough money to get these sites cleaned up, and communities across the country are still living with major public health risks."

"Many Superfund sites are in swing industrial states the President wants to carry next November, and these sites are often major local issues," Clapp said. "That the pace of toxic waste cleanup has been cut in half since President Bush took office may become a very uncomfortable issue for him in states from Illinois to New Mexico."

Nearly 70 million Americans, including 10 million children, live within four miles of a Superfund hazardous waste site. To read the Inspector General's report, visit: http://www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2004/20040107-2004-p-00001.pdf

Cloning a Cow Impervious to Mad Cow Disease

As government officials try to limit the economic and health risks related to the nation's first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, found in December 2003, researchers in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) at Virginia Tech are attempting to genetically engineer their way to a BSE free cow.

Associate professor Will Eyestone, who heads the VMRCVM's transgenic animal research program, is the molecular reproductive biologist who was senior research scientist for PPL Therapeutics, the organization that cloned Dolly.

Together with Bill Huckle, associate professor of biomedical science, Eyestone is using the same somatic cell transfer technology that PPL used to create Dolly and Mr. Jefferson, the first cloned calf to to clone a cow without normal prions.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as mad cow disease and its human counterpart, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, are not caused by bacteria or viruses. The causative agent is prions, proteins that are a normal part of the animal's nervous system. But prions can mutate to abnormal forms, and these fatal brain-wasting diseases are the result.

If efforts to produce a normally functioning cow that lacks the genetic ability to code for the production of prions are successful, the researchers may have found a strategy for eliminating mad cow and related diseases.

"In order to be susceptible to prion disease, the individual has to be able to express the prion," says Eyestone. "We know that this prion does not appear to be required for normal functions of life."

We know that if you knock out these prion proteins in laboratory mice that there is no apparent negative effect, Eyestone explained. "But the mouse has not been that informative to us and we are hoping that the cow will be more so."

This research is funded by the National Institutes of Health. The goal of the NIH grant is to engineer a cow that is genetically incapable of producing prions, and then determine whether the animal is impaired by the lack of the prion.

Eyestone expects the cow to be cloned later this year.

While the prospects of "cloning" prion free cattle on the scale of America's 100 million head cattle herd may seen daunting, Eyestone points out that with the widespread use of artificial insemination in modern agriculture, great strides could be made in as few as six generations.

On a smaller scale, Eyestone envisions sub-populations of prion free cattle that are produced to make pharmaceutical compounds for human use, eliminating the risk that a drug produced to promote human health might in fact cause a fatal transmissible spongiform disease.

DNA Registry Links Genetics, Environment, Illness

Eventually to include 20,000 patients at various University of North Carolina (UNC) medical facilities, the Environmental Polymorphism Registry will be unlike the many anonymous DNA repositories that have developed since the advent of human genome initiatives. Here patient identifiers will be maintained in coded form.

This innovation will allow scientists to contact registry participants later for their permission to obtain additional information, to invite their participation in additional studies and to offer them the option to drop out of the registry. Currently, no similar resources are available to the National Institutes of Health or to researchers at UNC.

"This is a pioneering initiative," said Dr. Paul Watkins, professor of medicine and director of the university's Caviness General Clinical Research Center. "Clearly, this is the next step that's needed to increase our understanding of how genes interact with the environment, including the body's response to medicines."

The registry was initiated by Dr. Perry Blackshear, NIEHS director of clinical research, and Dr. Patricia Chulada, health science administrator at the institute in Research Triangle Park. Also collaborating with Watkins at UNC is Susan Pusek, General Clinical Research Center director of training and career development.

Data from followup studies will help scientists identify groups of individuals with "environmentally sensitive" genes and possibly to correlate these genetic variants with clinical histories and current health status.

These genes control how the human body interacts with substances from the environment, encoding proteins that regulate a wide variety of cell functions such as the cell cycle, cell growth, proliferation and differentiation, cell death, DNA repair, hormone receptors, toxicant and drug metabolism, immune response and others.

"The data collected from these studies may be used to define environmental risk factors and develop preventive strategies to reduce the incidence of disease," Blackshear said.

A pilot study to assess the project's feasibility requested consent from roughly 600 people at UNC outpatient clinics. About 80 percent agreed to allow a portion of a blood sample drawn for other medical purposes to be used for DNA isolation and for placement in the registry depository for 25 years. The participants also consented to being contacted for further information and about enrollment in studies. Donated samples were coded to protect donor identity.

"We were very pleased to see the pilot study so well received," Watkins said. "The NIEHS and UNC are taking the national lead in this very important area."

The only requirement for participation in the registry is that donors be at least 18 years old. Registry recruitment will begin this month at UNC's Ambulatory Care Center in Chapel Hill. Other UNC affiliated medical facilities may be added later this year.

Key West Mayor Says Cruise Ships Should Pay to Pump

Key West Mayor Jimmy Weekley said clean water is important to the fragile ecosystem around the Florida Keys, particularly the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the country's only tropical marine sanctuary.

"The U.S. Navy is willing to pump out and cruise ships need to pump out,'' Weekley said Tuesday. "If cruise ships can't do that, maybe they should go somewhere else. It's a detriment to the environment.''

Under the Clean Water Act, cruise ships can dump wastewater only when they are at least three miles offshore. Cruise ship company representatives have said they pump out at about 12 miles offshore.

Born in Key West, Weekley has been a city official for nearly 20 year. From 1985-1990, he served as chairman and member of the Environmental Quality Committee of the Florida League of Cities.

The proposal was made during a vote that raised passenger fees from $8 to $10.63 per person who disembarks in Key West.

Most representatives of cruise ship companies attending Tuesday's council meeting side-stepped the issue. But Michael Crye, president of the International Council of Cruise Lines, had a comment, although it was not supportive. ''It's redundant to the investments that we're making,'' he said.

The mayor has asked City Manager Julio Avael to work with the cruise lines to win their cooperation.

In 1969 the Port of Key West received its first regularly scheduled cruise ship; it was the Sunward, which called on Key West once a month. The Sunward moored at either the Navy's Mole or Pier B facility.

Port records indicate that between 1969 and 1984 the Port of Key West received 266 port calls. More recently, cruise ship traffic has begun to boom, bringing a steady stream of visitors to Key West.

In the 1999 fiscal year, 415 cruise ships called on the Port of Key West allowing 597,009 passengers to experience Key West and its marine treasures which depend for their existence on clean water.

It was not until 1984 that the City Commission made improvements to the city owned Mallory Dock, making it a full cruise ship docking facility.

The Port of Key West now consists of three docking facilities - Mallory Square Dock, Pier B, which is privately owned, and the Navy Mole, the only one that can handle wastewater pumping. It is configured to handle Navy ships, but could be fitted for cruise ships.

Just one of the city's three cruise ship piers has a pumping station. It is configured to handle Navy ships, but could be fitted for cruise ships.

Weekley acknowledged that it could take a year to have all three piers prepared to handle cruise ship wastewater.

Michigan Dairy Settles Manure Case with EPA, Sierra Club

Separate EPA and Sierra Club lawsuits against Walnutdale Farms Inc. and owners Ralph and Kevin Lettinga of Wayland, Michigan, were consolidated by the court.

As part of the court settlement filed December 22, 2003, Walnutdale Farms and the Lettingas will build and use a retention pond to store contaminated runoff from the dairy for 180 days and develop a plan for approval by EPA and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to manage and dispose of all wastes from the dairy without polluting nearby waterways.

In addition, they will pay $100,000 plus interest over a four year period, with half the amount being paid to the United States as a civil penalty and the other half to the Sierra Club in partial reimbursement of litigation costs.

"EPA and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality have been working with the dairy to help it meet Clean Water Act requirements," said EPA Water Division director Jo-Lynn Traub. "The dairy's owners have been extremely cooperative and have already made several improvements to prevent water pollution from the facility."

Walnutdale Farms has more than 700 dairy cattle which are confined, fed and maintained within several freestall barns. The dairy now has obtained a Michigan wastewater discharge permit - the first ever issued by the state to a concentrated animal feeding operation.

In October 2002, the EPA filed suit against Walnutdale Farms and the Lettingas under the Clean Water Act, alleging that manure and other pollutants were being unlawfully discharged into a farm drain and then into the Red Run Drain, a tributary of the Rabbit River.

Discharges of manure and other wastes from feedlots may kill fish, cause infectious diseases in people, lead to excessive algae growth and upset the balance of life in streams and lakes, the agency says.

Under a preliminary settlement with the Sierra Club, the dairy has constructed a manure storage lagoon, which allows the dairy to store manure over the winter months rather than spreading it on frozen fields.

In the past, according to the complaints filed by EPA and the Sierra Club, manure accumulated on frozen or snowy ground would run off into Red Run Drain during the spring thaw. These improvements have already resulted in improved water quality in the Red Run Drain, the agencies say.

There will be a 30 day public comment period before the settlement is finalized by the court.

California Gravel Mining Emissions Violate Health Standards

"Residents in the area have always suspected that gravel quarries were contributing to air pollution," said Congresswoman Hilda Solis, a California Democrat. "I am pleased that the air monitoring completed to date will result in more surveillance to bring mining operations into compliance with our protective emission standards so we can protect our community's health."

In March 2002, Representatives Solis and Henry Waxman, also a California Democrat, requested the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide information on the health and environmental effects of gravel mining operations in the area encompassing Baldwin Park, Azusa, El Monte, and Irwindale, California. The subsequent report revealed that there was a lack of environmental and health data concerning the gravel pits.

In May 2003, South Coast AQMD began air monitoring and evaluating six site locations and adjacent mining operations. Obtaining representative particulate matter (PM10) emission data from gravel mining operations was essential to the evaluation of the air quality impacts on local communities.

The locations included Irwindale Speedway, Clark Street, Flood Control Basin, Buena Vista Street, Alpha Street, Sierra Madre Street, Lario San Gabriel Trail Park and Foothill Blvd.

The AQMD found that three of the six sites were allowing upwind/downwind particulate matter known as PM10 in amounts greater than the 50 micrograms per cubic meter threshold established by AQMD regulation.

These exceedances led the AQMD to issue Notices of Violation to the responsible facilities located at these sites.

Additional monitoring at a fourth site now is underway, and ongoing surveillance is being conducted in the vicinity of the mining operations to ensure that all facilities are operating in compliance with AQMD rules and permit conditions.

Solis said, "We all breathe the same air, so I hope to work cooperatively with the mining operations to keep our community safe."

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Declines to Hear Pigeon Shoot Appeal

The Superior Court of Berks County had previously ruled that the shoots did not violate the state’s cruelty statute as long as “reasonable efforts” are made to minimize the number of birds that are treated cruelly. Live pigeon shoots are banned in most states.

Pigeon shooters compete for money and prizes by taking aim at birds as they are released one at a time from individual boxes. The Fund for Animals, which opposes the shooting events, says that many of the birds, dazed from their confinement, do not fly away but are shot at close range.

A majority of the birds are not killed immediately, but are wounded and left to suffer from their injuries, or are eventually killed by “trapper boys” who rip off their heads, stomp on them, throw them into barrels to suffocate, or use other inhumane methods of killing, the Fund for Animals recounts.

The pigeon shoot in Hegins, Pennsylvania was permanently cancelled in 1999 after years of campaigns, legislative, and legal battles. Several smaller, lesser-known pigeon shoots still take place in Berks and Schuylkill Counties.

Humane officer Johnna Seeton said, “I have continued to monitor pigeon shoots while this case is pending. I have witnessed thousands of violations of the state’s cruelty statute at the Pikeville Gun Club.”

The Fund argues that pigeon shoots violate Pennsylvania’s anti-cruelty statute because thousands of birds are intentionally injured and left to suffer with their wounds, sometimes for days, without any medical treatment.

“We were able to stop this barbaric and inhumane practice in Hegins and it should be stopped throughout Pennsylvania,” said the Fund's Heidi Prescott.

Several pigeon shoot cases have been stalled in the courts for over a decade. "If the courts are not going to take action to stop this cruel and illegal practice," Prescott said, "the legislature must step up and bring the Commonwealth in line with the vast majority of states that already bans such barbaric practices.”

Borax Key to Origin of Life on Earth

The Florida scientists say a mineral known as colemanite, which contains borax, is key to the process. Colemanite helps convert organic molecules found in interstellar dust clouds into a sugar known as ribose, central to the genetic material called RNA.

Steven Benner, Alonso Ricardo, Matthew Carrigan and Alison Olcott built on a famous experiment done 50 years ago by Stanley Miller that is found in many textbooks. In 1953, Miller showed that electric sparks in a primitive atmosphere made amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.

Still, Miller's experiment failed to identify sugars that were needed for genetic material.

"The sugar ribose can be formed from interstellar precursors under prebiotic conditions," said Benner, a distinguished professor of chemistry and anatomy and cell biology who led the research funded by NASA, the National Science Foundation and The Agouron Institute in Pasadena, California.

"But ribose is too unstable to survive under Miller's conditions," he said. Ribose, like most sugars, turns into tar if not handled carefully. "It is like baking a cake too long," said Benner.

In 1995, Miller gave up trying to make ribose prebiotically, writing, "The first genetic material could not have contained ribose or other sugars because of their instability."

Benner, who also is a member of NASA's Astrobiology Institute, did the first experiments as an instructor at an international geobiology course last summer funded by the Agouron Institute and held at the University of Southern California Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies.

"We asked two questions. First, what simple organic molecules might have been present on early Earth as starting materials to form ribose? Then, what might have been present on early Earth to capture ribose and keep it from burning up like overcooked cake?" Benner queried.

Recognizing that ribose has a chemical structure that allows it to bind to minerals containing the element boron, they turned to a substance called colemanite.

"Colemanite is a mineral containing borate found in Death Valley," Benner said. "Without it, ribose turns into a brown tar. With it, ribose and other sugars emerge as clean products." Benner then showed similar reactions with other borate minerals, including ulexite and kernite, more commonly known as borax.

Benner and his team are the first researchers to succeed in making significant amounts of ribose under these early conditions.

Joseph Piccirilli, a biological chemist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of Chicago, said Benner's work "has simplicity and brilliance."

"Organic chemists have long known that borate complexes with compounds like ribose," Piccirilli said, "and prebiotic scientists have long believed that minerals on the early Earth played an important role in the origin of life." Until now, "no one has put the two ideas together," he said.

"We are not claiming that this is how life started," Benner emphasized. "We are saying that we have demonstrated a recipe to make a key part of life without any biochemical machinery. The more recipes of this type that can be found, the more clues we have about how life could have actually gotten started on the primitive Earth."