• New Panel to Review 9/11 Health Effects
  
• Federal Inspectors Check Troubled Arizona Nuclear Plant
  
• New England Homes Group Wins Energy Star Award
  
• Wisconsin Air Permit Program Found Deficient
  
• California Firms Fined for Not Reporting Hazardous Waste
  
• Alaska Wildlife Alliance Offers Bounty to Save Denali Wolves
  
• Santa Ana Sucker Gets Critical Habitat
  
• Toxic Combination Common in Fish Impairs Motor Skills
  

New Panel to Review 9/11 Health Effects

U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a New York Democrat, EPA Acting Deputy Administrator Steve Johnson, and EPA officials announced the panel's formation on Monday. Its first meeting will be held on March 31.

The panel will be chaired by Dr. Paul Gilman, EPA science advisor and assistant administrator for research and development. The panel includes representation from other federal health and environmental agencies, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and outside academic and medical experts.

Gilman said, "The panel of experts will work openly and transparently. Our objective is to assure that the health of those impacted is protected."

The panel will help guide EPA's use of available exposure and health surveillance databases and registries. It will characterize any remaining exposures and risks, identify unmet public health needs, and recommend any steps to minimize the risks associated with the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks.

Johnson said, "Senator Clinton continues to have an active interest in our work. Forming this panel and determining its scope of work has been a joint, collaborative effort between EPA and Senator Clinton. I appreciate her support of this effort and her leadership. I also want to thank Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg and New York City officials for their continued support and collaboration."

Over the next six months, the panel will review post-cleaning verification sampling in the residential areas included in EPA's indoor air cleanup to verify re-contamination has not occurred from central heating and air conditioning systems.

Also during that time, the panel will review the "World Trade Center Residential Confirmation Cleaning Study," which concluded that the cleaning methods used in EPA's indoor cleanup program and recommended to residents who cleaned their own places were extremely effective and indicated that asbestos was an appropriate surrogate for which to test.

Within 24 months, the panel will identify areas where the health registry could be enhanced to allow better tracking of post-exposure risks by workers and residents.

The panel will review and synthesize the ongoing work by federal, state and local governments and private entities to determine the characteristics of the WTC plume and where it was dispersed, including the geographic extent of EPA and other entities' monitoring and testing, and recommend any additional evaluations for consideration by EPA and other public agencies.

To find out more visit: http://www.epa.gov/wtc/panel

Federal Inspectors Check Troubled Arizona Nuclear Plant

Originally, the problems related to a leak found February 19 in one of two steam generators that had been replaced last fall, and in the operation of the shutdown cooling system in Palo Verde Unit 2.

The NRC’s Special Inspection Team, consisting of two reactor engineers from the NRC’s Region IV Office in Arlington, Texas, an inspector from the Callaway nuclear plant in Missouri, and a Headquarters specialist, arrived on site last week and began their review.

While the inspectors were on site, Palo Verde Unit 3 shut down Saturday morning due to electrical issues regarding the turbine generator. It is expected to return to service early this week, Arizona Public Service officials said.

During an inspection of Unit 3 on Sunday, engineering personnel found boric acid residue on a pressurizer heater sleeve that the NRC characterized as "degradation of a principal safety barrier."

The engineers reported a small white buildup of boron residue around the heater sleeve as the sleeve enters the pressurizer bottom head. There does not appear to be residue running down the outside of the sleeve. There were no signs of dripping, spraying, puddles of liquid, or liquid running down the nozzle or pressurizer. The residue appeared dry.

But the reactor's technical specifications permit no coolant system pressure boundary leakage, so the residue is considered degradation of a principal safety barrier.

The inspectors originally came to the plant to investigate problems that arose after the steam generator leak was discovered. On February 19, operators shut down Palo Verde Unit 2 after monitors detected the leak.

After the reactor cooled, operators reduced the level of water in the reactor coolant system to facilitate access to the leaking steam generator. But equipment problems led them to prolong the time that the plant remained in this condition.

Workers discovered that air had displaced some of the water in the reactor shutdown cooling system, forcing them to open valves to vent air into the auxiliary building every two hours.

The NRC said these events "did not result in the release of radioactivity to the environment and did not adversely affect the safe operation of the plant or health and safety of the public."

But still the agency decided to conduct a special inspection to evaluate the adequacy of the Arizona Public Service Company's response to the situation, the root cause, and corrective actions.

"It is important to understand that these events are unrelated," said Jim Levine, executive vice president of Generation for Arizona Public Service Company, which operates Palo Verde. "In each case we are taking steps that place safety first."

New England Homes Group Wins Energy Star Award

The group is being honored for excellence in energy efficient new construction and the Northeast Energy Star Homes program, implemented in conjunction with Conservation Services Group, a non-profit energy services organization based in Westborough.

The 2004 Energy Star Awards are being presented to 57 businesses and organizations for their outstanding contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency.

The award recognizes efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution, resulting in significant cost savings. Award winners are selected from thousands of organizations from around the country that participate in the Energy Star program.

"Energy Star’s partnership with the JMC demonstrates how utilities are helping consumers save money and the environment at the same time," said Kathleen Hogan, director of EPA's Climate Protection Partnerships Division.

These companies participate in the New England JMC - Bay State Gas, Berkshire Gas, Cape Light Compact, KeySpan Energy Delivery, Massachusetts Electric, Nantucket Electric, Narragansett Electric, New England Gas, NSTAR Electric, NSTAR Gas, Unitil/Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company and Western Massachusetts Electric.

Energy Star was introduced by the EPA in 1992 as a market based partnership to reduce air pollution through increased energy efficiency. The Energy Star Homes program is a nationally recognized new construction initiative that meets strict criteria set by the EPA for maximum energy performance.

Energy Star qualified homes are recognized for greater value, lower operating costs, increased durability, comfort, and safety. They feature increased insulation levels, high efficiency heating and air conditioning equipment, superior duct systems, and high performance windows.

In conjunction with Conservation Services Group, the JMC works with builders and developers to improve residential building practices and help ensure that energy performance standards, set by the EPA, are met during all phases of construction.

The EPA is recognizing the JMC for outstanding contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by bringing energy efficient Energy Star building techniques and materials to scores of communities in the region, spurring an increase in energy efficient homes.

John Livermore, CSG program manager, said, “Since the program’s inception, we have qualified thousands of Energy Star homes. We believe that we have contributed to sustainable changes in the marketplace and certainly expect this trend to continue in the Northeast and beyond.”

Extending the Energy Star effort to the county level, the National Association of Counties (NACo), representing more than 1,500 county officials, Monday joined the EPA in challenging counties to protect the environment, save energy and cut operating costs by improving the energy efficiency of county courthouse and office buildings.

NACo's Energy Star Courthouse Campaign sets standards by which counties can rate the energy performance of their courthouses and office buildings and win recognition by EPA for superior energy performance.

Last year, according to the EPA, the Energy Star program helped Americans to save enough energy to power 20 million homes, preventing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 18 million cars while saving $9 billion on their energy bills.

Wisconsin Air Permit Program Found Deficient

Title 5 operating permits are required for all major sources of air pollution. They contain all Clean Air Act requirements in a single, federally enforceable document.

If the deficiencies are not addressed within two years, Wisconsin will lose the opportunity to run the program and the federal government will take responsibility for issuing permits to Title 5 sources.

The state has not demonstrated that it is collecting enough fees to cover the costs of running the permit program, the federal agency said, announcing the notification last week.

Wisconsin is not adequately administering program funds and not issuing permits to all of its sources in the time allowed by the Clean Air Act, the EPA said.

In addition, the state has not ensured that all permit conditions are federally enforceable and has not included all appropriate applicable requirements in permits, according to the EPA. The federal agency says it will work with Wisconsin to strengthen its program.

On December 16, 2002, Midwest Environmental Advocates filed a petition with the EPA on behalf of Citizens for a Better Environment, the Sierra Club, Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, and Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group requesting the federal agency to order Wisconsin to remedy the failings of the state’s Title 5 permits program.

The petition requested the EPA to issue Wisconsin a notice of deficiency for each of the violations. The groups asked that the state raise the permit fees for polluting facilities so the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will have adequate resources to run the Title V permit program.

As of October 1, 2002, 280 major sources of air pollution in Wisconsin were operating without all the safeguards promised by Title V. Wisconsin has the worst permit issuance rate in the Midwest and the worst in the Nation for states with similarly large numbers of major sources, the groups say.

The groups complain that Wisconsin is not enforcing those permits it has issued. When the petition was filed, the DNR had a backlog of 169 unresolved cases.

“Without these permits, local residents are in the dark about whether local smokestacks are violating the law and polluting at levels harming their health,” said Melissa Scanlan, executive director of Midwest Environmental Advocates, Inc. and one of the two attorneys representing the groups.

California Firms Fined for Not Reporting Hazardous Waste

While the fines are not high, as a result of the EPA action the 22 companies reported more than 27 million pounds of hazardous waste to the agency.

Federal law requires companies that generate more than 2,200 pounds of hazardous waste or more than 2.2 pounds of acute hazardous waste, waste that even in very small amounts can cause severe health effects, a month to report to the EPA at least every two years the quantities, nature, and disposition of their hazardous wastes.

Approximately 2,500 companies file these reports in California. With this year's March 1 filing deadline approaching, the EPA encourages companies to determine if they are subject to the reporting requirements.

"We are making sure companies report what they have so communities know what's in their backyards," said Jeff Scott, director of the EPA's Waste Division in the Pacific Southwest Region. "We issue penalties to make sure companies not complying with environmental laws do not gain a competitive advantage for their noncompliance."

The data is used to evaluate the effect of regulations and policies on companies that generate hazardous waste. The reports also collect information about changes in waste volume and toxicity that can be used to measure the impact of the EPA's efforts in the area of pollution prevention and waste minimization.

Alaska Wildlife Alliance Offers Bounty to Save Denali Wolves

Dr. Gordon Haber, who has monitored the wolves of Denali for years, was shocked when he traced the radio collar signal of the pack’s male leader to the home of a well known local trapper. Four other members of the group are missing and presumed dead.

The killing occurred in the Stampede region, a 200 square mile strip of state land that penetrates into Denali National Park. It is an area of lower elevation, bounded on three sides by park lands that are mostly mountainous. Both the Margaret and Toklat packs make the Stampede area part of their home range. The Margaret and Toklat wolves are famous. Every year about 20,000 visitors experience the thrill of seeing them, often at close range. Their images have appeared in magazines and films around the world.

The Toklat wolves were the first group ever to have been studied in the wild. It is also the oldest recorded living pack, having been monitored since the late 1930s.

On Saturday Dr. Paul Joslin, wildlife director with the Alaska Wildlife Alliance which has been calling for protection for these wolves for years, asked the Alaska Board of Game to grant an immediate closure to wolf hunting and trapping on the lands where the incident occurred.

“This senseless destruction of the world’s most viewed wolves has to stop,” Joslin said. “We are not asking for much. Full protection for just two packs out of an estimated 1,500 in Alaska.”

But the all hunter-trapper Board of Game, which makes all wildlife regulatory decisions on state land, sees such protection as lost hunter-trapper opportunity. Under public pressure from wildlife viewers in 2001 the Board created a zero wolf bag limit on half of the Stampede region.

Now the Alaska Wildlife Alliance says is it willing to offer compensation to the local trappers and hunters if they will extend the ban to include all of the remaining land in the Stampede area.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has determined that three wolves a year on average are killed within the Toklat and Margaret wolf ranges. The Alaska Wildlife Alliance is willing to pay $1,200 per year, the equivalent of $400 per wolf, if hunters and trappers would stop killing them.

Santa Ana Sucker Gets Critical Habitat

The critical habitat was designated to comply with a February 26, 2003, court order requiring the Service to do so by February 21, 2004, but squeezed between a budget shortfall and the court ordered date, the habitat was designated outside the normal public review and comment process.

The Santa Ana sucker is a six inch long fish native to southern California. Like other members of the sucker family, the Santa Ana sucker has large, thick lips and a small mouth that enable it to vacuum algae and invertebrates from stream beds. Santa Ana suckers are most abundant where water is clean and clear, although they can tolerate seasonally murky water.

Threats to the Santa Ana sucker include the destruction and alteration of its habitat from urban development, channeling of streams, water diversions, and the introduction of non-native competitors and predators.

Areas designated as critical habitat include portions of the main stem of the Santa Ana River and the City, Chino, Mill, and Cucamonga Creeks; segments of the North, West, and East forks of the San Gabriel River and portions of Cattle Canyon, Bear, and Big Mermaid’s Canyon creeks; as well as a stretch of Big Tujunga Creek between Big Tujunga Dam and Hansen Dam, and sections of Stone Canyon, Delta Canyon, Gold Canyon, and Little Tujunga Creeks.

Until critical habitat was designated for the Santa Ana sucker, the Service and other Federal agencies have been enjoined from conducting consultations on actions that may affect the species.

The injunction on conducting consultations is preventing the Service and other Federal agencies from completing timely consultation on projects, including flood control and bridge replacement projects that are important to human health and safety. The injunction also prevents the agencies from ensuring that proposed actions do not jeopardize the species.

Until the injunction is lifted, the Service is prevented from including the Santa Ana sucker as a covered species in the draft Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan. The Service is also prevented from completing a programmatic consultation with Federal, State, and local partners for the Santa Ana Sucker Conservation Program. The goal of both these efforts is to conserve and improve the status of the species and its habitat.

Although this rulemaking was completed without initial public review, the Service is publishing a concurrent proposed rule for public review and comment. The Service will accept comments on the proposed rule through April 26, 2004.

An analysis of economic impacts associated with the designation will also be prepared. If information contained in public comments or the economic analysis indicates that a change is necessary, the Service may choose to revise the final rule in the future.

Comments on the proposed rule can be submitted to the Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office by email at: fw1sasu@r1.fws.gov.

Toxic Combination Common in Fish Impairs Motor Skills

The findings, published in the February issue of the journal "Toxicological Sciences," come from a study focusing on the effects of combined exposure of the two commonly found environmental contaminants on motor function driven by the cerebellum.

The pups of female rats that were exposed to a combination of PCBs and methylmercury slip and fall more often trying to maneuver on a rotating rod than do pups from non-exposed moms, scientists say.

"Because people are exposed to these toxicants by eating fish taken from ecosystems where these chemicals accumulate, our findings suggest that we should seriously consider the possible impact of their additive toxic effects on human health," said Susan Schantz, a professor of veterinary biosciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

A study in February's issue of the "Journal of Pediatrics" found that exposure to methylmercury causes heart damage and impairs brain growth.

Previous laboratory studies had suggested that the two chemicals act together to impair nervous system function.

The new study, conducted as part of the doctoral dissertation by Schantz's graduate student Cindy Roegge, shows that motor skills were not significantly affected by methylmercury exposure alone, but when paired with PCBs the combined effect during development impacted the pups' skills in one of three motor tests.

Inorganic mercury enters the air from mining ore deposits, burning coal and waste, and from manufacturing plants. It enters the water or soil from natural deposits, disposal of wastes, and volcanic activity. Methylmercury may be formed in water and soil by bacteria. Methylmercury builds up in the tissues of fish, and larger, older fish tend to have the highest levels of mercury.

Once used as coolants and lubricants in transformers and other electrical equipment, as of 1977 PCBs were no longer manufactured in the United States. But they do not break down in the environment and last for a very long time. PCBs entered the air, water, and soil during their manufacture, use, and disposal; from accidental spills and leaks during their transport; and from leaks or fires in products containing PCBs.

PCBs can still be released to the environment from hazardous waste sites, illegal or improper disposal of industrial wastes and consumer products, leaks from old electrical transformers containing PCBs, and burning of some wastes in incinerators.

In the study, female rats were exposed to just PCBs or just methylmercury or to both chemicals, beginning four weeks before breeding and ending when their pups were weaned. None of the female rats showed signs of toxicity, said Schantz, who also is a professor in the Neuroscience Program and psychology department at Illinois.

Two months later, one male and female pup from each litter were tested for the next four weeks on their abilities to navigate vertical ropes, parallel bars and various speeds of rotating rods.

On the rotating rods the impact of exposure to both PCBs and methylmercury became clear. As the speed of the rods exceeded 25 rpm, the pups, regardless of sex, that were exposed to both toxicants during their mothers' pregnancies slipped significantly more often than their control counterparts. Exposure to either of the chemicals alone did not significantly impact performance.

The research was done for the federally funded FRIENDS Children's Environmental Health Center, a five-institution consortium based at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Illinois. Schantz is director of FRIENDS (Fox River Environment and Diet Study), which is studying the effects of exposure to toxicants in fish being eaten in large quantities by Laotian and Hmong refugees in Green Bay and Appleton, Wisconsin.