• Chlorination Products Not Linked to Health Impacts
  
• Complaint Filed Over New Organic Standards
  
• Steel Company Challenges EPA Lawsuit
  
• Hurricane Lili Damaged Louisiana's Coast
  
• Sustainable Farm Practices Profiled
  
• Ground Broken for New Biological Control Lab
  
• Cooking Oils Boost Engine Performance
  
• Caves Celebrated in Virginia
  

Chlorination Products Not Linked to Health Impacts

Small amounts of disinfection byproducts, including bromodichloromethane (BDCM) and dibromoacetic acid (DBA), are formed in drinking water when chlorine disinfectants combine with naturally occurring organic matter. Several epidemiology studies have reported a possible association between these byproducts and adverse reproductive outcomes, including spontaneous abortion.

The current issue of the journal includes the last in a series of four studies aimed at examining possible reproductive and developmental health effects from these byproducts of drinking water chlorination. These studies fill data gaps identified by a federal advisory committee formed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on drinking water regulations.

Because the existing toxicology data was very limited, the advisory committee recommended that BDCM, in particular, should be studied as a potential cause of reproductive and developmental toxicity.

Researchers at Argus Research Laboratories examined laboratory animals exposed to BDCM and DBA through drinking water. Each study found no adverse effects at dose levels thousands of times higher than those to which humans are exposed.

Based on the results of these studies, the researchers concluded that BDCM and DBA are unlikely to pose a reproductive or developmental health risk to humans. The EPA will review this research as it develops new regulations on disinfection byproducts.

The studies were designed to comply with the EPA's Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Guidelines and with the EPA's Guidelines for Good Laboratory Practices. Each study was independently monitored. In addition, an independent panel of experts reviewed the study designs and interpretation of data.

The studies were sponsored by the Research Foundation for Health and Environmental Effects, a tax exempt foundation established by the Chlorine Chemistry Council.

Complaint Filed Over New Organic Standards

The petition demands that the agency establish a peer review panel to oversee the agency's accrediting of organic certifiers. The peer review panel is mandated by both a statute and regulation, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has so far refused to establish this oversight body.

Joining CFS as petitioners are Beyond Pesticides, National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA, and Union of Concerned Scientists.

Appropriate certification of organic farms is the fundamental enforcement mechanism of organic standards. Many new, previously unknown certifying agents are now applying to USDA for accreditation, fueling public concerns over a reduction in the integrity of the new organic label.

Since 2000, the number of organic certifying agents has jumped from 49 to 122. This unexpected increase in the number of accreditation applicants raises questions about USDA's ability to assess the qualifications of the large volume of new certifiers seeking accreditation, the petitioners argue.

The agency has also declined to institute the federally mandated public Peer Review Panel designed to evaluate the USDA's accreditation of organic certifiers. The Peer Review Panel called for in the Organic Food Production Act is the public enforcement mechanism designed to ensure USDA's accreditation procedures and decisions are appropriate and comport with the law.

Absent this Peer Review Panel, consumer groups, many organic farmers and farmer based certifying organizations fear that large agribusiness corporations will have an undue influence on who will be certifying organic producers and how that certification will be conducted.

"The agency's refusal to allow for independent oversight of its actions threatens the integrity of the 'organic' label," said CFS executive director Andrew Kimbrell. "The decision on who is to certify organic foods needs to be in full view of the public, where it cannot be influenced by corporate interests."

"Continued failure of USDA to implement citizens oversight or peer review of their organic accreditation program not only threatens organic integrity and consumer confidence, but also fails to meet already established international norms," added Michael Sligh, director of sustainable agriculture for the Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI-USA), and founding chair of USDA National Organic Standards Board.

There is also increasing concern that the USDA is abusing its authority by creating loopholes in enforcement of the organic standards. One company has attempted to pressure the National Organic Program into relaxing the 100 percent organic feed requirement for organic chicken production. Such exemptions would erode consumer confidence in organic foods and erode the industry, the petitioners warn.

"The Center for Food Safety will be monitoring the USDA to ensure that the organic standards are upheld and that no exemptions are allowed," said Rebecca Spector, campaign director for CFS. "The organic label must live up to the expectations of the millions of consumers that have come to expect quality and integrity from organic foods."

Steel Company Challenges EPA Lawsuit

Arcadis G&M, Inc., an environmental engineering firm, has identified a variety of sources of chemical contaminants that are discharging into the waters and tributaries of Dicks Creek in Middletown. None of the sources are related to AK Steel, the firm said.

AK Steel commissioned the study, completed October 4, saying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) declined to investigate sources other than AK Steel for chemical discharges into the creek. The small urban creek is part of the focus of an environmental lawsuit filed June 29, 2000 against AK Steel by the U.S. government on behalf of the EPA.

In a related order issued to AK Steel on August 17, 2000, the EPA claimed that PCBs, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals in the Dicks Creek area posed an "imminent and substantial endangerment" to human health and the environment, ordering AK Steel to address the situation. AK Steel says the EPA and OEPA have refused the company's repeated requests to the agencies to investigate other potential sources of chemical releases to the creek and its tributaries.

"U.S. EPA and OEPA have a statutory obligation to investigate these sources of PCBs, PAHs and metals discharging into Dicks Creek, which are totally unrelated to AK Steel," said Alan McCoy, vice president of public affairs at AK Steel. "The agencies are not only ignoring their obligations, they are selectively prosecuting AK Steel in violation of our constitutional right to equal protection."

The Arcadis study points to storm water runoff as one major source of pollution entering Dicks Creek. The study also identifies combined sewer overflows (CSOs) as potential sources of untreated human and industrial waste and toxic materials. CSOs are designed to capture and discharge excess waste waters - such as during times of heavy rainfall or snowmelt - to creeks, rivers and other water bodies.

The study identified runoff from a vehicle salvage and parts business and sediments adjacent to abandoned discharge pipes near a closed paper company as having detectable levels of PCBs and other chemicals. The PCBs detected downstream of AK Steel were of a different chemical composition than those samples collected anywhere else in Dicks Creek or the Arcadis study area.

The study concluded that additional investigation may reveal other sources of PCB discharges into the creek.

The study also found more than 50 sources and potential sources of other chemicals, such as PAHs, and metals being discharged into Dicks Creek, all of which are unrelated to AK Steel.

The study found the level of some PAHs - which can result from the incomplete combustion of organic matter - collected upstream of AK Steel to be higher than most samples collected in the study area downstream of AK Steel.

"If U.S. EPA and OEPA were truly concerned about the need to clean Dicks Creek, they would have already investigated these other potentially significant sources of chemicals and other materials," McCoy argued. "Clearly, however, they prefer to focus only on prosecuting and penalizing AK Steel."

Hurricane Lili Damaged Louisiana's Coast

Hurricane damage is of great concern to the state because it has already lost an average of 25 to 35 square miles of land a year to open water over the past 50 years. In addition to hurricanes and storms, causes of land loss are natural subsidence and lack of marsh replenishment because of levees, he said.

USGS scientists are continuing to monitor the effects of Hurricane Lili, which slammed into the Louisiana coast on October 3 with winds in excess of 110 miles per hour.

Hydrologists from the USGS Baton Rouge Water District Office measured water levels in rivers and bays before and during the hurricane. According to Charles Demas, chief of the USGS Water Resources Office in Louisiana, USGS stream gauges reported storm surges as much as three feet above normal at 40 miles upstream from Atchafalaya Bay.

Gauges 20 miles upstream from the bay recorded water flowing upstream as fast as four feet per second. Other gauges along the coast registered storm surges up to five and a half feet and upstream flows of up to six and a half feet per second.

USGS biologists and geographers are using aerial video to document marsh and barrier island damage. East of the hurricane's landfall, the state's chain of barrier islands and barrier shorelines exhibited severe erosion, the researchers said. Raccoon Island, site of a major nesting colony for brown pelicans, suffered extensive beachside erosion.

Freshwater and brackish marshes sustained great damage from the combined effects of storm surge, winds and wave action. Some marshes were covered with debris, some were folded like an accordion or inverted, and others were displaced with their vegetation lifted and moved to another area.

"These wetlands are the state's first line of defense against winds and flooding from storm surge," said USGS NWRC director Bob Stewart. "By buffering winds and absorbing floodwaters, they protect people and property. They are also valuable as wildlife habitat and nursery areas for fish and shellfish supporting the seafood industry and related businesses."

"These wetlands are also needed for protecting coastal oil and gas infrastructure," Stewart added. "Port Fourchon was hard hit during Lili. Almost 20 percent of U.S. oil and gas go through the port; and it's a critical link to the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, which handles 13 percent of the nation's foreign oil and connects by pipeline to 35 percent of the U.S. refining capability."

Artificial barriers installed in some areas as part of a restoration project appear to have inhibited beach erosion. The combination of breakwaters, fences and dune plantings in some coastal restoration areas seems to have lessened storm damage as well, while rock breakwaters may have increased erosion by causing scouring behind them.

The storm left a large fish kill, extending from Freshwater Bayou to Marsh Island, near where the eye of the storm had made landfall. For a stretch of 30 miles there were long bands of tens of thousands of tiny menhaden floating in nearshore waters or washed ashore.

They may have died from lack of oxygen in the water. Fish kills also occurred in the Atchafalaya Swamp.

Sustainable Farm Practices Profiled

The report from the nonprofit California public policy group Redefining Progress details practices that help protect natural resources now and into the future.

The report, "Sustainable Agriculture and Common Assets: Stewardship Success Stories," defines three common assets - natural floodplains, native pollinators, and the atmosphere - and describes their links to agricultural practices that help maintain their health. Linking common assets and sustainable agriculture creates a conceptual and policy framework to expand the farmer's "bottom line" by accounting for current social and environmental costs and benefits.

Preserving common assets can be financially beneficial to farmers and society, the report argues. The report outlines success stories where farmers practice sustainable agriculture in ways that preserve a common asset, which in turn provides greater benefits to nature, the local community, and the farmers themselves.

The report makes five recommendations for improving the health of natural common assets and the sustainability of agriculture. The recommendations include:

1. Research and recognize the value of natural common assets to farmers - as well as urban and rural communities - and compensate management practices that improve the health of these assets.
2. Improve the role of agriculture in the education system at all levels - university, high school and elementary school - and incorporate sustainable agriculture into existing agricultural research programs.
3. Reexamine the emphasis on policies that guarantee cheap food, so that food prices may better reflect the services farms can provide.
4. Experiment and invest in demonstration projects to illustrate the effectiveness of new management regimes, which will increase their adoption by farmers.
5. Use a systems approach when dealing with the agricultural sector that encompasses all of the relevant factors and streamlines solutions.

Redefining Progress says policymakers at multiple levels of government, educators, researchers, farmers and nongovernmental organizations all have important roles to play in this process.

The report is available at: http://www.RedefiningProgress.org/publications/sustainag.pdf

Ground Broken for New Biological Control Lab

The National Biological Control Laboratory (NBCL) will cost about $16.5 million to build and is scheduled to open in December 2003. Research at the facility will focus on developing beneficial predators, parasites and microbes that farmers can use to control pests.

"Biocontrol makes up less than one percent of the pest control market in the United States, despite its proven value," said Dr. Joe Jen, undersecretary for Research Education and Economics. "The researchers hope to develop practical methods for producing and distributing control agents in quantities large enough to have significant impacts."

The 55,000 square-foot building will accommodate 50 scientists and support personnel. It is designed to facilitate interaction among scientists from numerous disciplines in basic and applied research.

NBCL will be the first facility in the world to have such a wide combination of scientific specializations for integrated research into biocontrol technology.

NBCL will have one wing reserved for microorganisms such as fungi or bacteria and another for microorganisms such as nematodes and insects. The wings are designed to prevent accidental release of these organisms.

Additional space is provided for two pilot plants where scientists can cooperate with public and private organizations to test the practical applications of rearing techniques and foster commercial production.

Only organisms that have been approved for release in the United States by federal and state officials will be propagated and studied at the new facility.

Cooking Oils Boost Engine Performance

Dr. Joseph Perez, adjunct professor of chemical engineering and leader of the project, noted that low sulfur diesel fuels that are now mandated in California will soon be required in all 50 states to enable diesel engines to meet new federal regulations. But removing sulfur from the fuel causes wear problems in fuel injector systems.

"We've shown that adding as little as 10 percent of a specially treated mixture of vegetable oil and fuel reduces both friction and wear," Perez said.

"There has been concern that there might be an insufficient volume of vegetable oil to meet both food and fuel needs," Perez added. "However, our results show that when the vegetable oil fuel mixture is oxygen treated, you need only two percent vegetable oil to produce the same friction and wear performance as current high sulfur diesel fuel."

The Penn State team has conducted tests with four vegetable based engine oils mixed with proprietary additives and compared them with a commercial petroleum based oil.

"The biodegradable oils are effective lubricants and have the potential to displace petroleum-based products in various applications including engine oils," Perez said. "Vegetable oils are renewable resources reducing our dependency on imported oil."

The team also evaluated the role of particulate buildup on wear when new, extended use, non-vegetable diesel oils were used. The oils were run in diesel trucks and not changed for 75,000 to 100,000 miles. Additional oil was added as needed.

The team's tests showed that wear increased with increasing mileage with the major contributor believed to be the particulate content of the crankcase oil. They note, "To solve these problems and meet the next round of emission regulations in 2007 is a serious challenge to additive and lubricant manufacturers and may involve a quantum leap in additive technology. Renewable oils may play a significant role in the development of these future engine oils."

The Penn State engineer described the team's work at the 39th Annual Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science, being held this week at Penn State. Perez presented his paper, "Friction and Wear Studies of Fuel and Lubricants Containing Vegetable Oils," on Tuesday.

Caves Celebrated in Virginia

With more than 3,200 known caves, Virginia is one of just six states in the U.S. with more than 2,000 known caves. Virginia caves are a valuable resource, offering natural laboratories for scientific research, important historical information, and opportunities for exploration and adventure.

Virginia's caves are found in areas called karst, where the bedrock is limestone. Since limestone is soluble in slightly acid water, rainwater and surface runoff dissolve it leaving sinkholes, caves, springs and similar geologic features.

The Virginia Cave Board says there are a number of reasons why these caves need protection. Because individual caves are often separated from each other, the animals that live there may be isolated and unique. Sometimes a particular species is found only in a single cave or a small group of caves in one area.

When a cave is disturbed, such as by vandals or pollution, entire species may become extinct, sometimes even before people know they exist.

For centuries, people have used caves for mining, shelter and other purposes, and have left evidence of their presence in caves. These historical records need protection, the board notes.

"In most recent history, Thomas Jefferson visited and described one of Virginia's caves and George Washington and James Madison left other signatures in Madison Saltpetre Cave," states the Virginia Cave Board. "Up until the close of the Civil War, caves in the Commonwealth were extensively mined for saltpetre (used in the manufacture of gunpowder)."

Caves can also form underground conduits for the movement of pollutants. Pollution can flow through them, traveling considerable distances and causing serious problems for the environment - even miles from its origin.

Cave Week 2002 (October 13-20) celebrates the biodiversity of Virginia's karst lands. Many different animals, including bat, salamander, insect, spider, millipede and crustacean species, spend all or part of their life cycle in unique cave habitats. Numerous rare and unusual plant species grow either on the limestone above the caves or in wetlands formed at karst springs.

For more information on Virginia's caves, visit: http://www.dcr.state.va.us/dnh/cavehome