Tuesday, March 31, 2009

New chemical reference pages from NIOSH

In March, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) added six pages to their list of chemicals covered under their Occupational Safety and Health Topics. The six new pages cover 2-Butoxyethanol, Methyl Alcohol (Methanol), Phenol, Hydrazine, Chloroform, and Carbon Disulfide.

NIOSH maintains an index of their chemical topics pages on their website.



Monday, March 30, 2009

2007 TRI Reporting Data Available

The following is an update from EPA's Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center:

On March 19, 2009, EPA made available the most recent reporting data from the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program. The Reporting Year 2007 (RY07) TRI public data release (PDR) included information on the combined releases of four billion pounds from approximately 22,000 facilities. TRI's 2007 PDR includes a brochure with a quick overview of the 2007 data with a general comparison to previous years' trends, as well as a detailed report outlining the key findings. Information about TRI's 2007 PDR, including a copy of the report, is available at the following URL: www.epa.gov/tri/tridata/tri07 For additional questions about the TRI 2007 PDR or TRI regulatory requirements, please contact the Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center at: (800) 424-9346 -- Toll Free(703) 412-9180 -- Metropolitan DC area and international calls(800) 553-7672 -- Toll Free TDD(703) 412-3323 -- Metropolitan DC area and international TDD To speak with an Information Specialist, please call between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, Eastern Standard Time.

Monday, March 23, 2009

No cheap spill: EPA seeks $200K in fines from college

From http://www.wickedlocal.com/lancaster/news/x1331534512/No-cheap-spill-EPA-seeks-200K-in-fines-from-college

By Jason Crotty
Thu Mar 19, 2009, 09:41 AM EDT

Lancaster - Atlantic Union College’s oil spill in August could cost it more than $200,000 in fines, depending on whether the college appeals the complaint brought by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
The college discharged oil last fall into a nearby brook that feeds the Nashua River. The EPA is proposing that the college pay up to $177,500 for failing to institute a spill prevention, control and countermeasure plan required by the federal Clean Water Act, and face another $32,500 per day fine for failing to file hazardous chemical inventory forms.
AUC Public Relations Director Cindy Kurtzhals said Tuesday the case “is in legal hands,” but did not offer further comment. An EPA spokesman also said March 17 the two parties have not yet agreed to terms.
“These are alleged violations. There have not been any resolutions,” said David Deegan, press coordinator of EPA’s New England office.
According to an EPA report, the spill was discovered Aug. 4 by a resident in South Lancaster who observed an oil sheen on the brook, which feeds into the Nashua River. The report stated that the “spill originated from a 500-gallon tank in Atlantic Union’s powerhouse and was discharged through multiple drains in the powerhouse’s cement floor.”
AUC President Norman Wendth could not be reached for comment before the Times & Courier’s Tuesday evening deadline. Wendth said last August the college planned to pay the entire cleanup cost unless state aid was given. Wendth said after the incident there was no lasting environmental damage.
Under federal law, AUC should have had an inventory of its hazardous chemicals on file with the local emergency planning committee, the state Emergency Response Commission and local fire department, the EPA said.
The college was also supposed to file a spill prevention plan to “ensure that measures are in place to prevent leaks and spills from impacting navigable waters,” according to the EPA report, and “facilities are required to have secondary containment such as cement floors and dikes surrounding a storage tank, to capture any oil released from the tank.”
(Jason Crotty can be reached at 978-365-8046 or jcrotty@cnc.com.)

Thursday, March 19, 2009

ASHRAE SATELLITE BROADCAST/WEBCAST

“Clean, Lean, and Green – IAQ for Sustainable Buildings”
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. EDT

Is there a fee for the Satellite Broadcast/Webcast?
There is no fee. (More...)

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

EPA seeks comments on document connected to Bad River Band's Clean Water Act application



CHICAGO (Feb. 17, 2009) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has issued a document called a "Proposed Findings of Fact" in connection with the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indian's application under the Clean Water Act for authority to establish water quality standards for surface water within its reservation. EPA is expected to decide on the request later this year. If the agency approves the request, the tribe will develop specific water quality standards for bodies of water within the reservation.
The document describes actual or potential effects on water quality inside the tribe's northern Wisconsin reservation from various activities such as residential septic discharges, farming, filling in wetlands, illegal dumping, construction without a permit, and sand and gravel mining.
In 2006, the tribe applied to EPA for authority under the Clean Water Act to set water quality standards for surface water on its reservation. Two other tribes in Wisconsin have been granted this status.
The Proposed Findings of Fact may be read at: http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/wqs5/wqstribes.htm , EPA Region 5's office, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Ill. For appointment call 312-886-7252 or e-mail cozza.daniel@epa.gov. It is also available at the tribe's Natural Resources Department, 1 Maple St., Odanah; Ashland County Clerk's office, 201 Main St., Ashland; Bayfield County Clerk's office, 117 E. Fifth St., Washburn; Iron County Clerk's office, 300 Taconite St. Suite 101, Hurley; Vaughn Public Library, 502 Main St. W., Ashland; and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 101 S. Webster St., Madison.
Comments on the document should be sent by Wednesday, March 18 to Todd Ambs, Water Division Director, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921

Monday, March 2, 2009

EPA awards over $4.8 million to Midwest Clean Diesel partners; Wis. DOT gets $750,000



(Chicago, Ill. - Feb. 26, 2009) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 today announced the award of more than $4.8 million in grants to 13 state and local partners as part of the Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative. These regional grants come from the $49.2 million 2008 National Clean Diesel Campaign.
EPA presented a $750,000 check to one of the grant recipients, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, at a Forward Wisconsin clean diesel workshop today in Milwaukee.
"The Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative is a collaboration by government, industry and environmental organizations that reflects our commitment to protecting public health by reducing the impacts of diesel pollution," said EPA Acting Regional Administrator Bharat Mathur. "We have set high goals. By leveraging public and private money, we are reducing pollution from existing diesel engines while encouraging new technologies."
The Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative was founded by EPA Region 5 in 2004 to reduce pollution from older diesel engines by making them run cleaner and eliminating unnecessary idling. Since then, the partnership has affected more than 600,000 engines.
"EPA looks forward to funding even more of these very worthwhile clean diesel projects thanks to the American Recovery and Revitalization Act, better known as the Economic Stimulus Package," added Mathur.
Under ARRA, about $300 million will go to reducing emissions from diesel engines nationally. This additional funding is expected to improve air quality and create jobs at companies that manufacture emission control devices and idle reduction technologies. EPA anticipates that it will also create jobs for the technicians who install these devices on trucks, buses, and construction equipment.
The groups receiving funding today from the Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative are:
Illinois Green Fleets (statewide)-$678,604
Chicago Public Schools (City of Chicago)-$373,909
Northwest Indiana Forum Foundation (ArcelorMittal Steel, NW Indiana)-$164,032
Indiana Department of Environmental Management (statewide)-$334,500
NextEnergy Center (Southeast Michigan)-$250,000
Lenawee Intermediate School District (Lenawee County, Mich.)-$154,381
Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker School District (Huron County, Mich.)-$251,100
Clean Energy Coalition (Michigan statewide)-$250,000
Minnesota Environmental Initiative (statewide)-$400,000
Stark County Educational Services Center (Ohio)-$465,364
Clean Fuels Ohio (statewide)-$412,554
Ohio Environmental Council (Franklin and Cuyahoga counties)-$394,589
Wisconsin Department of Transportation (statewide)-$750,000
Projects include a variety of diesel emission reduction approaches such as retrofit technologies, idle-reduction technologies, cleaner fuel use, engine upgrades and vehicle or equipment replacement.
Nationwide, diesel engines emit 7.3 million tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and 333,000 tons of soot annually. This pollution is linked to thousands of premature deaths, hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks and millions of lost work days. EPA's new diesel engine standards will significantly reduce emissions from newly manufactured engines.
More information on EPA Region 5's Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative is at http://www.epa.gov/midwestcleandiesel

Congress Considers Reform of U.S. Chemicals Control Law

Congress Considers Reform of U.S. Chemicals Control Law
By J.R. Pegg
WASHINGTON, DC, February 26, 2009 (ENS) - The U.S. chemical regulatory system is failing to protect public health and the environment and is in dire need of reform, experts told a House panel Thursday. The legal hurdles of existing law make it virtually impossible for the federal government to limit or ban the use of toxic chemicals or to even obtain the information needed to devise effective regulations, several witnesses testified before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. (More....)

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