Fw: OPPT-Newsbreak Monday, 21 June 1999

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>

>OPPT NEWSBREAK Monday 21 June 1999

>

>

> Today's " Toxic News for the Net "

> Brought to you by the OPPTS Chemical Library

> http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/oppt_nb.txt

>

>[Note to our readers: In the interest of making your reading of

>OPPT Newsbreak more efficient, we are experimenting with a change

>in editorial policy: we are now grouping editorials and

>commentary with other articles on the same subjects, whenever

>possible. Comments on how the change is working are welcome.

>OPPT NB Editor-in-chief.]

>

> NEWS

>

> " Panel Confirms No Major Illness Tied to Implants. " New York

>Times, 21 June 99, A1, A13.

> Convening at the request of Congress, an independent panel

> of 13 scientists from the Institute of Medicine concluded

> that there is no scientific evidence to link silicone breast

> implants to any major diseases, including lupus. The panel,

> having prepared a 400+ report in which they assimilated

> results from public hearings and analyses of more than one

> thousand research reports, said that the primary safety

> issue regarding implants is their tendency to rupture or

> leak which could lead to infections, scarring, and hardening

> of the breast tissue. This report is the most recent in a

> series of evaluative reports, all of which have concluded

> the same thing. The report is expected to encourage

> settlements outside of court, hastening the end of

> litigation, but it is not expected to be the last word on

> the matter.

>

> " Commission Supports Efforts by EPA to Improve Quality of Air in

>the U.S. " Wall Street Journal, 21 June 99, B13E.

> The Ozone Transport Commission passed three resolutions

> endorsing EPA measures aimed at reducing air pollution by

> cutting nitrogen oxide levels, vehicle emissions, and sulfur

> levels in fuel. The first resolution supports the agency's

> national ambient air quality standards, or NAAQS, requiring

> 22 states and the District of Columbia to reduce emissions

> of nitrogen oxide by 85% from 1990 levels by 2003, and

> calling for new standards for fine particulate matter.

> Those standards are now being challenged in court. The

> second resolution supports EPA's proposal setting stricter

> tailpipe-emissions standards for light trucks, and reducing

> the amount of sulfur in gasoline to 30 parts per million in

> 2004, and to 80 parts per million by 2006. The third

> resolution supports diesel-testing programs to help reduce

> pollution from heavy-duty diesel trucks and buses.

>

> " Sewage Spill [Nationline]. " USA Today, 18 June 99, 3A.

> About 4 million gallons of sewage spilled from a California

> water reclamation plant into a San Valley park

> while the plant was testing a Year 2000 scenario in which

> power failed. A portion of the park was to remain closed

> for two days while workers vacuumed the spilled sludge.

>

> " Unwelcome Guests: Summer Vacation Spots May Lure Infected Mice

>[Health Journal]. " Wall Street Journal, 21 June 99, B1.

> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in

> recent months it has seen more cases than average of

> hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, or HPS, a lethal lung

> infection triggered by inhaling tiny particles of rodent

> waste. Over 217 people in 30 states have been sickened.

> This column advises vacationers not to sweep or vacuum

> infested areas of cabins or houses, but douse the area with

> a 10% solution of chlorine bleach, and wear boots, gloves,

> mask, and protective clothing while wiping up waste with wet

> paper towels or cloths. People who have been near mice and

> get ill should seek immediate medical attention. The

> disease begins as " a raging flu--cough, fever, aches,

> malaise, and nausea [that] leads swiftly to respiratory

> failure and death in 45% of cases.

>

> " In Town, Coyotes, Turkeys and Bears, Oh My! " New York Times, 18

>June 99, A25.

> This article describes how development continues to displace

> wild animals by shrinking the wilderness in which they

> meander, therefore increasing the likelihood that an

> animal's random wanderings will lead it, by chance, into

> suburbia. Wildlife experts say that housing has " disturbed

> the instincts of animals and their natural fear of people " .

> In other words, behavioral evolution has enabled wild

> animals, like bears, moose, deer and coyotes, to live more

> comfortably alongside humans. Specific incidents with wild

> animals in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are

> described in the article.

>

> ACROSS THE USA, FROM USA TODAY

>

> " Elkhart, Indiana [Across the USA]. " USA Today, 18 June 99, 6A.

> An EPA spokesman said several homes in the Conrail Superfund

> site that were found to be polluted by " a carcinogenic gas

> and a chemical used to remove grease from metal parts "

> should be clear in three months.

>

> " Trash Bill [Washington]. " USA Today, 18 June 99, 21A.

> Indiana Lt. Gov. ph Kernan and Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.)

> told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that

> " Congress should give states the power to regulate how much

> trash is coming in from other states and where it can be

> disposed. " Indiana's landfills took in 2.8 million tons of

> trash from other states last year.

>

> AROUND THE BELTWAY: DC/MD/VA REGIONAL NEWS

>

> " Figuring Out Pfiesteria. Fish, Humans Stay Healthy As

>Researchers Keep Studying. " Washington Times, 21 June 99, C3.

> There has not been an outbreak of Pfiesteria on land's

> Eastern Shore since 1997, when three waterways were closed

> after fish showed signs of pfiesteria lesions. Scientists

> continue taking water samples, catching and inspecting fish,

> and studying the weather and algae blooms to try to discover

> what makes the microbe change into a toxic form.

>

> TOXICS IN THE NEWS: LEAD

>

> " Get the Lead Dust Out [Editorial]. " New York Times, 21 June 99,

>A18.

> The New York City Council is having its first hearing today

> on how to comply with a court order " to enforce or revise

> the city's lead abatement law by June 30. " The NYT does not

> support City Council Speaker Vallone's revised bill

> that they feel " puts too much burden on the tenant " instead

> of on the landlord to make sure their building is safe.

> They urge the Council to investigate new methods to ensure

> the safety of apartments while making sure affordable

> housing is still available for the poor. They suggest

> asking the courts for an extension on compliance.

>

> FISH POISONING

>

> " Pike Reappear, and a California City Is on Guard. " New York

>Times, 21 June 99, A12.

> In 1997 the California Fish and Game Department dumped more

> than 60,000 pounds of poisons, including the insecticide

> rotenone, into Plumas County's Lake in order to kill

> pike, fish which threatened the state's salmon and trout

> populations. Now, as pike sightings are once again

> circulating, residents are concerned that poisons might be

> applied to the lake again, which would, like before, hurt

> tourism and eliminate the lake as one of Portola's sources

> of drinking water. The economic health of the town is

> largely dependent on trout fishing and tourism around Lake

> . State and city officials, suspecting that the pike

> have been illegally planted, as was discovered for the first

> time in 1994, are investigating their return as a " crime of

> eco-terrorism " . Pike are native to cold waters in the

> Midwest.

>

> " Ted , Killer of Fish [Editorial]. " Washington Times, 21

>July 99, A14.

> The WT discusses Ted 's financial support of a program

> to introduce Westslope trout into Cherry Creek and Cherry

> Lake near Bozeman, Montana (near his Flying D Ranch).

> Officials plan to use toxins to kill off the Rainbow,

> Yellowstone and Brook trout currently in the waters, a

> strategy that is starting to get resistance from locals.

> Several are planning to file a lawsuit claiming violation of

> the Clean Water Act: " They argue that state and federal

> officials have to get a permit before releasing toxins into

> the water, just as a factory or individual would. "

>

> TOXICS IN THE NEWS: CARBONATED BEVERAGES

>

> " Inspector Says Ban on Coke Can Be Lifted. " Wall Street Journal,

>21 June 99, A3.

> Albert d'Adesky, head of Belgium's food-inspection agency,

> recommended to Belgium's health minister Luc Van den Bossche

> that the ban on sales of Coca-Cola products be lifted. Last

> week, Mr. Van den Bossche extended the ban, saying he needed

> a fuller explanation from the company of why more than 200

> people said they became ill after drinking Coke. On

> Saturday, Kroes, a toxicologist at Utrecht University

> that was retained by Coke, reviewed data from company

> laboratories and independent laboratories and found that the

> impurities in the carbon dioxide in the glass bottles from

> Antwerp did not pose a health hazard, nor did the fungicide,

> p-chloro-m-cresol, that had been sprayed on wooden pallets

> and may have been " 'taken up' " by the lacquer on the bottom

> of cans shipped from Dunkirk. Also on Saturday, tests

> conducted by the French government on Coke cans from Dunkirk

> found no evidence " of anomalies that would explain why

> consumers had felt ill. "

>

> " France Keeps Up Coca-Cola Ban. " New York Times, 21 June 99, C2.

> Consumer Affairs Minister lise Lebranchu and Health

> Secretary Bernard Kouchner renewed their recommendation that

> France maintain its ban on Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light,

> Fanta, and Sprite in cans produced at Dunkirk while awaiting

> final results of tests on cans from Belgium that were sold

> in France.

>

> " Coke Must Satisfy Two Pivotal European Officials. " Wall Street

>Journal, 21 June 99, A16.

> This article profiles Luc Van den Bossche, Belgium's new

> health minister, and lise Lebranchu, France's consumer-

> affairs minister.

>

> " Euro-Scare Isn't the 'Real Thing' [Commentary]. " Wall Street

>Journal, 21 June 99, A26.

> Whelan, president of the American Council on

> Science and Health, comments on the recent dioxin scare in

> Europe, citing it as contributing to the recent problems

> Coca-Cola has had. " Both episodes can be explained as an

> example of hysterical contagion, an epidemic during which

> victims present symptoms for which there is no biological

> explanation. " She chides Coca-Cola for not leveling with

> customers, instead " following the advice of public relations

> specialists who urge the company to 'address the public's

> concerns. " She concludes: " Coke should simply announce:

> " 'There is no health hazard at all from our product. It is

> a figment of your imagination.' This simple message has the

> added benefit of being true. "

>

> BIOTECHNOLOGY

>

> " Bar Codes for the Body Make It to the Market. Biometrics May

>Alter Consumer Landscape. " Washington Post, 21 June 99, A1, A6.

> Biometrics use a camera, sensor, or other device to digitize

> a personal trait such as an iris or a fingerprint, encrypts

> it, and files it in a database. For example, Bank United

> uses IriScan to identify users at its ATMs. Biometrics have

> become a cheaper, easier, and more secure way for some

> companies to conduct business, but some consumers have

> privacy concerns, including who is entitled to gather the

> information and whether the information can be stolen. The

> biometrics industry has designed a set of principles for

> companies to follow to avoid misuse of biometric

> information, and has urged that legal standards be adopted

> to restrict use of the data by public institutions.

> Sidebar: " A Human Bar Code " describes how iris-detection

> devices work.

>

> GARBAGE WARS

>

> " A Hazard Unreported In Virginia. " New York Times, 21 June 99,

>A16.

> Attempting to expose and zoom in on an overlooked weakness

> in Virginia's stand against importing trash from New York,

> undercover crew from the New York Times witnessed and

> documented a day's production and distribution of the

> Washington Post in Virginia. Observations support author

> Tierney's intended point, to illustrate the mass amount

> of in-state trash, i.e., newspapers that will need

> recycling, that Virginia produces every day - an amount he

> suggests is large enough to keep Virginia's worries about

> accepting out-of-state trash, i.e. from New York, in

> perspective.

>

> CAR CORNER

>

> " Ethyl Corp.'s Mechanics, Chemists Mix It Up to Clean Fuel. "

>Washington Times, 21 June 99, D13.

> This profile of Ethyl Corp., " one of the world's largest and

> most successful manufacturers of petroleum additives, "

> focuses on Ethyl's Research Center, where employees are

> working to develop products that allow engines to run

> cleaner and more efficiently.

>

> " Auto Makers Ask EPA to Reduce Levels of Sulfur in Gasoline to

>Nearly Zero. " Wall Street Journal, 21 June 99, B13E.

> Auto manufacturers have asked EPA to further reduce gasoline

> sulfur from its proposed Tier 2 rule of 30 parts per million

> by 2004 to between zero and 5 parts per million. Auto

> makers say the reduction is necessary to help boost vehicle

> fuel efficiency. Oil refiners say the Tier 2 plan already

> goes too far, placing too much of an investment burden on

> refiners. Some environmentalists say the auto makers are

> using gasoline-sulfur concerns as an excuse for delaying

> higher fuel efficiency.

>

> LIVING IN THE INFORMATION AGE

>

> " Special Libraries Conference Shows Growing Importance of the Web

>[The Browser]. " Washington Times, 21 June 99, D6.

> Columnist ph Szadkowski reports that the 90th annual

> Special Libraries Association (SLA) conference in

> Minneapolis " demonstrated how vital the Internet has become

> as an information resource, while highlighting the emerging

> role of the librarian as a technology specialist. " L.

> , president of the board of directors of the SLA, said,

> " 'With all that information available, it becomes even more

> important to have persons who are knowledgeable in the

> retrieval and packaging of that raw data. The role of the

> special librarian, the human intervention, is becoming even

> more important...We have found that a firm with 100

> employees can spend more than $8,000 per employee per year

> too much on information gathering when they do not use a

> professional librarian, instead relying on the individual

> professional to do their own research.' " The column also

> provides brief profiles and Web addresses for some of the

> vendors at the conference.

>

> " Overload! Technology Is Drowning the World with Information.

>But It's Also Beginning to Produce New Tools to Make Sense of it

>All [Technology]. " Wall Street Journal, R1-R26.

> This report includes the articles: " Managing the Mountain.

> For Too Many People, Information Is Proving to Be More of a

> Burden Than a Resource. But Help Is on the Way " ; " Making

> History. The National Archives Has a Monumental Challenge:

> Making Sure Government Records Are Preserved and

> Accessible " ; and " All in One. Too Often, Retrieving

> Messages Can Be an Endless Process: Check the Fax. Check

> Voice Mail. Check E-Mail...Here's Help. "

>

> " 'Dilbertisms,' Real and Apocryphal, Flourishing in U.S. "

>Washington Times, 21 June 99, A2.

> You may have seen the list of " 'Dilbertisms' " that is being

> circulated through e-mail, but " Dilbert " creator

> says he can't take credit for coining all of them. Included

> in the list are " 'cube farm'... an office filled with

> cubicles " ; " mouse potato...the on-line, wired generation's

> counterpart to the couch potato " ; " 'adminisphere,' the

> rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank

> and file " ; and " to be 'dilberted'...the victim of bad

> management. "

>

> INTER ALIA

>

> " Following a Very Old Bouncing Ball [science Notebook]. "

>Washington Post, 21 June 99, A9.

> Dorothy Hosler, of the Massachusetts Institute of

> Technology, and colleagues studied the rubber-making

> techniques of people in the Chiapas region of Mexico to

> learn how their ancestors were able to make solid rubber

> balls, hollow human figurines, and bindings as early as 1600

> B.C. The researchers discovered that they add an extract of

> a type of morning glory vine known as Ipomoea alba to the

> raw latex of the Castilla elastica tree. The extract " makes

> the latex rubbery by increasing the interactions between

> polymer molecules. " Their report appears in the June 18

> issue of _Science_ [which the OPPTS Chemical Library does

> not receive].

>

> " Bite the Hand That Beheads You [science Notebook]. " Washington

>Post, 21 June 99, A9.

> Drs. R. Suchard and LoVecchio of the Good

> Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix report in the

> June 17 issue of the _New England Journal of Medicine_

> [which the OPPTS Chemical Library does not receive] that

> recently killed rattlesnakes can still bite you. The

> doctors have treated snakebites that occurred when patients

> picked up snakes that had been killed by bludgeoning,

> shooting, or decapitation.

>

>* All items, unless indicated otherwise, are available at the

>U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

>Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxics Substances (OPPTS)

>Chemical Library

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>(202) 260-3944; FAX x4659;

>E-mail for comments: library-tsca@....

>(Due to copyright restrictions, the library cannot provide

>photocopies of articles.)

>

>*Viewpoints expressed in the above articles do not necessarily

>reflect EPA policy. Mention of products does not indicate

>endorsement.*

>

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