Fw: GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 020320

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020320

GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS

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CHANGES IN CARBON DIOXIDE MAY INCEASE POLLEN PRODUCTION

Date: 020320

Wrom: YFMYXOEAIJJPHSCRTNHGSWZ

POLLEN PRODUCTION - AND ALLERGIES - MAY RISE SIGNIFICANTLY OVER NEXT

50 YEARS; INCREASE IN CARBON DIOXIDE COULD FORCE CHANGE IN PLANT

POPULATIONS

AScribe Newswire, March 20, 2002

Boston - Rising carbon dioxide levels associated with global warming

could lead to an increase in the incidence of allergies to ragweed and

other plants by mid-century, according to a report appearing in the

March ls of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology by Harvard University

researchers. The study found that ragweed grown in an atmosphere with

double the current carbon dioxide levels produced 61 percent more

pollen than normal. Such a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide is

expected to occur between 2050 and 2100.

" The side effects of carbon dioxide, as well as its impact on heat

budget and the water cycle, have to be taken very seriously, " said

Epstein, MD, Harvard Medical School instructor in medicine and

associate director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment

at HMS. " I believe this study can help us understand the true costs of

burning fossil fuels. "

Ragweed, which flourishes along roadsides and in disturbed habitats

throughout North America, produces one of the most common allergens.

The researchers grew ragweed plants from seeds in two different

enclosed environments. One was maintained at 350 parts carbon dioxide

to a million parts air, which is roughly the current level. The other

module was maintained at 700 parts carbon dioxide to a million parts

air.

The indoor ragweed pollen results-61 percent more in the second

module-echo the findings of a recent study conducted outdoors in North

Carolina, said Epstein. In that study, excess carbon dioxide was

pumped into a pine forest, tripling the number of pine cones and

seeds. " It is a very important study because it shows how carbon

dioxide affects different plant parts, " he said. Taken together, the

studies suggest that under carbon dioxide-enriched conditions, plants

may boost production of their propagative elements to enhance their

reproductive success.

In addition to producing more allergens-and possibly more allergy

sufferers-such a trend could alter competitive relationships among

different plants, encouraging the growth of weedy species. " Rising

carbon dioxide levels may skew the whole ecological community by

affecting reproductive power, " he said. The study highlights the need

to reduce carbon dioxide levels. " Carbon dioxide is greater than it

has been for 420,000 years, " Epstein said. From that time until as

recently as the Industrial Revolution, it was only 280 parts per

million of air.

" We're outside the envelope, we're pushing the envelope on the

terrestrial feedback mechanisms that have drawn down carbon dioxide, "

Epstein said. " This all points to our need to change our energy diet. "

Fakhri Bazzaz , Mallinckrodt professor of biology at Harvard

University, and Wayne, formerly with the Harvard University's

Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and Harvard College

student nah , are coauthors on the study. The study was

funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Forbairt

International Collaboration Programme.

Harvard Medical School has more than 5,000 full time faculty working

in eight academic departments based at the School's Boston quadrangle

or in one of 47 academic departments at 17 affiliated teaching

hospitals and research institutes. Those HMS affiliated institutions

include:

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston VA Medical Center Brigham

and Women's Hospital Cambridge Hospital Center for Blood Research

Children's Hospital Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Harvard Pilgrim

Health Care Joslin Diabetes Center Judge Baker Children's Center

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Massachusetts General Hospital

Massachusetts Mental Health Center McLean Hospital Mount Auburn

Hospital Schepens Eye Research Institute Spaulding Rehabilitation

Hospital

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HAZARD REDUCTION AT CHEMICAL PLANTS EQUALS SAFER HOMETOWNS

Date: 020320

Wrom: IDREXCAXZOWCONEUQZAAFXIS

OMB Watch, 03/20/2002

The Safe Hometowns Initiative, a coalition of citizen groups, held

press briefings and events in more than 20 states across the country

on March 7 to warn that six months after the Sept. 11 attacks,

millions of Americans remain at risk from possible terrorist attacks

on chemical storage facilities.

This warning was recently reinforced by a study from the Army surgeon

general, uncovered by the Washington Post, which concludes that as

many as 2.4 million people are at risk of being killed or injured in a

terrorist attack against a U.S. toxic chemical plant in a densely

populated area. This shocking number is twice as high as previous

government estimates of possible casualties of a worst-case scenario

involving terrorist attacks on chemical plants.

To prevent against such a scenario, the Safe Hometowns coalition is

calling for community efforts and federal policy changes to reduce

chemical hazards by requiring companies to consider " inherently safer "

technologies and materials, which could reduce - - and in many cases

eliminate - the possibility of a significant chemical release. This

vision is detailed by the coalition in a new groundbreaking report,

the Safe Hometowns Guide, http://216.194.201.93/safehometowns.pdf a

citizen's guide to reducing chemical hazards in communities. The U.S.

Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), in working on the

initiative, also crafted a complementary policy report, Protecting Our

Hometowns.

The Safe Hometowns Guide explains how citizens can make their

communities less vulnerable to a chemical attack and safer in the

event of a chemical release. Among other examples, the guide cites

changes in hundreds of New Jersey drinking water and wastewater

treatment facilities and a Washington, D.C., wastewater treatment

plant that all switched from toxic chlorine gas to a less hazardous

alternative. The Washington plant made the move within weeks of Sept.

11, eliminating the possibility of a toxic chlorine cloud spreading

across the nation's capital, which is discussed in detail in this

previous article from OMB Watch's Executive Report.

" More guards and higher fences alone cannot protect our communities, "

said Sanford , consultant and author of the Safe Hometowns Guide.

" These may be useless against terrorists known to use passenger planes

and truck bombs. The good news is that we can reduce the chemicals at

these sites and make it harder for terrorists to hurt people. "

Public health and safety experts helped develop the Guide to provide

concerned citizens and organizations with tools they need to reduce

the vulnerability of their hometowns. The guide has a step-by-step

checklist, to help communities to organize a Chemicals Reassessment

Group, which would then identify vulnerable facilities, organize

assessments of hazardous materials used at facilities and make

recommendations on safer material and process alternatives.

While chemical plants have posed significant risks to communities

from " routine " accidents, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 have

prompted a reassessment of these threats and greater sense of urgency

in addressing these risks. The guide establishes a hierarchy of

solutions, beginning with inherent safety and cleaner production

methods such as substituting safer materials, lowering volumes of

dangerous chemicals stored onsite. Lower on the hierarchy are actions

such as increasing site security measures, add-on technologies for

capturing releases, increasing the buffer zone between the facility

and residences and schools, and finally emergency response planning.

While the latter measures are recommended, and traditionally more

focused upon, it is the earlier responses that will provide the

greatest benefit by significantly reducing the risk communities face

even if the security measures fail.

While the Safe Hometowns Guide addresses how citizens can reduce the

risk from chemical plants, Sen. Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) is attempting to

use federal policy to achieve similar risk reduction. Corzine has

introduced the Chemical Security Act (S.1602), which directs the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice (DOJ)

to work with state and local agencies to inventory hazardous chemical

sources and determine which are a high-priority risk. EPA and DOJ

would then work to reduce those risks by requiring the companies that

manufacture, use, or store hazardous chemicals to make processes

inherently safer by reducing chemical quantities, switching to safer

chemicals, or storing chemicals under safer conditions, starting with

the facilities that pose the greatest risk.

" There is widespread agreement that chemical plants are potentially

attractive to terrorists. So we need to take steps to reduce hazards

and improve security at plants. There is a lack of federal standards

in this regard, and that's why I introduced the Chemical Security

Act, " Corzine said. The Safe Hometowns Initiative has called for

passage of Corzine's bill, which is currently awaiting mark-up. Sens.

Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Jeffords (I-VT) are cosponsoring the

bill.

Rep. Pallone (D-NJ) has indicated that he will introduce a bill

similar to the Chemical Security Act in the House in the upcoming

weeks when Corzine's bill is ready for markup. " We know that hazards

can be reduced through the use of inherently safer materials and

processes, " said Rep. Pallone. " Thousands of people have been

protected from chemical explosions or leaks when facilities have

eliminated or reduced the use of hazardous materials. With a

combination of community involvement and federal policy changes, we

can protect people. "

U.S. PIRG's report, Protecting Our Hometowns,

http://uspirg.org/reports/ProtectingourHometowns3_02.pdf gives a

number of specific policy suggestions that would make the nation's

15,000 high-risk facilities safer, highlighting the dangers we

currently face. Specifically, PIRG cites EPA documents showing that a

chemical release at any one of 125 facilities nationwide could put at

least one million people at risk; some 3,000 facilities each put

10,000 people's safety at risk.

PIRG gives particular attention to widespread hazardous substances

such as ammonia and chlorine, used by a range of industries, including

chemical manufacturers, water treatment facilities, and refineries.

According to industry estimates, if the chlorine from even one tank

car were released or blown up, the toxic gas could travel two miles in

ten minutes and remain lethal as far away as 20 miles. According to

PIRG's report every state except Vermont has facilities with over

100,000 lbs. of hazardous materials that could affect residential

areas. Given this level of danger, it's time we act.

* * *

© 2001 OMB Watch

1742 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009

202-234-8494 (phone)

202-234-8584 (fax)

ombwatch@...

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68 NUCLEAR PLANTS GET U.S. QUERY

Date: 020320

Wrom: HJEXXIMQZUIVOTQNQE

REGULATORS WANT QUICK ASSURANCE DAVIS-BESSE'S DAMAGE DOESN'T LURK IN

SIMILAR REACTORS ELSEWHERE

By Jim Mackinnon, jmackinnon@...

Beacon Journal, March 20, 2002

Keeping nuclear power plants safe following the Sept. 11 terrorist

attacks remains the industry's No. 1 concern.

The No. 2 concern: finding out how acid damaged FirstEnergy's -

Besse nuclear power plant.

" This is a very significant issue for the industry and the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, " said Jack Strosnider, director of the division

of engineering in the NRC's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Because of -Besse, the NRC sent out bulletins yesterday to the

operators of the nation's 68 other pressurized-water reactors, asking

them to show that their plants don't have similar problems.

Typically, the NRC seeks responses from the industry in 30 to 45

days. This time, the federal agency gave 15.

The NRC wants to know if other power plants have similar damage or

are vulnerable to corrosion that could challenge safety systems. At

the least, new discoveries could cost plant owners tens of millions of

dollars to fix; FirstEnergy estimates it will have to pay as much as

$10 million for repairs and $10 million to $15 million a month to buy

extra energy until -Besse is restarted. The plant was shut down

on Feb. 16 for refueling and an NRC-mandated safety inspection, which

led to the discovery of the damage.

The NRC's bulletin was just one of the latest developments in the

investigation into how boric acid, a byproduct of the nuclear

reaction, unexpectedly chewed two cavities in -Besse's steel

reactor vessel head, a 150-ton safety device that's more than 6 inches

thick and covers the radioactive fuel rods. One of the cavities is 6

inches deep, while the other is much smaller, about 1 « inches deep.

A survey presented yesterday to the NRC by nuclear industry members

reported that three other nuclear plants may be susceptible to the

kind of damage found at -Besse. The survey was conducted at the

NRC's request. It didn't name the plants, but the NRC said it will get

the names shortly. No other nuclear plants have reported similar

damage, the NRC said.

" We'll see if we have to take further action, " said Sheron,

associate director for project licensing and technical assessment with

the NRC. " The agency has the authority to shut down plants and order

an inspection. We haven't had to do that yet. "

A second public meeting is scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. today at NRC's

headquarters in Rockville, Md.

Also yesterday, the NRC reported for the first time that the reactor

vessel head's thin inner lining of stainless steel - between 3/16 and

3/8 of an inch thick - bulged slightly but still prevented radioactive

coolant from spewing out through the deepest cavity and into the power

plant's massive containment chamber, officials said. The NRC said the

bulge was about 1/8 of an inch.

While the stainless steel lining is designed mainly for corrosion

protection, it also helps contain the enormous pressure - upwards of

2,500 pounds per square inch - in addition to the much thicker carbon

steel that encases it, officials said.

Initial calculations show that the stainless steel lining could have

withstood far greater pressures before breaking, the NRC and

FirstEnergy said.

Even if the lining had shattered and created what is called a " loss

of coolant " accident - something that's never happened in the United

States - safety devices would have shut the reactor down and prevented

any radioactive materials from getting into the environment, officials

have said.

" If everything works right, it's going to be an economic hit for the

plant owner, not a safety hit, " said Lochbaum, a nuclear safety

expert with the Union for Concerned Scientists. A nuclear plant with a

coolant loss could be cleaned up and running in about a year, he

estimated.

FirstEnergy hopes to get-Besse repaired and restarted before

July, the company said again yesterday.

Details of those repairs will not be known until after the cause of

the damage is determined. Two months, however, would not be long

enough to replace the entire vessel head, a lengthy process that could

cost $20 million.

The discovery of the second, smaller cavity will not delay repairs or

add to the costs, -Besse spokesman Wilkins said.

FirstEnergy first has to figure out how the damage was created.

Preliminary indications are that hairline cracks in parts called

control rod nozzles allowed water with boron in it to touch the carbon

steel that makes up the outside of the reactor vessel head. Three of

-Besse's 69 nozzles were found to have hairline cracks that

extended all the way through the device. Cracks have been found in

nozzles at other nuclear power plants, but industry experts said their

calculations never predicted the kind of damage found at - Besse.

Once a so-called root cause is found, FirstEnergy hopes the NRC will

approve whatever repairs the utility comes up with.

FirstEnergy has ordered a new reactor vessel head, but that will take

as long as two years to make. The massive device needs to be made in

Japan, then shipped to France to be finished.

FirstEnergy said that no matter how long it takes to restart the 883-

megawatt plant, its customers won't go without electricity. -

Besse represents about 14 percent of FirstEnergy's generating

capacity.

" We'll handle it, " spokesman Ralph DiNicola said.

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CONGRESS REACHES FARM SPENDING DEAL

Date: 020320

From: http://www.newsday.com/

By Philip Brasher, AP Farm Writer, March 20, 2002

Washington - With agreements in hand on a broad agricultural spending

plan, congressional negotiators say they hope to finish work next

month on an overhaul of farm and nutrition programs.

Under the deal reached Tuesday, subsidies for grain, cotton and other

crops would increase by 70 percent. Spending on conservation programs

that subsidize improvements in farm practices and idle environmentally

sensitive land would go up by 80 percent. Negotiators also set aside

money for restoring food stamp benefits to noncitizens.

Leaders of a House-Senate conference committee issued a statement

late Tuesday saying their agreement provides the " needed framework to

speed negotiations for early April completion " of a compromise farm

bill.

They said the committee expects final decisions on the legislation

during public meetings the second week of April.

Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Congress is fast running out

of time to enact new programs that could take effect with this year's

crops.

The administration " stands ready to implement a new farm bill this

year. ... However, each week that passes make this formidable task

ever more challenging, " she said.

Lawmakers still must agree on how the money will be spent as well as

resolve major differences between the House and Senate on farm policy.

Tuesday's agreement represents a compromise between spending levels

contained in bills passed last fall by the House and in February by

the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said the deal

" puts us one step closer to enacting a bill that corrects the

problems " in the 1996 farm law.

Last year's congressional budget plan allowed lawmakers to increase

spending for agriculture, conservation and nutrition programs by $73.5

billion over the coming decade.

Tuesday's agreement allows commodity subsidies to rise by $48.6

billion over the 10-year period, or nearly $5 billion annually, a 70

percent increase over existing programs. Money is included to set up a

new subsidy program for dairy farms.

Conservation spending would rise by $17.1 billion over the decade.

Environmentalists immediately attacked that number as inadequate. A

Senate-passed farm bill would have boosted conservation spending by

$21.3 billion. A House bill included a $15.8 billion increase.

" Senate negotiators have cut the programs that benefit the public and

most family farmers in order to give billions more to the country's

largest cotton and grain farmers, " said Faber of the advocacy

group Environmental Defense.

The agreement also set aside $6.4 billion to expand the food-stamp

program by about 3 percent. That would be enough to restore benefits

to noncitizens who have been in the country for at least five years.

Other changes would provide small increases in benefits for people

already getting food stamps.

" Given the realities of the farm bill, this represents a reasonable

compromise, " said Ellen Nissenbaum of the liberal Center on Budget and

Policy Priorities.

There is additional money earmarked in the agreement for rural

development, trade and agricultural research.

The issues still confronting the negotiators include subsidy levels

for crops, a Senate-passed ban on meatpacker ownership of cattle and

hogs and a Senate- approved limit on the subsidies that individual

farms can receive.

- - -

The bills are H.R. 2646 and S. 1731.

On the Net:

Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/

House committee: http://www.agriculture.house.gov/

Senate committee: http://agriculture.senate.gov/

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Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press

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U.S. ACTS TO SHRINK ENDANGERED SPECIES HABITATS

Date: 020320

From: http://www.sej.org

By Greg Winter, New York Times, March 20, 2002

Los Angeles - The Bush administration, under pressure from lawsuits

by real estate developers, is urging federal judges to roll back legal

protections for nearly two dozen populations of endangered species

around the country.

In an effort to resolve as many as a dozen cases against them, the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine

Fisheries Service, two agencies that enforce the Endangered Species

Act, are asking federal courts in California to rescind millions of

acres of protected habitat for whipsnakes in the state's northern

grasslands, rare birds in the scrublands to the south, fairy shrimp in

shallow pools along the coast and salmon among the rivers, estuaries

and shorelines of four Western states.

The administration is also questioning whether to preserve the

" critical habitat " designations that safeguard millions of acres for

about 10 other endangered species, from the Mexican spotted owl to the

California red- legged frog, signaling a widespread shift in

environmental policy that has consoled developers and incensed

environmentalists.

" The Bush administration is voluntarily waving the white flag, " said

Reynolds, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an

environmental group that has intervened in a Los Angeles federal court

on behalf of the California gnatcatcher, a tiny brush bird. " It is a

significant step in the wrong direction for wildlife protection, " Mr.

Reynolds said, arguing that the administration's willingness to

concede in these cases could indicate it is inclined to do so in

future lawsuits.

In cases where they have relented to developers' demands,

administration officials contend that they have had little choice.

Last May, in a suit brought by cattlemen and farmers in New Mexico,

the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit invalidated

nearly 600 miles of protected streams and river beds for the willow

flycatcher because the government did not fully consider how

businesses and landowners would be affected, as the law requires.

An equally limited economic analysis took place for most of the 150

habitats that have been set aside for endangered species, limiting

development in the areas. Most were set aside after the Clinton

administration was forced to map protected areas by federal court

decisions in lawsuits brought by environmental groups. Because of

that, Bush administration officials say they have little confidence of

prevailing in the many lawsuits brought by developers nationwide.

" The interpretation was simple: We would lose, " said Gordon Helm, a

spokesman for the Fisheries Service, which announced last week that it

hoped to resolve a suit with the National Association of Home Builders

by withdrawing the protected habitats for 19 populations of chinook,

chum, coho, sockeye and steelhead in California, Oregon, Washington

and Idaho.

While they acknowledge that carving out critical habitats ensures

additional protections for rare animals, administration officials say

the Endangered Species Act still offers ample ways of shielding the

environment from destructive forms of development. Once an animal is

listed as endangered, for example, federal officials have the power to

intervene in any development that seriously threatens its well-being.

" Vacating the critical habitats is not going to have a significant

impact on the species, " said Tollefson, a spokesman for the Fish

and Wildlife Service. " If it was, we wouldn't be proposing it. "

Whenever an animal goes on the endangered species list, the

geographic area considered essential to its survival must be listed as

a critical habitat, subject to a heightened degree of scrutiny that

landowners have long criticized as cumbersome, if not simply

unmanageable. Though new homes and even large-scale complexes can

still be built in the protected areas, they must often undergo

extensive reviews.

The rules have offered a lifeline for environmentalists hoping to

curb infringement into pristine habitats. But developers argue that

hampering construction on millions of acres of prime real estate,

especially for an animal that may not even live in the area, violates

the mandate of the Endangered Species Act.

" Is the cost to society at large greater than the potential benefit

to the species? " asked , general counsel of the Building

Industry Association of Southern California. " That's what the

government is supposed to consider. "

As they sketched out the boundaries for dozens of protected areas

over the last five years, however, federal officials typically

concluded that there were no significant economic consequences to

doing so, prompting a wave of federal lawsuits by developers.

" How do you set aside 500,000 acres of the most valuable land in the

country and say there is no economic impact? " asked Rob Thornton, a

lawyer trying to throw out the gnatcatcher habitat that spans the

coast from Orange County to San Diego. Builders in Southern California

found that preserving the habitat would cost the state $300 million to

$5.5 billion in lost construction jobs and new housing.

Farther north, developers amid the inland hills of Alameda County

contend that the 400,000 acres of protected lands awarded to the whip-

snake are so ill-conceived they blanket the entire city of Dublin, a

town of 32,000 people. " How can a city of thousands be considered a

critical habitat? " asked Guy Bjerke, vice president of the Home

Builder's Association of Northern California.

Though the government has offered to withdraw many of the contested

habitats, at least until it can perform a more detailed economic

analysis, it is up to the federal judges reviewing such cases to

approve the concessions. In the gnatcatcher case, for example, a

federal judge in Los Angeles has indicated his willingness to grant

the government's request. If such decisions become common,

environmental groups argue, a burst of new development is likely to

follow, impinging upon endangered species, even if the government

ultimately decides to restore the habitats once its economic review is

complete.

" The Bush administration is undoing these critical habitats without

explaining what they're going to do instead to recover endangered

species from the brink of extinction, " said Bill Corcoran, the Sierra

Club coordinator who is organizing against developers in Southern

California.

But to accuse the administration of being particularly insensitive to

endangered species is unfair, wildlife officials argue. After all,

President Bill Clinton only began setting aside critical habitats for

endangered species after environmentalists forced his administration

to do so in the courts.

What is more, Bush officials argue, with all the lawsuits over

habitats, filed by developers and environmentalists alike, the Fish

and Wildlife Service's ability to put new animals on the endangered

species list ground to a halt last year.

" Unfortunately, we're in a situation now where the needs of the

species aren't really driving the process, " Mr. Tollefson said. " It's

who's getting into the courtroom first. "

* * *

Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

* * *

© 2002 New Jersey Online.

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