By Heidi Brayer
At an April 2010 stakeholder’s meeting, the EPA discussed proposed plans for the third phase of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) program. If approved, approximately 4,800 public water utilities will be required to monitor up to 30 contaminants starting in 2013.
In November 2010, the EPA published a second list of chemicals for the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). New to this list were those pesticides identified by the FDA and priority pollutants under the Safe Drinking Water Act that did not appear on the first list.
Learn more about Endocrine Disruptor Chemicals…
The EPA has recently published several document summaries about method detection limits, quantitation limits and calibration curves. To create the summaries, EPA evaluated the current use of these concepts and future needs across EPA program lines. The resulting compilations will help practitioners better understand the existing terminology and how each EPA program handles data.
Read more about the EPA Summaries…
The EPA has approved 12 drinking water testing methods for samples subject to the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). These methods are used in measuring levels of potential contaminants.
Read more about the drinking water methods…
The EPA has proposed new rules directed at emissions from sewage sludge incinerator (SSI) units. SSI units are typically found at wastewater treatment facilities and, according to the EPA, are the sixth-largest source of mercury air emissions in the US. The proposal not only limits mercury emissions, but also sets standard and emission guidelines for eight other pollutants, including lead, cadmium, hydrogen chloride, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, dioxins and furans, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide. However, mercury is of particular interest because the proposed emission standard is more stringent than the mandates that were set under the Clean Air Act.
Learn more about Mercury emissions from sewage incinerators…
Recently, the EPA announced it intends to propose a rule to reduce mercury waste from dental offices. Mercury is a concern to human health because it is considered a persistent bioaccumulative toxic element.
According to the EPA, dental amalgams, or fillings containing mercury, account for 3.7 tons of mercury discharged into US waterways each year.
Read more about Reducing Mercury from Dental Offices
The EPA is considering hexabromocyclododecane, a brominated flame retardant made up of various mixtures of its 16 isomers (herein: HBCD), for action under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). This is in addition to two other groups of compounds already discussed in previous Lab Science News articles.
HBCD is ubiquitous in the environment throughout the world and is also found in human tissues, including blood, adipose, and breast milk. When released into the environment, it can travel great distances, bioaccumulating and biomagnifing in the food chain. In addition to its high toxicity to aquatic organisms, studies have also linked HBCD to reproductive, developmental, and neurological effects in humans, with a potentially higher impact on children because of their smaller size.
Read more on hexabromocyclododecane…
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