Document QXmp4NLxq9bO9nDb7jgqORyx7

Voluae 51, No. 8 INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE DIGEST August 1987 NEWS ITEMS 736/87 COURT RULES STANDARDS TO BE BASED ON HEALTH. Chem. & Eng. News 65(31): 6, Aug. 1987 In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Envi ronmental Protection Agency cannot set standards for hazardous air pollutants based solely on cost and technological feasibility. The court ordered EPA to reconsider its vinyl chloride standard to set a safe emissions level based on health consid erations. The decision is likely to affect how EPA sets emission rules for a host of other toxic air pollutants. Writing for the court. Supreme Court nominee Robert H. Bork reversed himself and an earlier judicial-panel decision on how the agency may set an emission level for the cancercausing chemical vinyl chloride. Last November appellate Judge Bork, writing for a three-judge panel, ruled that EPA could consider cost and technological feasibility in setting health safety standards for toxic air pollutants. In the latest decision, Bork wrote that health risks must be considered first in determining a safe emission level, a level that results in acceptable risk to health. If, however, EPA "cannot find that there is an acceptable risk at any level, then [it] must set the level at zero." But, quoting a recent Su preme Court ruling, safe does not mean risk-free. "Once 'safety' is assured, [EPA] should be free to diminish as much of the statistically determined risk as possible by setting the standard at the lowest feasible level," Bork wrote. So in setting an emission standard with an ample margin of safe ty to protect public health called for by the Clean Air Act, EPA may then consider cost and technological feasibility. EPA spokesman Chris Rice says the decision "reflects reality" in that it recognizes that a zero emission standard is not required by the law, and that "cost and technolog ical feasibility can be used in establishing the margin of safety." He says the decision will have an immediate effect on the agency's proposed cokeoven emissions standard, and a more distant effect on rules for cadmium, carbon tetrachloride, and chloroform now under development. --Condensed from text 737/87 SOLVENT USE LINKED TO LIVER DAMAGE, LEADS TO >481,000 PROPOSED PENALTY PROM OSHA. Occup. Safety & Health Reporter 17(9):387, July 29, 1987. ~ In the latest of a lengthy string of six-figure penalty actions this year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration July 28 cited a small Connecticut fabric coating firm for 179 alleged violations of personal protective equipment stan dards and other safety and health regulations, and proposed a fine of $480,840. Uretek Inc. was cited for 34 alleged willful violations for fail- SL 037384 1 ing to comply with health requirements for its 34 employees, who were exposed to the solvent di methyl formamide, a "potent" liver toxin. Accord ing to accident and illness records reviewed by the agency, 34 Uretek employees showed signs of overexposure to the chemical. In announcing the citations, OSHA Administrator John A. Pendergrass cited the company's "continued failure to ensure the use of protective equipment for employees ex posed to dimethylformamide - which can be readily absorbed through the skin - [which] demonstrates a serious disregard for the health of those work ers." According to OSHA's citations, Uretek failed to ensure the use of appropriate protective gloves, aprons, and foot coverings for its 34 em ployees who work with chemical solvents. Of the alleged serious violations, the agency contended that the company allowed employees to eat and store food and beverages in contaminated areas and failed to mark containers with the identity of the chemical inside. OSHA's investigation leading to the citations found that despite a detailed hazard communication program as well as company offici als' knowledge of the hazards associated with DMF, little effort was made to train the employees about personal protection from exposure to that and other chemicals. --Condensed from text 738/87X RADON LEVELS IN HOMES IN NINE MARYLAND counties And the "CITY OF Baltimore exceed epa7! STANDARD. Environ. Sci. Technol. 21^(7): 616, July 1987. Radon levels in homes in nine Maryland counties and the city of Baltimore exceed EPA's standard of 4 picocuries (pCi)/L, according to a report by the University of Pittsburgh's Radon Project. The highest levels of radon-43.7 pCi/L in basements and 18.7 pCi/L in living areas-were found in the Westminster section. One brick house showed a ra don level of 629 pCi/L. The University of Pitts burgh compiled the data from 2,600 readings in Maryland households and catalogued the data by postal ZIP code. The report says that the seri ousness of Maryland's radon problems ranks behind only two other states: Pennsylvania and Colorado. Radon is held responsible for a portion of the 15,000-20,000 annual deaths from lung cancer that occur among nonsmokers in the United States. --Text reprinted 739/87X AS MANY AS 20,000 CASES OF CANCER MAY RESULT FROM PESTICIDES THAT CONTAMINATE COH4QN foods! Environ. Sci. Technol. 21_(7): 616, July 1987. As many as 20,000 cases of cancer may result from pesticides that contaminate common foods, accord ing to a report issued May 20 by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Foods posing the greatest risk include tomatoes, beef, potatoes, oranges, and lettuce. In its study, NAS made Volume 51, No. 8 INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE DIGEST August 1987 stomach, and lymphatic system, while one showed no increased cancer risk. These studies were limited by small numbers of people surveyed, and none has assessed the effect of cigarette smoking habits on the results. The current research includes a sur vey of cigarette smoking in a sample group to evaluate whether smoking will affect exposureresponse relationships. Part of the research will focus on workers hired after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1978 set a 2 parts per million, eight-hour, time-weighted aver age permissible exposure level for acrylonitrile. OSHA first set a permissible exposure level of 20 ppm as an eight-hour, time-weighted average in 1972. --Condensed from text 848/87 STUDY SAYS CHILDHOOD LEUKEMIA LINKED TO FATHERS' EXPOSURE Td CHLORINATED'SOLVENTS. Chem. Reg. Reporter. U(l!7): 768, July 24, 1987. Children whose fathers were exposed to chlorinated solvents at work had an increased risk of leuke mia, according to a federally funded study report ed in the July issue of the Journal of the Nation al Cancer Institute. The study investigated chil dren age 10 and under in Los Angeles County to de termine the causes of leukemia. Researchers from the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Uni versity of Southern California School of Medicine interviewed the mothers and fathers of 123 acute leukemia sufferers about specific occupational and home exposures. Based on information on the pa tients and 123 other children who were matched to the leukemia sufferers in age, race, sex, and eth nicity, the study concluded there was an increased risk of leukemia for children whose fathers had occupational exposure, after the birth of the youngster, to chlorinated solvents or worked at plants manufacturing transportation equipment mostly aircraft. It also found an increased risk for children whose parents used pesticides in the home or garden or who burned incense in the home. These results remained statistically significant after researchers adjusted for other significant findings. The study said the findings are "con sistent with previous investigations that have demonstrated elevated risks for leukemia in young sters whose fathers are employed in occupations where exposure to hydrocarbons may occur." It con tinued, "Children may be exposed to the substances with which their parents work because the parents bring home these substances on their skin or clothes or in their exhaled air." Other risk fac tors identified in the study were the fathers' ex posure to spray paint, methyl ethyl ketone, and cutting oil after the child was born or fathers' exposure to spray paint during the mothers' preg nancy. For all of these factors, the risk was greater for frequent rather than infrequent use. --Condensed from text SL 037385 28 849/87 HAZARD COMMUNICATION GUIDANCE MANUAL IN DRAFT STAGE FOR FEDERAL A5ENCV UST Occup. Safet- 4 Health Reporter. 17(9): 392, July 29, 1987. -- As the federal government gears up to protect its employees from workplace hazards by voluntarily extending the hazard communication standard to all federal workers, a 90-page implementation guide is being prepared giving agencies the A-to-Z of the rule. The Occupational Safety and Health Adminis tration's hazard communication standard currently covers chemical manufacturers, importers, and dis tributers, including federal entities engaged in manufacturing activities. Because OSHA will ex pand the scope of the standard to cover all work ers in response to a court order, a decision was made last year to initiate a cooperative effort to bring all agencies under the standard as soon as possible. A recent draft of the guidance manual, obtained by BNA, includes provisions of OSHA's performance standard, with the caveat that the ma terials included are generic so that they may be adapted to fit the needs of different federal fa cilities. According to the manual, the senior agency official in each field office or location is responsible for implementing the program. The primary provisions of the standard - a written plan; hazard identification; development, collec tion, and maintenance of material safety data sheets; hazard labeling; and employee training are explained in detail in the manual. Participa ting federal agencies will be assisted in training employees through the availability of a generic training program. The training program - which is to include videotapes, employee brochures, and instructor guides - is designed to be adapted to meet the needs of different government facilities where employees are exposed to hazardous sub stances. The hazard communication guidance manual also includes lengthy appendices on the text of the OSHA standard, lists of chemicals "presumed to be hazardous," health hazards "associated with in dustrial operations," and samples of written haz ard communication programs, chemical inventories, and MSDSs. ---Condensed from text 850/87 RESULTS OF FIRST AGENCY-MANDATED TESTS SAY 1,1,1-TRICHLOROETHANE NOT TERATOGENIC. Chem. Reg. Reporter. 11(17): 770, July 24, 1987. Maternally toxic doses of 1,1,1-trichloroethane were not teratogenic in rabbits and rats in a study performed by the Halogenated Solvents Indus try Alliance, according to test results announced by the Environmental Protection Agency. The re sults stemmed from the first final testing rule issued by the agency under Section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. In October 1984, the agency mandated developmental toxicity studies on 1,1,1-trichloroethane (CAS No. 71-55-6) by inhala tion, saying the research was needed because the