Report On Use of Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS).

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released its report examining the nation's use of carbon capture and storage (CCS). The report, titled “Federal Efforts to Reduce the Cost of Capturing and Storing Carbon Dioxide,” concludes that the initial costs of generating electricity with CCS would be “much more expensive than electricity produced by conventional coal-burning plants.”

According to the CBO, coal-fired power plants produce up to 45% of the usable electricity in the US, but they also account for a third of all U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is a major component in greenhouse gases, which have been associated with climate change. CCS is considered one option for coal-fired power plants to reduce their carbon emissions by “capturing” the CO2 produced when coal is burned, compressing it into a fluid, and storing it deep underground.

Although the process is in use in some industries, no CCS-equipped coal-fired power plants have been built on a commercial scale. Since 2005, lawmakers have given the Department of Energy (DOE) almost $7 billion to develop CCS technology, including its commercial viability, and reduce the cost of electricity generated by CCS-capable plants. The CBO concludes that unless funding to the DOE is substantially increased, or other policies are adopted to encourage utilities to invest in CCS, federal support is likely to play only a minor role in deployment of the technology.

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Draft Nanomaterial Case Study Released For Comment

On July 2 , 2012, EPA announced a 60-day public comment period for EPA's case study on multiwalled carbon nanotubes in flame-retardant coatings used in upholstery textiles. The draft document on the study, issued by EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), does not draw conclusions regarding potential risks or hazards of multiwalled carbon nanotubes; rather, it aims to identify what is known and unknown about the nanotubes to support future research. EPA says the draft document, which is being released for public comment and peer review, is not final. The Agency will consider comments it receives when finalizing the case study. In addition, EPA will hold an information exchange meeting to discuss the draft document and to provide information on the nanomaterial case study.

According to EPA, the draft document follows previous efforts on engineered nanoscale materials, or nanomaterials. Nanomaterials are materials that measure between 1 and 100 nanometers and often possess unusual, if not unique, properties that arise from their small size. Like all materials, EPA says, nanomaterials offer the potential for both benefits and risks.

EPA's 2007 Nanotechnology White Paper included the following recommendations regarding the risk assessment of nanomaterials:

1.  Develop case studies based on publicly available information on one or several intentionally produced nanomaterials and identify information gaps to help map areas of research that would support the sick assessment process; and
2. Hold a series of workshops involving a substantial number of experts from several disciplines to assist in these processes.

To meet these recommendations, NCEA has also prepared the Nanomaterial case studies “Nanoscale Titanium Dioxide in Water Treatment and in Topical Sunscreen” [Final] in 2010, and “Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant Spray” [External Review Draft] in 2012.

The comment period for the draft document begins July 2, 2012, and ends August 31, 2012. The public information exchange meeting will be held on October 29, 2012 at the EPA facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

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Four New Chemicals Added To California Prop 65 List

Effective June 22, 2012, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) within the California Environmental Protection Agency is adding benzophenone (CAS No. 119-61-9), coconut oil diethanolamine condensate (cocamide diethanolamine) (CAS No. 68603-42-9), diethanolamine (CAS No. 111-42-2), and 2-methylimidazole (CAS No. 693-98-1) to the list of chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer for purposes of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65).

The updated list of Prop 65 chemicals now includes these compounds. The basis for the listing of benzophenone, coconut oil diethanolamine condensate (cocamide diethanolamine), diethanolamine, and 2-methylimidazole was described in a public notice published in the January 20, 2012, in the California Regulatory Notice Register. The publication of the notice initiated a public comment period that closed on April 6, 2012.

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Proposed Restriction On Chromium In Leather Products

Denmark has submitted a report proposing a restriction on the placing on the market of articles of leather coming into direct and prolonged or repetitive contact with the skin if the leather contains chromium VI (chromium +6) in concentrations above a certain limit. Chromium VI is not intentionally used in the preparation of leather from skins and hides and in the manufacturing of articles of leather, but may be formed during the processing. The presence of chromium VI in tanned leather and articles of tanned leather can be avoided, under properly controlled conditions.

According to the report, chromium VI is known amongst other effects to cause severe allergic contact dermatitis in humans and to be able to elicit dermatitis at very low concentrations. The dossier concludes that extractable chromium VI from shoes and other articles of leather represents a risk for the development of contact allergy to chromium for the consumers and workers.

Surveys of chromium VI in articles of leather in some of the Members States have demonstrated that more than 30% of the tested articles of leather contained chromium VI in concentrations above 3 mg/kg (which is the proposed concentration limit). ECHA has begun the public consultation on the restriction report, which will end on September 16, 2012. However, ECHA encourages interested parties to give their comments by June 1, 2012.

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ECHA Proposes Restrictions On 1,4-dichlorobenzene Products

At the request of the European Commission, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has submitted a report proposing a restriction on the placing on the market and use of 1,4-dichlorobenzene-based air fresheners and toilet blocks. These products are mainly used to deodorize public and domestic toilets.

1,4-dichlorobenzene has been classified as a category 2 carcinogen and affects the kidneys and respiratory tract. The dossier concludes that where 1,4-dichlorobenzene products are used, domestic users of toilet blocks and air fresheners as well as toilet attendants and cleaners are exposed above safe levels. This means that the risks from this substance in these two groups cannot be adequately controlled. The Annex XV report contains the background and justifications for the proposed restriction. It includes the description of identified risks, information on alternatives, the effectiveness of the restriction in reducing the risks and its costs.

Interested parties can comment on both the restriction proposal and the associated report using the webform on ECHA's website. Comments will be reviewed and taken into account by the ECHA Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC). The final opinions of the two committees on the proposed restriction are scheduled to be available by June 2013. Based on these opinions, the European Commission will take a decision on whether to introduce these restrictions into the REACH Regulation.


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EPA Selects Priority Chemicals For Assessment Under TSCA in 2013-2014

As part of its existing chemicals management program, EPA has listed 83 chemicals as a part of its Work Plan under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Seven of those chemicals were chosen for further risk assessment in 2012, and EPA has identified 18 more of the chemicals for assessment in 2013 and 2014. According to EPA, the chemicals were chosen for a variety of reasons, including specific hazards such as potential carcinogenicity; potential to be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic; chemicals found in biomonitoring; or chemicals reported in consumer products.

The chemicals include five chlorinated hydrocarbons, three flame retardants, and four fragrance chemicals. In order to conduct risk assessments on the 18 chemicals, EPA will follow the procedures listed in the TSCA Work Plan Chemicals Methods Document and will use information available from a variety of sources. The Agency will still accept additional relevant information on the chemicals, such as unpublished studies not already available through the existing literature and information on uses and potential exposures. All information should be submitted to EPA on or before August 31.

The 2013 - 2014 Work Plan Chemicals are as follows:

• 1-Bromopropane
• Five chlorinated hydrocarbons: 1,1-Dichloroethane, 1,2-Dichloropropane, 1,2-Dichloropropane, 1,2-Dichloropropane trans-1-2-Dichloroethylene,1,1,2-Trichloroethane
• 4-tert-Octylphenol
• Three flame retardants: Bis(2-Ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), 2-Ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB), Tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP)
• Four fragrance chemicals: Ethanone, 1-(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro- 2,3,8,8-tetramethyl-2-naphthalenyl)-4-sec-Butyl-2,6-di-tert-butylphenol, Ethanone, 1-(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro- 2,3,5,5-tetramethyl-2-naphthalenyl)-, Ethanone, 1-(1,2,3,5,6,7,8,8a-octahydro- 2,3,8,8-tetramethyl-2-naphthalenyl)-, Ethanone, 1-(1,2,3,4,6,7,8,8a-octahydro- 2,3,8,8-tetramethyl-2-naphthalenyl)-
• 4-sec-Butyl-2,6-di-tert-butylphenol
• 2,4,6-Tri-tert-butylphenol
• P,p'-Oxybis(benzenesulfonyl hydrazide)
• Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4)

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Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Health Assessment For Ammonia

U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its draft Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) health assessment for ammonia. The draft assessment will be available for public comment for 60 days and will be sent for independent expert peer review. When the assessment is final it will be posted to the IRIS database. IRIS is a publicly available online database that provides high quality science-based human health assessments used to inform the agency’s decisions on protecting public health and the environment.

Ammonia is used in agricultural fertilizers, the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and explosives, water purification, household cleaners, as a refrigerant, and in many industries. Scientific studies show that ammonia can affect the respiratory system. The draft assessment includes an estimate of the amount of ammonia a person can inhale daily throughout a lifetime that is not likely to cause harmful health effects, which is less stringent than the current value for ammonia on IRIS.

The draft IRIS assessment for ammonia represents a milestone for EPA in implementing the April 2011 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recommendations for improving IRIS assessments. The draft assessment uses a new streamlined document structure; includes a template for describing the literature search approach; identifies the strengths and weaknesses of analyzed studies; and describes how EPA applied their guidance, methods, and criteria in developing the assessment.

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