Enviro: AmeriScan for November 5, 1999
Mark Graffis
AIR STUDY BLAMES CARS FOR CANCER CAUSING POLLUTION
LOS ANGELES, California, November 5, 1999 (ENS) - The most
comprehensive study of urban toxic air pollution ever undertaken shows
that motor vehicles and other mobile sources of air pollution are the
primary source of cancer causing air pollutants in southern
California. The study confirms that the cancer risk from some air
toxics in the region has declined by as much as 75 percent over the
last decade. However, it also shows that based upon more extensive
monitoring of the variety of toxic compounds in the air, the current
cancer risk from toxic air pollution averages about 1,400 in a million
in the region. The findings are outlined in a draft final report -
"Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study II" - being presented today to the
Governing Board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District
(AQMD).
The study shows that the average cancer risk in the region from air
pollutants, excluding diesel soot, ranges between 300 per million
population to almost 600 per million, with a regional average of 420
per million. When diesel particulate is included, the cancer risk
ranges from about 1,100 in a million to 1,750 in a million, with an
average regional risk of about 1,400 in a million. The higher risk
levels were found in the urban core areas in central Los Angeles
County. "Clearly were on the right path to reducing toxic air
pollution and the associated cancer risk in our area," said Barry
Wallerstein, AQMD executive officer. "Regulations now on the books
will make cars and industries cleaner in the future and assure
continued progress. But the study highlights the need to do more to
reduce pollution from mobile and stationary sources." AQMD will accept
public comment on the draft report for 90 days before publishing a
final version.
* * *
ACTION PLAN LISTS STRATEGIES TO SAVE CORAL REEFS
US VIRGIN ISLANDS, November 5, 1999 (ENS) - The U.S. Coral Reef Task
Force has adopted a draft National Action Plan to Conserve Coral
Reefs, and is now seeking public comments. The plan was drafted at the
Task Forces third meeting in the U.S. Virgin Islands this week. The
Plan focuses on two themes: Understanding Coral Reef Ecosystems and
Reducing the Adverse Impacts of Human Activities. Thirteen
conservation strategies were developed, including plans to map all
coral reefs, assess reef health, create a network of protected reefs,
reduce extractive uses, restore damaged reefs, and increases
enforcement on trade in hard corals and marine aquarium species. The
Task Force also adopted a Guide for Management of Coral Reef Protected
Areas, which suggests that a minimum of 20 percent of these areas be
preserved as wilderness, and protected from all resource extraction.
"Coral reefs are deteriorating globally at alarming rates," said
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) administrator
Dr. James Baker. "Without a strong understanding of these complicated
ecosystems and the challenges that face them, the health of our marine
environment and our economy will be jeopardized." Another
recommendation is to reduce impacts of extractive uses, such as
inappropriate fishing methods and global trade of coral reef
resources. The U.S. imports over 80 percent of the live and dead coral
in trade and more that 50 percent of marine aquarium fish. Many of
these are overharvested or collected with destructive methods such as
cyanide poisoning that destroys reefs. More information and copies of
the national plan are available at: [23]http://www.coralreef.gov
* * *
PROJECT WILL MAP ALL US CORAL REEFS BY 2007
WASHINGTON, DC, November 5, 1999 (ENS) - NOAA has launched an effort
to develop the nation's first comprehensive set of digital maps for
all U.S. coral reef habitats by 2007. NOAA estimates that less than 10
percent of U.S. coral reefs have been mapped and characterized to
determine their current condition. The new maps will create accurate
baselines for long term monitoring, illustrate trends in reef health,
characterize habitats, and enhance understanding of large scale
oceanographic and ecological processes that affect reefs. This
information will support development of a national network of coral
reef marine protected areas, identify priority areas for monitoring,
and strengthen coral reef protection and management.
"Mapping of our nation's coral reefs is essential to our understanding
and conservation of this valuable ecosystem. Through the Task Force we
have implemented a comprehensive mapping plan to conduct this work,"
said Dr. D. James Baker, NOAA administrator. "Our scientists and
partners have the expertise and technology to better map and monitor
all U.S. coral reefs. What we need now is funding to support mapping
studies throughout the United States." Coral reef mapping has been
underway for one year in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and
will begin in the main eight Hawaiian Islands in March 2000. Using a
suite of remote sensing technologies, including satellite, aircraft,
ship, and underwater data collection platforms, maps will be produced
to address conservation needs, with emphasis on identifying gaps in
coral reef marine protected areas.
* * *
STUDENT PAINTING WINS 1999 DUCK STAMP CONTEST
WASHINGTON, DC, November 5, 1999 (ENS) - A 21 year old college student
took top honors Thursday in the 1999 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest,
sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Adam Grimm, a
student at Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio, is the youngest
artist ever to win the contest. Grimm's oil painting of a mottled duck
bested 242 other entries and will become the 2000-2001 Federal Duck
Stamp, which goes on sale July 1, 2000. All waterfowl hunters age 16
and older are required to purchase and carry Duck Stamps. Ninety eight
percent of the proceeds from the $15 Duck Stamp goes into the
Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, which purchases wetlands for the
National Wildlife Refuge System.
duck stamp
The winning entry in the 1999 Duck Stamp contest shows a mottled duck about
to take flight (Photo courtesy USFWS)
The mottled duck is a non-migratory resident of the U.S. and Mexican
Gulf Coast. A relative of the mallard and black duck, it frequents
lakes and marshes with fresh to brackish water. In 1996, Grimm placed
fourth in the Junior Duck Stamp Contest. Grimm said that he often
spends time in the marsh observing ducks and other waterfowl. "I have
always been impressed by their movements," he said.
* * *
ALASKA LAWMAKERS URGE ROADLESS LAWSUIT
WASHINGTON, DC, November 5, 1999 (ENS) - The Alaska Congressional
Delegation urged Alaska Governor Tony Knowles on Thursday to file a
lawsuit against President Bill Clintons plan to protect roadless
forest areas. The state suit would seek to stop the federal government
from baning road construction in the Chugach National Forest in
Alaska. The Clinton Administration proposed last month to stop road
construction on at least 40 million acres of the National Forests. The
plan would halt almost all development in the 5.9 million acre
Chugach, which contains few roads. Alaska Senators Ted Stevens and
Frank Murkowski and Congressman Don Young, all Republicans, said the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) bars the
federal government from conducting studies for the purpose of adding
to conservation system units, unless authorized by Congress.
In a letter to Knowles, the lawmakers said a review of any part of
Alaska for the purpose of considering new conservation measures would
be a violation of ANILCA. "A study of roadless areas promises another
divisive, national debate over Alaska's control over its own future,"
wrote the delegation. The delegation argued that preventing road
building in the Chugach is poor policy for the health of the forest,
as it prevents access to battle wildfires or fight insect
infestations, such as the spruce bark beetle outbreak on the Kenai
Peninsula. It also noted that placing blocks of the national forest
off limits to road construction would affect not just the timber
industry, but also other extraction industries, and the tourism
industry.
* * *
$1 M CHECK SUPPORTS VIRGIN ISLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands, November 5, 1999 (ENS) - At a
ceremony Thursday, U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Charles Turnbull
received a $1 million check to be used for environmental improvements
on the Islands. The funds are part of a $2.3 million restitution paid
by Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corporation (HOVIC) in 1996 after the
company pleaded guilty to shipping hazardous waste labeled as
"non-hazardous" to a facility not authorized to handle the wastes.
HOVIC shipped more than 600,000 pounds of benzene laced hazardous
waste from it St. Croix refinery to a cement company in Arizona, a
violation of federal waste management laws. HOVIC's violation was
discovered when some of the drums in which the waste was transported
began to spontaneously combust. The company has paid a $3 million
penalty in addition to restitution.
"We anticipate that the improvements suggested by the Virgin Islands
and agreed to by EPA will help the territory make significant inroads
toward better environmental protection," said Jeanne Fox, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator. "We are very
pleased that Governor Turnbull and his administration recognized the
need to use the $1 million to improve the management of solid waste
and used oil on the Islands. EPA's efforts made it possible for Hess'
past environmental violation to bear the silver lining of these very
necessary improvements, and we look forward to seeing the positive
results of their implementation." The $1 million will pay for landfill
improvements, and a used oil collection and disposal program.
* * *
PENNSYLVANIA POLLUTERS COULD FACE HIGH FINES, LONG SENTENCES
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, November 5, 1999 (ENS) - Two Pennsylvania
men could face millions of dollars in fines and more than a lifetime
in prison for environmental violations. Robert Schippers and Ronald
Padula were indicted last week in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia
on multiple counts of violating the Clean Water Act and U.S.
Department of Transportation regulations. Schippers owned and operated
Schippers Service Inc., an Easton trucking company that transported
hazardous materials such as kerosene, diesel fuel, gasoline, aviation
gas and fuel oil. Padula was the head mechanic at Schippers Service
and was licensed by Pennsylvania to perform state required safety
inspections on automobiles and trucks. The defendants allegedly
cleaned truck cargo tanks in a wash bay at the Schipper's Service
facility and then emptied the waste water directly into the sewer
system owned by the city of Easton.
The waste water contained hazardous chemicals including petroleum
residues from the tanks and kerosene and diesel fuel used to clean the
tanks. Dumping petroleum products into public sewers can create an
explosion hazard, harm sewage treatment facility equipment and destroy
bacteria that are necessary for the proper treatment of sewage. The
defendants also are accused of falsifying vehicle inspection reports
on numerous occasions. If convicted on all counts, Schippers faces a
maximum sentence of 228 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $11.5
million. Padula faces a maximum prison sentence of 105 years and/or a
fine of up to $5.75 million, if convicted on all counts.
* * *
OIL EXEC GETS 29 MONTH SENTENCE FOR POLLUTING
NATCHEZ, Mississippi, November 5, 1999 (ENS) - An oil company
executive has been sentenced to 29 months in prison and $6,000 in
fines for environmental crimes. John Cooke, a former executive and
part owner of M&S Petroleum Inc., was sentenced last week in U.S.
District Court in Natchez for one count of conspiracy, four counts of
violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), two
counts of violating the Clean Air Act and three counts of making false
statements. Cookes company operated the Barrett Refinery south of
Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Between April 1995 and May 1996, Cooke violated the Clean Water Act by
discharging pollutants into the Mississippi River and Hatcher Bayou.
He made false statements to the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality and did not perform required environmental
testing at the refinery. The result of the conspiracy was the
unpermitted discharge of benzene and other pollutants into the
Mississippi River and Hatcher Bayou, and the release of benzene into
the air. Benzene is toxic and can cause cancer. In addition, more than
one million gallons of hazardous wastes were abandoned at the refinery
in violation of RCRA. Barrett Refining was ordered to pay a $25,000
fine and serve 36 months probation. Barrett's part owner Donald
Mullins was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and 150
hours of community service. M&S Petroleum was sentenced to pay a
$25,000 fine and serve five years probation.
* * *
SHRIMP FROM AUSTRALIA MAY THREATEN SEA TURTLES
WASHINGTON, DC, November 5, 1999 (ENS) - The State Department, seeking
to appease the World Trade Organization, is allowing Australia to
export shrimp to the U.S. without having a national Turtle Excluder
Device (TED) law in place. The U.S. Turtle Shrimp law requires all
nations who wish to export shrimp to the U.S. to have national laws in
place requiring the use of TEDs or other comparable means of
protection. In response to an adverse ruling from the World Trade
Organization, the State Department weakened the guidelines of the law
to allow the export of shrimp from nations that do not have national
laws in place, if individual vessels claim they are using TEDs. A
preliminary ruling in April by the U.S. Court of International Trade
found that the State Department's approach violates the intent of the
law.
Two nations - Australia and Brazil - are now exploiting this loophole,
and environmentalists fear that turtle populations will be at risk. On
October 27, 1999, the State Department published a notice in the
Federal Register that the agency has determined that Australia can
export shrimp from the Spencer Gulf in Southern Australia, even though
the country does not have a national TED law. "The decision by the
State Department to put commerce before conservation once again shows
that the environment always loses to free trade," said Peter
Fugazzotto of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project. "The WTO's influence
on environmental laws is despicable, placing more importance on shrimp
cocktails than the extinction of a species."
* * *
JACKHAMMER ALTERNATIVE PROTECTS ENVIRONMENT, EARDRUMS
LONG ISLAND, New York, November 5, 1999 (ENS) - The Department of
Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Gas Research
Institute of Chicago have developed a quiet, safe and energy efficient
alternative to the conventional pneumatic jackhammer. The RAPTOR uses
a two stage, helium driven gas gun to accelerate lightweight,
inexpensive steel projectiles to at least 5,000 to 6,000 feet per
second, twice the speed of bullets fired from a high powered rifle. In
experimental tests, Brookhaven researchers have used a 15 foot long
prototype, with a single shot capacity, to break up six inch thick
pavement. The researchers are confident that RAPTOR can be scaled up
for even thicker concrete demolition. The new, marketable version will
be about six feet long and equipped with an automatic pellet loader
and magazine so that it can operate at the rate of 6 to 12 shots per
minute.
raptor
A DOE scientist holds the pellets the RAPTOR will fire (Photo courtesy DOE)
RAPTOR will have several advantages over a traditional jackhammer,
including reduction in energy use, noise, and air pollution.
Conventional jack hammers are powered by gasoline or diesel fuel air
compressors. RAPTOR will operate on gases supplied by standard
compressed gas cylinders and have only a small battery pack to supply
power to solenoid valves, which are used to direct the flow of gases
in and out of the device. The constant noise of a jackhammer would be
replaced by a periodic sound similar to a silenced rifle shot.
Engineers for the project estimate that RAPTOR will cost about 25
percent less to operate than a conventional jackhammer.
* * *
PANELS DISAGREE ON RIVER CLEANUP OPTIONS CHICAGO, Illinois, November
5, 1999 (ENS) - The EPA and the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources have released two conflicting studies on cleanup options for
the Lower Fox River. Past industrial and municipal pollution, and
current impacts of agricultural and suburban runoff, are threatening
the river, which was number seven on American Rivers 1999 list of the
nations most endangered rivers. In September 1998, the EPA established
two technical panels to review components of the draft Lower Fox River
Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study. The first panel
consisted of experts in Superfund data evaluation and decision making.
A second panel included experts in natural recovery and behavior of
toxic chemicals.
The Superfund panel concluded a cleanup is necessary, and should be
initiated. The natural recovery panel said the option of letting the
river recover without intervention needs a more complete evaluation.
Recommendations from both panels will be evaluated and incorporated
into the cleanup plan. "EPA and Wisconsin believe that these reports
gave us some good information, which we'll use when completing the
cleanup study and for developing a final cleanup plan," said William
Muno, EPA Region 5's Superfund division director. Ed Lynch,
Wisconsin's Project manager, believes that the panels results support
several proposed changes to the cleanup plan. "These ideas, as well as
the work that is being completed by the model evaluation work group,
will strengthen the assessment and results of the study and
remediation plan selection effort." The peer review studies and other
site information are available at:
[24]http://www.epa.gov/region5/foxriver.