The Environmental Protection Agency has announced its proposal to toughen up the standards for smog-causing pollutants, which would replace the standards set during the Bush administration.
The Obama administration’s proposal sets a primary standard for ground-level ozone of no more than 0.060 to 0.070 parts per million, to be phased in over two decades. Regions with the worst smog pollution, including much of the Northeast, Southern and Central California and the Chicago and Houston areas, would have more time than other areas to come into compliance [The New York Times]. The previous standard was 0.075 parts per million, set in 2008 despite government scientists’ objection that it was not strict enough. Smog is formed when a stew of nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, and methane is baked in sunlight.
The new standard won’t be cheap, but proponents say it will save money, and lives, in the long run. The EPA estimates that by 2020 the proposal will cost $19 billion to $90 billion to implement and will yield health benefits worth $13 billion to $100 billion. The proposal would result in 1,500 to 12,000 avoided premature deaths by 2020, though the precise number depends on what limit the agency adopts [Washington Post]. Smog is linked to a wide variety of heart and respiratory diseases. Currently, a majority of the counties that are required to monitor ozone levels would not meet the new standard. If the 0.070 limit is adopted, 515 of the 675 counties that monitor ozone levels would be out of compliance.
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Mountaintop removal—the aptly-named mining practice that blasts away peaks and leaves piles of rubble—must stop, a group of researchers write this week in the journal Science. Taking an unusually political stance, a group of hydrologists, engineers and ecologists called for an immediate end to the practice.
“Until somebody can show that the water [that runs off mine sites] can be cleaned up . . . this has got to be stopped,’’ said Margaret Palmer, a professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science who is the study’s lead author. For now, Palmer said, “there is no evidence that things like this can be fixed” [Boston Globe]. The researchers contend that mountaintop removal destroys forests in the Appalachians and taints water through toxic runoff.
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A chemical found in common household products and cosmetics has been linked to a decrease in fertility in women, according to a new study. Researchers examined more than 1,000 pregnant women and found that those exposed to higher levels of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) had experienced more difficulty getting pregnant. PFCs are used to make textiles and leather resistant to water, dirt or oil. They are also found in personal care products such as nail polish, dental floss or facial moisturizer. The chemicals resist breakdown and tend to persist in the environment and in the body for decades [Bloomberg]. “If this finding can be replicated, one would have to look for other chemicals to replace these,” [Washington Post] said lead researcher Jorn Olsen. Although experts caution that the correlation doesn’t prove causation, many manufacturers have already taken steps to cut back on PFCs.
Data for the study was taken from 1,240 women in the Danish Birth Cohort when they were six to 12 weeks pregnant. If they reported that it took them longer than 12 months to get pregnant or if they used drugs designed to increase their chances of conceiving, they were considered to have infertility. This is a generally accepted definition of infertility by experts in the field [ABC News]. The women were divided into four groups based on levels of two types of PFCs, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), found in their blood. Compared to women in the group with the lowest levels of PFOS, women with higher levels took from 70 percent to 134 percent longer to conceive. For PFOA, women with higher levels took from 60 percent to 154 percent longer to conceive. The researchers accounted for factors such as age and economic and social factors, although they admit that they lacked information on other factors that could influence fertility such as timing and frequency of intercourse and sperm quality.
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The health benefits of eating more fish outweigh the risks of mercury poisoning, according to a new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposal that would revise current federal seafood advisories. The proposal is drawing fire from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and environmental groups that accuse the FDA of pandering to the seafood industry. Richard Wiles, director of an environmental advocacy group, said, “This is an astonishing, irresponsible document…It’s a commentary on how low FDA has sunk as an agency. It was once a fierce protector of America’s health, and now it’s nothing more than a patsy for polluters” [Washington Post].
Currently, the government advises young children, pregnant women, and women of child-bearing age to restrict overall fish consumption to 12 ounces per week and to avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish, which are known to have particularly high mercury levels. Mercury in the environment accumulates in fish and studies have linked the element to developmental problems in fetuses and young children as well as cardiovascular disease in adults. However, the new FDA report says recent studies suggest “a beneficial impact on fetal neurodevelopment from the mother’s consumption of fish, even though they contain methylmercury…The net effect is not necessarily adverse, and could in fact be beneficial” [AP]. The report argued that nutrients in fish, including omega-3 fatty acids, selenium and other minerals could boost a child’s IQ by three points [Washington Post]. The new analysis places ideal fish consumption—for optimal IQ-boosting—somewhere above 12 ounces per week.
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Ask and you shall not receive: The Environmental Protection Agency has refused a request by Texas Gov. Perry to temporarily suspend the rules that require a minimum amount of ethanol to be mixed into U.S. gasoline.
In April, the governor asked the EPA to halve this year’s ethanol requirement for the nation from 9 billion gallons to 4.5 billion. Perry said the waiver was needed because rising U.S. ethanol output is inflating corn prices, wreaking havoc on the state’s massive livestock industry and boosting grocery bills for American families. But on Thursday, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said Perry’s request had not proved the Renewable Fuel Standard, which sets ethanol quotas, is causing “severe economic harm,” a requirement needed to justify a waiver [Houston Chronicle].
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