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At least 397 records · Page 22Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Clonal populations of thermotolerant Enterobacteriaceae in recreational water and their potential interference with fecal Escherichia coli counts.

Bacterial strains were isolated from beach water samples using the original Environmental Protection Agency method for Escherichia coli enumeration and analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Identical PFGE patterns were found for numerous isolates from 4 of the 9 days sampled, suggesting environmental replication. 16S rRNA gene sequencing, API 20E biochemical testing, and the absence of beta-glucuronidase activity revealed that these clonal isolates were Klebsiella, Citrobacter, and Enterobacter spp. In contrast, 82% of the nonclonal isolates from water samples were confirmed to be E. coli, and 16% were identified as other fecal coliforms. These nonclonal isolates produced a diverse range of PFGE patterns similar to those of isolates obtained directly from untreated sewage and gull droppings. beta-Glucuronidase activity was critical in distinguishing E. coli from other fecal coliforms, particularly for the clonal isolates. These findings demonstrate that E. coli is a better indicator of fecal pollution than fecal coliforms, which may replicate in the environment and falsely elevate indicator organism levels.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Comparison of four 90Sr groundwater analytical methods.

Data are presented for 45 Long Island groundwater samples each measured for 90Sr using four different analytical methods. 90Sr levels were first established by two New York State certified laboratories, one of which used the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Radioactive Strontium in Drinking Water Method 905.0. Three of the 90Sr methods evaluated at Brookhaven National Laboratory can reduce analysis time by more than 50%. They were (a) an Environmental Measurements Laboratory Cerenkov technique and (b) two commercially available products that utilize strontium-specific crown-ethers supported on either a resin or membrane disk. Method independent inter-laboratory bias was <12% based on 90Sr results obtained using both U.S. Department of Energy/Environmental Measurements Laboratory and U.S. EPA/National Environmental Radiation Laboratory samples of known activity concentration. Brookhaven National Laboratory prepared a National Institute of Standards and Technology traceable 90Sr tap-water sample used to quantify test method biases. With gas proportional or liquid scintillation counting, minimum detectable levels (MDLs) of 37 Bq m(-3) (1 pCi L(-1)) were achievable for both crown-ether methods using a 1-L processed sample beta counted for 1 h. The primary radiological contaminants of the Brookhaven National Laboratory groundwater samples were 3H (14.8-518 kBq m(-3)) and 90Sr/Y (37 Bq m(-3)-18.5 kBq m(-3)). Thirty samples were above the U.S. EPA drinking water standard of 300 Bq m(-3) for beta emitting 90Sr. Regression of paired data sets showed that both crown-ether methods quantified 90Sr levels to within 5% of the "EPA method results" for samples greater than the drinking water standard and within 30-40% for samples less than the drinking water standard. The Cerenkov method, with a minimum detectable level of 150 Bq m(-3), was only useful for samples greater than the drinking water standard and underestimated 90Sr levels by 13%. Precision, as measured by the relative percent difference and mean difference statistics, was acceptable for both crown-ether methods when compared to the paired "EPA method" results. Cerenkov method precision exceeded pre-defined acceptance criteria for 12 of 33 samples analyzed.

New York↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Improving the U.S. EPA Toxic Release Inventory database for environmental health research.

In 1986, Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) in response to the tragic death of thousands of people in Bhopal, India, following the accidental release of the toxic gas methyl isocyanate (MIC) from a Union Carbide facility. As a component of EPCRA, certain manufacturers are required to report annually the total mass (pounds per year, lb/yr) of toxic chemicals released into the environment (air, water, land, or underground injection), treated on-site, or shipped off-site for further waste treatment. This information is compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) into a publicly accessible database known as the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). The TRI database is designed to encourage pollution prevention and waste reduction by increasing public access to and knowledge of environmental chemical releases. EPCRA has been generally considered by industry, government, and community representatives as one of the most successful environmental laws in U.S. history. Over the past few years, EPA has initiated a three-phased expansion to EPCRA reporting requirements that will enhance the overall usefulness of the TRI database. The focus of this article is to discuss these changes and highlight several current uses of the TRI database in environmental health research.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1988

Science policy choices and the estimation of cancer risk associated with exposure to TCDD.

United States regulatory agencies use no-threshold models for estimating carcinogenic risks. Other countries use no-threshold models for carcinogens that are genotoxic and threshold models for carcinogens that are not genotoxic, such as 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD or "dioxin"). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a revision of the carcinogenic potency estimate for TCDD that is based on neither a threshold nor a no-threshold model; instead, it is a compromise between risk numbers generated by the two irreconcilably different models. This paper discusses the revision and its implications.

Carcinogens↗
PubMed1997

An overview of a multimedia benchmarking analysis for three risk assessment models: RESRAD, MMSOILS, and MEPAS.

Multimedia modelers from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) collaborated to conduct a detailed and quantitative benchmarking analysis of three multimedia models. The three models--RESRAD (DOE), MMSOILS (EPA), and MEPAS (DOE)--represent analytically-based tools that are used by the respective agencies for performing human exposure and health risk assessments. The study is performed by individuals who participate directly in the ongoing design, development, and application of the models. Model form and function are compared by applying the models to a series of hypothetical problems, first isolating individual modules (e.g., atmospheric, surface water, groundwater) and then simulating multimedia-based risk resulting from contaminant release from a single source to multiple environmental media. Study results show that the models differ with respect to environmental processes included (i.e., model features) and the mathematical formulation and assumptions related to the implementation of solutions. Depending on the application, numerical estimates resulting from the models may vary over several orders-of-magnitude. On the other hand, two or more differences may offset each other such that model predictions are virtually equal. The conclusion from these results is that multimedia models are complex due to the integration of the many components of a risk assessment and this complexity must be fully appreciated during each step of the modeling process (i.e., model selection, problem conceptualization, model application, and interpretation of results).

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1994

Discrepancies in committed effective dose equivalents calculated using U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regulatory Guide 8.34.

Calculations of Committed Effective Dose Equivalent (CEDE) due to inhalation using four of the five methods suggested in the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regulatory Guide 8.34 (1992a) were performed to determine if any significant differences in the calculated value of the CEDE exist for typical power plant radionuclides. These four methods included dose conversion factors from the United States Environmental Protection Agency Federal Guidance Report No. 11 (Eckerman et al. 1988), Annual Limit on Intake, Derived Air Concentrations, and Weighted Committed Dose Equivalents from ICRP Publication 30 (1979). Of the 68 radionuclides included, 48 demonstrated significant differences of 20% or greater in the calculated CEDE values for the four methods used. The differences in calculated values for the CEDE can be explained by the varied use of the 10% Rule and by rounding of tabulated values for ALIs and DACs to one significant digit.

Government Agencies↗
PubMed1993

Physical injury risk versus risk from hazardous waste remediation: a case history.

This study was conducted to estimate the transportation risks associated with the removal of contaminated soils near the ASARCO copper smelter in Ruston, Washington. Three remediation options involving removal of differing amounts of soil were considered. The risks of death, disabling, and nondisabling injury were estimated. Under the scenario requiring the greatest soil removal, 3.62 disabling injuries, 14.46 possibly disabling injuries, and 0.67 deaths are expected to result from transporting the contaminated soil to an approved hazardous waste disposal facility. If the contaminated soil is not removed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 2 arsenic-related skin cancers per 1000 lifetimes for exposed persons will occur.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2002

A procedure for setting environmentally safe total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for selenium.

This article presents a seven-step procedure for developing environmentally safe total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for selenium. The need for this information stems from recent actions taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that may require TMDLs for selenium and other contaminants that are impairing water bodies. However, there is no technical guidance from EPA or elsewhere that deals exclusively with selenium. This leaves biologists and environmental contaminant specialists without the tools needed to effectively address the TMDL issue for selenium. This article provides guidance by laying out an assessment method that links the basic components of EPA's TMDL process to the contaminant-specific information required for selenium. The underlying principle in this process is that selenium concentrations be kept below levels that threaten reproduction of fish and aquatic birds. The steps are: (1) Delineate and characterize the hydrological unit (HU, i.e., water body) of interest. (2) Determine selenium concentrations and assess biological hazard. (3) Determine sources, concentrations, and volumes of selenium discharges; calculate existing selenium load. (4) Estimate retention capacity of HU for selenium. (5) Calculate the total allowable selenium load and specify reductions needed to meet the target loading. (6) Allocate selenium load among discharge sources. (7) Monitor to determine effectiveness of selenium load reduction in meeting environmental quality goals. Proper application of this procedure will ensure compliance with EPA regulatory requirements and also protect fish and wildlife resources.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

EPA: airing on the side of caution or pulling standards out of thin Air?

In May 1999, a federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had violated the Constitution when it strengthened regulations for ground-level ozone and particulate matter (PM). Although the court did not question the validity of the EPA's scientific basis for establishing the PM and ozone standards, it did challenge how the EPA selected the particular levels since the scientific record in both rules did not indicate unequivocally where the standards should be set. The agency failed to identify an "intelligible principle" that would guide such choices, the court said, and thereby exceeded the power it was granted by Congress. Because scientific uncertainty attends so much rule making, the ruling leaves open the question of when the EPA may make what is essentially a policy determination versus when those determinations must be made by Congress. For this reason, observers consider the ruling to have potentially significant implications beyond just the ozone and PM standards that may affect other EPA regulations and regulations by other agencies.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed2004

Brief survey of EPA standard-setting and health assessment.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgates standards for air pollutants and drinking water contaminants, as part of its mandate to protect public health and welfare. The Agency also assesses the health risks associated with hundreds of chemical substances, often developing quantitative toxicity and cancer potency benchmarks. This article compares EPA standards and benchmark values to those of other countries and other agencies. This includes the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), the national primary drinking water regulations (NPDWR), and benchmark values from the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Results show that the NAAQS are generally comparable to or less strict than the air quality standards of other countries and international organizations. The NPDWR tend to be less strict than the water quality standards of other countries for inorganic chemicals, and they are more strict about as often as they are less strict for organic chemicals. Reference values for toxicity and cancer potency derived in EPA health assessments posted in the IRIS database are less stringentthan those of other agencies about as often as they are more stringent, and they are often identical. Revisions to these values more often than not made them less stringent. These results suggest that EPA's standards and quantitative health assessments are not out of line with those of other agencies and other countries.

Carcinogenicity Tests↗
PubMed1983

Rational establishment of air quality standards.

This paper attempts to apply two principles of rationality--efficiency and equity--to the establishment of air quality standards for total suspended particulates in the USA. It is argued that standard setting should embrace either the use of some cost-benefit-risk criterion, or some concept of equity whereby risks are not reduced below levels judged to be acceptable elsewhere. There is often a trade-off to be made between these principles of efficiency and equity and that both cannot be pursued in tandem. In other words, the cost of fairness is more deaths in total than there need be at a particular level of expenditure. The concept of the "margin of safety" is also discussed, and we conclude that, as currently defined, it is of doubtful relevance in either the context of efficiency or of equity. Finally, and using evidence from other studies, we conclude that there are much more cost-effective ways of using scarce resources to save lives (e.g., in health care and in road safety) than pursuing the primary standards for TSP laid down by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in light of the U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 and 1977.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed2006

Environmental mercury release, special education rates, and autism disorder: an ecological study of Texas.

The association between environmentally released mercury, special education and autism rates in Texas was investigated using data from the Texas Education Department and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. A Poisson regression analysis adjusted for school district population size, economic and demographic factors was used. There was a significant increase in the rates of special education students and autism rates associated with increases in environmentally released mercury. On average, for each 1,000 lb of environmentally released mercury, there was a 43% increase in the rate of special education services and a 61% increase in the rate of autism. The association between environmentally released mercury and special education rates were fully mediated by increased autism rates. This ecological study suggests the need for further research regarding the association between environmentally released mercury and developmental disorders such as autism. These results have implications for policy planning and cost analysis.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed2000

Case history review--demilitarization combustion permits.

In May 1993, Administrative Browner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced that an indirect exposure health risk assessment was required for all hazardous waste combustion facilities seeking a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act permit. These types of risk assessments evaluate the health and environmental effects from inhalation of emissions (direct exposure) and from contact with environmental media and consumption of food products impacted by the emissions (indirect exposure). Completion of an indirect exposure risk assessment is often complicated by the various methodologies available for generating results and by the requirements of the regulating community. To minimize this complexity and to maximize consistency between risk assessments, the USEPA developed a number of detailed guidance documents. Site-specific conditions and toxicological data gaps, however, continue to present challenges not addressed by these guidance documents. This paper presents some of the specific challenges encountered by the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine when performing indirect exposure health risk assessments for several demilitarization combustion facilities.

Chemical Warfare Agents↗
PubMed1991

Making cleanup decisions at hazardous waste sites: the clean sites approach.

This paper provides a summary of the results of an 18-month study conducted by Clean Sites, Inc. of Alexandria, Virginia. The study was designed to take a critical look at the way remedies are selected for abandoned hazardous waste sites that are cleaned up under the authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) and to develop recommendations for improving that process. The recommendations were released in an October 1990 report entitled "Improving Remedy Selection: An Explicit and Interactive Process for the Superfund Program." Through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Sites is working to test these recommendations. At two actual Superfund sites, Clean Sites will assist EPA in performing the remedy selection in accordance with the process Clean Sites has developed.

Hazardous Waste↗
PubMed2001

Acute exposure to extremely hazardous substances: an analysis of environmental equity.

Although environmental equity research has focused primarily on chronic pollution sources, recent advances in environmental modeling and geographic information systems (GIS) provide a foundation for developing measures that can be used to evaluate differential exposure to acute pollution events. This article describes a methodology that uses facility-specific information to develop a risk surface representing the spatial distribution of accidental exposure to hazardous substances in a study area. Environmental pollution models recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were used in conjunction with GIS software to achieve this objective. The methodology was implemented in a large metropolitan region (Hillsborough County, Florida) to examine disproportionate exposure to worst-case releases of extremely hazardous substances. The environmental inequity hypothesis was investigated by directly comparing the distribution of potential exposures within each racial (non-White versus White) and income (below poverty versus above poverty) subgroup. The results indicate that a significantly large proportion of both non-White and impoverished individuals resided in areas potentially exposed to multiple accidental releases.

Environmental Exposure↗
PubMed2001

Alkylphenol ethoxylate degradation products in land-applied sewage sludge (biosolids).

Alkylphenol ethoxylates, widely used in commercial and household detergents in the United States, can degrade during the wastewater treatment process to more toxic, estrogenic, and lipophilic compounds. These include octylphenol (OP), nonylphenols (NPs), nonylphenol monoethoxylates (NP1EOs), and nonylphenol diethoxylates (NP2EOs). These compounds have received considerable attention due to their acute toxicity and ability to disrupt the endocrine system. In Europe, regulations have been established to control their impact on the environment. In this study, biosolids derived from all 11 U.S. wastewater treatment plants examined contained detectable levels of OP, NPs, NP1EOs, and NP2EOs. Nine exceeded the current Danish land application limit (30 mg/kg; sum of NPs, NP1EOs, and NP2EOs) by 6-33x. NPs were the major component, and their concentrations therein ranged from 5.4 to 887 mg/kg (dry weight). OP, reportedly 10-20x more estrogenic than NP, was detected in these same nine biosolids at levels up to 12.6 mg/kg. Three biosolids were also subjected to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure Method 1311. NPs and NP1EOs were both detected in the leachate; the former at concentrations from 9.4 to 309 microg/L. On the basis of effect levels published in the literature, alkylphenol ethoxylate degradates in U.S. biosolids may cause adverse environmental impacts.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗
PubMed1995

AHA responds to proposals on medical waste incineration.

Roger Olson, chairman of facilities operations for the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, testified on behalf of the American Hospital Association before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards on the EPA's proposed rules on medical waste incinerators. Here's what he had to say.

American Hospital Association↗
PubMed1989

Formaldehyde. AMA Council on Scientific Affairs.

In response to Resolution 195 (A-87), the medical literature on the adverse health effects of formaldehyde was reviewed, and the potential cancer risk to anatomists and other related health professionals from exposure to the chemical is described. Though the evidence in humans is limited and controversial, both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in their consideration of available epidemiologic and toxicological studies, now regard formaldehyde as a possible human carcinogen and will regulate it accordingly.

Cohort Studies↗