Summary of New Initiatives That May Affect Waste Management Programs
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Futures Analysis of Chemicals affecting Waste Management Programs Summary of New Initiatives that may affect waste management programs Prepared for U.S. EPA Technology Innovation Office under a National Network of Environmental Management Studies Fellowship by Tiffany Portoghese Compiled May - August 2003 NOTICE This document was prepared by a National Network of Environmental Management Studies grantee under a fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This report was not subject to EPA peer review or technical review. The U.S. EPA makes no warranties, expressed or implied, including without limitation, warranty for completeness, accuracy, or usefulness of the information, warranties as to the merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. Moreover, the listing of any technology, corporation, company, person, or facility in this report does not constitute endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the U.S. EPA. i FOREWORD Environmental concern and interest is growing for future analysis of potential environmental problems. EPA’s Technology Innovation Office (TIO) provided a grant through the National Network for Environmental Management Studies (NNEMS) to prepare a technology assessment report on a futures analysis of chemicals within the offices of the EPA and their potential effect on waste management programs. This report was prepared by a third year law student and a second year graduate student from Syracuse University in New York during the summer of 2003. It has been reproduced to help provide federal agencies, states, consulting engineering firms, private industries, and technology developers with information. About the National Network for Environmental Management Studies (NNEMS) NNEMS is a comprehensive fellowship program managed by the Environmental Education Division of EPA. The purpose of the NNEMS Program is to provide students with practical research opportunities and experiences. Each participating headquarters or regional office develops and sponsors projects for student research. The projects are narrow in scope to allow the student to complete the research by working full-time during the summer or part-time during the school year. Research fellowships are available in Environmental Policy, Regulations, and Law; Environmental Management and Administration; Environmental Science; Public Relations and Communications; and Computer Programming and Development. NNEMS fellows receive a stipend determined by the student’s level of education and the duration of the research project. Fellowships are offered to undergraduate and graduate students. Students must meet certain eligibility criteria. About this Report This report is intended to provide a basic summary of new initiatives within the EPA . It contains information gathered from a range of currently available sources, including project documents, reports, periodicals, Internet searches, and personal communication with involved parties. No attempts were made to independently confirm the resources used. ii Contents Page Introduction ................................................................1 Approach ............................................................ 1 Scope ..............................................................1 Methodology .........................................................2 Section I ..................................................................3 Section I I .................................................................. 6 Pesticides ..........................................................18 Cancelled P esticides ............................................18 Unintended Consequences for Waste Management Programs .........................................18 Banned, Severely Restricted and Severely Hazardous Pesticide Formulations 19 Unintended Consequences for Waste Management Programs .........................................19 Re-registration for FY 2003-2004 ..................................20 Unintended Consequences for Waste Management Programs . .22 Summary of Unintended Consequences for Waste Management Programs . 22 Case S tudies ..................................................22 Methyl B romide ..........................................22 Atrazine ................................................24 Carbofuran ..............................................24 Air ................................................................25 Urban Air Toxics ...............................................25 Unintended Consequences for Waste Management Programs . .27 Summary of Unintended Consequences for Waste management programs . 27 Case S tudies ..................................................27 MTBE ..................................................27 Perchloroethylene ........................................28 Water .............................................................29 Drinking Water Contaminants Candidate List .........................30 Unintended Consequences for Waste Management Programs. 30 Summary of Unintended Consequences for Waste Management Programs . 31 iii Case S tudies ..................................................31 Arsenic .................................................31 Perchlorate .............................................. 31 Toxic S ubstances ....................................................32 High Production Volume Chemicals ................................32 Unintended Consequences for Waste Management Programs . .33 Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic Chemicals ......................33 Unintended Consequences for Waste Management Programs . .33 Summary of Unintended Consequences for Waste Management Programs . 34 Case S tudies ..................................................34 Persistent Organic Pollutants ................................34 C-8 ....................................................34 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) .................. 35 Chemical Fact Sheets; ToxFaqs ...................................35 Summary of Unintended Consequences for Waste Management Programs . 35 Conclusion .........................................................36 Section I II ................................................................37 Appendix ...........................................................38 Endnotes ...........................................................97 Bibliography .......................................................100 iv Introduction: agendas, upcoming fiscal year budgets and specific program areas were reviewed and The mission of EPA’s Office of Solid Waste areas that were not regulated, where gaps and Emergency Response (OSWER) is to within the regulations occur or where an provide policy, guidance, and direction for office has recently increased emphasis, were safely managing waste, preparing for, and all explored for waste management preventing chemical and oil spills, accidents programs implications. For example, the and emergencies, cleaning up and reusing Office of Pesticides is reviewing pesticides contaminated property1. The mission of the that were registered before November 30, Technology Innovation Office (TIO) is to 1984 and making a determination as to advocate more effective, less costly whether these pesticides meet present approaches by government and industry to registration requirements. OPP has assess and clean up contaminated waste determined that some of these chemicals do sites, soil and groundwater through work not, and some have been voluntarily with other federal agencies, states, cancelled by the manufacturer. OPP has not consulting engineering firms, responsible put in place any phase-out program or parties, technology developers, and the retrieval mechanism for these now banned investment community.2 This mission pesticides. This gap in the program can includes the responsibility to identify and leave stockpiles of pesticides unregulated analyze trends in the private and public which can be a problem for waste sectors that affect programs administered by management programs in the future. waste management programs. This paper’s focus is on identifying problems that will Along with these offices, the Agency for impact Waste management programs’s Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s programs and mission. (ATSDR), which is a branch of Department of Health and Human Services, website was This paper reviews regulatory agendas, referred to and their list of chemicals budgets and programs within the Office of commonly found at Superfund sites was Air and Radiation (OAR), Office of Water included in this paper. (OW), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Office of Pesticides Scope: Programs (OPP) to establish a sense of what their priorities are. This compilation of This paper is organized into three sections: priorities is intended to create a picture of • Section I consists of a matrix and emerging issues for waste management definitions of the items in the matrix. programs in the future by identifying chemicals of concern within OAR, OW, (The Matrix contains all the chemicals OPPT and OPP. found in the regulatory agendas and new initiatives within each office. High Approach: Production Volume is the only category not fully listed because of its immense size; a This paper uses information from the EPA’s copy is attached to the end of the paper. ) offices of OAR, OW, OPPT and OPP. Within each of these offices, regulatory 1 The matrix includes the following categories physical appearance, physical and of data: chemical dangers and physical • Symbols indicate