Legislation
Legislation
Agreement seals Kyoto Protocol
After two weeks of tough bargaining, representatives from nearly 180 countries concluded a major agreement on the operation of the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change. The meeting in Marrakech in November successfully translated the earlier political agreement reached in Bonn last July into a detailed legal text.Agreed in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol calls for industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% from 1990 levels by 2008-12. The Protocol will enter into force after it has been ratified by a minimum of 55 countries, representing at least 55% of industrialised countries' emissions. The previous round of talks in Bonn introduced the concept of carbon sinks, and under the latest accord reliance on these has been further increased. The net result, according to experts, is that for most countries the actual reductions in emissions required under the Protocol will average only around 1.5%.
Under the deal, the European Union conceded demands from countries such as Japan and Russia for greater flexibility in its implementation. For example, emissions trading and funding of climate gas-cutting abroad would be legitimate means of meeting the reduction targets. However, the EU won a condition that countries could only use these “flexible mechanisms” if they accept the protocol's compliance regime. So they will be ineligible to trade if, for example, they fail to comply with the strict monitoring and reporting provisions, or if they exceed emissions targets at the end of the first commitment period.
Overall, the agreement further emphasises the political isolation of the US, which withdrew from negotiations in March last year.
The implications of the agreement are already starting to hit home, with EU environment ministers discussing the practicality of a trading scheme at their regular meeting in December. Opinion was divided as to whether the scheme, which is to be introduced during a three-year lead-in phase from 2005, should be mandatory or voluntary. The UK and Germany favour a voluntary approach whereas the European Commission wants the scheme to have legal backing.
The EU is broadly agreed on other aspects of the proposals, however. These include the allocation of permits to business free of charge, restriction of initial trading to just carbon dioxide, and addressing the electricity sector through obligations on generators rather than end consumers.
The UK is to launch its own voluntary emission trading scheme in April this year. Involving nearly 50 industry sectors, it will be the most comprehensive initiative of its type anywhere in the world.
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change: www.unfccc.int; European Commission: www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment; UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: www.defra.gov.ukDioxin developments
Legal limits on dioxin concentrations in food and animal feed have been formally adopted by the EU and will enter into force on 1st July this year. The measures are exactly those proposed by the European Commission last summer [JEM, 2001, 3, 74N], with the exception of a derogation for Sweden and Finland in relation to the domestic sale of fish from the Baltic.Welcoming the new regulations, Food Safety Commissioner David Byrne committed his department to developing proposals for monitoring protocols, to implementing an EU-wide early warning system, and to developing longer term targets.
Meanwhile the French government is to take action against smaller municipal waste incinerators. Around 50 such installations missed a December 2000 deadline for complying with dioxin emission limits under a 1991 directive. Incinerators with a capacity of less than six tonnes per hour are proving difficult to upgrade to the legal standard, and about a dozen of the worst offenders are to be closed.
European Commission: www.europa.eu.int; French Ministry of Environment: www.environnement.gouv.frUS reporting goes online
Environmental reporting in the US has taken a step into the information age with the launch of EPA's e-reporting initiative, first announced last year [JEM, 2001, 3, 25N].Entitled Central Data Exchange (CDX), the scheme aims to establish a single web-based portal for all environmental data entering the Agency. The system offers companies, states and other entities that provide data to EPA a faster, easier and more secure reporting option. The portal also includes built-in data quality checks, web forms, standard file formats and a common, user-friendly approach to reporting data across vastly different environmental programmes such as the Toxic Release Inventory, the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule and the Air Emissions Inventory.
A cornerstone of EPA's e-government initiative, CDX aids the Agency's overall systems modernisation effort and saves money by reducing redundant infrastructure. The system currently covers certain air, water, waste and toxic legislation and will gradually be expanded to support all federal environmental reporting by 2004. Though the current focus is electronic, CDX will eventually incorporate a facility for the Agency's paper data collections as well.
EPA Central Data Exchange: www.epa.gov/cdxHow effective is EU environmental legislation?
In most cases it is impossible to tell, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency.There is no shortage of reporting obligations imposed on governments—in fact Member States often complain about “reporting fatigue”—but much of the information collected about environmental measures is of limited use in assessing their effects and effectiveness, the report finds. For the majority of EU measures, greater efforts are needed to demonstrate a causal relationship between them and their effects on the environment.
The twin challenge facing Member States and the EU institutions is thus to devise a revised reporting system that will provide more information about the effects and effectiveness of EU environmental measures while also lightening the burden on governments by limiting collection and reporting requirements to the most essential types of information. This goal is reflected in the draft decision on the 6th Environment Action Programme currently under discussion in the Council of Ministers and European Parliament.
The report addresses important issues underlying future policy development, such as: 1) the utility of reporting obligations in current EU environmental legislation in assessing effects and effectiveness; 2) the information and methodologies needed to evaluate effects and effectiveness; 3) building evaluations of effects and effectiveness into the design of legislation; and 4) identification of alternative mechanisms, other than through reporting obligations, for assessing effects and effectiveness.
EEA: “Reporting On Environmental Measures: Are We Being Effective?” http://reports.eea.eu.int/rem/enEnvironmental quality
OECD criticises Norway's green record
Norway continues to face major environmental challenges and will need to introduce wide-ranging policy reforms according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).The report, the latest in OECD's reviews of national environmental performance, essentially questions many of Norway's green credentials. For example, national emissions of greenhouse gases are forecast to rise by around 25% between 1990 and 2010, in contravention of Kyoto targets. And efforts to meet international commitments on NOx and VOCs “have stalled in the face of rapid growth of energy production and use”, the report says.
In waste management, overall waste generation continued to rise during the 1990s, despite substantial increases in recovery and recycling levels. Hazardous waste received priority attention but total arisings are still expected to increase by 7% by 2010. The government also failed to meet a target of halving nitrogen inputs to the North Sea by 1995, although the target for phosphorous was met.
Other criticisms were poor performance in energy efficiency, and inappropriate use of sectoral subsidies. Areas where key progress was made include: a strong decoupling of sulfur dioxide and lead emissions; use of pesticides and ozone-depleting substances; and a marked increase in the proportion of the population connected to municipal wastewater treatment.
OECD: “Environmental Performance Review: Norway”, www.oecd.org/env/performance/index.htmCanada acts on road salts
Environment Canada is to bring forward recommendations to improve the management of road salts following the results of a five-year scientific assessment into their ecological effects.Road salts were put on the Priority Substances List under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) for an environmental assessment in 1995 because of concerns about the large quantities used in Canada and the potential effects of chlorides on the environment. Road salts, which contain inorganic chloride salts with or without ferrocyanide salts, were assessed to determine the nature of the risks that they pose to the environment. Approximately 5 million tonnes are used in Canada every year.
The science assessment concluded that because of high releases around storage and snow disposal sites and through runoff and splash from roadways into soils, streams and rivers, road salts pose a serious threat to the aquatic environment, plants and animals.
In the light of these findings, Environment Canada is to form a working group to advise on the selection and development of possible management measures and will begin stakeholder meetings early in 2002. The government says it recognises the importance of road salts in protecting motorists and will not propose a ban on road salts nor introduce any measures that would compromise or reduce road safety.
Environment Canada: “Science Assessment and Risk Management of Road Salts” www.ec.gc.ca/Press/2001/011130_n_e.htmKey role for monitoring network
A monitoring network able to provide reliable data on trends in soil status is likely to form a key element in the EU's future actions to safeguard Europe's soils. The European Commission set out the proposal in a recent paper outlining options for the EU's fledgling soil protection policy.As anticipated in a draft paper published last summer [JEM, 2001, 3, 56N], the Commission sees the setting up of a soil monitoring and management system as an important first step towards an EU-wide strategy. The system would address issues such as harmonisation and the development of sampling procedures and analytical methods.
The paper reiterates the threats to Europe's soils presented in previous communications and assessments [JEM, 2001, 3, 20N]. These include erosion, contamination from point and non-point sources, and declines in both organic matter content and biodiversity. It makes no mention of a framework directive, as recommended by some observers, but instead emphasises the likely influence of existing and planned EU policies on future soil quality. Key among these are the Common Agricultural Policy, stricter standards on sewage sludge, and plans for an environmental liability regime.
European Commission: Draft Communication on Soil: www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/agriculture/consultation2.htmClimate affects water quality
Annual differences in water temperature in European lakes appear to be closely related to changes in the North Atlantic climate system, according to recent research.The weather in Europe is affected by the so-called ‘North Atlantic Oscillation’, much like El Niño drives oscillations on the southern part of the globe. Researchers led by Marten Scheffer of Wageningen University compared this climate data with data sets for European lakes over a 30-year period. The winter value of the oscillation index was found to be a remarkably strong predictor for the temperature of lakes in the subsequent year.
The average temperature of European lakes has risen by more than a degree since 1960. These climate driven changes in water temperature have a major impact on the lakes' ecosystem. In warmer years the chances for having clear water in spring are higher. This water clarity is caused by zooplankton that filter the water. Importantly, submerged aquatic plants benefit from the improved light conditions in clear water and the high temperature. Since these plants themselves enhance water clarity, this can lead to a positive feedback. Research in shallow lakes has shown that this effect is strong enough to permanently stabilise the clear state once it has been reached. The new results therefore imply that extremes in the climatic oscillation may flip turbid lakes into a stable clear water condition.
The work provides the first evidence that in addition to pollution, climatic change may strongly affect the condition of freshwater lakes.
The paper ‘Climatic warming causes regime shifts in lake food webs’ was published in Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 46, No. 7, November 2001. The paper, supporting materials and links to relevant websites are also available at: www.slm.wau.nl/wkao/News/Lake_Climate/en.html.Expert urges stronger role for urban planning
Urban environmental planning has a key role to play in limiting transport-related health effects claims Professor Bernard Fisher of the UK National Centre for Risk Assessment and Options Appraisals. In a recent lecture at the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI), Fisher stated that even an extra 10 m distance could make a real difference to resident's pollution exposure levels.According to Professor Fisher, decision makers and the public need to accept that air quality management strategies will be based on readings and conclusions that are inherently uncertain. Despite the thoroughness and care with which they are taken, measurement techniques cannot give finite conclusions. Professor Fisher called this imperfect knowledge ‘fuzzy numbers’ or ‘fuzzy sets’. He quoted Air Quality Management areas, with their lack of sharp, definable boundaries, as an ideal example of the concept of this measuring technique. This uncertainty of measurement contributes to the difficulty in setting environmental standards.
Professor Fisher also suggested that we move to measurement of personal exposure to pollution, rather than the current method of general exposure to give a more accurate localised picture of air quality levels across the UK.
An international expert on air pollution, air quality and acid rain, Professor Fisher developed the long-range transport model that the UK power industry uses to assess the impact of its emissions— work that demonstrated the link between sulfur dioxide emissions in the UK and acid rain in Northern European countries.
Society of Chemical Industry: www.soci.orgChemical hazards
Opinions divided on pesticide costs
The debate on the economics of pesticide use has moved up a gear, amid conflicting reports on their costs and benefits.At a meeting convened by the OECD in December, members of its Pesticide Working Group gathered to discuss approaches for measuring the economic impacts of pesticide policies. Experts considered how to quantify costs, including external environmental and social costs, at farm, sectoral and national levels.
Experience in Denmark suggests that cutting national pesticide use by up to half can be achieved with limited economic consequences, the meeting heard. A study in 2000 into the impacts of the country's pesticide reduction strategy found that while a total ban would be very expensive, cuts of between 40–50% could be economic provided farmers made use of the latest techniques.
Such views are disputed by Michael Schmitz, an economist at the University of Giessen. In a report prepared for the European Crop Protection Association, an industry lobby group, the German academic says that European actions in favour of organic farming and food are “ideological”. They underestimate the benefits of pesticides, he argues, involve “excessive fear” of their risks, and ignore the fact that all agricultural systems have costs as well as benefits.
According to Professor Schmitz, a 75% reduction in the use of crop protection chemicals would cut agricultural yields by 11–25% depending on the sector. A complete ban would cut production by 50–84%, losing farmers between one-third and one-half of their income. Overall, the economic welfare losses across the EU would be around €44 billion. Positive aspects of pesticide use identified in the study include reducing the area of land needed for food production and helping to maintain farming in less favoured areas.
The overall costs and benefits to society of pesticide use are likely to come under increasing scrutiny as the EU reviews its rules on the assessment of existing pesticides, possibly leading to tougher conditions regarding registration and use.
OECD: www.oecd.org; European Crop Protection Association: www.ecpa.beBacktrack on phthalates ban
The European Commission is to drop proposals for a blanket ban on the use of phthalate softeners in children's toys. The decision suggests that the long-running row between EU governments over how to regulate phthalates may be moving towards a resolution.Since December 1999 phthalates have been prohibited in toys designed to be sucked or chewed by under threes [JEM, 2000, 2, 8N]. It has already been agreed that this ban should be made permanent but the position in relation to the much larger group of articles capable (but not intended) of being mouthed is more controversial. For this second category, which includes toys and childcare articles, a majority of member states now appear to favour use of migration limits. The shift follows endorsement of phthalate migration tests by an EU scientific committee last summer [JEM, 2001, 3, 59N, 73N].
Industry, which has long advocated the use of migration tests, welcomed the development. But environmentalists remain fiercely opposed. In a letter to EU Industry Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, Greenpeace said that test methods designed to measure migration of phthalates into saliva have not reached the necessary level of reproducibility to be a viable policy option. The group also noted that the EU's scientific committee had recently revised downwards its no-adverse effect level for the key phthalate DINP. This, says Greenpeace, further reduces the “margin of safety” below acceptable levels.
The difficulties in enforcing an outright prohibition have been underlined by a survey in Denmark, which found evidence for continued use of phthalates in toys, in contravention of a national ban. Environment Minister Hans Christian Schmidt said it was incredible that phthalates should keep turning up in products and demanded an explanation from toy manufacturers and importers. The government has ordered further testing to confirm the extent of the problem. Similar breaches have been reported recently in Austria and Norway.
European Commission: www.europa.eu.int; Greenpeace: www.greenpeace.org; Danish EPA: www.mst.dkOP risk assessments
EPA has released a preliminary assessment of the cumulative risks of organophosphate (OP) pesticides and is seeking both scientific peer review and public comment on the methodologies used.These risk assessment techniques represent a significant advance in EPA's approach to pesticide evaluation. Developed over the past five years with extensive scientific peer-review, the new methodologies allow EPA to evaluate potential exposures to multiple pesticides, taking into account multiple exposure paths.
“Developing and applying the scientific methodologies to perform a cumulative pesticide risk assessment represents a major step forward in EPA's ability to evaluate the safety of pesticides,” said Stephen L. Johnson, Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. “Because this is the first time for EPA to apply these new methods together, we are not yet ready to draw firm conclusions about the pesticides in this initial evaluation. EPA expects, and will welcome, a robust public comment period to help us fine-tune the risk assessment”.
The preliminary report examines organophosphate insecticides as a group because they are chemically similar and act the same way in the body. The preliminary cumulative risk assessment considers potential exposures to 31 organophosphates through food, drinking water and residential uses.
The new methodologies cover different age groups and take into account the variability in potential exposure at different locations across the country and at different times of the year. EPA relied on a large variety of data sources, such as monitoring data that measure pesticide residues found in food, in order to obtain the most realistic estimates of the population's actual exposure.
The review period is open until 8th March 2002.
EPA Office of Pesticide Programs: www.epa.gov/pesticidesWood preservers set for phase out
An EU-wide ban on the marketing of arsenic-based wood preservatives to consumers is to be introduced following recent scientific evidence that risks to health and the environment are higher than previously thought. The European Commission has launched a consultation on the issue and proposes to ban seven out of ten main uses of copper-chromium-arsenic (CCA) preservatives. Only industrial applications will remain. Norway has already taken similar steps [JEM, 2000, 2, 96N].Meanwhile in the US, the EPA is considering recommendations from a panel of scientific experts set up to look into the risks to children's health from use of CCA-treated wood in playgrounds. Based on this advice, the Agency has begun to develop a probabilistic model for assessing exposure to CCA, which will further strengthen risk assessment methodologies. The Agency expects to publish its preliminary risk assessment report this Spring.
European Commission: CCA Consultation www.europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/markrestr/arsenic/consultation.htm; EPA Office of Science and Technology Policy: www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap/whatsnew.htmWide controls in prospect for NPs
Extensive restrictions on the marketing and usage of nonyl phenols (NPs) and their derivatives are likely following an EU risk assessment. While the long-awaited assessment contains no formal proposals, the European Commission is almost certain to bring forward legislation in the light of new findings on the substances' toxic effects.Often used as industrial detergents, NPs are suspected endocrine disrupters. According to the latest assessment, they pose an undue threat to the environment, particularly to the aquatic environment, and to human health.
The report identified numerous products and processes for possible restrictions as part of a risk reduction strategy. These include: metal, textile and leather processing; industrial and domestic cleaners; pulp and paper manufacture; agriculture; and cosmetics. If controls in these sectors prove insufficient in reducing environmental concentrations of NPs, the report says, other areas could be targeted such as construction aggregates, chemical additives, and the photographic and printed circuitboard industries.
Several countries have already started to reduce usage of NPs in anticipation of future EU measures [JEM, 2001, 3, 88N]. The UK is considering a voluntary phase-out in certain sectors while Norway was the first country to introduce an outright ban. In Denmark, an earlier voluntary phase-out has already proved highly successful in reducing the levels of NPs in sewage sludge, so enabling it to be used as agricultural fertiliser.
European Commission: “Risk Assessment of Nonyl Phenols”, www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/dat/2001/l_319/Public and occupational health
GM crop separation not scientific
The separation distances used to isolate genetically modified (GM) crops from non-modified varieties have no scientific basis according to EU experts.Responding to a request from the UK for EU approval to introduce mandatory separation distances between GM and non-GM maize, the Scientific Committee on Plants (SCP) said that this was a political issue that could not be resolved by scientists. The European Commission has yet to make a definitive ruling on the application but is likely to be swayed by the SCP's decision.
The application related to a decision by the Welsh Assembly to require mandatory separation distances of 200 metres for Aventis T25 maize as a means of safeguarding nearby organic production. Under the EU-approved licensing conditions, separation is not required and member states may restrict the cultivation of GM crops only if new scientific evidence shows they pose previously unknown environmental threats. In effect the UK was asking for a broad interpretation of environmental damage to include threats to the integrity of organic farming.
The Committee reiterated its view that the maize did not pose a threat to the environment and declined to comment on separation distances. It noted, however, that zero-levels of gene flow “cannot be guaranteed under commercial practice” and that for the situation concerned around 1% of pollen from modified plants could be expected to reach unmodified varieties.
The SCP's ruling underlines the extreme difficulties for politicians in seeking refuge in “sound science” on the GM issue, which is fraught with scientific uncertainty [JEM, 1999, 1, 99N].
EU Scientific Committee on Plants: www.europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scp/out110_gmo_en.pdfExperts concerned about radiation limits
EU scientists have expressed concern over current limits for extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs). In its latest report on the issue, the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment (CSTEE) says that recent studies have “strengthened the association” between exposure to EMFs and childhood leukaemia. The decision represents a further shift in scientific opinion regarding the potential health effects of EMFs following a similar warning from UK experts last year [JEM, 2001, 3, 42N].Based on the latest epidemiological studies, CSTEE says there is a suggestion of a very small increased risk of leukaemia through exposure to EMFs from domestic, industrial and medical appliances and high-voltage electricity transmission lines. However, current data provide no proof of a causal relationship, and the Committee stopped short of recommending tighter exposure limits.
Regarding higher frequency radiowaves and microwaves, such as those emitted by mobile phones, the experts are more circumspect. The Committee finds no evidence of risks to adults or children for any of ten different toxicity end-points. However, it points out that in certain individuals symptoms such as stress, depression and fatigue might be linked to exposure.
Mobile phone manufacturers seized on the findings, claiming in a statement that “Expert groups have now met and considered all the facts on numerous occasions and yet again mobile phones have been given the all clear”.
CSTEE: www.europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/sct/out128_en.pdf; Mobile Manufacturers Forum: www.mmfai.org/files/media/CSTEE.htmEPA reviews toxicity studies
EPA has asked the National Academy of Sciences to review the complex scientific and ethical issues posed by the use of third-party studies which intentionally dose human subjects with toxicants to identify or quantify their effects. The Academy will provide recommendations regarding the particular factors and criteria EPA should consider to determine the potential acceptability of such third-party studies.Recently, most submissions to the Agency have concerned toxicity testing of pesticides, such as studies used to establish a No Observed Adverse Effect Level or No Observed Effect Level for systemic toxicity of pesticides. The Academy is also being asked to provide recommendations on whether internationally accepted protocols or the Protection of Human Subjects Rule could be applied to develop appropriate scientific and ethical criteria. The studies concerned are those that have not been conducted or funded by a federal agency in compliance with this Rule, or its equivalent.
The Agency will not consider or rely on any such human studies in its regulatory decision making until a policy is put in place. Any issues arising in the meantime will be referred to a science advisory board.
EPA: www.epa.govInstitute seeks health impact studies
The Health Effects Institute, the US-based air pollution research centre, is inviting international proposals under a new initiative entitled Measuring the Health Impacts of Actions that Improve Air Quality.HEI is seeking novel studies that will take advantage of planned air-quality actions at the local or national level (e.g. regulations or financial programmes to encourage cleaner technology). Research should address both changes in air quality resulting from these actions and changes in health status in the appropriate populations.
The initiative is the first step towards implementing the accountability element of the HEI Strategic Plan for the Health Effects of Air Pollution (2000–2005). The Plan identified accountability— measurement of the public health impact of air quality regulations designed to protect public health— as a priority research topic. Because the economic cost of decreasing pollutant emissions is high, determining how effectively the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and other regulations protect public health is important. This task is complex because other changes that affect public health may occur while the level of a pollutant is decreasing. In addition, plans to implement air quality standards (for example, changing the composition of fuels used in cars) may involve actions that add other pollutants to the air.
The Institute is inviting responses from interdisciplinary teams and will also be contacting state and local air quality officials to identify efforts to improve air quality that might lend themselves to these objectives.
Health Effects Institute: www.healtheffects.orgHEI sets up internet gateway; launches new studies
The Health Effects Institute has approved the first phase of a project designed to provide public access to data from its National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS) via the internet. Dr Scott Zeger and colleagues at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health will develop the internet Health and Air Pollution Surveillance System (iHAPSS): an internet-based statistical system for assessing the effects of air pollution on daily mortality and morbidity in US cities. iHAPSS addresses two important science and policy issues: accessibility to the public of data from scientific studies that figure prominently in regulatory decisions; and on-going surveillance of the health effects of air pollution as ambient concentrations change in response to regulatory activity and other factors. The studies concerned were published in the scientific literature in 2000 [JEM, 2000, 2, 71N, 81N].The Institute has also announced a series of new research projects as part of its on-going programme on air pollution. A four-year study led by Dr Bert Brunekreef at the University of Utrecht will be the first in Europe to estimate the association of traffic-related air pollution with mortality from chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and incidence of lung cancer. In a three-year project, researchers at the University of North Carolina will investigate early childhood effects of air pollutants by following a cohort of children born between 1994–1999 in two districts of the Czech Republic. In addition, HEI has launched four new epidemiological studies into effects of diesel exhaust and other particles on asthma and other allergic diseases.
Health Effects Institute: www.healtheffects.orgResearch activities
NIEHS sponsors genomics consortium
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has awarded grants totalling more than US$37 million to five academic research organisations that will join with NIEHS to form a Toxicogenomics Research Consortium.Each of the academic research organisations will receive more than US$7 million over five years for studies using recent advances in genomics to study toxicological and environmental health problems. Each organisation has its own area of expertise to bring to the effort, but collectively the consortium will use genomics to understand how disease occurs, identify potential environmental hazards, predict potential disease, identify exposed individuals and prevent disease.
The recipients are: School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at Seattle; Oregon Health and Science University at Portland; Duke University; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The consortium will be coordinated by NIEHS staff scientists at its headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
NIEHS: www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/toxicons.htmNew centres for hazardous waste research
EPA has awarded more than US$22 million in research grants to establish five new Hazardous Substance Research Centers affiliated with 22 universities. The Centers will address concerns about hazardous substances in the environment by conducting basic and applied research, and providing technology transfer and community outreach.The Johns Hopkins University will study the processes for detecting, assessing and managing risks associated with the use and disposal of hazardous substances in urban environments. The Centers at Purdue University in Indiana, Oregon State University, Louisiana State University and Colorado State University will investigate the removal of contaminants from the environment.
The grants were awarded by two EPA offices: the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, and the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) programme in the Office of Research and Development. STAR is an on-going $100 million a year US grant programme designed to engage the best university scientists and engineers in environmental research.
EPA National Centre for Environmental Research: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/centers/hsrcInspectors' network plans future actions
Impel, an informal network of EU pollution inspectors, has adopted a work programme setting out activities and priorities for the next five years. The move is a significant step towards the benchmarking of pollution inspection practices within the EU.The network's highest-profile activity is the peer review of national inspection practices. The first review, covering the German state of Baden-Württemberg, is due to be pubished shortly. It is aiming to produce six such reports by 2003, in time to feed into an EU policy review of national environmental inspection processes.
Other actions scheduled in the workplan include studies into the regulation of transboundary pollution risks, and the training and qualifications of environmental inspectors. The network will also investigate how EU countries monitor environmental impacts of spatial and waste management planning decisions.
Impel: www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/impelUK opens molecular centre
The University of Manchester has opened a ground-breaking new research centre that will bring together geologists, biologists and chemists to work together on understanding the Earth's environment at a molecular level. The Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science will be the first centre of its kind in the UK, and one of only a handful of such institutes worldwide.Work in the new centre will help to develop more effective and cheaper ways to clean up environmental contamination, based on a better understanding of the processes involved in pollution. Exploration of issues such as the role of minerals in the formation of complex organic molecules may also help to explain how life began.
“Rather in the same way that understanding DNA heralded a revolution in our knowledge of living systems, molecular environmental science is poised to revolutionise our understanding of the environment we live in”, explained Centre Director Professor David Vaughan.
The centre was funded with a £3.3 million award from the UK's Joint Infrastructure Fund, a government initiative to strengthen the research capacity of Britain's universities. The award was paid through the Natural Environment Research Council.
University of Manchester: www.man.ac.ukScientific prizes
Two leading scientists have been recognised for their work in their respective fields.In the UK, the Institute of Physics has awarded the Charles Chree Medal and Prize to Dr Peter Woods of the National Physical Laboratory, for his contributions to environmental metrology, in particular the detection and monitoring of atmospheric trace gases and air pollution. In its citation, the IOP notes that since the 1970s Dr Woods has pioneered the development of advanced spectroscopic techniques for measuring the atmosphere and has successfully applied these measurements to the field. His work established the NPL as the world leader in infrared DIAL technology and has resulted in improvements to pollution protocols in several industries worldwide. Dr Woods has also been at the forefront of research on the depletion of stratospheric ozone. The Medal recognises distinguished service in environmental physics and related aspects.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the US National Toxicology Program has awarded the David P. Rall Award 2001 to Dr David Michaels. Dr Michaels is an epidemiologist who has made significant contributions to public health through science-based advocacy for regulatory and public policy in his work in both academia and government agencies. Amongst other positions, he is currently research professor in Epidemiology in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at George Washington University. Previously he was Assistant Secretary for the Environment, Safety and Health at the US Department of Energy (1998–2001).
Publications
POPS Data
EPA has published a technical support document aimed at informing decision makers, general academia, and the public on the scientific foundation and relevance to the United States of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The report summarises data available in the peer reviewed literature on the twelve POPs, and provides an overview of the risks posed to the United States population and ecosystems. The EPA is seeking comments on this draft report. National Center for Environmental Assessment: “The Foundation For Global Action On Persistent Organic Pollutants: A United States Perspective (External Review Draft)”; www.epa.gov/nceaScenarios as tools
The European Environment Agency has published a review of the use of scenarios as tools for international environmental assessments. Drawing on major European and international scenario-building exercises, such as those undertaken by the European Commission and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the report proposes a thorough approach to scenario development combining qualitative and quantitative information. The study is the fourth in a series of reviews by the EEA on the methodologies underlying environmental assessments. European Environment Agency: “Scenarios as Tools for International Environmental Assessments”, available at: www.eea.eu.intUrban PM mechanisms and components
HEI has published a further report into the mechanisms that underlie particulate matter toxicity. The study by Dr Renaud Vincent and colleagues of Health Canada investigated whether exposure to urban particulate matter may lead to changes in vasoactive substances that cause constriction of blood vessels, which in turn lead to adverse cardiovascular effects. The investigators also assessed whether the chemical composition of particles is important to their effects. In addition, they compared effects of these particles with the effects of diesel soot and carbon black particles on cardiovascular parameters. “Inhalation Toxicology of Urban Ambient Particulate Matter: Acute Cardiovascular Effects in Rats”, HEI Research Report 104, available at www.healtheffects.orgLegislation
Agreement seals Kyoto Protocol
After two weeks of tough bargaining, representatives from nearly 180 countries concluded a major agreement on the operation of the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change. The meeting in Marrakech in November successfully translated the earlier political agreement reached in Bonn last July into a detailed legal text.Agreed in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol calls for industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% from 1990 levels by 2008-12. The Protocol will enter into force after it has been ratified by a minimum of 55 countries, representing at least 55% of industrialised countries' emissions. The previous round of talks in Bonn introduced the concept of carbon sinks, and under the latest accord reliance on these has been further increased. The net result, according to experts, is that for most countries the actual reductions in emissions required under the Protocol will average only around 1.5%.
Under the deal, the European Union conceded demands from countries such as Japan and Russia for greater flexibility in its implementation. For example, emissions trading and funding of climate gas-cutting abroad would be legitimate means of meeting the reduction targets. However, the EU won a condition that countries could only use these “flexible mechanisms” if they accept the protocol's compliance regime. So they will be ineligible to trade if, for example, they fail to comply with the strict monitoring and reporting provisions, or if they exceed emissions targets at the end of the first commitment period.
Overall, the agreement further emphasises the political isolation of the US, which withdrew from negotiations in March last year.
The implications of the agreement are already starting to hit home, with EU environment ministers discussing the practicality of a trading scheme at their regular meeting in December. Opinion was divided as to whether the scheme, which is to be introduced during a three-year lead-in phase from 2005, should be mandatory or voluntary. The UK and Germany favour a voluntary approach whereas the European Commission wants the scheme to have legal backing.
The EU is broadly agreed on other aspects of the proposals, however. These include the allocation of permits to business free of charge, restriction of initial trading to just carbon dioxide, and addressing the electricity sector through obligations on generators rather than end consumers.
The UK is to launch its own voluntary emission trading scheme in April this year. Involving nearly 50 industry sectors, it will be the most comprehensive initiative of its type anywhere in the world.
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change: www.unfccc.int; European Commission: www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment; UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: www.defra.gov.ukDioxin developments
Legal limits on dioxin concentrations in food and animal feed have been formally adopted by the EU and will enter into force on 1st July this year. The measures are exactly those proposed by the European Commission last summer [JEM, 2001, 3, 74N], with the exception of a derogation for Sweden and Finland in relation to the domestic sale of fish from the Baltic.Welcoming the new regulations, Food Safety Commissioner David Byrne committed his department to developing proposals for monitoring protocols, to implementing an EU-wide early warning system, and to developing longer term targets.
Meanwhile the French government is to take action against smaller municipal waste incinerators. Around 50 such installations missed a December 2000 deadline for complying with dioxin emission limits under a 1991 directive. Incinerators with a capacity of less than six tonnes per hour are proving difficult to upgrade to the legal standard, and about a dozen of the worst offenders are to be closed.
European Commission: www.europa.eu.int; French Ministry of Environment: www.environnement.gouv.frUS reporting goes online
Environmental reporting in the US has taken a step into the information age with the launch of EPA's e-reporting initiative, first announced last year [JEM, 2001, 3, 25N].Entitled Central Data Exchange (CDX), the scheme aims to establish a single web-based portal for all environmental data entering the Agency. The system offers companies, states and other entities that provide data to EPA a faster, easier and more secure reporting option. The portal also includes built-in data quality checks, web forms, standard file formats and a common, user-friendly approach to reporting data across vastly different environmental programmes such as the Toxic Release Inventory, the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule and the Air Emissions Inventory.
A cornerstone of EPA's e-government initiative, CDX aids the Agency's overall systems modernisation effort and saves money by reducing redundant infrastructure. The system currently covers certain air, water, waste and toxic legislation and will gradually be expanded to support all federal environmental reporting by 2004. Though the current focus is electronic, CDX will eventually incorporate a facility for the Agency's paper data collections as well.
EPA Central Data Exchange: www.epa.gov/cdxHow effective is EU environmental legislation?
In most cases it is impossible to tell, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency.There is no shortage of reporting obligations imposed on governments—in fact Member States often complain about “reporting fatigue”—but much of the information collected about environmental measures is of limited use in assessing their effects and effectiveness, the report finds. For the majority of EU measures, greater efforts are needed to demonstrate a causal relationship between them and their effects on the environment.
The twin challenge facing Member States and the EU institutions is thus to devise a revised reporting system that will provide more information about the effects and effectiveness of EU environmental measures while also lightening the burden on governments by limiting collection and reporting requirements to the most essential types of information. This goal is reflected in the draft decision on the 6th Environment Action Programme currently under discussion in the Council of Ministers and European Parliament.
The report addresses important issues underlying future policy development, such as: 1) the utility of reporting obligations in current EU environmental legislation in assessing effects and effectiveness; 2) the information and methodologies needed to evaluate effects and effectiveness; 3) building evaluations of effects and effectiveness into the design of legislation; and 4) identification of alternative mechanisms, other than through reporting obligations, for assessing effects and effectiveness.
EEA: “Reporting On Environmental Measures: Are We Being Effective?” http://reports.eea.eu.int/rem/enEnvironmental quality
OECD criticises Norway's green record
Norway continues to face major environmental challenges and will need to introduce wide-ranging policy reforms according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).The report, the latest in OECD's reviews of national environmental performance, essentially questions many of Norway's green credentials. For example, national emissions of greenhouse gases are forecast to rise by around 25% between 1990 and 2010, in contravention of Kyoto targets. And efforts to meet international commitments on NOx and VOCs “have stalled in the face of rapid growth of energy production and use”, the report says.
In waste management, overall waste generation continued to rise during the 1990s, despite substantial increases in recovery and recycling levels. Hazardous waste received priority attention but total arisings are still expected to increase by 7% by 2010. The government also failed to meet a target of halving nitrogen inputs to the North Sea by 1995, although the target for phosphorous was met.
Other criticisms were poor performance in energy efficiency, and inappropriate use of sectoral subsidies. Areas where key progress was made include: a strong decoupling of sulfur dioxide and lead emissions; use of pesticides and ozone-depleting substances; and a marked increase in the proportion of the population connected to municipal wastewater treatment.
OECD: “Environmental Performance Review: Norway”, www.oecd.org/env/performance/index.htmCanada acts on road salts
Environment Canada is to bring forward recommendations to improve the management of road salts following the results of a five-year scientific assessment into their ecological effects.Road salts were put on the Priority Substances List under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) for an environmental assessment in 1995 because of concerns about the large quantities used in Canada and the potential effects of chlorides on the environment. Road salts, which contain inorganic chloride salts with or without ferrocyanide salts, were assessed to determine the nature of the risks that they pose to the environment. Approximately 5 million tonnes are used in Canada every year.
The science assessment concluded that because of high releases around storage and snow disposal sites and through runoff and splash from roadways into soils, streams and rivers, road salts pose a serious threat to the aquatic environment, plants and animals.
In the light of these findings, Environment Canada is to form a working group to advise on the selection and development of possible management measures and will begin stakeholder meetings early in 2002. The government says it recognises the importance of road salts in protecting motorists and will not propose a ban on road salts nor introduce any measures that would compromise or reduce road safety.
Environment Canada: “Science Assessment and Risk Management of Road Salts” www.ec.gc.ca/Press/2001/011130_n_e.htmKey role for monitoring network
A monitoring network able to provide reliable data on trends in soil status is likely to form a key element in the EU's future actions to safeguard Europe's soils. The European Commission set out the proposal in a recent paper outlining options for the EU's fledgling soil protection policy.As anticipated in a draft paper published last summer [JEM, 2001, 3, 56N], the Commission sees the setting up of a soil monitoring and management system as an important first step towards an EU-wide strategy. The system would address issues such as harmonisation and the development of sampling procedures and analytical methods.
The paper reiterates the threats to Europe's soils presented in previous communications and assessments [JEM, 2001, 3, 20N]. These include erosion, contamination from point and non-point sources, and declines in both organic matter content and biodiversity. It makes no mention of a framework directive, as recommended by some observers, but instead emphasises the likely influence of existing and planned EU policies on future soil quality. Key among these are the Common Agricultural Policy, stricter standards on sewage sludge, and plans for an environmental liability regime.
European Commission: Draft Communication on Soil: www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/agriculture/consultation2.htmClimate affects water quality
Annual differences in water temperature in European lakes appear to be closely related to changes in the North Atlantic climate system, according to recent research.The weather in Europe is affected by the so-called ‘North Atlantic Oscillation’, much like El Niño drives oscillations on the southern part of the globe. Researchers led by Marten Scheffer of Wageningen University compared this climate data with data sets for European lakes over a 30-year period. The winter value of the oscillation index was found to be a remarkably strong predictor for the temperature of lakes in the subsequent year.
The average temperature of European lakes has risen by more than a degree since 1960. These climate driven changes in water temperature have a major impact on the lakes' ecosystem. In warmer years the chances for having clear water in spring are higher. This water clarity is caused by zooplankton that filter the water. Importantly, submerged aquatic plants benefit from the improved light conditions in clear water and the high temperature. Since these plants themselves enhance water clarity, this can lead to a positive feedback. Research in shallow lakes has shown that this effect is strong enough to permanently stabilise the clear state once it has been reached. The new results therefore imply that extremes in the climatic oscillation may flip turbid lakes into a stable clear water condition.
The work provides the first evidence that in addition to pollution, climatic change may strongly affect the condition of freshwater lakes.
The paper ‘Climatic warming causes regime shifts in lake food webs’ was published in Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 46, No. 7, November 2001. The paper, supporting materials and links to relevant websites are also available at: www.slm.wau.nl/wkao/News/Lake_Climate/en.html.Expert urges stronger role for urban planning
Urban environmental planning has a key role to play in limiting transport-related health effects claims Professor Bernard Fisher of the UK National Centre for Risk Assessment and Options Appraisals. In a recent lecture at the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI), Fisher stated that even an extra 10 m distance could make a real difference to resident's pollution exposure levels.According to Professor Fisher, decision makers and the public need to accept that air quality management strategies will be based on readings and conclusions that are inherently uncertain. Despite the thoroughness and care with which they are taken, measurement techniques cannot give finite conclusions. Professor Fisher called this imperfect knowledge ‘fuzzy numbers’ or ‘fuzzy sets’. He quoted Air Quality Management areas, with their lack of sharp, definable boundaries, as an ideal example of the concept of this measuring technique. This uncertainty of measurement contributes to the difficulty in setting environmental standards.
Professor Fisher also suggested that we move to measurement of personal exposure to pollution, rather than the current method of general exposure to give a more accurate localised picture of air quality levels across the UK.
An international expert on air pollution, air quality and acid rain, Professor Fisher developed the long-range transport model that the UK power industry uses to assess the impact of its emissions— work that demonstrated the link between sulfur dioxide emissions in the UK and acid rain in Northern European countries.
Society of Chemical Industry: www.soci.orgChemical hazards
Opinions divided on pesticide costs
The debate on the economics of pesticide use has moved up a gear, amid conflicting reports on their costs and benefits.At a meeting convened by the OECD in December, members of its Pesticide Working Group gathered to discuss approaches for measuring the economic impacts of pesticide policies. Experts considered how to quantify costs, including external environmental and social costs, at farm, sectoral and national levels.
Experience in Denmark suggests that cutting national pesticide use by up to half can be achieved with limited economic consequences, the meeting heard. A study in 2000 into the impacts of the country's pesticide reduction strategy found that while a total ban would be very expensive, cuts of between 40–50% could be economic provided farmers made use of the latest techniques.
Such views are disputed by Michael Schmitz, an economist at the University of Giessen. In a report prepared for the European Crop Protection Association, an industry lobby group, the German academic says that European actions in favour of organic farming and food are “ideological”. They underestimate the benefits of pesticides, he argues, involve “excessive fear” of their risks, and ignore the fact that all agricultural systems have costs as well as benefits.
According to Professor Schmitz, a 75% reduction in the use of crop protection chemicals would cut agricultural yields by 11–25% depending on the sector. A complete ban would cut production by 50–84%, losing farmers between one-third and one-half of their income. Overall, the economic welfare losses across the EU would be around €44 billion. Positive aspects of pesticide use identified in the study include reducing the area of land needed for food production and helping to maintain farming in less favoured areas.
The overall costs and benefits to society of pesticide use are likely to come under increasing scrutiny as the EU reviews its rules on the assessment of existing pesticides, possibly leading to tougher conditions regarding registration and use.
OECD: www.oecd.org; European Crop Protection Association: www.ecpa.beBacktrack on phthalates ban
The European Commission is to drop proposals for a blanket ban on the use of phthalate softeners in children's toys. The decision suggests that the long-running row between EU governments over how to regulate phthalates may be moving towards a resolution.Since December 1999 phthalates have been prohibited in toys designed to be sucked or chewed by under threes [JEM, 2000, 2, 8N]. It has already been agreed that this ban should be made permanent but the position in relation to the much larger group of articles capable (but not intended) of being mouthed is more controversial. For this second category, which includes toys and childcare articles, a majority of member states now appear to favour use of migration limits. The shift follows endorsement of phthalate migration tests by an EU scientific committee last summer [JEM, 2001, 3, 59N, 73N].
Industry, which has long advocated the use of migration tests, welcomed the development. But environmentalists remain fiercely opposed. In a letter to EU Industry Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, Greenpeace said that test methods designed to measure migration of phthalates into saliva have not reached the necessary level of reproducibility to be a viable policy option. The group also noted that the EU's scientific committee had recently revised downwards its no-adverse effect level for the key phthalate DINP. This, says Greenpeace, further reduces the “margin of safety” below acceptable levels.
The difficulties in enforcing an outright prohibition have been underlined by a survey in Denmark, which found evidence for continued use of phthalates in toys, in contravention of a national ban. Environment Minister Hans Christian Schmidt said it was incredible that phthalates should keep turning up in products and demanded an explanation from toy manufacturers and importers. The government has ordered further testing to confirm the extent of the problem. Similar breaches have been reported recently in Austria and Norway.
European Commission: www.europa.eu.int; Greenpeace: www.greenpeace.org; Danish EPA: www.mst.dkOP risk assessments
EPA has released a preliminary assessment of the cumulative risks of organophosphate (OP) pesticides and is seeking both scientific peer review and public comment on the methodologies used.These risk assessment techniques represent a significant advance in EPA's approach to pesticide evaluation. Developed over the past five years with extensive scientific peer-review, the new methodologies allow EPA to evaluate potential exposures to multiple pesticides, taking into account multiple exposure paths.
“Developing and applying the scientific methodologies to perform a cumulative pesticide risk assessment represents a major step forward in EPA's ability to evaluate the safety of pesticides,” said Stephen L. Johnson, Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. “Because this is the first time for EPA to apply these new methods together, we are not yet ready to draw firm conclusions about the pesticides in this initial evaluation. EPA expects, and will welcome, a robust public comment period to help us fine-tune the risk assessment”.
The preliminary report examines organophosphate insecticides as a group because they are chemically similar and act the same way in the body. The preliminary cumulative risk assessment considers potential exposures to 31 organophosphates through food, drinking water and residential uses.
The new methodologies cover different age groups and take into account the variability in potential exposure at different locations across the country and at different times of the year. EPA relied on a large variety of data sources, such as monitoring data that measure pesticide residues found in food, in order to obtain the most realistic estimates of the population's actual exposure.
The review period is open until 8th March 2002.
EPA Office of Pesticide Programs: www.epa.gov/pesticidesWood preservers set for phase out
An EU-wide ban on the marketing of arsenic-based wood preservatives to consumers is to be introduced following recent scientific evidence that risks to health and the environment are higher than previously thought. The European Commission has launched a consultation on the issue and proposes to ban seven out of ten main uses of copper-chromium-arsenic (CCA) preservatives. Only industrial applications will remain. Norway has already taken similar steps [JEM, 2000, 2, 96N].Meanwhile in the US, the EPA is considering recommendations from a panel of scientific experts set up to look into the risks to children's health from use of CCA-treated wood in playgrounds. Based on this advice, the Agency has begun to develop a probabilistic model for assessing exposure to CCA, which will further strengthen risk assessment methodologies. The Agency expects to publish its preliminary risk assessment report this Spring.
European Commission: CCA Consultation www.europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/markrestr/arsenic/consultation.htm; EPA Office of Science and Technology Policy: www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap/whatsnew.htmWide controls in prospect for NPs
Extensive restrictions on the marketing and usage of nonyl phenols (NPs) and their derivatives are likely following an EU risk assessment. While the long-awaited assessment contains no formal proposals, the European Commission is almost certain to bring forward legislation in the light of new findings on the substances' toxic effects.Often used as industrial detergents, NPs are suspected endocrine disrupters. According to the latest assessment, they pose an undue threat to the environment, particularly to the aquatic environment, and to human health.
The report identified numerous products and processes for possible restrictions as part of a risk reduction strategy. These include: metal, textile and leather processing; industrial and domestic cleaners; pulp and paper manufacture; agriculture; and cosmetics. If controls in these sectors prove insufficient in reducing environmental concentrations of NPs, the report says, other areas could be targeted such as construction aggregates, chemical additives, and the photographic and printed circuitboard industries.
Several countries have already started to reduce usage of NPs in anticipation of future EU measures [JEM, 2001, 3, 88N]. The UK is considering a voluntary phase-out in certain sectors while Norway was the first country to introduce an outright ban. In Denmark, an earlier voluntary phase-out has already proved highly successful in reducing the levels of NPs in sewage sludge, so enabling it to be used as agricultural fertiliser.
European Commission: “Risk Assessment of Nonyl Phenols”, www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/dat/2001/l_319/Public and occupational health
GM crop separation not scientific
The separation distances used to isolate genetically modified (GM) crops from non-modified varieties have no scientific basis according to EU experts.Responding to a request from the UK for EU approval to introduce mandatory separation distances between GM and non-GM maize, the Scientific Committee on Plants (SCP) said that this was a political issue that could not be resolved by scientists. The European Commission has yet to make a definitive ruling on the application but is likely to be swayed by the SCP's decision.
The application related to a decision by the Welsh Assembly to require mandatory separation distances of 200 metres for Aventis T25 maize as a means of safeguarding nearby organic production. Under the EU-approved licensing conditions, separation is not required and member states may restrict the cultivation of GM crops only if new scientific evidence shows they pose previously unknown environmental threats. In effect the UK was asking for a broad interpretation of environmental damage to include threats to the integrity of organic farming.
The Committee reiterated its view that the maize did not pose a threat to the environment and declined to comment on separation distances. It noted, however, that zero-levels of gene flow “cannot be guaranteed under commercial practice” and that for the situation concerned around 1% of pollen from modified plants could be expected to reach unmodified varieties.
The SCP's ruling underlines the extreme difficulties for politicians in seeking refuge in “sound science” on the GM issue, which is fraught with scientific uncertainty [JEM, 1999, 1, 99N].
EU Scientific Committee on Plants: www.europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scp/out110_gmo_en.pdfExperts concerned about radiation limits
EU scientists have expressed concern over current limits for extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs). In its latest report on the issue, the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment (CSTEE) says that recent studies have “strengthened the association” between exposure to EMFs and childhood leukaemia. The decision represents a further shift in scientific opinion regarding the potential health effects of EMFs following a similar warning from UK experts last year [JEM, 2001, 3, 42N].Based on the latest epidemiological studies, CSTEE says there is a suggestion of a very small increased risk of leukaemia through exposure to EMFs from domestic, industrial and medical appliances and high-voltage electricity transmission lines. However, current data provide no proof of a causal relationship, and the Committee stopped short of recommending tighter exposure limits.
Regarding higher frequency radiowaves and microwaves, such as those emitted by mobile phones, the experts are more circumspect. The Committee finds no evidence of risks to adults or children for any of ten different toxicity end-points. However, it points out that in certain individuals symptoms such as stress, depression and fatigue might be linked to exposure.
Mobile phone manufacturers seized on the findings, claiming in a statement that “Expert groups have now met and considered all the facts on numerous occasions and yet again mobile phones have been given the all clear”.
CSTEE: www.europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/sct/out128_en.pdf; Mobile Manufacturers Forum: www.mmfai.org/files/media/CSTEE.htmEPA reviews toxicity studies
EPA has asked the National Academy of Sciences to review the complex scientific and ethical issues posed by the use of third-party studies which intentionally dose human subjects with toxicants to identify or quantify their effects. The Academy will provide recommendations regarding the particular factors and criteria EPA should consider to determine the potential acceptability of such third-party studies.Recently, most submissions to the Agency have concerned toxicity testing of pesticides, such as studies used to establish a No Observed Adverse Effect Level or No Observed Effect Level for systemic toxicity of pesticides. The Academy is also being asked to provide recommendations on whether internationally accepted protocols or the Protection of Human Subjects Rule could be applied to develop appropriate scientific and ethical criteria. The studies concerned are those that have not been conducted or funded by a federal agency in compliance with this Rule, or its equivalent.
The Agency will not consider or rely on any such human studies in its regulatory decision making until a policy is put in place. Any issues arising in the meantime will be referred to a science advisory board.
EPA: www.epa.govInstitute seeks health impact studies
The Health Effects Institute, the US-based air pollution research centre, is inviting international proposals under a new initiative entitled Measuring the Health Impacts of Actions that Improve Air Quality.HEI is seeking novel studies that will take advantage of planned air-quality actions at the local or national level (e.g. regulations or financial programmes to encourage cleaner technology). Research should address both changes in air quality resulting from these actions and changes in health status in the appropriate populations.
The initiative is the first step towards implementing the accountability element of the HEI Strategic Plan for the Health Effects of Air Pollution (2000–2005). The Plan identified accountability— measurement of the public health impact of air quality regulations designed to protect public health— as a priority research topic. Because the economic cost of decreasing pollutant emissions is high, determining how effectively the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and other regulations protect public health is important. This task is complex because other changes that affect public health may occur while the level of a pollutant is decreasing. In addition, plans to implement air quality standards (for example, changing the composition of fuels used in cars) may involve actions that add other pollutants to the air.
The Institute is inviting responses from interdisciplinary teams and will also be contacting state and local air quality officials to identify efforts to improve air quality that might lend themselves to these objectives.
Health Effects Institute: www.healtheffects.orgHEI sets up internet gateway; launches new studies
The Health Effects Institute has approved the first phase of a project designed to provide public access to data from its National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS) via the internet. Dr Scott Zeger and colleagues at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health will develop the internet Health and Air Pollution Surveillance System (iHAPSS): an internet-based statistical system for assessing the effects of air pollution on daily mortality and morbidity in US cities. iHAPSS addresses two important science and policy issues: accessibility to the public of data from scientific studies that figure prominently in regulatory decisions; and on-going surveillance of the health effects of air pollution as ambient concentrations change in response to regulatory activity and other factors. The studies concerned were published in the scientific literature in 2000 [JEM, 2000, 2, 71N, 81N].The Institute has also announced a series of new research projects as part of its on-going programme on air pollution. A four-year study led by Dr Bert Brunekreef at the University of Utrecht will be the first in Europe to estimate the association of traffic-related air pollution with mortality from chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and incidence of lung cancer. In a three-year project, researchers at the University of North Carolina will investigate early childhood effects of air pollutants by following a cohort of children born between 1994–1999 in two districts of the Czech Republic. In addition, HEI has launched four new epidemiological studies into effects of diesel exhaust and other particles on asthma and other allergic diseases.
Health Effects Institute: www.healtheffects.orgResearch activities
NIEHS sponsors genomics consortium
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has awarded grants totalling more than US$37 million to five academic research organisations that will join with NIEHS to form a Toxicogenomics Research Consortium.Each of the academic research organisations will receive more than US$7 million over five years for studies using recent advances in genomics to study toxicological and environmental health problems. Each organisation has its own area of expertise to bring to the effort, but collectively the consortium will use genomics to understand how disease occurs, identify potential environmental hazards, predict potential disease, identify exposed individuals and prevent disease.
The recipients are: School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at Seattle; Oregon Health and Science University at Portland; Duke University; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The consortium will be coordinated by NIEHS staff scientists at its headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
NIEHS: www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/toxicons.htmNew centres for hazardous waste research
EPA has awarded more than US$22 million in research grants to establish five new Hazardous Substance Research Centers affiliated with 22 universities. The Centers will address concerns about hazardous substances in the environment by conducting basic and applied research, and providing technology transfer and community outreach.The Johns Hopkins University will study the processes for detecting, assessing and managing risks associated with the use and disposal of hazardous substances in urban environments. The Centers at Purdue University in Indiana, Oregon State University, Louisiana State University and Colorado State University will investigate the removal of contaminants from the environment.
The grants were awarded by two EPA offices: the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, and the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) programme in the Office of Research and Development. STAR is an on-going $100 million a year US grant programme designed to engage the best university scientists and engineers in environmental research.
EPA National Centre for Environmental Research: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/centers/hsrcInspectors' network plans future actions
Impel, an informal network of EU pollution inspectors, has adopted a work programme setting out activities and priorities for the next five years. The move is a significant step towards the benchmarking of pollution inspection practices within the EU.The network's highest-profile activity is the peer review of national inspection practices. The first review, covering the German state of Baden-Württemberg, is due to be pubished shortly. It is aiming to produce six such reports by 2003, in time to feed into an EU policy review of national environmental inspection processes.
Other actions scheduled in the workplan include studies into the regulation of transboundary pollution risks, and the training and qualifications of environmental inspectors. The network will also investigate how EU countries monitor environmental impacts of spatial and waste management planning decisions.
Impel: www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/impelUK opens molecular centre
The University of Manchester has opened a ground-breaking new research centre that will bring together geologists, biologists and chemists to work together on understanding the Earth's environment at a molecular level. The Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science will be the first centre of its kind in the UK, and one of only a handful of such institutes worldwide.Work in the new centre will help to develop more effective and cheaper ways to clean up environmental contamination, based on a better understanding of the processes involved in pollution. Exploration of issues such as the role of minerals in the formation of complex organic molecules may also help to explain how life began.
“Rather in the same way that understanding DNA heralded a revolution in our knowledge of living systems, molecular environmental science is poised to revolutionise our understanding of the environment we live in”, explained Centre Director Professor David Vaughan.
The centre was funded with a £3.3 million award from the UK's Joint Infrastructure Fund, a government initiative to strengthen the research capacity of Britain's universities. The award was paid through the Natural Environment Research Council.
University of Manchester: www.man.ac.ukScientific prizes
Two leading scientists have been recognised for their work in their respective fields.In the UK, the Institute of Physics has awarded the Charles Chree Medal and Prize to Dr Peter Woods of the National Physical Laboratory, for his contributions to environmental metrology, in particular the detection and monitoring of atmospheric trace gases and air pollution. In its citation, the IOP notes that since the 1970s Dr Woods has pioneered the development of advanced spectroscopic techniques for measuring the atmosphere and has successfully applied these measurements to the field. His work established the NPL as the world leader in infrared DIAL technology and has resulted in improvements to pollution protocols in several industries worldwide. Dr Woods has also been at the forefront of research on the depletion of stratospheric ozone. The Medal recognises distinguished service in environmental physics and related aspects.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the US National Toxicology Program has awarded the David P. Rall Award 2001 to Dr David Michaels. Dr Michaels is an epidemiologist who has made significant contributions to public health through science-based advocacy for regulatory and public policy in his work in both academia and government agencies. Amongst other positions, he is currently research professor in Epidemiology in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at George Washington University. Previously he was Assistant Secretary for the Environment, Safety and Health at the US Department of Energy (1998–2001).
Publications
POPS Data
EPA has published a technical support document aimed at informing decision makers, general academia, and the public on the scientific foundation and relevance to the United States of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The report summarises data available in the peer reviewed literature on the twelve POPs, and provides an overview of the risks posed to the United States population and ecosystems. The EPA is seeking comments on this draft report. National Center for Environmental Assessment: “The Foundation For Global Action On Persistent Organic Pollutants: A United States Perspective (External Review Draft)”; www.epa.gov/nceaScenarios as tools
The European Environment Agency has published a review of the use of scenarios as tools for international environmental assessments. Drawing on major European and international scenario-building exercises, such as those undertaken by the European Commission and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the report proposes a thorough approach to scenario development combining qualitative and quantitative information. The study is the fourth in a series of reviews by the EEA on the methodologies underlying environmental assessments. European Environment Agency: “Scenarios as Tools for International Environmental Assessments”, available at: www.eea.eu.intUrban PM mechanisms and components
HEI has published a further report into the mechanisms that underlie particulate matter toxicity. The study by Dr Renaud Vincent and colleagues of Health Canada investigated whether exposure to urban particulate matter may lead to changes in vasoactive substances that cause constriction of blood vessels, which in turn lead to adverse cardiovascular effects. The investigators also assessed whether the chemical composition of particles is important to their effects. In addition, they compared effects of these particles with the effects of diesel soot and carbon black particles on cardiovascular parameters. “Inhalation Toxicology of Urban Ambient Particulate Matter: Acute Cardiovascular Effects in Rats”, HEI Research Report 104, available at www.healtheffects.org| This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2002 |