Recently in EPA DfE - Design for the Environment Category

The Green Chemistry Revolution: A New Paradigm for Reducing and Managing Hazardous Wastes - 2008
 
An hour long panel discussion about the manufacture of goods and affect chemical waste. The linkages of product design, production, distribution and use around the world.

California's green chemistry initiative grew out of a legislative mandate based on a worker poisoning problem in 1977-78.

Problems that lead to clarification of the chemical issues facing us:

• Chemical regulatory policies and controls
• Safety problems for workers
• European Union has directives (hazardous substances, cosmetics, REACH initiative) for chemical policies that have brought economic ties and impact to the US

Motivations for rethinking chemical policies

• Total daily California sales of chemicals
• Total tanker trucks rolling through the state
• Product waste is a huge problem
• Global transport of hazards
• Hazardous waste sites leaking into groundwater
• 600 new waste sites will be needed every month until 2033
• 94% of hazardous waste sites pose health hazards
• Chemicals are found in breast milk
• Global chemical production is doubling very 25 years
• Accountability gaps
• Difficulty to find what's in chemicals
• Very little incentive for investment in green chemical alternatives
• Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 has some data gaps and regulatory gaps.
  

Benign By Design

The U.S. EPA plans to strengthen its assessment of pesticide health risks.

Change takes time, but the EPA has been slow to regulate and enforce green approaches to chemical use in the US.  The chemical industry lobby is very strong, but EPA is finally approaching pesticide dangers as... well, dangers to "voters", not just profit and tax sources for big business.

First Comes Assessment...

The U.S. EPA plans to strengthen its assessment of pesticide health risks.

EPA's proposal would include a more thorough assessment of risks to workers, including farmworkers and farm children, as well as risks posed by pesticides that are not used on food.

"The agency is asking the public to comment on the new approach and how best to implement the improvements."

Agricultural pesticide applications doesn't just affect agricultural workers.  With urban sprawl, many elementary schools are being build on the fringes of communities where land is available and "cheap".  A patchwork quilt of agricultural land surrounds many of these suburban schools...and the wind carries pesticides right into the school buildings and playgrounds.

Parents and school staff members could play a valuable rule in assessing pesticide risks to school children, as well as the workers who grow their food.    

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson: "Better information and applying assessment tools will strengthen EPA's protections for farm workers exposed to these chemicals, and children living in and around the areas of highest possible exposure," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "It's essential we have the tools to keep everyone, especially vulnerable populations like children, safe from the serious health consequences of pesticide exposure."

Aggregate, Cumulative Effects of Pesticides

Under the policy, EPA risk assessments for children, farmworkers and others, would consider aggregate pesticide exposures from all sources in addition to the cumulative effects from multiple pesticides that have similar toxicity.

Protection from Incomplete Data

Maybe it's time that ALL chemicals be tested for toxicity and cumulative impact before they are authorized for market distribution.  That would be a seismic change in the chemicals marketplace.

Chemical Impact on Children and Other Highly Vulnerable Populations

EPA could apply an additional safety factor to protect infants and children from the risks of pesticides where the available data are incomplete. Currently these analyses help assess risks of pesticides to the general public as required by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Common Scientific Risk-assessment Techniques

EPA believes that pesticide exposure should be evaluated with common scientific risk-assessment techniques, whether from residues in food or drinking water, on lawns or in swimming pools, or in the workplace. The agency would routinely apply the techniques to workers exposed to pesticide exposures on the job.

By incorporating these risk-assessment tools into its pesticide evaluations, EPA would more thoroughly protect the most vulnerable populations, including farm workers and children taken into agricultural fields.

The proposed policy will be available for a 60-day public comment period after it is published in the Federal Register.

Citizen input is important to balance the influence of lobbying from the chemical and pesticide industries. 

More information on the proposed rule 

CONTACT:   

For the Spanish translation 

For general questions on pesticides and pesticide poisoning prevention, contact the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC), toll free, at: 1-800-858-7378, by E-mail at npic@ace.orst.edu, or by visiting their website at: http://npic.orst.edu/

To report an environmental violation, visit EPA's website at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/complaints/index.html

For information about EPA's pesticide program, visit our homepage at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/

Chemical safety affects us all.  But how do laws support chemical safety?

Out of more than 62,000 synthetic chemicals that are part of our everyday lives, fewer than 200 have been tested for safety.

The Chemical Industry and Safety Best Practices

Thanks to effective lobbying by the chemical industry, laws are written so that every synthetic chemical is "innocent until proven guilty." The legal burden weighs on those seeking to prove the harm a substance can cause.

Find out more in "Toxic Ignorance is Not Bliss," by author and writer Dominique Browning.

Human Guinea Pigs

Browning reveals the shocking truth when it comes to potentially toxic chemicals -- you're basically on your own.

"We should be worried about what amounts to a huge, uncontrolled human testing experiment. Without agreeing to it, without understanding it, without even knowing it, we have become the chemical industry's guinea pigs."

Of highly visible concers of late is Bisphenol A (BPA), found in baby bottles, possibly the water bottle sitting by your desk and plastic dental sealants.

BPA is increasingly suspected of causing a variety of serious ills, yet factories continue to produce six billion pounds of it each year.

In the coming months, Congress may review the process by which we regulate toxic chemicals -- or, as Browning points out, mostly don't regulate them.

"Society needs to pay much more attention to this problem," says Dr. Richard Denison, Senior Scientist at EDF. "We've been complacent about it." Denison maintains an influential blog tracking the debate over chemical safety.

In 1976 Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Unfortunately, the 62,000 chemicals on the market at that time were given a free pass: no requirement they be tested or assessed for safety.

EPA's Role in Chemical Regulation

Although the Environmental Protection Agency has garnered some information about chemicals through voluntary submissions by industry in a program that EDF helped start, limited testing has been required on a mere 200 chemicals over the past three decades.

Worse, EPA has managed to restrict only five substances--and even that overstates the agency's efficacy.

The only group of chemicals entirely banned was PCBs, because Congress required it.

Even Cal Dooley, the president of the American Chemistry Council, commented on EPA's incapacity in this matter: "EPA cannot make a determination on whether or not a chemical is safe for its intended use."

Read more at: "Toxic Ignorance is Not Bliss,"

Sustainability rests on the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Therefore, stewardship of both natural and human resources is of prime importance. Sustainable farming systems are biologically-based and designed to be productive in both the short- and long-term.

Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals--

• environmental health,
  
• economic profitability, and
  
• social equity
  

Because it is more a philosophical approach to agriculture than a set of farming practices, the specific practices that can be called sustainable vary depending on the crop and the specific environmental and social issues important to a region. Therefore, it is important that all those interested in making agriculture more sustainable--consumers, growers, environmentalists, farm workers, processors, retailers--educate themselves on the related issues.

Does sustainable agriculture and organic farming mean the same thing?

No. Agriculture can be "sustainable" without being "organic." And some organic operations may not be sustainable. Organic farming excludes the use of any synthetic agricultural chemical and then certifies this to be true. Often, however, approaches to management of healthy soils can be similar between organic and sustainable farming systems.

Can chemicals be used in a sustainable system?

Yes. Growers frequently ask if synthetic chemicals are appropriate in a sustainable farming system. Sustainable approaches are those that are the least toxic and least energy intensive, and yet maintain productivity and profitability. There may be situations where the use of synthetic chemicals would be more "sustainable" than a strictly non-chemical approach.

For example, one technique for weed control may involve mechanical cultivation. A hoe,  weed knife or other implement may need to make several passes in a season to do what one application of Round-Up (a relatively safe, effective, and economic herbicide) could accomplish in terms of weed control. The passes with the mechanical device have associated environmental and social risks (i.e., soil compaction, soil erosion, fuel consumption, potential worker injury). The manager needs to decide which is the most appropriate method based on a particular situation and resource concerns at a particular site. The manager may decide that the chemical option has less environmental, economic, and social risks than the non-chemical option.

Converting to sustainable practices does not mean simple input substitution. Instead, sustainable farming substitutes enhanced management and scientific knowledge for conventional inputs, especially inputs that may threaten the natural or human resources. One goal of sustainable agriculture is to develop efficient, biological systems that do not need high levels of material inputs.

Read more about sustainable farming...and applications in vineyard mangement at Central Coast Vineyard Team

Adapted from materials from the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UCSAREP) www.sarep.ucdavis.edu.

Greening Consumer Electronics:
Moving Away from Bromine and Chlorine

Two leading environmental organizations, Clean Production Action and ChemSec, have released a new report showing companies that are leading the electronics industry by moving away from chemicals that can lead to health and environmental problems. features seven companies who have engineered environmental solutions that negate the need for most -- or in some cases all -- uses of brominated and chlorinated chemicals. This includes eliminating brominated flame retardants and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which can create dioxin, a human carcinogen, during the burning of e-waste. 

The best time to clean up "brownfields" that are dead because of toxic pollutants -- is not not use toxic chemicals or processes in the first place.  But how?  It's not easy to green manufacturing, especially high performance gadgets at low prices.  But it is possible.

ALSO NEEDED, consumer support :  Need to know how to recycle your electronics (TVs, computers, phones) safely?  Try Electronics Takeback Coalition.

The Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program is a voluntary program that forms partnerships with pesticide users to reduce the potential health and environmental risks associated with pesticide use and implement pollution prevention strategies. 

The program fosters an EPA partnership for reducing risks posed by pesticide use to human health and the environment in both agricultural and urban settings.  Established in 1994 with six charter members, PESP has grown to include almost 200 members.

More information about PESP: http://www.epa.gov/oppbppd1/pesp/pesp-excellence.html

    The EPA cited a Santa Ana, Calif. based corporation for allegedly selling and distributing a "Cleaner & Mildew Stain Remover" with claims that  it removed algae and fungus. 

The EPA was made aware of the violation through a California Department of Pesticide Regulation retail inspection of Home Depot retail store.  

     "Products whose labels make claims to remove living organisms, including algae and fungus, are considered pesticides and must be registered," said Katherine Taylor, Associate Director of the Communities and Ecosystems Division of the EPA. "Companies who market unregistered cleaners with pesticide claims are in violation of Federal law and may be subject to fines."
 
    Before selling or distributing any pesticide in the United States, companies must register the pesticide with the EPA. The sale or distribution of a pesticide that has not been registered with the EPA is a violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which requires registration of pesticide products and pesticide-production facilities, as well as proper pesticide labeling.

For more information on pesticide regulation and enforcement, please visit www.epa.gov/pesticides/

EPA maintains an extensive database of Design for the Environment approved products.  These listings can be checked by consumers or business procurement buyers for products recognized under the DfE Formulator Program. DfE commends these companies for their leadership in designing products that are good for their business and for the environment.

Partners and Recognized Products

• Cleaning Products
  • Consumer Cleaning Products
    • Cleaners
    • Floor Care
    
    
    • Laundry Detergents
  • Industrial/Institutional Cleaning Products
    • Cleaners
    • Floor Care
    • Laundry Detergents
    • Automatic Dishwasher Detergents
    • Graffiti Removers
    • Marine Cleaning Products
    • Car Care
    • Aircraft Cleaning Products
    • Industrial Vehicle Cleaning Products
• Biological-based Products
  • Bioremediator
  • Drain Maintainer
  • Grease Trap / Lift Station Maintainer
  • Holding Tank Treatment/Deodorizer
  • Septic System Treatment
  • Vehicle/Parts Wash Additive
  • Wastewater Innoculant
  • Bilge Maintainer
• Deicers
• Field Paint
• Industrial Coatings
  • Conversion Coatings
  • Pavement Treatment
• Inks
  • Inkjet Printing
• Odor Removal
• Field Paint
• Tire Additives
• Soluble Films

See the EPA Web page for updated links.

Through manufacture and use, virtually everyone comes in contact with the chemicals in these products, which are ultimately released to the environment--as effluents to water, off-gases to air, and solid wastes to land. By forming partnerships with the DfE Program, formulators can take part in an important national effort to improve the human health and environmental profile of chemical-based products, which will benefit the quality of aquatic life and the environment, the biodegradability of waste streams, and human health and safety. The basis for a DfE partnership rests on the selection of the safest possible ingredients that permit the formulation of high-performing, cost-effective products. DfE can provide formulators with information on chemical characteristics and toxicities of raw materials and additives, safer substitutes for chemicals of concern, and innovative new chemistries. The DfE document "Criteria for Safer Cleaning Products (CSCP) in the form of a Standard" (PDF) (28 pp, 157K) describes the program's unique approach to product review and formulation improvement. To view this criteria in matrix form, please click here [considerations for partnership (PDF) (12 pp, 161K)]. DfE Formulator partners enjoy Agency recognition, including the use of the DfE label on products with improved formulations.

Look for the DfE Label! Safer Products DfE-recognized products are safer for people and the planet and have eliminated more than 270 million pounds of chemicals of concern.   中文版

The redesign of chemical products offers important opportunities to:

• Remove polluting chemicals from formulations before they can enter the workplace, home, or environment.
• Advance energy and water efficiency, resource conservation, and innovative technologies.
• Qualify for environmentally preferred product status, increasingly sought by government, retailer and consumer purchasers.

For more information, contact DfE.