Common toxic products exempt from RCRA To encourage recycling of common toxic products—batteries, pesticides, and mercury-containing thermometers and thermostats—EPA announced that collection and handling of these products will not be covered by hazardous waste laws. Published in the May 11 Federal Register, the final "universal waste rule" will aid voluntary programs set up by states and businesses to collect and recycle products holding hazardous waste by allowing them to escape regulation under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). An EPA official stressed that eventual treatment and disposal of such waste would not be affected and wastes would still have to be properly recycled or treated before disposal. However, storage, transportation, and collection regulations would be eased. The official noted that several states and municipalities have begun voluntary pilot programs to collect and recycle these materials in an attempt to keep them out of municipal landfills. But the programs have been hampered by confusion about whether they must conform to fullblown RCRA hazardous waste requirements.
Court rules against ethanol mandate A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against EPA's attempt to force gasoline manufacturers to use a set percentage of ethanol as an additive in reformulated gasoline (RFG). The so-called ethanol mandate would have required refiners to ensure that up to 30% of the oxygenates used in RFG came from renewable sources, largely corn-derived ethanol {ES&T, January 1995, p. 39A). In their April 28 ruling, three judges said the Agency had overstepped its bounds by trying to force refiners to use a particular oxygenate. "The authority to set a standard under the Clean Air Act does not authorize EPA to mandate the manner of compliance or the precise formula for compliance," they wrote. The American Petroleum Institute and the National Petroleum Refiners Association brought suit against EPA last July. Administrator Carol Browner expressed disappointment with the
decision and said the Agency is consulting with the Department of Justice about a possible appeal. Even without an appeal, however, the issue is unlikely to end here, says one petroleum industry official, who expects the Clinton administration to reintroduce the requirement in another form. EPA officials would not speculate about whether the administration will provide another means to encourage use of ethanol, as opposed to methanol-derived oxygenates. However, an official with the Reformulated Fuels Association, a promoter of ethanol, expects the administration will turn to regulatory approaches, such as pump labeling or increasing the cap on the percentage of oxygenates that can be added to RFG during summer months, to stimulate greater ethanol sales.
Public hearings to be held on "brownfields" Environmental justice and inner city brownfields cleanups will be the subject of several hearings to be held around the country this summer, EPA and its National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) announced in May. NEJAC is a formally established advisory group that counsels EPA on environmental justice issues. EPA said the public hearings will provide an opportunity for residents and grassroots activists to voice concern and make recommendations for development projects on polluted, former industrial sites or brownfields. The Agency said it will use the dialogues to shape its brownfields initiatives. Current brownfields cleanup standards, which can allow less stringent cleanup levels when land is to be used for industrial or other use, are not addressed in Superfund. This issue is expected to be debated during Superfund reauthorization, however. Meanwhile, EPA has provided grants to encourage brownfields cleanup programs and to help revitalize inner cities. Hearings were held in Boston, MA, Philadelphia, PA, and Detroit, MI, during June and are set for San Francisco, CA, on July 18 and Atlanta, GA, on July 20. For more information, contact Charles Lee (212870-2077) or Jan Young (202-2601691).
O
ffering a discussion of radiation and its impact on society, this important new volume provides factual, scientifically based information on the interrelationship of society and radiation. The health effects of radiation are reviewed through examinations of irradiated food, iodine-131 therapy, radon studies, and other related topics. The volume also looks at the effects of exposure to large doses of radiation, including the cancer risks among atomic bomb survivors, the genetic effects of human exposure to ionizing radiation, and health assessment of the Chernobyl accident. An overview chapter by Rosalyn S. Yalow. recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in medicine for her work in developing radioimmunoassay techniques, is included. Jack P. Young, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Editor Rosalyn S. Yalow, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Editor Advances in Chemistry Series 243 360 pages (1995) Clothbound: ISBN 0-8412-2932-5 $69 95 Paperbound: ISBN 0-8412-3037-4 $29 95 ORDER F R O M A m e r i c a n Chemical Society Distribution Office Dept. 74 1155 Sixteenth Street, N W W a s h i n g t o n , DC 2 0 0 3 6 Or CALL TOLL FREE 1 800-227-5558 (in Washington, DC 872-4363) and use your credit card! FAX: 202-872-6067. ACS Publications Catalog n o w available on internet: gopher acsinfo.acs.org
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VOL. 29, NO. 7, 1995/ ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY • 3 0 1 A
