Just Published! Benign by Design: Alternative Synthetic Design for Pollution Prevention This new volume describes the current status and potential of syn thetic chemistry designed to use and to gener ate fewer hazardous sub stances.
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It presents research results on the replacement of hazardous feedstocks with biologically derived, innocuous feedstocks; of hazardous reagents with visible light; and of phosgene, benzene, and halogens in a variety of industrially important reactions. In addition, the volume examines new techniques for carrying out transformations in environmentally benign solvent systems and provides examples of how alterna tive synthetic design for pollution prevention has been made com mercially available. It also de scribes how to conduct a sourcereduction assessment and analyzes computer-assisted synthetic design. Paul T. Anastas and Carol A. Farris, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Editors ACS Symposium Series No. 577 208 pages (1994) C l o t h b o u n d ISBN 0-8412-3053-6 $59.95
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number to 13 after subjecting expo sure data to a screening study. Utility emissions of the substances removed from the list were not felt to be large enough to influence human health, EPA said. But for radionuclides, ar senic, beryllium, cadmium, chro mium, dioxins, formaldehyde, hydro gen chloride, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, and iV-nitrosodimethylamine, exposure estimates were coupled with health effects data, according to Chuck French, environ mental scientist with EPA Air Quality Planning and Standards. EPA's draft study found the risk from power plant emissions of ar senic, chromium, and nickel to be of greatest significance. The draft esti mated the worst HAP exposure risk to be from one in 10,000 to one in 100,000 for the most exposed indi vidual, according to EPA. These total risks are in a "gray area," French said, adding that the lower figure is usually a "regulatory flag," but in this case it was limited by "great un certainty" in the numbers. The report has been embraced by utilities but criticized by environ mentalists and state regulators, who warned of its reliance on direct inha lation. French noted that the peer review panel also called for includ ing at a minimum a better explana tion of why ingestion data were not considered. Direct inhalation of pol lutants such as dioxin has been found to be a small contributor to heath risk when compared to inges tion pathways. EPA's draft dioxin risk assessment found the risk from in gestion to be several orders of mag nitude greater than from inhalation. The Agency did not do multipathway modeling for dioxin because of time and resource constraints as well as data limitations, French said. Util ities are thought to emit very little dioxin, he noted, as compared to municipal solid waste and other in cinerators. Only in the cases of mer cury and radionuclides were multipathway models used. Emissions control strategies also were addressed, but French said these were broad and general. If the study results in regulations, French noted, more detailed studies will be done. He also predicted that EPA may seek an extension of the courtordered deadline. Study of Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions from Electric Utility Steam Generating Units is available through EPA's air docket at (202) 260-7549.
3 9 6 A • VOL. 29, NO. 9, 1995 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
New biodegradability method finalized A new analytical method for bio degradability is expected to be final ized this month by the Office of Solid Waste (OSW) (Federal Register, 1995, 60, 35703). According to David Eberly of the OSW, the test is aimed at liquid-absorbing materials such as emergency spill pads. Under the Re source Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), used sorbents that de compose inside protective contain ers cannot be disposed of in hazard ous waste landfills. The requirement is part of overall restrictions on stor ing bulk liquids in these landfills. The new method, known as a modified Sturm test, is a 28-day test similar to the well-known BOD (bio logical oxygen demand) test, said Eberly. Two other biodegradability tests were approved by OSW in 1992. Sorbent manufacturers need use only one of the tests to demonstrate the lack of biodegradability under RCRA, said Eberly. The promulgation of a third method was prompted by outside comments, according to Eberly. The modified Sturm test is taken from the Organization for Economic Co operation and Development, which adopted the method in 1992. Eberly pointed out that all of the biodegradability tests are run under aerobic conditions, but that sorbents inside containers face anaerobic conditions for which there is no widely accepted method. "It is a sur rogate test for real conditions," Eberly noted, "but it is probably a good indicator."
CFR drops 1400 pages of environmental rules Some 1400 pages of federal environ mental regulations will be cut from the Code of Federal Regulations un der an EPA plan to simplify govern ment. Part of an overall Clinton ad ministration review of federal regulations, EPA's comprehensive list of rules to be cut was made public in July. In a cover letter, EPA Admin istrator Carol Browner estimated that the reductions will remove 10% of total EPA regulatory pages. Many of the changes were small according to Browner, but taken to gether, she said, 2 million hours and $5 billion may be saved by the regu lated community. The changes ap pear to affect all program offices.
