EPA WATCH Two states join lawsuit on new PM, ozone rules At least 38 small business and industry associations and two states have filed lawsuits to stop EPA from implementing new air quality standards mat regulate fine particulates (PM2 5) and tighten existing limits on ground-level ozone. The regulations were published in the Federal Register on July 18, following a spirited debate within the Clinton administration. The litany of complaints in the lawsuit is extensive, ranging from farmers in rural areas who say the new standards will prevent them from controlled field burning to objections by major manufacturers who argue that EPA proceeded with the rules without appropriate scientific justification. Ohio and Michigan are also suing to stop the rules. In October the lawsuits were consolidated. Allen Schaefer, vice president of environmental affairs for the American Trucking Association, the lead petitioner in the consolidated lawsuit, said EPA violated the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement and Fairness Act because it did not gather enough input from small businesses. EPA, however, contends that it has 250 scientific studies saying the old PM and ozone standards "did not protect public health," according to spokesperson Dave Ryan. "We reviewed science for 10 years. We're talking peer review of peer review of peer review," he said. The rules also are under fire in Congress. Legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate to delay by four years implementation of the new standards and provide additional funding for PM research. Although supporters hope for a vote on the bills before the end of the year, there is little chance of passage, predicted Sharon Buccino, legal counsel for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "There probably are not enough votes to override a presidential veto " she said.
Acute exposure guidelines for toxics to be set soon By the end of the year, EPA plans to publish a draft proposal setting uniform, acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) for 12 hazardous substances. Once finalized, the guidelines will be used in a wide range of applications, including emergency response planning and remediation of industry and government waste sites. The guidelines have been developed by a cross section of the scientific community and are based on methodology developed by the National Academy of Sciences. The EPA-appointed National Advisory Committee for Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Substances is working to develop the airborne guideline levels for short-term exposures to hazardous substances. Once set, the guidelines should avoid duplication of effort and cost by various federal and state regulatory agencies. Each substance will be categorized. AEGL-1 is the level at which an airborne substance would cause "notable discomfort" among the general population. AEGL-2 is the level at which that group is likely to experience "irreversible or other serious, long-lasting effects or impaired ability to escape." AEGL-3 is the level at which most people could experience "life-threatening effects or death." The AEGL committee ultimately will advise EPA on as many as 400 hazardous substances, agency staffers said, but the first proposal likely will list only 11 or 12 chemicals. Draft levels have already been set for arsine, nitric acid, hydrogen cyanide, dimethyldichlorosilane, methyl mercaptan, and 1,2-dichloroethene.
New research strategy for fuel oxygenate exposure A new research strategy to investigate the health effects from oral exposure to fuel oxygenates, including methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), should be available for public comment in January, according to EPA officials. MTBE, first added to gasoline in the 1970s, is one of two oxygenates that was required for use in 1992 under the Clean Air Act to reduce carbon monoxide emissions. A 1996 spill of MTBEcontaining gasoline in Santa Monica, Calif., contaminated the city's drinking water and raised public concern over the safety of the additive. Studies on inhalation of MTBE have not uncovered any toxic health effects, EPA says. Less is known, however, about how humans respond to MTBE when they ingest it through drinking water, although many water consumers find MTBE's odor and smell offensive. When complete, the plan will identify key issues related to oxygenates and water as well as a strategy for obtaining information to address these issues. It is being crafted by a task force composed of
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the air, water, and solid waste offices, with the help of water and fuel specialists from academia and environmental and oil industry groups. A draft strategy identified eight priority areas ranging from determination of oxygenate biodegradation byproducts and pathways to evaluation of the effects on materials used in tanks and the relative cost-effectiveness of removal technologies. It is unlikely that EPA will be able to afford to fund all of the plan's research projects. "Clearly, it is much more than EPA can take on," said J. Michael Davis, task force head. The Oxygenated Fuels Association (OFA) has been supporting research for the past two years to provide pharmacokinetics data on MTBE and expects new data to become available early next year, said OFA's John Kneiss. The data will help EPA establish a broad framework for extrapolating the findings of inhalation studies to oral exposure which will help speed the development of new drinking water health advisory levels for oxvgenates Davis said EPA planned to publish a new MTBE health advisory hv the end of 1997
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