to
l.opose
The bill’s list of hazardous releases would be reviewed by the EPA administrator and possibly amended once a year, depending on whether additional substanceswere determined hazardous. The legislation states that the list of hazardous chemicals will include “each substance . released into the air and which causes or contributes to air pollution which may reasonably be expected to result in an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversCongressional concern over air toxics ible, illness.” Carcinogenic subcontinues to shape the future regulation stances-as d e f i i by the National of sources of potential pollutants. R e p . Toxicology Program, the International Timothy Wirth @-Cola.), Henry Wax- Agency for Research on Cancer, EPA’s man @-Calif.), and lames morio @- Cancer Assessment Group, or the NaN.J.) are cosponsors of H.R. 2576, the tional Cancer Institute-also would be Toxic Release Control Act of 1985 included. Other substances of concern, such as (TRCA), which they would like to see. replace Section 112 of the Clean Air those listed by the Occupational Safety Act. H.R. 2576 outlines stmtegy for and Health Administration, those with controlling specific potentially toxic established threshold level values, pollutants, regulating certain sources of those cited under Superfund legislation, pollutant emissions to the air, and pro- and all pesticides that have been classividing technical assistance to states for fied for restricted use, would be considered as potentially hazardous subtheir own regulatory programs. The legislation incorporates many stances. Each company producing these earlier provisions of Section 112 and chemicals and each source operator adds new ones. It covers 85 specific would be required to provide E€% with chemicals and groups of substances; an inventory of hazardous substances methods for establishing standards; released into the air. The agency in turn permit and reporting requirements, in- would make these reports available to cluding citizens’ right-to-know rules; the public. Section 204 of the proposed legislaregulations for monitoring; and schedtion would provide for the protection of ules for compliance. trade secrets. In addition, source monicontrol procedures toring would he required to “qmtitaSeveral chemicals known to be seri- tively measure ambient concentrations ously toxic, such as methylisocyanate, of each hazardous substance released hydrogen cyanide, and phosgem, are into the air.’’ The agency would be relisted in the 85 substaw% that TRCA quired to provide “accurate, reliile, and representative data” on ambient cites as potentially hazardous. Many others that have been under EPA study, concentrations of hazardous air pollusuch as beryllium, asbestos, benzene, tants inurbanareas and near so-called dioxins, and ethylene dibmmide, are hot spots within six months of the law’s enactment. also included. The new act would control several Settiagstandards classes of emissions, including those ’Ib control ambient levels EPA would from coke ovens, and radionuclides, polycyclic organic matter, and PCBS. be requid to regulate releases from
..
stationary sources. It also w d d be and plant safe$ and inspection. National standards would be established “at the level which, in the judgment of the administrator. Drovides an amole
a
that if a standard for given pollitant & not promulgated on schedule, the standard that then becomes applicable EPA Gould have authority to p r o p interim national standards that would account for the technological ability ta expected to issue. brmt is for new and modified sources and for existing sources, which would be required ei-
Or Cease operating. ~n addition, TRC~ seek to regulate releases of hazardous substances from mobile sources.
wsness of a substance. It assumes that if a known carcinogen or other toxic
1
substance is emitted into the air, that substance is a hazardous air pollutan subject to re-tory control, regard less of whether it poses a risk to human health or the environment via atmospheric exposure. In essence, the proposed legislation is a stringent national approach to the regulation of ambient L i d o u s air pollUtants, rather than a stratem based on controlling high-risk substa;;ces from specific so-. I
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Richard M. Dowd, Ph.D., is a Rhrh ington, D.C., consultant to Environ mental Research and Ethnology, Inc.
Emimn. Sci. Technol., W. 19, No. 7, i 9 ~ 1 3 9 3 8 X 1 8 5 & l 9 1 % 0 5 8 0 S O l . 5 0 ~0 1985 American Chemical Socii0
