Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory (Cincinnati, OH), says that the new rules and methods are more in the line of "housekeeping; no great leap forward." In total, 12 new methods are approved, 45 methods are withdrawn, and 79 methods are updated. Most of the withdrawn methods are for inorganic contaminants and have been replaced with updated procedures from the Standard Methods Committee or the American Society for Testing and Materials. Four methods were withdrawn because the equipment or reagents were no longer available or were found to be more hazardous or cumbersome than EPA originally expected.
Landfill methane recovery To encourage the design and construction of systems that use methane from landfills as a source of energy, EPA announced on Dec. 5 a program to study ways to ease barriers to development of methanepowered energy systems. Eight states and 12 utilities have signed onto the EPA program, which will examine the permitting process for such facilities as well as the process utilities use to buy electricity from outside sources, according to Cindy Jacobs of EPA's Global Change Division. Over the next year, states will hold workshops and prepare a primer laying out what is needed to plan and construct plants to convert methane, a greenhouse gas, to electricity. Utilities and public utility commissions will meet to examine and prepare information explaining how their systems will allow the purchase of nonutility-generated electricity. The Agency also will create a "developer ally" program, Jacobs says, to involve developers and engineering firms in the move to exploit this renewable source of energy. Landfills are one of the largest U.S. sources of methane, according to EPA. Breakdown of solid wastes produces about 8.4 million metric tons of methane a year in the United States, out of some 29 million metric tons generated annually, according to World Resources Institute figures. Carbon dioxide is a much more common anthropogenic greenhouse gas than methane, EPA notes, but methane is about 20 times more powerful in trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere. EPA notes that as many as 750 U.S. landfills could install economi-
cally viable gas energy recovery systems, but only about 120 have such facilities operating today. EPA has had regulations in development for several years to limit methane emissions from landfills, and a final rule is expected in April. That rule is expected to require flaring of methane but not its use to generate electricity, EPA officials say. For information on the project, contact the Climate Change Hotline at (202) 253-9042.
Biological pesticides Just opened for business in November is the new Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division within the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP). According to director Janet Andersen, the new division is designed to streamline the process of registering biologically based pesticides. This class of pesticides includes naturally occurring plant pesticides, pheromones, microbes, and genetically engineered microorganisms. EPA believes that biopesticides will be inherently safer than traditional chemical pesticides, says Andersen. Nearly half of the new active pesticide ingredients registered last year were biopesticides. According to Andersen, unlike other divisions within the OPP, this new division will cover all aspects of scientific review and recommendation for most submitted biological pesticides. Experts on health effects, economics, chemistry, biology, ecological effects, environmental fate, and integrated pest management will work as an interdisciplinary team. As a result, say OPP officials, the time needed to register biopesticides by the Agency should be reduced. "It's a test of reinventing government," says Andersen. For more information, call (703) 308-8712.
A "green university" A national model of a "green university" is being created at Washington, DCs George Washington University (GW) through an agreement announced Dec. 12. The goal, according to EPA and university officials, is to transform the multicampus university into a "showcase for environmental management and education." The demonstration program is intended to develop "processes and outcomes" needed to bring an environmental ethic to university operations, according to David Scott Smith, an EPA staff member on loan to the university who directs the Of-
fice of EPA-sponsored Green University Programs. GW will be a particularly good model, says Smith, as it is one of the largest universities in the country, contributing $1.5 billion annually to the local economy and ranking as the largest private employer in the District of Columbia. Among areas to be examined, says Smith, are requirements that GW's 26,000 vendors provide environmentally sound products, such as building and other materials made from recycled goods; that its labs reduce solvent use and institute nonpolluting analytical methods; that its facility planners incorporate water-conserving, energy-efficient systems into old and new buildings; and that its hospital and other health care operations require greater use of recyclable products. Lessons learned at GW will be disseminated to other universities through a computerized information system that will provide template information about GW's program, Smith says. The Agency's intention is to speed application and avoid redundant efforts when other universities set up similar programs. For more information, contact the GW Institute for the Environment at (202) 994-0742.
Less risky pesticides In November the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) registered its first reduced-risk herbicide. (At EPA the term "pesticide" includes herbicides.) Reduced risk pesticides are identified by manufacturers or pesticide formulators as products that pose little danger to human or ecosystem health. This program, first announced in July 1993, encourages pesticide manufacturers to develop low-risk products in exchange for quick approval from OPP. According to Stephen Johnson, director of OPP's Registration Division, flumiclorac pentyl{pentyl[2chloro-4-fluoro-5-(l,3,4,5,6,7-hexahydro-l,3-dioxo-2H-isoindol-2-yl) phenoxy] acetate} was registered in just 11 months for use on field corn and soybeans. Most new active ingredients take two to four years to gain approval, says Johnson. In animal studies, flumiclorac pentyl demonstrates very low toxicities (e.g., LD50 for oral dose toxicities in rats is > 5000 mg/kg). The herbicide is neither a teratogen nor a carcinogen, and it hydrolyzes too quickly to contaminate groundwater.
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