cause window films respond more quickly to contaminant increases than other biota-like animals that concentrate toxins in their fat over time, the results can be interpreted as a sort of early warning of rapidly rising PBDE levels, they say. In the Toronto study, the levels of PBDEs in films on indoor windows were up to 20 times greater than on outdoor windows. “The high levels in indoor air certainly could impact human exposure,” says Linda Birnbaum, director of the Experimental Toxicology Division of the U.S. EPA’s National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory. She says that as-yetunpublished studies of the PBDE levels in food indicate that air could be an important exposure source. Rain is likely to wash a large portion of the BDE-209 captured in the window films into urban surface waters, according to the researchers. The paper reveals an important source of the PBDEs in aquatic ecosystems, says Michael Ikonomou, a research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and a paper coauthor who has documented high levels of PBDEs in fish from pristine areas (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2003, 37, 240A−241A). The paper also suggests that the heavier PBDEs may be debrominated to create lighter PBDEs. “The high concentration of BDE-209 may indicate a steady-state situation between inputs (from source) and outputs via photolytic debromination [or] volatilization of the resulting lower brominated, higher vapor pressure congeners, and wash-off of heavier compounds to surface waters,” Diamond says. —KELLYN S. BETTS
Streamlining radioactive waste disposal In the future, waste that contains small amounts of radioactive materials could find its way into hazardous waste or even municipal landfills under regulations being considered by the U.S. EPA. Such “low-activity” radioactive waste (LARW) contains small enough concentrations of radionuclides that it may not require
the same radiation protection measures as those governing spent nuclear fuel or other high-level radioactive waste, according to the advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) released by EPA officials in late November. Currently, LARW has to be stored at one of the country’s three com-
News Briefs Mercury dumping in India? Imports of mercury to India have seen a sixfold increase in seven years, according to the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), an active environmental group in New Delhi. The mercury imports come mainly from Spain, Britain, Russia, Italy, and the United States; CSE alleges that developed countries are exploiting India’s lack of regulation to dump their unwanted mercury products. The mercury is used by India’s chlor-alkali and electrical industries. India has outstripped the United States in mercury consumption, using up to 1843 tonnes per year, which is half of total global production, according to CSE. For more information, go to www.cseindia.org/ dte-supplement/mercury-index.htm.
Mercury drops in wildlife Mercury levels in Everglades fish and birds have dropped by 80% over the last 10 years, according to a study by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). DEP attributes the decline to the U.S. EPA’s aggressive controls on mercury emissions from garbage burners, medical waste incinerators, and sugar processors; because of the controls, emissions have dropped more than 90% since the early 1990s. The results prove that local controls can yield dramatic results over a short period of time, says DEP. In addition, although South Florida has no coal-fired power plants—a major mercury source— and it is easier to control the watersoluble mercury from incinerators, the study indicates that pollution controls could cut levels of mercury in the environment nationwide. Integrating Atmospheric Mercury Deposition and Aquatic Cycling in the Florida Everglades is at www. dep.state.fl.us/secretary/comm/ 2003/nov/pdf/mercury_report.pdf.
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be the most susceptible to longrange transport. BDE-209 is extremely involatile and will exist in the atmosphere almost entirely associated with particles,” says Tom Harner, a research scientist with Environment Canada, the country’s environmental protection agency. “Somehow the BDE-209 particles are making it into the atmosphere and moving around…. We need to better understand the fate and transport of particle-associated chemicals such as BDE-209,” he adds. The Deca flame retardant mixture is under increasing scrutiny, in part because the main North American manufacturer of the other two PBDE mixtures used to protect consumer goods, Penta and Octa, agreed to voluntarily discontinue those mixtures last November (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2004, 38, 14A). The Penta and Octa mixtures are slated to be banned in Europe and California. “The observation of BDE-209 dominating the PBDE congeners present seems at odds with industry dogma that Deca does not escape finished products readily,” says Rob Hale of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. “This finding is in agreement with the high levels in house dust, however,” he adds (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2003, 37, 407A−411A). The University of Toronto researchers’ finding that the total PBDE concentrations were higher than the PCBs measured in every study sample is notable because almost all studies of the two compounds in the environment show that PCB levels are much higher, according to the researchers. Be-
A proposed U.S. EPA rulemaking would change how waste from decommissioned nuclear power plants is handled.
mercial nuclear waste sites and is regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), EPA, and the states, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry policy organization. This multipronged regulatory framework, EPA staff members say, has resulted in inconsistent management of radioactive wastes and a limited number of suitable disposal facilities. The National Research Council came to similar conclusions in a 2003 report that examined LARW management. A key problem, the council found, is that current rules focus on the source of the waste rather than its inherent radiological properties. For example, naturally occurring radioactive wastes extracted through mining operations aren’t regulated by federal agencies, and state regulations are inconsistent, according to the report. Yet, these wastes can contain significant concentrations of radioactive materials compared to the highly regulated waste streams coming from the nuclear industry. EPA staff stress that the waste being considered under the ANPRM doesn’t include spent nuclear fuel, high-level waste, transuranic waste, or uranium and thorium mill tailings. Rather, the
LARW targeted by the rule could contain only trace amounts of radioactive contamination such as soils or construction rubble, protective clothing, or even drinking water treatment filters. EPA staff members say that these types of wastes could be safely contained at hazardous waste landfills and possibly some of the newer municipal landfills. The aim of the ANPRM, according to EPA officials, is to increase disposal options and ease the regulatory burden for waste generators, thereby improving LARW disposal practices. Environmentalists, however, say what EPA’s action really comes down to is deregulating some types of nuclear waste. “Our concern is that this rulemaking is being used to set an exemption level [below which LARW will be considered safe] and will allow materials that are currently
regulated to be released from regulatory control and sent to regular dumps or recycled into the marketplace,” says Diane D’Arrigo, nuclear waste project director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, a watchdog group. “It’s our understanding that there needs to be an improvement in the way nuclear waste is regulated and managed, and this rulemaking doesn’t solve anything; it just makes it worse.” Indeed, NRC is also in the midst of rulemaking that considers various options for handling LARW, including recycling, reusing, and disposal in regulated landfills, says David McIntyre, an NRC spokesperson. Agency officials provided technical advice to EPA and expect to issue an NRC proposal in late 2004. For more information on EPA’s rulemaking, go to www.epa.gov/radiation/larw. —KRIS CHRISTEN
Environmental forensics earns a degree The world’s first degree course in environmental forensics—the science of determining sources of pollution—started in September at the School of Ocean Sciences in Britain’s University of Wales in Bangor. The course will train students to act as expert witnesses in court, where they must produce a scientifically defensible case and learn to stand up to legal cross-examination, explains course organizer Stephen Mudge, a senior lecturer in marine chemistry. Four students are currently enrolled in the degree program, and Mudge hopes to have 10 more next September. The term environmental forensics was coined in the United States about four years ago, says Mudge. It encompasses the scientific studies that explore the source, fate, transport, and effects of environmental contamination and seeks to identify responsible parties and legal consequences. During the three-year course, students will study chemistry, physics, biology, statistics, and environmental law. Vast amounts of money can ride on determining contamination sources. Mudge, for example, is investigating whether oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill is still damaging the environment. If it is and such damage was not covered in the original court settlement, Exxon could be liable for another U.S.$100 million. Environmental forensics is well established in the United States, where lawsuits determine blame and allocate cleanup costs in pollution cases, says Andrew Ball, a soil microbiologist from Essex University. As a result, consultancies have sprung up specifically to offer scientific experts for court cases dealing with environmental pollution. However, no formal training in environmental forensics is offered in the United States. Europe will soon need people trained in environmental forensics because draft European Union legislation will make polluting companies pay for expensive cleanups. “EU legislation is changing along U.S. lines,” says Ball. “This is the big driver behind the emergence of environmental forensics in the U.K. and Europe, and [it is] why environmental consultancies are starting to set up in Europe.” —MARIA BURKE
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