Environmental Protection Agency Developments

3/11/2002

From: Seconda Tyson of the EPA, 202-564-7854

WASHINGTON, March 11 -- Following are some Environmental Protection Agency developments which may be of interest. For more information on any of these subjects, call the appropriate contact.

--- Resources Available In Conjunction With National Poison Prevention Week David Deegan, 202-564-7839 or deegan.dave@epa.gov

A new national toll-free hotline number to reach a poison control center from anywhere in the United States has been established, at 1-800-222-1222. In commemoration of National Poison Prevention Week, Mar. 17-23, EPA is making available several resources to educate the public about ways to prevent children from being poisoned by pesticides and household products. First authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Kennedy in 1961, National Poison Prevention Week is an annual event intended for local communities to raise awareness of dangers of unintentional poisonings and to promote prevention measures. EPA has supported this effort for several years, and has several resources available to parents and community organizations to help inform people about potential dangers found in homes.

"Learn About Chemicals Around Your House" is an interactive web site (see: http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/kids/hometour/index.htm) designed to teach children and parents about household products, including pesticides, that may contain harmful chemicals. The web site includes information about toxic substances stored in different rooms in the house and answers commonly asked questions on safe use and storage of these products. The site also contains educational games, and tells children what to do if an accident occurs.

A second resource is called "Read the Label First! Protect Your Kids," which is a brochure that provides information on preventing children from being exposed to pesticides and household cleaners by reading and following product label instructions and precautions, keeping products in their original containers and storing products out of the reach of children. This document is available online at: http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/labeling/rtlf/kids.pdf.

"Ten Tips to Protect Children from Pesticide and Lead Poisonings Around the Home" is a brochure that provides simple steps to protect children from pesticide and lead poisonings around the home, and is available in both English and Spanish. This document is available at: http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/cb/10_tips/.

"Pesticides and Child Safety" is a fact sheet that provides current household pesticide-related poisonings/exposure statistics from the American Association of Poison Control Centers, as well as recommendations for preventing poisonings and first aid guidelines. This document is available at: http://epa.gov/pesticides/citizens/childsaf.htm.

Finally, "Help! It's A Roach" is a roach prevention activity book for kids and parents. It teaches families what they can do to prevent and control roaches without using pesticides. An interactive web site is also available at: http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/kids/roaches/english/. All of these resources are also available by calling 1-800-490-9198. More information on Poison Prevention Week is also available at the Poison Prevention Week Council's web site at: : http://www.poisonprevention. org/.

--- Research Grants Awarded To Study Ability Of Plants To Treat Pollution; Joint Effort With National Science Foundation David Deegan, 202-564-7839 or deegan.dave@epa.gov

EPA and the National Science Foundation are awarding nearly $2.22 million in grants to seven universities to study the affect by plants to soils contaminated by heavy metals or organic chemicals. This joint effort is designed to foster innovative scientific solutions to the worldwide problem of soils contaminated with heavy metals and organic chemicals, which can effect human health, ecosystem function and agriculture. The research will study "phytoremediation," or the use of plants to degrade, remove or stabilize toxic compounds from contaminated soil and water in ways that are less costly and less disruptive than traditional cleanup techniques.

Three grants were awarded through EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, and are designed to clarify the mechanism of phytoremediation of organic contaminants. The National Science Foundation will sponsor three multidisciplinary research projects to investigate the genetic components of phytoremediation of heavy metals in soils. These grants were awarded through NSF's Integrative Plant Biology Program and the Environmental Engineering/Environmental Technology Program. Funding for this joint initiative was made available through the Joint Program on Phytoremediation, a federal research effort involving EPA, the National Science Foundation and the Departments of Defense and Energy.

The three EPA grants will go to the University of California, University of Connecticut and Washington State University. The University of California (at Riverside) will evaluate plant species that produce a specific group of chemicals for use in phytoremediation, and the ecology of chemical-degrading bacteria that live in the root systems of these plants. The University of Connecticut will investigate the role of plant roots in the phytoremediation of persistent organic pollutants in soil. This research will determine whether chemicals produced by roots have the potential to increase the bioavailability of certain contaminants for plant uptake and metabolism. Washington State University will study spartina cordgrasses for their potential use as a phytoremediation tool in marine and estuarine sediments. The research will determine whether the ability of these plants to transport oxygen from the atmosphere to their below-ground root systems has the potential to enhance microbial degradation of organic pollutants, which can be limited by oxygen availability in anoxic, waterlogged soils. More information on these grants is available at: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/grants/phyto01.html.

The three grants being funded by the National Science Foundation will go to Cornell University, Perdue University and a joint grant to Northwestern University and the University of Florida. Cornell University will study the molecular basis for heavy metal accumulation and tolerance in a 'hyperaccumulating" plant species. Purdue University will perform a study to attempt to identify genome-wide metal hyperaccumulation genes. The research will focus on species from the Brassicaceae family. Finally, Northwestern University and the University of Florida will perform research to clarify the mechanisms of arsenic uptake, translocation, distribution and detoxification by Brake ferns. More information on these grants is available from Andrea Dietrich at 703-292-7746, or at: http://www. nsf.gov/bio/ibn/ibndevelop.htm.

--- ENFORCEMENT WRAP-UP Luke C. Hester, 202-564-7818 or hester.luke@epa.gov

--- Former Missouri Hog Farm Company Manager Arrested

Duane Connor, former Hog Farm Manager for Cargill Pork Inc., which operates a 17,000 pig farming operation in Martinsburg, Mo., was arrested on Feb. 21 on charges that he violated the Clean Water Act. The defendant allegedly allowed the illegal discharge of hog waste from holding ponds at Cargill's farms into the Loutre River, which is a tributary of the Missouri River. Over 53,000 fish were killed along a five mile stretch of the Loutre River. Connor is also charged with allegedly making a false statement to an inspector who discovered the discharge. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Missouri Attorney General's Office with the assistance of EPA's National Enforcement Investigations Center. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in St. Louis. An indictment is merely an accusation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law.

--- Ohio Man Sentenced For Improper Asbestos Disposal

William C. Daniel, of Bedford Heights, Ohio, was sentenced to 13 months imprisonment on Feb. 21 for violating the Clean Air Act. The defendant was also ordered to pay $22,600 in restitution to the city of Cleveland for asbestos cleanup and to perform 208 hours of community service. Daniel is the owner of U.S. Disposal, a rubbish hauling company. Daniel failed to dispose of the 469 bags of asbestos-containing waste at an approved site, instead depositing it in an empty field owned by the city of Cleveland. The waste had been picked up from the Erieview Tower two years earlier. The dumping of asbestos waste can release airborne asbestos fibers which, if inhaled, can lead to lung cancer, a lung disease known as "asbestosis" and mesothelioma which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the city of Cleveland. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland.

--- Pennsylvania Company President Plead Guilty

Maganas Painting Co., of Eighty-Four, Pa., pleaded guilty to violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and its president, John Maganas, pleaded guilty to violating the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Recovery Act (CERCLA) on Jan. 22. The pleas arose from an incident in 1996 when employees of Maganas Painting dumped 55 tons of abrasive material mixed with lead paint chips that had been sandblasted from a railroad bridge. The waste was placed on the ground at a warehouse in the town of Eighty-Four which was not a RCRA-permitted hazardous waste facility. In his plea, Maganas admitted that he learned of the dumping in 1998 but did not report it to authorities, as required under CERCLA. As part of its plea agreement, the company will implement a government-approved environmental management system. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh.

--- New Mexico Jury Convicts Former Environmental Official

In a state investigation assisted by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, a jury sitting in the New Mexico District Court in Las Cruces, N.M., convicted Hector Villa III on Feb. 28 of eight felony counts involving the dumping of thousands of gallons of animal rendering waste in a Southern New Mexico landfill. Villa is the former director of the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission office in El Paso. Richard Jerome, President of Valley By-Products of Vinton, Texas, and Henry Medina, owner of Southwest Septic Service in Las Cruces, N.M., previously pleaded guilty in this case. Villa was a consultant to the Valley By-Products plant which renders animal parts into useful products. Between 1997 and 1999 Jerome and Medina illegally disposed of thousands of gallons of rendering plant wastewater and animal wastes at a landfill operated by Medina West of Las Cruces, N.M. Villa knew that the landfill did not have a permit to accept the rendering wastes, but he allowed Valley By-Products to dump there without notifying the state. The improper disposal of rendering plant wastewater can contaminate groundwater supplies and create a public health risk. The case was investigated by the State of New Mexico, the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission and EPA's Criminal Investigation Division. It is being prosecuted by the New Mexico States Attorney's Office in Las Cruces.