EPA plans to sharply reduce inspections

Reallocating resources for enforcement, the US EPA will be targeting large industry for polluters. On the other side of the coin, the employees and potentially exposed bystanders, in smaller industries will  potentially suffer occupational exposures. The balancing act could be eliminated by merely increasing funding to the EPA for its enforcement effort. Today's post is shared from the LATimes.org  . WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency plans to substantially reduce inspections and civil enforcement cases against industry over the next five years, arguing that focusing on the biggest polluters would be the most effective way to clean up air and water. refinery In a draft strategic plan, the EPA proposes to cut federal inspections by one-third from the 20,000 inspections it conducted in the last fiscal year, ended Sept. 30. Moreover, it plans to initiate about 2,320 civil enforcement cases a year, compared with the 3,000 cases initiated last fiscal year, a 23% reduction. The EPA said the shift for fiscal years 2014 to 2018 is not a retreat from enforcement but a more effective allocation of resources.

An Official Statement on Environmental Toxins and Pregnancy

Today's post was shared by RWJF PublicHealth and comes from www.theatlantic.com

For years, the debate over restricting the stew of industrial chemicals that we live in has suffered from a case of he said, she said. Environmental groups sounded the alarm about the thousands of chemicals in our air, water, food, housewares, and shampoo that science suggests — but doesn’t outright prove — could make us sick. They warned about such commonly used substances as BPA (in cans and plastics), fire retardants (in furniture), and phthalates (in cosmetics). Chemical industry representatives countered that there is no clear evidence that their products are unsafe, and tighter regulation would squash innovation. But now it’s about pregnant moms and unborn babies. For the first time ever, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) this week came out with a strong statement about the risks of environmental toxins to pregnant women and fetuses. Also for the first time, the group is going so far as to urge individual doctors to advocate for policy changes to protect women and babies from exposure. “We don’t have cause and effect, but we have enough associations to make us concerned.” “The scientific evidence over the last 15 years shows that exposure to toxic environmental agents before conception and during pregnancy can have significant and long-lasting effects on reproductive health,” wrote ACOG. Another group of reproduction specialists, the American Society...

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Lots of data to process for Calif. lead paint judge

Lead exposure in the workplace continues due to decaying lead based paint in place. The complications of this environmental hazard are serious. Attention is now focussed on the Court's anticipated decision in the Lead Paint Litigation trial flowing from lead paint as a "public nuisance" that needs remediation.  Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com

Judge Kleinberg A watershed decision expected before the end of the year may come down to how one individual processes volumes of complex analyses of complex data relating to the use, promotion and manufacture of lead paint in the last century and its impact on children today. In a case that took six weeks to try after 13 years of litigation, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg also will measure the credibility of expert witnesses and their theories in The People of California v. Atlantic Richfield, et al. Not only do the plaintiffs have to prove that a public nuisance exists in pre-1978 built private residences in the 10 California cities or counties seeking abatement costs of more than $1 billion, they have to prove that paint companies promoted the use of white lead pigments in residential paint during the first half of the last century knowing it would create today’s alleged public nuisance.