Environmental attorney Sanders says Obama Administration punts carbon monoxide standards to another day.

US EPA will maintain the current national air quality standards for carbon monoxide (CO) rather than create another major battle with Republicans in Congress over greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.  EPA promises to gather additional data through more focused monitoring while it treads water on the issue.

The current health standards are 9 parts per million (ppm) measured over 8 hours, and 35 ppm measured over 1 hour. To ensure people are protected from high concentrations of CO and to develop better information about CO and its health impacts, EPA is proposing to revise the air monitoring requirements at some unknown date in the future.

The proposed changes would require a more focused monitoring network with CO monitors placed near highly trafficked roads in urban areas with populations of 1 million or more. The data from these sites would be available for scientific studies that could help inform future reviews of the standard.

EPA estimates that the proposal would require approximately 77 CO monitors in 53 urban areas. EPA expects that states would not need to purchase new monitoring equipment. They could relocate some of their existing CO monitors to the near-road monitoring stations already required in connection with the revised nitrogen dioxide standards issued in January 2010. CO monitors at the new locations would be required to be operational by January 1, 2013.

The proposed rule only addresses the primary CO standards and is consistent with the advice and recommendations from the agency’s independent science advisors, the Clean Air Act Scientific Advisory Committee.

CO is a colorless, odorless gas emitted from combustion processes. Nationally and, particularly in urban areas, the majority of CO emissions come from motor vehicles.

EPA will accept comments for 60 days after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register. The Agency will hold a public hearing on this proposed rule on February 28, 2011, if EPA receives a request for one by February 18, 2011 EPA will take final action on this proposal by August 12, 2011.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/carbonmonoxide

Kentucky attorney Sanders says US EPA looking at vapor intrusion as a factor in Superfund's Harzard Ranking System for hazardous waste site.

U.S. EPA is taking public comments on whether to include vapor intrusion threats as a component for including hazardous waste sites on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites.

Vapor intrusion describes the migration of volatile chemicals from contaminated groundwater or soil into the atmosphere, and is a particular concern if vapors enter an overlying building.

EPA will accept public feedback on specific topics related to the potential revisions to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS), which is used to evaluate sites for the Superfund list, for 75 days.

EPA will consider information gathered during the comment period, as well as input from three public listening sessions before making a decision on whether to issue a proposed rulemaking to add a vapor intrusion component to the HRS.

EPA will host its first public listening session at its Arlington, Va. office on February 24, 2011. Two additional listening sessions will be held in San Francisco, Calif. and Albuquerque, N.M. EPA will post dates, times and addresses for the listening sessions on its Superfund webpage.

More information on EPA listening sessions and the potential change to the HRS: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/hrsaddition.htm

More information on vapor intrusion: http://www.epa.gov/oswer/vaporintrusion/

More information on the HRS: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/npl_hrs/hrsint.htm

Kentucky attorney Sanders says National Bed Bug Summit will be held February 1-2, 2011 in Washington, D.C.

The Federal Bed Bug Workgroup will hold a National Bed Bug Summit on February 1-2, 2011. During the meeting, panels will discuss bed bug initiatives, identify gaps in knowledge and outline suggested ideas for improving control on a community-wide basis. Summit participants will develop recommendations for a national strategy on bed bug control. The meeting will focus on:

• what is being done to combat the problem at federal, state and local levels
• the importance of educating consumers and workers in various sectors
• improvements in prevention and control techniques
• controlling bed bugs in structured settings, such as schools, and multi-family and public housing
• state of bed bug knowledge and research needs

WHAT: National Bed Bug Summit

WHO: Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

WHEN: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 8:30 a.m. – 5:45 p.m.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

WHERE: Georgetown University Hotel & Conference Center
3800 Reservoir Road, N.W., Washington, D.C.

NOTE: The summit is open to the public but pre-registration is necessary to attend in person. To register, please email the following information (name, affiliation, address, phone number, and email address) to: BedBugSummit2Registration@epa.gov

The summit is also available via webinar. Instructions for signing on to the webinar: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ppdc/bedbug-summit/2nd-bedbug-summit.html

Kentucky attorney Sanders says FDA investigating possible link between breast implants and ALCL cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating a possible association between saline and silicone gel-filled breast implants and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). ALCL is a very rare type of cancer.

Data reviewed by the FDA suggest that patients with breast implants may have a very small but significant risk of ALCL in the scar capsule adjacent to the implant.

The FDA is requesting that health care professionals report any confirmed cases of ALCL in women with breast implants.

In an effort to ensure that patients receiving breast implants are informed of the possible risk, FDA will be working with breast implant manufacturers in the coming months to update their product labeling materials for patients and health care professionals.

According to the National Cancer Institute, ALCL appears in different parts of the body including the lymph nodes and skin. Each year ALCL is diagnosed in about 1 out of 500,000 women in the United States. ALCL located in breast tissue is found in only about 3 out of every 100 million women nationwide without breast implants.

In total, the agency is aware of about 60 cases of ALCL in women with breast implants worldwide. This number is difficult to verify because not all cases were published in the scientific literature and some may be duplicate reports. An estimated 5 million to 10 million women worldwide have breast implants.

The FDA notification is based on a review of scientific literature published between January 1997 and May 2010 and information from other international regulators, scientists, and breast implant manufacturers. The literature review identified 34 unique cases of ALCL in women with both saline and silicone breast implants.

Most cases reviewed by the FDA were diagnosed when patients sought medical treatment for implant-related symptoms such as pain, lumps, swelling, or asymmetry that developed after their initial surgical sites were fully healed. These symptoms were due to collection of fluid (peri-implant seroma), hardening of breast area around the implant (capsular contracture), or masses surrounding the breast implant. Examination of the fluid and capsule surrounding the breast implant led to the ALCL diagnosis.

The FDA is recommending that health care professionals and women pay close attention to breast implants and do the following:

Health care professionals are requested to report all confirmed cases of ALCL in women with breast implants to Medwatch, the FDA’s safety information and adverse event reporting program. Report by calling 800-332-1088.

Health care professionals should consider the possibility of ALCL if a patient has late onset, persistent fluid around the implant (peri-implant seroma). In cases of implant seroma, send fresh seroma fluid for pathology tests to rule out ALCL.

The FDA declared that there is no need for women with breast implants to change their routine medical care and follow-up. ALCL is very rare; it has occurred in only a very small number of the millions of women who have breast implants. Although not specific to ALCL, health care providers should follow standard medical recommendations.

Women should monitor their breast implants and contact their doctor if they notice any changes.

Women who are considering breast implant surgery should discuss the risks and benefits with their health care provider.

Kentucky attorney Sanders says cookie dough should not be eaten raw even if it tastes great because of potential health hazards.

People should be cautious about eating raw dough for cookies or other raw dough products before the dough is properly baked because you could get sick. Baking cookie dough in a hot oven kills harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella and E. coli, and keeps you and your family safe.

If you have eaten raw cookie dough and suffer from stomach cramps, fever, vomiting or diarrhea, contact your health care provider. Anyone, of any age or health condition, could get very sick or die from potential bacterial contamination associated with these raw dough products.

Here are five helpful suggestions to keep healthy and safe:

1. Do not eat any raw cookie dough or any other raw dough product that’s supposed to be cooked or baked.
2. Follow package directions for cooking at proper temperatures and for specified times.
3. Wash hands, work surfaces, and utensils thoroughly after contact with raw dough products.
4. Keep raw foods separate from other foods while preparing them to prevent any contamination that might be present from spreading.
5. Follow label directions to chill products promptly after purchase and after using them.

Sounds like good old common sense to me.

Kentucky attorney Sanders says 54 gallons of soft drinks per person in USA is too much!!

Did you know that according to the American Beverage Association American consumers on average drank just over 54 gallons of carbonated soft drinks each in 2005. That astronomical amount made carbonated soft drinks the most popular beverage in the U.S., almost three times more popular than bottled water, milk or coffee.

Carbonated soft drinks are the single largest source of calories in the American diet, according to a 2005 report called "Liquid Candy," produced by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

Jeffrey M. Sanders says EPA is punting GHG issues related to biomass boilers for three years to further study the issues.

U.S. EPA is deferring, for three years, greenhouse gas (GHG) permit requirements for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from biomass-fired and other biogenic sources. By July 2011, EPA plans to complete a rulemaking that will defer permitting requirements for CO2 emissions from biomass-fired and other biogenic sources for three years. During the three-year period, EPA will seek input on critical scientific issues from its partners within the federal government and from outside scientists who have relevant expertise.

At the same time, EPA will also look at the more than 7,000 comments it received from its July 2010 Call for Information, including comments noting that burning certain types of biomass may emit the same amount of CO2 emissions that would be emitted if they were not burned as fuel, while others may result in a net increase in CO2 emissions. Before the end of the three-year period, EPA intends to issue a second rulemaking that determines how these emissions should be treated or counted under GHG permitting requirements.

EPA will also issue guidance shortly that will provide a basis that state or local permitting authorities may use to conclude that the use of biomass as fuel is the best available control technology for GHG emissions until the agency can complete an action on the three-year deferral in July.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/nsr