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PUBLIC MEETINGS TO BE HELD ON EPA STRATEGY ON PRIORITY TOXIC CHEMICALS
Release Date: 01/29/99
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JAN. 29, 1999
PUBLIC MEETINGS TO BE HELD ON EPA STRATEGY ON PRIORITY
TOXIC CHEMICALS
TOXIC CHEMICALS
The EPA will be holding a series of public meetings on two major initiatives addressing persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemicals in the environment. The first initiative the Agency is seeking comment on is the proposed rule to add PBT chemicals and lower the threshold for these chemicals currently on the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) list. This proposed rule, announced in the January 5 Federal Register, will lead to greater reporting of environmental releases of a number of PBT chemicals including dioxin and mercury and further expand the public’s right to know. PBT chemicals are highly toxic, can remain in the environment for generations and can travel long distances through the air to reach land and water. PBT chemicals are known to cause a variety of health effects at low doses, including reproductive disorders and cancer. These toxic chemicals also can “bioaccumulate” or build up in the food chain. The second initiative the Agency is seeking comment on is the draft action plan to reduce mercury, which is a primary component of the EPA’s comprehensive strategy to reduce releases and exposures to priority PBT chemicals which was announced on Nov. 16, 1998. The first in the series of three public meetings will be held at the EPA Headquarters Auditorium on Feb. 16, 1999, from 9 a.m.-noon to discuss the PBT strategy and 1-4 p.m. to discuss the addition of PBT chemicals to the TRI list and the lowering of reporting thresholds for PBT chemicals currently on the TRI list. Subsequent meetings will be held at the EPA Regional Office in Chicago on Feb. 23, 1999, and at the EPA’s Regional Office in San Francisco on March 5, 1999. All of the meetings will follow the same format. For more information on how to present comments at the meetings call 1-800-535-0202, and in Virginia and Alaska call 703-412-9877. For information on the proposed PBT TRI rule, contact Daniel R. Bushman at 202-260-3882, e-mail: [email protected]. For information on the EPA PBT strategy, contact Sam Sasnett at 202-260-8020, e-mail: [email protected]
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