The DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) evaluates safety risk and historical consequences in hazardous materials transportation when setting priorities, making policy, budgeting and allocating resources, drafting rules, targeting inspections, measuring performance, and communicating with stakeholders. In carrying out its mission to protect people and the environment from the risks inherent in transportation of hazardous materials, PHMSA uses data reflecting outcomes signaling areas of concern to the Administration and the nation, particularly those of high consequence to people and the environment.
PHMSA has released a report summarizing their evaluation of what has been responsible for the most serious consequences in terms of deaths and major injuries during the years 2005 to 2009. It also identifies failure modes and the corresponding transportation phases that have resulted in the most high-impact casualties during this same period.
The table below is based on aggregate weighted consequences in terms of high impact casualties; the data do not consider casualties per unit of commodity carried. High-impact casualties in this table are the weighed sum of deaths and major injuries or hospitalizations.
Among the commodities that top the list of high consequences are several whose high rate of exposure (i.e., high levels of transport) are largely responsible for the magnitude of their consequences. Gasoline and diesel fuel are two examples of commodities that fall into this category. Conversely, the sheer volatility or danger of other substances has led to significant consequences despite only modest exposure. Sulfuric acid and chlorine are examples of commodities that fall into this category.
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Home Depot Sued for Selling Illegal High VOC Paint and Coatings
On June 2, 2011, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) filed a lawsuit against The Home Depot, Inc., alleging tens of thousands of air quality violations for displaying and selling coatings and paints at stores in southern California that contain high levels of smog-forming ingredients. Home Depot is the largest home improvement chain in the region.
The AQMD conducted the investigation that led to the lawsuit. District attorneys for Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties and the city attorney for the City of Los Angeles filed a related case on the same day alleging unfair business practices by Home Depot. The concurrently filed lawsuit alleges that Home Depot misled customers with false information about their products and in so doing sought an unfair business advantage over their competitors.
“Compliance with our paint and coating regulations is essential to this region reaching clean air goals that are protective of public health,” said Barry Wallerstein, AQMD’s executive officer. “Home Depot knowingly misled customers by selling higher polluting, non-compliant products in its stores.”
The lawsuit alleges that Home Depot sold thousands of cans of sealers, clear wood coatings, lacquers, and other paints and coatings in violation of air quality regulations. AQMD inspectors checked for violations at Home Depot stores simply by checking cans on the shelf to see if their labeled volatile organic compound (VOC) content exceeded AQMD’s limits. Illegal products were found at more than two dozen stores. Products were found at stores even after Home Depot corporate management had been notified of the problem. Some of the products had been marked down for quick sale.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Home Depot could face fines up to $30 million. AQMD’s Rule 1113 prohibits the manufacture, distribution, sale, or use of non-compliant coatings in the South Coast Air Basin. Under the California Health & Safety Code, violations of the regulation could subject Home Depot to penalties of up to $10,000 for each and every violation. Further, under the Business and Professions Code, Home Depot is subject to additional penalties of up to $2,500 for each act of unfair competition and $2,500 for each act of false and misleading advertising.
Paints and coatings are a major source of air pollution, responsible for 23 tons per day of VOC emissions in southern California, an amount greater than that emitted by 1.5 million cars. VOCs combine in the atmosphere with nitrogen oxides to form ground-level ozone, also known as summertime smog. Ozone causes a wide range of adverse health effects from worsening of asthma symptoms to increased emergency department visits and hospital admissions.
In recent years AQMD has focused inspections on home improvement retail stores to ensure that paints sold to consumers comply with air quality regulations.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties.
Washington and Iowa Find Most Reusable Bags Tested Safe
Of 31 reusable shopping bags purchased from major retailers in the states of Washington and Iowa, only one bag was found to contain toxic metals above limits allowed by the states’ laws. In addition, two bags had removable inserts that contained toxics. One bag and one insert came from Washington state. The second insert came from a bag purchased in Iowa.
Ecology partnered with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to purchase and screen reusable shopping bags for toxic metal content. Both states have legislation regulating toxics in packaging and both are members of the Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse). The sampling was in response to recent concerns raised in the media about reusable bags.
Brian Tormey, Bureau Chief of Land Quality, Department of Natural Resources in Iowa said, “The results of this screening process should give consumers confidence in the reusable bags offered by both Iowa and Washington state retailers.
“Enforcement of the packaging law is part of Ecology’s broader effort to address toxics in consumer products,” Washington’s Department of Ecology (Ecology) Director Ted Sturdevant said. “Ecology is increasing efforts to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals used in consumer products and to make consumers aware of safer alternatives.”
Past testing has shown that single-use bags may also contain toxic metals. For example, Ecology notified a large national retailer in 2009 that some of their single-use shopping bags did not comply with Washington’s packaging law. Ecology was able to work cooperatively with the company to bring it into compliance and remove the unacceptable packaging from retail locations in order to prevent their continued use.
Single-use bags purchased in other states have also been found to contain restricted metals above legal limits. Toxic substances in single-use or reusable bags can be replaced to make them safer.
Ecology supports the use of reusable bags as a means to reduce waste going into already overfilled landfills, as long as these bags are safe.
Iowa initially screened the 31 bags with an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) instrument, which identified bags beyond or close to the 100 parts per million (ppm) limit for the toxic metals restricted by packaging laws in both states. Those four restricted metals are lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium.
Any bags or parts of bags that failed the XRF screening were sent to Ecology’s Manchester Laboratory for standard analysis to confirm the results.
The two companies in Washington state whose bag and bag insert were found to contain unacceptable levels of lead have been notified of Ecology’s results. Both companies are fully cooperating with Ecology. The bag that failed has been removed from distribution and that company is working with Ecology to address any remaining issues. Ecology is conducting further testing to assure the problem has been resolved.
Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant said, “These collaborative, multiple-state efforts and targeted enforcements are good tools to encourage major manufacturers to eliminate their use of toxic metals in packaging.”
Staff at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources contacted the supplier of the bag, which contained an insert above acceptable limits and is currently working with this supplier to address the problem.
Based on a national action, Washington state adopted toxics in packaging legislation in 1991. The legislation limits the levels of lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium to 100 ppm by weight for total concentration used in product packaging or packaging components. Manufacturers and suppliers are responsible for providing a “certificate of compliance” that their packaging meets requirements of the law if requested by Ecology.
Nineteen states have metal toxics in packaging laws. Ten states are members of the Clearinghouse. Washington has been a member since 2008.
“Being a member of a national organization like the Clearinghouse has allowed us to leverage resources such as testing packaging samples and sharing information with other states,” said K. Seiler, program manager for Ecology’s Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program.
Over recent years, the Clearinghouse has undertaken several packaging screening projects and extensive outreach to manufacturers and retailers about the toxic metal content of their packaging. The result has been in improved compliance with toxics in packaging requirements.
For example, a major U.S. retailer has changed the way it sells sheets. Rather than offer sheets in plastic bags that often fail for toxic metals, they are now sold in small cardboard boxes with hard plastic inserts that show the sheets inside. Ecology has tested this new packaging and found it complies with the toxics in packaging legislation. Enforcement actions by individual states have also helped to decrease toxics in the packaging of products offered for sale.
Excavating Company Fined $20,200 after Placing Fill in the Floodplain of the Connecticut River
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has issued a penalty of $20,200 to River Drive Excavating of Hadley, Massachusetts for placing fill at the company’s site located at 146 River Drive, which is in the floodplain of the Connecticut River. As part of a settlement, MassDEP has ordered River Drive Excavating to remove the fill.
On November 1, 2010, the Town of Hadley Conservation Commission contacted MassDEP regarding the placement of the fill within the floodplain of the Connecticut River. An inspection by MassDEP staff the next day established that cutting and removal of trees had occurred within the Riverfront Area to the river and that 3,555 cubic yards of soil had been placed in the floodplain.
The consent order issued by MassDEP requires that River Drive Excavating remove all fill from the floodplain with full verification by May 31, 2011. In addition, the order requires a Site Restoration Plan be submitted that fully restores and protects the floodplain and Riverfront Area. The order also requires the company to pay $3,000 of the assessed penalty, with the remaining $17,200 suspended contingent upon River Drive Excavating fully complying with the terms of the order to remove the fill and restore the impacted floodplain and Riverfront Area.
“Excavators and contractors need to contact the local conservation commission prior to placing fill or removing vegetation within protected areas like Bordering Land Subject to Flooding, Bordering Vegetated Wetlands, rivers and streams, and Riverfront Areas,” said Michael Gorski, director of MassDEP’s Western Regional Office in Springfield. “Impacts to these resource areas, including temporary storage of fill, is not allowed without appropriate permits.”
DEC Promotes Green Chemistry in New York Schools
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) announced a grant awarded by the EPA to the Department’s Pollution Prevention Education and Outreach Section for assistance in its campaign to promote green chemistry in New York schools.
“Green Chemistry in New York State Schools” is a continuation of DEC’s initiative to reduce toxics in New York schools that began with “Mercury Management in Schools” outreach during 2005 through 2007 and the “Chemical Management in Schools” program during 2008 through 2009. By using more environmentally benign reagents and solvents, green chemistry is effective in reducing hazardous exposures affecting human health and hazardous waste disposal that might find its way into the environment.
Green chemistry asks teachers and students to consider the life cycle impacts of the chemicals they work with by promoting an awareness of chemical toxicology, highlighting concepts of sustainability and how their actions in the chemistry lab can affect the environment. By implementing green chemistry practices, teachers and students can take pride in doing chemistry in an environmentally responsible way.
DEC staff will be developing green chemistry pilot projects at four high schools, one in each of the following regions of the state: Capital District, Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island. These pilot projects will include chemical inventorying and assessment, the development of a chemical hygiene plan, and a green chemistry training workshop for science teachers, which will highlight the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry (Anastas, P.T.; Warner, J.C. Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice. Oxford University Press: New York, 1998).
Liberty High School, a high-needs rural school district located in the town of Liberty, in Sullivan County, has been chosen as the Hudson Valley candidate to participate in this pilot project to manage chemicals in their high school laboratories by adopting green chemistry practices and redirecting their chemical purchasing towards less toxic chemicals. The key criteria for their selection was the needs assessment of the condition of the school’s chemical management system, their willingness to participate in green chemistry training, and their interest in implementing the principles of green chemistry in their curriculum for at least a full school year. The high school principal’s enthusiastic support for his teachers to be involved in this project was also a deciding factor. The Sullivan County BOCES Career and Technical (C&T) Education Program will also participate as part of the school’s pilot project team.
In partnership with the state Education Department, DEC has the long-term goal of developing green chemistry curriculum resources for New York high schools that will lead to increased knowledge about green chemistry practices. This, in turn, will encourage both educators and their students to share their knowledge and promote the principles of green chemistry leading to sustained environmental protection and pollution prevention.
California Natural Resources Agency to Launch Online Climate Change Tool Cal-Adapt to Show How Climate Change Affects Local Regions
By showing the potential effects to California, the tool will enable city and county planners, government agencies, and the public to identify potential climate change risks in specific areas throughout the state. An overview and demonstration of the website will be provided.
This tool will provide planners with detailed information regarding potential sea-level rise, wildfire dangers, temperature changes, and fluctuations in snowpack in specific areas, which will help inform how to respond to those impacts.
Meeting Number: 497 455 577
Meeting Password: meeting@10
Report Shows Greenhouse Gas Emissions Decline 8% in New Jersey
Statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decreased by more than 8% in 2008, bringing New Jersey under 2020 emissions levels targeted by the State’s Global Warming Response Act, according to a legislatively mandated report issued by the DEP.
The “Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory for 2008” shows 124.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (MMTCO2E) generated in New Jersey in 2008. That was down from 135.9 MMTCO2E in 2007 and is below the 2020 target of 125.6 MMTCO2E.
According to the report, the top three causes of GHG emissions are transportation, electricity generation, and combined fossil fuel use in residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Emissions resulting from transportation accounted for the highest portion, or 40% of 2008 GHG; electricity generation caused 24% of greenhouse emissions; and combined residential, commercial, and industrial factors accounted for about 30%.
Accounting for the biggest reduction in 2008 is the electricity sector which declined by 5.6 MMTCO2E. Transportation emissions declined by 2.3 MMTCO2E, the largest decline in that sector since 1992.
The Statewide Greenhouse Gas Inventory for 2008 is a biennial report that is required under New Jersey’s Global Warming Response Act, which was enacted in 2007. The report presents data for 2008 and compares emissions to 2007 levels, and the 2020 and 2050 Statewide limits established by the Act.
Improve Air Quality in the Chicago Area and Win a Prius
Partners for Clean Air, an organization dedicated to improving air quality in the Chicago metropolitan area, has launched its 10th annual “Green Pays on Green Days” summertime campaign. The goal of this year’s program, which runs from June 1 through August 31, is to find out what Chicago-area residents are doing to improve air quality, while motivating them to do more to reduce air pollution.
As part of the campaign, local residents are asked to complete a brief survey about the actions they are taking to improve air quality. These actions include things like using compact fluorescent light bulbs in fixtures at home, using a programmable thermostat to save energy and reduce cooling costs, and unplugging chargers when not in use. Eligible residents who take the survey will be entered into a drawing to win a 2012 Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle, donated by Your Chicagoland Toyota Dealers. Finalists for the Prius will be drawn on days when the local air quality forecast is good, or “green” on the Air Quality Index.
“This is a special year for us, as we celebrate the 10th year of our award-winning Green Pays on Green Days community education program,” said Kim Biggs, chairperson for Partners for Clean Air. “Through our ongoing outreach, surveys and events, we have tracked incredible progress among Chicago-area residents when it comes to air quality education and individual action. We look forward to leading the charge for clean air for many years to come.”
Green Pays on Green Days targets residents in the following eight counties in Illinois: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will. The campaign will be promoted through a variety of media outlets, as well as at community events at zoos, sporting arenas, farmers’ markets, and other venues across the city and suburbs.
New Jersey Waste Management Company, Owner and Three Others Arrested for Illegal Dumping Conspiracy in Upstate New York
The owner of a New Jersey solid waste management company and three of his associates were arrested on federal charges that they conspired to transport and dump thousands of tons of asbestos contaminated debris at an upstate New York farm containing wetlands, announced Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Richard S. Hartunian, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York.
Julius DeSimone, of Rome, New York; Donald Torriero, of Wellington, Florida; Cross Nicastro II, of Frankfort, New York; and Dominick Mazza, of Tinton Falls, New Jersey, were arrested for the illegal dumping in Frankfort in 2006, as detailed in the seven count indictment. Dominick Mazza’s New Jersey-based company, Mazza & Sons Inc., was also indicted. The arrests were made at residences in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. The defendants made their initial appearances in federal courts in the Northern District of New York, Southern District of Florida, and District of New Jersey. The arraignment has tentatively been set for June 13, 2011, in Syracuse, New York.
The indictment describes a scheme to illegally dump thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminated, pulverized construction and demolition debris that was processed at Eagle Recycling’s and Mazza & Sons Inc.’s, New Jersey-based solid waste management facilities. That asbestos-contaminated debris was then transported to and dumped at Cross Nicastro II’s farm in Frankfort—much of which contained federally-regulated wetlands. Dumping and excavating operations were managed on-site by Julius DeSimone.
According to court documents, Donald Torriero and other conspirators concealed the illegal dumping by fabricating a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) permit and forging the name of a DEC official on the fraudulent permit. Once the conspirators learned that they were under investigation, they began a systematic pattern of document concealment, alteration, and destruction by destroying and secreting documents responsive to grand jury subpoenas and falsifying and submitting environmental sampling to the EPA.
The indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy to defraud the United States, violate the Clean Water Act and Superfund laws, and commit wire fraud. Donald Torriero is also charged with wire fraud associated with his fabrication and transmission of the fake permit the conspirators used to conceal the dumping. Mazza & Sons Inc., and its owner, Dominick Mazza, are charged with violating the Superfund law’s requirement to report the release of toxic materials and obstruction of justice. Dominick Mazza and Julius DeSimone are charged with making false statements to EPA special agents. This indictment is related to the guilty pleas entered by Jonathan Deck and Eagle Recycling on September 3, 2009 and April 11, 2011 respectively.
The conspiracy and substantive Clean Water Act, Superfund, and false statements counts of the indictment each carry a maximum possible term of incarceration of five years and a fine of $250,000, twice the gross gain to the defendants, or twice the gross loss to a victim. The obstruction of justice and wire fraud counts of the indictment each carry a maximum possible term of incarceration of 20 years and similar fines.
An indictment is a mere accusation and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless convicted in a court of law.
This case was investigated by criminal investigators with the New York State Environmental Conservation Police, Bureau of Environmental Crimes; special agents from the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Internal Revenue Service; investigators from the New Jersey State Police, Office of Business Integrity Unit; the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; and the Ohio Department of Environmental Protection. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig A. Benedict, of the Northern District of New York, and Todd W. Gleason of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
New York Sues Federal Government for Failure to Study Fracking
New York State’s Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced he will file a lawsuit against the federal government for its failure to commit to a full environmental review of proposed regulations that would allow natural gas drilling—including the potentially harmful “fracking” technique—in the Delaware River Basin. Last month, the Attorney General notified the federal government that if it did not commit to conducting an environmental review before the regulations authorizing gas drilling are finalized, he would take legal action to compel such a study.
“Before any decisions on drilling are made, it is our responsibility to follow the facts and understand the public health and safety effects posed by potential natural gas development,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “The federal government has an obligation to undertake the necessary studies, and as I made clear last month, this office will compel it to do so. The welfare of those living near the Delaware River Basin, as well as the millions of New Yorkers who rely on its pure drinking water each day, will not be ignored.”
In April, just one day before a blowout at a Pennsylvania natural gas drilling site caused gallons of chemical-laced water to spill over neighboring land and into a stream, the Attorney General demanded that the federal government comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The law requires federal agencies to conduct a full review of actions that may cause significant environmental impacts.
Despite the legal requirement, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC)—with the approval of its supporting federal agencies—proposed regulations allowing natural gas development in the Basin without undertaking any such review. Represented by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Brigadier General Peter A. DeLuca, the involved federal agencies include the Army Corps, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the EPA.
Schneiderman called on the federal government to comply with its NEPA obligations by suspending its consideration of the proposed regulations and undertaking a full review of all public health and safety risks posed by natural gas development in the Basin. At that time, Schneiderman further called for this review to include an evaluation of the cumulative impacts of widespread fracking within the Basin as well as the alternative of not authorizing natural gas development within the portion of the Basin that includes New York City’s West-of-Hudson watershed.
While the federal agencies determined that natural gas drilling in the Basin would potentially result in significant environmental impacts and that the study of those impacts should be performed, the DRBC’s lead agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, responded last week and made clear that it and the other member agencies would make no such commitment. The determination undermines the NEPA requirement.
As a result, Schneiderman has announced that he is filing a lawsuit in federal District Court in Brooklyn, where General DeLuca’s office is located, to compel an environmental review before regulations authorizing gas drilling are finalized.
The proposed natural gas development regulations allow high-volume hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling (a technique commonly referred to as “fracking”)—within the Basin. Unless studied and subject to strict controls, fracking poses risks to the environment, health, and communities, including the withdrawal of large volumes of water from creeks and streams, potential contamination of drinking water supplies, waste generation, increased noise, dust and air pollution, and potential harms to community infrastructure and character from increased industrial activity. Due to the potential for significant impacts from gas fracking within the Basin, the relevant federal agencies are obligated to comply with NEPA by performing a full review of the impact of the DRBC proposed natural gas development regulations.
The Delaware River Basin includes a portion of the New York City watershed and parts of Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Schoharie, Green, Ulster, Orange, and Sullivan Counties. The federally designated Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River (and its tributaries), is a nationally significant fishing, boating, and recreational destination. In addition, roughly 58% of the land area of New York City’s West-of-Hudson watershed is within the Basin. That portion of the watershed provides most of the drinking water used by over nine million New York residents and visitors.
The DRBC estimates that its proposed regulations would allow 15,000 to 18,000 gas wells to be drilled within the Basin, most of which are expected to be developed by fracking. The regulations were proposed without first conducting an assessment of the environmental impacts related to allowing fracking in the Basin.
The DRBC is a federal-interstate body created through a compact agreed to by the President, Congress, and state Legislators and Governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The Commission has legal authority to approve or disapprove activities that may have a substantial effect on the water resources within the 13,500 square mile Delaware River Basin—including over 2,300 square miles in New York. Under federal law, the DRBC and the federal agencies involved in formulating its policies and regulations are subject to NEPA.
This matter is being handled by New York City Watershed Inspector General, Philip Bein; New York City Watershed Inspector General Scientist, Charles Silver, Ph.D.; and Assistant Attorneys General Michael J. Myers, Morgan Costello, and Adam Dobson under the supervision of the Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau Chief, Lemuel M. Srolovic.
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Trivia Question of the Week
How many substances have been assigned CAS Registry numbers?a. 60,000
b. 600,000
c. 6 million
d. 60 million
