[CPEO-BIF] Rep. Hinchey calls for TCE hearings

[lsiegel@cpeo.org]

For Immediate Release
Office of Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
September 28, 2005

Hinchey Calls for Congressional Hearings on Health Effects of Vaporized TCE

Says Congress Needs To Learn More About The Toxic Chemical; 
Push EPA To Help States Protect Public 

Washington, D.C. - In an effort to get the federal government to focus
more on the dangerous health effects of vaporized trichloroethylene
(TCE) that have impacted residents and workers in Endicott, New York and
elsewhere across the country, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today
formally called for congressional investigations into the toxic
substance that has been shown to cause certain types of cancer and birth
defects. Hinchey wrote to the chairs and ranking members of two House
committees with jurisdiction over toxic contamination, asking for them
to hold hearings on the health impacts of TCE and to review how the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can better protect the public from
the substance.
 
"Trichloroethylene (TCE), a suspected carcinogen and neurotoxin, has
made its way into hundreds of homes in my district, and elsewhere across
the country, due to vapor intrusion from contaminated soil and
groundwater," Hinchey wrote to congressional leaders. "Unfortunately, we
are only just beginning to understand the threat this form of toxic
exposure presents to residents in my congressional district, across New
York, and elsewhere in the nation. As such, I am writing to request that
your subcommittee hold a hearing to examine the health effects of
vaporized TCE and to review how EPA can assist states like New York in
setting a protective interim TCE standard to use while EPA's own risk
assessment is formalized -- a process expected to take years."  
 
Hinchey's letter comes less than 24 hours after the New York State
Department of Health (NYSDOH) released test results for workplace indoor
air at the former IBM complex in Endicott that found disturbingly high
levels of TCE in nearly one third of the structures tested. TCE has made
its way into 400-500 homes in Hinchey's congressional district due to
vapor intrusion. Hinchey noted that a recently released report by the
NYSDOH and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
reveals that Endicott residents have displayed elevated incidences of
testicular cancer (twice the average level epidemiologists expected to
find), kidney cancer (twice the expected rate), heart defects in
newborns (two and a half times the expected rate), as well as low birth
weights. 
 
As the studies have proceeded, Hinchey has also focused on ensuring that
the health of residents is protected in the interim. To help accomplish
that goal, Hinchey inserted language in the Interior Appropriations bill
for Fiscal Year 2006, which was signed into law by the president in
August. The measure calls on the EPA to develop an interim plan to keep
residents safe from TCE while the EPA and the National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) continue their studies of the chemical. Four years ago,
the EPA conducted a Health Risk Assessment, endorsed by its Science
Advisory Board, that determined TCE to be 5 to 65 times more toxic than
originally thought, and EPA incorporated that finding into its draft
Vapor Intrusion Guidance. That Health Risk Assessment focused on the
same health effects as were found in the recent Endicott study.
 
"I am most concerned about reducing toxic exposure while NYSDOH, ATSDR,
and EPA conduct additional studies. I firmly believe that an interim
standard for TCE needs to be established now," Hinchey wrote. "A
subcommittee hearing would yield a better understanding of the status of
the TCE Health Risk Assessment and the need for an interim TCE standard.
My constituents in Endicott and Ithaca as well as the very many other
people across America who are so exposed deserve nothing less."
 
Hinchey's letter is addressed to Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN)
and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), the chair and ranking
member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's
Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment, as well as
Congressman Paul Gillmor (R-OH) and Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-CA),
the chair and ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce
Committee's Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials.
 
###
 
The full text of Hinchey's letter follows:
 
September 28, 2005

The Honorable John J. Duncan, Jr. 
Chairman 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment  
Washington, DC 20515
 
The Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson
Ranking Member
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment  
Washington, DC 20515
 
Dear Chairman Duncan and Ranking Member Johnson: (Text of letter to
Chairman Gillmor and Ranking Member Solis contains identical text)
 
Trichloroethylene (TCE), a suspected carcinogen and neurotoxin, has made
its way into hundreds of homes in my district, and elsewhere across the
country, due to vapor intrusion from contaminated soils and groundwater.
Unfortunately, we are only just beginning to understand the threat TCE
presents to residents in my congressional district, across New York, and
elsewhere in the nation. As such, I am writing to request that your
subcommittee hold a hearing to examine the health effects of vaporized
TCE and to review how EPA can assist states like New York in setting a
protective interim TCE standard to use while EPA's own risk assessment
is formalized -- a process expected to take years.  
 
Recently, at my request, the New York State Department of Health (NYS
DOH) and the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) conducted a study and released their report detailing increased
rates of certain types of cancer and birth defects for the people of
Endicott, New York who have been exposed to TCE. The report revealed
that Endicott residents displayed elevated incidences of testicular
cancer (twice the average level epidemiologists expected to find),
kidney cancer (twice the expected rate), heart defects in newborns (two
and a half times the expected rate), as well as low birth weights.  Just
yesterday NYSDOH released test results for workplace indoor air at the
former IBM complex in Endicott that found disturbingly high levels of
TCE in nearly one third of the structures tested. It's clear to me that
high levels of TCE in homes and workplaces, coupled with increased
health problems in local populations mandate more action to define and
eliminate this problem. 
 
I am most concerned about reducing toxic exposure while NYSDOH, ATSDR,
and EPA conduct additional studies. I firmly believe that an interim
standard for TCE needs to be established now. To expedite this process,
I inserted language in the Interior Appropriations bill for FY 2006,
directing EPA to address this issue and set an interim standard, using
the 2001 data as a starting point. (Four years ago, EPA conducted a
Health Risk Assessment, endorsed by its Science Advisory Board, that
determined TCE to be 5 to 65 times more toxic than originally thought,
and EPA incorporated that finding into its draft Vapor Intrusion
Guidance. That Health Risk Assessment focused on the same health effects
as were found in the recent Endicott study.)  EPA has informed me that
progress on setting a new standard is going to take years; sadly, in the
meantime people continue to be exposed to TCE on a daily basis.
 
A subcommittee hearing would yield a better understanding on the status
of the TCE Health Risk Assessment and the need for an interim TCE
standard. My constituents in Endicott and Ithaca as well as the very
many other people across America who are so exposed deserve nothing
less. I appreciate your interest in this matter and look forward to
working together to address this public health issue. 
 
Sincerely,
 
Maurice Hinchey

For the original press release, go to
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ny22_hinchey/morenews/092805tcehearingsrequest.html

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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