From: | Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org> |
Date: | Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:57:07 -0800 (PST) |
Reply: | cpeo-brownfields |
Subject: | [CPEO-BIF] Communities' letter to EPA about trichloroethylene review |
Below is a letter, signed by representatives of communities across the
country that are impacted by TCE pollution, asking EPA not to refer the
question of TCE toxicity to the National Academies of Science and thus
delay action in the setting of this important standard:
January 22, 2010 Hon. Lisa Jackson USEPA Headquarters Ariel Rios Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W. Mail Code: 1101A Washington, DC 20460 Dear Administrator Jackson:We are people from communities impacted by trichloroethylene (TCE) pollution, or we represent such people. We are pleased that EPA has once again put forward a Toxicological Review, in support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), for this compound. We urge you to continue to resist pressure to defer action by sending the question of TCE toxicity to the National Academies of Science (NAS) for yet another review. As you know, the NAS published its last report on TCE in July 2006. After a more than 18-month effort the NAS found, "The evidence on cancer and other health risks from TCE exposure has strengthened since 2001." Furthermore, it recommended, "enough information exists for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete a credible human health risk assessment now." That's exactly what EPA should do. We recognize there is a need for additional research on the health effects of TCE exposure, but as the Government Accountability Office has repeatedly pointed out, delays "can result in substantial harm to human health, safety, and the environment." That is, we don't want our families and our communities to be "guinea pigs" in a permanent research experiment. Innumerable people are being exposed to TCE levels, in the air we breathe and water we drink, that meets current, outdated standards but which would be found unacceptable under EPA's draft Review. Moreover, in May 2009 your office issued a new "Process for Development of Integrated Risk Information System Health Assessments," streamlining what had become a cumbersome, unproductive process. The TCE Review is one of the first tests of this process. Failure to complete the TCE Review in a timely fashion would undermine the entire IRIS system, setting a precedent for the continuing delay in the development and improvement of science-based exposure standards. Thus, we urge EPA to consider carefully the comments it receives on the draft TCE Review and to act quickly to finalize new IRIS values for TCE based upon today's best science. cc: Cass Sunstein, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs John G. Andrade Old Bedford Village Development, Inc. New Bedford, Massachusetts Sarah Anker Community Health and Environment Coalition Mt. Sinai, New York Christine Borello Concerned Citizens of Lake Twp./Uniontown IEL Superfund Site Uniontown, Ohio Dave Chalton Barron Park Association Foundation Palo Alto, California Elizabeth Crowe Kentucky Environmental Foundation Berea, Kentucky Joan Davidson Sierra Club South Bay Open Space Task Force Palos Verdes, California Ken and Regina Deschere Ithaca South Hill Industrial Pollution Ithaca, New York Barry Durand Mills Gap Road Groundwater Contamination Site CAG Skyland, North Carolina Amanda Evans Victims of TCE Exposure Hillsboro, Oregon Neil Fischbein TCE Blog Cheshire, Connecticut Jon Goodman People for clean Air and Water Collegeville, Pennsylvania Debra Hall Hopewell Junction Citizens for Clean Water Hopewell Junction, New York Congressman John Hall New York District #19 Scott Hallowell CTS Citizen's Monitoring Council Arden, North Carolina Michael Heimbinder HabitatMap Brooklyn, New York Katie Hicks Clean Water for North Carolina Asheville, North Carolina Dona Hippert Oregon Toxics Alliance Portland, Oregon Gina and Glen E. Horecky Mills Gap Road Groundwater Contamination Site CAG Skyland, North Carolina Jane Horton Moffett-MEW TAG Community Advisory Board Mountain View, California Francine D. Ishmael Citizens Against Toxic Exposure, Pensacola, Florida Marilyn Koenitzer Corvallis, Oregon Stephen Linsley Richmond Southeast Shoreline Area Community Advisory Group Richmond, California Peter C. Little Department of Anthropology Oregon State University Peter T. MacQueen Mills Gap Road Groundwater Contamination Site CAG Asheville, North Carolina Pamela K. Miller Alaska Community Action on Toxics Anchorage, Alaska Mary Moore Lindon Park Neighborhood Association Phoenix, Arizona Bob Moss Barron Park Association Foundation Palo Alto, California Dave Ness, Jr. Bayport, Minnesota Chris Nidel, PLLC Nidel Law Washington, DC Dave Ogren CTS Citizen's Monitoring Council Skyland, North Carolina Bruce Oldfield New York Vapor Intrusion Alliance and Hillcrest Environmental Action Team Binghamton, New York Edwin Rivera Hands Across The River Coalition New Bedford, Massachusetts Luis Rodrigues The Latino Coalition New Bedford, Massachusetts Sarah Schwemin WildLaw St. Petersburg, Florida Bob and Judy Selz Mills Gap Road Groundwater Contamination Site CAG Skyland, North Carolina Gail Shephard Representing Injured Workers at the Former NASA Industrial Plant Downey, California Lenny Siegel Center for Public Environmental Oversight Mountain View, California Margaret Smith Concerned Citizens Collegeville Collegeville, Pennsylvania Sam Sparck Barron Park Association Foundation Palo Alto, California Robert Spiegel Edison Wetlands Association Edison, New Jersey Peter Strauss PM Strauss & Associates San Francisco, California Hope Taylor Clean Water for North Carolina Asheville, North Carolina John Uldrich Team El Toro Christina Walsh Aerospace Cancer Museum of Education Chatsworth, California Beth Willis Frederick Citizens for Bio-lab Safety Frederick, Maryland NOTE: Some of the affiliations are for identification purposes only. -- Lenny Siegel Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight a project of the Pacific Studies Center 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 _______________________________________________ Brownfields mailing list Brownfields@lists.cpeo.org http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/brownfields-cpeo.org | |
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