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The Michigan Messenger going forward

By Staff Report | 11.16.11

I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]

Colorado-based abstinence program provided false and misleading information to Michigan students

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.16.11

An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.

Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.15.11

Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.

Schuette fights important mercury regulations

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By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.14.11

Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.

EPA years behind in determining risks of hundreds of toxic chemicals

By Andrew Restuccia | 11.09.10 | 11:11 am

The Environmental Protection Agency is years behind in determining the health the risks associated with exposure to hundreds of toxic chemicals, according to a new report from the Center for Progressive Reform.

Despite an effort by the Obama administration to streamline the process for risk assessments under the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), which evaluates the risk to human health of a number of contaminants, progress is still slow, the report says.

The EPA completed nine risk assessments of toxic chemicals last year and hopes to complete nine this year. While that’s “an improvement” from the Bush administration, “it would still take approximately 55 years to complete all of the assessments that EPA program offices need to complete statutory responsibilities,” a CPR statement says.

Risk assessments under IRIS are essential for determining the long-term consequences of exposure to certain environmental contaminants. Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), chair of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology, put it this way in CPR’s statement on the report: “We can’t wait for clusters of rare cancers or birth defects to tell us the consequences of a chemical exposure.”

Here are some highlights from the report:

  • “Thirty-two hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) regulated under the Clean Air Act are not listed in IRIS at all, and 77 are listed but lack inhalation values, hampering the EPA’s ability to conduct residual risk assessments to provide an ample margin of safety.”
  • “Three of 71 contaminants regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act are not listed, and neither are 64 of the 156 substances nominated to the Contaminate Candidate List, slowing EPA’s ability to develop enforceable standards for drinking water contamination.”
  • “Eighty-seven of the 275 substances frequently found in Superfund sites and identified by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry as “high profile” have not been assessed.”

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Categories & Tags: Environment/Energy| |