OPPT NEWSBREAK Friday, 5 February 1999
Today's "Toxic News for the Net"
Brought to you by the OPPTS Chemical Library
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/oppt_nb.txt
NEWS
"Anthrax Hoaxes Are Sent in Mail. Threatening Letter Delivered
to Post." Washington Post, 5 February 99, B8. "Post Gets Letter
With Anthrax Threat; Nobody Hurt." Washington Times, 5 February
99, C11.
The Washington Post received a threatening letter containing
a substance the letter claimed was anthrax. A similar
letter was sent to the Old Executive Office Building, as
well as to an NBC News office in Atlanta and a U.S. post
office in Columbus, Ga. The Post and the Old Executive
Office buildings were not evacuated, but a three-block area
around the NBC News office in Atlanta was evacuated and
about a dozen people went through a decontamination process
and were taken to a hospital. The FBI would not comment on
the incident in Columbus, Ga. All the letters proved to be
hoaxes. The FBI is treating the Washington cases as a single
investigation, but law enforcement officials say that "the
Georgia incidents do not appear to be the work of the same
groups or individual."
"Photo-Persistent Pollution." USA Today,4 February 99, 1A.
According to EPA's Toxics Release Inventory, states ranked
as having the most bioaccumulative pounds of toxins are
Missouri, Montana, Arizona, Illinois, Utah, Texas and Ohio.
"Army Unveils Plans for NW Chemical Dig. Residents Worried About
Possible Contamination of Soil." Washington Post, 5 February 99,
B8.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers outlined its plan to
excavate the back yard of the Korean ambassador's home on
Glenbrook Road in Northwest Washington to remove canisters
of mustard gas and other toxic World War I chemicals that
may be buried there. In ten days, the Army will begin
building a steel vapor-containment structure in the yard.
Residents are worried about toxins in the soil, but soil
samples taken several years ago were found not to be
hazardous. Samples taken as part of the new excavation will
be studied.
"Enron's Plant in India Was Dead; This Month, It Will Go On
Stream [Power Politics]." Wall Street Journal, 5 February 99, A1,
A6.
The Dabhol power plant built on a volcanic bluff in Guhagar,
India will begin selling electricity in a few days. The
power plant, built by Enron Corp. Of Houston, is India's
biggest foreign investment. The article describes in length
the conflicts between environmentalists, Indian nationalists
and Enron preceding the comeback of the plant that was
cancelled by India's government three years ago.
"Audit Faults Forest Service on Logging Damage in U.S. Forests."
New York Times, 5 February 99, A21.
Inspector General of the Agriculture Department, Roger C.
Viadero, says that the results of federal audits on 12
timber projects revealed that the Forest Service is not
adequately assessing, preventing or correcting environmental
damage to national forests from logging. The inspections
documented improper logging methods that interfered with
wildlife habitat and streams as well as errors in timber
sales paperwork. The Forest Service is working to correct
the problems, though some groups are suing.
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
"Russian Court Rebuffs Expose On Atom Waste." New York Times, 5
February 99, A12.
The highest Russian court will not drop treason charges
against Aleksandr Nikitin, a retired northern fleet captain
who documented the fleet's disposal of nuclear pollution and
was arrested three years ago. The Russian Federal Security
Service claims he revealed state secrets. The case will be
further investigated. Nuclear waste issues are not,
according to this article, a comfortable topic for Russians.
EDITORIAL AND COMMENTARY
"Why Are Fewer Boys Being Born? [Letters to the Editor]." Wall
Street Journal, 5 February 99, A15.
Devra Lee Davis, Ph.D., Director, Health, Environment and
Development Program, World Resources Institute, also
identified as previously having served as a scholar in
residence at the National Research Council of the National
Academy of Sciences, writes in response to Michael Fumento's
Jan. 21 editorial page column "Medical Journals Give New
Meaning to Political Science.'" She begins by explaining
why her and her colleagues' April 1998 JAMA study on male
reproductive health chose 1970 as the beginning point for
their analysis, then continues by reporting some of their
findings. She describes some of the still unanswered
questions about the role of the environment and other
factors, including problems with scientific methodology and
the decisions that are made when conducting studies. She
concludes: "The issues raised by our research and similar
studies in other countries constitute serious matters that
can be resolved only by further scientific research and
assessment. The continued health of the species depends on
our ability to produce healthy children, when and if we
choose to do so. Anything that indicates disruption of
reproductive function should be treated as `a matter of
grave importance for public health,' as we wrote in our JAMA
article."
"A Diagnosis, Then a Never-Ending Search [Op-Ed]. New York
Times, 5 February 99, A27.
Polly Morrice, a parent of an autistic child who is writing
a book on autism, comments on the recent news that there
might be an autism disease cluster in Brick, New Jersey.
She describes the theories of the cause of autism over the
years, noting that now "scientists accept that autism is a
disorder of the brain. The evidence is solid that it has a
strong genetic component and that some unidentified trigger--
perhaps a prenatal virus--turns a predisposition toward the
condition into a full-blown case." She concludes with
noting that she recently ran into a former neighbor with who
she had lost touch: "...but here we were, meeting by chance
at our boys' school: a private preschool for children with
autistic-spectrum disorders. We looked at each other and
the light bulb went off. It couldn't be coincidence. There
must have been something in the water."
ACROSS THE USA, from USA Today
"Chapel Hill, North Carolina [Across the USA]." USA Today, 4
February 99, 12A.
Carolina Power & Light Company has been faulted by
environmental groups for being unwilling to reply to
questions regarding its plans for the Wake County plant and
the storage of high-level nuclear waste at the site. It
will hold an "open house" on Thursday to answer these
questions.
CAR CORNER
"Energy Pak Times Firing of Spark Plugs in Nanoseconds [Drive,
She Said]." Washington Times, 5 February 99, E6.
Columnist Denise McCluggage profiles the Energy Pak, a new
computer ignition system that improves performance and gas
mileage and reduces emissions by delivering the proper spark
to the cylinder, based on the variables in the engine
environment such as the condition of the plug, the
temperature, and changes in fuel mixture. The Energy Pak
was designed by Chris Jacobs, who also holds patents for the
invention of the variable pacemaker for hearts.
"Several Mid-Atlantic States to Begin Inspections of Trucks
Hauling Trash. Officials Fear Hazards Are Growing on Area
Highways." Washington Post, 5 February 99, B2.
Law enforcement officials in several mid-Atlantic states and
the District of Columbia will begin inspecting trash-hauling
trucks to determine if they are overweight, improperly
maintained, or operated by drivers who have been driving for
too long. In Virginia and other states, environmental
officials will inspect the trash as it arrives at landfills
to see if the trucks are carrying medical waste or other
hazardous material.
LIVING IN THE INFORMATION AGE
"Rumornet [Commentary]." Washington Post, 5 February 99, A33.
Columnist William Raspberry discusses how the Internet has
replaced the neighborhood barbershop as the preferred
mechanism for passing unsubstantiated rumors. He concludes:
"Even now, I wonder why I'm bothering to pass along the
Hilfiger nonsense. Maybe it's just to remind people that
joining the Information Age doesn't require that they take
leave of their senses. The implausible and unsubstantiated
is no more plausible or trustworthy for having arrived via
e-mail instead of at the barbershop. As a friend once told
me, saying you learned it from the Internet provides about
as much authentication as saying you heard it on the
telephone."
TOXIC MOVIES
"A Civil Action': Views from 2 Who Were There." USA Today 4 February 99,
15A.
The movie tells of the correspondence between contaminated
drinking water and the health of children living in the community,
an incidence which has occurred in communities other than
Woburn, Mass. These other communities include Storrs, Conn.;
Bellingham, Washington; and Toms River.
INTER ALIA
"An Arctic Meal: Seal Meat, Corn Chips and PCB's." New York
Times, 5 February 99, A4.
Drifting north from all around the world, pesticides like
DDT and industrial compounds like PCB's collect and
contaminate the Arctic food chain. Scientists, however,
have not advised a change in traditional Inuit diet as there
are few alternatives other than non-perishable foods, mostly
unsubstantial and less nourishing, from the south.
Currently, Olivier Receveur, a professor of dietetics and
human nutrition at the Center for Indigenous Peoples
Nutrition and Environment at McGill University in Montreal,
is studying the Inuits' intake of pollutants via their
natural diet. The study is expected to reveal that the
benefits of the Inuits' traditional diet outweigh any risks
posed to it or that the contaminants do indeed pose a health
risk.
* All items, unless indicated otherwise, are available at the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxics Substances (OPPTS)
Chemical Library
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Washington, D.C. 20460
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*Viewpoints expressed in the above articles do not necessarily
reflect EPA policy. Mention of products does not indicate
endorsement.*
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