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PtTBrogifra Status
Matfongl Action Plans I
Organization of fteport'-.
Chapter 1;
Chapter 2; &«t-<:®»f»iisfa»ttts fer Pfteity PBT ChemScmls
Dloxlns/Furans
PCBs
Chapter 3: fcttiratiitg £BT Effcrls at EPft
Chapter 4; fifeassartjuf the Pwg ress ef the PBT Progrirti
Appendix A;,
2 •
17
20
23
25
2?
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» In continuing its mission of protecting human health and the environ-
ment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the Persistent,
Bioaccurnulative, and Toxic (PBT) pollutants Program in November 1998.The PBT
Program is an integrated approach addressing widespread problems associated
with toxic pollutants that persist and bioaccumulate in the environment.This 2000
PBT Program Accomplishments report demonstrates the Agency's PBT commit-
ment by summarizing accomplishments made during the year 2000 to reduce the
use and release of PBT pollutants while ensuring their proper disposal.
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ealth and environmental concerns. PBTs are par-
ticularly difficult to address because of their ability to transfer
rather easily among air, bodies of water, and areas of land. Once
ingested by fish, birds, or mammals, many of these substances
bioaccumulate and lead to body burdens well in excess of the
ambient levels found in the environment. With frequent expo-
sure over time, the amount of PBTs in an organism's tissue can
build up and cause toxic effects. Human exposure to PBTs usu-
ally results from eating contaminated food. Once PBTs enter the
human body, they can cause various adverse health effects,
such as damage to the nervous and reproductive systems, and
may lead to developmental problems and cancer.The type of
effect and likelihood of these occurrences is attributed to the
dose levels and toxic properties of the PBT pollutant. Young
children and developing fetuses are especially at risk.
Most PBT releases occur in industrialized nations. However,
these chemicals are reaching the Arctic via long-range trans-
port. PBT levels in the Arctic region present a difficult prob-
lem because PBTs can persist longer there as a result of lower
temperatures. Scientists expect levels of PBTs to rise in the
Arctic, due to increased industrialization of that region and
southeast Asia.'
antes. It requires a holistic and integrated approach, using
every Agency tool available—regulatory, compliance assis-
tance, enforcement, research, voluntary actions, and interna-
tional negotiations. Since its inception in 1998, the PBT
Program has been committed to a process that will develop
this perspective and an integrated approach. During its first
year, it launched several initiatives, some of which have yet to
produce formal quantified results'. In 2000, EPA raised the PBT
Initiative to program status and featured it as a key cross-
agency program in EPA's strategic plan.
Is (see Table 1). For each, the Agency is outlining a plan
of action to reduce risks to human health and the environ-
ment. These priority actions and supporting assessments are
embodied in reports called national action plans.These plans
are being developed and reviewed through an Agency-wide
process and are consistent with international efforts involving
Canada, Mexico, and the United Nations. During 2000, EPA
developed draft
'Bard, S.M. (1999). Global Transport of Anthropogenic Contaminants and the Consequences for the Arctic
Marine Ecosystem. Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 38 (5), 356-379.
2For more information about past accomplishments, read or download the Agency's first annual edition,
entitled, EPA's Agency-wide Multimedia Persistent Bioaccumulatiwe, and Toxic Pollutants Initiative: 1999
Accomplishments Report on the Internet at: www.epa.gov/pbt/accomp99.htm.
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Tablet, Priority LeveM IPWs
Aldrin/Dieictrfn ;
;
BenzofaJPyrene
Gtfnpliechlor fT
Mercury and
Compounds
Biphenyis
national action plans for alkyl-lead, a
group of pesticides, hexachlorobenzene,
and octachlorostyrene and requested
comment on them from interested stake-
holders and the public.The Agency also
developed a comprehensive draft nation-
al action plan for mercury, which under-
went public review in 1999.
The actions outlined in these national
action plans are guiding the PBT
Program. Moreover, at the request of
Agency's senior managers, specific tasks
associated with mercury, dioxins/furans,
and PCBs are being given priority along
with two cross-cutting efforts—monitor-
ing and risk communication and out-
reach. It is for this reason that most of the
accomplishments in this report are
focused on these primary areas.
EPA organized this 2000 accomplishments
report around its four primary goals:
PBTs into the marketplace. Chapter 1
examines preventive measures taken
by EPA and industry partners to curtail
the introduction of new PBTs into the
marketplace.
ment. Chapter 2 describes accomplish-
ments in 2000 on certain Priority
Level-1 PBTs—namely, mercury, diox-
ins/furans, and PCBs.
air, water, and Band. Chapter 3
explores steps taken by the Agency to
develop an integrated approach
toward addressing multiple PBT pollu-
tants.
• Assessing PBTs long-term effect ©si
the environment. Chapter 4 describes
the Agency's efforts to monitor PBTs in
the environment and measure their
effects on human health.
The appendices provide additional
resources, contact information, and an
overview of future PBT Program activities.
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» EPA is strongly committed to preventing PBTs from entering the environment.Therefore, one
of the first steps the Agency took under the PBT Program was to exercise its authority under the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA)3 and issue a policy to strengthen the process by which it screens new
chemicals intended for industrial markets. EPA also took the first steps to establish a similar policy for
pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Finally, EPA developed a
too! for use by manufacturers called the PBT Profiler. While the pesticide policy continues to be devel-
oped, the other two efforts have yielded outcomes in 2000.
s. Under TSCA, chemical manufacturers are required by law
to submit notifications called pre-manufacture notifications or PMNs to EPA for new chemicals they are
planning to domestically manufacture or import on an industrial scale4. Using a sophisticated set of
computer tools and scientific data, EPA evaluates a chemical's characteristics to ascertain whether it
3In November 1999, EPA issued a policy statement under TSCA establishing a category for new persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) substances.
These notices are authorized under the authority of Section 5 of TSCA.
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might pose an unreasonable risk to human health or the
environment.The new PBT policy establishes a special
screen that isolates PMNs that possess PBT characteristics.
These are then given special review. Based on these
reviews, the Agency can stop the production of these
chemicals until their prospective manufacturers can prove
that they will not pose an unreasonable risk if released into
the environment.
In 2000, EPA received 1,650 PMNs. Of these, EPA identified 53
notices with potential PBT characteristics, warranting further
review. Upon closer scrutiny, seven PMNs were dropped
from further review because EPA decided that they did not
actually meet the PBT criteria. Production was banned for 11
PMiM substances pending testing to refute any PBT concerns.
Thirty-five PMN substances were allowed to be manufac-
tured commercially but were specially regulated to control
for their releases to the environment.
The PBT Profiler. During the year 2000, EPA beta tested a
new tool designed to put into the hands of chemical man-
ufacturers the very tools that EPA uses in its PMN Program.
This PBT Profiler is being developed as an online screening
method that provides, at no cost to the user, estimates of
whether a particular chemical possesses PBT characteris-
tics. It is useful for evaluating the marketability of a "hypo-
thetical" chemical when chemical-specific data are lacking.
The goals of the PBT Profiler include (1) providing industry
with risk-related information not previously available; (2)
helping to inform their decision-making; and (3) promot-
ing the design, development, and application of chemicals
and processes that are safer for the environment.
The PBT Profiler uses established screening models to esti-
mate PBT characteristics based on chemical structure and
physical and chemical properties.lt predicts environmental
persistence, bioconcentration potential, chronic toxicity in
fish, characteristic travel distance, and half-life time spans
in different environmental media.The model also com-
pares these PBT predictions to EPA's regulatory criteria for
PBT- related action under TSCA's New Chemical or PMN
Program and under the Toxic Chemical Release Inventory
(TRI) reporting thresholds.The PBT Profiler has successfully
passed the beta-testing phase (approximately 20 compa-
nies used the model more than 2,400 times).
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»In 2000, the PBT Program
focused much of its energy on the pri-
ority PBT pollutants mercury,
dioxins/furans,and PCBs.Each of these
PBT pollutants presents a unique set
of problems, and the Agency is using
all of its available tools—regulations,
compliance assistance, enforcement,
research, voluntary actions, and inter-
national negotiations—to solve them.
This chapter outlines key accomplish-
ments from actions taken on these
chemicals. It is important to note that
this report does not attempt to cap-
ture each and every accomplishment
made by the Agency and its regions
with regard to these PBT pollutants.
Reducing the risk to human health
and the environment from exposure
to mercury is one of EPA's most signifi-
cant challenges. Just a small amount
of mercury can contaminate an entire
lake, making the fish unfit for human
consumption and endangering near-
by wildlife (e.g., loons, eagles, osprey).
Furthermore, mercury released into
the air from power plants, motor vehi-
cles, incinerators, and other sources is
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transported through the atmosphere and eventually
deposited to land and water. When inorganic mercury enters
an aquatic ecosystem, bacteria convert it to rnethySmercury.
This organic-metallic compound is a very potent neurotoxin,
which is a chemical compound that can have an adverse
effect on the nervous system following exposure,This prob-
lem is made worse by the fact that there currently are limited
options for the management of mercury-containing wastes
and products. For example, the mercury that is collected
through waste reduction activities or stored in central stock-
piles is often simply recycled and returned to the market-
place. From the marketplace, the mercury will likely return
again to the environment, perpetuating the problem.
Another difficulty associated with mercury is its ability to
travel long distances and contaminate areas far removed
from the point of release. In fact, as much as 40 percent of
the mercury deposited in the United States comes from out-
side our borders.Thus, to fully address mercury contamina-
tion, EPA must not only work on reducing mercury generated
within the United States, but must also coordinate its efforts
with its international partners.Through the PBT Program and
the draft National Mercury Action Plan, EPA focuses its efforts
on the following areas:
• Arresting or slowing the movement of mercury in the
environment.
• Reducing the use and demand for mercury.
• Developing options for the disposal of wastes containing
mercury.
• Developing international partnerships to further reduce
mercury contamination.
• Communicating risks to lessen exposure.
Studies show that most of the mercury entering the environ-
ment is emitted to the air. EPA estimates that approximately
72 percent of these emissions originate from the following
six sources: the burning of coal; the burning of municipal
waste; the incineration of medical waste; the production of
chlorine, the operation of motor vehicles; and the burning of
hazardous waste. When mercury enters the air, it is not
destroyed or eliminated from the natural environment but is
merely converted into a vaporous form. Vapors of mercury
and mercury compounds can contaminate a body of water
by either settling directly onto the water's surface or by set-
tling onto nearby land that drains into the water. Also, some
forms of mercury are transported great distances before
being deposited into the water or onto the land. Chapter 4
describes EPA's efforts to quantify results of efforts to reduce
mercury and other PBT pollutants. In 2000, EPA accomplished
the following tasks to facilitate the reduction of mercury
released into the air, thereby protecting our nation's waters,
human health, and wildlife.
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from p@w@r plants* One of the more significant outcomes
for the Agency in 2000 was an announcement that it
would regulate air toxic emissions from coal- fired electric
utility plants—the largest source of mercury emissions in
America.This decision, published in the Federal Register
(65 FR 79825) on December 20,2000, was based on data
collected from utilities, existing and potential control tech-
nologies, results from the 1998 EPA Utility Air Toxics Study,
and subsequent studies5.
and water quality. Through a cooperative and vol-
untary effort, EPA's Air and Water programs are working
together with the states of Wisconsin and Florida to study
the relationship between mercury air emissions and water
quality. Under these pilot projects, air and water modeling
tools are being examined that could be used to support
Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for waters polluted
by atmospheric mercury. In early 2000, a draft modeling
report for the Florida pilot was prepared and underwent
peer review.The draft results demonstrate how to couple
an atmospheric deposition model with an aquatic cycling
model in order to predict the relationship between depo-
sition and mercury concentrations in fish. Preliminary
results indicated an almost linear relationship between
reductions in fish mercury concentrations and reductions
in mercury deposition.The draft report also describes
some of the data gaps and uncertainties that must be
considered when using this approach.
E¥OTgI@de§. EPA and the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) are collaborating on a
project to identify and evaluate the sources and transport
mechanisms that bring mercury into the Everglades.The
team is collecting meteorological data, measuring the
amount of mercury in the ambient atmosphere, and gen-
erating information on the dry deposition of mercury. EPA
and the Florida DEP are incorporating these data into two
biogeochemical models of atmospheric transport, deposi-
tion, and cycling of mercury in the Everglades. The first
model focused on south Florida and used the"TMDL-Pilot
modeling study/The second model incorporates dry dep-
osition algorithms in a mercury module being developed
as part of EPA Office of Research and Development
Models-3/Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality national-
scale modeling system.
l esmbustors and medical incinerators. EPA
promulgated emission control regulations, based on maxi-
mum achievable control technology (MACT) for small
Medical Waste Combustors (MWCs) in 2000.The same
measures were taken in 1995 for large MWCs and in 1997
sPlease see Appendix B.
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for large Medical Waste Incinerators (MWIs). EPA expects
that when the regulations are fully implemented, these
sources will emit at least 90 percent less mercury, and will
result in a more than 95 percent reduction in dioxin/furan
emissions. Facilities with MWIs have until September 2002
to comply, and facilities with small MWCs have until
December 2005. New MWC and MWI units are required to
comply as soon as they start operating.
the Bear River/Yuba River watershed.The effort is a 4-year
program of monitoring mercury and methyl mercury lev-
els in water, soil, amphibian, and fish tissue samples.
Francisco Bay environment. More than 62,000 inactive or
abandoned mines exist in Arizona, California, and Nevada.
These mines have released tens of millions of pounds of
mercury into western U.S. streams and rivers. Mercury
leaches out of sediments and tailings during heavy winter
and spring rains and flows downstream into rivers and
lakes.This problem is exacerbated by bacteria that live in
stream sediments and convert organic mercury into a
more water-soluble toxic compound called methylmer-
cury.Once converted into this more soluble form, mercury
spreads more rapidly through rain and runoff and is more
likely to be ingested or absorbed by organisms.
EPA's Regional office in San Francisco, after conducting
several studies to evaluate the effect of mercury on the
San Francisco Bay environment, has concluded that mer-
cury from abandoned mines is by far the biggest contribu-
tor to this water body. A major study of mercury
methylation and bioaccumulation is now under way for
the Bay-Delta area.The Agency is also participating in a
multi-agency effort led by the United States Geological
Survey (USGS) to characterize mercury contamination in
EPA and others have launched several projects to remove
mercury from industrial, commercial, and consumer process-
es, operations, and products. Several of these have been
directly supported through the PBT program, with state and
local governments playing a central role. EPA supports state
and local efforts by funding mercury reduction projects, pro-
viding information about mercury sources and reduction
opportunities, and coordinating joint efforts. Several of these
projects produced outcomes in 2000, including:
iron and stee§ mills. Three integrated steel mills in north-
west Indiana—Bethlehem Steel Burns Harbor, Ispat Inland
East Chicago, and U.S. Steel Gary—issued a mercury reduc-
tion plan outlining steps to reduce mercury use at their
facilities. A draft report, entitled A Guide to Mercury
Reduction in Industrial and Commercial Settings, summarizes
the mercury inventory for each facility.The production of
this report was part of a voluntary agreement among the
mills, the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management, EPA, and the Lake Michigan Forum6. As
reported in this inventory and reduction plan, the mills
identified approximately 1,000 pounds of mercury primarily
in liquid storage and industrial equipment7.They commit-
ted to and achieved a reduction in the amount of invento-
ried mercury in their possession by one-third by the end of
fPlease see Appendix B.
7Please see Appendix B.
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2000.The reduction occurred primarily through the gradual
phase-out and substitution of mercury-containing equip-
ment and collection of liquid mercury in storage. EPA hopes
this effort will encourage other mills to follow suit.
In 1996, the Chlorine Institute and a number of member
companies that operate mercury-cell chlor-alkali factories
announced a goal of voluntarily reducing industrial con-
sumption and air emissions of mercury by 50 percent
within a decade. In 2000, the industry achieved this goal.
The overall reduction in 2000 was nearly 51 percent. After
adjusting for shutdown facilities, the reduction in mercury
use by the other chlor-alkali industry is 44 percent com-
pared with the baseline of the early 1990s.
hospitals. EPA has collaborated with the American Hospital
Association, Health Care Without Harm, and most recently
the American Nurses Association to create a voluntary pro-
gram called Hospitals for a Healthy Environment or H2E. As
an H2E participant hospitals and health care facilities
pledge to eliminate mercury use by 2005 and reduce over-
all hospital waste by 50 percent by 2010. In 2000, H2E
received numerous pledges from hospitals in support of
the H2E goals. While the H2E program is still maturing, the
response to its principles and goals has been overwhelm-
ing. Several hospitals have already met the H2E goals.
Others are aggressively working to achieve them. For exam-
ple, Jacob! Medical Center in New York cut annual waste
management costs by 30 percent, and P2 efforts by Staten
Island University Hospital reduced waste management
costs by $500,000 per year. St. Barnabas Hospital in New
Jersey reduced waste volume by 65 percent and costs by 50
percent, and one medical center financed renovations of a
research lab with savings realized by reducing waste.
• "JVfe-ny begun P2 pregfrares H2£ \ •• "_ •
'
am"
.
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EPA is currently researching safer alternative options
for managing mercury wastes.This research seeks
technologies that will effectively lock mercury into a
solid matrix from which it can not easily escape (i.e.,
technologies that would "stabilize" mercury). It is a
collaborative effort shared by the EPA Office of Solid
Waste (OSW),the EPA Office of Research and
Development (ORD),and the Department of Energy
(DOE). EPA anticipates that this research will yield
data on alternative treatment technologies for
mercury-containing wastes and will also describe
the conditions under which the various treatment
process residues will remain stable in landfills. EPA
expects that some of these technologies will enable
the government to treat existing stockpiles of ele-
mental mercury, including those of the Department
of Defense (DoD) and those of chlor-aikali facilities
that have closed or switched away from the mercury
cell process. DoD is preparing an environmental
impact statement describing its plans for long-term
management of its mercury stockpile. It will be con-
sidering treatment technologies as a strategy for
managing this stockpile.
the environment, EPA knows that mercury per-
sists in the environment and can travel long dis-
tances. It is less sure what physical
transformations occur as mercury travels around
the globe. EPA, through its Science To Achieve
Results (STAR) grants program, is supporting
basic research on the complex chemical and
physical transformations of mercury as it moves
throughout the environment and across interna-
tional borders. In 1999, EPA awarded nine grants
totaling approximately $7 million to improve the
Agency's ability to trace mercury from its
entrance into the ecosystem to its accumulation
as methylmercury in fish tissue. In 2000, EPA
received status reports from grantees as they
began implementing their projects.
To address the global extent of the mercury prob-
lem, EPA conducted the following efforts in 2000
with its international partners:
North America. Canada, Mexico, and the United
States developed a North American Regional
Action Plan (NARAP) to collaborate on mercury
reduction throughout the North American conti-
nent. Phase II of NARAP, completed in June 2000,
identifies activities that address the reduction of
mercury use and release. Phase II of NARAP also
has provisions dealing with information
exchange, education, and data compatibility
among the participating countries. EPA repre-
sents the U.S. in this effort and is responsible for
implementing most of the actions. It is also
responsible for coordinating activities among
12
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other U.S. federal agencies.The actions identified in the
Mercury NARAP are consistent with those presented in the
draft National Mercury Action Plan.
Assessing the effects ©f mercury on the Arctic
Environment. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA),the Department of Energy (DOE),
and EPA collaborated on a project to collect ambient
measurements of different chemical forms of mercury in
the Arctic (Barrow, Alaska).The measurements will be part
of an international effort to characterize and understand
how mercury travels across geographic boundaries.The
effort will also focus on how mercury is deposited in the
Arctic and what happens to the mercury after it has been
deposited.
ting the trans-Pacific transport ©f mercury. EPA
is collecting measurements at Cheeka Peak, Washington,
to identify and evaluate the trans-Pacific transport of mer-
cury and other pollutants in air masses that originate in
Asia (e.g., forest fires in Indonesia). EPA will also soon begin
collecting similar measurements at a high-altitude site on
Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Besides helping with long-range
research on mercury transport, the measurements from
this study will serve as a global benchmark record for mer-
cury and will enhance EPA's understanding of the transfor-
mation of elemental mercury to reactive gaseous mercury.
To communicate mercury risks and lessen exposure, EPA con-
ducted the following activities in 2000:
s©ries. In 2000, mercury, PCBs, chlordane, dioxins, and DDT
were at least partially responsible for 99 percent of all fish
consumption advisories in the United States. As of
December 2000,41 states have established fish advisories
for mercury, and a total of 2,242 advisories in the United
States were at least in part due to mercury contamination
offish tissue. Thirteen states have issued advisories for all
lakes and/or rivers in their state, and another nine states
have statewide advisories for mercury in their coastal
waters. During 2000, EPA's Office of Water provided states
with technical assistance in the development of these
advisories. Raising awareness through the consumption
advisories is a necessary first step. Educating the public on
how to react to these advisories is equally important.To
this end, the Office of Water compiled all advisories across
the states and listed them on its Web site.The Office of
Water also developed brochures for distribution by physi-
cian's offices.These documents are available for viewing,
downloading, and printing from its Web site
.
Funding state outreach and communication efforts. In
2000, EPA supplied nearly $1 million in funds to state pro-
grams to reduce mercury consumption and educate the
public about its dangers. Projects included thermometer
exchanges, seminars for the health care industry, and gen-
eral public outreach and education efforts (e.g. exhibits,
brochures, newsletters, promotional materials).
Creating Web sites to relay information ©rs mercury. EPA
established a mercury Web site at
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as well as www.epa.gov/pbt> to educate the public about
mercury dangers.The mercury Web site includes fact sheets
on mercury, answers to frequently asked questions,
resources, and advice on what to do.The Agency's PBTWeb
site includes the draft National Mercury Action Plan.
waste management. Working with EPA, the University of
Vermont produced Our Waste, Our Responsibility, a 20-
minute video designed to increase awareness about the
dangers of mercury and impact of other hospital wastes
on the environment.The video, designed for hospital
administrators,facility managers, and employees, provides
pollution prevention solutions and illustrates how key
stakeholders are achieving success in this critical area.To
date, EPA and its partners have distributed hundreds of
copies of the tape.
Dioxins are a group of toxic substances that scientists collec-
tively refer to as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD or
dioxin). Closely related to dioxins are a family of substances
known as polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs orfurans).
Dioxins and furans have become ubiquitous in the environ-
ment, mainly due to human activities, and can pose various
short-term and long-term health risks to humans.Various forms
of combustion (ranging from energy production to backyard
trash burning) result in the formation and subsequent release
of these chemicals—primarily to the air. Once airborne, dioxins
and furans can be carried for long distances until they come to
rest on plants used as feed for livestock or in rivers and lakes
where they may contaminate fish. Humans are usually exposed
to dioxins and furans through food consumption, namely from
eating contaminated fish, meat, and dairy products.
During 2000, EPA worked on a scientific reassessment of
dioxin/furans. In support of this reassessment, the PBT Program
provided funding for the following research and pilot projects.
• Measuring airborne PBTs In Okiahoma City. In 2000,
EPA initiated a joint study, along with the Oklahoma
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ),to character-
ize the levels and distribution of dioxins, furans, and PCBs
in the ambient air of certain urban areas.The Agency col-
lected samples in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and has ana-
lyzed the first round of sampling data.
Oregon, EPA collects fate and transport information for
dioxins/furans though a network of monitoring stations
called the National Dioxin Air Monitoring Network
(NDAMN). In 2000, EPA expanded NDAMN by adding air
monitoring stations in Alaska and Oregon. NDAMN is
investigating the potential for long-range transport of
dioxins, furans, and dioxin-like PCBs from Asia to North
America. During 2000, NDAMN provided essential informa-
-------
tion that has helped EPA trace wind flow patterns from
the Asian continent
backyard barrel! burning. Implementation of EPA regula-
tions to control emissions from the combustion of munici-
pal and medical waste is expected to significantly reduce
dioxin emissions to the air. However, dioxin emissions still
occur from other incineration processes—one of the
largest is the burning of trash, especially in backyard bar-
rels. With grant assistance from EPA, Minnesota and
Wisconsin established a committee to educate residents
about the harmful effects of burning trash. In 1999, the
committee completed a survey evaluating whether people
knew that it was harmful to burn trash. More than a quar-
ter (27.5 percent) said they currently use a burn barrel or
other device to burn household garbage or other materi-
als. In 2000, the committee launched an advertising cam-
paign emphasizing the dangers that burning outdoor trash
pose to the air, water, and soil. Although it is too early to
measure the impact of this campaign, EPA hopes that posi-
tive developments made in these two states can be broad-
ened to other states where barrel burning is practiced.
Bay area. EPA's Regional office in San Francisco launched
a coordinated strategy for the San Francisco Bay, in
response to the listing of the Bay as impaired due to diox-
ins and PCBs under the Clean Water Act Section 303(d)
prograrn.This strategy includes: monitoring for dioxins in
Bay water, sediment, and commercially available fish;
ambient air monitoring; research into alternatives to incin-
eration at Superfund cleanup sites; pollution prevention
projects focusing on reducing medical waste sent for
incineration; grant support for community-based dioxins
pollution prevention projects; and a comprehensive out-
reach effort to engage stakeholders in addressing dioxin
issues in the Bay area. For more information, see
.
PCBs are a group of synthetic organic chemicals that were
manufactured in large quantities in the United States from
1929 until the ban of their manufacture in 1979.They were
widely used in electrical equipment, hydraulic fluids, and
heat-conducting fluids.They were also used in a variety of
consumer products. PCBs are also inadvertently generated as
a byproduct of certain combustion and chemical processes.
PCBs are very persistent in the environment, and can be
found in aquatic wildlife at concentrations a million times
greater than the concentration in the surrounding water.
Electrical transformers and capacitors are the primary source
of high-concentration PCBs.Through the 1997 Binational
Toxics Strategy with Canada, the United States committed to
a voluntary phasing out or decommissioning of 90 percent
of its PCB transformers and capacitors by 2006. PCB-contami-
nated sites and sediments probably account for the vast
majority of PCB contamination affecting the food chain and,
thus, human and wildlife exposure.
The following is a list of the PCB-related projects that the PBT
Program supported in 2000:
15
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raat® PCs-containing electrical equipment. EPA contin-
ued to work with General Motors, Daimler/Chrysler, and
Ford on phasing out PCB transformers. In 2000, General
Motors voluntarily eliminated PCB transformers at all of its
U.S. and Canadian facilities. Daimler/Chrysler eliminated
100 percent of its PCB transformers and 99 percent of its
PCB capacitors at ail of its facilities and plans to remove
the remaining PCB capacitors.
s. In 2000,
EPA's Regional office in Chicago and EPA's Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) jointly
developed a self-disclosure policy for companies that vol-
untarily agree to phase out their remaining PCB trans-
formers, capacitors, and voltage regulators within a set
time period. In November 2000, the regional office sent
Setters to 11 major electric utilities in the Great Lakes area,
seeking the utilities'voluntary commitments to decom-
mission their remaining PCB electrical equipment.The let-
ters also encourage the utilities to participate in the
self-disclosure policy.
Evaluating the Federal government's m® of PCBs. With
funding from the PBT Program, EPA's Regional office in
Chicago initiated a pilot project in 2000 to reduce the
amount of PCBs present in the electrical equipment
owned and operated by the federal government. During
2000, the project identified those federal facilities that
own electrical equipment with high concentrations of
PCBs (greater than 500 parts per million).The federal gov-
ernment is the single largest owner of PCB transformers8.
Approximately 62 federal facilities have a total of 2,215
PCB transformers registered nationally, or a little more
than 10 percent of the PCB transformers registered in the
country.The inventory also identified the primary agen-
cies registering PCB transformers.These agencies include:
the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Department of
Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DOE), and the
Department of Transportation (DOT).
Russian Federation. In October 2000, the United States
and the seven other nations bordering the Arctic complet-
ed work on the first phase of a U.S.-initiated project to
help the Russian Federation stop using PCBs.The project
involved developing the first-ever openly available inven-
tory of PCBs in Russia.This inventory includes production
sites and volumes, major uses, estimates of PCB wastes,
and estimates of PCB releases. Although the inventory was
not as comprehensive as originally intended (e.g., it did
not account for PCB production and use in the Russian
military sector), the inventory clearly shows the magni-
tude of the PCB management problems Russia faces.
Moreover, the inventory suggests that Russian PCB releas-
es could enter the Arctic environment and then reach the
United States and other nations via long-range transport.
16
"Please see Appendix B.
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» While EPA's PBT Program is focusing on priority
pollutants such as mercury, PCBs, and dioxins/furans, it recog-
nizes that rarely do point sources of pollution release these
chemicals alone. Most sources, especially those using combus-
tion processes, may be releasing multiple PBTs. Consequently,
as part of the PBT Program, the Agency continually looks for
ways to address clusters of PBTs, especially geographically or
within individual sectors. Examples of integrated efforts imple-
mented by EPA in 2000 include:
it. The Agency
has continually supported states, tribes, and local govern-
ment efforts to dispose of agricultural pesticides by devel-
oping collection and disposal programs, commonly known
as Clean Sweep programs.The Agency continues to supply
technical assistance, helping resolve regulatory issues and
barriers, while identifying options for financing Clean
Sweep programs, supporting program outreach, and facili-
tating the collection of pesticides from households and
urban businesses. From 1988 through 2000, Clean Sweep
programs have collected and disposed of more than 23.7
million pounds of old pesticides and ensured the proper
management and disposal of these materials.
thlwtfarte
Mercwy-**-
113,860-
that teve&eee
-and of flsBonw&fe frans tSSt ttwotffli; 2800* " :
**tWfe"«fen»tal sifl«tifry fe »t»«tet«3 some-pcsti-1
17
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Native Alaskans. In 1999, a partnership was formed
between the Alaskan Tribes, the Alaskan Native Marine
Mammal Commissions, the Alaska Sea Life Center, the
Manchester Laboratory, and the Office of Environmental
Assessment in EPA's Regional Office in Seattle.The pur-
pose of this partnership is to test and analyze the foods
that Native American's obtain from the wild in Alaska. In
2000, the PBT Program: (1) established a field sampling
protocol along with a field kit that helps tribes collect
samples; (2) trained Native Americans in sample collection
by teaching them to adhere to a tribally developed quality
assurance project plan, which was approved by EPA in
November of 2000; and (3) developed a prototype PBT
screening tool to help Alaskan Tribes predict (based on a
statistical model) the presence or absence of PBTs in
Herring gull eggs within Southeast, South Central and
Northwest Alaska. In December 2000, the program sent
herring gull eggs from 50 Alaskan tribes to two labs for an
analysis of the presence and distribution of selected PBTs:
one is a Fish and Wildlife laboratory for analyzing for met-
als; the other laboratory in British Columbia analyzes
selected organic chemicals.
Encouraging b©iS@r ©perat©rs to reduce PBT emissions.
EPA funding helped the Delta Institute and the Council of
Industrial Boiler Owners (CIBO) develop a voluntary pro-
gram to reduce emissions of PBTs in the Great Lakes
region. Non-utility boilers, internal combustion engines,
and gas-fired turbines producing thermal and/or electric
energy are the second-largest source of mercury, the fifth-
largest source of PCBs, and the seventh-largest source of
dioxins and furans. Nevertheless, these facilities are critical
to the industrial economy of the Great Lakes region, and it
is expected that they will play an even greater role in
meeting the demands of a deregulated energy market-
place. Although electric utility boilers produce a larger
quantity of toxic air pollutants than do industrial boilers,
industrial boilers may have a disproportionately large
impact on the local environments.The Delta Institute and
CIBO launched the voluntary program in March 2000.This
project targeted two types of facilities: boilers owned and
operated by public sector authorities and large industrial
facilities. In partnership with the state of Wisconsin, the
Delta Institute conducted two outreach meetings; created
a resource manual addressing significant issues raised by
initial project advisors; and compiled background materi-
als and resources into a workbook covering energy effi-
ciency options, incentive programs, pollutants of concern,
and tools and methods for quantifying the benefits of
energy efficiency. In November 2000, the Delta Institute
began auditing industrial boilers (in both the public and
private sector) and reporting findings, aggregated across
facilities.They asked audit participants to report on what
recommended energy efficiency methods and technolo-
gies they did or did not implement and why.The Delta
18
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institute will report on participant results, including actual
and potential PBT emissions reductions, including mercu-
ry, dioxins, and metals like cadmium.
Sampling PBT levels in the U.S. milk suppSy. In 2000,
EPA developed analytical methods for measuring trace
levels of various PBTs within milk.The Agency collected
milk samples from about 40 large dairy plants at locations
across the country to determine the levels of dioxins,
PCBs,and other PBTs in cow milk.These samples were col-
lected through a national network of monitoring locations
in 41 states representing roughly 20 percent of the U.S.
milk supply.
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» EPA measures the progress of the PBT program
through: (1) environmental health and human indicators; (2)
chemical release, waste generation, or use indicators; and (3)
programmatic output measures. In 2000, EPA made signifi-
cant improvements to the way PBTs are monitored and
measured.This chapter demonstrates how the Agency has
promoted a better understanding of PBTs in our environ-
ment by way of regulatory action, collaborative partnerships,
and through scientific research.
• During
2000, companies subject to Toxic Release Inventory
reporting began tracking pollutants to meet the statutory
criteria for persistence and bioaccumulation (64 FR
58666). EPA began requiring this tracking with the
October 29,1999, final rule that lowered the Toxic Release
Inventory (TRI) reporting thresholds for 18 chemicals and
chemical categories.The current PBT chemicals and their
reporting thresholds are listed in Table 3.
EPA also developed four guidance documents for the TRI
PBT chemicals.These document are available at the TRI
home page (http://www.epa.gov/tri/).These documents
are titled: 1) Dioxin and Dioxin-like Compounds Category; 2)
Mercury and Mercury Compounds; 3) Pesticides and Other
PBT Chemicals; 4) Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds.
(WHALES). Funding from the PBT Program contributed to
the generation of the fourth Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) NHANES data set in 1999.This data
set is the only source of national-scale information on mer-
cury levels in human tissue (blood and hair) sarnples.The
survey is the first national collection of baseline measure-
ments for mercury in humans.The NHANES data indicate
that approximately 10 percent of women of childbearing
age have blood mercury concentrations above the levels
EPA considers safe [i.e., levels above the EPA Reference dose
(RfD)]9. Children born of women with blood mercury levels
'The toxicity value for evaluating noncarcinogenic effects resulting from exposure.
20
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above the RfD are more likely to have lower IQs (e.g., under
70—a number generally associated with developmental
problems and poor school performance). Earlier estimates by
the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) showed that 60,000
newborns each year were at risk of suffering developmental
problems as a result of methyl mercury exposure. Based on the
NHANES 1999 data, the estimated number of newborns per
year at risk of developmental problems resulting from in utero
rnethylmercury exposure are now estimated to be close to
400,000}°
Funding from the PBT Program supported the Alaskan
Native Fetal Cord Blood Monitoring Program.This program
focuses on health of mothers and their children, paying
close attention to maternal and fetal exposure to chemically
contaminated foods during pregnancy. In 2000, the pro-
10Study results can be found in the March 2,2001, Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report.
rBenzo(j,k)fluorene and 3-methylcholanthrene were specifically added to the
PACs compound category.
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11
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gram set out to monitor selected heavy rnetals and
persistent organic pollutants (including lead, mercury,
PCBs,and others) in the umbilical cord blood and mater-
nal blood of Inupiat and Yupik women within two geo-
graphic regions.These two regions are associated with
the Arctic Slope Native Association and the Yukon-
Kuskokwim Health Corporation. Laboratory analysis of the
samples collected from these regions has been complet-
ed and the resultant data are currently being examined
by program investigators.
SMational Fish Contamination Tissue Study. A 4-year
National Fish Tissue Study began in 2000.The study is being
managed by EPA's Office of Water and is expected to pro-
duce a wealth of data about the largest group of PBT chemi-
cals studied in fish to date.The data set includes all of the
Level-1 PBT chemicals except alkyl-lead.The fish tissue study
is the first one to use a random sampling design on a
national level.The study's data will allow EPA to develop
national estimates of the mean levels of individual PBT
chemicals in fish tissue.The study addresses a critical data
gap—it defines background levels for PBT chemicals in fish.
The study will also characterize the prevalence of these
chemicals in fish on a national scale.To date, participating
states and EPA Regions have collected fish from 144 lakes in
40 states and have sent 290 fish samples for laboratory
examination.
22
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This is only a partial listing of available resources.The listing of non-EPA Web sites does not constitute an endorsement by EPA or its partners.
For up-to-date national information
on PBTs, visit EPA's Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) PBT
Program Web site.
Binational Toxics Strategy Mercury
Workgroup
EPA's Mercury Web Site
EPA's Mercury Research Strategy
Hospitals for a Healthy Environment
Enviro Web's Dioxin Home Page
National Center for Environmental
Assessment's Dioxin and Related
Compounds
One can find a wealth of information on EPA initiatives,
goals, regulatory activities, voluntary partnerships, and links
to technical materials and/or environmental/health effects
associated with PBTs.
This site provides an abundant resource of information
about the mercury workgroup and information on the
health and environmental effects of mercury.
This site provides background information, Agency actions
taken on mercury,fish advisory information, as well as down-
loadable research and technical materials.
The site provides a guide to EPA's Office of Research and
Development (ORD) mercury research program, addressing
immediate strategies, and goals covering EPA's fiscal year
2001 - 2005 time frame.
This site provides background information, initiatives, and
goals of EPA's cooperative effort with the American Hospital
Association (AHA) to eliminate mercury from medical waste.
This site offers a wide range of information from health to politi-
cal action dioxin Web sites.
This site from EPA's Office of Research and Development
(ORD) offers a full spectrum of information from frequently
asked questions about dioxins and similar compounds to
regulatory actions and initiatives.
www.epa.gov/pbt
www.epa.gov/Region5/air/
mercury/mercury.html
www.epa.gov/mercury
www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/
mercury
www.h2e-online.org
www.ejnet.org/dioxin
www.epa.gov/ncea/dioxin.htm
.23;.
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Bay Area Dioxins Project
This site provides updated information on the San Francisco
Bay area project; participating state, local, and regional
agency involvement; as well as other pertinent
information.
dioxin.abag.ca.gov
EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics (OPPT) PCB Home Page
This site offers a wide range of background and health-relat-
ed information on toxic pollutants, current regulatory activi-
ties, and guidance materials, as well as information for waste
handlers and Web links to other related Agency efforts.
www.epa.gov/oppt/pcb
Great Lakes Binational Strategy
Great Lakes National Program Office
Waste Minimization National Plan
EPA's Toxic Release Inventory Home
Page
National Fish and Wildlife
Contamination Program, EPA's Office
of Water
Washington State Department of
Ecology's Initiative on Bioaccumulative
Chemicals of Concern
This site details the various activities of EPA and Environment
Canada to eliminate PBTs from the Great Lakes region, as
well as the activities of representatives from the Great Lakes
states, the Province of Ontario, and other federal agencies
within Canada and United States.
www.epa.gov/glnpo/bns
This site provides extensive information on EPA's activities,
strategies, and long-term goals within the Great Lakes
region.
This site provides background information on how haz-
ardous wastes, namely PBTs can effectively be reduced at the
source using pollution prevention approaches.
This site provides extensive information on toxic chemicals
that are being used, manufactured, treated, transported, or
released into the environment by select industries across the
nation.
This site provides extensive information on fish advisories in
federal, state, and tribal areas; health information, and out-
reach materials on fish consumption related to mercury and
PBT contamination.
This site provides a wide range of information on
Washington state's PBT initiatives and goals.
www.epa.gov/glnpo
www.epa.gov/epaoswer/
hazwaste/minirnize
www.epa.gov/tri
www.epa.gov/ost/fish
www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/
pbt/pbt faq.html
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EPA's Agency-wide Multimedia Persistent,
Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Pollutants
initiative: 1999 Accomplishments Report
Regulating mercury emissions from power
plants
The iron and steel industry reduces mercury
use and releases
General
Educating consumers on the practice of bar-
rel burning
Monitoring dioxin contamination in the San
Francisco Bay area
General
More information about past
accomplishments.
www.epa.gov/pbt/accornp99.htm
Information on EPA's Utility Air Toxics Study. - www.epa.gov/mercury
: Chlorine Industry 4tn annual report to EPA.
Copy of the iron and steel industry draft
report.
Copy of the voluntary agreement reached
by the steel mills and the Department of
Management, EPA and the Lake Michigan
forum.
More general information.
Further information or a copy of the survey.
More information.
Reducing the federal government's use of
PCBs
More general information about PCBs.
More information on EPA's Transformers
Registration Database.
www.epa.gov/region5/air/mercury/
4thc I2report.html
Steve Skavroneck at
cranehousesp@msn.com
www.lkrnichiganforum.org/mercury/
me rcfinal.pdf
www.epa.gov/ncea/dioxin.htm
Joan Weyandt-Fulton at 218 722-3336, Ext.
334,orjoan.weyandt@wlssd.duluth.mn.us
Waste Management Division, EPA
San Francisco,415 744-2113
'_ www.epa.gov/opptintr/pbt
= www.epa.gov/opptintr/pcb/xform.htrn
25:
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Taking inventory of PCB sources in the
Russian Federation
Further information.
Removing pesticides from the environment ' More information about Clean Sweep pro-
] grams or to obtain information that the
Agency has compiled.
International Activities, Office of International
Environmental Policy, 202 564-6600
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics,
Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxics
Substances, 202 260-1866
Office of Pesticide Programs, 703 305-7090
Alaskan Native Fetal Cord Blood Monitoring ; Further information.
Program
National Fish Contamination Tissue Study ' Further information.
Office of International Environmental Policy,
202 564-6600
Standards and Health Protection Division,
Office of Science and Technology,
202 260-7301
26
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EPA and its partners will continue to use all available tools to prevent the introduction of new PBTs into the marketplace, reduce risks of
PBTs already in the environment, and stop the transfer of PBTs from one environmental medium to another. Future activities that build on
projects disclosed in this 2000 report include:
Completing a peer review of the PBT Profiler.
Developing a policy to strengthen the process the agency uses
to screen newly-developed pesticides prior to their production
and introduction to the marketplace.
Revising the methylmercury waste criterion facilitating the
development of more stringent effluent limitations.The new
criterion will reflect the most up-to-date practices in environ-
mental science and risk assessment.
Proposing hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions regulations
in 2003 and 2004 to further regulate mercury emissions from
power plants.
Continuing to work with iron and steel mills to demonstrate
reductions of mercury use and release. Participating facilities
committed to a reduction in the amount of inventoried mercu-
ry in their possession by an additional one-third by the end of
2004.Their ultimate goal is to achieve a 90 percent reduction
for the end of 2008.
Releasing findings on the relationship between mercury air
emissions and water quality. Florida will release a final model-
ing report in late 2001 .Wisconsin will release results from the
pilot project in 2002.
Continuing sampling airborne PBTs in Oklahoma City in 2001 to
characterize the levels and distribution of dioxins,furans, and
PCBs in the ambient air of certain urban areas.
Establishing two additional air monitoring stations in Alaska
and Oregon by the end of 2001 to further the investigation of
the potential for long-range transport of dioxins,furans, and
dioxin-like PCBs from Asia to North America.
Continuing to work with General Motors, Daimler/Chrysler, and
Ford on phasing out PCB-containing electrical equipment. Ford
expects to decommission 95 percent of the high-level PCBs it
uses in its electrical equipment worldwide by 2006. It expects
to decommission 100 percent of this material by 2010.
Expanding the PCB partnership with utilities to include addi-
tional facilities within the Great Lake region.The partnership
seeks voluntary commitments from utilities to decommission
their remaining PCB electrical equipment
Beginning a 2-year effort that will attempt to determine how to
replace PCBs and PCB-contaminated equipment still in use in
the Russian Federation.This effort will also seek new ways to
properly manage PCB wastes, destroy PCBs, and decontaminate
PCB-containing equipment.
Completing analysis and release results from the study of the
presence and distribution of selected PBTs in the herring gull
eggs from SO Alaskan tribes in 2001.
2T-
-------
Completing analysis of the levels of dioxins, PCBs, and other
PBTs in cow milk samples collected from about 40 large dairy
plants at locations across the country by the end of 2001.
Collecting reports from companies meeting threshold require-
ments for the 18 PBTs (due by July 1,2001). Analyze the reports
and make findings available in 2002.
Issuing a final rule pertaining to lead and lead compounds in
2001.This rule lowers the EPCRA Section 313 reporting thresh-
old for lead and lead compounds to 100 pounds (with certain
exceptions).
Including the Manillaq Association and the Aleutian/Pribilof
Island Association in the Alaskan Native Fetal Cord Blood
Monitoring Program.The program is scheduled to perform a
dietary survey and create data sets for each organic and heavy
metal pollutant that is a problem in Alaska.The program will
also search for significant associations between chemical expo-
sure and health outcomes. Program investigators will share
their data and results with their collaborators and with Alaskan
Native communities.
Completing analysis of the levels of individual PBT chemicals in
fish tissue in the first set offish samples from the National Fish
Contamination Tissue Study by summer 2001. During 2001, the
study participants are scheduled to sample up to 150 addition-
al lakes.The 4-year goal for the study is to sample a total of 500
lakes. Once the study is completed, the data will be made avail-
able to the public through EPA's Storage and Retrieval (STORET)
database system.
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This publication was developed by the crass-£PA PBT Plenary Group^nwfe up of experts from the following Agency
Program Offices; Office of Prevention., Pesticides, and Toxic Substances fchatt); Office of Afr and Radiation; Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance; Office of International Activities; Office of Research and Development;
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response; Office of Waters-Office of Pollcy,€c0nomic$,and Inntwation;the Great
Lakes ftrfltfemaTPragram Office; and- the-10 EPA Regions.The fey deci5ian~RwMng body of the PBT Program Is the
Mttltimedia Pollution Prevention (M2P2) Porurrtjinadeyp of Office Directors from afl Agency programs and Regions^
festero Research Grotp, Inc (EftG) provided technical editiUS «rtd graphic design support under EPA contract fiS-W-
-99-085 to produce this report.
Please direct any comments on this report to Mithele Veney at 20S 564-S8S7; veney.michete@epa.-gov.
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United States Environmental Protection Agency
(7409-M)
Washington DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
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