Later this year the Environmental Protection Agency is going to set court-ordered
standards for mercury pollution from cement kilns.
(Source: LinguisticDemographer at Wikimedia Commons)
The Environmental Protection
Agency is late in setting standards
for some smokestack emissions. Lester
Graham reports:
Transcript
The Environmental Protection
Agency is late in setting standards
for some smokestack emissions. Lester
Graham reports:
Maybe you’ve never seen a cement kiln. That’s where limestone and other materials
are baked using coal to make cement, used in concrete.
Later this year the Environmental Protection Agency is going to set court-ordered
standards for mercury pollution from cement kilns.
“It’s about time, isn’t it? I mean, the standards were due more than ten years
ago.”
That’s Eric Scheaffer. He’s with the Environmental Integrity Project.
The EPA had relied on self-reported estimates on mercury pollution from the cement
kilns. Turns out, after the EPA actually checked a few of the kilns, a lot of those
mercury pollution estimates were a little low.
“They’re now saying about 23,000 pounds a year. And that’s double the
previous estimates from EPA. So, the numbers are growing.”
Most states have issued advisories about mercury contamination of fish. Mercury
can cause neurological and developmental problems with fetuses and young
children.
For The Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.
A study finds that companies can be environmentally friendly and still make a profit(Source: Man-ucommons at Wikimedia Commons)
Critics of environmental regulations
often say the restrictions are bad for a
company’s bottom line. But Rebecca Williams
reports a new study finds companies can find
ways to offset the costs:
Transcript
Critics of environmental regulations
often say the restrictions are bad for a
company’s bottom line. But Rebecca Williams
reports a new study finds companies can find
ways to offset the costs:
Researchers looked at more than 2,000 manufacturing plants in seven countries.
Nicole Darnell is an assistant professor at George Mason University and the
study’s author.
She says it’s true that the tougher the regulation, the more it tended to lower a
company’s profits. But she says some companies were able to break even.
“Those companies that are proactive and seek to do right by the environment
can offset or eliminate the cost of regulation and potentially get ahead of the
curve.”
Darnell says that’s still a pretty rare case. But she says some of the most
successful cases are companies that reduce energy and water use in their
manufacturing processes.
The Bush administration’s new fuel economy
standards mean more fuel efficient cars in the
future. But Lester Graham reports some
environmentalists say it would have been better
for the environment and the economy if the standards
would have required more fuel efficiency:
Transcript
The Bush administration’s new fuel economy
standards mean more fuel efficient cars in the
future. But Lester Graham reports some
environmentalists say it would have been better
for the environment and the economy if the standards
would have required more fuel efficiency:
The standards call for a fleet-wide average of close to 32 miles per gallon by the year 2015.
Environmentalists say the first three years of the five year plan calls for an increase of
one and a half miles per gallon each year. But the last two years only require about a
half a mile improvement each year.
Jim Kliesch is with the Union of Concerned Scientists
“The fact that those numbers
trail off very quickly is a canary in the coal mine that something is amiss in their cost-
benefit analysis.”
The government’s cost-benefit analysis weighs whether more expensive technology –
such as a hybrid drive train – is worth the effort: will it save that money in gasoline.
But
the government’s cost benefit analysis predicted gas prices by 2015 would be about
$2.25 – more than a dollar a gallon less than we’re already paying. Using those prices,
the analysis short-changes the advantages of fuel saving technology.
For The Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.
Produce section of a supermarket in VA.
(Photo by Ken Hammond, courtesy of USDA)
More companies are importing organic
products from China and other countries. But
contaminated pet food, tainted toothpaste,
and unauthorized antibiotics in fish have been
imported to the U.S. from China. Now, some people are
concerned about organic foods from China. Julie
Grant reports:
Transcript
More companies are importing organic
products from China and other countries. But
contaminated pet food, tainted toothpaste,
and unauthorized antibiotics in fish have been
imported to the U.S. from China. Now, some people are
concerned about organic foods from China. Julie
Grant reports:
When you see that round USDA organic seal on a carton of
milk, boxed foods, or bananas , it means that on some farm,
somewhere, something like this happened:
(farm inspection sound)
Inspector: “All righty. Anything under the box on the far
right.”
Farmer: “That’s the burnout. Which I haven’t used for 3 or 4
years.”
An inspector walks around looking at the greenhouse, the
barn and the fields, in the greenhouse, and in the barn. He
works for an agency that’s accredited by the USDA to certify
farms as organic. He’s making sure nothing is happening on
the farm that’s prohibited by the National Organic Standards.
But small farms like this one are no longer the norm in
organics. Organic products have become a big business all
around the world.
So people are wondering… who inspects those farms?
(store sound)
Sheila Rombach is a buyer for a small natural foods store.
Like a lot of people, she’s a little nervous about the safety of
food coming from China. Last year’s pet food scare and
poisonous toothpaste are still fresh in many people’s minds.
Rombach’s customers pay a premium for ‘organic’ foods.
She wonders how the USDA can certify that farms all the
way in China are following organic rules.
“I guess it crossed mind because of all the negative publicity
about things manufactured in China. I want to be sure that
the items grown under the organic label are truly organic.”
It’s such a concern that one large health food chain, Trader
Joe’s, is taking all Chinese imports off its shelves. Trader
Joe’s plans to have Chinese garlic, ginger, and all other
single-ingredient foods out of its 300 stores this spring.
But the U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains if it says
organic, it’s truly organic. Barbara Robinson is chief
administrator of the USDA’s National Organic Program. She
says foreign products go through the same process as those
grown here.
“So, if the product is coming from India, or the product is
coming from Australia, and you want to market in the United States – then
you need a certifying agent who is accredited by us.”
Robinson says all certifying agents accredited by the USDA
should be enforcing the same organic rules. If a product has
that little round seal, Robinson says consumers can trust it
meets the U.S.’s National Organic Standards.
But enforcing the rules isn’t always that easy. The USDA is
having difficulty making sure those rules are consistently
applied on U.S. farms. So how can the agency be so
confident about farms in other countries?
One expert on Chinese agriculture and politics says that’s a
good question. Paul Thiers is a political science professor at
Washington State University who’s been visiting farms in
China since the early 1990s.
“There is some difficulty, I think, in expecting people from
outside of China to really get far enough in and understand
what’s going on in political and economic conditions of rural
China.”
Thiers says many Chinese farms are run by the local
government. Others are run by private managers with
peasant farmers working the land.
“In some places, peasant farmers who were purported to be
part of organic production, who were on land that was
certified, couldn’t tell me what organic was, had no
conception of different production standards. And all they
said was, ‘we just sell our product to the government’.”
Thiers says at that time, five or ten years ago, farmers were
probably using chemicals, even though they were selling
food labeled organic.
Thiers expects that China’s organic farming practices are
improving, though. He says people in Chinese cities are becoming
concerned about food safety and want to buy organics. But
the USDA has to rely on organic certifiers in China. And with
the rapid growth of organic farms, no one is sure they’re
actually meeting U.S. standards.
Thiers says there is one consolation. At least organic farms
are inspected by someone. Conventional farms don’t get
those kinds of visits from inspectors.
The Smitten Kitten in Minneapolis is one of the adult toy retailers which has stopped selling certain kinds of toys because of questions about the chemicals used to make them. (Photo by Lester Graham)
Co-owner Jennifer Pritchett of the Smitten Kitten holds a jar of adult toys that are leaching phthalates and seem to be melting into each other. Pritchett is concerned about whether the chemicals can have an impact on human health. (Photo by Lester Graham)
The adult toy store Smitten Kitten stopped selling certain toys because the retailers are concerned about the chemicals used to make the toys. (Photo by Lester Graham)
(Listeners should be aware of the adult nature of this report. It includes
sexually explicit descriptions.)
Not everyone uses sex toys. But some people certainly do use them. The American
sex toy industry took-in more than one-and-a-half billion dollars in revenue
last year. But there are growing public health concerns about chemicals used
to manufacture some of the adult toys. No government agency regulates sex
toys because the adult toys are labeled as novelty items. “Novelty” means
these toys are not intended to actually be used. Kyle Norris reports some
retailers want the industry to stop using the potentially harmful materials in
the toys:
Transcript
(Readers should be aware of the adult nature of this report. It includes
sexually explicit descriptions.)
Not everyone uses sex toys. But some people certainly do use them. The American
sex toy industry took-in more than one-and-a-half billion dollars in revenue
last year. But there are growing public health concerns about chemicals used
to manufacture some of the adult toys. No government agency regulates sex
toys because the adult toys are labeled as novelty items. “Novelty” means
these toys are not intended to actually be used. Kyle Norris reports some
retailers want the industry to stop using the potentially harmful materials in
the toys:
(Readers should be aware of the adult nature of this report. It includes
sexually explicit descriptions.)
A couple of years ago, Jennifer Pritchett and Jessica Giordani opened up The
Smitten Kitten, a small sex-toy store. On the day that their first shipment of
adult toys arrived they excitedly gathered around. As they ripped open the
box, a noxious odor permeated the air. It was that new, vinyl shower-curtain
smell:
“And we saw these oil spots. That’s what it looked like oil seeping through
the cardboard boxes. We were a little concerned, obviously, and we opened
them up and each of the toys, almost down to every single one, was beading
some oil-like substance up on the toys, through the product packaging,
through the styrofoam peanuts, and then through the cardboard.”
The entire shipment of adult toys was ruined. Pritchett started asking around
to the folks she knew in the industry. Someone told her that the oils leaching
from the toys are called phthalates.
Cheaper-end sex toys are made with polyvinylchloride, or PVC. PVC is a
synthetic material used in tons of things like building materials, medical
appliances, everyday household items and children’s toys. And much like
the children’s toys, most of the cheaper adult toys are manufactured in
China. There are no regulations on the manufacture of the adult toys in
China, and no regulations on the imports of toys in the United States.
In order to make PVC softer and more flexible – which is a desired effect in
certain adult toys – plasticizers called phthalates are added. And a lot of
phthalates go into jelly toys to make them more jelly-like. In fact, the
leaching toys Jennifer Pritchett had ordered are actually called jelly toys. But
that very un-technical term did not sit well with Pritchett. She sent a few of
the best-selling toys on the market to an independent chemist. To see what
the adult toys were really made of.
For instance one of the most famous sex toys in the country is called “The
Rabbit.” Everybody knows about that. Sex and The City had a big episode
about the rabbit habit. Oprah Winfrey gave away one to every person in her
audience. They’re everywhere. And I sent that particular toy to a lab, and it
came back that 60% of the total weight of that toy, so 60% of the total
volume of material is a chemical called dioctyl phthalatem, which is a
known carcinogen and teratogen.
It turned out the rabbit toy was made with materials from a class of
chemicals that’s linked to cancer and birth defects. It’s not known whether
materials used in some adult toys are dangerous to human health or not.
Because no one is testing them on humans.
In 2006, the Danish Technological Institute did study the health risks of
chemicals in adult toys on lab animals. Researchers found that some
phthalates are harmful to mice and rats in large amounts. Pritchett says that
if the consumer public knew that the materials in their toys might be a risk,
they probably would not use them. She says that the big picture here is about
a lot of things. And one of those things is a culture’s discomfort with
sexuality:
“It’s about a regulatory system that can’t even say the words ‘adult toys’ let
alone regulate it like they do children’s toys. It’s about a market structure
where people can make thousands of percent profit on cheaply made toys
and nobody’s going to do anything about it.”
There’s a lot of money in sex toys. Carol Queen is the staff sexologist at
Good Vibrations, a well-established California sex store. She says that
people have worried about phthalates in the toys that children suck on, like
pacifiers. In fact in Europe, children’s toys with dioctyl phthalate and other
kinds of phthalates have been banned. Once people started worrying about
children’s toys, they soon started to wonder about adult toys.
“In terms of the dildos and the insertable vibrators, at the very least, those
things are going to and on the mucosa, and if somebody’s having fun it’s
staying there for a little while. There’s friction, there’s the possibility of
leaching. And all of those things are potentially correct. The problem with
the discourse is that so far no one has had the opportunity to truly understand
what the implications health wise and otherwise might be for these materials
on human body. Because people don’t test sex toys.”
The big concern here is that sex toys directly touch mucous membranes. And
this contact is not buffered by any layer of skin. So the materials used in an
adult toy can potentially more easily be absorbed into the body.
For this report, I contacted more than twenty medical and health
professionals. They were the heads of research universities that specialize in
sexual studies. Or OB-GYN doctors, or the directors of sexual health clinics.
None of these health professionals were willing to be interviewed about
what can happen to someone’s body when they use adult toys made out of
potentially hazardous materials. They just don’t have the information about
it. Although when I spoke with them, the majority of those health
professionals were curious to hear this report.
We finally spoke with Dr. Susan Ernst. She’s the director of the Gynecology
Clinic at the University of Michigan’s student health services. She confirmed
that this topic is not on the radar for many health professionals:
“It hadn’t come up as a topic with patients. It hadn’t come up in any of the
medical conferences that I had attended. It hadn’t come up in the medical
journals that I have read. So I am embarrassed to say it came up through the
lay press bringing it up as an important issue.”
Dr. Ernst says that if a patient is using an adult toy that is potentially
dangerous, then health care professionals need to be knowledgeable about
this topic.
Jennifer Pritchett of Smitten Kitten says friends sometimes mention rashes
or burning they experience when using adult toys. They’ve been to the
doctor. But physicians often wrongly assume that it’s an STD or a toy that’s
not been cleaned properly. And the problem doesn’t go away.
The doctors don’t think about a connection between the chemicals used to
make the toys and how they might affect the body.
Pritchett says when she mentions that possible connection to a friend, she
can see a light-bulb go on over their head. Now that’s speculation of course,
but she thinks people need to put all of the pieces of the sex-toy puzzle
together. That’s why she stopped selling the jelly toys that were leaching
phthalates:
“We have to say we know the chemicals in these toys are dangerous. We
know they’re dangerous in other respects. We know if children put these in
their mouths, it’s dangerous. I think we’re going to have to extrapolate and
say well if adults put these in mouths or other parts of their body it’s also
dangerous. We’re just going to have to make a little leap there. But the
industry who is invested in keeping toxic toys on the market hides behind
that. They hide behind the novelty use only. The ‘nobody’s proven that this
specific toy causes cancer.’ I think it’s a cheap argument and I hope it doesn’t
stand up for too long.”
Pritchett says it’s not as if people are only buying adult toys as gag gifts. But
because the toys are so controversial, nobody expects the government to test
the safety of them anytime soon. But people are starting to talk about the
issue. A few months ago an adult toy trade magazine did a cover story called
“Attack of the Phthalates.” And one of the biggest adult toy retailers recently
announced it was phasing-out products that contain phthalates. Because
more people who use these toys are becoming concerned about whether
they’re putting themselves at risk.
A federal judge has upheld the constitutionality of a state law restricting ballast water on
ships entering the Great Lakes. As Rachel Lippmann reports, the ruling clears the way
for other states to take similar action to control the spread of invasive species:
Transcript
A federal judge has upheld the constitutionality of a state law restricting ballast water on
ships entering the Great Lakes. As Rachel Lippmann reports, the ruling clears the way
for other states to take similar action to control the spread of invasive species:
The Michigan law requires ocean-going ships that want to exchange ballast water while
in Michigan ports to clean that water before discharging it into the Great Lakes. The
court rejected arguments from shipping companies that Michigan’s action violated the
Interstate Commerce Clause.
Cameron Davis is the president of the Great Lakes Alliance, which joined the state of
Michigan in the lawsuit. He says the ruling makes it clear states have the right to adopt
their own environmental protections:
“We’re really challenging the other states to quit sitting on the sidelines and start to move
ahead with their own invasive species protections.”
Ohio lawmakers have just proposed similar ballast water law. The bill would also require
Ohio to work with the seven other Great Lakes states and Ontario to develop region-wide
regulations.
Critics say the US Environmental Protection Agency caved in to pressure from the White House and the cement industry in formulating a new mercury emissions rule. Tracy Samilton reports the rule will let old plants pollute as much as ever:
Transcript
Critics say the US Environmental Protection Agency caved in to pressure from the White House and the cement industry in formulating a new mercury emissions rule. Tracy Samilton reports the rule will let old plants pollute as much as ever:
Mercury is a deadly toxin that can cause birth defects and other health hazards. The new rule restricts mercury emissions on new or updated cement plants. But old plants don’t have to clean up their mercury emissions.
Bill Freese lives near an older cement plant that has been emitting ten times more mercury than it was disclosing to regulators. Freese says he’s disgusted by the EPA’s decision. He’s also none too happy that the plant, which advertises its friendliness to the environment, hasn’t voluntarily reduced the emissions.
“They just refuse to do it because they’d rather not spend the money. As long as they can continue doing what they’re doing, why spend money to clean things up? And they call themselves stewards of our environment.”
Cement industry officials say mercury scrubbing technologies would cost too much, but promise voluntary reforms of some kind in the future.
U.S companies are responding to new regulations expected to go into effect in Europe soon. The European Union is considering strict new controls on chemicals. The GLRC’s Stephanie Hemphill reports:
Transcript
U.S. companies are responding to new regulations expected to go into
effect in Europe soon. The European Union is considering strict new
controls on chemicals. The GLRC’s Stephanie Hemphill reports:
The European government is considering legislation that would require
companies to provide detailed information on the chemical make-up of
all products. Not just new products, but existing products too.
Michael Wilson is a researcher at the Center for Occupational and
Environmental Health at the University of California Berkeley. He says
the new rules will prompt American companies to make healthier
products.
“Producers are not going to want to introduce a chemical into the EU that
could potentially fail to pass the authorization process. And so, already
they’re starting to think about alternatives to carcinogenic chemicals, for
example.”
The American Chemistry Council says the approach in the U.S, which
encourages voluntary actions on the part of industry, works fine.
Environmentalists disagree over whether new mining rules will do enough to protect the waters of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Linda Stephan reports:
Transcript
Environmentalists disagree over whether new mining rules will do
enough to protect the waters of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Linda Stephan reports:
A type of mining called deep-shaft sulfide mining is controversial. That’s
because it can cause sulfuric acid to get into the waterways.
Under new rules in Michigan, companies that want to open mines will
have to prove absolutely no toxins will escape the mine and pollute soil,
ground water, or surface waters. That’s even once the mine’s been shut
down.
Marvin Roberson is a Sierra Club representative who helped shape the
regulations.
“That’s an extremely high standard. The fact of the matter is, I think it’s
going to be very, very difficult for most applicants to meet the standards
that are set in this, and those that do will be pretty clearly opening
facilities that won’t be causing environmental harm.”
But an attorney for the National Wildlife Federation says there are some
areas where erosion, landslides, or water pollution can’t be prevented,
and the new rules don’t restrict where a mine can be built.
Port officials are wary about new state regulations intended to keep invasive species out of the Great Lakes. Several states are working on laws that would tighten restrictions on ballast water in foreign ships. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bob Kelleher reports:
Transcript
Port officials are wary about new state regulations intended to keep
invasive species out of the Great Lakes. Several states are working on
laws that would tighten restrictions on ballast water in foreign ships. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortiums Bob Kelleher reports:
Proponents hope to keep creatures like zebra mussels from getting
established in the Great Lakes. The non-native plants and animals arrive
in ship ballast water, carried from overseas ports.
Adolf Ojard is the Duluth Seaway Port Director. He says a state-by-state
approach to regulate ballast water is the wrong approach.
“We’re not the only area that is dealing with invasive species. Every
harbor and estuary around the world has a similar concern. It needs to be
dealt with on an international and world level, so that it can be a level
playing field for everybody out there that is involved in transportation.”
Michigan has passed new rules with stiff fines for ships with untreated
ballast water. Wisconsin and Indiana are expected to consider similar
rules; and Minnesota’s Attorney General says he’ll propose the
regulations this spring.
Later this year the Environmental Protection Agency is going to set court-ordered standards for mercury pollution from cement kilns. (Source: LinguisticDemographer at Wikimedia Commons)
