From: The Modesto Bee

The Republican-controlled House passed the first of two bills [last] Thursday to delay rules to cut toxic air pollution and mercury from cement plants, solid waste incinerators and industrial boilers.

The first bill, which the House passed by a 262-161 vote, would force the EPA to rewrite regulations designed to reduce pollution at about 150 cement plants nationwide. The measure also would extend by years the time that companies have to comply with the new regulations.

The House plans to vote Tuesday on legislation to force the EPA to revise regulations aimed at curbing hazardous pollution, including mercury, from industrial boilers. That legislation is also expected to pass.

The two bills, along with one passed last week by the House, postpone for years pollution controls on toxic mercury emissions from the nation’s three largest sources – coal-fired power plants, cement kilns, and industrial boilers. Mercury, a toxic metal, is a potent neurotoxin that can cause brain damage in children, even as they develop in the womb.

Click on the links for more information.

From the New York Post – Toys and toxicity; Beware of pet toys that contain dangerous chemicals:

…researchers at Michigan’s Ecology Center examined more than 400 pet products for hazardous chemicals, including lead, cadmium, mercury, bromine, chlorine (PVC) and arsenic… One-quarter of pet products tested…were found to have detectable levels of lead…There are currently no government standards for hazardous chemicals in pet products.

We will keep you informed if any regulatory changes result due to this study.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CPSC compliance, OSHA MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

From The Dallas Morning News:

A new Web site that rates consumer products on their toxic chemical content launched this month, providing information on goods ranging from automobiles and pet products to school supplies and women’s accessories. The HealthyStuff.org site lists more than 900 products….Ratings focus on levels of lead, cadmium, chlorine, arsenic, bromine and mercury in products….

Click on the links for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CPSCcompliance, OSHA MSDS authoring,MSDS authoring

Electronics Supply and Manufacturing on new regulations from Norway. The full article is an absolute must-read for anyone doing business in Norway; here are the hilights:

There are six hazardous substances that the electronics industry has been struggling to phase-out for a couple of years now: lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, and the flame retardants polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). This is per the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, which restricted the use of the substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) to certain maximum concentration values (MCV) in homogeneous material (0.01 % by weight for cadmium and 0.1% by weight for the other five substances).

Other jurisdictions followed or are following the European Community’s example, e.g. California (except for the flame retardants), Korea and China. Most recently, Norway created a proposal for new regulations restricting the use of not less than 18 substances in consumer goods…

Within the 18 restricted substances only two — lead and cadmium — are restricted under the EU RoHS directive. The 18 substances include:

• Brominated flame retardants : hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA)
• Chlorinated paraffins
• Arsenic (and arsenic compounds)
• Lead (and lead compounds)
• Cadmium (and cadmium compounds)
• Organic tin compounds: tributyltin compounds (TBT) and triphenyltin compounds
• Fragrance substances: musk ketone and musk xylene
• Perfluorinated compounds
• Surfactants: DTDMAC, DODMAC/DSDMAC and DHTDMAC
• Bisphenol
• Diethylhexylphtalate (DEHP)
• Pentachlorphenol
• Triclosan

More information is availabel in the full article.

A very short piece from Dubai: Mercury found in cosmetics:

Dubai inspectors have discovered high rates of mercury in skin-whitening and freckle creams that carry a ‘made in the US’ label, reports Emirates Today. The emirate began lab testing cosmetics two years ago because many general trading companies were selling the items. Officials are conducting an extensive search to confiscate the contaminated products.

Strangely, the article does not mention which products were found to have mercury in them. If there is a follow-up article, we will be sure to post it.

Might California Prop 65s warning on phthalates turn into a ban on phthalates in children’s toys?

A common chemical found in plastic ducks, teething rings and other soft, chewable baby toys would be banned in California under a bill before an Assembly committee this week.Legislation by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, would require that all toys or child care products sold for children under 3 be free of six types of phthalates, a chemical used to soften and smooth plastics.

“The vulnerability to toxins is most prevalent in childhood,” Ma said. “It could cause harm to babies, and we should do everything we can.”

Phthalates have been banned by the European Union and at least 14 other countries after studies found that the chemical mimics the hormone estrogen and could cause developmental problems. Those could include early puberty in girls, low sperm counts, genital defects and lower testosterone in boys…

California lists the chemical as a toxin under Proposition 65, a measure passed by voters in 1986 that requires businesses to post warnings about dangerous chemicals.

See the full article here: Bill would ban chemical from plastic baby toys.

Health Canada has a number of warnings for consumers which they’ve released recently:

Zhuifeng Tougu Wan – Traditional Chinese medicine (intended use unknown) that contains toxic levels of mercury.

Fufang LuHui Jiaonang – Traditional Chinese medicine (intended use unknown) that contains toxic levels of mercury.

Safi – Marketed as a blood purifier, but may also be marketed to treat skin conditions such as acne, boils, rashes, blemishes and hives. Contains toxic levels of arsenic.

Baike Wan – Marketed as an herbal product for relief of muscle and joint pain, but contains the prescription drugs piroxicam and frusemide, and the over-the-counter drug chlorpheniramine

Xin Yan Zi Pai Mei Zi Jiao Nang – Fat Rapid Loss Capsules are marketed as a weight loss product. The capsules are dark blue in colour and contained in silver and blue blister packs.

For more information: Health Canada.

A current court case in California is determining whether cans of tuna are required to have a Prop 65 warning on them:

Food industry and health groups nationwide are closely watching a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court that will reach a milestone Friday when a judge hears state attorneys claim that big canners are breaking the law by failing to tell consumers about mercury in tuna fish.

Not so, say lawyers for defendants StarKist, Chicken of the Sea and Bumble Bee. Their popular product makes a delicious and healthful sandwich, and doesn’t fall under the purview of Proposition 65, the initiative passed by voters 20 years ago to rid toxic substances in consumer products, food and water, they say.

The state sued in 2004 under Prop. 65 to force the tuna canners to warn of the risks of mercury, a potent neurotoxin. The companies already face penalties of $2,500 a day per violation dating back to June 2000, and the amount is growing every day as they refuse to warn, state attorneys say.

See the full article: San Francisco Chronicle.

An article on Food Nation USA about fish consumption and Prop 65 labeling:

“It is clear that Americans are experiencing mixed messages about whether or not they should include fish in their diets,” she added.

And the confusion has led to the industry increasingly coming under attack. Much of the recent pressure has occurred in California, where the state attorney general, Bill Lockyer took five grocery stores to court in a bid to get them to post warning labels on fish that may have levels of mercury in them. The lawsuit was filed under Proposition 65, the voter initiative that requires businesses to alert the public they are being exposed to dangerous chemicals.

See the full article: FoodNavigator USA.

The Associated Press reports on foreign products which do not meet U.S. labeling laws:

The poison arrived in a plastic bottle from India bearing a simple label in English and Hindi. “Useful in flu and bodyache,” it read. “Two tabs twice a day or as per physician’s advice.”

What it didn’t say was that the herbal medicine, on sale at a store in Queens, contained 2,190 times the amount of mercury considered safe by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

The tablets were among a variety of imported products seized by New York City health officials last year in immigrant-rich neighborhoods filled with exotic world goods — some of which make it onto shelves without being evaluated by safety agencies like the Food and Drug Administration.

See the full article: Boston.com.