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  1. Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
  2. Path: sparky!uunet!europa.asd.contel.com!darwin.sura.net!wupost!mont!pencil.cs.missouri.edu!rich
  3. From: Nigel.Allen@lambada.oit.unc.edu
  4. Subject: NRDC Criticizes Domenici Plan to Gut Drinking Water Protections
  5. Message-ID: <1992Sep3.021201.8286@mont.cs.missouri.edu>
  6. Followup-To: alt.activism.d
  7. Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
  8. Sender: news@mont.cs.missouri.edu
  9. Nntp-Posting-Host: pencil.cs.missouri.edu
  10. Organization: Echo Beach
  11. Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 02:12:01 GMT
  12. Approved: map@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
  13. Lines: 144
  14.  
  15. Here is a press release from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
  16.  
  17.  NRDC Criticizes Domenici Plan to Gut Drinking Water Protections
  18.  To: National Desk, Environment Writer
  19.  Contact Erik Olson or Sarah Silver of the Natural Resources Defense
  20.          Council, 202-783-7800
  21.  
  22.    WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A Senate proposal to
  23. curtail federal regulation of toxic pollutants in the U.S. drinking
  24. water supply could result in the exposure of more than 100 million
  25. Americans to numerous contaminants including PCBs, nitrates and
  26. cancer-causing pesticides, according to the Natural Resources Defense
  27. Council, a non-profit national environmental organization.
  28.    The proposal, by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and several Senate
  29. colleagues, is scheduled to be offered as an amendment to the
  30. Environmental Protection Agency's Appropriations bill on Tuesday,
  31. Sept. 8.
  32.    "This plan constitutes a giant step backward in our effort to
  33. provide safe drinking water for all Americans," said Erik Olson, NRDC
  34. senior attorney.  "When found in drinking water at levels above
  35. current standards, the chemicals affected by this proposal pose
  36. significant public health risks."
  37.    "The senator has taken a meat axe to a problem that requires a
  38. scalpel.  This proposal began as an effort to assist very small
  39. communities that found it hard to pay for the regulatory requirements
  40. of the Safe Drinking Water Act," Olson explained.  "A bad idea to
  41. exempt very small communities from some Safe Drinking Water Act rules
  42. became a terrible plan to eliminate dozens of rules for every U.S.
  43. public drinking water system."
  44.    NRDC supports the development of a funding mechanism to allow
  45. small communities to achieve the public health goals of the Safe
  46. Drinking Water Act without pinching their local budgets.
  47.    Domenici's proposal would place a moratorium on regulation of more
  48. than 50 chemicals with known and potential human health risks.  It
  49. would eliminate several regulations, on the books since the 1970s,
  50. for a number of dangerous chemicals.  While Domenici's proposal would
  51. allow EPA to re-regulate certain of these contaminants, this process
  52. likely would take many years.
  53.    Also, Domenici's proposal would erect roadblocks to EPA's
  54. regulation of other major toxic and radioactive chemicals, such as
  55. cancer-causing "disinfection by-products."  A recent study of actual
  56. human cancer cases concludes that about 10,700 cases of colon and
  57. rectal cancer per year may be linked to these chemicals in drinking
  58. water.
  59.   The following is a complete list of affected contaminants:
  60.  
  61.   DRINKING WATER CONTAMINANTS CURRENTLY REGULATED BY EPA SUBJECT TO
  62.                DOMENICI-BROWN-NICKLES BILL MORATORIUM
  63.  
  64.  Contaminant                  Potential Health Risk to Humans
  65.  -----------                  -------------------------------
  66.  Acrylamide                   Cancer, damage to nervous system
  67.  Alachlor                     Cancer
  68.  Antimony                     Decreased life span
  69.  Asbestos                     Tumors
  70.  Atrazine                     Reproductive and cardiac damage
  71.  Benzo-a-pyrene               Cancer
  72.  Beryllium                    Cancer, damage to tissues
  73.  Carbofuran                   Nervous and reproductive damage
  74.  Chlordane                    Cancer
  75.  Copper                       Stomach and intestinal distress;
  76.                               Wilson's disease
  77.  Cyanide                      Poisoning, tremors, convulsions,
  78.                               death
  79.  Dalapon                      Damage to kidneys
  80.  DBCP                         Cancer
  81.  Di (2-ethylhexyl) adipate    Damage to liver
  82.  Dichlorobenzene o-           Damage to lungs, liver, kidney,
  83.                               nervous system
  84.  Dichoroethylene              Damage to liver, circulatory, and
  85.   (cis-1,2-)                  nervous systems
  86.  Dichloroethylene             Damage to liver, circulatory, and
  87.   (trans-1,2-)                nervous systems
  88.  Dichloromethane              Cancer, damage to nervous system,
  89.                               heart, lungs
  90.  Dichloropropane              Cancer; liver, lungs, and kidney
  91.                               damage
  92.  Dinoseb                      Thyroid problems, degeneration of
  93.                               testes, others
  94.  Dioxin                       Cancer
  95.  Di (2-ethylhexyl)            Cancer; liver, kidney, and testicular
  96.   phthalate                   damage
  97.  Diquat                       Kidney and gastrointestinal problems/
  98.                               dehydration, cataracts
  99.  Endothall                    Damage to organs and reproductive
  100.                               system
  101.  Endrin                       Convulsions; tremors, ataxia, others
  102.  Epichlorohydrin              Cancer; liver, lungs, and kidney
  103.                               damage
  104.  Ethylbenzene                 Kidney, liver, and nervous system
  105.                               damage
  106.  Ethylene Dibromide           Cancer
  107.  Glyphosate                   Damage to reproductive system
  108.  Heptachlor                   Cancer
  109.  Heptachlor epoxide           Cancer
  110.  Hexachlorobenzene            Cancer; liver, kidney, and ovary
  111.                               damage
  112.  HEX (Hexachloro-
  113.   cyclopentadiene)            Damage to stomach and kidneys
  114.  Monochlorobenzene            Kidney, liver, and nervous system
  115.                               damage
  116.  Nickel                       Heart, liver, other damage
  117.  Oxamyl (vydate)              Decreased body weight
  118.  Pentachlorophenol            Cancer; liver and kidney damage
  119.  Picloram                     Damage to liver
  120.  Polychlorinated
  121.   byphenols (PCBs)            Cancer
  122.  Simazine                     Cancer; shortened life, blood
  123.                               problems
  124.  Styrene                      Liver and nervous system damage
  125.  Tetrachloroethylene          Cancer
  126.  Thallium                     Damage to liver, kidney, and brain
  127.  Toluene                      Lung, kidney, and nervous system
  128.                               damage
  129.  Trichlorobenzene             Convulsions, brain, liver, kidney,
  130.                               adrenal damage
  131.  richloroethane              Cancer; damage to liver, gastric,
  132.                               nervous, and circulatory systems
  133.  Xylene                       Liver, kidney, and nervous system
  134.                               damage
  135.  Barium                       Circulatory system damage*
  136.  Cadmium                      Kidney damage*
  137.  Chromium                     Damage to liver, kidneys, other
  138.                               systems*
  139.  Endrin                       Damage to nervous system and kidney*
  140.  Lead                         Central nervous system damage; highly
  141.                               toxic to infants and pregnant women*
  142.  Lindane                      Damage to liver, kidney, and nervous
  143.                               system*
  144.  Methoxychlor                 Nervous system, liver, and kidney
  145.                               damage*
  146.  Nitrate                      Methemoglobinemia ("Blue-baby
  147.                               syndrome")*
  148.  2, 4-D                       Liver, kidney, and nervous system
  149.                               damage*
  150.  Silvex                       Liver, kidney, and nervous system
  151.                               damage*
  152.  
  153.  * Regulation of these contaminants date to late 1970s.
  154.  
  155.  -30-
  156.  
  157.  
  158.  
  159.