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- From: Nigel.Allen@lambada.oit.unc.edu
- Subject: NRDC Criticizes Domenici Plan to Gut Drinking Water Protections
- Message-ID: <1992Sep3.021201.8286@mont.cs.missouri.edu>
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- Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
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- Organization: Echo Beach
- Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 02:12:01 GMT
- Approved: map@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Lines: 144
-
- Here is a press release from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
-
- NRDC Criticizes Domenici Plan to Gut Drinking Water Protections
- To: National Desk, Environment Writer
- Contact Erik Olson or Sarah Silver of the Natural Resources Defense
- Council, 202-783-7800
-
- WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A Senate proposal to
- curtail federal regulation of toxic pollutants in the U.S. drinking
- water supply could result in the exposure of more than 100 million
- Americans to numerous contaminants including PCBs, nitrates and
- cancer-causing pesticides, according to the Natural Resources Defense
- Council, a non-profit national environmental organization.
- The proposal, by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and several Senate
- colleagues, is scheduled to be offered as an amendment to the
- Environmental Protection Agency's Appropriations bill on Tuesday,
- Sept. 8.
- "This plan constitutes a giant step backward in our effort to
- provide safe drinking water for all Americans," said Erik Olson, NRDC
- senior attorney. "When found in drinking water at levels above
- current standards, the chemicals affected by this proposal pose
- significant public health risks."
- "The senator has taken a meat axe to a problem that requires a
- scalpel. This proposal began as an effort to assist very small
- communities that found it hard to pay for the regulatory requirements
- of the Safe Drinking Water Act," Olson explained. "A bad idea to
- exempt very small communities from some Safe Drinking Water Act rules
- became a terrible plan to eliminate dozens of rules for every U.S.
- public drinking water system."
- NRDC supports the development of a funding mechanism to allow
- small communities to achieve the public health goals of the Safe
- Drinking Water Act without pinching their local budgets.
- Domenici's proposal would place a moratorium on regulation of more
- than 50 chemicals with known and potential human health risks. It
- would eliminate several regulations, on the books since the 1970s,
- for a number of dangerous chemicals. While Domenici's proposal would
- allow EPA to re-regulate certain of these contaminants, this process
- likely would take many years.
- Also, Domenici's proposal would erect roadblocks to EPA's
- regulation of other major toxic and radioactive chemicals, such as
- cancer-causing "disinfection by-products." A recent study of actual
- human cancer cases concludes that about 10,700 cases of colon and
- rectal cancer per year may be linked to these chemicals in drinking
- water.
- The following is a complete list of affected contaminants:
-
- DRINKING WATER CONTAMINANTS CURRENTLY REGULATED BY EPA SUBJECT TO
- DOMENICI-BROWN-NICKLES BILL MORATORIUM
-
- Contaminant Potential Health Risk to Humans
- ----------- -------------------------------
- Acrylamide Cancer, damage to nervous system
- Alachlor Cancer
- Antimony Decreased life span
- Asbestos Tumors
- Atrazine Reproductive and cardiac damage
- Benzo-a-pyrene Cancer
- Beryllium Cancer, damage to tissues
- Carbofuran Nervous and reproductive damage
- Chlordane Cancer
- Copper Stomach and intestinal distress;
- Wilson's disease
- Cyanide Poisoning, tremors, convulsions,
- death
- Dalapon Damage to kidneys
- DBCP Cancer
- Di (2-ethylhexyl) adipate Damage to liver
- Dichlorobenzene o- Damage to lungs, liver, kidney,
- nervous system
- Dichoroethylene Damage to liver, circulatory, and
- (cis-1,2-) nervous systems
- Dichloroethylene Damage to liver, circulatory, and
- (trans-1,2-) nervous systems
- Dichloromethane Cancer, damage to nervous system,
- heart, lungs
- Dichloropropane Cancer; liver, lungs, and kidney
- damage
- Dinoseb Thyroid problems, degeneration of
- testes, others
- Dioxin Cancer
- Di (2-ethylhexyl) Cancer; liver, kidney, and testicular
- phthalate damage
- Diquat Kidney and gastrointestinal problems/
- dehydration, cataracts
- Endothall Damage to organs and reproductive
- system
- Endrin Convulsions; tremors, ataxia, others
- Epichlorohydrin Cancer; liver, lungs, and kidney
- damage
- Ethylbenzene Kidney, liver, and nervous system
- damage
- Ethylene Dibromide Cancer
- Glyphosate Damage to reproductive system
- Heptachlor Cancer
- Heptachlor epoxide Cancer
- Hexachlorobenzene Cancer; liver, kidney, and ovary
- damage
- HEX (Hexachloro-
- cyclopentadiene) Damage to stomach and kidneys
- Monochlorobenzene Kidney, liver, and nervous system
- damage
- Nickel Heart, liver, other damage
- Oxamyl (vydate) Decreased body weight
- Pentachlorophenol Cancer; liver and kidney damage
- Picloram Damage to liver
- Polychlorinated
- byphenols (PCBs) Cancer
- Simazine Cancer; shortened life, blood
- problems
- Styrene Liver and nervous system damage
- Tetrachloroethylene Cancer
- Thallium Damage to liver, kidney, and brain
- Toluene Lung, kidney, and nervous system
- damage
- Trichlorobenzene Convulsions, brain, liver, kidney,
- adrenal damage
- richloroethane Cancer; damage to liver, gastric,
- nervous, and circulatory systems
- Xylene Liver, kidney, and nervous system
- damage
- Barium Circulatory system damage*
- Cadmium Kidney damage*
- Chromium Damage to liver, kidneys, other
- systems*
- Endrin Damage to nervous system and kidney*
- Lead Central nervous system damage; highly
- toxic to infants and pregnant women*
- Lindane Damage to liver, kidney, and nervous
- system*
- Methoxychlor Nervous system, liver, and kidney
- damage*
- Nitrate Methemoglobinemia ("Blue-baby
- syndrome")*
- 2, 4-D Liver, kidney, and nervous system
- damage*
- Silvex Liver, kidney, and nervous system
- damage*
-
- * Regulation of these contaminants date to late 1970s.
-
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