Florida Gov. DeSantis Prohibits Cities From Banning Sunscreens, Even Ones That Harm Coral
03 July
Politics
Sunscreen pollution is accelerating the demise of coral reefs globally by causing permanent DNA damage to coral. gonzalo martinez / iStock / Getty Images Plus
On July 29, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a controversial bill prohibiting local governments from banning certain types of sunscreens.
<p><a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/172" target="_blank">SB 172</a> responds to and reverses the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sunscreens-oxybenzone-ban-2628295489.html" target="_self">City of Key West's 2019 ban on the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate</a> to protect its <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coral-reefs" target="_self">coral reef</a>. The ban was set to take effect Jan. 1, 2021, but the new law strikes down that ban and prohibits similar ones.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://www.coris.noaa.gov/portals/florida.html" target="_blank">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)</a>, Key West sits on Florida's Reef Tract, the only barrier reef in the continental U.S. </p><p>Florida's multi-billion coastal economy "is highly tied to the coral reefs and dependent on their health," the <a href="https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/floridas-dying-reefs-could-kill-the-florida-keys-economy" target="_blank">Environmental and Energy Study Institute</a> found.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/reef-friendly-sunscreens-2634686426.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">Sunscreen pollution is accelerating the demise of coral reefs</a> globally by causing permanent DNA damage to coral, according to experts, reported <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sunscreens-oxybenzone-ban-2628295489.html" target="_self">ABC News</a>.</p><p>"(Coral reefs) provide billions of dollars in economic and environmental services, such as food, coastal protection, and tourism," said a <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html#:~:text=In%20a%202016%20study%2C%20a,against%20the%20sun's%20harmful%20effects." target="_blank">NOAA infographic article</a> about the harms of sunscreens. The infographic focuses on how sunscreen chemicals enter the ocean environment, the harm they cause to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life">marine life</a> including corals, fish, algae, etc. and alternative, reef-safe ways to stay protected from the sun.</p><p>Common <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals">chemicals</a> in sunscreens and cosmetics are "highly toxic" to marine life and "even very low concentrations" of oxybenzone and octinoxate accumulate in coral tissue, inducing bleaching, damaging coral DNA and deforming and killing young coral larvae, according to NOAA.</p>
<p>This harm to the next generation of reefs threatens the survival of corals generally <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coral-reefs-climate-crisis-predictions-2645201373.html" target="_self">at a time when reefs are already heavily imperiled</a>. <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html#:~:text=In%20a%202016%20study%2C%20a,against%20the%20sun's%20harmful%20effects." target="_blank">NOAA </a>called nontoxic sunscreen alternatives "critical" to protect reefs against "exacerbating effects posted by climate change and bleaching."</p><p>Oxybenzone and octinoxate also <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sunscreen-chemicals-bloodstream-2636509218.html" target="_self">disrupt the human endocrine system</a>.<br></p><p>Even while the new Florida bill was moving towards DeSantis' desk, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed most chemical sunscreens from its list of "safe and effective" products pending health studies, instead designating mineral-based sunscreens containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as "safe and effective, reported <a href="https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2020/06/30/desantis-signs-bill-prohibiting-florida-cities-from-banning-any-sunscreens-even-those-that-threaten-corals/" target="_blank">Florida Phoenix</a>.</p><p>Proponents of the bill, including many business interests, claim sunscreen is necessary to protect the residents and visitors to the sunshine state from skin cancer.</p>
<p>Senate Appropriations Chairman Rob Bradley spearheaded the bill, disputing the science claiming that sunscreens harm reefs. He argued that protecting tourists and residents from cancer trumps protecting coral reefs, reported Florida Phoenix and <a href="https://miami.cbslocal.com/2020/06/30/sunscreen-ban-in-florida/" target="_blank">CBS Miami</a>.</p><p>Those criticizing the bill call it the latest attack on local government home-rule authority as well as on coral reefs, reported <a href="https://www.startribune.com/florida-gov-chooses-side-in-sunscreen-debate-slather-away/571569782/?refresh=true" target="_blank">Star Tribune</a>.</p><p>Some have called the bill a "gross overreaction" to Key West's "measured and reasonable limitation" meant to protect their lucrative, important natural resource, reported <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-nsf-desantis-signs-sunscreen-ban-into-law-20200630-vjbksvzx5zh23kevo4d2nibvg4-story.html" target="_blank">Sun-Sentinel</a>.</p><p>"When it comes to protecting Florida's coral reefs, the Governor is standing with corporate interests, despite millions of taxpayer dollars spent on reef preservation and restoration," environmental groups said Tuesday in a joint press release, reported <a href="https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2020/06/30/desantis-signs-bill-prohibiting-florida-cities-from-banning-any-sunscreens-even-those-that-threaten-corals/" target="_blank">Florida Phoenix</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html#:~:text=In%20a%202016%20study%2C%20a,against%20the%20sun's%20harmful%20effects." target="_blank">NOAA</a> said that "although pollution is a major cause of coral reef degradation," it is also "the easiest factor to mitigate" because manufacturers and consumers can choose to create and purchase less harmful products. The only issue, NOAA found, was that regulation of the toxic chemicals in sunscreens "has largely been ignored."</p><p>DeSantis did not issue statements as his office Monday night released the new bill, reported <a href="https://miami.cbslocal.com/2020/06/30/sunscreen-ban-in-florida/" target="_blank">CBS Miami</a>.</p>
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Police officers wearing riot gear disperse demonstrators by shooting tear gas next to St. John's Episcopal Church outside of the White House on June 1, 2020 in Washington, DC. JOSE LUIS MAGANA / AFP via Getty Images
Police across the U.S. have used tear gas to disperse crowds assembling to protest the death of George Floyd and to decry police brutality, and infectious disease experts are urging them to stop.
<p>The chemical "riot agent," they warn, could cause coronavirus to spread more quickly.</p><p>Agent CS (2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile), or tear gas, was invented over a century ago and has been used for crowd control during civil unrest ever since, <a href="https://www.insider.com/tear-gas-banned-from-war-why-dangerous-how-to-neutralize-2020-6" target="_blank">Insider</a> reported. Tear gas has been banned during warfare by almost every country, but U.S. domestic law enforcement can still legally use it to control riots, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/06/fact-check-its-true-tear-gas-chemical-weapon-banned-war/3156448001/" target="_blank">USA Today</a> reported.</p>
<p>The chemical, which is actually a solid, white powder, dissolves into a "painful, acidic liquid" when mixed with water, sweat and oils in our skin, Insider noted.</p><p>At a minimum, it's an irritant to the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs and skin that can cause eyes to tear, runny nose, drooling, coughing, chest tightness and vomiting, effects that typically last 15 to 30 minutes, <a href="https://www.thestate.com/news/coronavirus/article243228086.html" target="_blank">The State</a> reported. If tear gas gets in the eyes, it can cause temporary blindness, and exposed skin can feel like it's burning, <a href="https://www.insider.com/tear-gas-banned-from-war-why-dangerous-how-to-neutralize-2020-6" target="_blank">Insider</a> reported. Heat and humidity intensify the pain.</p>
<p>These "excessive" bodily secretions, along with shouting at protests, mean more respiratory droplets are emitted, which <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/protestors-publich-health-coronavirus-covid-19-testing-2646141562.html" target="_self">increases the chance of coronavirus transmission</a>, said Dr. Payal Kohli, reported The State.</p><p>University of California at San Francisco infectious disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong told <a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/infectious-disease-specialists-call-for-an-end-to-tear-gas-during-covid-19-pandemic" target="_blank">KTVU Fox2</a>, "The acute effects are particularly salient when we think of COVID-19." When infected individuals are tear-gassed, they will cough more and increase risk of community-spread, he said. With healthy individuals, tear-gassing "makes it easier for virus to come and set up shop."</p>
<p>Chin-Hong and other experts have circulated an <a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/infectious-disease-specialists-call-for-an-end-to-tear-gas-during-covid-19-pandemic" target="_blank">online petition</a> calling for the end of tear-gassing during the pandemic and report that people with repeat tear gas exposure can suffer lung illnesses like chronic bronchitis.</p><p>"I'm really concerned that this might catalyze a new wave of COVID-19," Sven-Eric Jordt told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/us/tear-gas-risks-protests-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. The Duke University researcher studies the effects of tear gas agents and said he was "shocked" at how widespread police use of the control agent had become.</p>
<p>Ayesha Appa, an infectious disease doctor at the University of California San Francisco, said tear gas "seems like a particularly cruel intervention at this time in which the country is facing a respiratory virus that is sweeping the country with unprecedented rates of disease," reported <a href="https://www.thestate.com/news/coronavirus/article243228086.html" target="_blank">The State</a>.</p><p>Many experts noted that the gas affects anyone in the area it is deployed in, including peaceful individuals and sometimes police officers, Insider reported.</p>
<p>In a letter to the city of Oakland, councilmembers urged the immediate halt of tear gas use for crowd control, reported <a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-councilmembers-ask-for-immediate-halt-to-police-use-of-tear-gas" target="_blank">KLTV Fox 2</a>. Residents complained of tear gas "reaching the 14th floor of their building and creeping into their apartment, as well as a tear gas canister landing on their rooftop and catching grass on fire," the letter stated. Another resident, whose car had been gassed, was sprayed in his face when he turned on the engine the following day because the chemical got trapped in his air vents.</p><p><a href="http://insider/" target="_blank">Insider</a> reported how "many black Americans disproportionately have pre-existing conditions like asthma that could make tear gas lethal." Additionally, crowd-control weapons expert and emergency physician Dr. Rohini Haar warned Insider that tear gas may be "especially hard" on children, the elderly and those with chronic respiratory conditions.</p><p>Sarah Grossman, a 22-year-old young woman died days after being tear-gassed at a Columbus rally, reported <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-investigation-ohio-state-student-died-pepper-gas-20200606-r3isw6mzlvfnfjornc2lgyr53u-story.html" target="_blank">NY Daily News</a>. Initial media speculation suggested that tear gas may have triggered an underlying respiratory issue, but her death remains under investigation, <a href="https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local/autopsy-records-springboro-grad-was-columbus-protest-days-before-death/AoDEkHoBC40i6nYIESdLcM/" target="_blank">Dayton Daily News reported</a>.</p>
<p>Harr also warned that tear gas canisters themselves often cause the most permanent disabilities and harm, "especially when they hit the head or the neck, the eyes, the delicate bones of the face," <a href="http://insider/" target="_blank">Insider</a> reported. 21-year-old student Balin Brake lost his right eye after a tear gas canister hit his head during demonstrations, reported <a href="https://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20200531/indiana-tech-student-loses-eye-during-saturdays-protest" target="_blank">Journal Gazette</a>.</p><p>Even without tear gas concerns, protests during a pandemic already caused alarm.</p><p>Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned that protests could become "super-spreader events," leading to an explosion of secondary infections, reported <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/health/protests-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. Doctors cautioned that protesters should not be held in enclosed, tight police vans and jails, which have some of the highest risk areas for coronavirus transmission, reported <a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/infectious-disease-specialists-call-for-an-end-to-tear-gas-during-covid-19-pandemic" target="_blank">KTVU Fox 2</a>.</p><p>Human rights experts say that tear gas should be used on civilians as a "weapon of last resort, not an everyday occurrence," reported <a href="http://insider/" target="_blank">Insider</a>.</p>
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Police officers pepper spray a woman next to the Colorado State Capitol as protests against the death of George Floyd continue for a third night on May 30 in Denver, Colorado. Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images
By Jake Johnson
A federal judge late Friday issued a temporary order barring the Denver Police Department from using projectiles and chemical weapons such as tear gas against peaceful demonstrators, condemning the conduct of some officers against protesters across the nation in recent days as "disgusting."
<p>"The time is past to rely solely on the good faith and discretion of the Denver Police Department and its colleagues from other jurisdictions," wrote Judge R. Brooke Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in his 11-page <a href="https://wp-denverite.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/06/16-Order-Granting-in-Part-TRO-Abay.pdf" target="_blank">order</a>. "The Denver Police Depart has failed in its duty to police its own."</p>
<p>The restraining order, which took effect immediately, comes in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of four Denver protesters who said the use of "pepper spray, pepper balls, rubber bullets, flashbang grenades, and tear gas" by city police during a May 28 demonstration against the killing of George Floyd violated their constitutional rights. Jackson's ruling came just hours after Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, a Democrat, imposed a <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/501442-seattle-mayor-temporarily-bans-use-of-tear-gas" target="_blank">30-day ban</a> on police use of tear gas, which is <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/06/fact-check-its-true-tear-gas-chemical-weapon-banned-war/3156448001/" target="_blank">banned</a> in warfare.</p>
<p>"If immediate relief is not granted, plaintiffs' speech would be chilled and outright denied over the next several days or weeks of demonstrations," Jackson wrote. "Indeed, irreparable harm has already occurred in the form of physical injury and the suppression of speech."</p><p>"People have an absolute right to demonstrate and protest the actions of governmental officials, including police officers," Jackson continued. "It is one of the many freedoms on which this country was built ... Citizens should never have to fear peaceful protest on the basis of police retaliation, especially not when protesting that very same police violence."</p>
<p>While Jackson's order was described as "<a href="https://coloradosun.com/2020/06/05/denver-george-floyd-protests-federal-order/" target="_blank">extraordinary</a>" and applauded as a positive step that should be <a href="https://twitter.com/_NickRogers_/status/1269114124463734785" target="_blank">replicated nationwide</a>, it is not without loopholes. As the Colorado Sun <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2020/06/05/denver-george-floyd-protests-federal-order/" target="_blank">reported</a>, Jackson's order allows Denver police to use chemical agents and some projectiles against demonstrators "if an on-scene supervisor at the rank of captain or above specifically authorizes such use of force in response to specific acts of violence or destruction of personal property that the supervisor witnessed."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/06/condemning-police-conduct-disgusting-federal-judge-bars-denver-cops-using-chemical" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Floodwaters flowing from the Tittabawassee River into the lower part of downtown Midland on May 20, 2020 in Midland, Michigan. Thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate after two dams in Sanford and Edenville collapsed. Gregory Shamus / Getty Images
Around 10,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes in central Michigan after heavy rain prompted what the National Weather Service called "catastrophic failures" at two dams.
<p>The Edenville and Sanford dams collapsed Tuesday night, threatening to drench the town of Midland, Michigan under nine feet of water, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-flood-michigan/michigan-governor-declares-emergency-after-dams-collapse-idUSKBN22W071" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flooding" target="_self">flooding</a> comes as Michigan suffers one of the nation's worst <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> outbreaks, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/us/michigan-flooding-dams-midland.html" target="_blank">The New York Times pointed out</a>. It currently has 53,009 confirmed cases, according to <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins University data</a> as of Thursday morning, the seventh highest total in the U.S.</p><p>"It's hard to believe that we're in the middle of a 100-year crisis, a global pandemic, and we're also dealing with a flooding event that looks to be the worst in 500 years," Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said, as The New York Times reported.</p>
<div id="75598" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dfc9460186b20166593cfef9d16e3a22"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1262933097437372417" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">.@GovWhitmer declared a state of emergency for @midlandcountymi after the Edenville & Sanford Dams breached. “If yo… https://t.co/TH05rXRSOe</div> — Michigan.gov (@Michigan.gov)<a href="https://twitter.com/migov/statuses/1262933097437372417">1589941689.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Much of the town of Midland, Michigan, which has a population of 42,000, was inundated with record flooding Wednesday, <a href="https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/aging-dams-changing-climate-a-dangerous-mix" target="_blank">Weather Underground reported</a>. The Tittabawassee River gauge at Midland measured a water level about one foot above the previous record of 33.89 feet as of 2 p.m. local time. The river was expected to crest in the afternoon and evening, the National Weather Service said.</p>
<div id="6142b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f6ce12aef87db2e2bda5299bc964dd08"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1263149334079500289" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Extremely dangerous flooding continues across Midland County along the Tittabawassee River! Anyone near the river s… https://t.co/MnY20AFEGh</div> — NWS Detroit (@NWS Detroit)<a href="https://twitter.com/NWSDetroit/statuses/1263149334079500289">1589993244.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>No deaths or injuries have been reported, according to The New York Times, but the event puts further pressure on residents and businesses already reeling from the impact of the coronavirus.</p><p>"It's disastrous," evacuee Sue Baranski from neighboring Sanford told The New York Times. "Between the devastation from the flooding and the virus and the small-business owners trying to make their way through that, it's just too much."</p>
<div id="0740a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5231ecadb26980033bcd7532add825b0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1263117939315814405" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">These photos of Midland County were captured this morning by MSP Aviation. @CityofMidlandMI @midlandcountymi… https://t.co/JcGiGtzQab</div> — MSP Bay Region (@MSP Bay Region)<a href="https://twitter.com/mspbayregion/statuses/1263117939315814405">1589985758.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The flooding is the result of two environmental crises and may be the author of a third.</p><p>First, there's the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>. Warming temperatures are expected to increase precipitation in northern midlatitudes and lead to more intense periods of rainfall in many places, including the U.S., as Weather Underground pointed out. In Michigan, this process is already underway. 2019 was its wettest year on record, and Midland is 1.35 feet of rainfall away from its wettest May on record. Its rainfall total for Monday and Tuesday was its third highest on record.<br></p><p>Then there's the state of one of the dams that failed. Federal regulators had warned for more than 20 years that the spillways at the Edenville Dam were not up to handling a major flood, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/20/politics/ferc-edenville-dam-midland-michigan-flooding/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. However, they waited more than 13 years to crack down on the private company that operated the dam when it failed to comply, finally revoking its license in 2018. Oversight of the dam also passed from the federal government to the state of Michigan that year. Whitmer has promised an investigation of dam operator Boyce Hydro.</p>
<p>"This incredible damage requires that we hold people responsible," Whitmer said, as <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/michigan-governor-warns-floods-peak_n_5ec569b6c5b6ea08c805eaeb?ri18n=true" target="_blank">HuffPost reported</a>. "This was a known problem for a while and that's why it's important that we do our due diligence and take action."</p><p>The flood also has the potential to cause lasting environmental damage as Dow Chemical confirmed Wednesday that flood waters were "commingling with on-site containment ponds," <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/20/859333402/catastrophic-dam-failures-in-michigan-force-thousands-to-evacuate" target="_blank">NPR reported</a>. The flood also reached a Superfund site caused by a Dow release of dioxins, according to CNN.</p>
<div id="b21c1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="089435121e83028de50619583832e24d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1262935856857395200" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Midland, Michigan is home to Dow Chemical, one of the world's largest chemical companies.
Dow's facilities appear… https://t.co/468UwgO8UQ</div> — Meghan Schneider (@Meghan Schneider)<a href="https://twitter.com/meghanloisann/statuses/1262935856857395200">1589942347.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"[T]this has the potential to be a major environmental disaster. Climate Power communications director Meghan Schneider tweeted.</p>
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A container of Johnson's baby powder made by Johnson & Johnson. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its iconic but increasingly controversial talc baby powder in the U.S. and Canada, the company announced Tuesday.
<p>The announcement comes as the company faces more than 19,000 lawsuits from consumers who say the product was contaminated with <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/asbestos" target="_self">asbestos</a> and caused them or their loved ones to develop cancer, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-babypowder-idUSKBN22V32U?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1HfUTODSZrfmj0qHPRt2WqNj5q58hMe7ApEaQ2YfF3cYJBGicpAIRfsiI" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. Johnson & Johnson continues to insist the product is safe, but a 2018 Reuters investigation <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/johnsons-baby-powder-asbestos-2623643052.html" target="_self">found</a> that the company had known its talc products sometimes tested positive for asbestos since at least 1971 and had failed to inform the public.</p><p>"It means no more little girls are going to go through what we went through," Krystal Kim, who was part of a victorious lawsuit against the company in 2018 after developing ovarian cancer following a lifetime use of the baby powder, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/19/business/johnson-baby-powder-sales-stopped.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes&fbclid=IwAR0uzUgZqUqB-xFaeKz1d9eUGW74R3RfmbKLdraU4w5YVXr0z__fLK2-tTI" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "This stops now. That monster is off the shelves."</p>
<p>Because talc and asbestos sometimes occur side by side, it is possible for talc to be contaminated with asbestos during the mining process. Thousands of women who used the product sued after developing ovarian cancer, which was linked to asbestos in 1958. A smaller number developed mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer often connected to asbestos. In October 2019, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/johnson--johnson-baby-powder-recall-asbestos-2641053013.html" target="_self">company recalled</a> 33,000 bottles after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found trace amounts of asbestos in one of them. Also in 2019, the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/oversight-subcommittee-s-year-long-investigation-leads-to-johnson-johnson" target="_blank">began</a> a 14-month investigation that showed Johnson & Johnson knew about the asbestos risks for decades.</p><p>"Today, in a major victory for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a>, Johnson & Johnson's asbestos-containing baby powder finally will be taken off store shelves," Subcommittee chair Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said in a statement.</p>
<div id="8e492" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fbc74efe5795912af5cb6b3e9cd7c8de"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1262890458503688194" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Today, in a major victory for public health, Johnson & Johnson’s asbestos-containing baby powder will be taken off… https://t.co/QtXjbmyzge</div> — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (@Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi)<a href="https://twitter.com/CongressmanRaja/statuses/1262890458503688194">1589931523.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Johnson & Johnson continues to maintain that its product is safe, but blamed negative publicity for a drop in sales.</p><p>"Demand for talc-based Johnson's Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising," the company wrote.</p><p>The company said it made the decision after it had paused shipping certain items in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. It said its current inventory of the powder would be sold, but no more would be produced for U.S. and Canadian markets. In the U.S., the product contributed only around 0.5 percent of the company's Consumer Health business.</p><p>Johnson & Johnson will continue to sell the product in other countries and to defend its safety in court.</p>
<p>Cornstarch baby powder, which the company developed in 1980 as an alternative once concerns of asbestos contamination were raised by health advocates, will continue to be sold in the U.S. and Canada, according to The New York Times.</p><p>Consumer advocates welcomed the news, but pointed out that Johnson & Johnson isn't the only company whose talc products pose a health risk.</p><p>"It's good news that Johnson & Johnson will soon end the sale of talc-based baby powders in the U.S. and Canada," <a href="https://www.ewg.org/" target="_blank">Environmental Working Group</a> (EWG) senior vice president for government affairs Scott Faber <a href="https://www.ewg.org/release/major-win-consumers-johnson-johnson-ends-sale-talc-based-baby-powders?utm_campaign=EWG+Content&utm_content=1589935453&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR25bsStfQ_-Ciwc8pZnAlsUNIkqY3EB_G3fhFXPlvpJFXp1eWonwb8FHyw" target="_blank">said</a> in response to the news. "Now other companies need to follow their lead."</p>
<div id="26067" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5547f6a2aa178525f254f75987e64466"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1262884496854208513" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">MAJOR WIN -- Johnson & Johnson will end the sale of talc-based baby powders in the US and Canada.
We call on other… https://t.co/UeYJiDXgPB</div> — EWG (@EWG)<a href="https://twitter.com/ewg/statuses/1262884496854208513">1589930101.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Just last week, the EWG found asbestos in two talc Jmkcoz eyeshadow palettes. Asbestos was also found in Claire's cosmetics in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/claires-cosmetics-test-positive-for-asbestos-fda-warns-2630826087.html" target="_self">March</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/asbestos-claires-cosmetics-2638757734.html" target="_self">June</a> of 2019.</p>
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Chemical recycling involves sorting plastic by type, grinding into powders, and mixing and melting into the same kind of polymers from which the powders were generated. sturti / Getty Images
By Brigitte Osterath
Yogurt pots, shampoo bottles, coffee-to-go lids, bubble wrap — plastic products are all composed of the same building blocks: long carbon chains.
Heating them to high temperatures makes the carbon chains crack into a mixture of shorter molecules, ultimately converting them back into crude oil, the resource from which the majority of plastic products were originally made.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Varying the process can result in different carbon chain lengths and therefore different carbon-based products, ranging from fuels such as diesel and kerosene to petroleum naphtha, a valuable liquid for the chemical industry.<br></p><p>This potential mode of recycling — where plastic is broken down into its original components — has been becoming increasingly popular in industry.</p><p>It's known as 'chemical recycling,' as opposed to 'mechanical recycling' — the chop-and-wash-method in which plastic is sorted by type, ground into powders, mixed and melted into the very same kind of polymers from which the powders were generated.</p>
<p>"Chemical recycling has emerged as a major topic [in industry], mainly out of helplessness of how to proceed in mechanical recycling," says Thomas Fischer, head of the recycling management division with the non-profit environmental association Deutsche Umwelthilfe.</p><p>A prerequisite for mechanical recycling, he says, is making plastic that is actually recyclable. "That requires a lot of know-how, such as which dyestuffs and additives can be used and which cannot."</p><p>You also have to design the product itself in a certain way. When a product has been manufactured by layering several different polymers on top of each other, for example, recycling becomes tricky.</p><p>Chemical recycling is much simpler — it's just a case of heating everything with no need for prior sorting. That's the idea at least. </p>
Big Business
<p>Several companies have made significant investments in chemical recycling, building facilities to test various ways of making what is allegedly more environmentally friendly oil. So far, it's still in the development and test stage.</p><p>In 2018, multinational chemistry giant BASF launched ChemCycling — a project that aims to generate a so-called pyrolysis oil from plastic waste. The company claims it can be used in the production of new polymers, which it says will save fossil fuel resources.</p><p>Austrian oil and gas company OMV has built a pilot plant which it says can process all common packaging material such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene.</p><p>The plastics are chopped down, mixed with a high-boiling solvent and heated in a furnace at over 300 degrees Celcius (572 degrees Fahrenheit). Once the product has been distilled and the solvent filtered off, the company is left with synthetic crude oil, which it claims is "free of sulfur, lighter than fossil crude oil and with a higher hydrogen content — therefore of higher quality."</p><p>The product can be refined to make fuels such as gasoline, kerosene and diesel or petrochemical products.</p><p>The plant has the capacity to convert 100 kilos of waste each hour, OMV told DW. But a planned successor facility would be able to process 2,000 kilos hourly.</p><p>Similar pilot plants are being constructed in other countries across Europe.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI4NzAyNi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1Njg5NDM0MX0.d9HhLU_Sq7UqDHDhzvuwJsoCWFu0CeENjSt9BV0o8y0/img.png?width=980" id="434f7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b06e2170d3c847695e9395339482e7ba" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Behind the Hype
<p>So, can chemical recycling solve our waste problem through the creation of fuels?</p><p>Roman Maletz, a researcher at the Institute of Waste Management and Circular Economy at the Technical University in Dresden, is not convinced.</p><p>The idea of recycling plastic trash by cracking it, he says, is neither new nor revolutionary. It has just never worked before.</p><p>"In the past, such plants always ran into problems when in continuous operation," Maletz said. "I don't see how these issues could suddenly be resolved."</p><p>Problems arise when the trash contains too many different materials or when it is too dirty.</p><p>"In that case, the quality of the product is lowered, and the whole process becomes economically unviable."</p><p>Moreover, it is not necessarily environmentally friendly, adds Henning Wilts, Director of the Circular Economy Division at Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.</p><p>"If you break waste apart at a molecular level, you need a lot of energy, so the CO2 savings are quite low," he tells DW. "If the energy needed comes from burning coal, then the whole thing is an environmental disaster."</p><p>Although it is expensive, he says mechanical recycling still remains the recycling of choice.</p><p>"If countries use the existence of chemical recycling as an excuse to stop any efforts in mechanical recycling, that will become a problem."</p><p>He says the fact that petroleum naphtha generated from chemical recycling could be used to produce new food-grade plastics which is "one of the big drivers to develop the technology."</p><p>Producing fuels like diesel or kerosene from plastic trash, however, Fischer says, makes less sense.</p><p>"If fuels are produced which are burned afterwards, then even more CO2 is blown into the air," Fischer explains. "That's not the idea of a cycle."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/do-fuels-made-from-plastic-make-eco-sense/a-51495966?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2646025410#/" target="_self"></a></p>From Your Site Articles
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Since 2017, car manufacturers in Europe and the U.S. switched to a different coolant for air conditioning called HFO-1234yf, which breaks down into forever chemicals. hiphotos35 / iStock / Getty Images Plus
The Montreal Protocol of 1987 committed nations around the world to stop using the chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) that created a hole in the ozone layer. While it stands as one of the most effective environmental commitments the globe has seen, new research shows the side effects have been costly as chemicals dangerous to human health build up in the environment, as the BBC reported.
<p>New research published in the journal <em><a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2020GL087535" target="_blank">Geographical Research Letters</a></em> analyzed Arctic ice and found an unintended consequence of the Montreal Protocol. The compounds that replaced CFCs have been transported and transformed in the atmosphere, depositing far from their sources. The new generation of chemicals that replaced Freon, but are used in refrigerators, air conditioners and new cars have been accumulating since 1990.</p><p>"Our results suggest that global regulation and replacement of other environmentally harmful chemicals contributed to the increase of these compounds in the Arctic, illustrating that regulations can have important unanticipated consequences," said Cora Young, a professor at York University in Canada, and an author of the paper, in a York University <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/yu-oca051120.php" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>Scientists first discovered ozone depletion in the 1970s when they detailed the deterioration of the stratospheric ozone layer around the earth's poles. As the hole over Antarctica opened and expanded, scientists found that the depletion of ozone was responsible for <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer-protection" target="_blank">a greater intensity of ultraviolet</a> radiation from the sun, causing an increase in the prevalence of skin cancer, eye cataract disease and other harmful effects on humans, as <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/ozone-friendly-chemical-alternatives-polluting-arctic/" target="_blank">Courthouse News</a> reported.</p><p>Scientists were soon able to pinpoint manufactured chemicals used in air conditioners and refrigerators, as well as solvents, propellants and chemical agents found in foam as the cause of the depleted ozone layer.</p><p>Now pollution from the chemicals that were created to replace the CFCs, known as short chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (scPFCAs), has proliferated around the world. The replacement chemicals are a class of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pfas">PFAS</a>, or forever chemicals, that have polluted waterways and made groundwater in certain areas toxic to drink.</p>
<p>"Our measurements provide the first long-term record of these chemicals, which have all increased dramatically over the past few decades," said Young in a <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/yu-oca051120.php" target="_blank">statement</a>. "Our work also showed how these industrial sources contribute to the levels in the ice caps."</p><p>The York University statement added that the chemicals are able to "travel long distances in the atmosphere and often end up in lakes, rivers and wetlands causing irreversible contamination and affecting the health of freshwater invertebrates, including insects, crustaceans and worms."</p>
<p>"We're seeing much, much larger levels, on the order of 10 times higher now than we saw before the Montreal Protocol," said Young, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52663694" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported. "We don't know a lot about them and their potential toxicity, but we do know that we are committing the environment to a great deal of contamination."</p><p>As the globe heats up, our desire for air conditioning increases. That has spelled trouble for new cars. When car manufacturers stopped using CFCs in a car's air-conditioner, they switched to a chemical called HFC-134a. While it did not destroy the ozone layer, it turned out to be a powerful greenhouse gas, around 1,400 times more warming than CO2, according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52663694" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p>
<p>Since 2017, car manufacturers in Europe and the U.S. switched to a different coolant for air conditioning called HFO-1234yf, which breaks down into forever chemicals.</p><p>"It has a very low global warming potential, but has a much higher propensity to form these persistent products," said Young to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52663694" target="_blank">BBC</a>. "It will be again another shift, where we see an even more dramatic increase."</p><p>"They've been found in the bodies of people in China, so it is likely to be found in the bodies of people around the world," added Young. "We have done a good job in trying to save the ozone layer but the unintended consequences are the release of these other chemicals, which have some concerns. They're toxic, and then they don't get filtered out in various ways."</p>
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California, along with eight other states, sued the EPA for suspending enforcement of air and water pollution monitoring and reporting from places like the Shell refinery in Martinez, CA, seen here on April 1, 2004. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
On Wednesday, nine states sued the Trump administration over the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to temporarily relax various environmental regulations during the coronavirus pandemic.
<p>The move has been called an implicit "<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-worst-president-environment-2645034831.html" target="_self">license to pollute</a>," according to <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/497630-9-states-sue-epa-for-suspending-pollution-monitoring-requirements" target="_blank">The Hill</a>, and allegedly violates numerous federal pollution laws as well as the EPA's duty to protect the environment.</p><p>The states' <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/New%20York%20v.%20EPA%20Complaint.Filed_.pdf" target="_blank">complaint</a> challenges a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-03/documents/oecamemooncovid19implications.pdf" target="_blank">March 26 EPA memo</a> in which the agency put forth a new, relaxed policy. Polluters are allowed, at their sole discretion, to stop monitoring and reporting <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution">air emissions</a> and water pollution levels during the outbreak.</p><p>The memo was produced by the EPA's compliance director, Susan Parker Bodine, three days after she received a request from the American Petroleum Institute to halt pollution enforcement, reported the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/environment/article/California-sues-EPA-for-suspending-pollution-15268344.php#photo-18445984" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a>.</p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-03/documents/oecamemooncovid19implications.pdf" target="_blank">memo</a>, Bodine announced that the new, relaxed policies would be retroactive to March 13, when <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">President Trump</a> declared a state of emergency regarding COVID-19. Due to outbreak-related "potential worker shortages" and "travel and social distancing restrictions," companies could decide for themselves when it would no longer be practical to monitor pollution and report it to federal, state and local agencies, the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/environment/article/California-sues-EPA-for-suspending-pollution-15268344.php#photo-18445984" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a> reported.</p><p>Bodine said businesses should try to follow reporting and monitoring regulations but that noncompliance would not be penalized if caused by coronavirus, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. She did not indicate how the EPA could learn of any violations or dangerous emissions if reporting isn't required, the news report added.</p>
<p>Similarly, the regulation change is "temporary," but no end date is indicated in the memo. And, while companies are required to document their noncompliance, critics fear the environmental damage will already be done, reported <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/497630-9-states-sue-epa-for-suspending-pollution-monitoring-requirements" target="_blank">The Hill</a>.</p><p>EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said that the EPA recognized that challenges created by COVID-19 "may directly impact the ability of regulated facilities to meet all federal regulatory requirements," reported the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/environment/article/California-sues-EPA-for-suspending-pollution-15268344.php#photo-18445984" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a>.</p><p>Wheeler also said the agency would still "expect facilities to comply with their obligations under the law" unless, of course, Covid-19 made it "impracticable," reported <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/states-sue-trumps-epa-over-rule-relaxation-during-pandemic-1" target="_blank">Bloomberg Law</a>.</p>
<p>The states' <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/New%20York%20v.%20EPA%20Complaint.Filed_.pdf" target="_blank">lawsuit</a>, filed in New York federal court, alleges that the EPA lacks the legal authority to "effectively waive critical monitoring and reporting obligations" that alert the public to environmental and health hazards, reported <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/states-sue-trumps-epa-over-rule-relaxation-during-pandemic-1" target="_blank">Bloomberg Law</a>. It also argues that the EPA failed to properly weigh the public health impacts the relaxed policy will have amid the coronavirus pandemic, reported <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-epa/nine-u-s-states-sue-epa-for-easing-environmental-enforcement-amid-pandemic-idUSKBN22P36U" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p><p>"Rather than exercising enforcement discretion as authorized by law, EPA issued a broad, open-ended policy that gives regulated parties free rein to self-determine when compliance with federal environmental laws is not practical because of Covid-19," the <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/New%20York%20v.%20EPA%20Complaint.Filed_.pdf" target="_blank">complaint</a> stated.</p><p>The enforcement suspensions will lead to more chemical spills and "likely will result in increased air and water pollution," endangering residents who live nearby, downwind or downstream, the suit added, reported the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/environment/article/California-sues-EPA-for-suspending-pollution-15268344.php#photo-18445984" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a>.</p>
<p>The states also argued that the EPA failed to demonstrate both the need for the drastic change and any rationale for bypassing the traditional notice and comment period required for new rules, reported <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/497630-9-states-sue-epa-for-suspending-pollution-monitoring-requirements" target="_blank">The Hill</a>. The Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act both require companies to monitor and report emissions to the EPA, and the agency has therefore exceeded its authorities under both regulations, the complaint says, reported The Hill.</p><p>"The Trump Administration cannot give industries the green light to ignore critical environmental and public health laws, especially during a public health crisis," said New York Attorney General Letitia James, reported <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/states-sue-trumps-epa-over-rule-relaxation-during-pandemic-1" target="_blank">Bloomberg Law</a>.</p><p>California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said, "The Trump Administration is trying to use the current public health crisis to sweep environmental violations under the rug," reported <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/497630-9-states-sue-epa-for-suspending-pollution-monitoring-requirements" target="_blank">The Hill</a>.</p><p>"What's worse, the Administration is doing so even as evidence grows that communities exposed to air pollution are at increased risk from coronavirus," he added, reported The Hill.</p><p>The EPA would not comment on the litigation, but told The Hill that "the EPA temporary policy is a lawful and proper exercise of the Agency's authority under extraordinary circumstances." In the same statement, the EPA noted, "This is not a nationwide waiver of environmental rules."</p>
<p>The EPA was also sued on April 16 by environmental groups seeking to require the agency to determine when companies stopped complying with environmental laws and to immediately notify the public, reported the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/environment/article/California-sues-EPA-for-suspending-pollution-15268344.php#photo-18445984" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a>.</p><p>The nine states filing the complaint are California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Virginia. The suit alleges that the regulation rollback, if allowed to persist, will force states to try to "fill EPA's enforcement shoes at a time when they are increasingly strapped for resources, or risk the health of our residents," reported the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/environment/article/California-sues-EPA-for-suspending-pollution-15268344.php#photo-18445984" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a>.</p>
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Trending
Trump EPA Won’t Regulate Toxic Drinking Water Chemical That Harms Children’s Development
15 May
Politics
In defiance of a court order, the Trump administration Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not regulate perchlorate, a toxic chemical used in rocket fuel that contaminates drinking water and harms the development of fetuses and small children.
<p>The move is in keeping with other Trump administration decisions not to impose recommended limits on toxic chemicals, such as its decision <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-epa-pesticide-brain-damage-2639273468.html" target="_self">not to ban</a> child-harming pesticide <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chlorpyrifos" target="_self">chlorpyrifos</a> or <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-asbestos-ban-2636681458.html?rebelltitem=1" target="_self">known-carcinogen asbestos</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/climate/trump-drinking-water-perchlorate.html" target="_blank">The New York Times pointed out</a>.</p><p>"This is all of a piece," University of Maryland law professor Rena Steinzor told The New York Times. "You can draw a line between denial of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/science/" target="_self">science</a> on climate change, denial of science on coronavirus, and denial of science in the drinking water context. It's all the same issue. They're saying 'We don't care what the research says.'"</p>
<p>High concentrations of perchlorate have been found in at least 26 states, usually near military sites because of its use in rocket fuel. It has been shown to hamper the development of fetuses and young children by blocking the thyroid gland's uptake of iodine and therefore interfering with hormone production. The EPA had been ordered by the courts to finalize regulations on the chemical by the end of June. Instead, administrator <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/andrew-wheeler" target="_self">Andrew Wheeler</a> will reverse a 2011 EPA finding that the chemical posed a health risk to between five and 16 million Americans and argue that it is "not in the public interest" to regulate it, two staff members familiar with the issue told The New York Times Thursday.</p><p>"The agency has determined that perchlorate does not occur with a frequency and at levels of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a> concern, and that regulation of perchlorate does not present a meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public water systems," the draft policy reads, staff members told The New York Times.</p>
<p>Environmental and public health advocates condemned the decision.</p><p>"EPA's cynical decision to defy a court order and the law, and to ignore the science that, as the American Academy of Pediatrics has said, dictates a strong perchlorate standard to protect vulnerable kids, is a deeply disturbing violation of the agency's mission," <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> (NRDC) senior strategic director for health and food Erik Olson <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/erik-d-olson/epa-refuses-protect-children-perchlorate-contaminated-tap-water?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=DrinkWaterPolicy&fbclid=IwAR3NYh52apJk63OrN_zNrvSrrhBs7LSRnzI5eRqAkeCFK4VX-U8dBUzaQio" target="_blank">wrote</a>. "It must be reversed."</p><p>NRDC was behind the lawsuit that led to the court order the EPA is now violating.</p>
<div id="2c7ae" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f8af07123fc507733e36db1ce03cbc03"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1260977337878937602" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: @EPAAWheeler & Trump’s @EPA are choosing NOT to regulate #perchlorate, a dangerous chemical linked to fet… https://t.co/giSKPNIgpJ</div> — NRDC 🌎🏡 (@NRDC 🌎🏡)<a href="https://twitter.com/NRDC/statuses/1260977337878937602">1589475399.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>In response, EPA spokeswoman Andrea Woods told The New York Times that a final decision had not been made and that the EPA would "shortly" send the final rule to the Office of Management and Budget.</p><p>"Any information that is shared or reported now would be premature, inappropriate and would be prejudging the formal rulemaking process," she said.</p><p>In a separate statement released after The New York Times story broke, Wheeler said that perchlorate levels had already been successfully reduced because of joint state and EPA efforts.</p><p>"Because of steps that EPA, states and public water systems have taken to identify, monitor and mitigate perchlorate, the levels have decreased in drinking water," Wheeler said, as <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/497794-epa-wont-regulate-rocket-fuel-chemical-tied-to-developmental-damage" target="_blank">The Hill reported</a>. "This success demonstrates that EPA and states are working together to lead the world in providing safe drinking water to all Americans."</p>
<p>Attempts to regulate perchlorate have been long delayed by opposition from the Department of Defense and the companies that supply it, and the NRDC suit was initially brought against Obama's EPA for dragging its heels on a regulation after determining in 2011 that perchlorate posed a health risk, according to The New York Times.</p><p>But the Trump EPA is going even further by reversing that 2011 decision. NRDC's Olson explained how it is justifying the reversal and why it is such a threat to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/childrens-health" target="_self">children's health</a>:</p><blockquote>To explain why it's revoking its previous finding, EPA now contends its 2008 <a href="https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/P1004X7Q.TXT?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=2006+Thru+2010&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5Czyfiles%5CIndex%20Data%5C06thru10%5CTxt%5C00000010%5CP1004X7Q.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8/r75g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1&SeekPage=x&ZyPURL" target="_blank">health advisory</a> for perchlorate in drinking water—set at 15 parts per billion or ppb—is far more protective of health than needed. That 15 ppb health advisory was based on a 2005 <a href="https://www.nap.edu/catalog/11202/health-implications-of-perchlorate-ingestion" target="_blank">National Academy of Sciences study</a>. Instead, Wheeler now finds a level of 56 ppb would be safe, and perhaps even 90 ppb would be fine. EPA admits that a standard of 56 ppb would allow those kids exposed to perchlorate in drinking water at above this level to have an <em>average</em> IQ loss of two points. People at the lower end of the IQ spectrum could lose far more IQ points. In concluding 56 ppb is safe, the agency would allow an unprecedented level of adverse impact on children's brain development.</blockquote>
<p>Other environmental groups have also spoken out against a 56 ppb standard.</p><p>"The science on perchlorate is very clear: It harms infants and the developing fetus," Olga Naidenko, senior science adviser for children's environmental health at the <a href="https://www.ewg.org/" target="_blank">Environmental Working Group</a>, said when such a standard was first floated in May of 2019, as The Hill reported. "Perchlorate can cause irreparable damage to both cognitive and physical development. Instead of taking action to lower the levels of this rocket fuel chemical in drinking water, the administration's plan will endanger the health of future generations of kids."</p>
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Smoke rises from an LG Polymers plant following a gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam, India on May 7, 2020. AFP via Getty Images
A major gas leak at a petrochemical plant in the eastern, industrial port city of Visakhapatnam, India has killed at least 11 people and sent hundreds to the hospital, according to the most recent figures from India Today.
<p>The leak occurred around 2:30 a.m. Thursday at the LG Polymers <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals" target="_self">chemical</a> plant, when styrene leaked out from two 5,000 tonne (approximately 5,512 U.S. tons) tanks that had been left unattended due to India's coronavirus lockdown, police said, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/07/gas-leak-at-chemical-factory-in-india-kills-hospitalises-lg-polymers" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>.</p><p>"Because of the leakage of the said compound gas hundreds of people have inhaled it and either fell unconscious or having breathing issues," greater Visakhapatnam municipal corporation commissioner Srijana Gummalla said on Twitter.</p>
<div id="a974c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6cac5d018c1f54d14b0d766ed814cb1b"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1258227992330792960" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Primary report is PVC gas (or Styrene) leaked from LG Polymers, Vepagunta near Gopalapatnam in Visakhapatnam at aro… https://t.co/o1GUxoNgSQ</div> — Srijana Gummalla (@Srijana Gummalla)<a href="https://twitter.com/GummallaSrijana/statuses/1258227992330792960">1588819904.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Television footage showed people lying in the streets unconscious and dead cows with white matter leaking from their noses, The Guardian reported.</p><p>Swarupa Rani, an assistant commissioner of police in Visakhapatnam, said she was called to the scene around 3:30 a.m.</p><p> "One could feel the gas in the air and it was not possible for any of us to stay there for more than a few minutes," she said. </p><p>Visakhapatnam city is on India's east coast between Kolkata and Chennai, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Areas within nearly two miles of the plant were at risk, the municipal corporation said, according to <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-disaster/gas-leak-at-lg-polymers-plant-in-india-kills-six-over-120-hospitalised-idUKKBN22J07Q" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p>
<div id="23384" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a119156ac8491c93af7190b07127351e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1258241583893196803" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">CORE & VULNERABLE AREAS MAP OF PVC GAS LEAKAGE. REQUESTING CITIZENS TO USE WET MASKS OR WET CLOTH TO COVER YOUR NOS… https://t.co/K4xAko0Hk3</div> — Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) (@Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC))<a href="https://twitter.com/GVMC_OFFICIAL/statuses/1258241583893196803">1588823145.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The leak was especially dangerous because it occurred while people were still in bed.</p><p>"There are people who were sleeping," district hospitals coordinator B K Naik told <a href="https://www.afp.com/en/news/826/gas-leak-indian-chemical-plant-kills-least-6-doc-1r23sj2" target="_blank">AFP</a>. "We are working to get people to the hospital. They need oxygenation and fresh air."</p><p>Naik said at least 1,000 people were hospitalized, while Rani put the number at a lower 300 to 400, according to Reuters. A further 1,500 people were evacuated.</p><p>The plant's manager, South Korea-based LG Chem, said the leak was now contained.</p><p>"The gas leak situation is now under control and we are exploring all ways to provide speedy treatment for those who suffer from inhaling the leaked gas. We are investigating the extent of damage and exact cause of the leak and deaths," LG Chem said in a statement reported by India Today.</p>
<p>The plant makes products from polystyrene, a type of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics" target="_self">plastic</a>. Those products are used for electric fan blades, cups and cutlery and makeup containers, according to the company website, as Reuters reported. Styrene, the raw material that makes polystyrene, burns easily and releases a toxic gas when it does.</p><p>"(The gas) was left there because of the lockdown. It led to a chemical reaction and heat was produced inside the tanks, and the gas leaked because of that," Rani told AFP.</p><p>However, LG Chem said that, while the plant had not been in operation, there was still maintenance staff on hand.</p><p>"While it's true that the factory wasn't operating as it was under lockdown, there were maintenance workers inside," a company spokesman told AFP in Seoul. "A worker on night shift discovered the leak and reported it."</p><p>However, environmentalists have long raised concerns about the safety of chemical plants in the area, according to The Guardian.</p><p>"The industrial safety culture in this state is very poor and the regulatory bodies are very lax,"EAS Sarma, a former Indian finance secretary who lives nearby, said.</p><p>The incident brought back memories of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/30th-anniversary-of-the-worlds-worst-industrial-disaster-1881982171.html" target="_self">Bhopal gas leak of 1984</a>, one of the worst industrial disasters of the twentieth century, the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/vizag-gas-leak-an-eerie-reminder-of-bhopal-gas-tragedy/story-PTCBZv5Me1Y2crMHtVbeNN.html" target="_blank">Hindustan Times pointed out</a>.</p><p>In that tragedy, thousands of people died when 30 tonnes (approximately 33 U.S. tons) of methyl isocyanate gas were released from the Union Carbide pesticide plant. Groundwater was found to still be contaminated by the leak in 2015.</p>
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Petrochemicals are rapidly becoming the largest driver of global oil consumption. Stas_V / iStock / Getty Images Plus
By Ajit Niranjan
As wind farms, solar plants and electric cars threaten demand for fossil fuels, oil and gas executives are betting big on another environmental vice: plastic.
<p>In the last 10 years, companies including BP, ExxonMobil and Shell have invested $89 billion (€82 billion) in 210 chemical projects linked to America's shale gas boom alone, according to the American Chemistry Council. And a further 133 projects are being planned or in the process of being built.</p><p><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/the-plastics-issue-we-seem-to-ignore/a-47307954" target="_blank">Petrochemicals</a>, which make up 99% of all plastics, are the versatile building blocks of modern life. Derived from petroleum and fossil gas, they are found in clothes, paper, fertilizers and cleaning products — and even food preservatives and medicine.</p>
<p>Petrochemicals are rapidly becoming the largest driver of global oil consumption, a <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/petrochemicals-set-to-be-the-largest-driver-of-world-oil-demand-latest-iea-analysis-finds" target="_blank">report </a>by the International Energy Agency found in 2018. They are set to account for a third of the growth in demand to 2030 and half of the growth to 2050, ahead of trucks, planes and ships.</p><p>As demand for fuel peaks, petrochemicals may be the "last man standing," said Theo Jan Simons, a plastics and chemicals expert at consultancy McKinsey.</p>
<p>Energy companies have recognized that shift in official documents.</p><p>Saudi Aramco said in a recent investor report that its chemical investments have removed risk from its portfolio. Shell, in a 2018 energy transition report, said that strong earnings from its downstream business — which includes petrochemicals — have helped offset a downturn in oil and gas prices.</p><p>ExxonMobil said last year that growth in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals">chemicals</a> could counter falling fuel demands from electric cars, <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2020/03/your-plastic-addiction-is-bankrolling-big-oil/" target="_blank">Mother Jones reported</a> earlier this month, while BP has excluded petrochemicals from its recent pledge to go carbon-neutral by 2050.</p><p>With fuel demand depressed by coronavirus and a price war threatening to pump out more oil, the industry's traditional revenue streams <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-what-countries-are-doing-to-minimize-economic-damage/a-52816921" target="_blank">are on even shakier ground</a>. That could spur them to make more petrochemicals for a market that some analysts warn is already saturated.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjg5ODY5OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTI2MzAzNH0._ZFPtMkS5wzHPZA6m4TuQd7YmygxVwqVsvYFwt9tA8g/img.png?width=980" id="76b70" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="537be25e5fc108654160aca51ad38be3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<h3>Plastic Pollution Already Dangerous</h3><p>Plastic production has increased about 200-fold since 1950, but only 9% of the plastic ever made has been recycled, <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782" target="_blank">according to a study</a> published in the journal Science Advances in 2017. The rest of the waste was burned or thrown into landfills and nature, where it is growing into a symbol of ecological neglect.</p><p>Each year millions of tons of plastic flood into <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">oceans</a> and wash up on beaches, killing fish and other <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life">marine life</a>.</p><p>What's more, plastic also carried a carbon footprint in its production and when burned as waste. This is responsible for about 2% of global emissions, though the net effect on the climate may be lower, because plastic packaging reduces food waste and lightweight plastics save fuel in transport.</p><p>The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) projected in a report last year that annual global plastic emissions will rise from 0.86 gigatons of carbon dioxide in 2019 to 2.8 gigatons by 2050 — or the equivalent of building 400 medium-sized coal plants.</p>
<h3>Supply, Demand for Plastics an Illusion?</h3><p>Despite its many uses, some experts say the proliferation of plastics is not driven by demand.</p><p>For decades, oil and gas companies needed to create markets for byproducts or manage them as waste streams, and responded by creating new markets, said Carroll Muffett, president of the Center for Environmental Law and lead author of the report on plastics and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>.</p><p>"We're seeing that very clearly with the market for single-use plastics. Much of that increase is driven not by consumer demand but [the] need to offload supply," said Muffett.</p><p>A spokesperson for Shell disputed this, saying that the company was expanding its chemicals business to meet the rising demand from economic growth. Echoing this, Simons, the McKinsey consultant, also said the rise in petrochemicals is in line with growth of the overall economy.</p><p> Still, in a market beset by green technology and volatile geopolitics, petrochemicals may represent a more stable source of revenue than fuel.</p><p>There is a growing emphasis by the fossil fuel industry to make more plastic because of falling oil demand and prices, said Kevin Stairs, chemicals policy director at Greenpeace EU.</p><p>A price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia on the back of the coronavirus pandemic pushed oil prices down 30% at the start of March. The fall, according to market research from Wood Mackenzie, is set to result in a "severe overcapacity" of ethylene, the biggest petrochemical by volume and value and the foundation of plastic bags and bottles. Other experts argue that a slowdown in the economy might decrease demand and spur the industry to cut production.</p>
<h3>Plastic Falling out of Favor With the Public</h3><p>From coastal villagers lamenting spoiled beaches to citizens concerned about microplastics in drinking water, communities have pressured governments into regulating plastics.</p><p>Across Africa, 34 countries have banned or taxed single-use plastics, according to the United Nations. China and India plan to phase them out by 2022. A rise in alternative materials and a shift toward circular economies have put petrochemical producers under pressure, said Hans-Josef Fell, president of think tank Energy Watch Group.</p><p>Oil and gas companies have taken a "huge gamble" on demand for plastic that hasn't materialized, said Muffett. "What they're running up against is that the global south is increasingly rejecting plastics in a growing number of forms."</p><p>As more and more countries turn away from plastic, "the case that there's some massive unmet market out there begins to crumble," he added.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/oil-gas-industry-look-to-profit-rich-plastics-as-revenue-plunges/a-52834661?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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