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 | | Public Health: New recommendations for proposed NEPA and SEPA projects include use of health impact assessments.
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About Us
Integral Consulting Inc. is a national science and engineering firm providing multidisciplinary services in the fields of health, environment, technology, and sustainability.
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Proposed fish consumption rates could affect cleanup levels for sediment and surface water throughout the state of Washington. |
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NRC Recommends Changes to NEPA Environmental Impact Assessments
There is truth in the saying "you are what you eat," but where you live matters too. In response to the growing awareness of the significant role that social, economic, and physical environments play in public health, a relatively new tool for decision-makers, health impact assessment (HIA), is in the spotlight. In a recently released report, the National Research Council (NRC) concludes that methods currently employed in many environmental impact assessments conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and some state regulations, such as Washington's State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), do not adequately identify and analyze potential health effects of proposed projects. Consequently, important information regarding potential positive or negative impacts to public health from proposed projects is not being considered in the review process. To overcome this shortcoming, the NRC Committee recommends that proposed NEPA and SEPA projects be evaluated using a Health Impact Assessment (HIA), which may add to the scope and cost of these reviews. Read the full article>>
To learn more, contact Integral Vice President and Principal Toxicologist Judi Durda at 410.573.1982 (ext. 14) or jdurda@integral-corp.com.
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EPA Develops More Stringent Toxicity Criteria for TCE
On September 28, 2011, EPA published its long-awaited Toxicological Review of Trichloroethylene (TCE), characterizing TCE as "carcinogenic to humans" and provided new toxicity values for both cancer and noncancer effects in its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. EPA had withdrawn the toxicity values for TCE from IRIS in 1989, following disagreements with peer reviewers regarding the classification of TCE as a "probable human carcinogen." For over 20 years, as EPA, the National Research Council, and other scientists have worked to develop consensus on the toxicological properties of TCE, risk assessors have used alternative values from such sources as CalEPA and other state agencies. All of the new IRIS cancer and noncancer toxicity values are more stringent than the alternative toxicity values EPA has used to calculate regional screening levels (RSLs). Revised RSLs based on the new IRIS toxicity values will be similarly more stringent, especially for residential exposures.
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Integral Consulting Receives National Certification as a Women's Business Enterprise
Integral Consulting Inc. has received national certification as a Women's Business Enterprise by the Astra Women's Business Alliance, a regional certifying partner of the Women's Business Enterprise Council (WBENC). WBENC is the nation's largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. WBENC's national standard of certification is a meticulous process designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women.
"This national certification will bring added value to our clients," says Integral President Lucinda Jacobs. "Now our internal diversity is officially recognized, which is a key asset for clients seeking to incorporate a minority business into their diversity programs and procurements."
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AEHS and Integral Form Partnership
Integral Consulting Inc. is pleased to announce a formal working partnership with the Association for Environmental Health and Sciences (AEHS) Foundation, Inc., which will, among other benefits, enhance the toxicology and human health risk assessment offerings of the AEHS Foundation. The AEHS Foundation is a nonprofit, member-supported professional organization, with a network that spans professional disciplines from across the U.S. and abroad, including biology, chemistry, geology and hydrogeology, toxicology, engineering, and exposure and regulatory science. Its purpose is to facilitate communication and foster cooperation among professionals concerned with the challenge of environmental assessment, cleanup, and protection. To learn more, contact Mike Ruby at mruby@integral-corp.com or 303.404.2944 (ext 14).
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Washington Department of Ecology Considers Higher Fish Consumption Rates
In October, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) published a technical support document, Fish Consumption Rates, which reviews existing information and considers regulatory issues related to setting default rates for human consumption of fish and shellfish. The fish consumption rate default range recommended in the technical support document is much higher than values currently in use and is expected to result in more stringent sediment and surface water cleanup levels. For many of the chemicals that bioaccumulate in fish tissue and drive decision-making at cleanup sites, risk-based cleanup levels using the new fish consumption rates will be lower than natural or regional background concentrations.
Revisions to state laws, including the Sediment Management Standards and Water Quality Standards for Surface Waters, are expected next year, while the Model Toxics Control Act revisions are currently on hold. Ecology is requesting comments on the fish consumption rates document by January 18, 2012. Read more>> |
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