Greenlist Bulletin
From the Toxics Use Reduction Institute
at the University of Massachusetts Lowell
November 9, 2012
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This is the weekly bulletin of the TURI Library at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Greenlist Bulletin provide s previews of recent publications and websites relevant to reducing the use of toxic chemicals by industries, businesses, communities, individuals and government. You are welcome to send a message to mary@turi.org if you would like more information on any of the articles listed here, or if this email is not displaying properly.
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| GHS Adoption in the U.S. - What to Expect When Expecting | Source: EHS Today, September 10, 2012
Author: Scott Palubinsky
For some time now, safety professionals have been expecting the U.S. adoption of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) to make some pretty significant changes to OSHA's hazard communication standard. Since the mid-2000s, OSHA and other agencies have been discussing and hosting hearings on GHS and revising the hazcom standard. Now that GHS finally is here with all provisions and deadlines outlined, we can expect a focused effort by safety professionals and OSHA to ensure all requirements and deadlines are met.
Read more...
Also read from OSHA: "A Guide to The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS)."
TURI's Note: At our November 13th Continuing Education Conference we will have a session on topics including the GHS. We also now have Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) (the "Purple Book") available in the TURI Library.
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Sweet approach may produce metal casting parts, reduce toxicity
| Source: Oregon State University, November 8, 2012
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Based on a new discovery by researchers at Oregon State University, the world's multi-billion dollar foundry industry may soon develop a sweet tooth.
This industry, that produces metal castings used in everything from water pumps and jet engines to railroad and automobile parts, dates back thousands of years to before Greek and Roman times. It was important in the advance of human civilization, but still continues to evolve.
Some modern technologies use various types of "binders" to essentially glue together sands and other materials to form sophisticated molds, into which molten metals are injected to create products with complex shapes. Existing approaches work, but some materials used today, such as furan resins and phenol formaldehyde resins, can emit toxic fumes during the process.
However, experts in adhesion science in the OSU College of Forestry have discovered and applied for a patent on a new use of a compound that appears to also work surprisingly well for this purpose. They say it should cost less than existing binders, is completely renewable and should be environmentally benign.
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Environmentally Friendly Chemistry Important for Manufacturing Pharmaceuticals
| Source: University of Gothenburg, November 8, 2012
Limiting the quantity of catalysts - substances that trigger a chemical reaction - used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals is important, and research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has now demonstrated that small quantities of copper work well in this respect.
"This is an important finding, not just academically but also for industry," says chemist Per-Fredrik Larsson. . . .
Precious metals are often used as catalysts in organic chemistry as they enable the production of many organic molecules with applications in areas such as pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. As recently as 2010 Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on palladium catalysis.
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Chemical Solutions
| Source: Financial Advisor, November 9, 2012
Author: Jerilyn Klein Bier
No one knows how many of the 84,000-plus chemicals used in the U.S. are lurking in the goods we purchase, or how safe they are. Federal law hasn't required most of them to be tested or many to even be publicly identified. But the onus is quickly growing for producers and retailers of consumer products to find some answers.
Strengthening legislation in various states and around the globe--plus increasing litigation--is making it important for these companies to monitor, report and replace or reformulate toxic chemicals. "I think companies owe it to themselves and their investors to know the chemical risks in their products and supply chains and work to eliminate them," says Richard Liroff, executive director of the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) in Falls Church, VA. Its members, who collectively manage $30 billion to $35 billion in assets, encourage companies to adopt policies that reduce and eliminate toxic chemicals from their products and activities.
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| Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Detected at Four U.S. Wastewater Treatment Plants | Source: Environmental Health Perspectives, November 1, 2012
Authors: Rachel E. Rosenberg Goldstein, Shirley A. Micallef, Shawn G. Gibbs, Johnnie A. Davis, Xin He, Ashish George, Lara M. Kleinfelter, Nicole A. Schreiber, Sampa Mukherjee, Amir Sapkota, Sam W. Joseph, and Amy R. Sapkota
Background: The incidence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections is increasing in the United States, and it is possible that municipal wastewater could be a reservoir of this microorganism. To date, no U.S. studies have evaluated the occurrence of MRSA in wastewater. . . .
Conclusions: Our findings raise potential public health concerns for wastewater treatment plant workers and individuals exposed to reclaimed wastewater. Because of increasing use of reclaimed wastewater, further study is needed to evaluate the risk of exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria in treated wastewater.
Read more...
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| Please send a message to mary@turi.org if you would like more information on any of these resources. Also, please tell us what topics you are particularly interested in monitoring, and who else should see Greenlist. An online search of the TURI Library catalog can be done at http://library.turi.org for greater topic coverage.
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Greenlist Bulletin is compiled by:
Mary Butow
TURA Program Research Assistant
Toxics Use Reduction Institute
University of Massachusetts Lowell
600 Suffolk St., Wannalancit Mills
Lowell MA 01854
978-934-4365
978-934-3050 (fax)
mary@turi.org
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