Greenlist Bulletin
From the Toxics Use Reduction Institute
at the University of Massachusetts Lowell
December 21, 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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EPA responds to scientists' concerns, initiates new effort for low-dose, hormone-like chemicals
| Source: Environmental Health News, December 13, 2012
Author: Brian Bienkowski
Spurred by mounting scientific evidence, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is initiating a new effort to examine whether low doses of hormone-mimicking chemicals are harming human health and whether chemical testing should be overhauled. The EPA, responding to a report by a group of 12 scientists published in March, is collaborating with other federal agencies to assess whether traces of chemicals found in food, cosmetics, pesticides and plastics affect human development and reproduction. As part of that review, they will evaluate whether current testing is capturing effects linked to hormone mimics, and if the agency should alter its risk assessments. The federal officials will complete a "state of the science" paper by the end of 2013, which then reportedly will be reviewed by a national panel of scientists. Read more...Read EPA's "EDSP Universe of Chemicals and General Validation Principles."View EPA's "List of EDSP Universe of Chemicals." |
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| Pollution Prevention Technical Assistance LibGuide | |
Author: Laura Barnes
This guide is designed to help pollution prevention technical assistance providers find information quickly and efficiently. It includes a brief guide to effective web searching, located on the 'Where To Start' page under the Sector/Subject Specific tab. Lists of information organization and current awareness tools are included under the News & Current Awareness tab.
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| Rice cultivates green batteries from plant | |
Source: Rice University, December 11, 2012
Author: Mike Williams
Here's a reason to be glad about madder: The climbing plant has the potential to make a greener rechargeable battery.
Scientists at Rice University and the City College of New York have discovered that the madder plant, aka Rubia tinctorum, is a good source of purpurin, an organic dye that can be turned into a highly effective, natural cathode for lithium-ion batteries. The plant has been used since ancient times to create dye for fabrics.
Read more...
Read original article in Scientific Reports: "Lithium storage mechanisms in purpurin based organic lithium ion battery electrodes."
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| Toxic flame retardant may get a reprieve | Source: Chicago Tribune, December 20, 2012
Author: Michael Hawthorne
For a class of troublesome flame retardants, this appeared to be the end of an era.
After years of study, scientists in the U.S. and Europe had reached an alarming conclusion: Flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, build up in blood and breast milk, interfere with natural hormones, trigger reproductive problems and cause developmental and neurological damage.
Under pressure from federal and state regulators, the leading makers of the chemicals stopped making two PBDEs in 2005 and vowed to shut down production of another by the end of next year.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also began pushing rules that would make it practically impossible to sell imported and recycled products made with the flame retardants. The rules are supported not only by health advocates and environmental groups but by the three major manufacturers of PBDEs.
But after promoting the rules as a significant public health achievement, the EPA has delayed making them final amid fierce opposition from influential industries. Trade groups for automakers, military contractors, aerospace companies, appliance manufacturers and clothing companies are fighting behind the scenes in Washington to scrap the rules, postpone when they take effect or rewrite them to allow PBDEs in certain products.
Read more...
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| Where's the nano? | Source: Danish Consumer Council and Danish Ecological Council, 2012
The Danish Consumer Council and the Danish Ecological Council has in cooperation with DTU Environment developed a database, which helps consumers identify more than 1,200 products that may contain nanomaterials. The Nanodatabase gives consumers a choice.
Nanomaterials are used in ordinary consumer products such as cosmetics, clothes and dietary supplements, but no one has a clear overview of where the nanomaterials are used or in which quantities. Read more... Access database. |
| Why California is leading the way on chemical policy reform | Source: GreenBiz.com, December 14, 2012
Author: Ann Blake
California is in the last stages of promulgating groundbreaking regulations that will require manufacturers to seek safer alternatives to potentially harmful chemicals in consumer products. These regulations come after four years of animated discussion and unprecedented input, extending to thousands of comments submitted by a broad range of stakeholders. As the regulations come closer to fruition, however, the standard arguments are surfacing about their potential impact on the state's economy, including comparisons to the economic impacts of the European Union's REACH chemical regulation, which came into effect in June 2007. It is therefore probably worth noting that no less an entity than German chemical giant BASF stated in September of this year that REACH was "worth the money." In the same report, CEFIC, the European Chemical Industry Council, stated that while it is too early to see any impact on innovation, it expects that REACH "will indeed benefit human health and the environment." 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
Research and Reference Specialist
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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