Sludge Watch ==> Canada takes PBDE seriously - sludge industry does not

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:

It was the presence of PBDE in sludge and in mother's breast milk that 
sparked the end of land application of sewage sludge in Sweden. The public 
didn't want to ingest these chemicals in their food.  In particular, milk 
from cows grazing sludged fields was seen as a problem, since cows ingest 
significant amounts of soil while grazing.


The sorry truth is that levels of PBDE in mother's breast milk in North 
American sludges and North American breast milk is many times higher than in 
Sweden.  Toxifying the next generation apparently doesn't rank as a big 
concern...not when it gets in the way of cheap sludge waste disposal on 
farmland.

Unfortunately, the EPA only sets regulatory standards for a very few 
contaminants in sludge.  And PBDEs are not regulated.   Some of the highest 
levels of PBDE found in North America show up in the sludge of the tiny town 
of Picton Ontario (pop 4,000).
But this persistant toxin that is linked to specific kinds of cancer.

But does that stop the town's Sludge Environmental Assessment consultant 
from recommending that this PBDE contaminated sludge go onto our food chain 
lands?

No. That's their preferred option.

http://list.web.net/archives/sludgewatch-l/2005-January/000867.html

...........................................................

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060701.CHEMICALS01/TPStory/National

Ottawa wants flame retardants on toxic list
MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT

ENVIRONMENT REPORTER

The federal government wants to add two chemicals that have been widely used 
in the production of stain repellants and flame retardants to Canada's list 
of toxic substances, one of the most aggressive regulatory actions in the 
world against the compounds.

The substances, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and perfluorooctane 
sulfonate, have been widely used for decades in consumer products such as 
computers, mattresses, televisions, furniture and clothing. They are 
probably found in most homes in the country.

Ottawa is taking action because the chemicals, neither of which are 
manufactured in Canada, have been linked to a range of troubling symptoms in 
recent laboratory tests using rodents. The problems include conditions that 
resemble attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders in children, thyroid 
hormone disruption, decreased sperm counts, and in some cases, death.

Trace levels of the two chemicals have been detected in the bodies of almost 
all Canadians who have been tested. Elevated amounts have been found in 
wildlife, including Arctic mammals such as polar bears that are far from any 
known manufacturing facilities.

Environment Minister Rona Ambrose and Health Minister Tony Clement are 
unveiling the proposals today in the Canada Gazette, the government's 
official record of regulatory announcements.

They add the chemicals to Canada's list of harmful substances, which already 
includes such dangerous compounds as cancer-causing asbestos, will allow 
Ottawa to make formal regulations to restrict the compounds.

The two substances were among those profiled in a recent Globe and Mail 
series that investigated the exposure of Canadians to dangerous pollutants 
in household products.

PFOS, for instance, was a key ingredient in the Scotchgard brand of stain 
repellent used on clothing and carpets for nearly 40 years, until its 
manufacturer, 3M Corp., announced a phase-out in 2000.

Although the Conservative government has often triggered the ire of 
environmentalists for cutting climate-change programs, it received rare 
accolades yesterday from anti-pollution activists for its intention to 
classify the chemicals as toxic.

No other country has designated the entire class of PBDE flame retardants as 
dangerous. Chemical producers have been fighting an intense battle to keep 
the European Union, generally considered the world's leading regulator on 
pollutants, from moving against a PBDE formulation known as "deca" that 
Canada is proposing to regulate.

"The federal government has made the right decision and they deserve credit 
for that," said Rick Smith, executive director of the Toronto-based group 
Environmental Defence.

The main industry association of flame-retardant manufacturers, the 
Washington-based Bromine Science and Environmental Forum, could not be 
reached for comment.

Previous tests by Health Canada found Canadian women have the second highest 
levels of PBDEs in their breast milk in the world, after the United States.

In the Canada Gazette filing, the minister said they didn't think exposures 
to breast-fed infants were high enough to cause harm, although they said 
more research would have to be done to prove this conclusively.


..............................................................................

In the EU the use of some kinds of PBDE in some products is now banned
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/02/eng20060702_279253.html
http://www.businessupdated.com/shownews.asp?news_id=1523&cat=EU+Environment+policy:+prohibition+of+dangerous+substances+in+electrical+and+electronic+material