The post-Bhopal and post-9/11 transformations in chemical emergency prevention and response policy in the United States

The United States' approach to incident prevention and response to hazardous chemical facilities has undergone two major transformations in the last 20 years. The first was triggered by the Bhopal tragedy in 1984, which led to major changes within the US chemical industry and a series of Federal laws and regulations intended to prevent major chemical accidents. A more recent transformation is currently underway in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. It involves the advent of various security-related requirements affecting many of the same facilities covered under the existing accident prevention rules. This paper provides an overview of these transformations and their impacts.     

The sound of one hand clapping: transparency without accountability

Does increasing government transparency in an authoritarian regime, absent electoral forms of accountability, change outcomes? The case of China, which has adopted a number of open governance and public information laws, is examined to see whether increased transparency by local environmental protection bureaus affects key environmental outcomes, specifically reductions in air and water pollution. Several unique environmental performance measurements, developed by the authors, are used to supplement standard government-reported measurements of environmental outcomes, and a widely used environmental transparency index (the PITI). By testing information that is newly supplied to the public, but already available to government, government and public monitoring are distinguished from one another, and the effect of public knowledge of government functions is tested. In the absence of a mechanism for the public to hold local government accountable, public transparency alone has no impact on outcomes other than information provision itself.     

Adaptation by Older Individuals Repeatedly Exposed to 0.45 Parts per Million Ozone for Two Hours

To test for an increased reaction to ozone (O₃) in older individuals following an initial exposure, and to test for adaptation and its duration, we exposed 10 men and 6 women (60-89 years old) in an environmental chamber to filtered air and 3 consecutive days of O₃ exposure (0.45 ppm), followed by a fourth O₃ exposure day after a two day hiatus. Subjects alternated 20-min exercise (minute ventilation = 27 L) and rest periods for 2 hours during each exposure. Subjects rated from one to five, 16 possible respiratory/exercise symptoms prior to and following the exposure. Pulmonary function tests were performed before, and during each rest period and following the exposure. Metabolic measurements were obtained during each exercise period. No significant changes in any symptom question occurred, in spite of a threefold increase in the total number of reported symptoms during O₃ exposure. Small but significant pre-to-post decrements on the first and second O₃ days in forced vital capacity (FVC—111 and 104 mL), forced expiratory volume in 1 (FEV₁—171 and 164 mL) and 3 seconds (FEV₃—185 and 172 mL) occurred without concomitant changes in any flow parameter of the forced expiratory maneuver. No differences in the group mean response in FVC, FEV₁, OR FEV₃ on the third or fourth day of O₃ exposure and the filtered air exposure were found. The observed changes were due to significant physiological changes in eight of the subjects. Unlike young subjects, no evidence of an increased pulmonary function response to a second consecutive O₃ exposure was observed. Changes in small airway response to O₃ (below 75 percent of FVC) without irritant receptor activation, would explain the observed pattern of response.     

Identification and Quantitative Analysis of Particulate Air Contaminants by X-Ray Diffraction Spectrometry

Because of the synergistic effects which take place from the mixing of gases and particulates in ambient air, it is important that the determination of air contaminants be carried out on the sample in its native state without imposing any further chemical recombination during the analysis. Since x-ray diffraction provides a chemically passive method of analysis and yields molecular rather than elemental information, we have undertaken the siudy of, and have successfully employed crystal diffraction lines as a qualitative and quantitative means for determining such materials as lime, calcium carbonate, road salt, coke dust, and aerosol from sinter emissions as well as several other less common industrial particulates in samples obtained from dustfall as dispersed in a matrix of powdered amorphous glass. Correlative to the above investigation this method was also extended to the study of such gases as sulfur dioxide which may be selectively fixed to an active surface.     

Cytotoxic response in human lung epithelial cells and ion characteristics of urban-air particles from Torino,a northern Italian city

Recently, much attention has been devoted to urban air pollution because epidemiological studies have reported health impacts related to particulate matter (PM). PM10 and PM2.5 were collected during different seasons in Torino, a northern Italian city, and were characterised by inorganic chemical species (secondary particulates and bio-available iron). The biological effects of aqueous and organic solvent PM extracts on human epithelial lung A549 were evaluated, and the effects on cell proliferation and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release were assayed. The average PM10 concentration during the sampling period was 47.9?±?18.0 μg/m³; the secondary particles accounted for 49 %?±?9 % of the PM10 total mass, and the bio-available iron concentration was 0.067?±?0.045 μg/m³. The PM2.5/PM10 ratio in Torino ranged from 0.47 to 0.90 and was higher in cold months than in warm months. The PM10 and PM2.5 extracts inhibited cell proliferation and induced LDH release in a dose-dependent manner with a seasonal trend. The PM10 extract had a stronger effect on LDH release, whereas the PM2.5 extract more strongly inhibited cell proliferation. No significant differences were observed in the effects induced by the two extracts, and no significant correlations were found between the biological effects and the PM components evaluated in this study, thus emphasising the importance of the entire mixture in inducing a cytotoxic response.     

Synthesis of isotopically modified ZnO nanoparticles and their potential as nanotoxicity tracers

Understanding the behavior of engineered nanoparticles in the environment and within organisms is perhaps the biggest obstacle to the safe development of nanotechnologies. Reliable tracing is a particular issue for nanoparticles such as ZnO, because Zn is an essential element and a common pollutant thus present at elevated background concentrations. We synthesized isotopically enriched (89.6%) with a rare isotope of Zn (⁶⁷Zn) ZnO nanoparticles and measured the uptake of ⁶⁷Zn by L. stagnalis exposed to diatoms amended with the particles. Stable isotope technique is sufficiently sensitive to determine the uptake of Zn at an exposure equivalent to lower concentration range (<15 μg g⁻¹). Without a tracer, detection of newly accumulated Zn is significant at Zn exposure concentration only above 5000 μg g⁻¹ which represents some of the most contaminated Zn conditions. Only by using a tracer we can study Zn uptake at a range of environmentally realistic exposure conditions.     

Biomarker responses associated with halogenated organic contaminants in northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) breeding in the Canadian Arctic

We examined relationships between hepatic concentrations of halogenated organic contaminants and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity and retinoid (vitamin A) concentrations in livers, as well as retinol and thyroid hormone (TT₃, TT₄) levels in blood plasma, of northern fulmars at two breeding colonies in the Canadian High Arctic. Biomarker levels or responses did not differ significantly between males and females at either colony, nor was there any significant difference between colonies. No significant relationships were found between thyroid hormone or hepatic retinoid concentrations and any of the dioxin-like compounds or their Toxic Equivalents (TEQs) although significant positive correlations were found with plasma retinol (p < 0.03). EROD activity was significantly correlated with hepatic dioxin-like compounds and their TEQs (p < 0.001) as well as total PCBs (p < 0.01), which suggests that EROD induction occurs in northern fulmars at environmentally-relevant concentrations.     

Soil suspension/dispersion modeling methods for estimating health-based soil cleanup levels of hexavalent chromium at chromite ore processing residue sites

The primary health concern associated with exposures to chromite ore processing residue (COPR)-affected soils is inhalation of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] particulates. Site-specific soil alternative remediation standards (ARSs) are set using soil suspension and dispersion models to be protective of the theoretical excess cancer risk associated with inhalation of soil suspended by vehicle traffic and wind. The purpose of this study was to update a previous model comparison study that identified the 1995 AP-42 particulate emission model for vehicle traffic over unpaved roads and the Fugitive Dust Model (FDM) as the most appropriate model combination for estimating site-specific ARSs. Because the AP-42 model has been revised, we have updated our past evaluation. Specifically, the 2006 AP-42 particulate emissions model; the Industrial Source Complex-Short Term model, version 3 (ISCST3); and the American Meteorological Society/Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model (AERMOD) air dispersion models were evaluated, and the results were compared with those from the previously used modeling approaches. Two sites with and two sites without vehicle traffic were evaluated to determine if wind erosion is a significant source of emissions. For the two sites with vehicle traffic, both FDM and ISCST3 produced total suspended particulate (TSP) estimates that were, on average, within a factor of 2 of measured; whereas AERMOD produced estimates that were as much as 5-fold higher than measured. In general, the estimated TSP concentrations for FDM were higher than those for ISCST3. For airborne Cr(VI), the ISCST3 model produced estimates that were only 2- to 8-fold of the measured concentrations, and both FDM and AERMOD estimated airborne Cr(VI) concentrations that were approximately 4- to 14-fold higher than measured. Results using the 1995 AP-42 model were closer to measured than those from the 2006 AP-42 model. Wind erosion was an insignificant contributor to particulate emissions at COPR sites.