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1. U.S. GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT; 2. EPA GRANTS ONE-YEAR EXEMPTIONS FOR DOD TO SAFELY DISPOSE OF PCB WASTES; 3. EPA AWARDS $200; 000 FOR PROGRAM TO REDUCE POLLUTION FROM GROUND FREIGHT CARRIERSPress Advisory U.S. GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Dave Deegan 202-564-7839/deegan.dave@epa.gov The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has released a draft version of the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2001 for a 30-day public comment period. The major finding in this year’s report is that overall emissions declined by 1.6% from 2000 to 2001, the first such decline since 1990. This decline was due primarily to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions associated with fuel and electricity consumption in the industrial sector of the economy, and also coincided with a drop in industrial output. Secondary contributors include a relatively warm winter, which reduced demand for heating fuel, and targeted measures to reduce non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions in industries such as aluminum smelting. Overall, total U.S. emissions have risen by 13 percent from 1990 to 2001. Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases were 6,947 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2001. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. Fossil fuel combustion was the largest source of emissions, accounting for 80 percent of the total. The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2001 is prepared annually by the EPA, in collaboration with experts from a dozen other federal agencies, and is one of the most comprehensive analyses of greenhouse gases in the world. After EPA completes a final version of the document, the Department of State will submit the Inventory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). A Federal Register notice announcing a 30-day public comment period on the report was published on Jan. 29, 2003. The report is available at: www.epa.gov/globalwarming/publications/emissions EPA GRANTS ONE-YEAR EXEMPTIONS FOR DOD TO SAFELY DISPOSE OF PCB WASTES Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819/ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov Dave Deegan 202-564-7839/deegan.dave@epa.gov EPA has issued a final rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to grant two Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) petitions to import PCB waste to be safely eliminated at EPA-permitted disposal facilities. DLA is a component of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). EPA’s action ensures that the PCBs will be disposed of in a safe manner that poses no threat to U.S. or Japanese citizens or to the environment. Before granting these exemptions, DLA had to demonstrate under TSCA regulations that they could dispose of the PCBs in a manner that presented “no unreasonable risk to health or the environment,” and that DLA had made good faith efforts to find alternatives to import into the United States. Polychlorinated biphenyls are man-made (synthetic) chemicals that were used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment. Since the late 1970s the U.S. has been removing PCBs from use and disposing of remaining materials. One petition granted is to import DoD’s PCBs that are stored on Wake Island, a United States territory in the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii. The other petition is to import PCBs owned by DoD that are currently in use or storage in Japan. These exemptions will become effective on April 18, 2003, and under TSCA 6(e)(3)(B), are limited to one-year. For further information, see the Federal Register notice at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-TOX/2003/January/Day-31/t2344.htm. EPA AWARDS $200,000 FOR PROGRAM TO REDUCE POLLUTION FROM GROUND FREIGHT CARRIERS Cathy Milbourn 202-564-7824/milbourn.cathy@epa.gov EPA has awarded a $200,000 grant to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) under the Agency’s newly announced SmartWaySM Transport program designed to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from ground freight carriers such as trucks and locomotives. The EPA grant to EPRI will go towards supporting reductions in long-duration idling on trucks. Truck drivers idle their engines while they rest to provide heat, air conditioning, or to supply electric power to run appliances such as a microwave. Idling the main engine to provide for these needs consumes significant amounts of fuel and pollutes the air. In fact, each year the trucking industry consumes over one billion gallons of diesel fuel from idling and produces over 11 million tons of carbon dioxide and 150,000 tons of nitrogen oxides. By installing the idle reduction technologies, truck drivers will be able to turn off their main engine and operate these components through either the auxiliary battery or by plugging into any 120 volt outlet, which is about a 90 percent energy savings. Participating fleets and EPRI will track the fuel and maintenance savings associated with this idle reduction technology. The participating fleets will then be required to re-invest all the savings into the purchase of additional idle reduction technologies. For additional information about the SmartWay program, see: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/smartway/index.htm. R043 # # # Release date:02/07/2003 Receive our News Releases Automatically by Email
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