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1. EPA EXPANDS LOCALIZED SMOG FORECASTS TO 39 STATES AND OVER 160 CITIES, 2. COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE CENTERS HELP REGULATED COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND REGULATIONS, 3. INFORMATION QUALITY GUIDELINES DEVELOPED; PUBLIC MEETING TO BE HELD, 4. $4.5 MILLION AWARDED FOR RESEARCH ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND CHEMICALS IN THE ENVIRONMENT, 5. $3.4 MILLION SETTLEMENT REACHED WITH BOSTON TRASH HAULER, 6. FORMER CHRYSLER OFFICIALS SENTENCED IN INDIANA, 7. SHIP’S ENGINEERS CHARGED IN OREGON WITH FRAUDULENT OIL LOGS
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2002 EPA EXPANDS LOCALIZED SMOG FORECASTS TO 39 STATES AND OVER 160 CITIES Dave Ryan 202-564-7827 / ryan.dave@epa.gov To help the public prepare for summertime air pollution, when ground-level ozone (smog) is usually at its worst, EPA is expanding its efforts to provide localized “same day” and “next day” smog forecasts, along with “real-time” maps. EPA’s updated AirNow website provides forecasts and easy-to-understand maps updated on an hourly basis on ozone air quality information from monitors in 39 states and Washington, D.C. (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin). Within the next month, Idaho, New Mexico and Colorado are expected to be added. The expanded website will also include same day and next day forecasts for over 160 cities across the country. These forecasts are based on EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI), which uses a color-coding system to rate air quality as good (green), moderate (yellow), unhealthy for sensitive groups (orange), unhealthy (red), very unhealthy (purple) or hazardous (maroon); the AQI also provides cautionary health statements for each rating. EPA shares the AQI forecasts for all major cities in the United States with weather service providers who make the information available to newspapers, television and radio. Smog is created by a chemical reaction between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight. When inhaled -- even at very low levels -- smog can cause acute respiratory problems, aggravate asthma, reduce lung capacity, inflame lung tissue and impair the body’s immune system. For additional information on AirNow, visit the website at: http://www.epa.gov/airnow or call Chet Wayland at 919-541-4603 (wayland.richard@epa.gov). COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE CENTERS HELP REGULATED COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND REGULATIONS Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818 / hester.luke@epa.gov The 10 national Compliance Assistance Centers have proven to be highly beneficial to the regulated community. Use of the centers increased by 23 percent last year, with over 501,000 visits in 2001. Respondents to a recent survey indicated that more than 90 percent agreed or strongly agreed that the centers help them understand environmental regulations. In addition, 73 percent of those polled noted that use of the centers helped them take environmentally beneficial action such as reaching compliance with a regulation or changing the handling of wastes or emissions. The centers are sponsored by EPA in partnership with industry, academic institutions, environmental groups and other agencies to provide innovative solutions for environmental challenges affecting eight industry sectors and the local and federal governments. The Internet poll measured how the regulated community and technical assistance providers use and apply the information and resources of the centers. Of the technical assistance providers who responded to the survey, 71 percent said the centers assisted them in helping clients reach compliance, identify pollution prevention opportunities, or obtain a permit or certification. The survey also revealed that 85 percent of the respondents said actions taken resulted in reduced waste, wastewater, air emissions, and environmental harm and risk, or conserved water, energy and other natural resources. Cost savings were realized by 69 percent of the survey respondents who were able to assess costs. The centers support the printing, metal finishing, automotive services and repair, agriculture, chemical manufacturers, paints and coatings, transportation, printed wiring board manufacturers, local governments and federal facilities sectors. Through Internet sites, telephone assistance, fax-back systems and E-mail discussion groups, the centers help the regulated community and assistance providers understand environmental requirements and develop pollution prevention methods. Additional information is available at: www.assistancecenters.net. INFORMATION QUALITY GUIDELINES DEVELOPED; PUBLIC MEETING TO BE HELD David Deegan 202-564-7839 / deegan.dave@epa.gov EPA has developed draft Information Quality Guidelines aimed at ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility and integrity of information it disseminates. The draft guidelines, developed in response to a directive from the Office of Management and Budget to all federal agencies, were released for a 30-day public review and comment period that ends on May 31. The Agency will also hold a public meeting on May 15 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. in Washington, D.C., to provide further opportunity for public comment on the draft guidelines. All comments will be addressed as the Agency prepares final Information Quality Guidelines. The public meeting will be held at EPA East, 1201 Constitution Ave. N.W., Rm. 1153, Washington, D.C., and will be chaired by Kim Nelson, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Environmental Information. For more information on the draft guidelines or on the public meeting, see: http://www.epa.gov/oei/qualityguidelines/index.htm . $4.5 MILLION AWARDED FOR RESEARCH ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND CHEMICALS IN THE ENVIRONMENT David Deegan 202-564-7839 / deegan.dave@epa.gov EPA recently awarded research grants, totaling more than $4.5 million, to six universities to study the potential impact on children’s health from chemicals in the environment. Children’s biological systems do not always respond in the same way as adults do when exposed to environmental hazards, since pound for pound of body weight, children breathe more, eat more and have a more rapid metabolism than adults. Because children are growing and developing, toxic substances can have a significant impact on the way their biological systems work. EPA is sponsoring this research to better understand how these factors affect risk to children from exposure to chemicals. The grants were awarded through EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, which funds research grants in numerous environmental science and engineering disciplines through a competitive solicitation process and independent peer review. The grants have been awarded to Colorado State University, Duke University Medical Center, University of Georgia, Research Triangle Institute (located at Research Triangle Park, N.C.), Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Wayne State University (located in Detroit, Mich.). Additional information is available at: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/grants/children01.html. More information on EPA’s STAR program is available at: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/. ENFORCEMENT WRAP-UP Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818 / hester.luke@epa.gov $3.4 MILLION SETTLEMENT REACHED WITH BOSTON TRASH HAULER EPA reached a $3.4 million settlement with Waste Management of Massachusetts Inc. to resolve claims of multiple violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The proposed consent decree requires the company to pay a $775,000 civil penalty and spend $2.6 million on environmental projects that will improve Boston's air quality and revitalize public waterfront property on Chelsea Creek in East Boston. The air-related project involves spending $1.4 million to reduce diesel air emissions from 200 Boston school buses, including 150 that will be fitted with special pollution control devices. A civil complaint also was filed. The settlement stems from violations of provisions of the CAA intended to protect the stratospheric ozone layer from the harmful effects of certain chemicals, known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). These chemicals, commonly found in coolants, are known to cause the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, which protects the earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Under EPA regulations, waste haulers who dispose of household appliances that may contain CFCs or HCFCs, including refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners, must take steps to ensure that these chemicals are not released to the atmosphere. Waste Management was accused of picking up and crushing appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners during curbside trash pickup operations in Boston, resulting in the probable release of ozone-depleting refrigerants. Upon discovering this illegal practice in 1998, EPA ordered the company to stop crushing appliances and to handle them properly. Since then, Waste Management has used flat bed trucks to pick up appliances discarded in Boston. The case was investigated by EPA’s regional office in Boston and was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office there. FORMER CHRYSLER OFFICIALS SENTENCED IN INDIANA Henry L. Hall of Sharpsville, Ind., was sentenced to six months home detention as part of a one-year probation, and a $5,000 fine for violating the Clean Water Act. A co-defendant, Clifford E. Gray, Jr., of Carmel, Ind., was previously sentenced to three months home detention as a part of one year of probation and a $2,500 fine. Hall, former plant engineering supervisor at the Chrysler Corp. Kokomo Transmission Plant, and Gray, former plant environmental and hazardous material control administrator, used temporary lines to discharge tens of thousands of gallons of industrial oil coolant into the Kokomo, Ind., sewer system. Unpermitted discharging of oil and grease into sewers can create a fire hazard, damage sewage treatment equipment and prevent the proper treatment of sewage. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center and was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Indianapolis. SHIP’S ENGINEERS CHARGED IN OREGON WITH FRAUDULENT OIL LOGS Pyeong Gab Jeong of Korea, chief engineer of the motor vessel Cygnus and Duk Jo Jeong, the Cygnus’ first engineer, were charged in a criminal complaint in federal court in Portland, Ore., for allegedly making false statements in the ship’s oil record book. They allegedly recorded that waste oil was burned in the ship’s incinerator when, instead, it was being discharged into the ocean. Both men were ordered to remain in Oregon, as were several material witnesses. The Cygnus is owned by Feng Lee Maritime Corp. of Panama City and is operated by Fujitran Corp. of Japan. The Cygnus is an automobile transport ship. The discharge of oil into the ocean can be harmful to aquatic life. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Coast Guard. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Portland. R-090 # # # Release date:05/10/2002 Receive our News Releases Automatically by Email
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