Unions, Activists Urge EPA To Tighten Interim Dioxin Cleanup Goals

摘要

Unions and activists are urging EPA to strengthen the interim cleanup standards for the carcinogenic and ubiquitous contaminant dioxin, arguing that the numbers EPA is proposing for both residential and industrial sites far exceed existing levels of dioxin in the environment and are not protective of workers or children.rnEPA has proposed interim site cleanup goals for dioxin, which are to be used at contaminated sites until EPA completes its risk assessment of the contaminant (see related story).rnThe agency has struggled to complete its assessment for more than two decades, and Administrator Lisa Jackson has set a deadline of December 2010 for its completion. The agency's proposed interim preliminary remediation goal (PRG) for dioxin includes non-cancer and cancer values for both residential and non-residential sites, for a total of four different goals. These values vary widely, ranging from 3.7 parts per trillion (ppt) of dioxin in soil to protect against cancer at residential sites up to 950 ppt for non-cancer endpoints at commercial sites.