Tag: Toxic chemicals

Second PCB symposium focuses on source identification and tracking

English sole are among the fish in Puget Sound that pick up contaminants from PCBs through the food they eat. Photo: biodiversityguy https://biodiversityguy.smugmug.com/Underwater/Reference-List-Photos-of/i-3GgD5hB/A
Share

This Thursday, June 15th, the Puget Sound Institute will host the second in a series of symposiums focusing on contaminant PCBs in regional waterways. The program will include three case studies about PCB source tracking in San Francisco Bay, the Newton Creek Superfund site, and Anacostia River & Lower Beaver Dam Creek. The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion and include opportunities for participant questions. More information is available on PSI’s Cross Program Contaminant Working Group web page. The symposium takes place on June 15, 2023 from 9 […]

BPA toxicity debate approaches regulatory decisions at both state and federal levels

Share

As Washington state authorities get ready to ban the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from drink cans and customer sales receipts, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has agreed to take a fresh look at the potential dangers of BPA. Washington Department of Ecology has issued its “Regulatory Determinations to the Legislature,” which specifies that safer chemicals are available and could be banned from a dozen applications where toxic chemicals are widely used — from flame retardants in electronic equipment to stain-resistant compounds in carpets. Coming next are actual regulations to […]

Discovery of tire-related chemical that kills coho salmon sparks widespread response

Share

Scientists, legislators and manufacturers are responding in various ways to the recent groundbreaking discovery of a deadly chemical derived from automobile tires, a chemical that can rapidly kill coho salmon swimming in urban streams. Researchers are trying to better describe the chemical signature and biological function of the newfound chemical, 6PPD-quinone, along with related compounds. One major goal is to find an alternative chemical that can prevent dangerous cracking in tires without poisoning the environment. Tire manufacturers acknowledge that they had no idea that 6PPD-quinone even existed, although the chemical’s […]

Voluntary removal of BPA from food cans leaves state regulators with a key decision

Share

As Washington state regulators contemplate a ban on the chemical BPA from food and drink cans, a manufacturers organization insists that BPA has already been removed voluntarily from nearly all food cans. Washington Department of Ecology is engaged in Phase 3 of the Safer Products for Washington program, which is evaluating five groups of chemicals known to cause health effects. Agency toxicologists are studying whether safer alternatives are practical and should be required as a matter of state law. One of the compounds under review is bisphenol A (BPA), which […]