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Throws Out New Arsenic Standard |
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By Cat Lazaroff Environmental News Service
"I am committed to safe and affordable drinking water for all Americans," Whitman said. "I want to be sure that the conclusions about arsenic in the rule are supported by the best available science." Whitman said the EPA will seek independent reviews of both the science behind the standard and of the estimates of the costs to communities of implementing the rule. A final decision on withdrawal is expected after the public has an opportunity to comment. Some cities and states that will have to comply with the arsenic rule have raised questions about whether the costs of the rule were fully understood when the rule was signed in early January. Pennsylvania, for example, estimates the cost to be about $200 million per year. "When the federal government imposes costs on communities - especially small communities - we should be sure the facts support imposing the federal standard," Whitman continued. "I am moving quickly to review the arsenic standard so communities that need to reduce arsenic in drinking water can proceed with confidence once the permanent standard is confirmed." While scientists agree that the previous standard of 50 parts per billion should be lowered, there is no consensus on a particular safe level. Independent review of the science behind the final standard will help clear up uncertainties that have been raised about the health benefits of reducing arsenic to 10 parts per billion in drinking water, Whitman said. "It is clear that arsenic, while naturally occurring, is something that needs to be regulated. Certainly the standard should be less than 50 ppb, but the scientific indicators are unclear as to whether the standard needs to go as low as 10 ppb," said Whitman. Arsenic occurs naturally in rocks and soil, water, air, and plants and animals. The highest concentrations of arsenic occur mostly in western states, particularly in the Southwest. It can be released into the environment through natural activities such as volcanic action, erosion of rocks, and forest fires, or through human actions. About 90 percent of industrial arsenic in the U.S. is used as a wood preservative, but arsenic is also used in paints, dyes, metals, drugs, soaps and semiconductors. Agricultural applications, mining and smelting also contribute to arsenic releases in the environment. Studies have linked long term exposure to arsenic in drinking water to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver and prostate. Even at very low doses, arsenic exposure can cause other health problems as well, including cardiovascular, pulmonary, immunological, neurological and endocrine effects. "This decision will not lessen any existing protections for drinking water. The standards would remain the same, whether the rule went through or not, until it was time to enforce it under the compliance schedule five to nine years from now," said Whitman. "But, in the interim, EPA will examine what may have been a rushed decision." The EPA asked today for a 60 day extension of the effective date of the pending arsenic standard for drinking water, and expects to release a timetable for review within the next few weeks. Environmental groups denounced the EPA's decision to delay or discard the new arsenic standard. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which sued the EPA to force the agency to update its arsenic standard, called the move "a craven capitulation" to corporate interests. The new standard was a result of more than a decade of scientific reviews, public hearings and discussions with health experts and industry. "This decision will force millions of Americans to continue to drink arsenic laced water," said NRDC senior attorney Erik Olson. "Many will die from arsenic related cancers and other diseases, but [President] George Bush apparently doesn't care." The NRDC and other groups argue that the reviews proposed today by Whitman have already been done. A definitive 1999 report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), which established a host of health problems associated with arsenic in drinking water, recommended prompt revision of the EPA's arsenic standard to protect the public's health. The NAS said that drinking water at the current EPA standard "could easily" result in a total cancer risk of one in 100 about a 10,000 times higher cancer risk than EPA would allow for carcinogens in food. The NRDC and other groups argued for a new arsenic standard of three ppb. The EPA proposed a five ppb standard in June 2000 and then increased it to 10 ppb in January 2001 in response to industry pressure. "EPA scientists know the level of cancer causing arsenic in our drinking water is unsafe and should be lowered," said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. "This decision suggests the Bush administration is caving to the mining industry's demands to allow continued use of dangerous mining techniques" that release arsenic into waterways. "While some arsenic occurs naturally, the mining industry's operations widely pollute our drinking water with arsenic and other toxic metals," said Ed Hopkins, director of Sierra Club's Environmental Quality program. "Americans cannot afford to delay new protections against arsenic any longer. The Bush Administration needs to focus more on the needs of Americans and less on the demands of special interests like the mining industry." Conservation groups also note that the EPA has already missed several statutory deadlines for issuing the new arsenic standards, including Congressional orders under the 1974, 1986 and 1996 Safe Drinking Water Acts. "What will it take to convince the Bush administration to do something about this enormous health risk?" asked NRDC's Olson. "Congress told the agency to update the arsenic standard in the mid-1970s and again in the late 1980s, but it never happened. In 1996, Congress asked for the third time, making January 2000 the deadline for a proposal. EPA finally proposed the new standard in June 2000 after we sued the agency. Now we will be forced to sue again." A map of arsenic distribution in groundwater across the U.S., prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey, is available at: http://co.water.usgs.gov/trace/arsenic |
EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman announced that the EPA will be taking a step backward on protecting America's water supply 
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