posted 04-19- 01:09 AM
EPA to tighten standard on arsenic
White House had said it would kill Clinton standard
MSNBC
WASHINGTON, April 18 — The Bush administration, under fire for scrapping Clinton-era standards for arsenic in drinking water, announced plans Wednesday to tighten existing standards within nine months.
BUSH HAD DRAWN heavy criticism from environmentalists and others last month when the Environmental Protection Agency killed a Clinton administration regulation that would have tightened the standard to no more than 10 parts of arsenic per billion in drinking water. The current standard, set in 1942, is 50 parts per billion.
EPA Administrator Christie Whitman said Wednesday that she was asking the National Academy of Sciences to examine the impact of possible reductions to a range of 3 to 20 parts per billion.
“The Bush administration is committed to protecting the environment and the health of all Americans,” Whitman said in a written statement, promising a final regulation within nine months.
She said the decision to seek a report from the academy would “ensure that a standard will be put in place in a timely manner that provides clean, safe and affordable drinking water for the nation and is based on the best science.”
The Bush administration’s decision March 20 to stop the regulation, which was put into place three days before the end of Bill Clinton's presidency, created an uproar among environmentalists, congressional Democrats and members of the public.
Whitman argued there was insufficient scientific evidence to justify the $200 million annual cost to municipalities, states and industry of meeting the new Clinton standards by 2006.
“I have said consistently that we will obtain the necessary scientific review ... and that we will establish that standard in a timely manner,” she said Wednesday.
NBC News correspondent Campbell Brown reported Wednesday that Whitman plans to issue the new regulations by 2006 — the same year the new Clinton rule would have gone into effect.
Environmentalists accused the EPA on Wednesday of seeking the review as a way to put off a final decision.
“We’re outraged that this is going to assure a year of delays for protection of public health for millions of Americans,” said Erik Olson, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which said last month that it would sue to reverse the order overturning Clinton's new standard.
He said the parameters set by Whitman were “a pretty clear signal” that the EPA was headed toward settling at 20 parts per billion, 60 percent lower than the current standard but twice the amount Clinton would have allowed.
BACKGROUND TO THE STANDARD
The NRDC accused Bush last month of allowing his judgment to be swayed by large campaign contributions from the mining industry. The National Mining Association was a vocal opponent of the Clinton-era rule, calling it "a political decision ... not supported by science."
Citing campaign finance data from the Center for Responsive Politics, the NRDC said last month that Bush had received more money from the mining industry during the presidential campaign than any other federal candidate. The mining industry also gave $5.6 million to the Republican Party last year, it said, compared with less than $900,000 to Democrats.
The Clinton-era rule updated a 60-year-old standard and would have required about 3,000 communities — generally small water systems — to make changes in the treatment of drinking water.
Environmentalists have argued for years that the arsenic standard of 50 parts per billion should be tightened. Last year, the EPA proposed going to 5 parts per billion as demanded by many environmentalists but then settled at 10 parts per billion.
Efforts to tighten the federal requirement gained momentum after a National Academy of Sciences report in 1999 found that arsenic in drinking water causes bladder, lung and skin cancer and might cause kidney and liver cancer.
The arsenic around us
• Arsenic occurs naturally, being the 20th most common element in the Earth’s crust and the 12th most common element in the human body.
• Arsenic is added to the environment by weathering of rocks, burning of fossil fuels, smelting of ores and manufacturing. It is widely distributed in nature and is mainly transported in the environment by water.
• Arsenic exposure can cause a variety of adverse effects. Acute high-dose oral exposure typically leads to gastrointestinal irritations and difficulty in swallowing, thirst, abnormally low blood pressure, and convulsions. Death may occur from cardiovascular collapse at very high doses.
• Evidence exists that long-term exposure to high arsenic levels increases the risk of cancer. When exposure is by inhalation, the primary effect is increased risk of lung cancer. When exposure is by ingestion, the clearest effect is increased risk of skin cancer. Evidence also exists that the risk of internal cancer (liver, lung, bladder, and kidney) is also increased through ingestion.
• For most people, the most significant route of exposure to arsenic is through food since it is a normal component of diet. Studies by the Food and Drug Administration have found that fish and seafood are higher in arsenic content than any other foods.
• Ingestion of drinking water can be a source of arsenic exposure. Several national surveys of drinking water systems have found arsenic in 3 to 39 percent of all samples averaging less than 10 parts per billion.
• Arsenic concentrations are generally highest in groundwater. Surface water concentrations also may be at levels of regulatory concern.
MSNBC.com's Miguel Llanos, NBC News' Campbell Brown andThe Associated Press contributed to this report.
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