The EPA has been found to have made a controversial decision regarding boat fuel which can cause cancer. What’s all the kerfuffle about? Read on to learn more.
A Boat Fuel Made From Plastic Garbage
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently approved a boat fuel made from discarded plastic, despite its own risk assessment showing that the substance could lead to cancer in everyone exposed to it over their lifetime.
A Crazy High Risk Level
This risk level is a million times higher than what the EPA typically considers acceptable for new chemicals, and even worse than the risk of lung cancer from a lifetime of smoking.
What Federal Law Has to Say
Federal law requires the EPA to review the safety of new chemical products before allowing them on the market.
If something poses unreasonable risks, the EPA must find ways to reduce those risks before approval.
A Costly Exaggeration?
However, in this case, the EPA did not follow that process and decided that its scientists were exaggerating the risks.
Minimal Safety Equipment
The agency gave Chevron permission to produce the new boat fuel ingredient at its Mississippi refinery without requiring any significant remedies except for mandating workers to wear gloves.
“Climate Friendly”
ProPublica and the Guardian previously reported on the risks of other plastic-based Chevron fuels, approved under an EPA program that aimed to be “climate-friendly.”
Toxic Air Pollution
The highest risk from one of these fuels was expected to cause air pollution toxic enough to potentially give 1 out of 4 people cancer over their lifetime.
They’re Not Sharing
When questioned about the risks, the EPA initially declined to provide its risk assessment.
More Risk Revealed
However, later investigations revealed that the boat fuel ingredient had an even higher cancer risk, with a 1.3-in-1 chance, meaning every person exposed to it throughout their life could be expected to get cancer.
The Inside Scoop
Maria Doa, a scientist who worked at the EPA for 30 years, noted that such high risks were unusual.
The EPA usually limits the lifetime cancer risk from an air pollutant to one additional case in a million people.
For the fuel, the risk is an alarmingly high 1 in 1.3.
Food Contamination
Another significant cancer risk associated with the boat fuel ingredient was that consuming fish raised in contaminated water could lead to cancer in 7 out of 100 people over their lifetime.
This risk was 70,000 times higher than what the EPA typically considers acceptable.
Acknowledgment of Mistake
The EPA acknowledged that they made a mistake by not including these high risks in the consent order for the new fuels.
Conservative Assumptions
The agency claimed that the cancer risk estimates were “extremely unlikely and reported with high uncertainty” due to conservative assumptions used in modeling.
Same, Same
They also argued that the risks from these new chemicals were similar to existing fuels, so additional protections were unnecessary.
Concern From Environmental Orgs
Six environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund, expressed concerns about the risks from these fuels.
They challenged the EPA’s characterization of the cancer risks and urged the agency to withdraw its approval.
Mislabeling
The EPA later acknowledged that they mislabeled critical information about the harmful emissions.
The consent order referred to cancer risk from “stack air,” but the EPA later clarified that it meant pollution released from the exhaust of jets and boats, not smokestacks near residential areas.
Growing Harm
The risk assessment also highlighted additional risks to infants from some of the new fuels, but the EPA didn’t quantify these effects or take any measures to limit the harms.
Some of these chemicals are expected to persist in nature and accumulate in living organisms, which should trigger additional restrictions, but the EPA hasn’t implemented any such restrictions.
Review Proposals
In June, the EPA proposed a rule requiring companies to contact the agency before producing 18 fuels listed in the Chevron consent order.
The EPA would then review the oil used to create these fuels to ensure it doesn’t contain unsafe contaminants found in plastic.
Significant Contamination
However, environmental advocates remain concerned that the fuels pose significant risks even without additional contamination.
Not Good Enough
The problem is the EPA approved a boat fuel made from discarded plastic, despite its risk assessment showing high cancer risks.
Backlash
Environmental organizations are challenging the approval, and the EPA has proposed a rule to review the production of such fuels.
However, concerns remain about the potential dangers posed by these plastic-based chemicals.
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The post The EPA Approved a Cancer-Causing Contaminant. Are They Asleep at the Wheel? first appeared on Career Step Up
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