CEC Final Draft Report Released: Hazardous Trade? An An Examination of US-generated Spent Lead-acid Battery Exports and Secondary Lead Recycling in Mexico, the United States and Canada

Recently, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a collaboration between Canada, Mexico and the United States pursuant to the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), issued a final draft report titled, Hazardous Trade? An Examination of US-generated Spent Lead-acid Battery Exports and Secondary Lead Recycling in Mexico, the United States and Canada (2012). The 83-page report which was recently discussed in the New York Times, examines the following issues according to the abstract:

The independent report, written under the authority of NAAEC Article 13, was initiated in 2012 in response to concerns that a surge in spent lead-acid battery (SLAB) exports to Mexico in recent years was an effort to avoid the costs of stricter environmental and health protection laws prevalent in the United States. Lead is a persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substance and how lead-acid batteries are recycled is an important economic, public health and environmental issue. A draft of the report had been made available by the Secretariat for public comments and benefited as well from the input of key stakeholders.

Key findings of the report include:

• Between 2004 and 2011, US net exports of SLABs to Mexico increased by 449–525 percent, and 221 per cent to Canada.

• The regulatory frameworks covering secondary lead smelters in the United States, Canada and Mexico do not provide equivalent levels of environmental and health protection.

• National cross-border accounts in all three countries do not accord with shipping or receiving volumes of SLABs from either sending or receiving countries.

• Notwithstanding Mexico’s permitting process, there are important gaps in its overall regulatory framework, as well as with respect to the prevailing environmental and public health standards in the United States and Canada.

The report also presents various recommendations to environmental authorities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, that will enhance the protection of our shared environment, and the health of workers and communities.

Pursuant to Article 13 (3) of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, the Council will normally make the final report publicly available within 60 days of the submission, unless the Council decides otherwise.

National Academies Report Released: Potential Health Risks to DOD Firing-Range Personnel from Recurrent Lead Exposure

Recently, the National Academies Press (NAP) released a report produced by the Committee on Potential Health Risks from Recurrent Lead Exposure of DOD Firing-Range Personnel; Committee on Toxicology; Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology; Division on Earth and Life Sciences; and the The National Research Council titled, Potential Health Risks to DOD Firing-Range Personnel from Recurrent Lead Exposure (2012). The 182-page report is available free with a one-time registration. According to the abstract,

Lead is a ubiquitous metal in the environment, and its adverse effects on human health are well documented. Lead interacts at multiple cellular sites and can alter protein function in part through binding to amino acid sulfhydryl and carboxyl groups on a wide variety of structural and functional proteins. In addition, lead mimics calcium and other divalent cations, and it induces the increased production of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. Adverse effects associated with lead exposure can be observed in multiple body systems, including the nervous, cardiovascular, renal, hematologic, immunologic, and reproductive systems. Lead exposure is also known to induce adverse developmental effects in utero and in the developing neonate.

Lead poses an occupational health hazard, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed a lead standard for general industry that regulates many workplace exposures to this metal. The standard was promulgated in 1978 and encompasses several approaches for reducing exposure to lead, including the establishment of a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 μg/m3 in air (an 8-hour time-weighted average [TWA]), exposure guidelines for instituting medical surveillance, guidelines for removal from and return to work, and other risk-management strategies. An action level of 30 μg/m3 (an 8-hour TWA) for lead was established to trigger medical surveillance in employees exposed above that level for more than 30 days per year. Another provision is that any employee who has a blood lead level (BLL) of 60 μg/dL or higher or three consecutive BLLs averaging 50 μg/dL or higher must be removed from work involving lead exposure. An employee may resume work associated with lead exposure only after two BLLs are lower than 40 μg/dL. Thus, maintaining BLLs lower than 40 μg/dL was judged by OSHA to protect workers from adverse health effects. The OSHA standard also includes a recommendation that BLLs of workers who are planning a pregnancy be under 30μg/dL.

In light of knowledge about the hazards posed by occupational lead exposure, the Department of Defense (DOD) asked the National Research Council to evaluate potential health risks from recurrent lead exposure of firing-range personnel. Specifically, DOD asked the National Research Council to determine whether current exposure standards for lead on DOD firing ranges protect its workers adequately.The committee also considered measures of cumulative lead dose. Potential Health Risks to DOD Firing-Range Personnel from Recurrent Lead Exposure will help to inform decisions about setting new air exposure limits for lead on firing ranges, about whether to implement limits for surface contamination, and about how to design lead-surveillance programs for range personnel appropriately.

Lead In Tap Water: CDC Public Health Communications Need Improvement -- GAO

This Government Accountability Office report (GAO-11-279), dated March 2011, recommends that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (1) publish an article providing a comprehensive overview of tap water as a source of lead exposure and communicating the potential health effects on children and (2) develop procedures to address any confusion after information is published. CDC generally concurred with GAO’s recommendations. For the second recommendation, while CDC described procedures it is developing, the agency did not explicitly address all components of the recommendation.

Recent New York Environmental Legislation

Chapter 494 Bill No. A8687B Rosenthal (MS) -- Prohibits the sale and use of wheel weights containing lead.

Chapter 485 Bill No. A2294 Thiele -- Relates to the taking of fish for commercial purposes.

Chapter 483 Bill No. A924E DelMonte (MS) -- Authorizes the department of environmental conservation to promulgate standards authorizing hunting with a crossbow; repealer.

Chapter 449 Bill No. A11178A Paulin -- Relates to the disposition of abandoned animals.