Are Oral Contraceptives a Significant Contributor to the Estrogenicity of Drinking Water?:  Recent observed feminization of aquatic animals has raised concerns about estrogenic compounds in water supplies and the potential for these chemicals to reach drinking water. Public perception frequently attributes this feminization to oral contraceptives (OCs) in wastewater and raises concerns that exposure to OCs in drinking water may contribute to the recent rise in human reproductive problems. This paper reviews the literature regarding various sources of estrogens, in surface, source and drinking water, with an emphasis on the active molecule that comes from OCs. It includes discussion of the various agricultural, industrial, and municipal sources and outlines the contributions of estrogenic chemicals to the estrogenicity of waterways and estimates that the risk of exposure to synthetic estrogens in drinking water on human health is negligible. This paper also provides recommendations for strategies to better understand all the potential sources of estrogenic compounds in the environment and possibilities to reduce the levels of estrogenic chemicals in the water supply.  http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es1014482

Bipartisan Federal Law Enables Safe Disposal of Medicines:  October 13, 2010 - The Safe and Secure Drug Disposal Act will give communities more options for providing secure take-back programs to prevent drug abuse, reduce the chances of accidental poisonings, and keep pharmaceutical drugs out of the environment.  The Drug Enforcement Administration will begin to promulgate new regulations that will provide residents and long-term care facilities with greater flexibility to dispose of drugs that might include drop-off programs and mail-back options. Until now, opportunities to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs have been limited. Under current law, consumers are prohibited from giving certain unneeded, unused, or expired drugs to anyone besides law enforcement officers.  

Dental Amalgam/Categorical Standards:  The Environmental Council of States (ECOS) has sent EPA a letter requesting action by EPA on developing effluent guidelines for dental mercury (amalgam).  See the letter at: http://www.ecos.org/files/4181_file_ECOS_Letter_to_Silva_on_Effluent_Guidelines_Resolution.pdf

Emerging Pollutants of Concern and Treatment:  EPA is releasing the results of an extensive literature review of published studies of the effectiveness of various treatment technologies for contaminants of emerging concern (CECs).  EPA also is releasing a report that discusses some of the results of the literature search, including removals of specific CECs across common wastewater treatment technologies.  In response to emerging concerns about the possible impacts of pharmaceuticals, detergents, hormones, and other chemicals on human health and aquatic organisms, EPA searched over 400 articles that referenced treatment of CECs.  About 100 of those sources contained treatment information which was entered into a searchable database.  EPA compiled and summarized the results reported by researchers in the last five years. The research studies occurred primarily in the U.S., Canada, and in Europe.  The report discusses 16 of the over 200 CECs present in the database, and the average percent removals achieved by full-scale treatment systems that employ six of the more than 20 reported treatment technologies.  http://epa.gov/waterscience/ppcp/studies/results.html

EPA to Take Action on Chemicals Used in Dyes, Flame Retardants, and Industrial Detergents (08/18/2010):   EPA released action plans today to address the potential health risks of benzidine dyes, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and nonylphenol (NP)/nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). The chemicals are widely used in both consumer and industrial applications, including dyes, flame retardants, and industrial laundry detergents. The plans identify a range of actions the agency is considering under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Benzidine dyes are used in the production of consumer textiles, paints, printing inks, paper, and pharmaceuticals and may pose health problems, including cancer.  HBCD is used as a flame retardant in expanded polystyrene foam in the building and construction industry, as well as in some consumer products.  HBCD has been shown to be persistent and bioaccumulative in the environment and may pose potential reproductive, developmental, and neurological effects in people. NP/NPEs are used in many industrial applications and consumer products such as detergents, cleaners, agricultural and indoor pesticides, as well as food packaging. These chemicals have been detected in people.

The range of actions on these chemicals include adding HBCD and NP/NPE to EPA’s new Chemicals of Concern list, issuing significant new use rules for all three chemicals, and, for HBCD and benzidine dyes, imposing new reporting requirements on EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory and potentially banning or limiting the manufacture or use of the chemicals.

In addition to EPA’s efforts, the Textile Rental Services Association, which represents 98 percent of the industrial laundry facilities in the U.S., has committed to voluntarily phase out the use of NPEs in industrial liquid detergents by Dec. 31, 2013 and industrial powder detergents by the end of 2014. “While EPA intends to address the potential risks associated with these chemicals,” Owens stated, “we are pleased that the industrial laundry industry has decided to not wait for regulatory action to be completed by the agency and is voluntarily taking steps now to phase out the use of NPEs.”

Additional information: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals

The Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE) has a web site on emerging containments. http://www.afcee.af.mil/resources/technologytransfer/programsandinitiatives/contaminants/index.asp

Public Radio International's "Living On Earth" about the potential health hazards of some of the compounds in commercial fragrances and colognes.   http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=10-P13-00021&segmentID=5)