Impact of Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA) on State LUST Corrective Action Programs

Under sponsorship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the American Society of Testing & Materials (ASTM), a nationwide study evaluated the impact of risk-based corrective action (RBCA) on the performance of state environmental cleanup programs. The RBCA process for management of affected soil and groundwater sites was originally detailed in ASTM Standard E-1 739-95, Standard Guidelines for Risk-Based Corrective Action at Petroleum Release Sites, published in 1995 and reissued in expanded form in 1998. With strong support from the USEPA, the RBCA process has been adopted by many state agencies in the U.S in an effort to improve the management of environmental cleanup efforts, as needed to address increasing case backlogs and rising costs associated with remediation of leaking underground storage tank sites. To evaluate the success of these RBCA programs, the Risk-Based Decision-Making (RBDM) Performance Assessment Study, initiated in 1997, involved detailed evaluation of five state environmental agencies that had implemented regulatory programs closely modeled on the ASTM RBCA Standard. Comparison of pre-RBCA to post-RBCA program management statistics clearly demonstrates the positive impact of RBCA in terms of faster case processing rates, reduced environmental cleanup costs, and more effective targeting of resources toward higher-risk sites.     

ASHG activities relative to education. Heredity and adoption: a survey of state adoption agencies.

A subcommittee of The Social Issues Committee of The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG), aware of the growing interest in the implications of inheritance and adoption, in 1987 began surveying the 50 states' and Washington DC's public adoption agencies regarding this issue, and it completed the survey in 1988. In 1987, two surveys obtained data on each state's legal requirements for obtaining genetic information and on what each public adoption agency collected as genetic history. These results were presented in a poster at the 1987 ASHG annual meeting in San Diego. In 1988, a questionnaire was sent to the same agencies to elicit opinions as to whether adoption agencies should systematically collect genetic information to share with the adoptive family and adoptee, whether legislation should be mandated to collect such information, and whether genetic education programs should be developed and implemented for adoption-agency staff. On the basis of responses to the 1988 questionnaire, it was concluded that there is an interest in developing a uniform set of genetic information which should be part of a child's adoption record and that there is a need for genetic education programs for adoption workers. Responses to the desirability of mandating legislation for this purpose were less consistent.     

污染土壤修复标准建立的方法体系研究

近年来,污染土壤修复技术发展很快,而污染土壤修复标准的建立则相对迟缓．在我国,直至目前甚至还没有开展相应的研究．为了推进我国该领域的工作,对污染土壤修复标准建立的方法体系进行了阐述,并提出了建立污染土壤修复标准应同时考虑技术清洁水平、环境背景水平和法规可调控清洁水平等3个基本变量．而从技术清洁水平这一变量来讲,应该包括2个方面的内涵,一是污染土壤修复技术本身所能达到的清洁目标,二是现有分析技术发展所能确认的污染物最低限量目标,即仪器可检出水平．     

Background levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and selected metals in new England urban soils

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are byproducts of combustion and are ubiquitous in the urban environment They are also present in industrial chemical wastes, such as coal tar, petroleum refinery sludges, waste oils and fuels, and wood‐treating residues. Thus, PAHs are chemicals of concern at many waste sites. Risk assessment methods will yield risk‐based cleanup levels for PAHs that range from 0.1 to 0.7 mg/kg. Given their universal presence in the urban environment, it is important to compare risk‐based cleanup levels with typical urban background levels before utilizing unrealistically low cleanup targets. However, little data exist on PAH levels in urban, nonindustrial soils. In this study, 60 samples of surficial soils from urban locations in three New England cities were analyzed for PAH compounds. In addition, all samples were analyzed for total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and seven metals. The upper 95% confidence interval on the mean was 3 mg/kg for benzo(a)pyrene toxic equivalents, 12 mg/kg for total potentially carcinogenic PAH, and 25 mg/kg for total PAH. The upper 95% confidence interval was 373 mg/kg for TPH, which exceeds the target level of 100 mg/kg used by many state regulatory agencies. Metal concentrations were similar to published background levels for all metals except lead. The upper 95% confidence interval for lead was 737 mg/kg in Boston, 463 mg/kg in Providence, and 378 mg/kg in Springfield.     

Priority issues in continuing medical education show sensitivity to change in Canadian health care.

The degree and scope of significant change in health care expectations, roles and delivery patterns in Canada have been widely documented. In 1988 the Sub-Committee on Research of the Standing Committee on CME [continuing medical education], Association of Canadian Medical Colleges, conducted a survey to determine whether those responsible for the CME portion of the medical school curriculum are changing their perceptions to keep pace with the changes in health care. The results were compared with those of a similar survey done in 1983. In both surveys people directly responsible for delivery of formal CME were asked to identify and rank research needs in CME. The response rates were very high. The CME issues identified in the two surveys had changed considerably, with entirely new issues being identified in 1988 and the emphasis placed on issues having changed. The identification of factors that promote or inhibit application of new knowledge by practising physicians was of lowest importance in 1983 and of primary importance in 1988, and comparison of the cost-effectiveness of CME methods was an important issue in 1983 and among the least important in 1988. The noted changes mirror developments in Canada''s health care milieu.     

The development of chemical‐specific,risk‐based soil cleanup guidelines results in timely and cost‐effective remediation

Millions of dollars of limited state cleanup funds are spent each year in New Hampshire to identify, sample, excavate, and treat thousands of tons of contaminated soil. Cost analyses of numerous sites indicated that soil remediation costs alone reach upwards of $300,000.00 per site. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services “Interim Policy for Management of Soils Contaminated from Spills/Releases of Virgin Petroleum Products”; (DES, 1989, 1991) set conservative remediation goals based on total petroleum hydrocarbons in 1989 using the Leaching Potential Analysis method (California Luft Manual, 1989). A current review of available literature and several case histories indicated that chemical‐specific soil cleanup levels may be more appropriate for establishing remedial goals. New chemical‐specific soil cleanup guidelines using a risk‐based approach have been developed. These new guidelines are conservatively based using two principal considerations: (1) an assumed soil exposure scenario that estimated the human health risks associated with potential long‐term exposure to site soils via ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact and (2) the estimated fate and transport of chemicals of concern in the soil unsaturated zone. The first consideration assumed a total cancer risk that did not exceed 1 × 10^‐6. The second consideration employed the use of the SEasonal SOIL Compartment (SESOIL) model which simultaneously models water transport, sediment transport, and pollutant fate (US EPA, 1981). Several state soil standards from Oregon, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and other states were extensively reviewed in order to develop a level of confidence that use of the SESOIL model was appropriate. A series of “sensitivity”; analyses was also performed in order to evaluate the response of the model to changes in various input parameters unique to New Hampshire's hydrogeologic conditions. Generic soil cleanup guidelines were developed for 24 petroleum‐based volatile and semivolatile chemicals of concern to be applied statewide. Site‐specific soil cleanup guidelines will be allowed if it can be demonstrated that insertion of site‐specific data into the model will not adversely affect groundwater quality. As a result of the above processes, timely and much more cost‐effective remediation will be achieved while still maintaining a high degree of protection of the groundwater quality and human health.     

Cleanup standards for petroleum hydrocarbons. part 2. Case study comparisons of site‐specific cleanup standards with generic TPH standards

Many states across the U.S. use the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) measurement as a regulatory tool for setting cleanup standards for underground storage tank sites and other petroleum‐related sites requiring cleanup. In Part 1 of this article (Michelsen and Petito Boyce, J. Soil Contam., 2(2): 109–124), alternative techniques and new methods for developing site‐specific cleanup standards for petroleum hydrocarbons were reviewed, including the use of chemical fingerprinting, constituent analysis, and human health and ecological risk assessment methods. In Part 2 of this article, the cost effectiveness and accuracy of these approaches are evaluated by comparing a generic TPH cleanup standards approach with site‐specific cleanup standards approaches for two actual sites in Washington State, a neighborhood gas station and a former bulk fuel storage facility. Based on these case studies, as well as consideration of other available approaches discussed in Part 1 of this article, recommendations are provided for selecting the most appropriate method of developing cleanup standards at a petroleum‐contaminated site.     

Understanding Generic Soil Cleanup Levels: Implication on Agricultural Chemicals

Federal and state regulatory water quality standards have existed in the US for more than a decade while none existed for soil. More recently, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) developed a procedural model to determine minimum contaminant levels in soil that may require further investigation at the federal level. This model to determine federal soil screening levels (SSLs) by the US EPA has been slightly modified to determine state regulatory soil residual contaminant levels (RCLs) in Wisconsin. We present simplified equations for use on semivolatile compounds to evaluate these regulatory soil levels in residential settings, and in the process, we show where regulatory federal and state soil contaminant levels may differ. Establishing generic soil cleanup levels requires determining the smallest of the acceptable contaminant levels that are still considered protective of human health for all exposure pathways of concern. For the protection of direct human exposure pathways, the State of Wisconsin uses residential assumptions which are generally more conservative than federal defaults to determine acceptable levels. However, when indirect ingestion pathway via leaching through groundwater is considered, the federal generic SSLs may be more conservative than Wisconsin's generic RCLs when an organic contaminant's sorption coefficient, K_oc, falls between 4123 and 39,000?ml/g for non-carcinogens, and between 8568 and 45,525?ml/g for carcinogens. The simplified equations are used on several agricultural chemicals with current generic SSLs. Agricultural chemicals are unique because, unlike other compounds, they are designed for dispersal into the environment at legal application rates, and their generic cleanup levels may be developed based on their legal use rates. However, both the generic US EPA and Wisconsin models imply that if some agricultural chemicals are found at depth, even at use-rate levels, groundwater quality may be adversely affected.     

Cleanup standards for petroleum hydrocarbons. Part 1. Review of methods and recent developments

Many states across the U.S. use the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) measurement as a regulatory tool for setting cleanup standards for underground storage tank sites and other petroleum‐related sites requiring cleanup. In Part I of this article, alternative techniques for developing site‐specific cleanup standards for petroleum hydrocarbons are reviewed, including the use of chemical fingerprinting, constituent analysis, and risk assessment methods that address hydrocarbons found in the environment. New developments in standard setting for petroleum hydrocarbons are described, including risk‐based standards for hydrocarbon mixtures and ecological risk‐based approaches. In Part 2 of this article, the cost‐effectiveness and accuracy of the most commonly used of these approaches will be evaluated by comparing a generic TPH cleanup standards approach with site‐specific cleanup standards approaches for two actual sites in Washington State, a neighborhood gas station and a former bulk fuel storage facility.     

India's E‐Waste Rules and Their Impact on E‐Waste Management Practices: A Case Study

India, like many other developed and developing countries, has adopted an extended producer responsibility (EPR) approach for electronic waste (e‐waste) management under its E‐waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011. Under these rules, producers have been made responsible for setting up collection centers of e‐waste and financing and organizing a system for environmentally sound management of e‐waste. In this article, we use the implementation of these rules in Ahmedabad in western India as a case study to conduct a critical analysis of the implementation of India's Rules. Interviews of main stakeholder groups, including a sample of regulated commercial establishments, regulatory agencies enforcing the Rules, informal actors involved in waste collection and handling, as well as publicly available information on the implementation constitute data for our case study. Our results indicate that while there has been an increase in the formal waste processing capacity after the implementation of the Rules, only 5% to 15% of the total waste generated is likely channeled through formal processing facilities. While the EPR regulation forced the producers to take action on a few relatively inexpensive aspects of the Rules, the collection and recycling system has not been made convenient for the consumers to deposit e‐waste in formal collection and recycling centers. Based on our findings, we argue that Indian EPR regulation should go beyond simple take‐back mandates and consider implementing other policy instruments such as a deposit‐refund system. An important implication for developing countries is the need for careful attention to instrument choice and design within EPR regulations.     

Standardised measures of needs,stigma and informal care in schizophrenia using a bottom-up,cross-cultural approach

Background There is a lack of instruments to measure the needs, stigma and informal care of people with schizophrenia that take account of sociocultural variation and patients'' and formal and informal carers'' opinions and experiences.Aims To develop questionnaires to measure stigma, needs and informal (non-professional) care for people with schizophrenia.Method We undertook the study in seven countries and in English, Spanish and Portuguese. We first held focus group discussions with patients, formal carers (professionals) and informal carers (family and friends) in Spain, the UK, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela to elicit the main dimensions of needs, stigma and informal care. We then held nominal group discussions about these dimensions with patients, family members and professionals in Spain, Portugal and the UK, to develop the instruments.Results Three hundred and three people participated in 46 focus groups and results were discussed in three nominal groups, each involving eight participants. Three instruments were developed in this iterative process: needs for care (46 items), stigma (38 items) and informal care (20 items).Conclusions These instruments are based on service users'' and carers'' views and experiences and have cross-cultural validity. They will have application in assessment of outcomes for people with schizophrenia and their families.     

The Isis Centre: a counselling service within the National Health Service.

A new centre has been established to provide readily accessible counselling, consultation, and mental health information. People may refer themselves or are recommended to attend by general practitioners or other agencies. The counsellors have varied backgrounds in paramedical or counselling services, and they are supported by psychiatrists. Of a sample of 100 clients, four were referred to one of the team''s psychiatrists and 33 visited the centre only once. The centre''s staff aim to adopt a flexible approach to the client and his problems, and formal psychiatric categories have not been found useful. Provision is made for people who want to solve their problems by discussion rather than medication and those for whom the existing psychiatric services may have little time to spare. Consequently, the approach adopted by the Isis Centre, whereby many people benefit from psychotherapy yet the psychiatrist deals directly with only a few selected cases, contributes towards meeting the great need for psychiatric services and using the psychiatrist''s skills more effectively.     

Education for sexuality—the rˆle of the school

Education for sexuality and healthy relationships should be viewed within a broad context of health education and social education in schools. However, this is not merely a matter for the formal curriculum of a school, but relates to the totality of the experience that young people receive there. The concept of the health promoting school encapsulates tfie formal curriculum, the ‘hidden curriculum’, and the interaction of the school with parents, the community, and other agencies, which can affect the health and well-being of all school users. One cannot view a school's rôle in this area out of the societal context. Research indicates that young people, as they move through their teenage years, get most of their information relating to sexuality from friends and yet they acknowledge that this is not a reliable source. Examples of current knowledge levels and attitudes relating to sexuality and HIV/AIDS are given. The strengths and weaknesses of schools as settings for sex education are explored, and 10 key points for consideration within a school policy on education for sexuality and relationships are proposed.     

Methodology for using contaminated soil leachability testing to determine soil cleanup levels at contaminated petroleum underground storage tank (UST) sites

The costs of environmental remediation at leaking petroleum underground storage tank (UST) sites are influenced significantly by soil cleanup levels. The use of conservative generic soil cleanup levels may be inappropriate at some sites contaminated by leaking petroleum USTs. At many contaminated sites, a primary objective of site remediation is long‐term protection of water resources (e.g., groundwater) from pollution. Leaching of pollutants from residual soil contamination to groundwater is a primary consideration in establishing site‐specific soil cleanup levels at fuel‐contaminated sites. The use of laboratory soil leachability testing methods may be useful in objectively evaluating the leaching potential of contaminants from residual soil contamination and estimating potential groundwater impacts. Developing soil cleanup levels that are protective of water resources must include a technically sound integration of site‐specific soil leachability data and contaminant attenuation factors. Evaluation of the leaching potentials of soil contaminants may also provide essential supplementary information for other site characterization methods that may be used to evaluate risks to human health. Contaminant leachability testing of soils may provide a cost‐effective and technically based method for determining soil cleanup levels that are protective of groundwater resources at contaminated petroleum UST sites.     

Assessment of Health Protectiveness of the Risk-Based Soil Remediation Standards of the Midwestern States

In the last decade, risk-based remediation following a framework similar to risk-based correction action (RBCA) has gained acceptance across the country and generic/Tier 1 Risk-Based Action Limits (RBALs) for hundreds of chemicals have been tabulated. However, there have been only a few studies that focused on understanding the causes of discrepancy among cleanup standards and policies of the hazardous waste programs among the states. This study aims to fill this critical need by examining the basis of generic (i.e., Tier 1) residential RBALs developed by the states, which are within the regulatory domain of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 5. Specifically, we seek to investigate the approaches/methodologies and the policy/technical rationale used in establishing RBALs, along with degree of inconsistency, and the causes and implications of inconsistencies. In addition, we developed RBALs for a case study site using both deterministic and probabilistic risk assessment approaches and compared these against RBALs developed by the states to infer about public health-protectiveness of the state-specific RBALs. We found three- and four-order-of magnitude difference among state RBALs for PAHs and VOCs, respectively. The degree of clean up deemed appropriate under Tier 1 evaluation by the midwestern states significantly differ from one another, which has both public health and economic implications.     

A women's health shop: a unique experiment.

A women''s health shop in Edinburgh was open for 16 months to provide information and advice in a non-clinical setting and to allow an interchange between informal and formal care in the community. Staffed by nurses, it was visited by 5664 women and 400 men, an average of 24 people each working day. The most popular topics for discussion were women''s health problems, and 17% of women had a personal discussion with the nurse. The shop provided a useful and popular service and offered a practical method of furthering the concept of health promotion.     

Securing Alternative Funding for Wildlife Management: Insights from Agency Leaders

Abstract: State wildlife management is in a period of change unlike any other in its history. The growing human population in most states is having unprecedented impacts on the natural environment. At the same time, society's interests and expectations regarding wildlife and wildlife management, respectively, are changing. Increasing demands on state wildlife management agencies and subsequent costs, as well as the declining relative numbers of hunters, the traditional funding source for state wildlife management, have caused the state wildlife management institution to acknowledge and address the need to find and secure nontraditional funding sources. We interviewed administrators from 24 state wildlife agencies to understand these leaders' perspectives on how their agencies have responded to pressure to develop alternative funding mechanisms. Specifically, we wanted to know if agency behavior was generally consistent with a typology of strategic organizational response, ranging from passive conformity to active resistance. We found evidence that state wildlife agencies exhibited strategic behavior consistent with this typology and, in some cases, were innovative in their efforts to secure alternative funding. In other cases, agency behavior was limited by real or perceived external constraints, particularly political factors. We provide a modified typology of organizational response reflecting the context of state wildlife management. Not all responses are appropriate or feasible for all agencies, so agencies must evaluate their environments to determine which strategies offer the greatest potential benefits and least potential costs. Agencies unable to behave strategically due to political or other constraints would benefit from establishing broad-based partnerships, including traditional and nontraditional stakeholders, with the purpose of building support for alternative funding of state wildlife management.     

Spotlight surveys for white-tailed deer: Monitoring panacea or exercise in futility?

Many monitoring programs for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on both private and public lands across the United States have long relied on the use of road-based spotlight surveys for monitoring population size and trends. Research has suggested spotlight surveys are ineffective and that road-based surveys for deer are biased because of highly variable detection rates. To evaluate variability in detection rates relative to the assumption that repeated surveys along roads will provide reliable trend data for use in calculating deer density estimates, we collected 5 years of thermal-imager and spotlight survey data using a multiple-observer, closed-capture approach. Using a Huggin's closed capture model, data bootstrapping, and variance components analyses, our results suggest that density estimates for white-tailed deer generated from data collected during road-based spotlight surveys are likely not reflective of the standing deer population. Detection probabilities during individual spotlight surveys ranged from 0.00 to 0.80 (median = 0.45) across all surveys, and differed by observer, survey, management unit, and survey transect replicate. Mean spotlight detection probability (0.41) and process standard deviation (0.12) estimates indicated considerable variability across surveys, observers, transects, and years, which precludes the generation of a correction factor or use of spotlight data to evaluate long-term trends at any scale. Although recommended by many state, federal, and non-governmental agencies, our results suggest that the benefit of spotlight survey data for monitoring deer populations is limited and likely represents a waste of resources with no appreciable management information gained. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.     

Further Comparisons of Empirical and Epidemiological Data with Predictions of the Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic Model for Lead in Children

Observed blood lead levels for young children from several communities are compared with blood lead levels predicted for those communities using the USEPA's Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic (IEUBK) Model. In contrast to the compari sons described elsewhere, the blood lead levels observed in the communities con sidered here are not well represented by the model's predictions. The model's predictions for Midvale, UT; Sandy, UT; Cincinnati, OH; and a recent data set for Palmerton, PA, show considerable deviation from observation both for the geometric mean blood lead level and the percent of blood lead levels above 10?µg/dL. Various adjustments in the model to consider play area soils, site specific geometric standard deviations and the time children spend away from their homes do not substantially improve the comparisons to observation. It is difficult to predict a priori the data sets for which the model will yield adequate predictions. This reduces the value of the model for use in communities where blood lead measurements have not been made, and suggests that caution should be exercised when using the model to set soil lead cleanup levels or to predict the result of remediation.     

Oral health practices and beliefs among caregivers of the dependent elderly

doi: 10.1111/j.1741‐2358.2011.00553.x Oral health practices and beliefs among caregivers of the dependent elderly Background: Caregivers deal with oral health care of the dependent elderly; however, this has a low priority among them, and their education in daily oral care is deficient. Therefore, studying the oral care practices as well as their oral health beliefs is important as these affect the quality of the oral care they perform. Objective: To compare formal and informal caregivers’ oral care practices and oral health beliefs when taking care of severely dependent elderly. Material and methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted on a convenience sample of 21 formal caregivers from a long‐term residence and 18 informal caregivers from a local primary health care domiciliary programme. Caregivers were surveyed using a questionnaire designed to elicit oral care practices and oral health beliefs. The nursing Dental Coping Beliefs Scale questionnaire was translated and validated in Chile. Results: Significant differences were observed between formal and informal caregivers’ performance of some oral health care practices. There were no significant differences between formal and informal caregivers’ oral health beliefs. Conclusions: Although there are some differences in formal and informal caregivers’ oral health care practices, we cannot state that one caregiver’s performance is better than the other, in fact, negative oral health beliefs were found in both groups.