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Biomonitoring Studies Indicate Widespread Exposure to Bisphenol A

3/24/10 In a review of more than 80 biomonitoring studies, the known endocrine-disrupting chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) was found in most of the samples taken from thousands of individuals from several different countries. These studies overwhelmingly detect BPA in individuals including adults, adolescents and children. Unconjugated BPA is routinely detected in blood (in the ng/ml range) and conjugated BPA in the vast majority of urine samples (also in the ng/ml range). In stark contrast, toxicokinetic studies propose that humans are not internally exposed to BPA. Some regulatory agencies have relied solely on only these toxicokinetic models in their risk assessments. Read the abstract from Environmental Health Perspectives.

New Online Map Shows Statewide Water Quality Violations

The California Coastkeeper Alliance has developed an online interactive map to help the public and agencies track and improve compliance with water quality laws. This tool maps all dischargers that have been issued “mandatory minimum penalties” (MMPs) in the ten years since the laws setting these minimum penalties took effect. State data show that 764 facilities merited 26,286 MMPs from January 2000 through March 2010, and the majority of MMPs occur along the coast.

Delta's protector sat by as ecosystem collapsed

3/21/10 The State Water Resources Control Board, a powerful state agency with broad authority over water, stayed on the sidelines as the Delta ecosystem crashed and California descended into its worst water crisis since the early 1990s.

Reforms passed by lawmakers in November are bringing the agency back into the game after a decade of inaction, but some question how it will respond.

Critics say they already see some water board members reluctant to act aggressively, taking a more limited view of the new law.

And the board has a history of shying away from the Delta's controversies and complexities.

"All of the laws have put the responsibility to fix this with the state board the whole time," said Michael Jackson, an environmental lawyer and frequent critic of the board. "They've done nothing." Read Full Article

The Biggest Dump in the World

3/17/10 The world’s biggest rubbish dump keeps growing. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch – or the Pacific Trash Vortex – is a floating monument to our culture of waste, the final resting place of every forgotten carrier bag, every discarded bottle and every piece of packaging blown away in the wind. Opinions about the exact size of this great, soupy mix vary, but some claim it has doubled over the past decade, making it now six times the size of the UK. Read Full Article

Aging Water and Sewer Systems Failing Across U.S.

3/14/10 State and federal studies indicate that thousands of water and sewer systems may be too old to function properly.

For decades, these systems — some built around the time of the Civil War — have been ignored by politicians and residents accustomed to paying almost nothing for water delivery and sewage removal. And so each year, hundreds of thousands of ruptures damage streets and homes and cause dangerous pollutants to seep into drinking water supplies.

An E.P.A. study last year estimated that $335 billion would be needed simply to maintain the nation’s tap water systems in coming decades. In states like New York, officials estimate that $36 billion is needed in the next 20 years just for municipal wastewater systems. Read Full Article