Environmental Health Issues and Priorities in the Pacific Northwest Robert Duff Director Office of Environmental Health Assessments Washington State Department

Environmental HealthEnvironmental Health Issues and Priorities in the Issues and Priorities in the

Pacific NorthwestPacific Northwest

Robert DuffRobert Duff

DirectorDirector

Office of Environmental Health AssessmentsOffice of Environmental Health Assessments

Washington State Department of HealthWashington State Department of Health

Highline Community College – Tacoma, WAHighline Community College – Tacoma, WA

May 20 , 2005May 20 , 2005

Highline Community College – Tacoma, WA

May 21, 2005

Comparative Risk ProjectsComparative Risk Projects• EPA and states

– US EPA in 1987 issued Unfinished Business: A Comparative Assessment of Environmental Problems

– Regions and states followed

• Highest ranking issues– Indoor air– Outdoor air– Others

• Lead, pesticides, food

Risk Assessment MethodsRisk Assessment Methods

Non-cancer RiskNon-cancer Risk Cancer RiskCancer Risk

ResponseResponse ThresholdThreshold No ThresholdNo Threshold

Type of ResultType of Result Yes/NoYes/No Probability Probability

Non-Cancer AssessmentNon-Cancer Assessment

DOSEDOSE

RE

SP

ON

SE

RE

SP

ON

SE

Threshold

Health benchmark

“SafetyFactors”

Assessment MethodsAssessment Methods

Non-cancer RiskNon-cancer Risk Cancer RiskCancer Risk

ResponseResponse ThresholdThreshold No ThresholdNo Threshold

Type of ResultType of Result Yes/No Yes/No ProbabilityProbability

New guidance moving toward a more qualitative approach that

acknowledges thresholds

1,000 in 10,0001,000 in 10,000

DOSEDOSE

# of

Can

cers

# of

Can

cers

500 in 10,000500 in 10,000

100 in 10,000100 in 10,000

50 in 10,00050 in 10,000

Measurable Range

(Epidemiology or Animal Study)

Predicted Range

(Risk Assessment)

Threshold?

Cancer AssessmentCancer Assessment


May 21, 2005

Challenges - UncertaintyChallenges - Uncertainty• Exposure

– Models versus measurement– “Background”

• Toxicity– Cancer – low dose extrapolation– Mixtures– Endocrine disruption

• Environmental justice


May 21, 2005

Challenges - Background ExposureChallenges - Background Exposure

• EPA is not calculating an RfD (Reference Dose) for dioxin…..– “Any RfD that the Agency would recommend under the

traditional approach for setting an RfD is likely to be 2-3 orders of magnitude (100-1,000) below current background intakes and body burdens. Because exceeding the RfD is not a statement of risk, discussion of an RfD for an incremental exposure when the RfD has already been exceeded by average background exposures is meaningless.”


May 21, 2005

Major Issues in the Pacific NorthwestMajor Issues in the Pacific Northwest

• Persistent, bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs)– Fish consumption advisories

• Area-wide soil contamination– Arsenic and lead


May 21, 2005

What are Persistent, What are Persistent, bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs)?bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs)?

• Polychlorinated biphenlys (PCBs), methyl mercury, organochlorine pesticides (DDT, chlordane), dioxin, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (flame retardants)

• Build-up in our environment and our bodies– Slow to breakdown in the environment– Uptake exceeds elimination rate– Often store in fat (not methylmercury)

• Also known as POP’s


May 21, 2005

Why are we concerned?Why are we concerned?

• Recent fish consumption studies show in utero exposure results in developmental problems– PCBs and methylmercury– Learning and behavior deficits

• PBDEs – flame retardants– Similar effects in animal studies


May 21, 2005

What is a fish advisory?What is a fish advisory?• General advice

– Choosing fish with lower contaminant levels– Cooking and preparation– Variety

• Meal limits– Generally bounded by upper and lower limits for

effectiveness• 4, 2, 1, 0 meals/month• EPA guidance


May 21, 2005

What is a fish advisory?What is a fish advisory?• Species specific

– Most advice is broken down by species• Surrogates can be used for trophic levels

• Water body specific– Hazardous waste release or just a lake that

was sampled?– DOH currently has 14 water body specific

advisories

• Statewide advice– Mercury


May 21, 2005

Who are we trying to protect?Who are we trying to protect?• High-end consumers

– Native American tribes– Asian and Pacific Islander communities

• Women of child-bearing age and children– Clearly a concern for the developing fetus– PCBs and mercury– Flame retardants, dioxin?

• General population– For PCBs not mercury– No consensus on mercury effects in adults

• Blood pressure

Duwamish River - Seattle, WA

0 100 200 300 400

choho

chinook

English sole

Rockfish

Fis

h s

pe

cie

s

Polychlorinated biphenyls (parts per bilion)

PCBs

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4

SardineE. sole (nonurban)

CohoCatfishFlatfishPollock

WhitefishE. sole (urban)

ChinookCod

Tuna (Can, light)Carp

SnapperSablefish

Copper rockfishHalibut

BluefishBrown rockfish

Quillback rockfishTuna (albacore)

MarlinOrange roughy

SwordfishShark

Yelloweye rockfish

Puget Sound

FDA study

Mercury (ppm)


May 21, 2005

Key MessagesKey Messages• Eat fish, Be smart

– Fish are good for you• Omega-3 fatty acids

– Moving away from “limit, limit, limit”– Provide info so consumers can eat heart

health 2 meals/week - American Heart Association

• Most people do not eat 2 meals per week– Many choices are safe to eat at this rate


May 21, 2005

Key MessagesKey Messages• Work with high consumers

– Tribes, Asian Pacific islanders communities– Benefits of more than 2 meals per week likely

still outweigh risks• Cutoff????

• What are we doing to get/keep PBTs out of our food web???

From Oregon – Portland Harbor/Willamette River Presentation – D. Stone

Communication is KeyCommunication is Key


May 21, 2005


May 21, 2005

Global Efforts to reduce PBTsGlobal Efforts to reduce PBTs

• International– Persistent Organic Pollutants – Stockholm Convention

• Europe– REACH

• Registration, evaluation and authorization of chemical products

• Precautionary principle


May 21, 2005

Global Efforts to reduce PBTsGlobal Efforts to reduce PBTs

• US EPA– Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA)

• PBDE Significant New Use Rule

– Clean Air Act• Mercury

• Washington– PBT Initiative– Mercury, flame retardants - PBTs


May 21, 2005

Area-wide Soil ContaminationArea-wide Soil Contamination• Arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) in Washington

State– Old orchard lands– Tacoma smelter plume– Everett smelter– Northport smelter


May 21, 2005


May 21, 2005


May 21, 2005

Area-wide Soil ContaminationArea-wide Soil Contamination• Orchard lands not well characterized

– Spraying was sporadic– GIS with aerial photography

• Identifying old sites• Targeting both sampling and education

Libby, MontanaLibby, Montana


May 21, 2005

Vermiculite - asbestosVermiculite - asbestos

• Libby, MT– background

• Vermiculite– Contained high-levels 30-50% asbestos (tremolite)

• Direct link to health effects• Nationwide problem

– Exfoliation facilities– Attic insulation


May 21, 2005

Vermiculite - asbestosVermiculite - asbestos• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease

Registry– Medical screening– Nationwide follow-up on over 200 sites

• 28 priority sites including one in Spokane and Portland

– National Asbestos Exposure Review

• EPA cleanup of site and homes in Libby ongoing


May 21, 2005


Pleural Findings –

All Views Interstitial -

PA View

Exposure Class n Normal Abnormal Normal Abnormal

No Apparent Exposure 122 116 (95%) 6 (5%) 121 (99%) 1 (1%)

1-3 Exposure Pathways 1569 1394 (89%) 175 (11%) 1559 (99%) 10 (1%)

4-5 Exposure Pathways 1488 1262 (85%) 226 (15%) 1471 (99%) 17 (1%)

6+ Exposure Pathways 2411 1824 (76%) 587 (24%) 2390 (99%) 21 (1%)

Total 5590 994 (17.8%) 49 (0.9%)

Background 0.2 to 2.3 %


May 21, 2005


• Legislation– Liability and compensation– Ban – Sen. Murray

• Asbestos is not banned in the US– US District court overturned EPA ban of most uses in

1990

• Future activities - EPA and ATSDR– Assess 28 exfoliation facilities across US– Address vermiculite in attic insulation


May 21, 2005

Documents

Environmental Health Issues and Priorities in the Pacific Northwest Robert Duff Director Office of Environmental Health Assessments Washington State Department