![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
GLBTS Links
- Pollution Prevention and Toxics Reduction
- Great Lakes Binational Toxic Strategy
- About GLBTS
- Workgroups
- Meetings
- Documents
- Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic Chemicals
- Order the GLBTS Compact Disk
______________________
Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy
Pesticides
Stakeholders Meeting - November 18, 1999
Workgroup Session Meeting
Chicago, Illinois
Hyatt Regency Hotel
151 E. Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois
U.S. Workgroup Leader: David P. Macarus
Canadian Workgroup Leader: Elizabeth Rezek
Elizabeth Rezek and David Macarus convened the Pesticides Workgroup at 1:00 PM, and began with self introductions of the eight participants. Each participant expressed their expectations, which generally involved additional efforts for the Level I pesticides and a review of Level II pesticides. A list of participants follows these minutes.
The following handouts were available at the beginning of the meeting :
- The proposed agenda.
- A copy of the outline and overhead slides used by David Macarus in his Plenary Session summary of the Workgroup progress.
- Canadian Activities on Level II Pesticides (Elizabeth Rezek)
- Notes on Level II Pesticides Status (U.S.) (David Macarus)
- Outline of Presentation by Daniel Parshley of Brunswick, GA
Level I Pesticides and the Canadian and U.S. Challenges
A discussion of the Challenges and Level I pesticides focused on the remaining contaminated sites to be remediated. As a result, two recommendations were made:
- More complete lists of the remaining sites with Level I pesticide contamination from both Canadian and U. S. agencies was requested by participants from the Environmental Groups. A particular concern that some sites, particularly former manufacturing and mixing and loading sites, may be releasing contaminants to air and water.
- It was requested that Canada reevaluate its position that the Challenge has been met.
Frank Wandelmaier and Elizabeth Rezek agreed to look into data bases available for Canadian sites, and David Macarus and Debra Meyer will look into U.S. sites.
Toxaphene sites in Georgia and potential for atmospheric inputs to the Great Lakes Daniel Parshley
Daniel Parshley of the Glynn Environmental Coalition of Brunswick, Georgia reviewed the remediation of toxaphene contaminated sites in Brunswick . Mr. Parshley reported that toxaphene was manufactured at a Hercules plant in Brunswick from 1948 to 1980. He described the many waste disposal practices used at the time which led to the contamination of several spoils, outfall, and landfill sites, presently under remediation. He estimated that some 3.5 million pounds of toxaphene contaminate four of the larger sites.
The principal complaints of the community deal with contamination of air, water and fish in the region. Prior releases to streams has lead to fish contamination in nearby estuaries, and the present remediation methods rely upon air drying (to remove moisture) of spoils and sediments for 3 to 6 months prior to disposal in land fills. The community believes that toxaphene may be released to the atmosphere during the drying process, even though the EPA methods used for sampling and analysis has failed to identify such releases.
Comments made during the ensuing discussion included the following:
- Are the remediation practices at other sites also releasing toxics?
- We need to see a firm connection to the Great Lakes before Binational Strategy resources are expended on this long range site.
- Since pesticide regulation and site clean-ups must consider costs and benefits along with risks, more information is needed before workgroup can make a recommendation.
- In order to be consistent with the BTS’s pollution prevention approach, we should recommend to the appropriate national and state and provincial agencies that their cleanup plans in any part of the country have criteria that minimize or eliminate the release of substances included in the BTS.
David Macarus agreed to forward these recommendations to the U.S. EPA National PBT effort.
The Level II Pesticides
Elizabeth Rezek and David Macarus reviewed the status of Level II pesticides in each country. In brief, endrin and heptachlor have had registrations canceled, lindane is presently under phase-out discussion between Canada and the U.S., and international discussions concerning the phase out of tributyl tin are underway. For pentachlorophenol, the Workgroup recommended that a pollution prevention workshop be explored with the HCB and Dioxin Workgroups.
The list of attendees is attached.
Workgroup Participants
|
Name and Address |
Telephone and e-mail |
|
Pest Management Regulatory Agency Health Canada - Room D737 Sir Charles Tupper Building 2250 Riverside Drive Address Locator: 6607D1 Ottawa, Ontario K1A OK9 |
|
|
Great Lakes United and Lake Superior Forum 17 Major Street Kitchener Ontario N2H 4R1 |
|
|
Pesticide Environmental Stewardship U.S. EPA Region 5 77 West Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604 |
|
|
Environmental Protection Branch Ontario Region Environment Canada 4905 Dufferin Street Downsview Ontario M3H 5T4 |
|
|
American Forest and Paper Association 1111 - 19th Street, NW Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 |
|
|
National Wildlife Federation 506 E. Liberty Ann Arbor, MI 48104 |
|
|
U.S. EPA / NERL MD - 75 RTP, NC 27711 |
|
|
Glynn Environmental Coalition P.O. Box 2443 Brunswick, Georgia 31521 |
|