— GOVERNMENT & POLICY

Science panel challenges EPA fine particulate rule A science advisory committee is challenging Ε Ρ As decision on tightening the air quality standard for particulate matter, saying the proposal falls far short of what is necessary to protect public health from microscopic particles produced by burning fuel in vehicles, power plants, and factories. During a Feb. 3 teleconference, Rogene Henderson, chair of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC), said the panel would draft a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen L.Johnson reiterating and clarifying its recommendation that the agency tighten the standard limiting long-term exposure to fine particles less than 2.5 Jim in diameter. Henderson, senior biochemist and toxicologist at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, N.M., acknowledged, "We are in uncharted waters here since this is the first time that CASAC has replied to an administrator's proposed ruling." In May 2005, the 22-member advisory committee recommended that EPA tighten the standards for both short-term and long-term exposure to fine particles. But on Dec. 20, the agency proposed lowering the standard for a 24-hour period from 65 μg/m3 to 35 Jig/m3 while leaving the existing annual standard unchanged at 15 μg/m3. CASAC had recommended tight­ening the annual standard to either 13 or 14 μg/m3 and setting the 24-hour standard between 30 and 35 μg/m3. EPA is under a court order to issue a final particulate matter standard by Sept. 27

NIH launches initiatives for genetic diseases

The National Institutes of Health rolled out a pair of ini­tiatives on Feb. 8 to determine the genetic and environmental underpinnings of common dis­eases. The Genes & Environ­ment Initiative (GEI) and the Genetics Association Informa­tion Network (GAIN) are mul-tiyear efforts that will focus on genetic variations known as sin-gle-nucleotide polymorphisms. GEI is planned to begin in 2007 with a requested funding level of $68 million. The initiative will combine genotyping with envi­ronmental toxicology studies to elucidate the causes of as many as a dozen common diseases that will be determined later by peer review. A public-pri­vate partnership, GAIN brings together NIH, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Pfizer, and Affymetrix

to accelerate genetic association studies. Pfizer has donated $5 million to set up a manage­ment structure and $15 million worth of laboratory studies to determine the genetic contribu­tions to five common diseases. Affymetrix will contribute analytical resources worth an estimated $6 million.

Benefits of cuts in air pollution outpace costs Countries and cities around the world can reap significant economic savings if they cut air pollution, says a United Nations Environment Program report released on Feb. 7. Those gains include lower health care costs and fewer premature deaths, primarily from cardiovascular problems. On the basis of stud­ies in the U.S. and Santiago, Chile, U N E P estimates that every dollar spent on control­ling air pollution from factories,

routes to the site as soon as possible to give emergency re-sponders time to prepare. The committee strongly endorsed DOE's decision to use dedicated trains, which would carry only spent fuel or high-level waste and no other freight.

WTO rejects European ban or ag biotech The Woriû >rdu* •..· ., tion lias yt> .ir_ that the Europe... ι a de facto moraio^a/ * Λ j neticallvmodifier „> , v . violates internation,-rules. Thougn tn^ uc. -.: a win for the biotech a\na< a final ruling in :«3- , J^ -* . expected until iar'„* τ« * -. and Europe couu. -1998, memoei >t̂ -EU began block;/it;. L-L:__.J approval to r ne ̂ & 11 _ t .<, biotech prouve ι . I effecoveiv prohioirs *• *,, corn and coi η pi"· ·ύ uf ^ κ to Europe. US. otuciars - uv the EU is imposi i*. . ·

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6 2 C&EN / FEBRUARY 13, 2006

power plants, and cars produces six dollars in benefits, mainly in health-related gains. In addi­tion, the actual cost of pollution control is often less than what is estimated before abatement takes place, the report adds. Marion Cheatle, of UNEP's Early Warning & Assessment Division, said nearly 800,000 people die prematurely each year worldwide due to urban air pollution. About 65% of those deaths occur in the developing countries of Asia, Cheatle said.

Few barriers seen to nuclear waste transport A report by the National Re­search Council says there are nc fundamental technical barriers to the safe transport of spent nuclear fuel and high-level ra­dioactive waste in the LT.S., but a few challenges remain unre­solved. The NRC Committee on Transportation of Radioac­tive Waste says the radiological risks associated with the trans­port of spent fuel and hish-leveJ waste are well-under­stood and generally low. The Feb. 9 report notes that spent fuel has been shipped worldwide for more than four decades without a significant release of radioactive materials during an accident. However, the report says more atten­tion needs to be paid to understanding and manag­ing the social risks involved in transporting these materials, such as lower property values or reduced tourism along ship­ping routes. Shipments of spent fuel and high-level waste will increase dramatically if the Energy Department opens a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, in Nevada. The re­port says DOE should identify and make public its preferred

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