=======================Electronic Edition========================
RACHEL’S HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #56
—December 21, 1987—
News and resources for environmental justice.
——
Environmental Research Foundation
P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: erf@igc.apc.org
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REAGAN CUTS DATA PROGRAM ON HUMAN EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS.
Gramm-Rudman budget cuts have forced the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Office of
Toxic Substances (OTS) to discontinue its National Human Monitoring Program (NHMP). For more than
15 years, the program has collected data on the accumulation of toxic substances in human body fat. The
program provided EPA with its primary data for determining the long-term toxic effects of chemicals on
humans and therefore for prioritizing the agency’s chemical regulatory programs. Without the NHMP, the
EPA will “virtually go back to guessing” about which chemicals pose the greatest threat to humans, says
Martin Halper, the director of the Exposure Evaluation Division within OTS. Mr. Halper points out that
NHMP data, showing that PCBs were showing up in human tissues in the 1970s, were “instrumental” in
Congress’s banning of PCB production. Mr. Halper says the program took a long time to develop its
nationwide network of medical examiners and pathologists; therefore, he says, it will be “difficult if not
impossible” to resurrect the program if funds become available later. The program’s annual budget was
$1.1 million before the Reagan adminstration cut it to zero. Contact Martin Halper, OTS, EPA, 401 M
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460; phone (202) 382-3866.