EPA Revises List of Persistent, Bioaccumulative Toxins

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a list of 30 “Waste Minimization Priority Chemicals” to replace a draft list of chemicals that EPA identified in 1998 as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic. Because of their resistance to deterioration and propensity to build up as they move through the food chain, these chemicals are among the greatest threats to ecosystem and human health.

The list does not represent all known persistent, bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs), but rather PBTs likely to be present in hazardous wastes regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). According to the 1998 report, “EPA eliminated chemicals that would not be good candidates for RCRA waste minimization efforts because they are unlikely to be present in RCRA hazardous waste in significant quantities, or are present, but are not highly toxic.” Eliminated chemicals include those with no reported quantities in waste and pesticides banned from production and use in the U.S. Remaining candidates were evaluated using EPA’s Waste Minimization Prioritization Tool software, which ranks chemicals based on their potential to cause chronic human health problems and ecological deterioration.

As a result of public review and further testing, EPA delisted 25 chemicals and metals identified as PBTs in 1998. Mike Murray, a staff scientist at National Wildlife Federation, expressed concern over the revisions, telling