Department of Energy Announces $97 Million for Bioenergy Research and Development

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $97 million in funding for 33 projects that will support high-impact technology research and development to accelerate the bioeconomy. These projects will improve the performance and lower the cost and risk of technologies that can be used to produce biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts from biomass and waste resources.

"Advancements made in bioenergy technologies will help expand America's energy supply, grow our economy, and enhance our energy security," said Under Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes. "These projects will ensure the United States' leadership across all segments of the growing global bioeconomy, and allow us to provide U.S. consumers and businesses more homegrown energy choices for their fuels and products."

Read more
https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-announces-97-million-bioenergy-research-and-development

Webinar Workplace Outbreak Investigation, Contact Tracing and Testing: Intersection between Occupational & Public Health

Register now for the next webinar in the NIEHS WTP COVID-19 Summer Webinar Series. This webinar, being held Aug. 5 at 2:00 p.m. ET is co-sponsored by the American Industrial Hygiene Association. It will explore considerations for performing COVID-19 outbreak investigations, SARS-CoV-2 contact tracing, serum testing, and infection screening. The panelists will provide unique perspectives on the opportunities and challenges with conducting these important public health functions and how they apply today in the workplace. Hear from leaders that are doing it and the experiences, frustrations, and successes they have had.

Webinar Registration

Tentative Speakers:

- Letitia Davis, ScD, Massachusetts Department of Health

- Amy Liebman, MPA, MA, Migrant Clinicians Network

- George DiFerdinando, Jr., MD, MPH, FACP, Chair, Princeton New Jersey Board of Health, Steering Committee; New Jersey Climate Change Alliance; Executive Committee, New Jersey Local Boards of Health Association

- Robert Harrison, MD, MPH, University of California, San Francisco, and the California Department of Health

- Christina Armatas, MD, MPH, University of California, San Francisco, and the California Department of Health

This webinar is sponsored by the NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) and AIHA.

Webinar: Understanding COVID-19 Data - What Decision Makers Need to Know

Join this webinar for a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of COVID-19 data and their applications for state and local decision making.

The Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently released a data guide for decision makers at all levels to make sense of COVID-19 data, such as hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and number of confirmed cases, among others. By understanding the characteristics of these data types, decision makers can work with the data type best-suited to the question at hand, and use the data available to inform effective decision making.

Date and Time
Thu, August 6, 2020
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT

Speakers:

Mary Bassett, MD, MPH, Co-Chair of the Societal Experts Action Network and director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University

Janet Currie, Ph.D., Co-Author of the guide and Henry Putnam Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University 

Adrian Raftery, Ph.D., Co-Author of the guide and Boeing International Professor of Statistics and Sociology, University of Washington 

Linda Langston, Former Linn County (Iowa) Supervisor

LEARN MORE

A Guide for Decision Makers using Data to Understand the Extent and Spread of COVID-19 (2020)

Contributors

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Description

This rapid expert consultation provides insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the data on the COVID-19 pandemic by applying five criteria to seven types of data available to support decision making. It was produced through the Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN), an activity of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. SEAN links researchers in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences with decision makers to respond to policy questions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download here

https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25826/evaluating-data-types-a-guide-for-decision-makers-using-data#overview

Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on individual risk assessment for the workplace

(gov.scot) have developed this guidance to help staff and managers consider the specific risk of COVID-19 in the workplace. It is relevant to all staff, but will be particularly relevant to those who are returning to work after shielding, those who are returning to normal duties after COVID-19 related restrictions, those who are returning to the workplace after working from home or anyone who has a concern about a particular vulnerability to COVID-19.

The guidance was developed using the latest clinical evidence that sets out best practice on risk assessment for COVID-19 as an easy to follow tool. We will keep the tool under review as we learn more about COVID-19 in Scotland. Employers should continue to follow public health and sector-specific advice, and where possible, home working should continue.

Employers have a legal responsibility to keep their staff safe and promote their wellbeing. They also have important duties under equalities legislation, and should make reasonable adjustments to support workers with disabilities. We encourage employers to use this tool with their staff to help them to return to work safely.

Read full at

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-individual-risk-assessment-for-the-workplace/

Study concludes that PFAS disposal increases contamination

The three standard practices for waste management outlined in the review, such as landfilling, wastewater treatment and incineration, have been found to not effectively contain or destroy PFAS.

According to a study published in Chemosphere, scientists at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), Washington, D.C., have concluded that burning, discarding and flushing waste containing the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS all contribute to environmental contamination.

The three standard practices for waste management outlined in the review, such as landfilling, wastewater treatment and incineration, have been found to not effectively contain or destroy PFAS.

"The three common 'disposal' options for getting rid of PFAS do not eliminate these contaminants but rather end up just returning either the same chemicals or their byproducts back into the environment," said Tasha Stoiber, EWG senior scientist and primary author of the study, in a release. "PFAS disposal is really just another step in the contamination cycle."

Read full at
https://www.wastetodaymagazine.com/article/ewg-study-pfas-disposal-increases-contamination/

Business owners forced to throw recycling into landfill, or face fine

Commercial producers of recycling waste are now being asked to put the once recyclable material into the landfill or face a monetary fine if they try to recycle in existing residential bins.

New changes to the way recycling is being handled in the province have resulted in commercial recycling being deemed too expensive to process, with the new Recycle BC program being rolled out not supporting industrial, commercial and institutional material.

In the Regional District of Central Kootenay, changes to the management of the local recycling program — from regional district control to Recycle BC — means business owners and commercial producers are being told to put once accepted recyclables into the landfill.

According to the regional district, global recycling markets have dropped out, meaning there is no value in recyclables — in the past the value of the material often paid for the collection, hauling, processing, and marketing.

And since producers of commercial recyclables do not contribute financially to the Recycle BC program, industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) material is not accepted and is seen as contamination, said Amy Wilson, resource recovery manager for the RDCK.

"Basically ICI left at a Recycle BC depot is seen as illegal dumping, and may also be in contravention of a number of our "site regulations" in Resource Recovery Bylaw No. 2694," she said, adding that the move could fall under the fines (up to $10,000) or bans applied through the bylaw.

"In cases of illegal dumping we pass on the full cost of clean-up, and repeat offenders may be banned from using RDCK waste facilities (including depots)."

Read full from:

http://thenelsondaily.com/news/business-owners-forced-throw-recycling-landfill-or-face-fine

The best (and worst) materials for masks = People making homemade masks might want to reach for a vacuum cleaner filter

Amanda Wilson, an environmental health sciences doctoral candidate in the Department of Community, Environment and Policy in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, is lead author on a recent study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection that assessed the ability of a variety of nontraditional mask materials to protect a person from infection after 30 seconds and after 20 minutes of exposure in a highly contaminated environment.

When the researchers compared wearing masks to wearing no protection during 20-minute and 30-second exposures to the virus, they found that infection risks were reduced by 24-94% or by 44-99% depending on the mask and exposure duration. Risk reduction decreased as exposure duration increased, they found.

"N99 masks, which are even more efficient at filtering airborne particles than N95 masks, are obviously one of the best options for blocking the virus, as they can reduce average risk by 94-99% for 20-minute and 30-second exposures, but they can be hard to come by, and there are ethical considerations such as leaving those available for medical professionals," Wilson said.

The next best options, according to the research, are N95 and surgical masks and, perhaps surprisingly, vacuum cleaner filters, which can be inserted into filter pockets in cloth masks. The vacuum filters reduced infection risk by 83% for a 30-second exposure and 58% for a 20-minute exposure. Of the other nontraditional materials evaluated by the researchers, tea towels, cotton-blend fabrics and antimicrobial pillowcases were the next best for protection.

Scarves, which reduced infection risk by 44% after 30 seconds and 24% after 20 minutes, and similarly effective cotton t-shirts are only slightly better than wearing no mask at all, they found.

"We knew that masks work, but we wanted to know how well and compare different materials' effects on health outcomes," said Wilson, who specializes in quantitative microbial risk assessment.

Read full at
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200708125350.htm

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Arizona. Original written by Mikayla Mace. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Amanda M. Wilson, Sarah E. Abney, Marco-Felipe King, Mark H. Weir, Martín López-García, Jonathan D. Sexton, Stephanie J. Dancer, Jessica Proctor, Catherine J. Noakes, Kelly A. Reynolds. COVID-19 and non-traditional mask use: How do various materials compare in reducing the infection risk for mask wearers? Journal of Hospital Infection, 2020; DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.05.036

Military Firefighters Say DoD Isn’t Moving Fast Enough to Protect Them from Toxic Chemicals

An amendment to the House and Senate defense policy bills would require the Pentagon to provide blood tests for any service member suspected to have been exposed to chemicals used in most firefighting foams, as well as non-stick industrial coatings and stain repellent.

But the Department of Defense has yet to begin testing firefighters for these substances, which fall under the class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. They are required to do so by Oct. 1 under last year's National Defense Authorization Act.

Read Next: General, Colonel Rebuked After Marine Corps Finds Serious Flaws in Crash Investigation

Military firefighters say they are glad lawmakers are now considering the dangers of the chemicals, which have been linked to certain types of cancer, birth defects and other health issues. But they don't feel that the Pentagon is moving fast enough to monitor their exposure levels.

"Being a DoD firefighter for 14 years, I know I've been covered in that stuff ... what has been done for all us firefighters?" said a service member, who requested that his name not be used because he remains on active duty and fears retaliation.

The fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act called for DoD to begin blood testing on military firefighters to determine their exposure levels to PFOS and PFOA.

A Defense Health Agency spokesman said DoD is currently developing the procedures for testing the thousands of current firefighters serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

"We are actively developing policy and procedures to provide blood testing to determine and document potential occupational exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances for each firefighter of the Department of Defense during the annual occupational medical examination conducted by the department for each firefighter," a DHA official said on background, because he was not authorized to speak for the agency.

The House and Senate versions of the national defense policy bill contain at least 10 different measures to regulate PFAS, from providing funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to improving research on the chemicals and prohibiting DoD from buying certain products containing PFAS, and barring DoD from incinerating PFAS products.

Read on:
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/07/02/military-firefighters-say-dod-isnt-moving-fast-enough-protect-them-toxic-chemicals.html

Protective gear could expose firefighters to PFAS

Fluorinated compounds in water-resistant textiles break down over time, contacting the skin and shedding into the environment

Firefighters face dangers beyond the blaze itself. Their work subjects them to carcinogens from burning materials, as well as toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from flame-suppressing foams. A new study finds that firefighters can also be exposed to PFAS over time through another source: their protective clothing (Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00410).

Firefighters suffer from disproportionately high rates of cancer, including types that have been linked to PFAS exposure such as testicular cancer, prostate cancer, mesothelioma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The clothing worn by firefighters, known as turnout gear, is made with fluoropolymer textiles and treated with PFAS for water resistance so that the material does not become soaked and heavy during use.

Graham F. Peaslee, a chemical physicist at the University of Notre Dame, began the study in 2017 when he was contacted by Diane Cotter. Her husband, a 28-year veteran of the Worcester (Massachusetts) Fire Department, had been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. Cotter had examined her husband's gear and found that, while it appeared outwardly intact, there was serious fabric decay on the inside. Cotter wondered whether the uniform could be shedding toxic chemicals and asked Peaslee to take a look.

Read on:
https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/Protective-gear-expose-firefighters-PFAS/98/i26?PageSpeed=noscript

OSHA Instruction establishes inspection procedures and enforcement policies for the Respirable Crystalline Silica Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a memorandum on June 29, 2020, announcing an "addendum on termination" to its March 26, 2020, COVID-19 temporary enforcement policy.  The memorandum notes that as states and businesses begin to re-open, there will be a period of adjustment as regulated entities plan how to comply with environmental legal obligations and with public health guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies regarding actions intended to stem the transmission and spread of COVID-19.  The memorandum states that "it is now appropriate to expressly include a provision in the temporary policy that covers termination of the temporary policy, and to make such changes to the policy as are needed to reflect the impact of the changing circumstances on facility operations, worker shortages, and other constraints caused by the public health emergency."  For more information, please read the full memorandum.

Read more > https://www.lawbc.com/regulatory-developments/entry/epas-temporary-enforcement-policy-will-end-august-31

Free Webinar - Anaerobic Digestion Resource for Farms

July 16, 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. (eastern)
 
The Northeast Waste Management Official's Association and the Northeast Recycling Council are hosting the AgSTAR—Anaerobic Digestion Project Development Handbook webinar on July 16 at 1:30 p.m. (eastern). The webinar will feature EPA AgSTAR's Handbook as a resource for setting up and operating an on-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) system, Bar-Way Farm's experience with implementing AD, and Vanguard Renewables AD project process.
 
Register Here

http://go2.mailengine1.com/click/f8qq-23twjp-otki0c-98amz1g5/
 
Webinar Presenters
Vanessa McKinney, Program Manager of EPA's AgSTAR Program - Ms. McKinney works with U.S. livestock, biogas, and government stakeholders to advance the deployment of digesters and biogas systems. She has over a decade of experience in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and air emissions regulation and policy.
Peter Melnik, co-owner of Bar-Way Farm—a family-owned dairy farm for more than 100 years in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Mr. Melnik will present a farmers' perspective in running a farm with an Anaerobic Digester for managing manure and producing electricity.

John Hanselman, Chairman and CEO of Vanguard Renewables - John has thirty years of experience in leading renewable energy, environmental, and mission-based companies. Mr. Hanselman will present about the anaerobic digester project development process and their experience with working with Bar-Way Farm.