Ecology Department invites comment on rule for toxic chemicals

Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release - June 1, 2005

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Ecology Department invites comment on rule for toxic chemicals

OLYMPIA - The state Department of Ecology is accepting public comment on a proposed regulation (rule) for governing how it will track and evaluate chemicals that pose problems for the environment and human health.

The proposed PBT (persistent, bioaccumulative toxin) rule focuses on chemicals that last a long time in the environment, build up in human and animal tissue, and are toxic. The rule will set criteria for determining whether a chemical should be added to or removed from an ongoing list of PBT chemicals and defines the process - called a chemical action plan - by which Ecology recommends actions on a specific PBT or group of PBTs.

Members of the public may examine the draft rule and voice any concerns on it during a public comment period that runs from June 1 through July 22.

"If you're concerned about the presence of chemicals in the environment, or if you're interested in whether and how PBTs are regulated, now's the time to speak out," said Greg Sorlie, Ecology's special assistant for regulatory improvement. "All comments we receive during this period will be considered before we proceed with the rule."

The draft rule is available online at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/pbt/rule/index.html or by contacting Ecology.

People may comment in person at a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13, at the Best Western at 200 Taylor Ave. N. in Seattle.

Written comments may be submitted by e-mail to mgal461@ecy.wa.gov, by fax to 360-407-6884, or by mail to Mike Gallagher, Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, Wash., 98504-7600.

Ecology was directed in an executive order in 2004 by then-Gov. Gary Locke to establish criteria for identifying PBTs that pose human health or environmental problems in Washington state and to list those PBTs in a rule. The state legislature further directed Ecology not to adopt the rule prior to the end of the 2005 legislative session and not to include any currently registered pesticides on the PBT list.

The list will be used to:

Select chemicals for action plans designed to reduce, regulate or prohibit the use of a chemical.
Determine which chemicals to monitor in the general environment.
Guide the Department of Health in monitoring chemicals in human tissue.
Inform the public about PBTs and the steps people and organizations can take to reduce PBT use.
Identify ways government agencies, businesses and people can reduce and phase out PBT use voluntarily.

In drafting the rule, Ecology assembled and consulted an advisory committee made up of industry and business representatives, health professionals, environmental groups and municipal officials with an interest in PBTs.

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Media contact: Rick Manugian, public information officer, 360-407-6928
Mike Gallagher, PBT Coordinator, 360-407-6868

PBT rule Web page: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/pbt/rule/index.html