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EPA proposes banning cancer-causing chemical used in automotive care, other products_我的网站

A |     冬季供暖是重要的民生工程，也是事关人民群众切身利益的“暖心工程”。今冬我市提前谋划、及早筹备，已按计划、按时间节点全面完成各项检修工作，确保锅炉正常起炉供热，为群众提供安全、平稳、优质的供暖服务。    WOBURN, Mass. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed banning the cancer-causing chemical trichloroethylene, which can be found in consumer products including automobile brake cleaners, furniture care and arts and crafts spray coating. The move would end a nearly four decade battle to ban the chemical known as TCE, which can cause sudden death or kidney cancer if a person is exposed to high levels of it, and other neurological harm even at lower exposure over a long period.EPA’s recent risk-evaluation studies found that as much as 250 million pounds of TCE are still produced in the United States annually. One of the first places the chemical raised concern was in Massachusetts, where it was linked to contaminated drinking water in the city of Woburn. Two locations there were ultimately designated as massive Superfund sites. Monday's news conference was held at one of them, a location which now serves as a transportation center.“For far too long, TCE has left a toxic legacy in communities across America," said Michal Freedhoff, the EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “Today, EPA is taking a major step to protect people from exposure to this cancer-causing chemical.” Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey, who has led the effort to ban TCE, welcomed the move. “With this rule, we can see a future where we will no longer be manufacturing, processing and distributing a chemical known to be deadly,” Markey said. “We will no longer be exposing American families, communities and workers to a toxic chemical legacy that leaves questions, cancer and catastrophe in its wake.”Markey called the effort personal, citing his long-time work with Anne Anderson, a resident-turned-activist whose son Jimmy died in 1981 of leukemia.“Since Anne and I met in 1980, we have been partners in the effort to clean up Woburn, to get justice for her son, and to save other families from seeing their children fall sick as a result of contamination,” Markey said. "Thanks to the advocacy of Anne Anderson and the action of the EPA, the era of corporations using communities like Woburn as dumping grounds for toxic TCE is over.” A 1982 lawsuit over the contaminated water supply involved eight Woburn families, including the Andersons. The case garnered national attention and led to the book and movie titled “A Civil Action.” The American Chemistry Council said in a statement that TCE has several important uses in packaging and in formulating products. The proposed rule “is inconsistent with the underlying science,” the council said, calling on the EPA to avoid unnecessarily restricting valuable industrial uses for the chemical. “EPA must base its risk management proposals on best available science, including accurate assessments of exposure," the industry group said. “Where uses of chemistries have decreased over time, this must be reflected in EPA’s underlying risk assessment, because decreased use reduces potential exposure.”Meanwhile, environmental groups praised the proposed rule, which would take effect in a year. “EPA followed the science, listened to impacted communities, and proposed one of the strongest chemical regulations in recent history,” Earthjustice Senior Attorney Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz said in a statement. “Some chemicals are simply too harmful to remain on the market." TCE is used to make refrigerants and in solvents that remove grease from metal parts. It is also used in carpet cleaners, laundry spot removers and hoof polish for horses. The chemical presents an “unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment” in 52 of 54 uses in industrial and consumer products, the EPA has found.“I am overwhelmed that all of you are here to acknowledge everything that has happened and everything that was bad has turned good,” Anderson said. “I owe so much to you people to keep the fight going, making sure that everybody is safe and that toxic chemicals like TCE will no longer exist.”The proposed ban stems from a major expansion of EPA's regulatory powers under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled rules governing tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products, from household cleaners to clothing and furniture.The statute authorized new rules for tens of thousands of toxic chemicals found in everyday products, including substances such as asbestos and TCE, that for decades have been known to cause cancer but were largely unregulated under federal law. Known as the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, the law was intended to clear up a hodgepodge of state rules governing chemicals and to update the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.The 2016 law required the EPA to evaluate chemicals and put in place protections against unreasonable risks. The agency moved to ban asbestos last year and has also proposed banning methylene chloride, perchloroethylene and carbon tetrachloride.__ Associated Press writer Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.。         　　记者从市住建局了解到，目前，全市各供热企业已经完成了全网供热设施设备的调试和准备工作，具备运行条件，为即将到来的冬季供暖提供了有力保障。同时，各企业将继续加强设施设备的维护和管理，提早消除各类运行安全隐患，采取有效措施提升老旧小区、集中诉求小区供热质量，为市民提供更加优质的服务。         　　据了解，为了确保供暖季顺利供暖，我市通过精准实施“冬病夏治”、供热“三修”工作，逐步解决老旧供热管网运行安全隐患，提升热网安全运行水平。各供热企业已做好开栓供热运行方案，计划提前对管道注水打压，发现问题及时解决，做到提前启动泵体进入冷态运行调试阶段，确保热用户100%按期开栓供热。         　　市供热管理部门将督导各供热企业采取科学调整运行方式，提升运行服务质量；通过持续开展“访民问暖”工作，及时有效处置居民各类供热诉求，主动解决居民供热问题，切实保障热网运行安全，全力以赴确保全市居民温暖过冬，让群众家暖、人暖、心更暖。

B |                    责任编辑：刘春阳。

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