Wednesday, February 22, 2017, Tribal Consultation 1 from 1:00-4:00 pm (EDT) Call-in Number: Conference ID number:

Transcription

1 Share with EPA yur cncerns abut making sure Tribal ppulatins are apprpriately cnsidered in the risk evaluatins fr these chemicals. EPA has set tw Tribal Cnsultatins calls: Wednesday, February 22, 2017, Tribal Cnsultatin 1 frm 1:00-4:00 pm (EDT) Call-in Number: Cnference ID number: Thursday, February 23, 2017, Tribal Cnsultatin 2 frm 1:00-4:00 pm (EDT) Call-in Number: Cnference ID number: TALKING POINTS AND QUESTIONS Fllwing are talking pints and questins that the NTTC has gathered that may be f help: (1) abut tribes having mre expsure t txic substances with tribal lifeways, and (2) abut priritizing chemicals fr risk evaluatin and (3) abut the prcess fr ding risk evaluatins. There are als definitins f sme key terms like aggregate expsures and risk evaluatins. (The attachment is the same as this , in case there are ther issues with frmatting.) TRIBES ARE SUSCEPTIBLE AND EXPOSED SUBPOPULATIONS The new law says that nw EPA must especially cnsider unreasnable risks t the health f peple ptentially expsed r wh are susceptible [r vulnerable] t being expsed t chemicals used fr cnsumer prducts. We are grateful that TSCA nw has this requirement which will allw EPA t lk clser at the unreasnable risks that tribal peple may experience. We are cncerned abut txic chemicals getting int ur hme, ur subsistence fds, as well as int the land, water and air arund ur cmmunity. Tribal members can be expsed t chemicals in cnsumer prducts after they have been released frm cmmercial prducts int the envirnment, like flame retardants breaking dwn int dust and then peple breathe in the dust. Or the flame retardants end up in waters and fish that we eat. We knw that this is abut the prducts peple can buy at stres, and whether it is cntaminating anything that is part f ur tribal lifeways. Our tribal lifeways include but are nt limited t ecnmic, cultural, ceremnial, recreatinal, and subsistence practices, and always invlve ur water, sil, air and the plants and animals that are a part f ur ecsystems. Tribes are a subppulatin with greater expsure t chemicals in the natural envirnment based n higher and differing cnsumptin f wild fds, and higher envirnmental expsures due t a unique range f traditinal activities, custmary lifestyles, and cmmunity infrastructural circumstances that are assciated with envirnmental media. Nne f these have been cnsidered in risk assessments acrss EPA prgrams r in EPA s TSCA risks assessments. Tribes are als a subppulatin with whm the U.S. Gvernment has an histrical, well-defined, and unique legal relatinship, unlike any ther subppulatin examples f infants, children, pregnant wmen, wrkers, r the elderly.

2 It is nt adequate that the scientific mdels being used t evaluate risk nly lk at the average urban lifestyle and their stre-bught fds in the lwer 48 states and des nt accunt fr the higher risk fr tribal members thrugh tribal lifeways. Tribal members can be cnsuming 100 s f times mre wild fish, and large vlumes f marine mammals and wild game, and als have higher and mre frequent cntact with waters, sediments, and sil. Nw that the risk evaluatins and assessments must include the susceptible ppulatins, tribal lifeways must be included in risk evaluatins and assessments. Yu must lk at the harmful effects t tribal peple. We are a whle ppulatin thrughut the cuntry that is negatively affected by chemicals that end up in the envirnment. Identifying expsure pathways fr tribes can be dne by answering these questins: Are tribal resurces affected? Hw are the resurces used? Hw much are peple expsed (frequency, intensity, and duratin f expsure)? THE PRIORITIZATION RULE The Priritizatin Rule describes a pipelined apprach fr Chemical Review that results in High-Pririty r Lw-Pririty designatins. While the EPA starts with ten in the pipeline frm the past Wrk Plan Inventry, there seems t be n further srting in the priritizatin scheme as mre are added t the pipeline. There appears t be n prcess fr jumping ahead in the queue if needed, because f natinal pririties, such as fr emergency respnse use, r smething else. There may be situatins that warrant jumping ahead in the pipeline. The prcess t designate Lw-Pririty is nt clearly defined, sme detail needs t be added. There is n descriptin f hw a lw-impact chemical can be quickly vetted and apprved fr use, fr example, ne that wuld replace a txic cmpund existing in cmmerce. This situatin needs t be explicitly described, as a way t reward green chemistry alternatives and t incentivize manufacturers. As EPA is priritizing which chemical substances are High-Pririty Substances, and then evaluating them, where will yu fit tribes int this prcess? There are specific sectins that pint ut public participatin, but tribal cnsultatin is nt at all referenced. THE RISK EVALUATION RULE In the dcument Prcedures fr Chemical Risk Evaluatin is the statement: One f the key features f the new law [TSCA] is the requirement that EPA nw systematically priritize and assess existing chemicals, and manage identified risks. Under the riginal law, existing chemical substances that were mstly nt

3 evaluated and were allwed in cnsumer prducts we ve been using fr 40 years. This is a pririty cncern fr tribes because this means that many f these chemicals are nw in ur envirnment, which tribes depend upn and are interacting with every day. TSCA nw requires EPA t cnsider whether chemicals present an unreasnable risk t a ptentially expsed r susceptible subppulatin, a grup f individuals within the general ppulatin identified by the Administratr wh, due t either greater susceptibility r greater expsure, may be at greater risk than the general ppulatin f adverse health effects frm expsure t a chemical substance r mixture, such as infants, children, pregnant wmen, wrkers, r the elderly. (TSCA, 15 USC Definitins, June 22, 2016) Hw will the EPA Administratr decide t cnsider r include ptentially expsed r susceptible subppulatins? Hw d tribes bring their expsure t the attentin f the Administratr s their risk will be cnsidered in the risk evaluatin? Regarding the requirement that each risk evaluatin must als: (1) integrate and assess available infrmatin; What happens if infrmatin is nt available, yet under new TSCA, all expsure assessments in the "pipeline" must be cmplete within three years with pssible 6 mnths extensin? Hw is this requirement balanced when there is n infrmatin t make an adequate assessment, especially infrmatin n expsure t susceptible sub-ppulatins. Hw will the EPA insure they are including all the data that is triballycllected under EPA-apprved QAPPs? The EPA Reginal Offices cllect this data frm tribes via IGAP and via media-specific grant funding, like Office f Water, Office f Air, etc. We whle-heartedly supprt that risk evaluatins must nw encmpass all manufacture, prcessing, distributin in cmmerce, use, and dispsal activities that cnstitute the cnditins f use all knwn, intended, and reasnably freseen activities assciated with the subject chemical substance. When cnsidering existing chemicals, cnsider that there are 100 s r 1000 s f cnsumer prducts with labels directing that the prduct shuld be dispsed f nly in certain types f landfills r as a husehld hazardus waste. Unfrtunately, that des nt accunt fr cmmunities where dispsal ccurs utside f sphisticated, well-funded slid waste facilities. This includes mre than 200 Alaska tribal villages and many tribal lands in the lwer 48 states where residents face higher expsures t txics frm their permitted landfill facilities. The n-the-grund waste burning and landfill leachate cntaminate drinking water and traditinal fd and cultural resurces with petrleum prducts, waste il, battery acid, raw sewage, and the ther chemicals and hazardus husehld wastes frm cnsumer prducts cntaining chemicals previusly apprved under TSCA.

4 It is necessary fr EPA t particularly include tribes in implementing these rules. There will be times when there seem t be hles in the data. Hw will EPA accunt fr thse situatins where manufacture, use and dispsal is in r near tribal cmmunities? In the past these are nt cnsidered because data is nt cming frm the manufacturers, even thugh tribes may have cmmented n these cncerns. There is specific reference t pprtunities fr public participatin but there is n reference t tribal cnsultatin. EPA needs t include that earlier in the time frame than public participatin t allw fr the meaningful cnsultatin prcess. In the backgrund material prvided with the annuncement fr tribal cnsultatin, there is this statement: The Agency has evaluated the risk f chemical substances t all sectrs f the ppulatin, with particular attentin t wrkers, indigengus peples, pregnant wmen," and s n. Please prvide examples and references t where EPA has evaluated with particular attentin t indigenus peples as it wuld help tribes t see where this was dne in the past and prvide EPA with guidance t imprve this in future evaluatins. The PBDE data used values fr stre-bught fish at urban cnsumptin rates which are significantly lwer than tribal expsure rates with cnsumptin f wild-caught fish. Neither did it accunt fr the biaccumulatin f PBDE. Nt nly must the Agency simply "cnsider" subppulatins they must act t prtect these grups. Cnsideratin is nt sufficient in an era when States are pre-empted frm implementing lcal prtectins and banning txics. Central tendency is n lnger acceptable when States cannt act t prtect lcal ppulatins/lifeways because f new TSCA. Please explain the reference t draft risk-evaluatins by interested parties in the backgrund infrmatin dcument. Wh is an example f an interested party? Under Sectin 6. Metals and metal cmpunds. EPA must use the March 2007 Framewrk fr Metals Risk Assessment: The expsures described in this dcument may nt cnsider all tribal expsures that we describe in the NTTC reprt, can these be added, amended if needed. DEFINITIONS Aggregate expsures: expsure t a single chemical by multiple pathways and rutes f expsure. The pathway f expsure refers t ur patterns f behavir ptentially interact with chemicals in the envirnment. Fr example, multiple pathways culd include the pesticide residues in fd and drinking water, as well as residues frm pesticide use in residential, nn-ccupatinal envirnments. The rutes f expsure refer t the ways we may be expsed t a chemical, such as thrugh ur muth (ral expsure), ur skin (dermal expsure), r by breathing in a chemical (inhalatin).

5 Sentinel expsures: the mst significant expsures, the expsure with highest risk, r the first expsures. Cnditins f use: bradly defined as the circumstances, as determined by the Administratr, under which a chemical substance is intended, knwn, r reasnably freseen t be manufactured, prcessed, distributed in cmmerce, used, r dispsed f. 15 U.S.C Risk assessment: the qualitative r quantitative evaluatin f the risk psed t human health and/r the envirnment by the actual r ptential presence r release f hazardus substances, pllutants r cntaminants. Risk evaluatin: A cmpnent f risk assessment in which judgments are made abut the significance and acceptability f risk. Tribal lifeways: inclusive f but nt limited t, ecnmic, cultural, ceremnial, recreatinal, and subsistence practices, ften ccurring in cmplex and intense relatin t the natural envirnment. Many tribal cultures are essentially synnymus with and inseparable frm the land and its resurces. Examples include, but are nt limited t: Hunting, fishing, gathering Husbandry (farming/grwing) Gathering, cnsumptin, and everyday use f plants and plant materials (fd, teas, different types f cmbustibles fr smke generatin, cllectin f firewd r tipi ples, etc.) Water cllectin (untreated) Cllecting materials fr, and making baskets and ther weaving, arts, tls, clthes (using feathers, skin, bnes, hides, ils, antlers, etc.; wd r stne carvings) Building/carving canes, sweat ldges, ther structures Bathing/sweat ldge use Traditinal medicine Ceremnial r pwww activities (dancing, traditinal games) Smke huses and ceremnies with smke (fire, sage, cedar, alder, etc.) Making and use f traditinal pttery (made frm lcal clays, etc.) Natinal Tribal Txics Cuncil The NTTC is a USEPA Tribal Partnership Grup that is fcused n prviding Tribes with an pprtunity fr greater input n issues related t txic chemicals and pllutin preventin. The NTTC will give tribes a frum fr prviding advice n the develpment f EPA's chemical management and pllutin preventin prgrams that affect tribes. Given the uniqueness f tribal cultures, cmmunities and envirnmental prblems, the frum will help EPA better tailr and mre efficiently address a variety f issues, expand pllutin preventin and safer chemical initiatives in Indian cuntry, and better evaluate unique chemical expsures n tribal lands.