senator frank lautenberg (d-nj) has introduced the safe chemicals act of 2011 to update the toxic substances control act, (tsca) which was last updated in 1976. this bill puts a mandate on companies to establish the safety of chemicals in products before they are available to consumers. current law puts the burden on the environmental protection agency to seek out and identify dangerous chemicals.

toxic chemical exposure, even in small amounts, has been linked to cancer, fertility problems and learning disabilities, and the epa has acknowledged shortcomings in their ability to identify dangerous chemicals and protect the public from exposure under existing law. “tsca is showing its age, and its limitations. our tsca inventory currently lists over 84,000 chemicals, very few of which have actually been studied by the epa for their risk to families and children,” says steve owens of the epa.

although there has been ongoing friction between safe chemical advocacy groups and big business, larger companies who would be greatly impacted by this legislation, including corporate giants sc johnson and basf, support one federal standard, for the sake of consumer confidence as well as global competitiveness. the lack of effective legislation at the federal level has caused states to create their own regulations, which forces national companies to comply with vastly different regulations from state to state. “complying with as many as 50 different state chemical management policies will only create uncertainty in our markets and costly inefficiencies. if we have more confidence, it does help the bottom line for companies like ours,” says kelly semrau of sc johnson.

the new bill calls for a prioritization of chemicals based on risk, creating open access to reliable chemical information and the promotion of safer, green chemistry. the epa and other proponents of this legislation say that it is time to give the american people the protection from toxic chemicals they need and deserve.

the bald eagle’s wing kept her from coming entirely through the windshield. the idaho department of fish and game responded to the scene of the accident to care for the eagle, and determined that the eagle was hemorrhaging through her mouth and nostrils. the department of fish and game sent this feisty patient to the nearby teton raptor center; a non-profit organization focused on birds of prey, in wilson, wyoming.

dan foreman of the teton raptor center explained that this particular eagle is an incredibly strong bird. aside from the internal injuries, she had no lacerations or broken bones, amazingly. during her recovery, the staff at the center limited contact with the eagle to reduce her stress. the eagle was willing and able to eat without assistance from the staff at the center, which aided in her recovery. often staff members have to force-feed injured birds in their care.

jason jones, a former attorney and master falconer, patiently nursed the eagle and fed her mostly quail stuffed with antibiotics to aid in her recovery. the teton raptor center cared for two other patients during this eagle’s recovery, another bald eagle, and a golden eagle, both injured from assumed impact with cars. in the case of the miracle eagle, however, the cause of her injuries was well known.

after a month of recovery at the teton raptor center, the eagle had sufficiently recovered to be released into the wild. sometimes birds in captivity gain weight which makes it difficult to fly, but the miracle eagle weighed in at over ten pounds, which gave her enough weight that she would have approximately two weeks to adjust to being in the wild before she would have to resume hunting to feed herself.

the staff at the teton raptor center examined the eagle one final time, and following the exam she was fitted with an id band. jones drove the eagle back to idaho, where local officials had come to see her released into her natural habitat, including sheriff brent bunn, who had responded to the scene of the high impact collision between semi truck and eagle. “it was a miracle that bird survived,” bunn said.

jones threw the eagle into the wind to aid her first flight following her accident and recovery. for those who nursed this eagle back to health following the traumatic accident, they say this is the most remarkable recovery they have ever seen.

r. j. kopchak was formerly the part owner of a fisherman’s co-op, which was experiencing great success in the late 1980s. “the value of permits was up, the value of the salmon was way up, and we were all making $80,000 to $100,000 per year. [we were] working hard, but there we went,” says kopchak.

the fishing industry in alaska continued to experience great success until march 24, 1989, the date of the infamous exxon valdez oil spill disaster. when the exxon valdez ran aground, the resulting oil spill covered 1,300 miles of coastline and 11,000 square miles of ocean water. it was the worst environmental disaster in u.s. history at that point in time. countless numbers of animals and birds were killed from exposure to the toxic oil, and many fish populations were severely impacted, including herring, which was the foundation of the fishing economy. kopchak estimates that the disaster cost him over half a million dollars.

today, kopchak works for the non-profit prince william sound science center, which studies the sound’s ecosystem and includes efforts to restore the herring population. while some fish and animal populations have recovered following the oil spill, much of the oil from the disaster was never recovered and can still be found in virtually every protected cove and beach along prince william sound.

just a 30-minute float plane ride from cordova is a marshy spot called knight island that was hit hard by the exxon valdez oil spill. one particular spot, called the death marsh because of the severity of the oil exposure, was completely saturated with oil, and to this date you can see that under the sand and dirt a hard layer of oil still exists.

nobody knows exactly what risk the oil poses. it will be around for a very long time. “it’s just tragic,” says kopchak.

it is what lies under the ocean floor, oil, which has the inupiat people concerned and conflicted. the inupiat people fear that an accident, like the deepwater horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill in the gulf coast in 2010, could jeopardize their entire way of life. however, the inupiat also need the jobs and regional economic boost that would accompany offshore drilling.

siikauraq whiting, the mayor of kotzebue, says, “to the rest of america, unless you come and eat our food, walk our land…unless you really know who we are as inupiat people, then you can’t really appreciate that this is inupiat life.”

local residents are concerned about the new mining efforts because of their past experiences. uranium mining can require up to 12 million gallons of water per day, which is taken out of the mine and runs off on the surface of the land surrounding the mine. not only does this deposit new contamination, but it also can mobilize contamination that remains settled in the ground from previous uranium mining.

across new mexico, hundreds of mounds of toxic waste and contaminated community water sources remain from previous mining efforts. most of the surrounding area consists of low income citizens, and the majority of the sparse population is indigenous peoples. local residents feel that, because of these factors, restoring the land used for mining was not a priority for the mining companies. mining companies maintain that the cost of restoring the land is prohibitive.

uranium mining is currently regulated by the 1872 mining law, which permits mining companies to remove as much uranium as they wish without paying royalties or being responsible for clean-up and restoration efforts. potential new regulations would identify uranium as an energy source and establish guidelines similar to those currently in place for the oil and natural gas industries. this new law would force uranium mining companies to pay leases and royalties on land they use for mining and the uranium they remove. those royalties could be used to clean up radioactive waste and restore the land around the mines. currently, any clean-up efforts that are undertaken are funded by taxpayer dollars.

“bisphenol-a, research is showing more and more, could lead to diabetes, obesity, early puberty, cancer, a whole range of problems,” said erika schreder of the washington toxics coalition.

canada now lists bpa as a toxic substance. the european union and at least seven states have restricted its use. but the federal government has not taken any regulatory action. the environmental protection agency has listed bpa as a chemical of concern, and the food and drug administration says there’s “some concern about the potential effects of bpa on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children.”

“the public basically wants safer materials. they don’t like that someone isn’t minding the store,” said andy ingrejas, director of safer chemicals healthy families.

“if we can’t get washington to address these problems in a way that really benefits public health, but also benefits the business environment, we’ll see more private efforts in the marketplace. we’re seeing more companies start to address, start to adopt their own chemical policies trying to weed out the known bad chemicals.”

though industry groups like the american chemistry council say “bpa has been safely used for decades,” concerned families, some retailers and interest groups are working to overhaul outdated u.s. chemicals policies so that health and safety information is publicly available.

for the past 30 years concerned citizens and lawmakers have been working to create the rio grand del norte national conservation area along new mexico’s northern boarder. the proposed nca consists of 235,000 acres of rolling sagebrush hills and 70 miles of the rio grand, the first section of wild and scenic river established in the united states. the goal is not only to preserve this rare and wild landscape, but also a way of life that dates back hundreds of years.

nine-mile canyon a stunning showcase right next to the road and affords easy access for visitor eager to view the ancient artwork. but there’s a downside. oil and gas drilling is picking up on the plateau above this canyon making this a busy access route.

all the traffic kicks up dust that covers the art. miller says the dust may contain corrosive particulates with unknown consequences.
fortunately a compromise has been negotiated. denver-based bill barrett corporation has signed an agreement with government agencies and historic preservation groups. the agreement allows the company to drill on public lands above the canyon. but protections are put in place to control dust, monitor rock art integrity and to train workers about cultural resources. the company has also started a new fund to grant money for projects ranging from archeological research to preventing vandalism. the company will donate $5,000 for each new well it drills, up to $5 million. and miller says the hope now is that by working together allowing access to one resource won’t compromise another.