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

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一 | 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.。　　讯 8月21日上午，市场监管总局召开“推进实施质量强链”专题新闻发布会。市场监管总局质量发展局副局长张蕾蕾表示，质量强链是贯彻落实党中央、国务院决策部署，加强质量支撑和标准引领，服务构建现代化产业体系的重要举措。在一期项目圆满收官的基础上，市场监管总局紧扣党中央决策部署，系统谋划推进质量强链二期十大标志性项目，目前各项工作扎实有序开展，预期成果将精准填补关键领域急需空白，进一步加强对重点产业的质量支撑。　　一是聚焦战略重点，优化布局十大标志性项目。在一期项目基础上，坚持“三个一批”优化布局：即延续一批高端仪器仪表、新能源、工业机器人等重点领域，持续深化攻关；拓展一批具身智能机器人、固态动力电池等新方向，紧跟产业迭代发展；新增一批工业母机、无人机、先进合成生物制造等重点领域，瞄准产业发展热点。整体布局更加突出战略性、前沿性和实效性，任务更聚焦、目标更明确，为产业高质量发展筑牢质量根基。　　二是统筹全链条要素，系统部署攻关任务。二期项目坚持系统观念，统筹标准、计量、检验检测、认证认可等质量基础设施全链条要素，滚动部署166项攻关任务。

二 | 在标准研制方面，重点推动智能体、脑机接口、氢能等领域国际标准研制，加快制定产业急需的关键技术国家标准，完善产业标准体系。在计量测试方面，聚焦关键量值溯源难题，建立一批国家计量标准和测试装置。在检验检测方面，研制关键检测技术装备和方法，提升产业检测能力。在认证认可方面，着力构建新兴产业认证制度，助力优质产品拓展市场。　　三是凝聚多方攻坚合力，构建协同攻关格局。二期项目按照“全国一盘棋”要求系统推进，广泛采用产学研用联合攻关模式，整合产业链龙头企业、知名高校、科研院所、技术机构等多元主体力量，组建质量技术创新联合体，推进技术创新、标准研制、产业培育，加快质量强链攻关成果在产业场景中的迭代验证和推广应用，促进技术、质量、标准与产业生态的深度融合。