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WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2001

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to rewrite standards designed to limit emissions of dioxins, mercury and metals.

The previous rules did not live up to the mandates of the Clean Air Act, said the court, so the government must redo them. The rules affect emissions at waste-burning incinerators and cement kilns.

In a study released last year, researchers traced the majority of dioxins in Nunavut, Canada's Inuit province, to incinerators and kilns in the United States. The dioxins collect in the fat of animals, upon which Inuits depend for subsistence, resulting in higher than normal levels of poisons in Inuit populations.

In particular, the milk of Inuit mothers contained more than twice the level of dioxins than their counterparts further south in Canada.

Health risks from dioxins include chloracne, a severe form of acne, skin rashes, skin discoloration and cancer. In animals, dioxins have affected reproductive health and the development of offspring.

Get the Case:
CEMENT KILN RECYCL v EPA No. 99-1457 (DC Cir Ct July 24, 2001)

Get the Story:
Court orders government to rewrite standards on incinerators (AP 7/24)

Only on Indianz.Com:
Dioxins are everywhere (10/4)

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