EPA ADVISORS BACK FIRST-TIME RISK LEVEL FOR SUPERFUND CONTAMINANT

An EPA peer review panel is backing the agency's proposed first-time risk level for 2-hexanone, a waste chemical that may be present at close to 200 top-priority Superfund sites. The chemical, which is a waste product from pulp production and some energy production, was also used in paints and paint thinners until the early 1980s. EPA's Office of Solid Waste & Emergency Response (OSWER) in 2004 requested that the clear liquid be added to the chemicals undergoing risk assessment for...