SAN FRANCISCO — On Monday, January 9, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that Sims Metal Management, a metals recycling company, had been issued a notice of violation for polluting the San Francisco Bay and violating the Clean Water Act.

“All of the things we found are toxic” said the EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest, Jared Blumenfeld. “Once we find something illegal of this nature, we need to make sure the facility takes immediate steps to eliminate those discharges.” Sims Metal Management must have a plan of action devised by Monday. Unless the facility completely remedies the problem within 90 days, they could potentially be fined up to $37,500 a day under the Clean Water Act.

Sims claims to be one of the world’s truly green companies and has been included in the past as one of the most sustainable corporations in the world. The company is also self-stated as the leader in metals and electronics recycling.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, traces of lead, mercury, PCBs, copper and zinc were found in the soils and sediment where the facility meets Redwood Creek during inspections of the company’s Industrial Storm Water Permit last March and again in August. In particular, the PCB levels were elevated up to 10,000 times over the norm while the mercury levels were 100 times the norm. Levels this high pose a threat to fish, wildlife and humans. These pollutants are believed to have come from the shredded metal products that the facility allegedly released into a Redwood Creek while being transported on a conveyer belt to various ships. The creek flows directly into the bay.

Daniel Strechay, a Sims spokesman, issued a statement later that Monday. “Sims is committed to protection and promotion of a healthy environment,” he said. “The company anticipates that this matter can be resolved to EPA’s full satisfaction.”

This issue has proved to not only be a concern for the EPA, but also for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As stated by the Merced Sunstar, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is mainly concerned that the shredded automobile residue could have drifted into the neighboring wetlands. If this scenario proves to be true, local endangered species may have consequently been harmed.

Several environmental wake-up calls during the 1960s set the stage for the creation of the EPA in 1970 by the Nixon administration. Pictured: EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson (with Actor Anthony Mackie) at the Riverside Valley Community Garden in Harlem, New York City, on April 22 (Earth Day), 2010. (greenforall.org)

By most accounts the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which turned 40 in December 2009, has been very effective. The first dedicated national environmental agency of its kind, the EPA has been instrumental in setting policy priorities and writing and enforcing a wide range of laws that have literally changed the face of the Earth for the better. The EPA’s existence and effectiveness has also inspired scores of other countries to create their own environmental agencies along the same lines.

Several environmental wake-up calls during the 1960s—from revelations about the hazards of pesticides to smog causing respiratory problems to rivers catching on fire as they flowed through industrial areas—set the stage for the creation of EPA in 1970 by the Nixon administration. The agency was charged with overseeing implementation and enforcement of a new raft of laws designed to protect Americans’ air, water and land from the ill effects of pollution, development and urbanization. The Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act are early examples of sweeping legislation that only a dedicated environmental agency could properly oversee. Today the EPA has also taken up the mantle of helping Americans find and implement remedies for pressing global problems from ozone depletion to climate change.

The Aspen Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering leadership and dialogue on wide range of topics, recently unveiled a list of “10 ways the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has strengthened America over the past 40 years.”

The home runs on the list—which was compiled by a group of more than 20 environmental leaders, including several former EPA officials—include: banning the widespread use of the pesticide DDT, which was decimating bald eagles and other birds and threatening public health; achieving significant reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions that were polluting water sources via acid rain; changing public perceptions of waste, leading to innovations that make use of waste for energy creation and making new products; getting lead out of gasoline; classifying secondhand smoke as a known cause of cancer, leading to smoking bans in indoor public places; establishing stringent emission standards for pollutants emitted by cars and trucks; regulating toxic chemicals and encouraging the development of more benign chemicals; establishing a national commitment to restore and maintain the safety of fresh water, via the Clean Water Act; promoting equitable environmental protection for minority and low-income citizens; and increasing public information and communities’ “right to know” what chemicals and/or pollutants they may be exposed to in their daily lives.

As to the EPA’s priorities now under administrator Lisa Jackson, climate change is high atop the agency’s agenda, as are further improving air quality, assuring the safety of chemicals used in everyday products, protecting increasingly compromised waterways and coastal areas, building stronger state and tribal partnerships, and expanding protection for underrepresented communities. Any number of potential hurdles—from an unfriendly Congress to lack of White House resolve to public apathy, let alone future natural and man-made disasters that divert attention and resources—could hamper the agency’s progress.

Further reading: epa.gov; Aspen Institute.

There is a social black cloud surrounding the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a type of plastic used to make everyday products. When produced or burned, PVC releases several toxins into the air, which can potentially harm our immune and reproductive systems.

PVC is used in the construction of everything from pipes to pool toys, and is easy to spot (check any plastic product for a recycling symbol with the number the three in it). Companies like Microsoft and Mattel have abolished the use of PVC in their packaging for years now, but it’s still one of the most widely used plastics in North America.

The presence of PVC in toys has been of high concern for parents over the past several years. Parents very rarely check to see if toys they purchase for their children contain PVC, and therefore many children are unknowingly exposed to phthalates, which are used to soften PVC to make it more durable, when chewing on a toy. Though the exact effect is unknown, young people would be more prone to any sort of health issue caused by phthalates.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently begun cracking down on companies that irresponsibly handle PVC. In early December, the EPA and the Justice Department came to a $12 million settlement with Shintech Inc., the largest manufacturer of PVC in the U.S., and it’s subsidiary K-Bin Inc., demanding they clean up their facilities in Freeport, Texas after determining they violated the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Clean Water Act.

“It is imperative that business and industry do their part to minimize the possible harm their operations may cause to our environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene in the DOJ report. “This agreement will ensure corrective action is taken and provide added benefits to the environment through supplemental projects.”

The companies were fined $2.6 million and ordered to spend $4.8 million to decrease chlorofluorocarbon emissions and better hazardous waste management at their Texas plants. The remaining $4.7 million will be spent on supplemental environmental projects as well as renovations to ensure PVC emissions are reduced by 10,000 pounds, the DOJ reports.

The supplemental projects include funding the addition of at least 300 acres of wetlands and forest to the Austin Woods preserve, as well as aiding a new Houston recycling program that will help to ensure the proper disposal of appliances containing ozone-depleting refrigerant.

The EPA is committed to help reduce PVC emissions, while many companies are committed to lowering the usage of PVC in their products.

“It’s not something you want in a product,” said Greenpeace member Jack Desena. “In small doses the phthalates aren’t a big deal, we all come in contact with them on a regular basis. But the manufacturing, processing and disposal of polyvinyl chlorides is the real problem. When you process them they release so many toxins into the air. ‚ It really rips apart the environment.”