Several recently published scientific studies on the negative health impacts of depleted uranium, diesel engines, mercury and urban pollutants underscore the need for stronger environmental regulations to protect public health. In this article:

• Depleted Uranium May Have Same Health Effects as Lead
• Diesel Pollution Causes 21,000 Premature Deaths Each Year
• Mercury Reduces IQs of 300,000 to 600,000 Children Annually
• Urban Pollution Can Lead to Genetic Alterations, Cancer

Depleted Uranium Not Harmless Although the federal government insists that depleted uranium is essentially harmless, a recent report on a proposed uranium enrichment plant in New Mexico found that �depleted uranium may be mutagenic, tumorigenic, teratogenic, cytotoxic and neurotoxic, including in a manner analogous to the exposure to lead.� According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, depleted uranium is �uranium having a percentage of uranium-235 smaller than the 0.7 percent found in natural uranium. It is obtained from spent (used) fuel elements or as byproduct tails, or residues, from uranium isotope separation.� The possible health risks of depleted uranium took the national stage after the first Gulf War, when soldiers were exposed to depleted uranium used in armor plates. The study, released by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), looked at research conducted by the Armed Forces Radiobiology Institute in Bethesda, MD, after the Persian Gulf conflict. IEER and NIRS concluded that depleted uranium (DU) poses significant public health risks, despite its classification by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as a �low-level� waste. �The health risks of depleted uranium may be far more varied than is recognized in federal regulations today,� said Dr. Bruce Smith, Senior Scientist at IEER and co-author of the report. Currently, the NRC regulates depleted uranium only �through licensing and oversight of licensee operations.� If the plant is built in New Mexico, �it is likely that the people of New Mexico, U.S. taxpayers, and future generations would be stuck with a multi-billion dollar radioactive waste liability,� according to the report. Diesel Pollution Causes 21,000 Premature Deaths Each Year Particulate matter from diesel engines leads to the premature deaths of 21,000 Americans each year, according to a report by the Clean Air Task Force, a conglomerate of state and local clean air environmental groups. The Task Force contracted Abt Associates �to quantify for the first time the health impacts of fine particle air pollution from America�s diesel fleet.� Abt relied on data provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct the study, which found that the 13 million diesel vehicles in the United States lead to 3,000 early deaths of lung cancer, 400,000 asthma attacks and 27,000 heart attacks each year. �Reducing diesel fine particle emissions 50 percent by 2010, 75 percent by 2015, and 85 percent by 2020 would save nearly 100,000 lives between now and 2030,� according to the report. Further, the report estimates that in 2010, the toll of premature death and health damage will cost a total of $139 billion. The EPA has recently promulgated a regulation that will require dramatic reductions in fine particulate matter emissions from diesel engines by 2007. However, the regulation applies only to new engines and does not make any provisions for existing engines. EPA has promoted a voluntary retrofit program to cut emissions from existing vehicles, but such a program is not enforceable. Diesel engines can last as long as 30 years, which means that older vehicles will continue to pollute for the next quarter century. Though current control technology can reduce emissions by up to 90 percent, EPA has little authority to reduce emissions in existing vehicles. Cutting emissions in current vehicles will require an aggressive strategy of legislation and regulation at the state and national levels. Mercury Reduces IQs of 300,000 to 600,000 Children Annually A study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that mercury pollution from man-made sources, including power plants, contributes to diminished IQs in 300,000 to 600,000 American children each year and $8.7 billion annually in lost earnings. Congress will address power plant emissions in the markup of the Clear Skies bill (S. 131). The markup was supposed to occur March 2, but it was delayed to allow more time for compromise on the measure. The Clear Skies bill will seek to reduce power plant emissions of mercury 69 percent by 2018, while also reducing emissions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide through emissions trading. The Clear Skies bill will require mercury emissions to be reduced to 34 tons by 2010, far less than what is required under the Clean Air Act. Using numbers from last year�s Clear Skies bill, which would reduce emissions to 26 tons by 2010, the NIH report estimated that the cost to public health of delaying mercury emissions reductions would exceed the cost to industry of implementing more stringent emissions reductions technology. EPA is set to promulgate a final rule for mercury control on March 15. The rule will also implement weaker cap-and-trade standards. Urban Pollution Can Lead to Genetic Alterations, Cancer A new study by scientists at Columbia University's Center for Children's Environmental Health revealed that exposure to environmental pollutants may actually change the structure of genes in fetuses, making them more likely to develop cancer. The study was the first to show the impacts of pollutions on babies in utero. The study looked at 60 newborns and their mothers in low-income neighborhoods in New York City. Personal air monitoring devices measured the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during pregnancy. These pollutants enter the air through combustion of vehicle engines, residential heating, power generation or tobacco smoke. PAHs can cross the placenta during pregnancy. The study found that infants who were exposed to high levels of pollutants had an increase of about 50 percent in the level of persistent genetic abnormalities. Separate studies have shown that these abnormalities can increase the risk of cancer. �While we can�t estimate the precise increase in cancer risk, these findings underscore the need for policymakers at the federal, state and local levels to take appropriate steps to protect children from these avoidable exposures,� stated Dr. Frederica P. Perera, director of the Center and principal author of the study.