February 25, 2011
2011
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| February 25 , 2011 |
ATS Opposes Elimination of NIOSH ERCs
This week, ATS President Dean Schraufnagel, MD, sent a letter to House and Senate Appropriators expressing opposition to President Obama's FY2012 budget recommendation to eliminate funding for the National Occupational Institute of Safety and Health Environmental and Research Centers at CDC. The President's FY2012 budget proposes a number of program consolidations and eliminations - several of which impact respiratory health programs.
Educational and Research Centers (ERCs) were first established in the 1970s to address an existing shortage of health professionals training in occupational safety and health. Since its inception, the ERC mission has been to provide training and continuing educational opportunity for occupational health professionals. Recently, the ERC program has recognized the important role that research plays in education and has grown to become a major source of support for occupational safety and health research funding.
Unlike other medical specialties, occupational medicine training programs are not eligible to receive federal graduate medical education support through Medicare. NIOSH funding through the ERCs is the only source of support for occupational medicine.
The Administration budget justifies the elimination of the ERC program by stating that the purpose of the ERCs was to provide "seed" money for universities to start occupational health and safety training programs and that now the several university programs exist, there is no longer a need for additional federal support. However, as recently as 2000, the Institute of Medicine released a study ("Safe Work in the 21st Century: Education and Training Needs for the Next Decade's Occupational Safety and Health Personnel"), which noted the current shortage of trained academic and clinical occupational health professionals was jeopardizing the health of the U.S. workforce. The ATS letter notes that the shortage of occupational health professionals is still acute, and federal funding is needed to support the existing programs in their efforts to meet our nation's occupational health needs.
CLEAN AIR
EPA issues Final Rules for Industrial Boilers
Under a court ordered deadline, the EPA issued this week final toxic pollution emissions standards for industrial boilers and incinerators. According to EPA analysis, the final rule will yield significant reductions in toxic emissions - like mercury, lead, and particulate matter--from industrial boilers and incinerators at half the compliance cost of the earlier proposed measure. The EPA estimates the rule will prevent 2,600 to 6,600 premature deaths, 4,100 heart attacks and avert 42,000 asthma attacks each year starting in 2014.
The boiler rule has generated a lot of political concern in Congress. Legislation has been introduced that would prevent the EPA from moving forward with the industrial boiler rule, while a number of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have expressed their concern with an earlier version of the boiler rule. While the EPA is touting the final rule's reduced compliance cost to industry, it remains to be seen if changes in the final rule are enough to ward off Congressional intervention.ATS Testifies at EPA Ozone Hearing
William Rom. MD, a member of the ATS Environmental Health Policy Committee, testified on behalf of the ATS at a recent hearing of the EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) in support of the EPA issuing stricter standards for ozone pollution. CASAC is a panel of experts convened by EPA to provide expert technical advice to the EPA on scientific issues and provide recommendations on air pollution standards. In his comments, Dr. Rom cited a number of studies that show adverse health effects of exposure to ozone at levels below the current EPA standards of 75 ppb/8-hours. His comments focused on a number of more recent epidemiological studies that show the health effects ozone exposure has on children and well as chamber studies that show impacts on healthy adults.
The ATS supports a stricter standard of 60 ppb/8-hours.
The EPA was expected to release a proposed ozone rule earlier this year but delayed issuing the rule. In announcing the delay of the rule, the EPA said it would be using the delay to seek further guidance from CASAC on what the ozone standard. There is a certain irony in the EPA's desire to seek additional input from CASAC. CASAC has twice previously recommended that EPA issue a stricter standard--once during the Bush Administration and once during the Obama Administration. It is expected that CASAC for a third time will recommend that the current ozone standard is not protective of the nation's public health and will again recommend a stricter standard for ozone.
The EPA is under a court order to review the existing ozone standards but has so far failed to comply with schedule of the court agreement. The EPA is expected to issue a proposed ozone standard later this year.
The Washington Letter is written by the American Thoracic Society government relations office and emailed to all ATS members living in the United States. The letter keeps clinicians, scientists, and patients abreast of legislative, judicial, and regulatory issues in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. Each week's edition is archived on the ATS Web site, www.thoracic.org. If you have any questions or one more information about becoming involved in advocacy, please contact the ATS Washington office at 202-296-9770.
