EPA Issued a Final Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) - Advance Notice Required for Imports of Two Chemical Substances
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA issued a final significant new use rule (SNUR) (37 pp, 101 kb) covering certain uses of HBCD. The final rule requires notification to EPA 90 days prior to U.S. manufacture, import, or processing of HBCD in consumer textiles (except for use in motor vehicles) or textile articles.
FHWA Announces $200,000 in Grants to Explore Overnight Truck Delivery in New York City Boroughs and Florida
Department of Transportation
Innovative approach to improve freight delivery in congested urban areas
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced $200,000 in grants under its Surface Transportation Research, Development and Deployment Program in order to allow cities with congestion problems to explore shifting many freight delivery and pickups to nighttime and off-peak hours. The grants will fund pilot project in New York City (NYC) boroughs and in Pensacola, Fla., to work with large retailers and food companies to research and test the off-hour delivery of goods.
“I’ve talked to people around the country and they have told me they are tired of spending hours stuck in traffic – they want their transportation problems solved,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “If successful in these cities, this approach can be applied to other areas around the country, cutting congestion, commute times, and the costs to businesses.”
The pilots will look at how truck deliveries made outside of peak and rush hours – when there is less traffic on the highways – can save time and money for freight carriers, improve air quality and create more sustainable and livable cities. The funding will be used to help businesses retool their operations to accommodate shipments during off hours and distributors reconfigure routes and supply chains by using low-cost operational strategies.
“The problem of daytime truck traffic is well-known to any major city in the United States, and it’s time for new solutions,” Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau said. “While aggravating local traffic, trucks too have been forced to crawl through city streets – causing businesses loses in time, money and productivity.”
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, based in Troy, N.Y., will receive a $100,000 grant from FHWA to engage large nationwide and regional retailers and food companies, already operating in NYC, to explore this approach in other NYC boroughs and Long Island, and eventually nationwide. This project builds on an earlier pilot project in NYC that was also funded through a similar USDOT grant.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will also receive a $100,000 grant to partner with the Sacred Heart Health System to explore off-hour freight deliveries at its medical campus, in Pensacola, Fla., which includes the expanding children’s hospital and adult care center. The grant will help the hospital and FDOT investigate the cost-benefit of off-hour deliveries, including materials for campus operations and hospital supplies, in light of the additional traffic expected from the growing facility.
According to a USDOT study earlier this year “Beyond Traffic,” by 2040 the amount of freight moving in the United States will grow by 45 percent. Our nation will have to tackle this problem through innovation. Secretary Foxx emphasized the Administration’s plan to address the infrastructure deficit with the GROW AMERICA Act, a six-year surface transportation reauthorization proposal that would provide $18 billion over six years for targeted investments in freight.
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FDA Investigates Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Poona Linked to Cucumbers
Food & Drug Administration
What is the Problem and What is Being Done About It?
The FDA, CDC, and state and local officials are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Poona linked to “slicer” cucumbers, supplied by Andrew and Williamson Fresh Produce and grown in Baja, Mexico. This type of cucumber can also be called “American” cucumbers.
According to the CDC, as of September 21, 2015, 558 people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Poona have been reported from 33 states. The number of ill people reported from each state is as follows: Alaska (12), Arizona (95), Arkansas (8), California (120), Colorado (17), Hawaii (1), Idaho (20), Illinois (8), Indiana (2), Iowa (1), Kansas (2), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (4), Minnesota (29), Missouri (9), Montana (14), Nebraska (5), Nevada (11), New Mexico (27), New York (5), North Dakota (3), Ohio (2), Oklahoma (12), Oregon (17), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (8), South Dakota (1), Texas (24), Utah (46), Virginia (1), Washington (18), Wisconsin (29), and Wyoming (4). Illness start dates range from July 3, 2015 to September 11, 2015. Among 387 people with available information, 112 people (29 percent) have been hospitalized, and a total of three deaths have been reported from Arizona (1), California (1) and Texas (1).
Federal and state authorities identified clusters of people made ill in separate geographic areas and worked to trace the distribution of the food they ate back to a common supplier. The results of the traceback investigation indicate that Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce, of San Diego, California, was a common supplier of cucumbers that were eaten by the people in these illness clusters.
Several state health and agriculture departments are collecting and testing cucumbers from retail locations for the presence of Salmonella. The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, the Arizona Department of Health Services, and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services have isolated one of the outbreak strains of Salmonella Poona from cucumbers collected from retail locations. Preliminary information indicates that these cucumbers were distributed by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce. Additionally, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency isolated one of the outbreak strains Salmonella Poona from cucumbers collected during a visit to the Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce facility.
On September 3, 2015, FDA and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) briefed the management of Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce on the status of the investigation thus far. Andrew & Williamson has issued a voluntary recall of all cucumbers sold under its Limited Edition® label during the period from August 1, 2015 through September 3, 2015. This recall has prompted additional voluntary recalls from firms that received Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce.
Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce reports that the Limited Edition cucumbers were distributed in the states of Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah and reached customers through retail, food service companies, wholesalers, and brokers.
The company further reports that these cucumbers are shipped in a black, green, yellow, and craft colored carton which reads “Limited Edition Pole Grown Cucumbers.” This variety is often referred to as a “Slicer” or “American” cucumber. It has a dark green color. It typically has a length of 7 to 10 inches and a diameter of 1.75 to 2.5 inches. In retail it is typically sold in a bulk display without any individual packaging or plastic wrapping. In food service it is typically served as part of a salad.
The FDA traceback investigation determined that the firm Rancho Don Juanito de R.L. de C.V. located in Baja, Mexico was the primary source of cucumbers shipped to Andrew & Williamson.
On September 14, 2015, the FDA issued an Import Alert for cucumbers from Rancho Don Juanito de R.L. de C.V. located in Baja, Mexico. This Import Alert was based on the identification of Salmonella in cucumbers through import sampling of the farm’s cucumbers.
The investigation is ongoing, and FDA will continue to provide updates and advice when new information is available.
Port Weighs Options for Vacant Terminal Island Site
Port of Long Beach
Temporary depot closes, creating new opportunities as cargo rises
The Port of Long Beach today announced plans to seek new ways to use a largely undeveloped 150-acre pier to help move cargo more efficiently as the Port continues to welcome increasing trade.
With the looming closure at the end of this month of the temporary storage depot at the Terminal Island parcel known as “Pier S,” Harbor Department officials will begin a process to solicit input on potential uses from industry, environmental groups and the community. Any proposal would undergo a full environmental review.
In the midst of the worst congestion to strike the port complex in years, the 30-acre temporary depot opened on Pier S on Dec. 29, 2014, to store empty cargo containers and free up truck chassis needed to haul loaded containers out of congested terminals at the time. The facility was to close March 31, 2015, but by early March, the needs had changed. The Board of Harbor Commissioners approved a six-month extension for the facility, and agreed to allow loaded cargo containers and chassis, in order to provide desperately needed space to help terminals deal with a rising flow of cargo.
The temporary depot has been operated by Pasha Stevedoring and Terminals, and was often cited by Port officials as an effective small-scale demonstration of how a near-dock container yard can be used to move cargo more efficiently.
“The success of the Pier S demonstration project has encouraged us to consider a more expansive use of the property to build on what we learned about the efficiency of near-dock operations. The closing of the temporary depot on Pier S gives the Port an opportunity to study a more permanent use for the site, one that will mesh with our ongoing supply chain optimization efforts,” said Port CEO Jon Slangerup.
“The Port of Long Beach wishes to acknowledge Pasha and specifically Senior Vice President Jeff Burgin for their commitment and dedication of resources in the successful demonstration of the Pier S Temporary Congestion Relief Container Depot,” Slangerup said. “The Port greatly appreciates Pasha for stepping forward during an extremely challenging time in our industry. Their actions benefited the entire Port community.”
Port staff will prepare a recommendation on the study process for the Harbor Commission’s consideration in the near term.
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is Saturday, September 26 / Food & Drug Administration
The 10th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Find a Drug Collection Site Near You
USITC Votes to Continue Investigations on Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products from Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom
U.S. International Trade Commission
The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that there is a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of certain hot-rolled steel flat products from Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom that are allegedly sold in the United States at less than fair value and allegedly subsidized by the governments of Brazil, Korea, and Turkey.
Chairman Meredith M. Broadbent, Vice Chairman Dean A. Pinkert, and Commissioners Irving A. Williamson, David S. Johanson, and Rhonda K. Schmidtlein voted in the affirmative. Commissioner F. Scott Kieff did not participate in these investigations.
As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determinations, the U.S. Department of Commerce will continue to conduct its investigations on imports of these products from Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, with its preliminary countervailing duty determinations due on or about November 4, 2015, and its preliminary antidumping duty determinations due on or about January 18, 2016.
The Commission’s public report Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products from Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom (Investigation Nos. 701-TA-545-547 and 731-TA-1291-1297 (Preliminary), USITC Publication 4570, October 2015) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the investigations.
The report will be available after October 23, 2015. After that date, it may be accessed on the USITC website at: http://pubapps.usitc.gov/applications/publogs/qry_publication_loglist.asp.
Ports to Update Clean Air Action Plan
Port of Long Beach
Environmental teams from the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach will hold a joint community workshop on Oct. 14 to gather input on the next update of the Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP). Initially adopted in 2006 and updated in 2010, this historic environmental plan called for aggressive strategies that have proved highly effective in reducing air pollution from port-related sources.
The Clean Air Action Plan Update Community Workshop will be held 3-5 p.m., Oct. 14, 2015, at Banning’s Landing Community Center, 100 E. Water St., Wilmington, 90744. The workshop is open to the public.
Since its adoption, the CAAP has resulted in unprecedented reductions in air pollution from the ships, trains, trucks, terminal equipment and harbor craft that operate in and around the ports. Over the past decade, levels of diesel particulate matter have dropped 82 percent, oxides of nitrogen fell 54 percent and oxides of sulfur have declined 90 percent due largely to pollution-reducing strategies implemented under the plan.
The Ports envisioned the CAAP as a “living document,” and have periodically reviewed and updated it. In recent months, the ports have started gathering input from multiple stakeholders. The workshop will include a presentation outlining the scope and timeline of the next update of the CAAP, as well as an interactive dialogue with attendees.
The Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach are the two busiest ports in the nation, first and second respectively, and combined are the 10th busiest port complex in the world. The two ports handle approximately 40 percent of the nation’s total containerized imports and 25 percent of its total exports. Trade that flows through the San Pedro Bay ports complex generates more than 3 million jobs nationwide