That was a critical danger facing first responders who arrived at the World Trade Center in September 2001 without health warnings or any personal protective equipment.
The PEER lawsuit seeks a 10-fold tightening of the alkaline level of wastes classified as “corrosive” and thus “hazardous” under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, RCRA.
PEER argues that EPA’s current lax standard raises similar health risks for workers in demolition, landfill management, and cement manufacturing.
EPA’s existing 40-year-old regulation is 10 times less stringent than the presumed safe levels set by the United Nations, the European Union, and Canada, PEER points out.