EPA proposal on dioxin has Utah regulators on alert

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A proposed stricter standard on acceptable levels of cancer-causing dioxin in soil is confusing to some in scientific circles, alarming local governments and has Utah environmental regulators keeping a watchful eye.

The Environmental Protection Agency is considering adopting regulations which would make the "acceptable" level of dioxin in dirt a hundreds of times stricter than the current standard — potentially re-opening the door on cleanup that has essentially been closed on three Superfund sites in Utah.

Those sites are the old defense depot in Ogden, Wasatch Chemical in Salt Lake City and the north area of Tooele Army Depot.

Duane Mortensen, the Superfund branch manager for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, said those sites are on the tail end of the remediation process — basically done — except for mandated five-year reviews to ensure public health remains protected.

Any change in EPA regulations would require a re-examination of the site's condition, potentially costing more dollars.

"If they change the risk numbers for a particular contaminant, we would have to determine if the remedies are still protective (of public health) and then we would have to decide what else needs to be done," Mortensen said.

Dioxin is a family of chemicals found in soil, water and even in some food consumed at the dinner table. It is generated by activities as mundane as burning household waste or from industry such as smelters or coal-fired energy plants. Dioxin, according to the EPA, is most commonly introduced through soil erosion or storm water runoff in urban areas.

Although its presence from man-made sources has been reduced by as much as 92 percent since the late 1980s, the EPA is considering hiking the standard, even in advance of a study that is due out in December.

That approach, according to the American Chemistry Council, is "scientifically flawed," because it forges ahead of the reassessment to examine risks associated with dioxin. The council cited potential impacts to the U.S. food supply, cities, states, business and the economy.

"For the life of us here, we can't figure out why EPA is doing what they are doing," said David Fischer with the American Chemistry Council. "The longer the EPA has taken on this reassessment, the less of a problem dioxin really is. That is sort of the part that gets lost."