Provisions of the Amended MCP are Fully in Effect

The 2014 MCP is fully in effect.  While most provisions took effect on June 20, 2014, there were certain regulations that became effective on April 25, 2014.  The "unofficial" version of the MCP is available on the DEP website, along with new MCP Questions and Answers.

By:  Denise Kmetzo, DABT, Collaborative Risk Solutions, and Technical Practices Committee

Tetrachloroethylene, or PCE, is recognized as a toxic chemical and is considered likely to be carcinogenic in humans by all routes of exposure. The degree of its toxicity has been debated for years, especially for the inhalation route of exposure. Two years ago, the EPA finalized PCE toxicity factors, including an inhalation Unit Risk (UR) factor, which is used to assess carcinogenic risk via inhalation. The LSPA encouraged MassDEP to adopt the EPA toxicity values, including the UR. Instead, during its recent reevaluation of PCE toxicity, MassDEP’s Office of Research and Standards (ORS) relied upon a UR for PCE that it had previously derived.  In January 2014, MassDEP released an updated PCE UR which is lower (i.e., less conservative) than MassDEP’s previously derived value, but remains greater than ten times higher (i.e., more conservative) than the EPA value.  

LSPA Comments to MassDEP on Proposed Underground Storage Tank Regulations

On March 31, 2014, the LSPA submitted comments to MassDEP on the Proposed Underground Storage Tank Regulations, including 310 CMR 80.00.

LSPA’s 17-minute video “Suspending Disbelief”

Watch the LSPA’s 17-minute video “Suspending Disbelief,” developed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the creation of Massachusetts’ privatized hazardous waste site cleanup program, the Licensed Site Professional (LSP), and the formation of the LSP Association.