Monday Smackdown: Did Anthony Watts Ever Correct His Erroneous Claim That the EPA "Jump[ed] the Shark, Banning – ARGON"?
I take it not:
...Why on Earth would the EPA plan to ban something as inoffensive as Argon? IceAgeNow has a theory--they think Argon is part of a list supplied by a scientifically illiterate NGO, which the EPA plans to rubber stamp. If anyone with any real scientific training whatsoever had seen this silly list before it was published, or had taken the trouble to do 5 minutes of research on each entry in the list, to discover how ridiculous and ignorant the inclusion of Argon on a list of dangerous chemicals to be banned really is, then the EPA would not be facing their current very public embarrassment.... When I first saw this story, I though surely this must be some sort of spoof or misunderstanding that led to this. Sadly, no...
...It has important industrial uses as well--as an inert shielding gas, for certain lasers, and for neon and fluorescent lights. So if the EPA were banning it altogether, that would be bad news. Luckily, Stevens' claim is utterly false. Here's what's really happening. As EPA Assistant Administrator James Jones explains in this letter, the EPA is responding to petitions from California Attorney General Kamela Harris and others who asked for new labeling of pesticide ingredients. The EPA rejected the petition and instead... looked through the list of inert ingredients that are generally approved for use in pesticide formulations, picked only the ones that aren't used anymore, and propose to remove them from the list. If someone wants to use them again, they'll have to go through the normal approval process. That gives some protection from poisoning at a minimum of hassle. As the summary states:
EPA is proposing to remove certain chemical substances from the current listing of inert ingredients approved for use in pesticide products because the inert ingredients are no longer used in any registered pesticide product.' Not only is this about the use of argon only in pesticides, nobody even uses the gas for that anymore!
Rest assured, welding industry, your argon is safe...
