Using its regulatory review authority, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) blocked an EPA effort to protect soil and drinking water from excessive levels of manganese -- an industrial by-product linked to numerous health problems, including respiratory problems, sexual dysfunction, nervous system issues, mental and emotional disturbances, as well as manganism, a disease with symptoms similar to Parkinson's. EPA originally published a proposed rule back in September of 2000 to list manganese, among other elements, as a hazardous waste. This action, compelled by a 1998 consent decree with Environmental Defense, would have prohibited the “underground injection, or land disposal” of any waste containing manganese, unless it was first treated to reduce manganese to safe levels. (Manganese is actually healthy and necessary for human life at low levels.) Yet in response to intense pressure from the steel industry, OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) stripped the listing of manganese during its review of the final rule, which was eventually published in the Federal Register on Nov. 20, 2001; instead, EPA agreed to give the issue further study -- although more than a year later, this still hasn’t happened. In devising its original proposal, EPA focused on manufacturing that involves titanium dioxide -- which is associated with high levels of manganese -- including the production of paint, lacquer, and varnishes, as well as paper and plastics, among other products. EPA tested individual facilities for components in the waste stream of the titanium dioxide production process, and most had high levels of manganese that could endanger human health by seeping into drinking water supplies. However, during a meeting with OIRA on Oct. 19, 2001 (referenced in an industry letter, but not logged by OIRA, as it should have been), the steel industry argued that the listing of manganese could, among other things, cripple its business in steel slag -- which contains high levels of manganese and generated about $147 million in 1997, according to industry lobbyists. OIRA proved receptive to these cost concerns -- not surprising given its track record -- and forced EPA to back down. EPA, for its part, deemed the entire proposal (including not just manganese, but other elements) “economically insignificant,” involving economic impacts less than $100 million. In an appendix made available online in conjunction with the final rule, EPA specifically states that it "does not believe that there are significant incremental costs or economic impacts associated with adding manganese to Appendix VIII" (the catch-all list for hazardous wastes), noting that the number of affected facilities is small and that some states, such as New Jersey, already include manganese in their listings for groundwater monitoring. As for corrective action clean-ups -- a major concern of the steel industry -- EPA says that manganese is already considered a hazardous constituent in this context, and its addition to Appendix VIII would not create any new requirement.