EPA Retracts Artificial Turf Safety Assurances

New York City has allowed hundreds of fields to be installed in parks and schools without testing.  With no regular maintenance many of the costly fields began falling apart within a few years, further endangering the public. The elected officials forced the taxpayers to barrow the funds in order to pay for them.   (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Parks Advocates) click on image to enlarge.

"Incrementalism is alive and well," Jeff Ruch Executive Director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)  told A Walk In The Park in reaction to the EPA news. 

PEER filed a complaint against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) more than three years ago under the Data Quality Act which requires information distributed by federal agencies be complete, objective and reliable.

On December 16, the EPA stated that its study of lead levels in artificial turf fields and playground was outdated and agreed to "more accurately reflect and study objective and results"  on a press release and its website.

The federal agency responded to the complaint with  "glacier-like speed,"  Ruch said.  

PEER also filed a complaint with the Consumer Product Safety Commission which has ordered an enforcement review of marketing of artificial turf products for children because the agency has found lead levels in artificial sports fields above statutory limits in children’s products.

Country Wide

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stepped back from prior safety assurances about artificial turf in response to an administrative complaint filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

The agency has posted new cautions concerning unexplored chemical exposure to more than 30 compounds found in synthetic shredded tire turf, including arsenic, lead, cobalt, mercury and trichloroethylene, according to  Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

On March 21st, PEER issued a retraction demand to EPA that a 2009 study and press release expressing a “Low Level of Concern” about synthetic turf was based on flawed and limited science, in violation of federal information quality standards. In an initial response to the PEER complaint dated December 16, 2013, EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Research and Development Lek Kadeli ordered the press release summarizing the study to be prominently stamped with a notice that it was “outdated” with a link to a new posting stressing the need for “future studies” to enable “more comprehensive conclusions.” 

“We are gratified that EPA has taken this small and grudging step toward a more responsible position reflecting synthetic turf exposure risks,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting industry claims that approximately 4,500 synthetic turf fields have been installed across the U.S., each sitting atop in-fill consisting of between 20,000 and 40,000 shredded tires. 

“EPA now admits that it has no idea about the extent of chemical exposure to children and athletes playing on these surfaces.”

The sole study on artificial turf that EPA conducted was back in 2009 when it took air and surface samples from three athletic fields and from one playground. The testing looked only at one chemical on brand new fields without levels of activity typical on a field or playground and ignored the role of heat in chemical release. EPA has refused to retract the study but now states that the study was “very limited” and provides no basis “to extend the results beyond the four study sites…”  

The PEER complaint was filed under the Data Quality Act which requires information distributed by federal agencies be complete, objective and reliable. While EPA guidelines suggest the agency should respond to these complaints for correction within 90 days, in this case EPA took nearly nine months. PEER has the option to appeal this decision and seek full retraction of the now discounted study. 

Back in 2009, EPA’s own Office of Inspector General took it to task for endorsing reuse of industrial materials such as coal ash and shredded tires without conducting any credible risk assessments of those practices. While EPA promised to address this criticism, documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by PEER indicate that no reportable progress has been made.  

“By blindly promoting so-called ‘beneficial’ reuse of tire crumbs and other toxic industrial wastes, EPA has shirked its public health duties,” Ruch added. 

“EPA claims that minimizing chemical exposures to children is one of its top priorities yet through its slow-walking of synthetic turf studies, children on playgrounds and sports fields across the country are left to serve as human guinea pigs.”  

In response to another PEER complaint, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has ordered an enforcement review of marketing of artificial turf products for children because the agency has found lead levels in artificial sports fields above statutory limits in children’s products. Significantly, there is no safe lead exposure level for children.  

Read More:

EPA RETRACTS SYNTHETIC TURF SAFETY ASSURANCES

PEER - December 24, 2013    

Two Private Bronx Beaches Close Due To High Bacteria Levels

Bronx

Two Bronx beaches have been shut down over bacteria contamination fears, according to city officials, according to DNAinfo.

The Danish American Beach Club, and the West Fordham Street Association private beaches share waterways near the public Orchard Beach, and have soaring bacteria counts in a measure taken Friday, according to the city Department of Health's website.

The Environmental Protection Agency's health limit for bacteria count on a single day is 104 particles in a 100 milliliter sample — and, according to the city's figures, the Danish American Beach Club on Eastchester Bay had 126 in a sample, and West Fordham Street had 282 particles in a sample that was posted Saturday.

West Fordham Street, on City Island, is just a stone's throw from Orchard Beach, and the two share Pelham Bay.

Both of the private beaches were closed Saturday.

"Its because of elevated bacteria levels," said Chanel Caraway, a Health Department spokeswoman, who said testing was typically done once per week.

According to Friday's testing, Orchard Beach, had a particle count of 89.

Comparatively, Coney Island Beach's particle count was 12, Rockaway Beach was 5, and the Bronx's on Friday. Caraway said Orchard Beach would not be re-tested Saturday.

"At Orchard Beach, the bacteria levels were fine," she said. The closed beaches would be re-tested next week, she confirmed.

No other New York City beaches were closed Saturday.

High Bacteria Levels Shut Down Two Bronx Beaches

DNAinfo- August 4, 2012- By Jess Wisloski

Majority of Jamaica Bay Designated “No Discharge Zone”

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (l.) and Mayor Michael Bloomberg sign new agreements to improve Jamaica Bay.

(Photo courtesy Bloomberg administration)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 27, 2011

No. 384

www.nyc.gov<http://www.nyc.gov/>

MAYOR BLOOMBERG, U.S. INTERIOR SECRETARY SALAZAR, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION ANNOUNCE NEW AGREEMENTS TO IMPROVE PARKS AND WATER QUALITY AT JAMAICA BAY

Advances PlaNYC and Waterfront Vision & Enhancement Strategy Goals

Grants From the Rockefeller Foundation and National Grid will Support the Planning Process

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck today announced new agreements to improve the Federal and City parklands around Jamaica Bay and improve overall water quality in the Bay. The Mayor and Secretary Salazar signed an agreement committing to a joint planning process that will devise a new, unified governing model and new, common objectives for the 10,000 acres of publicly-owned land in south Brooklyn and Queens. The Rockefeller Foundation and National Grid have generously agreed to support the design of a conceptual master plan for the Jamaica Bay Parks. As part of this effort, at the request of the City and the State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Environmental Protection will designate the majority of Jamaica Bay a “No Discharge Zone,” which bans boats from discharged sewage into the bay, improving water quality.

“The agreements with our Federal, State and philanthropic partners will have with far-reaching benefits for what may be the greatest natural treasure lying within the borders of any city in the nation – Jamaica Bay,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The partnership with Secretary Ken Salazar and the Department of Interior will allow us to be bolder, more innovative, and more cooperative, by managing these extraordinary public lands around the bay as one great urban park. And with the new ‘No Discharge Zone’ enforced by the EPA, we are going to improve water quality throughout the bay. It’s all in keeping with PlaNYC and our ongoing transformation of New York City’s waterfront as a place for New Yorkers can live, work, and play.”

“One of the primary goals of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative is to work with local communities to reconnect people with nature and outdoor recreation,” said Secretary Salazar. “By coordinating more closely with the City of New York, we will create a seamless network of urban parks that are easily accessible to people who live in nearby communities.”

The Mayor and Secretary announced that joint projects would begin with the development of a jointly-managed vision and governance structure to establish where Federal and City lands and programs could better connect and be more efficiently managed. The Rockefeller Foundation and National Grid have agreed to fund part of the development of the Jamaica Bay Parks master plan particularly related to research projects on resilience to climate change in coastal environments and improving park access for the surrounding communities.

The Mayor and Secretary Salazar also were joined at the announcement at the Salt Marsh Nature Center by New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability Director David Bragdon, National Parks of New York Harbor Commissioner Maria Burks, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck. The philanthropic and advocacy community was represented by Marian Heiskell, founder and board chair, and Marie Salerno, Executive Director, from the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy, the official cooperating partner of the National Parks Service under Federal law.

“It's so encouraging that the National Park Service, City of New York and Harbor Conservancy are endeavoring on this new partnership as it has been my passion for nearly 40 years for Gateway to provide a national park experience for those who can’t afford a trip to our other, more distant national parks,” said National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy Chair and Co-Founder Marian S. Heiskell. “I believe that Gateway can be the envy of America's great national urban park system, and now both the Mayor and Secretary Salazar stand ready to help us achieve its greatness.”

“As coastal cities throughout the world continue to grow and are increasingly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, the restoration of Jamaica Bay provides an incredible opportunity to build our understanding of resilience in urban coastal areas,” said Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation. “Jamaica Bay is a beautiful, but often overlooked pocket of our City’s landscape, and The Rockefeller Foundation is thrilled to help give back to the community parkland that will serve as both a recreational and educational space. I would like to thank Mayor Bloomberg and Secretary Salazar for all their efforts to make today possible.”

“Today we’ve taken an important step towards making Jamaica Bay safe for local residents, who will no longer have to worry about harmful sewage pumped out by boats in the area,” said Senator Charles Schumer. “I applaud the Department of the Interior, the EPA, and New York City for agreeing to establish this no-discharge zone that will mean cleaner and clearer waters for Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island residents.”

“The parks in and around Jamaica Bay are natural and recreational treasures, all the more so because of their location right in the heart of the Nation’s largest metropolitan area” said Robert D. Yaro, President of Regional Plan Association. “We congratulate Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for establishing the framework that was needed to make this area a premier regional destination.”

At the same time, the US EPA announced that it was issuing a no discharge regulation for Jamaica Bay

“If you don’t have clean air, land and water, you can’t enjoy the great outdoors and banning boat sewage from Jamaica Bay stops one source of pollution that is both harmful and completely unnecessary,” said EPA Regional Administrator Enck. “This action will improve water quality in this magnificent bay that is right in the backyards of millions of New Yorkers.”

Park Agreement

The agreement establishes a formal a partnership between the National Park Service and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation for the agencies to collaborate in four areas: effective management of park lands; science and restoration of Jamaica Bay; access and transportation to park lands around Jamaica Bay; and engagement of New York City youth with hands-on science programs and fun public service projects to promote recreation, stewardship and “green” careers.

The four key components to the park management agreement are:

* Effective management through collaboration: The National Park Service and New York City Parks manage contiguous lands with overlapping missions. Through effective land use and program planning that ignores boundaries, they can create a seamless and interconnected network of natural, historical, and recreation spaces urban park that all New Yorkers can visit, with or without a car.

* Science and restoration: Through better coordination of research, data gathering restoration efforts and pilot projects, government agencies, non-profit organizations and academic institutions can work closer together to restore and conserve the health of Jamaica Bay.

* Access and transportation: The city and the Park Service will work to improve public access to Jamaica Bay and within Jamaica Bay through existing and new transportation choices, and through better public information about those options.

* Youth and education: The city and the National Park Service can jointly develop a series of programs in which urban youth can learn the values of stewardship through service activities.

The agreement may also be expanded in the future to include federal and city park lands on Staten Island.

Jamaica Bay No Discharge Zone

The new Jamaica Bay No Discharge Zone agreement between the City, the EPA and State Department of Environmental Conservation bans all boats from discharging sewage into a designated 20,000 acre area of Jamaica Bay. The area has adequate facilities for boats to pump out their sewage and boaters must now dispose of their sewage at these specially-designated pump-out stations. The new Jamaica Bay No Discharge Zone is part of a joint EPA, Department of Environmental Conservation and City effort to eliminate the discharge of sewage from boats into the State’s waterways. Discharges of sewage from boats can contain harmful levels of pathogens and chemicals such as formaldehyde, phenols and chlorine, which have a negative impact on water quality, pose a health risk and impair marine life.

The Jamaica Bay No Discharge Zone encompasses 17,177 acres of open water and 2,695 acres of upland islands and salt marshes in Brooklyn and Queens.

The northeastern and southeastern parts of Jamaica Bay reach Nassau County, while the northern shore of the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens forms the southern boundary of the bay. The bay is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Rockaway Inlet, and eight tributaries empty into Jamaica Bay: Sheepshead Bay, Paerdegat Basin, Fresh Creek, Hendrix Creek, Spring Creek, Shellbank Basin, Bergen Basin and Thurston Basin. The final affirmative determination from EPA of adequate pump-out facilities means that New York State may proceed to ban the discharge of boat sewage into Jamaica Bay and its tributaries.

Read More:

U.S. and N.Y.C. Unite to Aid Jamaica Bay

New York Times - October 27, 2011 - By Lisa W. Foderaro

City, fed agencies team up to create plan for Jamaica Bay

Times Ledger - November 3, 2011 - By Ivan Pereira

Fed's Gowanus Canal Study Underlines Severity of Pollution

The agency has scheduled a public meeting to discuss the findings on Feb. 23 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Public School 32 in Brooklyn. A draft report of the results of the investigation is at epa.gov/region02.

Officials at the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday released results a year-long study of the Gowanus Canal. Tests of water, sediment and tissue from fish like striped bass and white perch showed heavy contamination from a combination of industrial and sewage discharges, some of which continue. The EPA named it a Superfund site last March over the objections of the Bloomberg administration. The cleanup, which officials at the agency said would surely involve major dredging, is expected to start by 2015 and last 10 to 11 years, at an estimated cost of $300 million to $500 million, to be paid for by polluters. (Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times)

Brooklyn

A yearlong investigation of the Gowanus Canal in preparation for its cleanup under the federal Superfund program has confirmed the severe extent of its contamination and the threat it poses to public health, particularly for people who eat fish from it or have repeated contact with its water or sediment, according to the New York Times.

Officials at the federal Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday released the results of its study of the canal, which was named a Superfund site last March over the objections of the Bloomberg administration.

The cleanup, which officials at the agency said would surely involve major dredging, is expected to start by 2015 and last 10 to 11 years, at an estimated cost of $300 million to $500 million, to be paid for by polluters.

Tests of water, sediment and tissue from fish like striped bass and white perch showed heavy contamination from a combination of industrial and sewage discharges, some of which continue, federal officials said. The canal, in Brooklyn, is polluted with more than a dozen contaminants, including suspected carcinogens like polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs; metals like mercury, lead and copper; and debris, including sunken vessels.

For more than a century after it was carved out of tidal wetlands and streams in the 1860s, the Gowanus served as a teeming route for oil refineries, chemical plants, tanneries, manufactured-gas plants and other heavy industry along its banks.

Most of the industrial traffic has faded since the 1960s, although waste still flows into the canal, and it is used by some businesses and recreational boaters from neighborhoods near it, including Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Red Hook.

The most prevalent pollutant in the canal, officials said Wednesday, is a group of chemicals known as P.A.H.’s, for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, another suspected carcinogen. They are formed during the incomplete burning of coal, oil, gas, wood, garbage and other organic substances, and were found mostly near former manufactured-gas plants along the canal.

In a telephone conference call with reporters, the environmental agency’s regional administrator in New York, Judith A. Enck, repeated warnings that people should not swim in the canal or eat fish from it. While boating should not be restricted, Ms. Enck said, recreational users should avoid coming in contact with the water.

“What we found is no surprise,” she said. “The report paints a pretty serious picture of the level of contamination.”

Ms. Enck said the contamination was so severe that she was not ready to say whether the Gowanus would ever be “swimmable and fishable.” On a positive note, she said air samples from around the canal did not reveal contamination above “acceptable” safety standards.

In opposing the designation of the Gowanus as a Superfund site, the Bloomberg administration had argued that the label could set off legal battles with polluters, prolong the dredging operation and scare off developers. It proposed its own cleanup plan.

Read More:

Gowanus Canal Inquiry Underlines Severity of Pollution

New York Times - February 2, 2011 - By Mireya Navarro

Feds Identify Gowanus Canal “Hot Spots” Of Intense Contamination

A Walk In The Park - November 10, 2010

Feds Identify Gowanus Canal “Hot Spots” Of Intense Contamination

The Gowanus Canal remains a mess — and three former gas plants are the main villain. Coal tar continues to migrate into the waterway producing cancer-causing vapors. (Photo: Kate Emerson/ The Brooklyn Paper)

Brooklyn

Federal officials have identified three “hot spots” of intense contamination — and the source of cancer-causing toxic vapors — along the polluted Gowanus Canal, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

The officials remained mum last week about what risks the gunk poses to humans and animals — but they did reveal that an astonishing 90 percent of pollutants in the canal originate from just three sites along the 1.8-mile waterway.

he terrible trio mirrors locations where gas plants once stood: Metropolitan Works, at 12th Street and the canal; Fulton Municipal Works, at Degraw Street and Third Avenue; and Citizens Gas Company, at Smith and Fifth streets.

From the 1860s to the late 1950s, the companies literally helped fuel the Industrial Revolution — but in the process, generated a by-product called coal tar, a substance containing an array of hazardous compounds.

The foul tar has since seeped deep underground, where it continues to migrate into the fetid waterway, its presence confirmed by an oily surface sheen. The tar can also be gasified, producing cancer-causing vapors.

The agency is sifting through a mountain of data it collected since the canal was named a Superfund site last March, a recognition of its status as one of the nation’s most polluted waterways. Once that work is completed, said Walter Mugdan, a regional director with the Environmental Protection Agency, officials will “determine what to do to clean it” — a process that will take 10 to 12 years, and cost $500 million.

Read More:

Feds: We know where Gowanus Canal filth is

The Brooklyn Paper - November 8, 2010 - By Gary Buiso

Gowanus Canal Receives EPA Superfund Designation - Blow To Bloomberg Administration

A Walk In The Park - March 2, 2010

Gowanus Canal Receives EPA Superfund Designation - Blow To Bloomberg Administration

Trash and raw sewage overflow into the canal when the city's sewer system is overwhelmed by heavy precipitation. Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times

BROOKLYN

The Environmental Protection Agency designated the Gowanus Canalin Brooklyn a Superfund site on Tuesday and announced plans to clean up more than a century’s worth of noxious pollutants there, according to the New York Times.

The decision ended a contentious debate and was a blow to the Bloomberg administration, which had proposed a cleanup without such a designation. The city had argued that the label could set off legal battles with polluters, prolong the dredging operation and spook developers leery of the stigma of a Superfund listing.

But in a conference call with reporters, Judith A. Enck, the E.P.A. administrator for the region, said the Superfund designation would guarantee the best result for residents and the environment and ensure that the polluters cover all the costs.

“We believe that it would get us the most efficient and comprehensive cleanup,” Ms. Enck said.

From Gowanus Bay to New York Harbor, the agency has found contamination along the entire length of the clouded 1.8-mile canal in a preliminary assessment, including pesticides, metals and the cancer-causing chemicals known as PCBs.

The agency estimates that the project will last 10 to 12 years and cost $300 million to $500 million. The city estimated that its approach would take nine years.

Read More:

Gowanus Canal Gets Superfund Status

New York Times - March 2, 2010 -  By Mireya Navarro

Photo credit: Josh Verleun

The federal Environmental Protection Agency put the Gowanus Canal on its list of Superfund sites on Tuesday. The 1.8-mile canal in the midst of Brooklyn has been contaminated by heavy industry over the last century. Now the feds are stepping in for the big clean-up. The decision is controversial and will have many repercussions according to The Brooklyn Ink.

Lenore Cho and Sudip Mukherjee delved into the discussion and found out who is for the Superfund declaration and who is against it and what their reasons are.

Pro Superfund:

Clean water activists, community groups and local politicians rejoiced about the declaration, which will likely require extensive clean-up over the next dozen years.

Riverkeeper, a New York watchdog group that studies polluted waterways, has long been an advocate of federal intervention at the canal. Josh Verleun, the group’s attorney and chief investigator, said the Superfund label is extremely helpful because it requires chief polluters named by the E.P.A. to pay for the cleanup activities.

“The E.P.A. can bring these companies to the table and make them financially responsible for their contaminants,” Verleun said. “The Gowanus Canal is a very contaminated site, in need of a complex, expensive remediation. Forcing big-time polluters to pay for their mistakes lightens the burden on federal funding.”

Verleun also worked with various neighborhood groups that strongly supported the idea of Superfund status for the canal, and said 85 percent of the respondents to the E.P.A.’s survey of residents living nearby said they approved of the idea.

One local group, called the Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy, works to promote community knowledge of, and participation in, the maintenance of the city’s coastal waters. For years, the group has worked with interested residents and area college professors to study the canal, including ways to clean up all the toxic pollution.

“We are very happy with the outcome and think the Superfund (designation) is the beginning of a pathway that leads to a cleaner, better Gowanus Canal,” said Ludger Balan, executive and environmental program director of the Urban Divers.

According to Balan, the waters in the canal are so contaminated that the bulkhead and land surrounding the canal are becoming eroded. Additionally, because of excess water and sewage pooled in the canal, there is more harmful bacterial content in the Gowanus than in any other body in New York City. “The Superfund will bring real efforts to controlling a dangerous problem in Brooklyn,” he said.

Read More:

GOWANUS SUPERFUND DECISION: WINNERS AND CASUALTIES

The Brooklyn Ink - March 2, 2010 - By Lenore Cho and Sudip P. Mukherjee 

Riverkeeper Commends EPA Decision for Comprehensive Superfund Cleanup of Toxic Gowanus Canal

Press Release - March 2, 2010 

CONTACT:

Tina Posterli, Riverkeeper, 914-478-4501 x 239

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tarrytown, NY – March 2, 2010 – Riverkeeper, New York’s leading clean water advocate, today commended the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to list Brooklyn’s toxic Gowanus Canal on the Superfund National Priorities List. The decision to list the canal will begin a comprehensive effort by the federal EPA to remove 150 years of contamination from the Canal’s murky bottom and to address sites along the Canal’s banks that continue to leach pollution into the waterway.

“After 150 years of abuse and neglect the Gowanus Canal will finally get the comprehensive cleanup that the residents of the area deserve,” stated Josh Verleun, Riverkeeper Attorney & Chief Investigator.

“The toxic legacy of coal tar, PCBs, pesticides, and other contamination of the Gowanus can only be cleaned through a comprehensive Superfund cleanup; we are gratified to see the EPA stepping up to this task.”

Riverkeeper has been a vocal advocate for a Superfund cleanup for the Gowanus since the EPA announced that it was considering the Canal for the federal Superfund program in April, 2009. After reviewing an alternative Gowanus cleanup plan put forth by New York City and determining that it was inadequate, Riverkeeper filed comments with the EPA in support of Superfund, joined with community groups to rally support for Superfund from EPA and elected officials, and launched a letter writing campaign in support of the designation.

Riverkeeper’s efforts to support Superfund are part of a larger focus on halting ongoing pollution of the Gowanus Canal. In September, 2009 Riverkeeper launched a pollution enforcement initiative on the Canal filing three Notices of Intent to Sue against environmental law breakers and sent a warning to another. Violations included dumping of scrap metal and debris into the canal; discharge of liquid cement and stone aggregate; and illegal operation of an open dump. Riverkeeper has also increased boat patrols and water quality testing of the Canal and has established partnerships with law enforcement and other agencies to combat ongoing pollution.

http://www.riverkeeper.org/news-events/news/riverkeeper-commends-epa-decision-for-comprehensive-superfund-cleanup-of-toxic-gowanus-canal/