Minden, WV is home to the Shaffer Equipment/Arbuckle Creek Area Superfund Site for nearly 30 years. This past Wednesday, October 23rd, community members met with agency officials from the EPA, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to discuss future plans for the remediation of the site. Plans include further soil and water sampling and excavation and cap repair. The site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) in May of 2019 that will help to provide more funds for the sampling and removal of contaminants in and around the river. Read More.
Author: CHEJ Intern
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has awarded Akron, Ohio $4.6 million to assist in lead removal in homes. HUD is releasing grant money to communities combatting lead exposure as a part of the National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. With the assistance of the grant, Akron will be able to control lead hazards in 250 homes and perform a “healthy homes” assessment for an additional 150 housing units. HUD has released additional grants to Summit County, the city of Cleveland, and Cuyahoga County. Read More.
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National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week
October 20th to the 26th is established as National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. This week is designed to bring annual attention to the dangers of lead exposure and how communities, agencies, and the government can work together to limit those exposures. The EPA began the week by releasing a progress report on the government’s plan to reduce childhood exposure to lead. The EPA, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), are working to bring awareness and organize preventive measures to reduce children vulnerability to lead. Read More.
The Center for Health, Environment & Justice has established a report on the U.S. EPA’s Superfund Program Under the Trump Administration. CHEJ has closely followed Superfund under President Trump since he made the program a central part of his EPA. The findings presented in the report conclude that President Trump has targeted Superfund sites with majority white communities, medium income communities and where there are deep corporate pockets to pay for cleanup. Further, the Trump administration has cut Superfund funding to a new low. To continue funding, Representative Blumenauer (D-OR) has proposed the Superfund Reinvestment Act (H.R. 4088).
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released a multiyear report examining the impact of oil and gas drilling on residents living within 2,000 feet of fracking sites. The study found that individuals that live in proximity to a site have increased exposure to benzene and other chemicals that cause nosebleeds, headaches, and trouble breathing. Colorado officials are looking into more air monitoring near homes and stricter regulations on air emissions while more research is conducted to fully examine the health risks associated with oil and gas production. Read More.
Ten elementary schools in Denver, Colorado have encouraged an outdoor air quality monitoring pilot program to reduce the risk of pollution exposure to students. Real-time monitoring results, provided by the Love My Air program, will be displayed on large screens in the schools for students and teachers to see if air quality conditions are healthy for students. The goal of the program is to test for high levels of particulate matter that are known to increase conditions of asthma and heart disease. The pilot program is predicted to begin in December 2019. Read More.
By: Sharon Franklin
Kristina Marusic, of Environmental Health News reported on October 9, 2019 about the dangerous PFAS chemicals that show up in the bodies of people who eat takeout, fast food, and pizza are often at higher levels than in people who regularly cook at home. This is according to a new study, which is the first to link certain foods and PFAS exposures in Americans and adds to the mounting evidence that food packaging, (i.e. grease resistant boxes, pizzas and popcorn) is a major source of exposure to the toxics in people. PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) refers to a class of more than 5,000 chemicals that are used to make everything from food packaging and cook wear to furniture, carpets and clothing grease-, stain-, and water-repellent. They’re sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally. These chemicals can accumulate in the body and have been linked to many health issues, including cancer, thyroid disease, low birth weight and decreased fertility.
Dr. Laurel Schaider, who co-authored the study PFAS in drinking water (STEEP) says “We all know eating more fresh foods and more home-cooked meals is good for our health for many reasons,” and “I think our study adds further evidence to support that. She and her co-authors analyzed data collected between 2003 and 2014 from 10,106 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that tracks health and nutritional trends in the United States. Dr. Schaider also stated that “We found that every 100 calories of food purchased at a grocery store and prepared at home instead of at a restaurant was associated with 0.3 to 0.5 percent lower levels of PFAS in our bodies”.
Dr. Schaider concluded, while eating at home was associated with lower levels of PFAS than eating out overall, eating fast food and pizza were most strongly linked with higher levels of PFAS in people. “We know we’re exposed to PFAS from many different sources, “but our findings indicate that food consumption is an important pathway of exposure.” Ultimately, we need better regulations to keep harmful chemicals from getting into our food and products in the first place.”
Photo Credit: Jacob Styburski/flickr
In September, the EPA revoked two rules involved with the protection of clean water and air that could have serious effects on how states neighboring the Chesapeake Bay can regulate for pollution. The Trump administration has set out to rollback regulations that inhibit economic growth, as said to have been done by the 2015 Clean Water Rule that protected any “navigable” water system. The rollbacks wont affect states like Maryland that enforce greater pollution regulations than the federal government, however, the state will have a harder time limiting pollution from neighboring states that follow the federal rollback. Now the EPA is considering rolling back even further regulations connected with the Clean Water Act that allow states to block the construction interstate projects, such as pipelines, that threaten water quality. Read More.
The EPA has revealed new rules for drinking water quality testing and water line repair actions for the presence of lead. The updated regulations are the first significant changes since the establishment of the lead and copper standards in 1991. The new rules will require water testing in all homes with lead service lines and the production of a public inventory listing all lead water systems. Additional rules include federal action towards replacing sections of contaminated pipes. Some environmental advocates claim that although the updated regulations are a start, they do not hit at the root cause of the lead contamination: replacing the 6 million lead service lines spread across the country. Read More.
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Northern California Goes Dark
On Wednesday, October 9, PG&E shut off power for over 800,000 customers in Northern California. As California’s wildfire season rages on, the electrical company has decided to shut off all power to prevent the spark of another wildfire caused by equipment malfunctions. Opinions are varied by the company’s decision to blackout 34 counties. The power outages were preempted by last year’s Camp Fires that destroyed nearly 14,000 homes and took 85 lives. However, customers with medical conditions that require consistent sources to electricity are concerned about how long the power outages will last. Read More.