Environmental Health Watch

CDC to Replace Level of Concern for Lead Poisoning

EHW — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:34:04 +0000

NCHH, May 16, 2012 – Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced its acceptance of its advisory committee’s recommendation to redefine the level at which children are considered to have too much lead in their blood and to focus the nation’s attention on preventing lead exposure. Read more

Chemical Plants Pose Environmental Health Risks

EHW — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:30:54 +0000

New York Times, May 3, 2012 - We need more stringent laws in place to protect thousands of Americans from the potential threat of chemial spills. Hundreds of facilities that use or produce toxic chemicals do little or nothing to implement safety standards sufficient enough to address hazards that might arise from a chemical spill or disaster. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must take the lead and enforce the Clean Air Act’s Bhophal amendment.

Hearings to be Held Over Lead Factories

EHW — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:17:26 +0000

USA Today, May 3, 2012 – Actions are underway in at least 14 states in response to a USA TODAY investigation, published last month, that revealed government regulators did little to protect the public from lead “smelter” factories that operated from the 1930s to 1960s. The Environmental Protection Agency was given a list of the smelter sites in 2001 but little has been done at many of them. Children are at greatest risk, suffering lost IQ and other health issues from ingesting lead particles by putting dust-covered hands or toys in their mouths.

“As USA TODAY has revealed, Americans living in communities across Ohio and the United States may be exposed to lead contamination from former smelting operations,” said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who asked for a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing. Click here to read the entire USA Today article.

Cleveland Neighborhood Contaminated with Dangerous Levels of Lead

EHW — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:20:44 +0000

4/20/212, USA Today – USA Today tested soil in a Cleveland neighborhood located near a former smeltering facility, Tyler Metals. The facility closed around 1957, but the dangerous levels of lead in the soil remain. Ken Shelton’s son, Jonathan, was diagonsed with blood lead levels. There is evidence that the Ohio EPA knew that the soil was contaminated, but did not act. Ken Shelton is angry because the government failed to protect his family.

Use the Clean Air Act to Eliminate Chemical Disasters

EHW — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:01:03 +0000

OMB Watch, 4/4/2012 - In March, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advisory panel recommended that the agency use its authority under the Clean Air Act to protect Americans against chemical disasters, according to an article by OMB Watch. Using safer chemicals could reduce or eliminate the threats and dangers that chemical plants pose to millions of people living downwind.

Radon is a Serious Health Threat

EHW — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:27:42 +0000

New York Times, 3/28/2012 – According to an article in the New York Times, since the late 1980s, a half million Americans have died from radon-induced lung cancer, including a significant number who never smoked a day in their lives. You may have heard of radon more than 20 years ago when dangerous levels were first found in homes across the country. But the risks posed by this gas still have not been addressed in much of the nation.

Window Replacement Yields the Most Benefit for Reducing Lead Hazards

EHW — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:19:23 +0000

National Center for Healthy Housing, 3/23/2012 - The National Center for Healthy Housing released a new study comparing window replacement to window repair as a strategy for reducing lead paint hazards. The study evaluated homes that either replaced or repaired windows 12 years ago to determine which strategy resulted in lower dust lead levels on floors and window sills. Environmental Health Watch conducted the Cleveland field work for this study. Click here to read more.

Moms Raise Their Voices to Protect Clean Air

EHW — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:22:49 +0000

A couple of days ago, MomsRising held its first-ever Internet radio program. Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner moderated a mom-to-mom discussion entitled, The “Controversy” of Clean Air in the Middle of an Asthma Epidemic, which was co-presented by the Moms Clean Air Force and Mocha Moms.

Wasting Our Waterways: Environment Ohio to Release Report Documenting Toxic Pollution Dumped into Ohio’s Waterways

EHW — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:23:33 +0000

WHAT: Environment Ohio will release a new report documenting the total amount of toxic chemicals released by industrial facilities into Ohio’s rivers, lakes, and streams, as ranked by waterway, watershed, type of pollution, polluter, and state.

Environment Ohio’s report will also document the total figures for direct releases of chemicals that cause cancer, reproductive, and developmental harm. Environment Ohio’s report comes as the Clean Water Act turns 40, and as the Obama administration is on the cusp of finalizing new guidelines to restore Clean Water Act protections to many of Ohio’s waterways, and waterways across the country.

WHEN: Thursday, March 22, 2012, 10:00 am

WHO: Sarah Hyman, Clean Water Associate, Environment Ohio, Councilwoman Sunny Simon, Cuyahoga County Council, District 11, Councilman Brian Cummins, Cleveland City Council, Ward 14, Jane Goodman, Executive Director, Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization

WHERE: On the banks of the Cuyahoga River at Hart Crane Memorial Park
Corner of Columbus Road and Merwin Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113

Regional EPA Administrator Spoke about Mercury Protection at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hosptial

EHW — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:45:35 +0000

2/23/2012, Ecowatch - Local health experts, faith leaders, conservation organizations and northeast Ohio families welcomed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator, Susan Hedman, to Cleveland on Feb. 22. Administrator Hedman spoke at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital to highlight the public health benefits of the federal Mercury and Air Toxics standards that will limit mercury and other toxic pollution from coal fired power plants