(CHICAGO – Nov. 17, 2009) Work begins this week to improve and restore habitat along the Ashtabula River.  This is the final phase of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA) Ashtabula River cleanup project. Crews will begin constructing shallow water habitat along an 800-foot stretch of undeveloped shoreline on Norfolk Southern Railway Co. property between the railroad bridge and the mouth of 5 1/2 Slip. 

This project will provide high quality habitat for fish spawning, waterfowl, and other aquatic organisms and involves placement of fish shelves along the eastern edge of the river.  It will improve the shallow water areas along the peninsula that were affected by the GLLA cleanup that dredged 500,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the Ashtabula River. The dredging was completed in 2007. 

The habitat project is a coordinated effort between EPA, the Ashtabula City Port Authority (ACPA), Ohio EPA, the Ashtabula River Coordination Group II (ARCG II), and Norfolk Southern Railway.  The design and construction of the habitat work is being funded through cash and in-kind contributions from EPA, Ohio EPA, ARCG II and ACPA.   Property access and easements are being provided by Norfolk-Southern.

EPA expects that earth-moving and in-water construction work requiring heavy equipment will be completed in December.  Work will be focused primarily in the 5 1/2 slip area and truck traffic is expected between the site, through Bridge Street to Ohio 531 (East Fifth Street) and Ohio 11. Native vegetation will be planted next spring to complete the project,

June 7 -8, 2010 at the University of Maryland School of Nursing

Join us at the first national conference for nurses addressing the relationship between human health and the environment. Learn about the growing movement that is being created by nurses as they “green” their health care institutions, engage in scientific inquiry, integrate environmental health practices into nursing assessments and interventions, and create and support policies that protect human health and the environment.  Come hear about and share in the expanding roles that nurses are taking in the exciting and critical field of environmental health.
Join us as we
• Foster a community of nurses engaged in protecting human health and the environment.
• Explore policy and legislative opportunities related to environmental health and nursing.
• Expand the number of nurse educators committed to incorporating environmental health into existing curriculum.
• Develop an environmental health research agenda for nurse researchers.
• Promote evidence-based, environmental health practices.

Post-Conference Special Sessions:  June 9, 2010
• Nursing Research Agenda: Participate in the development of an Environmental Health Nursing Research Agenda
• Trip to the Hill: Visit policy makers to advocate for chemical policy reform
Note:  Additional sessions may be added.

Call for Abstracts
The ANHE Planning Committee is accepting abstracts in the areas of research, practice, education, and policy/advocacy that address the conference theme, “Our Environment, Our Health: A Nurse’s Call to Action.”  Abstract deadline is January 31, 2010.

Sponsors and Exhibitors
ANHE 2010 presents a unique opportunity for organizations and vendors to capitalize on exclusive networking opportunities with nurses involved in education, policy, practice, and research.

Details
For details on the main conference, fees, hotel, abstract submission, sponsor and exhibitor opportunities, and registration, visit: nursing.umaryland.edu and click on “Calendar & Events” or call the Office of Professional Education at 410-706-3767.

Funding Natural Areas, Soil and Water Conservation, and Public Transportation

Join the Ohio Environmental Council and the Ohio League of Conservation Voters for our 2009 Legislative Summit.

The goal of this year’s Summit is to build a winning strategy to address urgent funding challenges left in the wake of Ohio’s biennial operating budget.

Summit agenda items include:
• Presentations from public agency officials
• Breakout sessions with environmental-conservation leaders
• Securing funding for state nature preserves, soil and water conservation districts, and public transit
• Creating a Winning Game Plan for 2010
When:
December 7, 2009
9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Where:
Columbus Metropolitan Library
Downtown Branch, 1st Floor Auditorium
96 S. Grant Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215

Cost:
FREE. Includes lunch and materials.

Registration:
Register by Friday, December 4
To register, email us at EventRegistration@theOEC.org or call (614) 487-7506.

Speakers include representatives from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Department of Transportation, Central Ohio Transit Authority, Sierra Club, Ohio Environmental Council, Ohio League of Conservation Voters, Ohio Federation of Soil & Water Conservation Districts, and a special presentation by Policy Matters

Tuesday,  November 10, 2009 11:43 PM
By Doug Caruso

Faced with a growing invasion of bedbugs, Ohio has asked the federal government for permission to turn them back with a pesticide that is not labeled for use in homes.

“We are in dire straits, and we need help,” said Matt Beal, assistant chief at the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

The department asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Oct.23 for an emergency exemption to allow the use of Propoxur in residences.

The insecticide is used in commercial buildings, on crops and in flea and tick collars for pets, Beal said.

More than a dozen other states are supporting the request.

Though there have been exemptions in the past to fight crop pests, it’s the first time such an exemption has been requested for an indoor pesticide, he said.

The Environmental Working Group, which recently backed a call to remove Propoxur from pet collars, urged caution. It’s best to reduce human exposure to such chemicals, said Leeann Brown, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit group based in Washington.

During the next two months or so, the EPA will have to weigh the risks of allowing more Propoxur to be used against the growing threat of bedbugs, Beal said.

Read further at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/10/bedbugs.html

By JIM MOTAVALLI
Mercury, the only metal element that is liquid at standard room temperature, is notoriously hard to handle — in more ways than one. Until 2003, automakers used highly toxic mercury in switches that controlled trunk and under-hood lights, as well as antilock brake systems. Since then, carmakers have switched to benign alternatives, but an estimated 38 million mercury switches still remain in cars.

As long as the switches remain in place, they’re unlikely to present a health danger, but when cars are crushed at the end of their life, the mercury in the switches can be released. The Environmental Protection Agency says, “Mercury exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system of people of all ages.”

The auto industry created the nonprofit End of Life Solutions Corporation (E.L.V.S., popularly known as “Elvis”). Recycling the mercury in switches is a major element in the organization’s portfolio. In February, the nonprofit announced it had recycled its two-millionth mercury switch.

Read the article at http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/gm-agrees-to-recycle-mercury-switches-for-now/

Study in China is likely to bring further scrutiny of the common chemical
 
By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Exposure to high levels of a controversial chemical found in thousands of everyday plastic products appears to cause erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems in men, according to a new study published Wednesday.

The study, funded by the federal government and published in the journal Human Reproduction, is the first to examine the impact of bisphenol A, or BPA, on the reproductive systems of human males. Previous studies have involved mice or rats.

The research comes as government agencies debate the safety of BPA, a compound that is found in thousands of consumer products ranging from dental sealants to canned food linings and that is so ubiquitous it has been detected in the urine of 93 percent of the U.S. population.

Read further at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/10/AR2009111017411.html

(CHICAGO – Nov. 12 , 2009) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has reached an agreement with Diamond Hard Chrome Co. Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, for alleged violations of the authorized Ohio Resource Conservation and Recovery Act financial assurance requirements for hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities  The chrome plating business has agreed to pay a penalty of $15,000 to settle the violations.
In documents Diamond Hard Chrome filed to close its facility at 6300 Kinsman Ave., the company failed to show it had the financial resources or an adequate plan to complete the closure properly and pay for post-closure actions to protect the environment.  The company will submit a revised RCRA post-closure plan to Ohio EPA that includes a ground-water monitoring plan with cost estimates and financial assurance.   
Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, EPA regulates hazardous waste from production to final disposal.

By DINA CAPPIELLO

WASHINGTON — Nearly half of lakes and reservoirs nationwide contain fish with potentially harmful levels of the toxic metal mercury, according to a federal study released Tuesday.

The Environmental Protection Agency found mercury — a pollutant primarily released from coal-fired power plants — and polychlorinated biphenyls in all fish samples it collected from 500 lakes and reservoirs from 2000-2003. At 49 percent of those lakes and reservoirs, mercury concentrations exceeded levels that the EPA says are safe for people eating average amounts of fish.

Mercury consumed by eating fish can damage the nervous system and cause learning disabilities in developing fetuses and young children.

Fewer lakes and reservoirs — 17 percent — had fish containing polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, above recommended levels. PCBs were widely used as coolants and lubricants until they were banned in the late 1970s, but because they last in the environment for long periods of time, they can still be found in fish. PCBs have been linked to cancer and other health effects.

The study is the latest to highlight how widespread mercury pollution has become.

Read the article at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h08xpuugceAVNixvp3RzLOj2fccgD9BT0BL00

Disinfectant Overkill: How To Clean May Be Hazardous To Our Health can be found at http://www.womenandenvironment.org/campaignsandprograms/SafeCleaning/disinfectants/Disinfectant%20Overkill.pdf

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: November 7, 2009

Your body is probably home to a chemical called bisphenol A, or BPA. It’s a synthetic estrogen that United States factories now use in everything from plastics to epoxies — to the tune of six pounds per American per year. That’s a lot of estrogen.

Bisphenol-A (BPA)More than 92 percent of Americans have BPA in their urine, and scientists have linked it — though not conclusively — to everything from breast cancer to obesity, from attention deficit disorder to genital abnormalities in boys and girls alike.

Now it turns out it’s in our food.

Consumer Reports magazine tested an array of brand-name canned foods for a report in its December issue and found BPA in almost all of them. The magazine says that relatively high levels turned up, for example, in Progresso vegetable soup, Campbell’s condensed chicken noodle soup, and Del Monte Blue Lake cut green beans.

Read further at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/opinion/08kristof.html?em