The Weekly Toxic Times
From the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health
News highlights from June 28 - July 14, 2008
A recap of the top stories on toxins in Michigan, National, and International
news.
Michigan News
Forum Topic: Pollution at DuPont site
Muskegon Chronicle, Monday, July 7, 2008
"The ongoing process and recent upgrades being used for treatment
of DuPont's contaminated site in the Montague area will be the focus of
this week's White Lake Public Advisory Council public forum."
www.mlive.com/news/chronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1215447305305720.xml
&coll=8
Education needed to understand pesticide exposure among farmworkers
Kalamazoo Gazette, Monday, June 30, 2008
"Each year, more than 45,000 migrant and seasonal farmworkers work
in Michigan. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, farmworkers
suffer the highest rate of chemical-related illness of any occupational
group."
www.mlive.com/kalamazoo/stories/index.ssf?/base/columns-5/121483745640300
.xml&coll=7
U-M recalls lead-tainted bookmarks
The Ann Arbor News, Sunday, June 29, 2008
"It seemed like a fun way to promote goodwill for the University
of Michigan at the Ann Arbor Mayor's Green Fair earlier this month: Hand
out bookmarks made from recycled computer circuit boards. But the idea
has now prompted a recall, complete with a reward, because the university
has learned the circuit boards contain lead."
www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-28/1214721646168820
.xml&coll=2
Keep toxic cleanups going
The Detroit Free Press, Thursday June 26, 2008
"Awkward is probably too tepid a word to describe the bind the state
Department of Environmental Quality finds itself in by running out the
clock on brownfield cleanup money without a backup plan."
www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080626/OPINION01/806260341
National News
U.S. lax on chemicals
Great Lakes Radio Consortium, Michigan, July 14, 2008
"News about dangerous chemicals in toys, cosmetics and cleaning products
has a lot of Americans spending extra money. People want to make sure they're
choosing things that are safe for their families."
www.environmentreport.org/story.php3?story_id=4086
Hazardous flame retardant found in household objects
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin, July 12, 2008
"A flame retardant that was taken out of children's pajamas more
than 30 years ago after it was found to cause cancer is being used with
increasing regularity in furniture, paint and even baby carriers, and EPA's
safety assessment is biased toward industry, again."
www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=771917
EPA strengthens controls on 5 common pesticides
Associated Press, July 11, 2008
"The federal Environmental Protection Agency strengthened regulations
Thursday on five common pesticides and for the first time required farmers
to set up sizable buffer zones around fields treated with the chemicals."
ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iID5ff_SpAQTp-cEeCZuvDS2JF-QD91RBPKG0
The truth about plastic
Time Magazine, July 10, 2008
"The U.S. produced 28 million tons of plastic waste in 2005. Our
food and water come wrapped in plastic. It's used in our phones and our
computers, the cars we drive and the planes we ride in. But the infinitely
adaptable substance has its dark side."
www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1821664,00.html
Dental Industry Gets an Earful on Mercury
Associated Press, Wednesday, July 9, 2008
"The dental industry, asked to testify Tuesday about pollution from
mercury in tooth fillings, found itself under attack from lawmakers who
blame mercury for everything from autism in children to skin discoloration."
www.newsday.com/news/health/wire/sns-ap-dentists-mercury,0,812241.story
Designing "green" plasticizers
Environmental Science & Technology, July 8, 2008
“Recent events, such as the listing of bisphenol A as a toxic substance
by Canada, have led to consumer worries over the safety of plastics. Researchers
are hot on the trail of a "green" substitute for the most widely
used phthalate plasticizer, DEHP.”
pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/esthag/asap/html/es801828p.html
The Dark Side of Dust: Particles can contain flame retardant PBDE and may be dangerous
Richmond Times, Thursday, July 3, 2008
"A study by the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, has
linked the dramatic rise of thyroid disease in cats to house dust laced
with the flame retardant PBDE."
www.inrich.com/cva/ric/entertainment.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-07-03-
0004.html
Rhode Island Court Throws Out Jury Finding in Lead Case
The New York Times, Wednesday, July 2, 2008
"The highest court in Rhode Island on Tuesday overturned a jury decision
that would have forced three paint manufacturers to pay billions of dollars
to clean up contaminated homes."
www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/business/02paint.html
New lead poisoning provisions take effect today
Burlington Free Press, Tuesday, July 1, 2008
"New provisions that are meant to strengthen Vermont's existing law
to prevent lead poisoning law will take effect today."
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080701/NEWS/8063
0023/1001/NEWS
Pentagon Fights EPA on Pollution Cleanup
The Washington Post, Monday, June 30, 2008
"The Defense Department, the nation's biggest polluter, is resisting
orders from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up Fort Meade
and two other military bases. But Superfund sites are only one aspect of
the Pentagon's environmental problems. It has about 25,000 contaminated
properties in all 50 states, and it will cost billions and take decades
to clean them up. Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee, is investigating the Pentagon's compliance
with environmental regulation. He said it is evading the law through political
maneuvers."
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/29/AR2008062901977
_pf.html
High Lead found on more turf fields
The Record, Saturday, June 28, 2008
"Tests have found high lead levels in artificial turf fields in Palisades
Park and Franklin Lakes, bringing the total number of fields in North Jersey
that exceed state lead standards to six."
www.northjersey.com/news/northernnj/22244969.html
Because of petty politics, state can't get the lead out
Pressconnects, Saturday, June 28, 2008
"Almost 3,000 children under 6 years old who lived outside New York
City had significantly elevated levels of lead in 2005, according to the
state Health Department. New York has the largest number of housing units
that still have lead paint, both in absolute numbers and in percentage
terms, of any state."
www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080628/OPINION/806280
330/1005/OPINION
Toxic Baby Bottles Measure Advances
California Chronicle, Thursday, June 26, 2008
"California is poised to become the first state in the nation to
ban the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in food and beverage containers
designed for children three years and under."
www.californiachronicle.com/articles/66367
International News
Environment Canada places partial ban on flame retardant
Toronto Globe and Mail, Ontario, July 12, 2008
"Environment Canada says a flame retardant [deca-BDE] is so dangerous
that it is banning companies from manufacturing the compound, but it will
continue to allow the chemical to be freely imported and used in consumer
products."
www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080712.RETARDANT12/TP
Story/National
Impasse over lead in the blood
The Australian, Saturday, June 28, 2008
"Last April Daphne Hare took a stand. When the Mount Isa mother learned
her six-year-old daughter, Stella, had an unsafe level of lead in her blood,
Hare decided to take the Swiss mining giant Xstrata Mount Isa Mines to
court. Certainly, the results of a recent blood screening program of 400
Mount Isa children, run by Queensland Health, support Hare's concern. The
14-month survey of children aged between 1 and 4 years found that 11 per
cent had lead levels higher than the internationally accepted limit of
10 micrograms (mcg) per decilitre (dl) of blood. One child's level was
nearly three times the limit."
www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23927716-23289,00.html
Articles were researched and compiled by Beth Kerwin and Marci Baranski, MNCEH Interns.
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