The Weekly Toxic Times
From the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health
News highlights from the month of May 2008
The summaries below represent a few of the highlights from the stories in May, when we did not have Toxic Times coverage.
Michigan News
Grand Rapids, first to fluoridate, rechecks safety
Grand Rapids Press, Wednesday, May 7, 2008
“Will the city that became the first in the world to fluoridate
its drinking water decide to discontinue use of the chemical?”
www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-41/1210166149242350.xml&
coll=6
Plan for Richfield Township landfill remedy leaves residents worried
Flint Journal, Thursday, May 8, 2008
“Throngs of worried residents and local officials packed a
school auditorium Wednesday night (May 7, 2008) to hear state Department
of Environmental Quality and Richfield Landfill representatives explain
their plan to control creeping contamination from the 300-acre facility
on Mt. Morris Road.”
www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/05/plan_for_richfield_township_la.html
Bank erosion, health issues part of dioxin meeting
Midland Daily News, Friday, May 9, 2008
“Issues ranging from the ongoing erosion of the Tittabawassee
River bank to conflicting studies about the effects of dioxin on
humans continue to concern both area residents and Michigan environmental
and health officials.”
ourmidland.com/articles/2008/05/09/local_news/1090849.txt
Dioxin advisories extended for wild game
Detroit Free Press, Tuesday, May 13, 2008
“The state has extended advisories for consuming wild game
from the Tittabawassee River and Saginaw River flood plains because
of dioxin contamination from Dow Chemical Co.”
www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS06/80513028/1008/
NEWS
Choke screen
Metro Times Detroit, Thursday, May 22, 2008
“What are the health impacts of waste incineration?”
www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=12902
Hearing on large dairy operation farm plan could harm water, residents say
Kalamazoo Gazette, Thursday, May 22, 2008
“Potential contamination of groundwater and possible waste
discharge into a tributary of the St. Joseph River dominated concerns
raised at a public hearing Wednesday on a proposed large dairy farm
in northeastern St. Joseph County.”
www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-29/1211467834282030.
xml&coll=7
$1.3 billion state bond would press pollution fight
Grand Rapids Press, Thursday, May 22, 2008
“The state points to pollution at the former Autostyle Plastics
plant as a reason voters should approve a $1.3 billion environmental
cleanup and protection bond.”
www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-42/1211462142298980.xml&
coll=6
Decision on incinerator's future looms as other options weighed
Detroit Free Press, Tuesday, May 27, 2008
“Nearly 20 years ago, as an outcry against jammed, leaking
landfills echoed across the country, Detroit started down a novel
path, building the nation's largest trash-to-energy incinerator amid
fanfare and controversy.”
www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080525/NEWS01/805250582/1003/
NEWS01
D.C., Lansing fall short on lakes
Traverse City Record-Eagle, Tuesday, May 27, 2008
“For those concerned about the Great Lakes and waters that
feed them, its a time to be wary of the ways of Washington and Lansing.”
www.record-eagle.com/opinion/local_story_146093020.html
EPA's regional chief out after trashing years of dioxin talks
Bay City Times, Tuesday, May 27, 2008
“The former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Region 5 office in Chicago is out of a job after bulling her
agency into the dioxin issue here in the Tittabawassee and Saginaw
rivers.”
blog.mlive.com/bcopinion/2008/05/epas_regional_chief_out_after.html
County phosphorus bans deserve to be copied
Grand Rapids Press, Wednesday, May 28, 2008
“A new environmental measure in Ottawa and Allegan counties
should make surrounding communities green with envy -- or at least
prod them to be more "green" than they are now.”
www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-2/121198054063900.xml&
coll=6
Stalemate continues over Michigan smoking ban
Battle Creek Enquirer, Wednesday, May 28, 2008
“The state House again passed a bill today, by a 65-39 vote,
that bans workplace smoking except at casinos, bingo halls and a
few other places. Its at odds with a Senate-approved version that
bans smoking inside all workplaces.”
www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080528/NEWS01/3052
80012/1002
National News
Speeding Up Safety
The Washington Post, Saturday, May 3, 2008
This is an important piece about companies acting in the absence of
a chemicals policy.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR20080502037
65.html
From toxic sediment to toxic air...
Toledo Blade, Monday, May 12, 2008
“First, a word about arcane legislation called the Great Lakes
Legacy Act of 2008, introduced Thursday by U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D.,
Mich) and U.S. Sen. George Voinovich (R., Ohio).”
www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080511/COLUMNIST42/80511
0333
Editorial: Ounce of prevention
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sunday, May 18, 2008
“This ubiquitous chemical's (BPA) effects, especially on children,
are reason to ban it in products intended for kids.”
www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=751772
Is Fire Retardant A Harmful Toxin? Exclusive: Scientists, Lawmakers Raise Red Flags About Fire-Retardant Compound In Everyday Goods
CBS Evening News, Monday, May 19, 2008
“Scientists are now raising red flags about the widely used brominated
flame retardants, called PBDEs.”
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/19/eveningnews/main4109418.shtml
Pregnant moms who use cell phones put babies at risk, study suggests
Detroit Free Press, Monday, May 19, 2008
“Talk about a blockbuster report: A UCLA study to be published
in a medical journal in July claims pregnant women who use mobile phones
even two or three times a day are at an increased risk of giving birth
to babies who develop behavioral problems.”
www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080519/BLOG01/80519029/1001/
NEWS
Concerns About BPA Plastic
New York Times, Tuesday, May 20, 2008
This opinion piece outlines the current state of the BPA debate—Canada
has announced plans to restrict its use, while the US FDA and Congress
investigate BPA studies.
www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/opinion/20tue2.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=
slogin
Controversy Over Fire-Retardant Chemicals: Two States Are Phasing Out Use Of Deca, But Are Industry Lobbying Powers Stopping Others?
CBS Evening News, Tuesday, May 20, 2008
“Despite the growing concern over flame-retardant chemicals, the
industry, and groups aligned with industry, is lobbying to increase the
use of chemicals in a wide range of consumer products.”
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/20/eveningnews/main4111791.shtml
Congress addressing phosphorus levels in household cleaners
Bay City Times, Thursday May 22, 2008
“Congress is taking on phosphorus, with bills to limit the nutrient
in dishwashing detergents and household cleaning products.”
www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-11/121146933520650.xml&
coll=4
Get the lead out
The Chicago Tribune, Thursday, May 22, 2008
This article describes the debate surrounding the Lead Poisoning Prevention
Act--a bill currently in the Illinois House “that would require
manufacturers to affix warning labels to products that are used by children
and contain more than 40 parts per million of lead.
www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/chi-0522edit2may22,0,1990501.
story
Study says PCBs may be causing diabetes' growth
The Plain Dealer, Friday, May 23, 2008
“PCBs, toxic chemicals found nearly everywhere on the planet,
may be fueling the diabetes epidemic, according to a study by researchers
at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University.”
www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1211531439200290.
xml&coll=2
Maine's message to toymakers is clear: Get the lead out
Portland Press Herald, Sunday, May 25, 2008
“A new state law will give 'teeth to voluntary recalls,' but companies
won't exactly be embracing it.”
pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=189846&ac=PHnws
Glaciers in Antarctica May Be Releasing DDT Through Meltwater
New York Times, Tuesday, May 27, 2008
“Global use of the pesticide DDT has been sharply curtailed since
the 1970s, so its natural to expect that over time, less of it would
find its way into living creatures. And that has generally been the case:
although many organisms still have detectable levels of DDT in fatty
tissues, those levels have generally declined.”
www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/science/earth/27obddt.html?ref=environment
International News
Uranium Producer Warns of Lake Ontario Pollution
New York Times, Thursday, May 22, 2008
“Cameco, the worlds largest uranium producer, has told the Canadian
nuclear regulator that its refinery might have leaked uranium, arsenic
and fluorides into Lake Ontario.”
www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/business/worldbusiness/22pollute.html?_r=1&ad
xnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1211479360-NIee4JPgIYe
Chlorine in tap water 'nearly doubles the risk of birth defects'
Saturday, May 31, 2008
“Pregnant women living in areas where tap water is heavily disinfected
with chlorine nearly double their risk of having children with heart
problems, a cleft palate or major brain defects, a new study has found.”
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1023340/Chlorine-tap-water-nearly-doubles-risk
-birth-defects.html#
The alternative: Cans without bisphenol A
Globe and Mail, Thursday, May 28, 2008
“It is possible to make cans without using bisphenol A, at a cost
of only pennies more.”
www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080528.wcans-alternatives/BN
Story/Front
Articles were researched and compiled by Beth Kerwin and Marci Baranski, MNCEH Interns.
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