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For years, Syngenta, the Swiss corporation that makes atrazine, has maintained that the herbicide does not pose a health risk, that, as the Post put it, it’s “safe for wildlife, and for the people who are exposed to small amounts of it in drinking water.” A new study published last week by the National Academy of Sciences and led by UC-Berkeley scientist Tyrone Hayes suggests otherwise. via Consumer Chemicals: Too Much “Wait and See” | The Valley Advocate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has worked for decades with New York and Connecticut to clean up Long Island Sound. Too much nitrogen in the water has led to “dead zones” where fish and shellfish can’t survive. Now the federal agency is asking sewage treatment plants nearly 200 miles away in Vermont to help reduce pollutants that are hurting the sound. As part of a collaboration with Northeast public radio stations, VPR’s John Dillon reports. via Long Island Sound Clean-up Reaches Into Vermont | VPR News. The leader of a New London County farm group is supporting fines on people who misuse outdoor wood-burning furnaces after a lengthy hearing Monday in Hartford. Wayne Budney, president of the New London County Farm Bureau, said financial penalties are necessary to discourage trash burning and other misuse of the furnaces. via Area farm leader supports fines on outdoor furnaces – Norwich Bulletin. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment on the annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2008 draft report. This report will be open for public comment for 30 days after the Federal Register notice is published. Continue reading EPA Seeks Public Comment on the 15th Annual U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory From the testimony of David R. Brown, ScD, Public Health Toxicologist, EHHI: “Two of the most hazardous components of wood smoke – particulate matter measuring 2.5, and smaller, and particulate matter 05 were significantly elevated inside homes near outdoor wood furnaces. High levels were present in every 24 hour period tested in every home.” Or …… Alderman, president of Enivronment and Human Health Inc., favors the wood smoke bill, saying it is a step in the right direction. In her testimony, she stressed that wood smoke furnances are dangerous and can cause health problems. Wood smoke plumes can travel about a half mile, she added, noting that nine Connecticut towns already prohibit wood smoke, incouding Granby, Hadaam and Woodbury. Hurlburt, however, said he thinks the bill is not necessary because local health departments already have the right to regulate such issues. via Capitol Watch Blog – Connecticut Politics, Political News and Legislation. WETHERSFIELD — – The owners of Wilkus Farm have agreed to clean up contamination at the property before the town buys it for open space. The original deal, negotiated by the Trust for Public Land with the three owners, called for the town to buy the 87-acre property for $3.5 million. That deal was postponed in December while the extent of the environmental contamination was assessed. DANBURY — A “bubbling crude” of sewage on a Danbury Airport tarmac is causing a lot of frustration for at least two local businesses. via Raw sewage at Danbury Airport frustrates business owners – NewsTimes. Ash landfills are necessary in Connecticut, whether residents like it or not. These landfills, a disposal site for what’s left after garbage is incinerated, are not developed until the state Department of Environmental Protection has ensured they met environmental standards. Yet the idea of dumping ash is a scary concept for residents who live near the sites. via Ash Landfills: Someone’s Gotta Have Them | CRRABlog. The state agency responsible for monitoring the safety of state employees on job sites opened an investigation Thursday into the improper handling of asbestos during renovations to the president’s office at the University of Connecticut. via State Investigates UConn Project Over Possible Asbestos Contamination – Courant.com. The owner and operator of a coal-fired power plant in Montville, Conn., AES Thames, LLC, will pay a penalty of $140,000 to resolve alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act and other environmental laws, arising from releases of chlorine from the plant to the Thames River in 2006, according to the Region 1 office of the U.S. EPA. Continue reading Settlement Resolves Chlorine Spills by Connecticut Power Plant The day that someone in your neighborhood decides to install an outdoor wood furnace is the day that you will forever regret, according to an “In Your Corner” article, a consumer watchdog column that runs every Thursday in The Connecticut Post. These smoke-belching devices will take away one of your basic rights —- the right to breath reasonably clean air. Unfortunately, that’s not a right listed in the U.S. Constitution, so when your neighbor fires up his outdoor wood furnace, you’re pretty much on your own. via Smoke from outdoor wood furnaces burns neighbors – Connecticut Post. The Board of Representatives unanimously backed funding Monday for a study that will evaluate well-water contamination in the Scofieldtown area of the city. The $250,000 appropriation, which had also been approved by the Board of Finance and the Planning Board, would be used to hire the University of Connecticut to conduct the study. via Funding for Scofieldtown well-water study approved – The Hour. Environmental tests performed last week detected PCBs in the air of a closet at Eli Whitney Technical High School in Hamden, school principal Steve Anderson confirmed. The chemicals are believed to pose risks to immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems in children, but Anderson said the closet is “not normally opened.” via PCBs found in closet at Eli Whitney Tech – The New Haven Register. TORRINGTON — The state is sending an environmental firm to investigate the possibility of dangerous chemicals at Torrington’s Oliver Wolcott Technical High School. According to a release from Gov. Jodi Rell’s office, the school is among eight technical schools around the state being checked for polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, an oily liquid that was mixed into caulk prior to being banned in 1979. via Torrington’s Oliver Wolcott Tech may be contaminated – The Register Citizen. An enduring image from the movie American Beauty is a recurring shot of a plastic bag dancing in the wind. If the Wilton Board of Selectmen enacts a pending ban on plastic bags, similar scenes will disappear from within town limits. via The Plastic Problem | Fairfield County Weekly. GOSHEN — A battle is looming between the state’s main trash processor, the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, and a handful of municipalities in the Hartford region that want to take over the job of handling northwestern Connecticut’s trash after 2012? via CRRA to face contract battle in 2012 | The Republican-American. University of Connecticut officials violated numerous federal laws when employees threw asbestos-laden materials from the window of the president’s office during a nearly half million-dollar renovation of his Gulley Hall office space. via Asbestos Removal From UConn President’s Office Violated Federal Regulations – Courant.com. The Newtown, Connecticut Wastewater Treatment Plant was recently selected by EPA for a Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Excellence Award. The staff of Newtown Wastewater Treatment Plant, led by Julio Segarra, Plant Manager, was recognized by EPA’s New England Office for exceptional work in operating and maintaining the plant. The plant was among six facilities in New England acknowledged for exemplary performance during 2009. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection was instrumental in nominating this facility. via Newtown, Conn. Wastewater Treatment Plant Recognized for Excellence | U.S. EPA. GLASTONBURY – Those people who dump used motor oil down the storm drain or companies who send waste into the town’s drainage system — beware. The town has a new ordinance that will have the engineering department on the lookout for — and taking action against — those illegally discharging pollution into the storm drainage system. via Glastonbury Has New Ordinance To Prevent Water Pollution – Courant.com. “Those people” …. this isn’t like a common occurrence is it? People dumping used motor oil down the drain? Don’t we know better nowdays? |
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