As part of the State of New Jersey’s continuing commitment to protect public health and restore natural resources degraded by those who refuse accountability, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe today announced the filing of two lawsuits to compel the clean-up of contamination and recover Natural Resource Damages (NRDs).
Showing posts with label toxic chemicals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toxic chemicals. Show all posts
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
The Toxic Algae Are Not Done With Toledo. Not By a Long Stretch.
 The algae bloom that swallowed parts of Lake Erie in 2011. Toledo sits near—and draws its water from—the lake's southwest region, where algae tends to accumulate. Image: MERIS/NASA, processed by NOAA/NOS/NCCOS Last weekend, Toledo's 400,000 residents were sent scrambling for bottled water because the stuff from the tap had gone toxic—so toxic that city officials warned people against bathing their children or washing their dishes in it. The likely cause: a toxic blue-green algae bloom floated over the city's municipal water intake in Lake Erie. On Monday morning, the city called off the don't-drink-the-water warning, claiming that levels of the contaminant in the water had fallen back to safe levels. Is their nightmare over? One expert said he could "almost guarantee" that the conditions that caused the crisis, i.e., a toxic bloom floating over the intake, would recur this summer. I put the question to Jeffrey Reutter, director of the Stone Laboratory at Ohio State University and a researcher who monitors Lake Erie's annual algae blooms. He said he could "almost guarantee" that the conditions that caused the crisis, i.e., a toxic bloom floating over the intake, would recur this summer. But it's "pretty unlikely" that toxins will make it into the city's drinking water. That's because after the weekend's fiasco, a whole crew of public agencies, from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to the US Environmental Protection Agency... |
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Government Must Lead The Way in Workplace Health and Safety
The government must maintain a strong and credible roll in establishing and maintaining workplace health and safety. The tendency to yield to political and economic interests should avoided.
One area where the government is lacking is the establishment on a complete ban of the
use of asbestos containing products. It is far late in the game, but lives will be saved if in fact asbestos was banned. Additionally, government agencies should be insulated from political from those interests that would sway them into the opposite area.
"Government has a responsibility to implement effective public health measures that increase the information available to the public and decision makers, protect people from harm, promote health, and create environments that support healthy behaviors. The health, financial, and productivity gains from public health actions benefit individuals and society as a whole."
Click here to read, "Government's Role in Protecting Health and Safety, "Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. N Engl J Med 2013; 368:1857-1859May 16, 2013DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1303819
One area where the government is lacking is the establishment on a complete ban of the
"Government has a responsibility to implement effective public health measures that increase the information available to the public and decision makers, protect people from harm, promote health, and create environments that support healthy behaviors. The health, financial, and productivity gains from public health actions benefit individuals and society as a whole."
Click here to read, "Government's Role in Protecting Health and Safety, "Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. N Engl J Med 2013; 368:1857-1859May 16, 2013DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1303819
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The Hazards of Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers now proliferate the workplace. Concern has been raised over medical issues created by their use, especially for pregnant women who are health care workers. Additionally the fragrances used may be toxic.
Virginia Evans and Peter Orris from the University of Illinois authored a Letter to the Editor on this topic in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine ( Vol 54(1):3, Jan 2012).
“…exposure to alcohol-based hand sanitizers would, at most, lead to very low blood alcohol levels… if an additional risk reduction is desired by pregnant health care workers, work practices should be modified to allow the use of soap and water as a substitute for the alcohol-based hand sanitizer.”
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