Irradiated Beef Passes School Lunch Program

Public health groups are criticizing a decision by the USDA to allow school districts to purchase irradiated meat. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:

Transcript

Public health groups are criticizing a decision by the USDA to allow
school districts to purchase irradiated meat. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:


Recently the U.S. Department of Agriculture lifted its ban on irradiated
ground beef in the national school lunch program. The Public Citizens’
Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program says the USDA is
putting
children’s health at risk.


It worries possible health risks to humans
from eating irradiated meat such as ground beef are not known. The
U.S.
Food and Drug Adminstration approved irradiation of raw meat and
poultry in 1997.


It concludes it’s a safe way to reduce disease-causing
microbes. But health groups say irradiation is a way to cover up the
meat industry’s sanitation failures. The government says districts
won’t be forced to serve such meat… districts will be allowed to
choose between irradiated and non-irradiated beef… and the
government suggests districts notify parents of that decision. schools
will be allowed to purchase the meat starting in January of next year.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.

Epa Launches Wider Probe Into Teflon Chemical

The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a wider probe into a chemical compound used to make Teflon-coated cookware and other well known products, such as Stainmaster, Scotchgard and Gore-Tex. The chemical is known as C8, and it’s manufactured by DuPont. It’s been found in the air and water across the country. Now environmentalists are putting pressure on the EPA to ban it. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston has more:

Transcript

The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a wider probe into a
chemical compound used to make Teflon-coated cookware and other well known
products, such as Stainmaster, Scotchgard and Gore-Tex. The chemical is
known as C8, and it’s manufactured by DuPont… It’s been found in the air
and water across the country. Now environmentalists are putting pressure on
the EPA to ban it. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston has
more:


The EPA has launched the most extensive study yet to determine whether the
chemical C8 and similar families of chemicals cause reproductive and
developmental damage to women and girls. The 3-M company, which used to
manufacture C-8, has studied the effects of the chemical on lab rats. The
findings: rats exposed to the chemical lost weight. They experienced delayed
sexual maturation and their offspring commonly died prematurely.


DuPont company
scientist Robert Rikard, though, says the company has used C8 for more than
50-years. He says concerns about the chemical are unfounded. That’s even
though C8 belongs to a family of chemicals that some companies have stopped
manufacturing because of health concerns. 3-M stopped making its Scotchguard stain repellent
after finding one of the chemical compounds sticks around in the environment. It’s also
been found in the bloodstreams of people worldwide. The EPA doesn’t have guidelines in
place to regulate C8. And it could be months before there the agency finishes
its extensive study of the chemical compound.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.

Internal Report Suggests Risks of Teflon Chemical

An internal report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows that a chemical used in the making of Teflon products at DuPont plants might be harmful to girls and women of childbearing age. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports the study runs contrary to what the company has been telling people who drink the water and breathe the air near one of its plants:

Transcript

An internal report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows that a chemical used in
the making of Teflon products at DuPont plants might be harmful to girls and women of
childbearing age. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports, the study runs
contrary to what the company has been telling people who drink the water and breathe the air
near one of its plants:


The draft of the EPA study wasn’t meant to be released to the public, but was obtained anyway
by a group that monitors federal environmental policy. It was then taken and studied by the
Washington D.C. based Environmental Working Group. That group’s scientists say the findings
are alarming. They say it shows lab rat pups exposed to the chemical C8 commonly died days
after being born. Also, the exposed rats had lower weight body organs, including smaller
“master gland” or pituitary glands, which scientists say can be a precursor to developing cancer.
Jane Houlihan, Vice President of Research at the Environmental Working Group, says the
problems found in rats translate to problems such as birth defects and possibly cancer for people
who breathe in the C8.


“Um, the EPA’s risk-assessment was pretty astounding in that they found that people’s exposures
to C8 are much much closer to the levels that harm animals than what the EPA would normally
like to see. It was a big surprise that the human population is widely contaminated with C8 and
that those exposures, particularly for women and young girls, is in a range that sets off all kinds
of alarm bells relative to the levels that are known to harm lab animals.”


The concern is that C8 builds up in the blood and it doesn’t break down in the body or in the
environment very easily. It’s primarily an airborne chemical that’s closely related to chemicals
once used to make Scotchguard fabric protector. The 3M Company, which makes Scotchguard,
stopped manufacturing C8 three years ago, but DuPont makes it at a plant in North Carolina.
DuPont still uses the chemical at its West Virginia plant to make Teflon-coated products. The
Ohio EPA is concerned that testing done by DuPont shows levels have been at least three times as
high as the company’s standards. But, the EPA has no standards of its own in place. DuPont has
put in pollution control devices to cut down on C8. But the Environmental Working Group’s
Houlihan says it’s highly likely the air and water are still laden with C8 because the chemical is so
persistent.


“C8’s not like any other environmental pollutant. When we banned PCBs and DDT a quarter of a
century ago, we’ve seen levels of those chemicals decline in the environment because they break
down. C8 is really different.”


That’s just what people who live near DuPont’s Washington Works plant near Parkersburg, West
Virginia are afraid of. The village of Little Hocking, which is across the Ohio River from the
plant is a cluster of small houses, a general store and a tiny post office.


(sounds of her answering phone)


That’s where Judy Pashun works as Postmaster.


“When I found out about the Little Hocking Water Company, I quit drinking the water here at
work, so I bring water here to drink.”


Pashun is referring to the Little Hocking Water Authority, which supplies water to some 12,000
people in the southern Ohio area, all of whom are involved in a class action lawsuit against
DuPont. DuPont has said in the past and keeps on saying that levels of C8 are in the water, but
aren’t at levels high enough to cause concern. The water company’s general manager, Bob
Griffin, begs to differ. He says high concentrations of C8 ride over to southern Ohio on the
prevailing wind and settle in the company’s well fields.


“People that live in the community could have twice as much C8 in their blood than somebody
that works at DuPont. I mean, there’s people that work at DuPont that said they’ve got so many
parts per million in their blood. Now when we talk about what’s in the water is parts per billion,
but people that work there actually have parts per million.”


DuPont, on the other hand, disagrees with Griffin and the Environmental Working Group’s
interpretation of the internal EPA study. Its toxicologists argue that C8 has no known adverse
affects to human health. Robert Rikard is a company scientist. Rikard, in an interview conducted
before the EPA’s study was leaked to the media, said the public’s concern about and the media
attention to C8 is unfounded.


“There is a lot known about this compound. We’ve had over 50 years of experience, and we’ve
closely monitored it for many, many years. And, all of the data would indicate there is no known
human health effects and no known environmental effects with this compound.”


And, DuPont says the report findings were prematurely leaked to the media. A company news
release reminds the media that the document was, quote, an internal and deliberative draft and,
therefore, not subject to the Freedom of Information act, which requires that documents be made
public.


Still, this problem has raised a wider question about the use of Teflon and other products, because
it’s not just a problem confined to people living near DuPont plants. The Environmental Working
Group says the EPA needs to move quickly to ban the chemical C8 and similar families of
chemicals because traces of the chemicals have been found on produce such as apples and green
beans in grocery stores throughout the country.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.

Region Deals With Deadly Nerve Agent

The Army wants to get rid of its stockpiles of chemical weapons because they fear terrorists might get to them. There are eight Army sites across the U.S. that store those kinds of chemicals. At one site in the Midwest, the military is planning to dispose of Nerve Agent VX. To destroy the stockpiles, the Army must first “water-down” the nerve agent. Then it has to be shipped to a company that disposes of industrial wastes. But while the Army says it’s making neighborhoods safer near where the chemical weapons are stored … some people fear having the watered-down nerve agent trucked into their neighborhoods. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:

Transcript

The Army wants to get rid of its stockpiles of chemical weapons because they fear terrorists might get to them. There are eight Army sites across the U.S. that store those kinds of chemicals. At one site in the Midwest, the military is planning to dispose of Nerve Agent VX. To destroy the stockpiles, the Army must first “water-down” the nerve agent. Then it has to be shipped to a company that disposes of industrial wastes. But while the Army says it’s making neighborhoods safer near where the chemical weapons are stored, some people fear having the watered-down nerve agent trucked into their neighborhoods. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:


Nerve Agent VX is a clear, odorless liquid with the consistency of motor oil. It was
accidentally created during the Korean War, when British chemists were experimenting
with various concoctions meant to kill lice on North Korean POW’s and refugees. Nerve
Agent VX kills within minutes after contact with the skin. It has never been used in
combat by the United States. Instead, most of the country’s supply sits in a highly-
guarded tank at the Newport Chemical Depot in west-central Indiana. In 1985, Congress
ordered the chemical weapons destroyed because many seemed obsolete. In 1997, the
United States joined the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits countries from
developing, producing, stockpiling or using chemical weapons.


Then, as U.S. Army spokesperson Terry Arthur explains, terrorists slammed planes into
the World Trade Center towers:


“After September 11th, 2001, because the public suddenly became aware of the possibility
for terrorism here in the United States, folks living near the stockpiles became acutely
aware of that. And the army began to look at ways to accelerate destruction of the
stockpiles.”


The Army is planning to burn some of its chemical weapons in incinerators. The Nerve
Agent VX that’s stored in Newport, Indiana will be destroyed through a neutralization
process. That’s a process that makes the nerve agent no more harmful than a household
drain cleaner.


(Ambient sound fade up)


The watered-down version of the nerve agent is called hydrolysate. It will be shipped by
tanker truck to Perma-Fix Environmental Services, a company in Dayton, Ohio. It’s a
company that usually handles industrial wastes and used oils.


“If you get your oil changed anywhere at a service station near the Dayton, Ohio area,
chances are, the used oil from your vehicle ends up here.”


That’s company Vice President Tom Trebonik. He says the hydrolysate will, simply put,
be broken down by a natural process. It will be eaten by microscopic bugs. And then it
breaks down even more into a form that will be pumped into the sewer system.


But, once word of a “nerve agent” coming to town spread around the small, poor
neighborhood near the plant, environmentalists began working with residents to voice
opposition to its disposal. They tacked up signs in the local supermarket and carry-out
that read “Deadly VX Nerve Agent” is coming to the neighborhood.


(Nat sound)


Martha Chatterton is a young mother of one with another child on the way. She lives in a
small house in a decaying area. Her husband fixes cars in the garage out back. They’re
glued to the news on CNN about heightened terror alerts. They know terrorist attacks are
a possibility. But they don’t want a problem from Indiana shipped to their backyard.


Chatterton is worried about the health effects of living near a plant that deals with such
industrial wastes. She says some days the air is orange and smells of a chemical stew.


“Well, last year we did the whole yard with roses and different flowers, and about a week
after we planted them, all of them died. So there’s got… there’s something wrong with
the ground here, because when I dug the hole for the rose tree, it smelled like gas fumes.”


Chatterton fears Perma-Fix won’t be able to properly handle the hydrolysate. The
company was cited in 2001 for odor violation but has since installed equipment to solve
the problem. Beyond that, the U.S. EPA and the Army see no reason why the treated
nerve agent can’t be trucked into town. Again, Army spokesperson Terry Arthur:


“We understand the concern of the public because it’s derived from a chemical agent.
What we want them to understand is that we have truckers who will be dedicated and
trained specifically for hauling this product and getting it across the state line to the Ohio
facility, where experts have been working with this kind of material for years.”


With the threat of terrorism, there’s little that’s likely to slow the pace of the destruction
of the nerve agent. The risks of leaving it intact seem greater than the risks associated
with destroying it.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.

Enviro Group Calls for Drilling Ban

An environmental group is calling on Great Lakes states to ban drilling for oil and gas under Lake Erie. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:

Transcript

An environmental group is calling on Great Lakes states to ban drilling for
oil and gas under Lake Erie. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie
Walston reports:


At least four drilling companies have tried to gain access to oil and gas
deposits under Lake Erie since 1998. That’s according to a study by the Ohio
Public Interest Research Group. The group found a significant amount of
cooperation between the Council of Great Lakes Governors in considering
allowing companies access to the lake. Bryan Clark wrote the report for the interest
group. He says there are a number of problems associated with drilling for
oil and gas.


“Drilling operations routinely utilize dangerous toxic chemicals. Many of
these chemicals, such as those found in drilling mud, can cause problems as
diverse as wildlife cancers, developmental disorders, and shortened life
spans.”


Ohio governor Bob Taft has stated he will sign an executive order banning
drilling under Ohio’s part of Lake Erie. The state of Michigan recently voted to ban
new drilling. Clark says New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana need to
consider a drilling ban as well.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.

States’ Air Quality Rules Tough Enough?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved rules to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions in the Midwest. Environmentalists say in some states the rules aren’t strong enough. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:

Transcript

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved rules to
reduce nitrogen oxide emissions in the Midwest. Environmentalists say in
some states the rules aren’t strong enough. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:


Ohio is one of the last of the states in the Midwest to submit rules that
would curb nitrogen oxide emissions. The state’s plan would cut harmful NOx
emissions from power plants and other coal-burning boilers by 120-thousand tons
annually starting in 2004. NOx is blamed for causing smog on hot days.


Environmentalists say the new rules are a positive step… but Ohio should be
one of the first states to cut back emissions year-round, not just during summer
months, as the Ohio plan proposes.


Michael Shore is with the New York-based group Environmental Defense.


“The federal government is really failing to protect our air quality.
So the responsibility is really falling to our states at this point.”


Shore says if Ohio takes action to control NOx emissions year-round,
a domino effect will be created, encouraging other states to follow its example.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.

Biotech Companies Agree to Regional Moratorium

Several biotech companies have agreed not to grow genetically modified crops in Corn Belt states, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, parts of Kentucky, parts of Nebraska, and Minnesota. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:

Transcript

Several biotech companies have agreed not to grow genetically modified crops in Corn
Belt states, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, parts of Kentucky, parts of
Nebraska, and Minnesota. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:


Twelve biotech companies including Monsanto and Dow agreed to the moratorium. In
states where the corn might contaminate nearby fields planted with crops for human
consumption.


Lisa dry is with the Biotechnology Industry Organization in Washington, D.C.
She says the companies won’t grow corn and safflower used for medicines.


“This is pharmaceutical production, it is not agricultural or food production. We are
taking every single possible precaution to make sure that it stays in its intended use
channel and does not end up in the food or feed.”


Dry says commercial grocers, exporters, and food processors have been concerned about
the Starlink scandal of 2000, when genetically modified corn approved for animal feed
turned up in 300 varieties of taco shells, tostadas and chips. The biotech companies say
they will grow crops in non-traditional areas such as Hawaii, Arizona, and Puerto Rico.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.

STUDY SAYS REGION’S PRIME FARMLAND AT RISK

A new study shows prime farmland in the Great Lakes region is being lost to development. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:

Transcript

A new study shows prime farmland in the Great Lakes region is
being lost to development. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Natalie Walston reports:


The study by the American Farmland Trust ranks Great lakes states at the top of a list of
states with the most rapidly disappearing prime farmland. It says between 1992 and 1997
more than 6-million acres of land nationwide ripe for growing fruits and vegetables were
paved over. Bob Wagner speaks for the non-profit group. He says one problem is the
acreage per person in a housing development has almost doubled in the past 20 years.


“That’s more land that’s needed for each household and we need to get a handle on those
kind of sprawling, fragmented development patterns.”


Wagner says Ohio ranks second in the nation for the amount of farm land lost during the
time period that was studied, while Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New
York state are listed among the top twenty states losing land to urban sprawl.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.

States Tackle Power Plant Emissions

In December of 2000, several states (including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio) failed to submit new air pollution rules to the U.S. EPA. To avoid penalties, the EPA gave the states more time to submit the new rules. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports on one state that just beat the new deadline:

Transcript

In December of 2000, several states (including Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, and Ohio) failed to submit new air pollution rules to the U.S.
EPA. To avoid penalties, the EPA gave the states
more time to submit
the new rules. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports
on one state that just beat the new deadline:

The U.S. EPA is requiring the states to reduce nitrogen oxide, or NOx
emissions from power plants by 70 percent. The agency says Ohio releases more NOx emissions than any other state.

The country’s largest coal burning power plant is in southeast Ohio. It’s owned by American Electric Power. Company spokesman Tom Ayres says most power plants began working to curb emissions in 1997 after a change in the federal clean air act.

“AEP is involved in an expenditure program totaling approximately 1.6 billion dollars to install technology called selective catalytic reduction, or SCR, to capture emissions of NOx.”

AEP ran into trouble with this new technology at its Cheshire, Ohio plant.

A chemical reaction created an excess of sulfuric acid … which turned the
air blue. Many power plants plan to install or have installed similar systems.
But so far, power companies say they’ve avoided similar problems.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.

Prosecutor Wins Whistleblower Award

A federal prosecutor and environmental-crimes whistleblower is declaring victory over the Department of Justice. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:

Transcript

A federal prosecutor and environmental-crimes whistleblower is declaring
victory over the Department of Justice. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Natalie Walston reports:


Greg Sassae is an assistant U.S. Attorney in Cleveland.


He says his bosses retaliated against him for his investigation of alleged
environmental crimes at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.


Sasse says airport officials wanted to expand on nearly 40-acres once used
by NASA.


But … he says the land is contaminated with a chemical stew of rocket and
jet fuels, radioactive and nuclear wastes, and heavy metals.


Sasse says he was suspended for a week and denied a raise because of his
investigations.


A U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judge has awarded Sasse
200-thousand dollars in punitive damages.


The Department of Justice is appealing the ruling.


Jeff Ruch of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility calls the
decision a landmark because it raises the question of whether a prosecutor
can be a whistleblower.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.