New Air Pollution Rules

  • New rules for sulfur dioxide pollution.(Photo courtesy of the USDOE)

The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized new health standards for one kind of air pollution. Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized new health standard for one kind of air pollution. Lester Graham reports:

In 1998 the American Lung Association sued the EPA to prod the agency to further reduce air pollutants that cause health problems. Among the pollutants was sulfur dioxide—known for causing acid rain. The primary sources of the pollutant are coal-burning power plants and other industrial plants. Sulfur dioxide emissions are capped at yearly limits, but this new rule also restricts short spikes in the emissions. Deborah Shprentz is a consultant to the American Lung Association. She says this new rule is a good first step to reduce the pollution.

“To protect the health of people, especially those with asthma and other respiratory conditions from breathing these short-term bursts of sulfur dioxide that can make them sick and send them to the hospital and even contribute to premature death.”

States will have a couple of years to comply with the new rule, but if it were put in place today, a projected 60 counties, mostly in the eastern half of the nation, would be out of compliance.

For the Environment Report, I’m Lester Graham.

Does Dirt Makes Us Smarter?

  • Researchers have a scientific reason for the value of spending more time outdoors. (Photo by Karen Kelly)

Past research has found that bacteria found in dirt can ease allergic reactions, reduce anxiety, and improve a person’s mood. Now, new research finds the bacteria might make us smarter. Mark Brush reports:

Transcript

Past research has found that bacteria found in dirt can ease allergic reactions, reduce anxiety, and improve a person’s mood. Now, new research finds the bacteria might make us smarter. Mark Brush reports:

Researchers fed mice M. Vaccae bacteria and found the mice were twice as fast at navigating a maze.

Dorothy Matthews is an Associate Professor of Biology at Sage College in Troy, New York. She presented her research at a recent meeting of American Society for Microbiology. She says the bacteria are something we used to be exposed to more. Her comments were posted on the Society’s website:

“For most of our history we were hunter gatherers, rooting around in the soil, following the tracks of animals. It’s only been a hundred years or so ago, that we moved into cities and have become disassociated with nature.”

Researchers have found that M. Vaccae found in dirt can boost serotonin levels in the brains’ of the mice they studied. Serotonin can affect mood, appetite, memory and learning.

For the Environment Report, I’m Mark Brush.

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Sunscreen Safety Questioned

  • Many chemicals in sunscreens have not been tested for safety. (Photo courtesy of U.S. General Services Administration).

An environmental group is critical of the claims by many sunscreen manufacturers. They’re calling for better regulation of the industry by the government. Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

An environmental group is critical of the claims by many sunscreen manufacturers. They’re calling for better regulation of the industry by the government. Lester Graham reports:

Health experts say sunscreen should not be your first line of defense for protection from the sun. They recommend protective clothing and staying in the shade.

Once you’re out in the sun, though, health experts say sunscreen is a must.

But a new study by the Environmental Working Group found a lot of problems with sunscreens. The study says many contain suspect chemicals, some known as hormone disruptors. And Sonya Lunders says her group is skeptical about sunscreens that claim SPF protection of 50 and as high as 100.

“And we know that those products don’t offer a similar amount of protection from the sun-damaging UVA rays.”

Giving users a false sense of security about protection from sun damage.
Of the hundreds of sunscreens on the market, the group only recommends 39 of them on its website.

It blames the FDA for allowing a lot of confusing claims about sunscreens.

For the Environment Report, I’m Lester Graham

Saving Rainforests Helps U.S. Farmers

  • The report says U.S. farmers could see hundreds of billions of dollars in new revenue if rainforests are kept intact. (Photo courtesy of the USDOE)

A new report says stopping deforestation in the rainforests will benefit farms in the U.S. Mark Brush reports, it calls for money to be set aside to pay for rainforest conservation:

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New Smokestack Rules

  • The EPA is expected to release new rules aimed at cleaning up sulfur dioxide pollution. (Photo courtesy of NASA)

This week, the U-S Environmental Protection Agency will release much-anticipated new rules limiting sulfur dioxide in the air. As Tanya Ott reports, it’s almost certain to result in years of legal battles:

Transcript

This week, the U-S Environmental Protection Agency will release much-anticipated new rules limiting sulfur dioxide in the air. As Tanya Ott reports, it’s almost certain to result in years of legal battles:

When sulfur dioxide spews from smoke stacks and diesel engines it can cause
acid rain, but that’s just the first problem.

“It can cause asthma attacks in children. It can send people to hospital emergency rooms. It can even convert to other chemicals in the air that lead to premature death.”

Frank O’Donnell is president of the non-profit environmental group Clean Air Watch. He says existing rules, which have been around since the 1970s, have a loophole that allows high levels of sulfur dioxide over short periods of time. The new EPA rules will likely close that loophole and significantly restrict the amount allowed into the air.

The oil industry and coal-burning power plants have lobbied against the new rules. They don’t want to pay the billions of dollars it will cost to clean up their smoke stacks.

For The Environment Report, I’m Tanya Ott.

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Coal Power Plants Go Up in Smoke

  • Ted Nace says a lot of the slow down in building coal-burning power plants is driven by economics, but also a lot of it’s still being driven by climate concerns. (Photo courtesy of NREL/Warren Gretz)

Many of the plans to build new coal-burning power plants have gone up in smoke. In early 2007, the Department of Energy noted there were 151 coal-fired electric generators on the drawing board. Lester Graham reports since then… nearly a hundred of them have been canceled—or shelved.

Transcript

Many of the plans to build new coal-burning power plants have gone up in smoke. In early 2007, the Department of Energy noted there were 151 coal-fired electric generators on the drawing board. Lester Graham reports since then… nearly a hundred of them have been canceled—or shelved.

There are several reasons. The recession has tightened credit for building coal-fired power plants. Electricity demand has flattened- partly due to the economy—partly to better efficiency in businesses and homes. Lawsuits blocked some of the coal-burning plants. And some states are requiring power companies to compare the costs of burning fossil fuels to using alternatives such as wind because of concerns about climate change.

Ted Nace is with the environmental advocacy group CoalSwarm. He says he thinks this slow down in building coal-burning power plants is permanent…

“It’s a pretty profound shift in the American economy. And a lot of it’s being driven by economics, but also a lot of it’s still being driven by climate concerns.”

Some new coal-burning power plants did go online last year… but in real terms there was just as much new wind power installed.

For The Environment Report, I’m Lester Graham.

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Safety Awards for Big Polluters

  • Some say that workplace safety awards promote complacency. (Photo courtesy of the NIEHS/DOE)

The companies associated with the two biggest accidents this year both recently got safety awards from the government. Lester Graham reports.

Transcript

The companies associated with the two biggest accidents this year both recently got safety awards from the government. Lester Graham reports.

The Mineral Management Service announced BP was a finalist for a safety award in May. Then, the Deepwater Horizon exploded, killed eleven men, and spilled –who knows how much– oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration gave the coal company Massey Energy three safety awards last year. Then the Upper Big Branch Mine exploded. 29 miners died.

In an opinion piece in The Hill , The President of the Steelworkers union, Leo Gerard, argued those awards promote complacency– a sort of ‘see we’re already doing it.’

David Uhlmann is a law professor at the University of Michigan. He served for seven years as Chief of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section. He says awards can prod companies to do better… but…

“There’s always going to be some companies who cut corners, who put profits before safety, who put profits before their obligations to protect the environment.”

BP was to get its award in May. The safety awards ceremonies were postponed.

For The Environment Report, I’m Lester Graham.

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Challenging the Drilling Ban in Shallow Waters

  • The drillers say there’s a big difference between BP’s Deepwater Horizon, drilling at 5000 feet, and the rigs they operate in water less than a thousand feet. (Photo courtesy of Jann CC-BY)

Some smaller companies want to keep drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Lester Graham reports… a group called the Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition says its members’ rigs are different than the BP operation that’s polluting the Gulf.

Transcript

Some smaller companies want to keep drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Lester Graham reports… a group called the Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition says its members’ rigs are different than the BP operation that’s polluting the Gulf.

The drillers want the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to lift the moratorium on drilling in the shallow waters. In an article for Greenwire, Mike Soraghan reports… they’re getting support in letters from members of Congress.

“They’ve got about ten senators that have signed on and about 50 House members, including Ken Salazar’s brother who’s a member of Congress from Colorado, John Salazar.”

The drillers say there’s a big difference between BP’s Deepwater Horizon, drilling at 5000 feet… and the rigs they operate in water less than a thousand feet.

“They would argue that what you’ve heard in the past few weeks from BP officials is, you know, if this was in 200 feet of water, we’ve could have dealt with it a long time ago.”

Interior Secretary Salazar is to send the White House a report on the drilling moratorium by this Friday – the same day President Obama will be visiting Louisiana.

For The Environment Report, I’m Lester Graham.

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EPA’s Report on PBDEs

  • The EPA report says the findings of many studies raise particular concerns about the health risks to children. (Photo courtesy of Stephen Cummings)

A new report from the Environmental Protection Agency links health problems to flame retardants. Lester Graham reports the EPA finds children are most at risk.

Transcript

A new report from the Environmental Protection Agency links health problems to flame retardants. Lester Graham reports the EPA finds children are most at risk.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, are flame retardant chemicals used in all kinds of household consumer products. Sofas, computers, babies’ funiture. The report finds kids are getting a higher dose of PBDEs. That’s bad because the chemicals have been linked to many different developmental and reproductive health problems.

Arlene Blum is a chemist at the University of California Berkeley. She says the report notes PBDEs migrate from foams and plastics into household dust.

“Eighty to ninety percent of the human dose is from dust. So, toddlers, you know, they crawl in the dust, put their hands in their mouths. So, that’s why toddlers have such a high level at such a vulnerable time.”

The EPA report says the findings of many studies raise particular concerns about the health risks to children.

For The Environment Report, I’m Lester Graham.

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EPA Coal Ash Plan Criticized

  • The new coal ash clean-up project will take four years and cost 268-million dollars. (Photo courtesy of Brian Stansberry)

More than a year ago – when an earthen wall broke at a power plant in Tennessee, 500-million gallons of toxic coal ash and water were spilled. If you compare it to other environmental tragedies – it was 50 times bigger than the Exxon Valdez spill. Half of the coal ash spill’s been cleaned up, but crews are still working to get the rest of it. And as Tanya Ott reports there are concerns about a new plan to deal with the ash:

Transcript

More than a year ago – when an earthen wall broke at a power plant in Tennessee – 500-million gallons of toxic coal ash and water were spilled. If you compare it to other environmental tragedies – it was 50 times bigger than the Exxon Valdez spill. Half of the coal ash spill’s been cleaned up, but crews are still working to get the rest of it. And as Tanya Ott reports there are concerns about a new plan to deal with the ash:

The plan comes from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Clean-up crews would scoop up the ash and put it in the same pit it came from… but the pit’s been reinforced with concrete. What the plan doesn’t call for, though, is a liner to make sure no metals leach into groundwater. Tennessee law and even the EPA’s new proposed coal ash rules require liners.

Craig Zeller is the project manager for the EPA. He says because this pit isn’t new – or expanding – it doesn’t have to comply with the rules. Plus, he says, water testing in the area shows there’s no problem with leaching.

“If, in the future it does show that we need to add a groundwater mediation piece to this, we will!”

Adding a liner after-the-fact could be difficult and expensive. The new clean-up project will take four years and cost 268-million dollars.

For The Environment Report, I’m Tanya Ott.

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