A government watchdog office has found the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can’t tell whether water systems have done what they can to eliminate lead contamination in drinking water. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
A government watchdog office has found the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency can’t tell whether water systems have done what they
can to eliminate lead contamination in drinking water. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports…
Since 1988, the Lead Contamination Control Act has required testing for
lead in the water. Lead contamination can cause mental retardation
among young children if they’re exposed to the contaminant at high enough
levels.
The Government Accountability Office found the EPA doesn’t know
whether the water is being tested. That’s because 70-percent of the
community water systems in the nation are not filing required reports.
Based on the limited data that have come in, it also appears that very few
schools and childcare facilities have tested their water for lead. The water
needs to be tested at the faucet because the plumbing in homes and schools might
be responsible for high lead levels.
The EPA acknowledges it needs to press the states to more rigorously
test for lead in drinking water and file the reports.
Many people do not know what to do with old computers and
equipment, so they end up in the trash.
Electronic waste can potentially contain harmful chemicals like
lead, mercury, and cadmium. Recycling computers and other electronics is a
way to help the environment.
If you bought a new computer over the holidays, there are plenty of places to drop off your household’s old computer. But to prevent more of the old monitors, laptops and other items from winding up in landfills, some Midwest states are looking to make sure computer makers get involved in recycling their products. One of the few manufacturers that already helps re-use old computer parts is Texas-based Dell, Incorporated. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach went to a Dell-sponsored recycling center and has this
report:
Transcript
If you bought a new computer over the holidays, there are plenty of
places to drop off your household’s old computer, but to prevent more
of the old monitors, laptops and other items from winding up in
landfills, some Midwest states are looking to make sure computer
makers get involved in recycling their products. One of the few
manufacturers that already helps re-use old computer parts is
Texas-based Dell, Incorporated. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Chuck Quirmbach went to a Dell-sponsored recycling center and has this
report:
About a year ago, Dell helped set up and publicize a computer
recycling plant at a Goodwill Industries facility in Dell’s home city
of Austin.
(Sound of clunking)
Goodwill employees and volunteers sort through the hundreds of
boxes of computers and computer parts that are dropped off – at no
charge to the consumer – at the site. Newer computers are set aside
for repairs, and hard drive memories are erased. Older computers go
to a bench where workers like Paul take apart (or demanufacture)
them.
“I’m taking apart all the useable parts. Motherboard, power sources,
cards, ports, metal goes into bins, plastic goes into bins for
recycling and what not.”
(Sound of ambience switch)
Goodwill sells the reusable parts at its retail store elsewhere in the
building. Used LCD monitors, for example, go for as low as twenty
dollars.
Manager Christine Banks says some of the equipment is under
a 30-day Goodwill warranty. Other parts can be exchanged if the
customer isn’t satisfied. Banks says Goodwill is happy this computer-
recycling program makes a profit.
“Our operation does. However, there are 7 or 8 other Goodwills
throughout the country that do this that barely break even. We’re just
fortunate we have higher tech donations, a pool of employees with
more technology, it’s very tricky.”
Some states charge high disposal costs for unwanted computer parts,
which can contain potentially harmful chemicals. Those high costs can
make it difficult for a recycling program to get off the ground, but
environmental groups say the fast-growing pile of circuit boards,
monitors, and plastic parts can leach poisons like lead, mercury, and
cadmium into the environment.
They say small-scale projects like the one in Austin have to be part of a
broader effort to keep electronic waste out of the nation’s landfills. That
effort could include government mandates forcing manufacturers to
safely dispose of old products.
Robin Schneider is with the Austin office of the National Computer
Takeback Campaign.
“So, to really deal with the environmental problems of millions of
pounds of toxins, we’re gonna need something bigger than this. This is a
piece of it…and gonna need lot of pieces of it.”
Schneider says she’s encouraged that some Midwest states are
looking into manufacturer takeback programs. She acknowledges that
recycling may drive up the cost of new computers, but she also says
manufacturers may start redesigning computers so that it’s more
profitable for the companies to take them back.
Ruddiman Pond has been listed as a Great Lakes
'Area of Concern' for more than 18 years. (Photo by Michael Leland).
The end process - the polluted muck from Ruddiman Pond is treated and then taken to a landfill. (Photo by Michael Leland)
This dredge is scooping up decades worth of industrial pollution from Ruddiman Pond near Muskegon, MI. (Photo by Michael Leland)
For decades, heavy industries made the Great Lakes a center of manufacturing
and employment for the United States. Those factories also left polluted waters
in many areas. In 2002, Congress passed and President Bush signed legislation
that promised to clean the Lakes’ pollution hot spots, known as Areas of Concern.
So far, work has only begun at three of those sites. Reporter Michael Leland
visited one of them:
Transcript
We’re continuing our series Ten Threats to the Great Lakes. Our guide
in the series, Lester Graham, says one of the threats identified by experts
across the region is known as “Areas of Concern.”
For decades, heavy industries made the Great Lakes a center of manufacturing
and employment for the United States. Those factories also left polluted waters
in many areas. In 2002, Congress passed and President Bush signed legislation
that promised to clean the Lakes’ pollution hot spots, known as Areas of Concern.
So far, work has only begun at three of those sites. Reporter Michael Leland
visited one of them:
Picture what you might think one of these heavily polluted sites looks like.
Did you think of a big park in a quiet neighborhood, with lots of tall
trees, and a bandstand next to a lagoon? No? Well, welcome to McGraft Park
in Muskegon, Michigan, the home of Ruddiman Pond, one of the most polluted
spots in the Great Lakes.
“This little lagoon here is a sediment basin. It is a sediment trap.”
Rick Rideske is a research scientist at the Annis Water Resource Institute
in Muskegon. It studies the quality of Michigan’s lakes and rivers.
“All of the contaminated sediment from the upper part of the watershed has made
its way down here and is being deposited. They are taking out, in some places,
15 feet of contaminated sediment.”
Beginning in the 1930’s, heavy industries began setting up shop along
Ruddiman Creek, a few miles from the park. Many dumped their toxic wastes
into nearby storm sewers, which emptied into the creek, and flowed toward
Ruddiman Pond. Toxic heavy metals like chromium and lead, along with
hazardous chemicals like PCB’s, settled to the bottom. It’s been a long
time since the pond has been safe for swimming.
Rideske points to a yellow sign nailed to a tree next to the pond. It says,
“No entry. Hazardous substances.”
“If you look at that sign over there, that sign was put up in maybe 1997, 98.
You can see the tree has grown over the sign.”
But beyond that sign is some hope for Ruddiman Creek and Pond. Workers are
scooping toxic mud from the bottom of the lagoon. The material is trucked
to a landfill licensed to receive toxic stuff like this. The project should
be finished by next summer.
Ruddiman Creek and Pond make up one of 43 pollution hot spots in the Great
Lakes that the U.S. and Canada call Areas of Concern. So far, two in Canada
have been cleaned up. Ruddiman Creek is one of only three in the U.S. being
cleaned.
David Ullirch would like to see that work move a lot faster. He directs the Great
Lakes Initiative. It’s a group of mayors and other officials from the U.S. and
Canada that works to preserve the Lakes.
“This is a serious problem, not only in terms of a threat to the natural environment,
there are public health issues associated with them and often, even worse, is that
they are a stigma to those areas, whether it is Waukegan Harbor, or Gary, Indiana, or
Ashtabula Harbor, these are things that these cities have had to live with for
years, and it’s time to get them cleaned up and get on with it.”
The government is supposed to provide 270-million dollars over five years to
clean up the Areas of Concern in the United States, but so far, congress
has appropriated only about 35-million dollars. That relatively small amount
of cash has limited the number of cleanups that can be started, and it frustrates
Dennis Schornack. He’s the U.S. chairman of the International Joint Commission.
It’s a watchdog group that monitors the water quality treaty between the U.S. and
Canada.
“These areas were identified back in 1987, and only two, both of which are in Canada,
have been delisted since that time. At that pace of progress, it will be 400 years
before we are so-called clean, and I think that is very disappointing.”
In the case of Ruddiman Creek, they’re glad at least one site is being cleaned up.
Rick Rideske of the Annis Institute says the fact that it’s in a neighborhood park
played a big role in attracting the attention, and government cash needed to clean
it up.
“It really took the local residents, public advisory council, we have a Ruddiman
Creek Task Force, which is made of local people from this neighborhood. They called
frequently state representatives, federal representatives. Getting this site on the
priority list was a community effort for a lot of people.”
Rideske and people who live near McGraft Park are looking forward to celebrating a
small victory in the fight to restore the Great Lakes, and they’re looking forward to
taking down that yellow warning sign next year.
In 1978, the U.S. banned lead-based paint because kids
exposed to it developed learning disabilities. But lead paint remains in some older homes, and rules to deal with it have been in limbo for 13 years. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Shawn Allee reports why that might change soon:
Transcript
In 1978, the U.S. banned lead-based paint because kids exposed to it developed learning
disabilities, but lead paint remains in some older homes, and rules to deal with it have
been in limbo for thirteen years. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Shawn Allee
reports why that might change soon:
Home rehab contractors sometimes dislodge old lead-based paint. The debris and dust
threaten kids. So, Congress asked the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate rehab
work. That was in 1992, but there are still no rules.
Recently, though, Illinois Senator Barack Obama challenged the EPA. He said he’d
block a key EPA staff appointment until the agency proposed regulations. Now, the
EPA’s promised a draft by year’s end, and that’s welcome news to children’s advocates, but some of them like Anita Weinberg of
Lead-Safe Illinois are wary.
“We want to make sure that they are substantive and that they’re going to have an impact.
So it’s great to have regs being drafted, but we don’t yet know what the content is going to be.”
It’s unclear whether Congress will approve any lead paint rules at all. They might
hesitate, because new regulations could increase home repair costs.
A federal judge in Missouri says the EPA’s standards for lead pollution are out of date. And he’s given the agency about two months to figure out how much lead is too much. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Matt Sepic
reports:
Transcript
A federal judge in Missouri says the EPA’s standards for lead pollution are out of date, and he’s given the agency about two months to figure out how much lead is too much. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Matt Sepic reports:
Under federal law, the EPA is supposed to review lead standards every five years, but Judge Richard Webber said the agency “blatantly disregarded Congress’ mandate.”
Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon filed the suit on behalf of a couple from Herculaneum, Missouri, who claim their son was poisoned by a nearby lead smelter. Nixon says the EPA last changed its airborne lead rules fifteen years ago.
“EPA sets what’s allowable as far as lead in the air. We think science has moved forward over the years to show that is very dangerous both for young kids in older housing as well as around smelters and lead operations.”
An EPA spokeswoman says the agency did not ignore the issue, but instead of updating emissions standards, regulators decided instead to focus on specific sources of lead pollution.
Maria Graziani (in green) teaches neighborhood kids about farming. (Photo by Lisa Ann Pinkerton)
Zucchini and corn from the Healcrest Urban Community farm. (Photo by Lisa Ann Pinkerton)
An abandoned garage still sits on the property where Maria Graziani and other members of Healcrest are trying to redevelop the land. (Photo by Lisa Ann Pinkerton)
It can take years for city government to demolish or develop abandoned property. In one urban neighborhood, a group of neighbors has found a new way to reclaim land that has been left behind. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lisa Ann Pinkerton has their story:
Transcript
It can take years for city government to demolish or develop
abandoned property. In one urban neighborhood, a group of neighbors has
found a new way to reclaim land that has been left behind. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Lisa Ann Pinkerton has their story:
Maria Graziani’s house was built on a hillside. At the top of the hill, people have dumped old refrigerators, broken air conditioners, dried up paint cans, worn out tires… lots and lots of junk on the abandoned property. Last year she brought her neighbors and the city together to clean up the mess. This year, she’s farming it.
(Sound of rusty metal squeaking)
On her front porch, she lifts a manual reel mower onto her shoulder to carry to the top of the hill. She’s made this trip so many times before, she’s carved a path through the weeds. On her way, she has to step over and around various pieces of rusted junk.
“There’s like a wooded area that’s owned by the city that, I guess, used to be people’s backyards because there’s trash and cars up here.”
Graziani’s not your typical urban developer. Her orange knitted headband keeps her brown dreadlocks at bay, her paint-splattered overalls are ripped, and her pockets are stuffed with tools. At the top of the hill, she leans on her knees to catch her breath. Ahead of her, is a field covered by invasive knotweed.
“This is where the farm property starts.”
Despite field’s condition, it has a breathtaking view. Nearly the entire Pittsburgh skyline is framed by trees and lit by a gold setting sun.
“It’s one point seven acres, nineteen lots that the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the city own.”
Graziani formed a non-profit organization to get foundation money to pay for the block and the back taxes. In five years, it will all belong to The Healcreast Urban Community Farm.
The farm doesn’t have a lot of rules. If you help out, you can have some food.
If you’re needy, there’s food available for the asking. Besides the theft of the farm’s tomato plants, Graziani says it works pretty well.
As the sun falls and the evening cools off, another workday begins.
Volunteers trudge up the hill from every conceivable direction.
(Sound of shovels, talking)
The volunteers say once they heard about the urban farm they wanted to help. Even if they weren’t sure how.
VOLUNTEER 1: “I know close to nothing about farming, so I just need to learn – I need to dig in and learn how to do it.”
VOLUNTEER 2: “I work for the Bloomfield Garfield Corporation So that’s how I learned about this; it’s a small office.”
VOLUNTEER 3: “It seemed fairly absurd at first, but it makes a whole lot of sense when you think about it, with all the vacant spaces in town that aren’t being used.”
Everyone picks a spot and starts digging. Immediately they’ve got a problem: they’ve hit concrete. It’s the foundation of a demolished house. That’s only one of the obstacles the Healcrest farmers have faced. The volunteers had an easy time with their first garden. Not much junk was dumped in that area. But the rest of the property is contaminated with arsenic and lead, but Graziani has a plan.
“I would like to till it and put in some dwarf sunflowers. Which I want to use for phyto-remediation.”
The sunflowers will draw up the contaminants into their roots. In the fall, farmers will pull up the plants – roots and all – and dump them at a hazardous waste facility.
(Sound of rain)
Two days later it’s another workday. And it’s raining. But the Healcreast farmers hardly notice.
Because they uncovered the foundation of an old house, they’ve decided to build raised beds.
They layer peat moss, compost, and topsoil into mounds. And even though it’s raining the sun breaks through for a moment.
“And I think that I see it; it’s right there! So we’ve got a rainbow, just kind of right over the hill, it’s quite gorgeous.”
As summer has progressed, all kinds of vegetables are growing strong: peppers, collard greens, corn, squash. With a grant from the Health Department, Graziani can pay junior high school students a little bit of cash to help her once a week. They’re kids from the neighborhood, who’ve only known the hilltop as a dump. Soon, Graziani, the kids, and the volunteers, will have a harvest on the hilltop.
Federal plans to reduce exposure to lead and copper in drinking water could mean more monitoring of public water supplies. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Transcript
Federal plans to reduce exposure to lead and copper in drinking water could mean more
monitoring of water from public water supplies. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck
Quirmbach reports:
The U.S. EPA says a lead contamination problem in the District of Columbia will prompt several
changes to federal rules on lead and copper in the nation’s drinking water supply. David Denig-
Chakroff is on a committee of the American Water Works Association that looks at lead
contamination. He says one of the biggest changes might be more monitoring of water when
local suppliers change water sources or the treatment process.
“They really need to go back and make sure that’s not changing the corrosivity of the water and
potentially increasing lead or copper corrosion.”
More corrosion from the pipes can lead to more lead and copper coming out of the tap. Lead can
build up in the brain, kidneys and red blood cells. The greatest risk is to young children and
pregnant women. The EPA says its formal proposals for updating the lead and copper rule will
be ready next year.
Ontario has proposed a new recycling plan for electronic waste in an effort to conserve materials and reduce pollution. (Photo by Eylem
Culculoglu)
Old computers, televisions and stereos may soon be
found in recycling bins across Ontario. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
Transcript
Old computers, televisions and stereos might soon be found in recycling
bins across Ontario. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
Last year, 157 thousand tonnes of electronic waste ended up in Canadian
landfills.
The Ontario government plans to send that waste to recycling plants instead.
It will require electronics manufacturers to devise a recycling plan for their
own products – things like CD players, microwaves and even power tools – and then
help pay for it. John Steele is a spokesman for the Ontario environment ministry.
“Our goal is to reduce the amount of electronic waste that enters a landfill site.
Once something enters a landfill site, for all intents and purposes, it can not be
recycled or reused. It’s a waste of a resource as far as the Ministry of the Environment
is concerned.”
It’s also a source of pollution. Many electronics contain toxins like lead and mercury.
Steele says the plan will be modelled after recycling agreements the province already has
with newspaper, soft drink and pizza box manufacturers.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.
Federal officials are issuing a recall of toy jewelry sold in vending machines around the country. They fear the cheap jewelry could be putting children’s health in danger. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has details:
Transcript
Federal officials are issuing a recall of toy jewelry sold in vending machines around the country.
They fear the cheap jewelry could be putting children’s health in danger. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Mark Brush reports:
The toy jewelry being recalled includes things such as metal rings, necklaces, bracelets, and
pendants. The U-S Consumer Product Safety Commission says about half of the jewelry found in
these gumball and vending machines contains high amounts lead. Children can become exposed
to the lead by putting the bracelets and pendants in their mouths, or by accidentally swallowing
them.
Scott Wolfson is with the U-S Consumer Product Safety Commission. He says the companies who
imported the toy jewelry failed in their testing of the products:
“Federal standards say there should be no accessible lead in children’s products, and that was not
done in this case. The quality assurance was not done, so it made it’s way out there into the
vending machines.”
Wolfson says the jewelry being recalled has been sold over the last two years. He urges parents
to look for the jewelry in their homes, and, if any is found, to throw it out. Studies have found that
even small amounts of lead exposure can lead to permanent developmental problems in children.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Mark Brush.
You can see photos of the jewelry and find out more information recall by visiting the website www.toyjewelryrecall.com, or by calling the Toy Jewelry Recall Hotline at (800) 441-4234.
The federal government is getting ready to approve new types of non-toxic ammunition for shooting ducks and geese… but the government isn’t even thinking about tackling a related issue. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
The federal government is getting ready to approve new types of non-toxic ammunition for
shooting ducks and geese… but the government isn’t even thinking about tackling a related issue.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in the process of approving three new types of non-toxic
shot for waterfowl hunting. Shotgun shell pellets used to be made of lead. But years of lead
pellets dropping into the wetlands found foraging waterfowl eating the lead and dying. So, lead
shot was banned in 1991. Since then, manufacturers have been looking for new shot formulations
that work well for hunters, but are non-toxic.
Nicholas Throckmorton is with the Fish and Wildlife Service and he says new kinds of shot give
hunters some options.
“Hopefully, late spring, early summer the three companies will be allowed to sell their new shot
formulations.”
While lead shot is banned, the government isn’t doing anything about lead bullets. Rifles still
use lead slugs. Game that is shot, but gets away is usually eaten by predators or scavengers.
Some of the animals, such as the endangered condor, have died from lead poisoning.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
