Water Filter to Reduce Beach Closings?

Beaches throughout the Great Lakes have long been plagued by bacteria that can make people sick. For the first time in the region, researchers will test a filter designed to guard a swimming beach from hazardous bacteria. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Annie MacDowell reports:

Transcript

Beaches throughout the Great Lakes have long been plagued by bacteria that can make people
sick. For the first time in the region, researchers will test a filter designed to guard a swimming
beach from hazardous bacteria. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Annie MacDowell reports:


Next April, the Chicago Park District plans to install and test an eighteen-hundred foot-long
floating filter system. A similar technology was used to protect fish hatcheries during the 1989
Exxon Valdez oil spill. And studies show the system has been successful in decreasing bacteria
levels at New York beaches.


Jim Miner is the Executive Vice-President of Gunderboom Incorperated, the company that makes
the filter. He says the filter will surround the beach like an underwater curtain:


“What is underwater, the fabric curtain, will not be seen by the swimmer and it is a non-intrusive,
fabric-filtered barrier that goes from the surface to the bottom and it’s anchored there and
protected so that only filtered water can get into the swimming area.”


The technology could reduce swimming bans at city beaches.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Annie MacDowell.

Treated Lumber a Health Hazard?

A just-released study by two environmental groups has found high levels of arsenic on the surface of pressure-treated wood products. The Environmental Working Group and the Healthy Building Network tested pressure-treated wood purchased from home improvement stores in 13 cities. In releasing their findings, the groups are calling for a ban on the use of the lumber in construction. Their findings add to the growing concern about the safety of the chemicals used to treat this wood. Those chemicals are now being re-evaluated by both the Canadian and American governments. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports, the two governments are approaching the issue differently:

Transcript

A just released study by two environmental groups has found high levels of arsenic on the surface of pressure-treated wood products. The Environmental Working Group and the Healthy Building Network tested pressure-treated wood purchased from home improvement stores in 13 cities. In releasing their findings, the groups are calling for a ban on the use of the lumber in construction. Their findings add to the growing concern about the safety of the chemicals used to treat this wood. Those chemicals are now being re-evaluated by both the Canadian and American governments. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports, the two governments are approaching the issue differently.


For years, Don Houston at the Canadian Institute of Child Health has been calling for warning labels on pressure-treated wood. The lumber is used in playground structures and picnic tables throughout North America. And it’s treated with a preservative called Chromated Copper Arsenate, which protects the wood from insects and fungi. The preservative is made from arsenic, chromium and copper. And Houston says children who are exposed to the wood may be exposed to those chemicals, as well.


“It’s not just children’s play structures. I’d rather suspect even more problematic is the deck that’s on the back of their house because often times children spend more time there. It’s all sorts of structures that are put in outdoors – decks, balconies, retaining walls; even the telephone pole that might be in a schoolyard might be problematic.”


Houston says the problem arises when arsenic and chromium, which are both carcinogens, remain on the surface of the wood. A study of ten playgrounds conducted by Health Canada in the late 1980’s detected both substances on the surface of play structures made with pressure treated wood. Arsenic and chromium were also found in the nearby soil. Health Canada warns people who work with pressure-treated wood to wear gloves and a mask and to thoroughly wash clothing and exposed skin once they’re finished. The agency also warns against burning pressure treated wood. But Houston says there are still no guidelines for children.


“It doesn’t make a lot of sense for the guy who’s building it to use gloves and then the child ten minutes after it’s built to be walking over it and running on it barefoot and having greater potential health impact from the exposure.”


But scientists at Health Canada say the research findings have been mixed. They point to studies conducted by the U.S. EPA in the late 1980’s that found minimal health risks. Now, fifteen years since they last evaluated these chemicals, both Health Canada and the EPA are taking another look. The update is required by law in both countries. Richard Martin is a toxicologist at Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency. He says the presence of arsenic is not always a cause for concern.


“Although there’s a number of reports out there of arsenic being found in soil, and although they’re useful, arsenic is found in all soil. So we need to go the extra step to determine to what extent there’s potential for exposure to children and that type of thing.”


Martin says his agency is reviewing research to determine the effect of exposure on both adults who work with cca-treated wood and children who play near it. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking the review a step further. Jim Jones, the deputy director of the EPA’s office of pesticide programs, says they’re concentrating on the exposure to children first.


“It was the children’s exposure through cca-treated wood we think are the most important to look at as they’re the group in the population that is likely to have the greatest exposures, just because of the way in which they interact with playground equipment and on decks.”


The EPA also plans to take soil samples near cca-treated wood structures in 75 playgrounds around the United States. And it’s considering a recommendation that people apply sealants to pressure-treated wood in the interim. The EPA’s scientific advisory panel suggested the agency take that measure. The EPA and Health Canada are collaborating on the re-evaluation – sharing their findings and their recommendations. Don Houston of the Canadian Institute of Child Health hopes that will lead to legislation in both countries that will restrict the use of this lumber in places where children play. The EPA and Health Canada are expected to announce their recommendations next spring.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

Epa Limits Pesticide Exposure for Children

The Environmental Protection Agency is increasing restrictions on two pesticides that are used on food children frequently eat. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has this report:

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The Environmental Protection Agency is increasing restrictions on two pesticides that are used on food children frequently eat. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports.


Under recent federal legislation, the E-P-A has been required to review all classes of pesticides and their potential affects on children. That’s because kids are considered to be more vulnerable to any adverse effects than adults. The new restrictions affect two chemicals, azinphos-methyl and phosmet. They’ve been used to ward off insects from certain fruits, nuts, and vegetables for 35 years. But, the E-P-A has stated that azinphos-methyl, which is sold under the trade names of Guthion, A-P-M, and Sniper, poses an unacceptable risk to children six and under. So use of the pesticide is being restricted. Farmers will phase out use or no longer be able to use it on nearly 40 different crops. Phosmet is sold under the trade name Imidan. The EPA is further tightening its use on nine fruits, including apples, grapes, and peaches. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

Smog Reduction Plan in Motion

Great Lakes states are slowly complying with new EPA rules designed to reduce smog. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl explains:

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Great Lakes states are slowly complying with new EPA rules designed to reduce smog. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:


The US EPA is requiring states to reduce emissions of Nitrogen Oxides, a main component in smog and ground level ozone. Coal-fired power plants and industrial boilers are the main producers of the pollutants. John Summerhays is an environmental scientist with the EPA’s Midwest Office. He says the reduction is an attempt to improve public health:


“The smog and ozone can cause a variety of health effects that are principally hard on the lungs. It can contribute to various lung diseases, so this is a big step forward for public health protection.”


Illinois and Indiana recently had their emission reduction plans approved by the Federal Government. Pennsylvania and New York have also been approved. Ohio and Michigan still have yet to submit reduction plans. The deadline for implementing the measures is 2004. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jonathan Ahl.