Toxic chemicals

Department Housing and Urban Development funding will help eliminate lead paint in King County, Spokane, and statewide

May 19, 2009 -- Last week, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced that $6,725,000 has been made available for Washington state by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help eliminate dangerous lead-based paint from low-income homes and protect young children from lead poisoning. This funding was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).    » read more »

May 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) last week announced the release of $7,579,126 to help eliminate dangerous lead-based paint from low-income homes and protect young children from lead poisoning in Connecticut. The funds were released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.    » read more »

Funding will help protect Hoosier children, keep homes safe from lead paint and other hazards

Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today announced that Indiana will receive more than $7.4 million in economic recovery funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to keep Hoosier children safe by removing lead-based paint in homes and preventing other common health hazards.

The City of Gary and Elkhart County will each receive three million dollars in Lead Based Paint Hazard Control grants, a program that safely removes lead-based paint from privately-owned and low-income housing. Lead ingestion poses a serious health risk, including stunted growth and kidney damage, to children under the age of six.    » read more »

Grants to protect children, create healthy housing and create jobs

May 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - Following a tour of the Esperanza Community Housing Corporation in South Central Los Angeles, Vice President Biden today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is making nearly than $100 million in Recovery Act funding available to help eliminate dangerous lead-based paint and other health and safety hazards from low-income homes.

HUD's grants will help 53 local programs in 20 states and the District of Columbia to protect young children from lead poisoning and create jobs. To view a summary of local programs funded through the Recovery Act, visit HUD's website.    » read more »

Michigan will receive the largest amount of new grant money which will create jobs, revitalize communities

Lansing, MI – May 7, 2009 -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced today the availability of an estimated $10.3 million in grants bolstered by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to help communities in Michigan clean up sites known as "brownfields" which may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants.    » read more »

Issues Executive Order Establishing Comprehensive Oversight and Transparency

May 7, 2009 --
TRENTON – New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine today signed legislation to reform the clean-up of contaminated sites. The Governor also issued an Executive Order to provide strong oversight, accountability and transparency to the new law.    » read more »

New Analysis Ranks "Filthy 15" States by Coal Ash Produced by Proposed Plants

Washington, D.C. (March 12, 2009) -- Proposed coal plants across the United States would produce nearly 18 million tons of dangerous waste, including toxic metals, each year. Nearly 130 million tons of coal waste from existing plants is being produced annually, most of which is disposed of in largely unregulated landfills, ponds and other locations, posing serious public health and environmental risks.

According to a new analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the 15 states that would be the biggest polluters -- the “Filthy 15” -- have proposals for 54 coal plants and would create nearly 14 million tons of dangerous waste.    » read more »

Texas Rep. Eddie Rodriguez Files Bill That Will Improve Regulation, Protect Health and Environment

March 12, 2009 -- AUSTIN – Texas is the worst state in the nation in terms of toxic coal-ash waste that would result from both proposed and existing dirty coal-fired power plants, according to a new Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report that will be released with the participation of Public Citizen’s Texas office. Despite the fact that coal combustion waste contains toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium, lead and mercury, it is not regulated as a hazardous waste by either the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).    » read more »

Following New Administration’s Request, U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Case

WASHINGTON (February 23, 2009) -- The United States Supreme Court this morning declined to consider a Bush-era rule that would have allowed a cap-and-trade approach to toxic mercury emitted by the U.S. power industry. This decision invalidates the Bush rule and sets a new course that will help protect America’s waterways from toxic mercury pollution.    » read more »

Obama Administration Reverses U.S. Position, Takes Leadership Role in Negotiations

WASHINGTON (February 20, 2009) – Representatives from more than 140 countries today committed to reduce global mercury pollution, which will help protect the world’s citizens from the dangerous neurotoxin. This agreement was propelled by the United States’ reversal in policy, which also influenced policy reversals of other countries, including China and India. The announcement is a historic step forward in the fight against mercury pollution, according to scientists and policy experts at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).    » read more »

Governor meets with oil and gas industry reps, changes will moderate fiscal impact of compliance

February 18, 2009 -- SANTA FE – New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today announced that he is directing Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department Secretary Joanna Prukop to work with the oil and gas industry to modify several provisions of the state’s Pit Rule. The proposed changes would allow oil and gas companies to better absorb the costs associated with the stronger regulations, which were implemented last year. Governor Richardson personally met recently with leaders of the oil and gas industry as well as oil patch legislators to discuss their concerns about the financial impact of the rule.    » read more »

Proposed Bill Mandates Swift Action, But Stronger Measures Needed

Washington, DC (February 12, 2009) -- As Congress considers legislation today to regulate the toxic byproducts of coal-fired power plants, a broad coalition of environmental groups welcome the quick attention to this vital issue from Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.V.) and the committee, but cautioned that more sweeping action is necessary to fully address the problem.

At a hearing today by the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, committee members reviewed the Coal Ash Reclamation, Environment, and Safety Act of 2009, introduced January 14 on the heels of coal ash spills at two Tennessee Valley Authority power plants.    » read more »

Health Groups Win Victory for Children’s Safety

Feb. 5, 2009 -- NEW YORK - In a victory for children’s health and consumer safety, a federal judge today said children’s toys and childcare products laden with harmful chemicals called phthalates must come off store shelves, ruling in favor of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Public Citizen in a lawsuit against the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

NRDC and Public Citizen filed the lawsuit in December, following a CPSC attempt to create a loophole in the congressionally mandated ban, which goes into effect February 10, 2009. The loophole would have allowed retailers to stockpile and continue selling dangerous products as long as they were manufactured before the ban date.    » read more »

Lawsuit Against PPG Follows Successful $400 Million Case Against Honeywell

NEWARK (February 3, 2009) – After 25 years of negligence, the largest remaining Jersey City site riddled with cancer-causing hexavalent chromium is the focus of a citizen’s lawsuit filed today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Interfaith Community Organization (ICO). The suit calls for PPG Industries, a Pittsburgh-based corporation responsible for the toxic contamination, to clean up the 16.6-acre site and surrounding contaminated areas located in a densely populated area along Garfield Avenue.    » read more »

January 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Lip Gloss Keychains

Units: About 75,000

Importer: Markwins Beauty Products, of City of Industry, Calif.

Hazard: The metal clasp attached to the keychain contains high levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.    » read more »