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Protecting, nourishing fluid can also expose fetuses to chemicals
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A life-giving fluid necessary for fetal development and health could be directly exposing fetuses to flame retardant chemicals.
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Creek that dumps into Lake Ontario designated a Superfund site
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The feds added a Lake Ontario tributary to the dubious federal Superfund List because of toxic chemicals flowing through it. The EPA added Eighteen Mile Creek in Niagara County, N.Y., to the Superfund National Priorities List on Tuesday because it has polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals and dioxins, which are all dangerous chemicals that hurt people and wildlife. Sites on the list are the country’s most hazardous, according to the federal agency. A portion of the creek was already designated a Great Lakes Area of Concern. The creek has a history of contamination, but specific sources haven’t been identified.
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Closing the loop: Power system will capture, reuse heat on Chicago’s South Side
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A former meatpacking plant-turned-home for sustainable businesses on Chicago’s South Side will soon use a refurbished jet engine to power the building.
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Paint-stripping chemicals linked to 8 deaths in Great Lakes states, 13 total
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Paint-stripping chemicals are to blame for at least 13 bathtub-refinishing deaths in the U.S. since 2000, according to Michigan State University researchers. Methylene chloride is a colorless, toxic chemical used to degrease and strip the paint off of surfaces. Michigan State University’s Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, which studies work-related deaths, linked the chemical to deaths in people refinishing bathrooms after finding three such cases in Michigan in the past decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report this week on the investigation. Already a known hazard for furniture strippers, the chemical’s danger to bathroom refinishers was not known.
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Michigan looks to eliminate red tape by slashing environmental rules
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Michigan’s Office of Regulatory Reinvention has proposed 77 environmental rule changes to cut red tape but enviros don’t agree with all of them.
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Chicago teams to play green games in April
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When players hit the ice or the court, arenas buzz with electricity. Hot dog machines, enormous flat screens and thousands of light bulbs suck off the grid for hours before, during and after the game. Two Windy City teams will offset their energy haul by partnering with an energy producer and distributor to play a couple “green games.”
In a build up to Earth Day on April 22, the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks will both play one game each sponsored by Constellation Energy Group, which will buy renewable energy certificates matching the amount of electric used for the day’s game at the United Center where both teams play. The Blackhawks will play their sponsored game on April 1 and the Bulls will play theirs the next day. Renewable energy credits are not real energy.
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Great Lakes conservation agencies adapt to increasingly absent landowners
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Landowners who don’t physically live on their land are proliferating in Great Lakes states. The shift is changing the way conservation officials reach out and educate people on sustainable land management.
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Keep the undead out of your drinking water
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Contaminated water is a serious problem. And so are zombies. So you know what’s a really serious problem? A zombie in your well. There’s no Brita filter for that.
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Michigan passes PBB health study on to Emory University
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Due to lack of funds and resources, the Michigan Long Term PBB Study is passed off to Emory University, where research has already uncovered some long-term health problems.
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Mercury in newborns likely from mothers eating contaminated fish
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Fetuses, newborns and infants are most at risk for mercury exposure, and a sampling of newborns in the Lake Superior basin showed 8 percent of them testing above safe levels. The study, conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health from 2008 to 2010, tested 1,465 newborns living in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota for mercury. The 8 percent testing above safe levels had methylmercury in them, the kind from fish. Even small amounts of mercury can hurt infants’ developing brain and nervous system. Babies born in warm months were more likely to have higher levels, which, when coupled with the methymercury findings, suggest that fish consumption is the culprit.