CLEVELAND — Please join Ohio Citizen Action this Wednesday, July 28 in Cleveland and this Thursday, July 29 in Cincinnati to hear environmental activist Lois Gibbs tell the story of her work at Love Canal, New York. Lois Gibbs emerged as a leader within the community when she and others discovered that the local elementary school and their homes were built on a toxic waste dump. Lois helped to get 833 families relocated from Love Canal and helped to get cleanup of the area started.
On July 28 at 7:00 p.m. in Cleveland and July 29 at 4:00 p.m. in Cincinnati, Lois will share the lessons she learned during her work in order to help other communities struggling with pollution problems today. Lois Gibbs is the Executive Director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, a grassroots environmental group formed in 1980 to help other communities dealing with environmental justice issues across the country. The Cleveland event will be held at Pilgrim Church in Tremont, located at 2592 W. 14th St. and the Cincinnati event will be held at the Ohio Citizen Action office located at 2330 Victory Parkway, Suite 100. Both events are free and open to the public.
For further information contact Liz Ilg in Cleveland at 216.861.5200 x305 or Melissa English in Cincinnati at 513.221.2100.
CINCINNATI — “A Pleasant Ridge Community Council (PRCC) committee charged with advocating for a full cleanup of the Hilton Davis brownfield site is planning a trip to Columbus to put pressure on state legislators, and is encouraging local residents to do their part.
On July 22, PRCC’s Hilton Davis Committee will travel with Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, Cincinnati City Councilmember Laure Quinlivan, and other local officials to meet with representatives of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) and the governor’s office to request more comprehensive remediation of the 80-acre site at 2235 Langdon Farm Road.
The committee is also asking residents to call or e-mail their state elected officials.”
OREGON — “Last week, Sandy Bihn, a founder of the Western Lake Erie Waterkeeper Association, sat down with The Erie Wire to discuss the goals of her organization as well as some of the most pressing issues facing Lake Erie today. Listen to this week’s podcast and watch as she goes into detail about what the future holds for our Great Lake if appropriate action is not taken to protect this valuable resource.”
MARIETTA — “A study of 22 locations on the Ohio River revealed the DuPont chemical C8 was present in every sample collected along the 981-mile stretch from Pennsylvania to Kentucky.
C8 or PFOA, also known as perfluorooctanoic acid, was found in measurable levels ranging from 35.2 to 2.04 parts per trillion. No sampling was performed near DuPont Washington Works where the chemical has been used for more than 50 years in the manufacture of Teflon.
The highest concentration of the manmade chemical was found in the river near Ravenswood, West Virginia where sampling detected levels of 35.2 parts per trillion. A level of 31.2 parts per trillion was identified near Paducah, Kentucky and a concentration of 19.1 parts per trillion was found near Huntington, West Virginia.”
CLEVELAND — “FirstEnergy Corp. and nuclear regulators have crafted a reasonable compromise after Davis-Besse nuclear power plant workers found unexpected corrosion in a reactor lid installed just six years ago.
Problem-plagued Davis-Besse was allowed to restart June 29 — but on a much tighter federal leash. Among other requirements is that the reactor lid be replaced next year with a completely new lid with corrosion-resistant materials — the 2004 lid was old albeit unused — and FirstEnergy’s agreement to run the plant at lower operating temperatures…
The NRC needs to treat this problem far more urgently and marshal an industrywide effort to examine thoroughly in what ways stress corrosion and cracking challenge the long-term safe operation of Davis-Besse and the nation’s 68 other pressurized-water reactors.”
EAST LIVERPOOL — “The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has notified Heritage-WTI that it violated a section of its operating permit on May 11, 2010, and each day of hazardous waste incineration thereafter.
The letter, dated June 23, was sent to John Peterka, president of Heritage-WTI operations in East Liverpool.
The letter states, Specifically, the results of testing performed on May 11 and May 12, 2010, show that levels of dioxins/furans and mercury exceeded the emission limitations provided in the permits.”
DELAWARE — “Last week Delaware passed a door-to-door peddler law that prohibits for-profit sales people from going into neighborhoods without first getting cleared by police.
‘We don’t want to infringe on free enterprises, but we do want to know who is coming into our city,’ said Capt. Bruce Pijanowski.
Under the new law, paid employees of political organizations asking for donations to further their cause need a license, Landers reported.
Law professor Dan Kobil said the law could be unfair.
‘It sounds like they could favor one political group over another,’ Kobil said. ‘It raises some danger signals under the Fist Amendment.’
Ohio Citizen Action sued the village of Canal Winchester in 2009, and won, after the village enacted a similar ordinance, Landers reported.
The group claimed it did not need to be licensed and said the law violated free speech.”
TOLEDO — “Oregon-based Envirosafe Services of Ohio Inc. has agreed to pay a $180,000 fine to the state of Ohio to resolve violations filed against the company between 2007 and 2009.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency yesterday outlined multiple ways in which its inspectors believed waste was managed improperly and records were incomplete at the company’s landfill along Otter Creek Road.
Envirosafe has agreed to bring the facility back into compliance, do a better job of monitoring and operating the site’s leachate-collection systems, and improve record-keeping and inspections of its containment building and trenches.”
Caroline Beidler of Neighbors for Clean Air, left, with Dr. Erin Haynes of the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Haynes is testing the affects of air pollution on youth development.
Fifteen years ago, Caroline discovered that the “dream home” that she had moved into in Marietta was under daily assault from a terrible chemical odor, which she tracked to the nearby Eramet manganese refinery. Caroline then began to do everything she could to tackle this problem, including founding a local citizens group, the Neighbors for Clean Air; recruitiing technical and scientific experts from around the country; supporting the plant’s workers when they were locked out; organizing many local events, and working on a “good neighbor campaign” with Ohio Citizen Action.
Susan Hyatt, Senator Metzenbaum’s daughter, commented, “Dad would be very proud to have his name associated with the work that Caroline Beidler is doing. She exemplifies the citizen action that dad so valued and she is proof that one person can make a significant difference.”
CHARLESTON, WV — “Children exposed to higher levels of C8 are at an increased risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a scientific paper published this week.
The study, by researchers at Boston University and the Harvard School of Public Health, also found higher risks for children exposed to other similar perfluorinated chemicals…
C8 is another name for perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA. C8 and other PFCs have been widely used in nonstick coatings, stain-resistant fabrics and food package coatings.”
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