Walter Reed Army
Medical Center Exposed for Providing Substandard Housing to Wounded Veterans
In a scandal that rocked the nation in mid-February, the
Washington Post and other media outlets revealed that the Pentagon had been
providing substandard and unhealthy housing, as well as poor medical care, to
injured Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
in Washington, DC. A subsequent avalanche of complaints from veterans and their
families suggest that similar problems exist at many other military and Veterans
Administration medical facilities across the country.
The Post exposé described injured soldiers housed
in rooms with water damage, significant mold growth, rodent infestations, and
holes in floors and ceilings. The problems were especially severe in Walter
Reed’s Building 18. Such conditions were neither isolated nor new; the
problems had persisted for years, even after a congressman’s wife and
others complained to officials in charge.
Top Walter Reed officials initially responded to the news
reports by calling them exaggerated and attacking “media assaults on Walter
Reed and our senior leaders.” These same officials then shifted to organizing
press tours of Building 18 to show how quickly the Army was moving to make repairs.
However, news stories revealed that the repairs included painting over mold
and baiting units with rat poison—hardly a well-considered strategy to
address unhealthy conditions.
During the following weeks, several top Army officials,
including the Secretary of the Army and the Surgeon General of the Army (who
also served as commander of Walter Reed from 2002 to June 2004 and who was temporarily
reappointed to head the center after the scandal broke), resigned or were removed,
and several official panels and task forces have been created to investigate
and address these problems, plus similar conditions alleged to exist at other
military and Veterans Administration medical facilities. It remains unclear
whether a more health-oriented approach has yet been undertaken to address the
substandard conditions, even in Walter Reed’s Building 18.
Excessive moisture and mold growth in housing can cause
allergy and asthma symptoms, and in rare cases, certain species of mold can
cause fungal infections in those with compromised immune systems due to serious
injury or illness. Rodent infestations can pose a number of problems, including
contagious disease transmission and allergy and asthma symptoms. Mouse allergen
is especially difficult to eliminate once mice have been present in a housing
unit. Pest control strategies known as integrated pest management are widely
accepted as safer and healthier alternatives to the use of rodenticides and
other poisons.
FY 2008 Budget
Proposal Falls Short on Healthy Homes Funding
Continuing the pattern of the past six years, the Bush
Administration’s FY 2008 budget request shortchanges several programs
related to healthy homes.
In one significant cut, the resident requests only $116
million for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office
of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control grant programs (compared with $152
million approved by Congress last year), and the president again proposes to
eliminate a $50 million program to help cities with the worst lead poisoning
problems. Bush’s budget also proposes to slash the Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) program by more than $1 billion.
The FY08 budget request provides only level funding to
environmental health and lead poisoning prevention programs at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and it repeats the president’s attempts
to cut environmental justice funding at EPA. In one of its most ill advised
moves, the request also guts the popular Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP) that helps the elderly and many disabled Americans keep their homes
at healthy temperatures.
Red
Cross-Clorox Pesticide Marketing Deal Could Endanger Consumers
In March, Beyond Pesticides reported that the American
Red Cross has signed a deal with Clorox, allowing the Red Cross symbol to be
affixed to pesticide products that the company produces in exchange for a contribution
to the charity of up to one million dollars.
Though the labeling, which may imply product safety and
nontoxicity to many consumers, appears to violate federal pesticide labeling
laws, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to allow the
deal to move forward.
While pesticide products available to consumers are often
mistakenly viewed as “safe,” they do contain toxic materials. Some
of the products can cause irritation of the eyes, skin, respiratory, and gastrointestinal
tract. Exposure to high levels can result in severe corrosive damage to the
eyes, skin, respiratory, and gastrointestinal tissues. Heart conditions, asthma,
chronic bronchitis, and obstructive lung disease can be exacerbated by exposure
to high concentrations of many pesticide products, including those used in the
home. Some pesticides also contain suspected neurotoxins and carcinogens.
”While EPA should ensure severe caution when using
pesticides, a label displaying the Red Cross symbol sends a misleading message
that will undoubtedly result in greater product misuse because of a failure
to heed important product warnings,” said Jay Feldman, executive director
of Beyond Pesticides.
Twelve environmental health organizations petitioned EPA
in February, citing a blatant violation of its own guidelines which prohibit
false and misleading labels, including: “Symbols implying safety or nontoxicity,
such as a Red Cross or a medical seal of approval (caduceus).”
Solis and Durbin
Introduce Bills to Implement Federal Environmental Justice Order
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) and Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
in February introduced the Environmental Justice Act of 2007 to implement a
Clinton-era executive order to remedy environmental health problems in minority
and low-income communities throughout the United States. In the House, the bill
is H.R. 1103; in the Senate, the legislation is S. 642.
The Clinton order requires that the EPA make environmental
justice part of its core mission. In March 2004, the EPA Inspector General found
that the agency had failed to fully implement the order, and neither Congress
nor the president have done much since then. In fact, President Bush has proposed
cutting EPA’s environmental justice budget during the past several budget
cycles.
"For far too long, federal agencies have disregarded
the health of minority and low-income communities, choosing instead to interpret
the Executive Order so that it fits the policies they want to promote,"
said Solis.
Durbin highlighted the importance of incorporating environmental
justice at EPA and other federal agencies. "Minority neighborhoods, the
elderly, and low-income neighborhoods bear disproportionate environmental risks
and hazards, and the investments and benefits to these problems are not equally
distributed," he said.
The full text of both bills is available at http://thomas.loc.gov.
In the “Search Bill Text” area, select the “Bill Number”
option and then enter either HR1103 or S642.
Rhode Island
Case against Paint Companies Moves Forward
In late February, Judge Michael Silverstein of Rhode Island
refused to throw out last year’s jury verdict or order a new trial in
the state’s case against several former lead pigment manufacturers. The
state was victorious in February 2006 when a jury found that three paint companies
had created a public nuisance by selling lead-based paint in Rhode Island. The
case marked the first time that a state or local government succeeded in proving
a public nuisance case against the industry.
In his decision, Silverstein indicated that the case will
now move forward, and he will appoint a special master to oversee the remedy.
The jury ordered that Sherwin-Williams, Millenium Inorganic, and NL Industries
(formerly National Lead) work to eliminate lead-based paint in housing in Rhode
Island. The cleanup could cost the companies more than $3 billion.
The companies are expected to appeal the ruling, along
with other aspects of the case, to the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
Vermont
Attorney General to Tackle Lead Poisoning “Aggressively”
Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell announced in early
February that he and others in the state will take an “aggressive stance”
against lead poisoning in the state. Sorrell’s statement accompanied the
release of a new report on lead poisoning in Vermont.
The report, "Get the Lead Out of Vermont," found
that for too long, the state has been focusing on cleaning and other measures
that, by themselves, are ineffective at preventing childhood lead poisoning.
The state has also been trying to combat lead poisoning after children have
already been poisoned. The report concluded that Vermont must take a more proactive
approach, addressing lead hazards in housing before anyone actually gets sick.
Sorrell said that while existing state law requires rental
property owners to follow essential maintenance practices and report to the
state health department, compliance is voluntary and ineffective; every year,
more than 300 Vermont children are poisoned by lead. Sorrell instead wants to
be able to issue automatic fines to landlords who don’t comply with the
law, and the report recommends that some landlords be required to pay for dust
sampling in their properties.
Also in February, Vermont announced that it was going to
reduce its blood lead action level from the current 10 micrograms per deciliter
(µg/dL), which is recommended by the CDC, to 5 µg/dL.
New
York City Pledges to Keep Homeless Safe from Lead
Following revelations in January that New York City had
placed hundreds of homeless families into apartments riddled with lead hazards,
the city’s Department of Homeless Services said it will change the way
it inspects apartments in the Housing Stability Plus (HSP) program for lead
and pledged to keep homeless families safe from the potent neurotoxin.
Homeless Services Commissioner Robert Hess said that “higher
inspection standards” will be used in all buildings new to the program.
The city did, however, refrain from saying that it would reinspect all buildings
previously participating in the program, including over 700 that were found
to contain lead-based paint. Instead, the city will address those buildings
where complaints have been filed against landlords for not repairing lead hazards,
and it will also reinspect all buildings where repair orders were issued.
The city also noted that all HSP inspectors will be trained
in lead hazard visual assessment by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation
and Development.
Bush Nominates Industry
Insider to Head CPSC
On March 1, President Bush nominated Michael Baroody to
be chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the agency charged
with protecting the public against injury and death from a wide range of consumer
products.
Baroody currently serves as the executive vice president
of the National Association of Manufacturers, an industry trade group that often
works against regulation of consumer products.
One of the three CPSC commissioner positions has been vacant
since July 2006. The commission's ability to act has been suspended since January
because the law only allows it to act with a vacancy for six months. CPSC has
also been plagued by a “brain drain” due to inadequate funding levels.
Since FY 2006, the agency reported that it lost the equivalent of 31 full-time
staff, and another 20 full-time equivalent positions could be lost by the end
of FY 2007. The agency projects a loss of 19 more full-time equivalent positions
in FY 2008 if Congress approves the President’s current budget request.
This would leave approximately 450 employees to monitor more than 15,000 products.
CSPC has been criticized recently over its handling of
a lead-in-lunchboxes issue. Though it assured consumers that lead levels in
vinyl lunchboxes were well within federal limits, government documents acquired
by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) through the Freedom of Information
Act show that CPSC misled the public on the issue.
According to the documents, CPSC’s own laboratory
testing showed that vinyl lunchboxes had levels of lead as much as 16 times
higher than levels allowed for lead in paint. The documents also reveal that
at the time the agency was about to announce that vinyl lunchboxes are safe,
CPSC had just changed its testing procedure in an apparent effort to minimize
findings of lead in lunchboxes.
Said Michael Green, Executive Director of CEH, “CPSC
told parents that these lunchboxes were safe, but their own tests showed that
lead in these lunchboxes could pose a threat to children.” He continued,
“It is shocking to see an agency entrusted with our safety playing Russian
roulette with our children's health.”
Two
New Studies Prompt Additional Comment Period on Remodeling and Renovation Rule
The EPA has published two new studies in its Renovation,
Repair, and Painting Program rulemaking docket [EPA-HQ-OPPT-2005-0049]. The
studies reinforce the need for EPA to make its final rule far more health-protective
than the agency’s current proposal.
Since the proposed regulation was issued in January 2006,
final action has been delayed because EPA decided to await the results of these
studies assessing hazards associated with renovation activities. One was conducted
by EPA, the other by the National Association of Home Builders. EPA is now reopening
public to comment on the proposed work practice standards in light of these
studies.
This new comment period provides advocates, researchers,
agencies—all stakeholders in lead poisoning prevention—with another
opportunity to articulate (or reiterate) the need for (1) a ban on all unsafe
practices; (2) post-work dust testing for clearance; (3) proper worker training;
and (4) enforcement in any RRP rule, since the EPA study noted here clearly
shows that the proposed rule's methods of lead-safe practices are clearly insufficient
to prevent the creation and dispersal of hazards after renovation, remodeling,
and painting work.
Comments must be submitted to the docket for the proposed
rule by April 16, 2007.
EPA
Presents Opportunity to Comment on Pesticide Restrictions
In mid-January, the EPA proposed to reduce or restrict
the unsafe use of nine rodenticides (rat and mouse poisons) for health reasons.
EPA has opened its proposal to public comments.
Reportedly, the pesticide industry has been flooding the
agency with comments in opposition to the proposal, falsely claiming that the
restrictions would sharply increase costs of rodent control for low-income people
and cause infestations to increase unchecked. Industry comments generally ignore
the health benefits from EPA's proposal and disregard the fact that there are
safer alternatives such as integrated pest management strategies. Traps, barriers,
improved sanitation, clutter control—and even the tamper-resistant baits
that EPA would require—offer alternatives for safer, effective pest control
and prevention strategies. The Alliance for Healthy Homes urges public health,
environmental, and healthy housing advocates to offer comments in support of
EPA’s proposal to reduce, restrict, or eliminate the use of these poisons.
National
Children’s Study Funded Through End of FY07
A $69 million appropriation in the FY 2007 joint funding
resolution passed by Congress and signed by the president in February will allow
the National Children’s Study to continue.
The National Children's Study is designed to follow 100,000
children from before birth until they are 21 years old to determine how biological,
chemical, physical, genetic, and social factors affect their health and development.
The Study is being conducted jointly by the National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,
CDC, and EPA.
The groundbreaking study’s future had been in jeopardy
when President Bush’s FY 2007 budget request asked Congress to zero out
the study’s funding.
California’s
Low-income and Minority Residents Suffer Most from Asthma
Low-income Californians, as well as those from racial and
ethnic minority groups, are hardest hit by breathing problems associated with
asthma, according to two new policy briefs. The briefs, “Low-Income Californians
Bear Unequal Burden of Asthma” and “California’s Racial and
Ethnic Minorities More Adversely Affected by Asthma,” were produced by
the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. A third policy brief from the Center
shows that smoking and pets in the home are linked with asthma symptoms and
other breathing difficulties.
The first policy brief on how asthma affects low-income
residents of California showed that those least able to afford the skyrocketing
costs of health care are disproportionately affected by frequent asthma symptoms
and are more likely to visit emergency rooms for treatment of moderate to severe
asthma attacks. The brief rated the health outcomes of low-income asthmatics
as “poor.”
Besides a lack of access to care, difficulty in proper
asthma management also contributes to poor health outcomes. One of the key aspects
of managing asthma is avoiding things that trigger symptoms. Because quality
affordable housing is in short supply, and because many rental property owners
do not practice proper maintenance, avoidance of triggers such as dust mites,
mold, and cockroaches can be difficult, if not impossible, for many low-income
residents.
The second policy brief examined racial and ethnic disparities
in asthma. The brief found that minorities bear a far more significant burden
of asthma than their white counterparts, meaning that minorities, especially
children, suffered more asthma symptoms, were more likely to visit emergency
rooms due to severe asthma symptoms, and missed more days of school and work
because of their asthma. These disparities were attributed to a number of factors,
including lack of adequate health care, difficulty in managing asthma, and disparities
in exposure to indoor environmental health hazards including cigarette smoke,
mold, and cockroaches.
Alliance
Releases New Post-Hurricane Healthy Rebuilding Manual
The Alliance for Healthy Homes in March released a manual
entitled Rebuilding Flood-Damaged Homes: A Manual for the Safe, Healthy, Green,
and Low-cost Restoration for the Gulf Coast. The manual was developed through
numerous workshops sponsored by the Alliance for organizations working to restore
homes in the Gulf region following the 2005 hurricane season as a practical
guide for practitioners. It lays out, through easy-to-read instructions and
clear illustrations, how to clear out, decontaminate, and restore flood-damaged
homes in a safe, healthy and affordable manner. The manual emphasizes how to
safely clean and decontaminate flood-damaged homes and restore homes so they
are better able to withstand high winds and water intrusion. Healthy homes expert
Dennis Livingston is the illustrator and primary author of the manual.
A new video on lead-safe work practices, entitled "Don't
Spread Lead: A Do-It-Yourselfer's Guide to Preventing Lead Poisoning by Working
Lead-Safe,” is now available in English and Spanish, in DVD format. The
video shows do-it-yourselfers how to safely handle small repairs or renovations
in homes that contain lead paint. The English version of the program features
an introduction by Norm Abram, master carpenter of PBS's "This Old House"
and host of PBS's "New Yankee Workshop."
The program was developed by the Connecticut Department
of Public Health in partnership with the University of Connecticut's Healthy
Environments for Children Initiative, with support from the EPA. It is part
of the Keep It Clean Campaign of the New England Lead Coordinating Committee
(NELCC).
HUD Issues FY
2007 NOFA for Lead Poisoning Prevention and Healthy Homes Grants
HUD published its FY 2007 Notice of Funding Availability
(NOFA) for lead poisoning prevention and healthy homes grant programs in early
March. Grants are available in 7 categories:
Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control ($76.4 million available
for 26-40 grants of $1-3 million each, May 18 deadline)
Healthy Homes Technical Studies ($2 million available,
2-6 grants of $200,000 to $1 million, May 18 deadline)
Lead Technical Studies ($3.6 million available, 4-10
grants of $200,000 to $1 million, May 18 deadline)
Healthy Homes Demonstration (approximately $5 million
available, 5-7 cooperative agreements of up to $1 million each, May 18 deadline)
Lead Outreach Program (approximately $2 million available,
5-8 cooperative agreements of $200,000 to $400,000 each, May 18 deadline)
Operation Lead Elimination Action Program (LEAP) ($17.3
million available for 9-12 grants of up to $2 million each, May 18 deadline)
Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Demonstration ($54.7
million available for 14-22 grants of $1-4 million each, May 30 deadline)
EPA's Office of Children's Heath Protection has announced
the availability of $300,000 to fund three grants to build capacity to address
environmental health issues during pregnancy. State and local governments, public
and private universities and colleges, and nonprofit organizations are eligible
to apply. The announcement is available at www.epa.gov/children
(click on "grants and funding") or at Grants.gov at www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=12774&mode=VIEW.
The deadline for submission is April 26, 2007.
Upcoming
Conferences
The annual Indoor Environmental Health and Technologies
Conference and the National Conference of Lead and Healthy Homes Grantees will
take place April 24-27, 2007, in Orlando, FL. Partial registration scholarships
are available for attendees from nonprofit organizations, local government agencies,
and small businesses. For information on scholarships, poster opportunities,
and displaying educational materials, please call or e-mail Steve Weil, Conference
Director, at 301-924-0804, list@leadmoldconferences.com.
Program, hotel, and registration details are at www.leadmoldconferences.com.
The International Conference on Developmental Toxicity
and Fetal Programming will take place May 20-24, 2007, in Tórshavn, Faroe
Islands (located in the North Atlantic). This international conference emphasizes
a) the developmental perspective, i.e., the risks during different developmental
stages, from preconception to adolescence, from toxic substances; b) the environmental
perspective, i.e., the impacts of different environmental hazards; and c) the
disease perspective, i.e., long-term health implications. For further information,
please visit www.pptox.dk.
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