Environmental
and Public Health Groups Express Guarded Optimism for Updated EPA Cancer-Risk
Guidelines
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released
updated cancer risk guidelines in late March, the first time the guidelines
had been revised in nearly 20 years. The guidelines affect how the EPA assesses
potential carcinogenic chemicals and take into account the fact that children
are more vulnerable than adults to cancer-causing substances.
Environmental and public health groups expressed guarded
optimism over the updated guidelines, saying that the EPA did the right thing
in making the updates and specifically taking children’s health into account.
The updated assessment process recognizes that children under age two are ten
times more at risk from carcinogens than adults, and those age two to sixteen
may be three times more likely to contract cancer from exposure to known or
suspected carcinogens.
One point of contention raised by environmental health
advocates is language inserted by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
OMB imposed the standards of the controversial Data Quality Act on the new guidelines,
insisting that EPA allow outside organizations to challenge scientific findings
of EPA before the Agency can act. The Natural Resources Defense Council and
OMB Watch claim that this will put more American children at risk through “paralysis
by analysis,” because the language reads like an invitation to industry
groups and others to challenge scientific findings with which they do not agree,
delaying any actions EPA could take to protect children and families from potentially
dangerous chemicals. EPA officials responded to complaints about the Data Quality
Act language by saying that both EPA and OMB were simply seeking to use the
“best possible science” in all cancer risk assessments.
U.S. Attorney
in Minnesota Settles Two Significant Lead Disclosure Cases
U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Tom Heffelfinger, the U.S.
Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and EPA announced lead hazard
disclosure settlements against several Minnesota property owners on March 30.
One Minneapolis landlord and three property management companies admitted to
failing to warn their tenants that their properties contained lead hazards.
The settlements will result in lead-hazard control measures in 250 housing units
in Minnesota, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
Gorman Park Properties, Grendahl Park II, and Grendahl
Park III stopped complying with the federal lead hazard disclosure law in 1998
despite the existence of lead hazards in their properties. In accordance with
the settlement, the companies have already completed lead-based paint inspections
and risk assessments and must now undertake an aggressive five-year program
to remove all lead hazards in over 200 units in 12 apartment buildings throughout
the city of Minneapolis. The cost of the work is estimated at over $500,000.
The companies will also pay a small civil penalty and will give $50,000 to the
Sustainable Resources Center, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization that
will use the money to fund a children’s health project.
Landlord Bashir Moghul will perform comprehensive lead
assessments in each of his properties in Minnesota, Indiana, and Wisconsin,
will replace all the windows in all of his rental properties by early 2006,
and will fix all lead hazards in all of his rental properties over the next
four-and-a-half years. The total cost of Moghul’s work will reach $240,000,
and he will also pay a small fine to the federal government.
Heffelfinger noted that the two settlements are part of
his office’s aggressive enforcement of the Residential Lead-Based Paint
Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 and the federal Lead Disclosure Rule.
Budget Resolution
Passes in Congress; Senators Express Skepticism of HUD Budget
Both the House and the Senate passed a compromise budget
resolution on April 28. The resolution passed by narrow margins, 214-211 in
the House and 52-47 in the Senate. Overall, the large spending and tax cuts
called for in the budget resolution will likely jeopardize funding for affordable
housing, lead safety, healthy homes, and other domestic programs.
The budget resolution calls for $34.7 billion in cuts to
mandatory programs over the next five years, including a $10 billion cut to
Medicare. Domestic programs, already squeezed by tight budgets, will be slashed
by $200 billion over the same time period. Congressional committees will have
until September to come up with ways to make the variety of cuts called for
in the budget resolution.
While negotiators were wrangling over the budget resolution,
some Senate subcommittees held hearings to gather more details on the Bush Administration’s
proposed FY06 HUD budget. On April 14, Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), Chair of the
Senate appropriations subcommittee that covers HUD, expressed his great displeasure
with HUD’s proposed budget. Bond said that the proposed budget will “promote
homelessness rather than end it” and made clear his strong opposition
to restructuring and cutting the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
When Bond asked HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson how the restructuring of CDBG
would impact local governments that currently use the program’s funding,
Jackson replied, “Without passing the buck, Mr. Chairman, you’re
going to have to ask the Secretary of Commerce.” Ranking Member Patty
Murray (D-WA) also criticized the proposed cuts in HUD’s budget.
The Senate Banking Committee’s Housing and
Transportation Subcommittee grilled Jackson on April 21 about the Administration’s
proposed cuts to HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control
(OHHLHC). Jackson testified that because the United States has made “great
progress” in controlling lead hazards, the regular lead hazard control
grants will now be able to cover areas previously served by the urban demonstration
program, which the President’s budget proposed eliminating. Senator Jack
Reed (D-RI) responded that the purpose of the $50 million demonstration program
is to ensure that cities with the worst lead hazard problems are guaranteed
some level of hazard control funding. Senators Jon Corzine (D-NJ) and Paul Sarbanes
(D-MD) also expressed concern over proposed cuts to OHHLHC.
EPA Cancels
CHEERS Study on Pesticides and Children
EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson announced April 8 that
his agency has cancelled the Children’s Environmental Exposure Research
Study (CHEERS) in the face of public outcry and opposition from two U.S. Senators.
The controversial study, funded in part by the American
Chemistry Council (ACC), would have involved the families of 60 children in
Duval County, Florida, who regularly used pesticides in their homes. For their
time and participation, EPA planned to offer the families $970, children’s
clothes, and a camcorder. The study was to be carried out in a low-income neighborhood
with a high minority population.
Critics charged the agency with bribing low-income families
to expose their children to pesticides, an accusation Johnson strenuously denied.
Advocates also questioned the $2 million in funding from the ACC, the chemical
industry’s trade association. Johnson stated that the alleged ethical
problems with CHEERS were a “gross misrepresentation” of the intentions
of EPA and the study.
Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) brought
opposition to CHEERS into the national spotlight during an April 6 confirmation
hearing for Johnson to become Administrator of the EPA. Boxer called the study
“reprehensible” and a “gross error in judgment,” and
she further stated that she would continue to oppose any testing of pesticides
and other toxic chemicals on humans.
Baltimore Mayor
Antes Up City Funds for Lead Poisoning Prevention
In April, Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley said he
plans to use city money to replace a $375,000 lead-based paint enforcement appropriation
that Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich had redirected to a state agency in his
proposed 2005 state budget. In previous years, the state had granted Baltimore
funds to supplement the city’s lead-based paint inspection and enforcement
program.
O’Malley said that the additional City funds will
sustain an attorney and six lead inspectors who enforce lead-hazard control
laws for the city.
The mayor has repeatedly asserted that Ehrlich’s
budget cut was a political attack. The Ehrlich Administration denied the charge
and continues to maintain that the money taken from the city’s enforcement
program will be used more effectively by the Maryland Department of the Environment
(MDE). However, a recent report from HUD gave Baltimore the highest rating for
ead hazard control efforts and the State of Maryland a failing grade. The failing
grade was not in reference to MDE's lead hazard control efforts.
Seattle
Study Shows Impact of Community Health Workers in Asthma Trigger Management
An article published in the April 2005 issue of the American
Journal of Public Health highlights a Seattle study showing community health
workers can have a significant impact on asthma management and asthma trigger
reduction. The study, conducted in 2000 and 2001, compared outcomes for children
in low-income families who received a high-intensity asthma intervention with
those who received a low-intensity intervention.
During the study, community health workers made seven home
visits and provided a full set of asthma trigger control tools to families who
were randomly selected to receive the high-intensity interventions. The low-intensity
intervention families received one community health worker home visit and a
more limited set of resources. The high-intensity home interventions consisted
of a full indoor environment assessment, an asthma trigger action plan, and
the provision of pillow and mattress covers, low-emission vacuum cleaners, door
mats, and integrated pest management tools to combat cockroaches, rats, and
mice. Community health workers also advocated for improved housing conditions
for the families involved. Low-intensity interventions consisted of the assessment,
the action plan, and the pillow and mattress covers only.
The researchers found that children whose families received
multiple visits from community health workers experienced a significant reduction
in the number of days with asthma symptoms, health care use, and the need for
urgent care and emergency medical services. While the children of the low-intensity
intervention families saw some important symptom and emergency medical care
reductions, the decreases were not significant. Though the high-intensity interventions
were more costly, researchers forecast that over four years, families and the
state could save from $1316 to $1849 in health care costs per child.
While the researchers acknowledged that the improved health
of the children in the high-intensity intervention group was due in large part
to changes in behavior and asthma education, they also pointed out that in almost
all instances, behavior changes and education are not enough. The scientists
stressed the need to remediate underlying housing conditions that increase the
levels of asthma triggers, especially cockroaches, dust mites, and rodents.
The study stresses the need for updated housing codes, healthy and affordable
housing conditions for all people, and protection for tenants who request repairs
or remediation of their homes. The article is available at www.metrokc.gov/health/asthma/healthyhomes/AJPH-healthyhomes.pdf.
Boston Advocates
Focus on High-Risk Neighborhood for Intensive Lead Poisoning Prevention Project
Boston’s Lead Action Collaborative is implementing
an intensive lead poisoning prevention project in a portion of Boston’s
Dorchester community. The need for the project was brought to light when the
Collaborative found that more than ten percent of the children living in the
Geneva Avenue-Bowdoin Street area of the city were lead poisoned. The group
used U.S. census data to focus on the worst areas for lead poisoning in the
city.
To respond to the problem, the Collaborative will send
mailings to all 1,000 housing units in the area and make face-to-face visits
with area landlords to urge them to control lead hazards in their rental properties.
Ryan Torres, director of the collaborative, says that the group seeks to identify
high-risk housing before it poisons children.
The percentage of children suffering from lead poisoning
in Boston has fallen sharply since 1993, but areas such as Dorchester continue
to report overall poisoning rates of between 4.5 and 5 percent each year.
EPA Announces
Children’s Environmental Health Award Winners
On April 21, EPA announced over 100 excellence and recognition
awards to organizations and individuals whom agency believes have demonstrated
leadership and commitment to improving children’s environmental health.
2005 marks the first year that these awards have been given.
Fifteen organizations and individuals received the Children’s
Environmental Health Excellence Award for proven leadership in protecting infants
and children from environmental health hazards. Some of the award winners included
the Seattle-King County Healthy Homes Asthma Project that showed that 87 percent
of children benefited from indoor environmental interventions, and the Childhood
Lead Action Project in Rhode Island, where statewide lead poisoning rates dropped
from 18% in 1994 to just 3% in 2003. Other Excellence Awardees included the
Philadelphia-based National Nursing Centers Consortium for its Lead Safe Babies
program, West Harlem Environmental Action for its work on asthma and lead poisoning
prevention, and the American Lung Association of Washington’s Master Home
Environmentalist Program.
Among the Recognition Award winners were the National Center
for Healthy Housing, United Parents Against Lead, Children’s Environmental
Health Network, Children’s Health Environmental Coalition, Healthy Schools
Network, Community Partners Against Lead (Durham, NC), Safer Pest Control (Chicago),
and St. Louis Lead Prevention Coalition.
The Children’s Environmental Health Awards are designed
to increase awareness, stimulate activity, and recognize efforts that protect
children from environmental health risks at the local, regional, national, and
international levels. Excellence and Recognition Awards are the two levels—the
excellence level is a competitive award for groups or individuals who have demonstrated
outstanding leadership in protecting children from environmental health hazards,
while the recognition level is for groups or individuals who have made a commitment
to children’s environmental health.
Environmental
Health Perspectives Focuses on Housing and Health
Environmental Health Perspectives, the open-access
scientific journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,
shines a spotlight on the connections between health and housing in its May
2005 issue. The issue includes an editorial that comments on health, equity,
and the built environment; a section on innovations in developing holistic solutions
to home health hazards; several small pieces, including one highlighting the
Community Environmental Health Resource Center (CEHRC, www.cehrc.org);
and a focus on disparities and health hazards in the home. The full text of
the May issue is available free at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2005/113-5/toc.html.
Local
Lead Poisoning Prevention Victories Featured in Shelterforce
An article by the Alliance's Ralph Scott in the March-April
2005 issue of Shelterforce describes successful local campaigns for lead poisoning
prevention policy change in Cleveland, New York City and San Diego/National
City. The campaigns were undertaken with funding and technical assistance from
the Alliance over the past three years through our Community Environmental Health
Resource Center project. The article is available online at www.nhi.org/online/issues/sf140.html.
EPA Offers
Resources for Asthma Awareness Month
May is Asthma Awareness Month, and EPA has developed an
event planning kit, an Asthma Awareness Month website, and event listing forms
to help communities spread the word about asthma and its triggers. The event
planning kit is a free resource for community organizers, health care providers,
school nurses, teachers, and everyone who is committed to raising awareness
about asthma triggers and their management. The kit includes ideas and tips
on organizing events in local schools, hospitals, clinics, libraries, and state
capitols, and provides sample proclamations, letters to the editor, and other
resources to make it easy for community-based organizations and others to plan
outreach events. EPA's website also includes a map of Asthma Awareness Month
activities where organizations and individuals can see what is planned in their
state. Visit www.epa.gov/asthma/awm.html
for more information.
Funding Opportunities
FINAL REMINDER—Proposals Due
May 17—The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
(NIEHS) and its parent agency, the National Institutes of Health, are calling
for proposals for Community-Based Participatory Research Grants. These projects
should further the goal of reducing the burden of environmentally associated
diseases and health conditions by 1) providing the scientific basis for understanding
the impact of the environment on human health; 2) translating this information
into prevention and intervention strategies; 3) evaluating the efficacy of prevention
and intervention strategies; and 4) communicating the results to the public
and improving public health. All projects must be conducted in communities and
must allow community members, affected persons, and other key stakeholders the
opportunity to be full participants in each phase of the project, including
grant proposal development. More details are available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-05-026.html#PartI.
EPA is calling for initial proposals for funding under
its Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) Initiative. Under CARE,
the agency will make grants through two levels of Cooperative Agreements. Level
1 grantees will receive approximately $75,000 and will use the funds to organize
and create a collaborative partnership dedicated to reducing toxics in their
local environment. Partners may include community-based organizations, businesses,
state, tribal, and local government agencies, EPA, and others. These partnerships
will mainly identify and learn about risks in their community and begin to identify
potential solutions. Where possible, they can also take advantage of early reduction
opportunities. The goal is to ensure that, after completing a Level 1 Cooperative
Agreement, the community will have developed the capacity to select and carry
out high priority risk reduction activities. Level 2 grants will be made to
eligible groups that have already established broad-based collaborative partnerships
in their communities, though successful completion of a Level 1 Cooperative
Agreement is not required. The grants will average $275,000 each, which will
be used to implement priority projects in order to reduce risk and improve the
local environment. Throughout the process, the partnership continues to reassess
risks and their priorities. Eligible entities include local and tribal agencies,
universities, and nonprofit organizations. Initial funding proposals are due
to EPA by 4:00 p.m. EDT on May 20. Details can be found at http://cfpub.epa.gov/care/index.cfm?fuseaction=Agreement.showAgreement.
CDC is soliciting applications for projects that will help
address asthma from a public health perspective to bring about: 1) a focus of
asthma-related activity within the state; 2) an increased understanding of asthma-related
data and its application to program planning through development of an ongoing
surveillance system; 3) an increased recognition, within the public health structure
of a state, of the potential to use a public health approach to reduce the burden
of asthma; 4) linkages of the state to many agencies and organizations addressing
asthma in the population; and 5) participation in intervention program activities.
Two to five grants of approximately $350,000 each will be awarded. The application
deadline is June 6, 2005. More information is available at www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/05044.htm.
On March 21, HUD released its FY2005 SuperNOFA that includes
application instructions for the Department’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard
Control and Healthy Homes grants programs. Application deadlines vary for the
different programs, falling between June 7 and June 15, 2005. Copies of the
notices, application kits, and forms are available on HUD’s website at
www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm.
Developmental
Disability Groups Extend Invite to May 10 Congressional Briefing On Chemical
Exposures and Children’s Health
The American Association on Mental Retardation, Learning
Disabilities Association, and Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative
invite the public and Congressional staff to a briefing on chemical exposures
and their relationship to children’s health and developmental disabilities.
The briefing will be held at 10 a.m. on May 10 in Room 406 of the Dirksen Senate
Office Building in Washington, DC. The briefing will explore the gene-environment
interaction that many scientists believe can cause some developmental disabilities,
and speakers will discuss ways to make U.S. chemical policy protective of children
and other vulnerable populations. The briefing is sponsored by Senators Mike
DeWine (R-OH), Jim Jeffords (I-VT), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA), Frank
Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). For more information, visit www.aamr.org/ToxinsandMentalRetardation/activities.shtml
or call Michele Gagnon at 202-387-1968 ext. 201.
Upcoming Conferences
Indianapolis will host the 2005 Affordable Comfort Conference
from May 16-21. Conference participants will have available 57 short courses
and 96 sessions categorized into 18 tracks, covering issues such as home performance,
heating and cooling, and weatherization. For more information about the conference,
see www.affordablecomfort.org.
PolicyLink and the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth
and Livable Communities will present “Advancing Regional Equity: The Second
National Summit on Equitable Development, Social Justice, and Smart Growth”
in Philadelphia, May 23-25. Summit participants will include leaders and advocates
from the non-profit, public policy, philanthropy, business, and academic arenas
that share a commitment to full economic and racial inclusion based on the belief
that everyone should have the opportunity to participate and prosper in society.
The summit will be a unique opportunity to investigate innovative strategies,
policies, alliances, and coalitions advancing regional equity. Advocates from
urban, suburban, and rural communities will share their experiences and strategize
with one another about the opportunities and challenges of working together
to build a movement. They will also share the progress being forged in promoting
safe and healthy affordable housing, better schools, living wage jobs, environmental
justice, and accessible public transportation. Summit information is available
at www.policylink.org/Summit2005.
The Conference on Children’s Health and the
Environment will be held in Baltimore on October 1. The conference is sponsored
by the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Health and the Environment,
the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and EPA Region 3. It will
cover emerging issues in children’s environmental health, asthma, mold
issues, outcomes of environmental exposures, and risk communication strategies.
Periodically check www.gwu.edu/~macche/events.html
for more details, or contact Aurora Amoah at 202-994-1166, toll-free at 1-866-622-2431,
or E-mail at eohaoa@gwumc.edu.
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