News
News
Lewis hosts Earth Day event
Sierra Club’s YouTube site with the video clips.
Suit: sooty coal plants spew death, asthma
ABC Chanel 7 News Clip
Poison in the well -- chicagotribune.com
Gov. Quinn puts Illinois over a (rain) barrel on Earth Day
From: Bruce Nilles
Dear Coal Fighters,
Thanksgiving could not come at a better time with today's amazing announcement that AMP Ohio was finally abandoning its plans to build a massive 960MW coal-fired power plant in SW Ohio. Just two weeks ago they had announced they were starting construction and were moving f/w to build this plant.
We won because we never flinched, never took our eye off the prize, never comprised, and the coal industry finally met its match: YOU.
For three long years countless activists from across the Midwest have been battling this project in dozens of different venues and now it is finally defeated. We battled this plant in the court of public opinion, in too many public hearings to count, with our legislators, on Wall Street, and at every stage of its permitting process. This coal plant victory is also among the first major multi-state efforts we have undertaken since we came together as a broad coalition of activists united in our opposition to Dirty Coal, and ready to fight it at every stage of its filthy life cycle, from mining, to burning, and toxic ash disposal.
Today's victory comes on the heels of many other notable 2009 victories, including the recent Big Stone 2 demise in SD, similarly a multi-year epic battle that at various times looked like it too was a lost cause. And yesterday we persuaded a courageous federal judge in West Virginia to effectively block all new MTR permits and give us some breathing room to end this practice once and for all. It has been a long time - if ever - that Big Coal lost major fights in Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia in the same decade, let alone the same month.
It is your unflagging energy, creativity, and commitment getting up every day to fight for our planet's future that is winning the day. While I still need to confirm the status of two projects in Texas, it appears that no new coal plants have yet broken ground this year. If this is correct, it will be the first time we have stopped any new coal plants from breaking ground for a calendar year since this most recent Coal Rush began in 2001. This would not have happened but for our united efforts that stretch from Alaska to Florida, and Los Angeles to New Hampshire.
I hope you all get some rest, toast 109 coal plants defeated and a time out on new MTR permits, and have a thoroughly enjoyable Happy Thanksgiving break. We have more new coal plants to slay, many mines to stop, and 500 existing plants that need our attention.
I am so very proud and thankful to be part of this movement.
Bruce
Bruce Nilles, Director
Beyond Coal Campaign
Sierra Club
408 C Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
T: 202.675.7905
C: 608.712.9725
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, May 26 2009 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christine Flowers, NIEHS
(919) 541-3665
Robin Mackar, NIEHS
(919) 541-0073
26 May 2009: Well Water Should Be Tested Annually to Reduce Health Risks
to Children
Private well water should be tested yearly, and in some cases more
often, according to new guidance offered by the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP). Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, took
a lead role in working with the AAP to develop these recommendations and
draft a new AAP policy statement about the things parents should do if
their children drink well water. The recommendations call for annual
well testing, especially for nitrate and microorganisms such as coliform
bacteria, which can indicate that sewage has contaminated the well. The
recommendations point out circumstances when additional testing should
occur, including testing when there is a new infant in the house or if
the well is subjected to structural damage.
"Children are especially vulnerable to waterborne illnesses that may
come from contaminated wells," said Walter J. Rogan, M.D., an
epidemiologist at NIEHS and lead author on the policy statement and
technical report that appears in the June issue of Pediatrics. The new
policy statement, "Drinking Water from Private Wells and Risks to
Children," offers recommendations for inspection, testing and
remediation of wells providing drinking water for children.
"With few exceptions, well owners are responsible for their own wells,"
said Rogan. Private wells are not subject to federal regulations and are
only minimally regulated by states. With proper care, well water is
safe; however, wells can become contaminated by chemicals or pathogenic
organisms.
Nitrate, which comes from sewage or fertilizer, is the most common
contaminant in wells. The presence of nitrates can be a problem
particularly for infants under three months who can not metabolize
nitrate. Water with a nitrate concentration of more than 1.0 milligrams
per liter should not be used to prepare infant formula or given to a
child younger than one year. The policy statement suggests using bottled
water for infants when nitrate contamination is detected, or when the
source of drinking water is not known.
The policy statement and accompanying technical report point out that
water contamination is inherently local, and that families with wells
need to keep in contact with state and local health experts to determine
what should be tested in their community. For example, some parts of the
country may have arsenic, radon, salt intrusion or agricultural runoff
that may get into the water supply.
"As people move out of urban and suburban areas into areas that are not
reached by municipal water supplies, it is more important than ever that
people know who to contact in their local health department to get
information about local groundwater conditions," said N. Beth Ragan of
NIEHS, who served as consultant on these reports. A compilation of state
by state telephone and Web-based resources of local experts is included
in the technical report. Approximately one-sixth of U.S. households now
get their drinking water from private wells.
NIEHS Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., says she is pleased that NIEHS
researchers took the lead in writing this statement, and continue their
longstanding liaisons with the American Academy of Pediatrics to develop
state-of-the-science technical reports that can have a direct impact on
public health.
"This statement will be extremely useful to many audiences - especially
pediatricians," Birnbaum said. "Pediatricians needed a one-stop shopping
document that they can share with parents who have concerns about their
children's sources of drinking water."
References:
Rogan WJ, Brady MT, the Committee on Environmental Health and the
Committee on Infectious Diseases. June, 2009. Technical Report.
"Drinking Water from Private Wells and Risks to Children." Pediatrics,
123:6. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0752,
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/123/6/e1123.
Committee on Environmental Health and Committee on Infectious Diseases.
Policy Statement. "Drinking Water from Private Wells and Risks to
Children." Pediatrics, 123:6. DOI: 10.1542/peds2009-0752.
