Washington, DC – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded more than $9 million in Healthy Homes Production grants to twelve tribes and tribal agencies to protect children and families from home health and safety hazards. Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing conditions can be improved by addressing factors such as lead paint, indoor air quality and ventilation, heating devices, and moisture damage. The grant funding announced will assist and protect families by targeting health hazards in the homes of 630 low-income families where significant home health and safety hazards exist.
Industry News
Lead Based Paint Inspections in NYC Just Got Tougher
Habitat Magazine
by Kathryn Farrell
New York, NY – The city has enacted stricter regulations on detecting lead-based paint inside apartments – yet another item for the to-do lists of some co-op and condo boards and their management companies. Local Law 31, which went into effect on Aug. 9, requires an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer inspection to be performed within the next five years in certain apartments. The XRF test must be performed by an inspector certified by the Environmental Protection Agency who has no relation to either the board or the company that does the building’s lead-remediation work.
Construction Industry Lobby Blocks Bill to Ban Asbestos
Environmental Working Group
by Alex Formuzis
Washington, DC – Legislation to ban the future use and importation of the notorious and deadly carcinogen asbestos was blocked from passing the House Thursday night after lobbyists representing a powerful sector of the building and construction industry objected. The National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, or NSSGA, stopped the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act, or ARBAN (H.R.1603,) from coming up for a vote over complaints that the definition of asbestos in the legislation was too broad, arguing it “deviates from the longstanding, mineralogically accurate definition.”
Asbestos Ban Stalls in Congress Amid Partisan Fight
The Hill
by Rebecca Beitch
Washington, DC – Democrats and Republicans are each accusing the other of holding up a bill to ban asbestos that had been expected to pass with little controversy this week. The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act exited committee with just one no vote and was expected to sail through the voting process without amendments. But Democratic aides on the Energy and Commerce Committee say that progress has stalled as GOP lawmakers object to a provision that assures the legislation would have no impact on ongoing litigation over injuries tied to use of talcum powder.
US House of Representatives to Vote On Bicameral Alan Reinstein Ban Asebstos Now Bill
Washington, DC – The bicameral Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2019 (ARBAN) will be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 29. ‘This bill will stop hundreds of metric tons of asbestos from entering the United States each year and will protect Americans from being exposed to the deadly threat of asbestos found in homes, schools, workplaces, and on consumer shelves,” said Linda Reinstein, President of ADAO and widow to the bill’s namesake. “As we saw in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, we expect a strong vote in the House. We then expect the Senate to affirm that it is past time for the U.S. to join the nearly 70 countries that have already banned asbestos to protect their citizens from this known carcinogen.”
HR 1603 would accomplish several critical public health objectives:
- It would ban the importation and use of asbestos, and asbestos containing products within one year of enactment.
- Chlor-alkali plants using asbestos diaphragms would need to eliminate the use of asbestos and convert to non-asbestos technology following a ten-year transition period.
- The bill would establish a new Right-to-Know program to require current importers, processors, and distributors to report and disclose to the public how much asbestos is in U.S. commerce, where and how it is used, and who is exposed.
- The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) would conduct a comprehensive study of risks presented by “legacy” asbestos used in building construction decades ago but still present in millions of residences, businesses, factories, public buildings, and schools.
- The presence of asbestos contaminants in consumer products and construction materials would be stringently controlled.
- The hazardous Libby Amphibole form of asbestos, found in attic insulation in millions of homes, would be covered by the ban.
Click here for Tuesday’s House Schedule. Click here for the full text of the bill.
Fresh Evidence of Nyc’s Deadly Lead Paint Lies
New York Post
New York, NY – Documents coughed up under the Freedom Of Information Law again show that the de Blasio administration downplayed the true scale and scope of lead exposure crisis in public housing. From 2010 to ’18, city health inspectors found lead in 222 NYCHA units across 93 developments — more than a quarter of all complexes citywide. Experts say that finding lead in one apartment meant the poison likely was present throughout the building. Yet NYCHA leaders opted to avoid costly remediation by challenging findings — successfully, in 158 cases.
Low Income and Predominantly Latino Neighborhoods in Santa Ana Affected by Toxic Lead, Report Says
LA Time
by Ben Brazil
Santa Ana, CA – There are potentially unhealthy levels of lead in low-income and predominately Latino neighborhoods in Santa Ana, a new report finds. Local organization Orange County Environmental Justice partnered with UC Irvine and other community members over the last three years for the study. The coalition analyzed more than 1,500 soil samples from more than 500 locations, finding that the samples ranged from 11.4 to 2,687 parts per million, with an average soil sample of 123.1 ppm. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment considers anything above 80 ppm in a residential area as hazardous to health. About half of the soil samples exceeded the California safety recommendation.
EPA’s Asbestos Problem: Pending Litigation and Draft Risk Evaluation
National Law Review
Washington, DC – Multiple States’ Attorneys General and asbestos advocacy groups are suing EPA in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs are seeking judicial intervention concerning EPA “arbitrary and capricious” decision to deny states’ earlier petition that requested EPA collect more data on imported asbestos under the authority granted to EPA in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Under the Arbitrary and Capricious standard, plaintiffs must prove that there was no rational connection between the facts found and the decision made by EPA.
EPA Says Their Research Continues to Provide Vital Research to Support Toxic Substance Control Act
Washington, DC – In 2016, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act was passed, amending the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Nation’s primary chemical management law, for the first time in 40 years. The amended TSCA included advances such as: mandatory requirements for EPA to evaluate existing chemicals with clear and enforceable deadlines, risk-based chemical assessments, increased public transparency for chemical information, and a consistent source of funding for EPA to carry out its responsibilities under the new law. EPA scientists are providing support for several important TSCA activities including: the development of New Approach Methods for alternative toxicity testing; implementing approaches for chemical pre-prioritization; improving exposure assessment for new and existing chemicals; and supporting ongoing chemical assessments.
Denver Marijuana Health Inspections, Mold Report Delayed Due to Covid
Westworld
by Thomas Mitchell
Denver, CO – One of the few local health agencies investigating and disciplining marijuana facilities in Colorado, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment has been responsible for a significant number of marijuana mold and pesticide recalls since recreational pot sales began in 2014. Regularly scheduled health and safety inspections at marijuana cultivations and production facilities paused in March as DDPHE staffers began assisting with COVID-19 response efforts, according to DDPHE spokeswoman Tammy Vigil.