Category: News

Source: Environmental Protection Online.com

Puts lid on flushed and trashed prescription meds that poison the environment

About 30 percent of medicines sold today go unused and flushing them down the toilet has been a common means of disposal. But when flushed, controlled substances like OxyContin and other such medications flow directly to wastewater treatment plants, which are unable to remove or degrade the complex pharmaceutical compounds.

Pharmaceuticals thrown in the trash also find their way into the environment. The Cedar Hills landfill in Maple Valley, Wash., generates 200 million gallons a year of landfill leachate—the chemical ooze that seeps out of garbage. The leachate is pumped into a sewage treatment facility that was not designed to remove such complex chemicals, whose long-lasting and hazardous properties contributed to the contamination of Puget Sound.
Continue reading King County, Wash. Passes Rx Drug Take-Back Law

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a web-based tool, called ChemView, to significantly improve access to chemical specific regulatory information developed by EPA and data submitted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  

“This online tool will improve access to chemical health and safety information, increase public dialogue and awareness, and help viewers choose safer ingredients used in everyday products,” said James Jones, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “The tool will make chemical information more readily available for chemical decision-makers and consumers.”
Continue reading EPA Web Tool Expands Access to Scientific, Regulatory Information on Chemicals

Source: Environmental Protection Online

The EPA finalizes a rule that requires companies to report chemical releases electronically

On Aug. 27, 2013, the EPA finalized a rule (originally proposed in March 2012) that will require companies to record and submit their chemical release reports through a digital reporting tool, according to Bloomberg BNA and Environmental-Expert.com. The new rule takes effect Jan. 21, 2014 and will be published in the Federal Register.

The EPA will provide the electronic reporting tool, called TRI-MEweb, to companies who report chemical releases through the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program. Reports will be due on July 1 of each year for the prior calendar year.

Though a big change, the new rule is expected to quicken companies’ reporting processes, as the software can pre-populate the form with information from prior years. The software can also help identify possible errors, decrease the EPA’s cost to process forms and allows the public to view TRI information faster. In addition, companies can revise or add to already submitted information with the new tool.

Companies that file trade-secret-related TRI reports are exempt from the new requirement.

Source: Body Shop Business.com

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes has announced its latest courses and training sites for the fourth quarter (October through December), 2013.

Participants will learn through a combination of classroom, digital and hands-on settings at various metropolitan Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes training centers. Training is available to all shop owners, managers, painters and technicians.

According to Rod Habel, director of training operations for Sherwin-Williams, many of the new classes directly relate to the Sherwin-Williams philosophy of helping its customers through “lean thinking” – introducing concepts that support sustainable practices, which increases productivity while minimizing or often eliminating waste.

In particular, Habel noted that there will also be considerable curriculum emphasis on the company’s breakthrough AWX Performance Plus waterborne coatings technology as well as  its ATX refinish system.

A key sampling of courses also offered during the fourth quarter includes:

• Color Adjustment and Blending
• Estimating Solutions for Profit
• Achieving Service Excellence
• Express Scratch Repair Service
• Painter Certification

Further details regarding the 2013 fourth quarter schedule for training centers, dates, specific course descriptions, and locations are listed here.

Source: CarsonNow.org

Nevadans are recycling more, according to a report released Wednesday by state environmental officials.

In 2012, the recycling rate was 28.8 percent, surpassing the state’s goal of 25 percent, according to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. In 2012, Carson City had a recycling rate of 24.9 percent.

In 1991 legislation known as AB320 set a goal that at least 25 percent of municipal solid waste would be recycled in counties that have a population of greater than 45,000.

The recycling rate has fluctuated over the last decade, finally achieving the 25 percent goal in 2011. State recycling rates are calculated using tonnage of recycled material from large municipalities where recycling programs are required, according to a news release.
Continue reading Nevada recycling rate reaches historic high, Carson City inches closer to goal

Source: Environmental Protection On-Line.com

The USGS has conducted a new study to determine the contaminant vulnerability of public-supply wells around the country, and also to discover which pollutants in an aquifer will make their way into those wells.

In the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) public-supply well study, ten study areas were the main focus. Those areas included Modesto, Calif., Woodbury, Conn., near Tampa, Fla., York, Nebr., near Carson City and Sparks, Nev., Glassboro, N. J., Albuquerque, N. Mex., Dayton, Ohio, San Antonio, Tex., and Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Improving the understanding of the vulnerability of public-supply wells to contamination is needed to safeguard public health and prevent future contamination,” said Suzette Kimball, acting USGS Director. “By examining ten different aquifers across the nation, we have a more thorough and robust understanding of the complexities and factors affecting water quality in our public supplies.”

Results of the study indicated that some aquifers allow contaminants to stay in groundwater longer or travel to wells much quicker than other aquifers because of direct pathways, such as fractures in rocks or wellbores of non-pumping wells. Irrigation and high-volume pumping were also found as human-induced contaminants in groundwater. Arsenic and uranium were found as natural contaminants in drinking water as a result of geochemical changes.

Source: the Guardian Health Innovation hub
By: Dr Peter Thomond is co-founder and managing director of Clever Together, an organization that helps leaders empower people using crowdsourcing

The five top tips to harness potential and give staff a license to suggest changes.

To nurture innovation in healthcare, leaders must do less. This counter-intuitive advice draws on years of innovation research and the practices of the world’s most innovative organizations, the ones that get 10 times more bang for buck on their innovation activities than the rest.

Innovation is more than a shiny gadget or an elegant new pathway. It is the organization’s process of identifying, developing and successfully exploiting new ideas, which is deceptively complex. I’ve worked with only 19 health providers and commissioners so far, yet I consistently see the same challenges which, if addressed, would lead to phenomenal leaps in innovation outcomes. Here are five top tips for leaders of health and care organizations:
Continue reading What healthcare leaders can do to nurture innovation