Illinois, Ohio Follow Michigan In Offering Early Intervention Services To Children With Low Levels Of Lead Poisoning
“Can you undo the problems caused by lead?” asked Nicole Hamp of University of Michigan Health Services. “The answer is ‘no.’ There is actual damage to the brain but in early childhood there is incredible growth in the brain and the neural circuitry. By getting in early enough, we can give the child the best chance for overcoming the damage.” Environmental news is on toxic algae blooms, aging lead pipes and pesticides, as well.
Stateline:
Kids With Lead Poisoning Will Get Early Help In These States
Illinois and Ohio this year made children with even low levels of lead in their blood automatically eligible for physical, developmental and other therapies at an earlier age, when those interventions are likely to have the most impact. Except for Michigan, which adopted a similar policy several years ago, Illinois and Ohio are the first states to make the change, according to the Legal Council for Health Justice, a Chicago-based health advocacy group that pushed for the measure in that state. (Ollove, 8/15)
Los Angeles Times:
Everything You Need To Know About Toxic Algae Blooms
Green pond scum floating on a lake is not just unsightly. As animal lovers have learned the hard way, it can be deadly. In recent days, three pet dogs in North Carolina and another in Georgia died after swimming in water contaminated with toxic organisms. Warm temperatures and an influx of nutrients from agricultural runoff or other sources can prompt toxic algae and bacteria to grow out of control. The result is a phenomenon called a toxic algae bloom. (De Marco, 8/14)
North Carolina Health News:
Pittsboro Agrees To Notify Residents Of Drinking Water Contamination
The Pittsboro Town Board of Commissioners has agreed to mail notices to local water customers to alert them of contaminants in the town’s drinking water. Board members stressed that the contaminants are unregulated and don’t exceed state or federal health advisories. But they said residents should be notified to let them decide for themselves whether to keep drinking the town’s water. The decision to notify residents was made at a board meeting Monday night. It came after NC Health News published two stories late last month about perfluorinated compounds — collectively known as PFAS — and other contaminants that have been found in the Chatham County town’s drinking water. (Barnes, 8/15)
The New York Times:
Lead Crisis In Newark Grows, As Bottled Water Distribution Is Bungled
Urgent new warnings from federal environmental officials about contamination in drinking water from aging lead pipes spread anxiety and fear across much of Newark, but the municipal government’s makeshift efforts to set up distribution centers to hand out bottled water were hampered by confusion and frustration. State and local officials said they were making free water available to 15,000 of the city’s 95,000 households, and hundreds of people waited in long lines in the summer heat to pick up cases of water. But officials had to halt the distribution temporarily after discovering that some of the water exceeded its best-by date. (Corasaniti, Kilgannon and Schwartz, 8/14)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Defended A Pesticide Linked To Developmental Disorders. California Will Ban It
California regulators on Wednesday took formal legal steps to ban a widely used pesticide that had been rescued from elimination by the Trump administration. The move by the state Environmental Protection Agency is all but certain to draw legal challenges from Corteva Agriscience (formerly Dow AgroSciences), which has pushed back at attempts by environmentalists to ban the chemical, chlorpyrifos, on a federal level. The state is the largest user of chlorpyrifos — more than 900,000 pounds of it was applied in 2017 to almonds, grapes, citrus, alfalfa, stone fruit, cotton and other crops, according to state data. (Mohan, 8/14)
