(Leslie is CEC’s intern. She has degrees in communication and nursing. We sent her to the EPA hearings to report her impressions. For other reports, see this Chronicle article and this Houston CLEAN report.)

As I drove into Houston’s Manchester neighborhood to attend Tuesday’s hearing on the EPA’s proposed emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants from refineries, I was struck by the billowing plumes of white smoke and realized that a person like me, who is not knowledgeable about petroleum refining, hasn’t a clue whether the smoke is harmless steam or poisonous benzene-laden pollution.

This struck me as an analogy for the east-end community. It’s obvious that there are problems to be addressed. The symptoms are visible. As I listened to the testimony, however, it became clear that pinpointing the problems and isolating their causes and contributing factors are far from easy tasks.

According to the EPA’s fact sheet about the proposals, the Clean Air Act requires EPA to review existing control technology standards that reduce emissions of air toxics (chemicals that are known or suspected to cause cancer and other health problems) from industrial facilities and to tighten those standards, if needed, to protect public health. EPA analyzed emissions at petroleum refineries and determined that the risks to human health are low enough that no further controls are warranted.

One EPA proposal is to retain the current standard. Its second option is to amend the standards to provide additional health protection. See the EPA website. However, many people who testified requested a third option of stricter standards.

The hearing provided a diverse and colorful tapestry of testimony. A few speakers represented the petroleum industry, many more were from environmental groups or were elected or government officials. Several had well-laid-out presentations with statistics and graphs, others told their personal stories.

The testimony that was most important, in my estimation, was that of the residents of the community. Many times, they said, their voices are not heard or heeded.

The issue most frequently addressed was “What is an acceptable health risk?” For the general population, EPA’s definition of an acceptable health risk is one (more) cancer case per million people for the general population, but, to the EPA, the acceptable risk is 100 cancer cases per million people if a person lives close to a refinery.

One industry representative, Jeff Holmstead of Bracewell and Giuliani Law Firm, later identified to me as a former EPA assistant administrator and now (again) a lobbyist, claimed that a one in one million risk is 27 times less than the risk of dying by a lightening strike. One in one million, he said, is simply the point at which risk is inconsequential. Holmstead continued to say that it would be silly to hold petroleum refineries to that standard, implying that getting struck by lightening is a hazard virtually no one considers in a risk/ benefit analysis of life.

This made me wonder. There is clearly risk inherent in living near a refinery, but what is the acceptable number considering many of us face risks greater than 100 per million (like a car accident for example) simply by getting out of bed in the morning?

However, several speakers questioned why people who live close to refineries should be less safe than the general public. To have one standard for the general public and a lesser standard for those living close to refineries is an example of environmental racism, they said.

Physician Bonnie New pointed out that people in communities like Manchester are often vulnerable populations (youth, age, illness, low income) and should therefore be more protected than the general population.

This hearing brought many issues to my attention. Which are steam, and which are benzene? Is it the petroleum refineries or the lack of health insurance (which one resident mentioned) that exacerbates health problems? Or something else entirely? Five or six Manchester residents testified that Texas Port Recycling, a newcomer to the neighborhood, is also a big concern. They claimed the company, which shreds cars, causes metallic dust and a cacophony of noise in the middle of night, causing health and morale problems.

There will be a student day on Wednesday, October 10 at Milby High School and at Austin High School. The plans for the day include conversations about career opportunities in science, engineering, and environmental science and a series of hands-on activities relating to environmental and public health.

The welcome reception for the conference is from 6 to 8 pm Wednesday at the Marriott Houston Airport, 9100 Gulf Freeway, and the conference begins the following morning at the Marriott.

There is no registration fee and lunch is provided. To register, contact Juan Parras, registration coordinator, at (713) 926-8895 or (281) 513-7799. For questions, call Paula Flores-Gregg, program chair at (214) 665-812 or see EPA’s website.

EPA Region 6 held a forum, “Beyond Translation,” in San Antonio on Oct 18. The meeting was planned to increase dialogue with the Hispanic community about challenges and opportunities facing the community and to elicit ideas for improving EPA’s service to Hispanic Americans, according to Paula Flores-Gregg, who organized the meeting. About one hundred Hispanic leaders from nonprofit organizations, local governments, and civic groups attended the event.

The morning sessions focused on groups that are working to improve community health, particularly children’s health. Among the issues of concern are childhood asthma, lead poisoning, and poor air quality. Methods of providing sanitary water to communities along the border were also discussed.

During the afternoon sessions, EPA staff listened to concerns from the workshop attendees. Miguel Flores, director of the Region 6 water quality division, said, “We heard a lot of requests for us to look at cumulative exposure to pollutants and effects of low levels of pollutants, particularly for children. Another theme was that data is never translated into terms lay people can understand so they can make their own assessments about risks.”

Flores said that community leaders told the EPA they were the experts in community problems, and the EPA could be most useful in a support role.

Another goal of the conference was to get more Hispanic youth into the educational pipeline to prepare for jobs at the agency and in the field of environmental management.

A children’s video “Chucho Salva el Dia” (Chucho saves the day) was featured at the conference. In this short Spanish-language movie, a dog Chucho and his owner plan to go fishing to enjoy a beautiful day – only to discover their fishing spot has been polluted. They spend the afternoon investigating ways daily activities can cause pollution and learning about steps they can take to protect water quality. The film made its debut at a San Antonio junior high.

Flores said the agency is already planning the next forum. More information about “Chucho Salva el Dia” is available at the EPA’s website.

The Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against the US Environmental Protection Agency this week because the EPA refused the group’s request that the agency regulate jewelry made with lead, particularly children’s and toy jewelry. The suit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, asks the court to force the EPA to address the problem.

Bracelets, rings, and charms made from lead are often sold in vending machines aimed at children and at dollar stores. However, major retailers also sell children’s and costume jewelry that has lead in it.

Jane Laping, executive director of Mothers for Clean Air, said, “It’s disturbing to hear about another source of lead that can injure our children. Parents are aware of the problems with lead in paint and mercury in fish that is a result of air pollution, but very few know about this hazard.”

In 2003, the Center for Environmental Health, a California advocacy group, tested hundreds of pieces of jewelry and found lead in about one third of the items sampled. Lead was found even in items labeled “Lead Free.” High levels were found in necklaces made with plastic cords and metal jewelry made with tin. Lead is not absorbed through the skin, but women or children who suck or chew on jewelry cords or metal parts are exposed to lead.

The Center sued the jewelry retailers and manufacturers under a California law that requires listing lead in consumer products. Many of the defendants agreed to reduce lead to trace amounts by September 2007 and eliminate lead by the end of August 2009. Brand names in the settlement include Disney, Liz Claiborne, Betsy Johnson, Juicy Couture, Lauren, Monet, and Napier. Retailers include Macy’s, Target, Penny’s, and Toys R Us — also Hot Topics and Claire’s, two chains that sell primarily to teens. A complete list of retailers and suppliers joining in the settlement is at http://www.cehca.org/jewelry.htm.

A child in Minnesota died of lead poisoning earlier this year after eating a heart-shaped charm packaged with a pair of Reebok shoes. The company recalled 300,000 of the Chinese-made charms, found to be 90 percent lead. After the death, the Sierra Club petitioned both EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission urging preventive action. CPSC has not yet decided how to respond to the Sierra Club’s petition. The EPA denied the request, which led to the filing of this lawsuit.

Jessica Frohman, chair of the National Toxics Committee of the Sierra Club, said, “EPA has the authority to correct this problem and it is irresponsible for them to sit passively on the sidelines.”

Frohman said that EPA regulation is necessary because the Consumer Product Safety Commission has only limited authority. “Its main power is to recall a product, but too few people hear about these.”

Lead can affect brain development in young children and has been directly linked to a wide range of learning disorders. It can also affect a developing fetus.

Tips on keeping children safe from lead jewelry can be found at the Sierra Club website.

“Texas has some of the most progressive laws in the country about pesticides in schools, but not many parents know about these laws,” laments Charlotte Wells, executive director of Texans for Alternatives to Pesticides. The law requires that public schools use the least toxic methods available to control pests, rodents, insects, and weeds, she says.

Texas also requires school districts to adopt an integrated pest management program and designate an IPM coordinator, and to post a notice about upcoming indoor pesticide treatments 48 hours before the treatment. State law also prohibits the application of pesticides if students are expected to be present within 12 hours after the treatment. Only applicators having state licenses may apply pesticides in schools. According to the organization Beyond Pesticides, just four other states have laws that impose use restrictions and mandate IPM, prior notice, and posting.

These laws also allow parents to ask the school to provide written notification before pesticides are applied, Wells says. “The request must be made at the beginning of the school year.”

The 1991 law has required IPM in schools since 1995, according to Wells. “The catalyst for the law was a school in Chillicothe, Texas, that had to close for four weeks in 1981 because students got sick from lindane and toxaphene sprayed for a head lice infestation, she says. These chemicals were not approved for this use and were applied by unlicensed persons.

Although IPM is required for outdoor use of pesticides, as well as indoor use, outdoor use does not require advance notice. “I think parents would be shocked if they know how much herbicide is used in areas that children play in,” Wells says. “Children bring the chemical inside on their shoes, and it stays in carpets since it doesn’t bio-degrade without sunlight.” Aside from health risks, herbicides are a major pollutant in bayous and bays.

“We need to remember that pesticides kill living organisms,” Wells says. “There’s a children’s song that goes,

Don’t burn down the farm
To get rid of the ants.
In your quest to kill a pest
Don´t poison your own nest.

I think that sums it up,” she says.

The State of Texas gives IPM Star Awards each year to school districts. The competition encourages pride in integrated pest management programs, and provides cash awards of $1,000 and $500 to schools with outstanding programs. The Katy ISD won in 2003. For more about pesticides, see TAP’s website or the school IPM website.

Their “day job,” asking about the damage sustained, the significant threat to human health in the area, and what environmental health projects are thought most important, ended with a report presented to the NIEH director’s conference in November.

However, Sullivan says, “The flood of fact and feeling we got back from our collaborators refused to stay inside the neat little box of our original purpose. From the moment we arrived in Baton Rouge we realized that the magnitude of the human and ecological damage demanded something more intimate and less formal, something grounded in fact but which also opened a window into how it really feels to live in the middle of an eco-catastrophe.”

So Sullivan and Parras took the videos of their interviews and pieced them together with music, still pictures, and color commentary from locals, into a film entitled . . . after the wind, child, after the waters gone. . .

Sullivan says the people in the film hope to promote “understanding and empathy with the plight of coastal Louisiana, home of so much of our energy industry infrastructure, a nexus of ongoing struggles by African-American, Houma, and Cajun communities for basic environmental, social and cultural justice, the most bountiful and endangered estuarine fishery in the Lower 48, way-station for innumerable species of migratory birds, and the cradle of so much of our national culture.”

The film will be shown at Rice Media Center on Thursday, August 17, at 8 pm. The Media Center is at University at Stockton on the south side of Rice University, 6100 Main Street. For more information, contact josulliv@utmb.edu.

The Department Energy is currently considering sites to expand the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s storage capacity. In this program, crude oil is stored in caverns created by the solution mining of salt domes. There are currently four existing facilities, two in Louisiana and two in Texas, with a capacity of about 727 million barrels.

The DOE is considering some combination of constructing five new sites and expanding three existing sites to bring its storage capacity to 1 billion barrels. It recently released a draft environmental impact statement comparing the various sites under consideration. According to the document, one possible site for a new storage facility is the Stratton Ridge salt dome, which is about 3 miles east of Lake Jackson. Other new sites being considered are in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Sites considered for expansion are Big Hill, Texas, which is about 17 miles southwest of Port Arthur; West Hackberry, Louisiana; and Bayou Choctaw, Louisiana. West Hackberry is close to the Texas border, about 16 miles southwest of Lake Charles. Bayou Choctaw is near Baton Rouge.

The reserve is a national stockpile of crude oil, established following the 1973 – 74 oil embargo. Currently, 688 million barrels is stored. Oil has been withdrawn from storage in response to energy emergencies twice: in 1991, during the Persian Gulf War; and in September 2005 after Hurricane Katrina devastated oil production, distribution, and refining industries in Louisiana and Mississippi. However, oil has been withdrawn for other uses many times. Small amounts of oil are routinely withdrawn from the reserves to test equipment. In addition, oil is removed to satisfy trading agreements with private companies in which the reserve ultimately receives more oil than it releases.

The DOE reports that oil spills and brine spills in this form of storage are not a substantial environmental risk.

If a new facility were to be built at the Stratton Ridge, it would cover about 370 acres. Water for solution mining would be drawn from the Intercoastal Waterway and brine would be diffused into the Gulf of Mexico. Planners estimate that there would need to be 61 miles of new right of way for pipelines, roads, and power lines, and construction of a terminal and tank farm in Texas City. The raw water intake and brine disposal right of way and the crude oil right of way would cross the Brazoria National Wildlife refuge in two places. The facility would be visible from the refuge.

An expansion at Big Hill would require about 200 more acres of land. Water will be drawn from the Intercoastal Waterway and brine diffused into the Gulf of Mexico. The project would use existing intake and diffuser lines, but would still require 24 more miles of right of way. Big Hill’s brine disposal pipe crosses the McFadden Wildlife refuge.

An expansion at West Hackberry would require about 89 more acres of land, but would use existing facilities.

The summary of the draft environmental statement minimizes consequences at the three area sites from either the taking of water from the Intercoastal Waterway or the disposal of brine into the Gulf of Mexico. It concludes that there would be wetlands loss at any of the sites. Stratton Ridge, if selected, would require more study to consider the impact on air quality of a new facility.

There will be five public hearings on this proposal. One will be in Lake Jackson, on Tuesday, June 27, at 7 pm. It will be at the Lake Jackson Civic Center, 333 Highway 332 East. The public comment period lasts until July 10. To comment or request a time to speak at a hearing, e-mail donald.silawsky@hq.doe.gov or fax material to Donald Silawsky at (202) 586-4446. The draft EIS is available at the DOE website.

Purpose: The Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP) works to persuade government and corporate officials to prevent smog. GHASP seeks to accomplish its mission by being the most credible advocate for clean air in the Houston region; by supporting efforts to educate the public; and by directly engaging government officials, community leaders, the media and industry on regional air pollutionissues.

John D. Wilson, Executive Director
3100 Richmond, Suite 309
Houston, TX 77098
(713) 528-3779/Fax: (713) 526-0550
info@ghasp.org

www.ghasp.org

Publications: Houston Ozone Air Pollution Season Off to record Start (June 2005), Mercury in Galveston and Houston Area Fish (Oct 2004), Who’s Counting? The Systematic Underreporting of Toxic Air Emissions (June 2004), Smoke in the water: Air Pollution Hidden in the Water Vapor from Cooling Towers – Agencies Fail to Enforce Against Polluters (rev, Feb. 2004), Where does Houston’s Smog Come From? (October 2003), How Bad is Houston’s Smog? (February 2002), Reducing Air Pollution from Houston-Area School Buses (March 2004), Trees + Our Air: The Role of Trees in Houston- Area Air Pollution (1999), Why Houston’s Clean Air Plan Falls Short (July 2002), Danger in the Air: Toxic Air Pollution in the Houston-Galveston Corridor (Dec 1996).

Meeting Time: Third Thursday of the month: 7 pm, new volunteer/new visitor orientation; 7:30 pm, meeting.

Volunteer Opportunities: GHASP has a variety of
research opportunities for volunteers, as well as
technical and organizational opportunities.

6100 Main Street, Anderson Hall, Room 149
Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005
(713) 348-4876/Fax: (713) 348-5924
rda@rice.edu

www.rda.rice.edu

Linda Sylvan, Executive Director
sylvan@rice.edu

Barbara Amelio, President
(713) 425-6133
barbraa@debnerr.com

David George, President-Elect
(713) 207-6901
david.george@centerpointenergy.com

Nonya Grenader, Vice President
(713) 524-1841
nonya@rice.edu

Publication: Cite: The Architecture and Design Review of Houston, published quarterly, Ephemeral City: Cite Looks at Houston (2003, UT press).

Major Events: RDA Spring 2006 Lecture Series, Mayor League, January-February 2006; RDA Annual Architecture tour, Houses on the Bayou, March 25-26, 2006; RDA Hometown Tours, Arizona, February; South Carolina, June; Paris, France (sold out), October; Sally Walsh lecture, John Dawson, April 5; RDA Parmers Charrette, August 2006; Fall 2006 lecture series, Resurfacing the City, September-October 2006. Annual RDA Gala, November 2006

Volunteer Opportunities: Docents needed for annual spring house tour, RDA fall gala, and other events.