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CEC ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS UPDATE 12/19/03 - HOUSTON CEC NOTES HAPPY HOLIDAYS The CEC offices will be closed Dec. 22 through Jan. 2
to give our staff an COALITION NOTES BLUEPRINT HOUSTON HOSTS MAYORAL RECEPTION Blueprint Houston will honor Mayor Bill White, Controller Annise Parker and City Council in a reception, Thursday, Jan. 8, from 5:30-7:30 pm at The Ensemble Theatre Lobby, 3535 Main Street. Blueprint Houston is working with the city to encourage civic engagement about quality of life issues in Houston. Recently, the City Council passed a resolution recognizing the group’s efforts. For more information about the reception, contact Blueprint Houston executive Heidi Sweetnam at hsweetnam@blueprinthouston.org or (713) 522-0590. ECO-CAROLING AT MAXXAM HEADQUARTERS The Southern Alliance of Coastal Redwood Earth Defenders is planning a protest at Maxxam headquarters on Monday, Dec 22. The group objects to what members call the company’s unsustainable logging practices. The protesters will be singing environmental parodies of traditional Christmas carols. Hot cider will be provided and "eco-carol" hymnbooks will be handed out as souvenirs. Maxxam headquarters are located at 5847 San Felipe. The protest will last from 8-9 am. For more information, contact (713) 858-0074, or email info@SacredRedwood.org. LOCAL CITY SEEKS FEDERAL GRANT TO CLEAN UP BROWNFIELDS The city of Houston last week submitted an application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for $2 million in grant funding to cleanup area brownfields. Brownfields are parcels of land that are too contaminated to build on, but not contaminated enough to qualify for federal Superfund status. The EPA grant money would establish a revolving fund for the city to provide loans to clean and redevelop contaminated sites. In the mayor’s office of brownfields redevelopment, federal liaison David Reels said Houston currently pays out of limited operating fees to cleanup contaminated cites owned by the city. The problem, he said is cleaning up privately owned sites that are abandoned once contamination is identified. Last year, Houston was turned down by EPA, according to Reels, because the city failed to demonstrate community involvement in the redevelopment process. This year the city held three community meetings, which it advertised in the Houston Chronicle. Reels said a stronger application in 2003 still faces competition with only $70 million in federal aide available nationwide, and hundreds of cities applying for the grant. Houston has identified more than 1,000 acres throughout the city that qualify as brownfields. More information about Houston brownfields can be found http://www.cityofhouston.gov.
DOW SUBSIDIARY TO PAY FOR ILLEGAL SAFETY CLAIM A subsidiary of Dow Chemical Co. will pay a $2 million fine for making illegal safety claims in advertising its pesticides, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said Monday. The penalty involving the popular Dursban and other pesticides is the largest in the nation's history, he said. "By misleading consumers about the potential dangers associated with the use of their products, Dow's ads may have endangered human health and the environment by encouraging people to use their products without proper care, " Spitzer said. In addition to the fine, a court consent order prohibits the company from making safety claims about its pesticides, and requires it to start a compliance program that will include an internal review of all of its ads in New York state and removal of safety claims. Dow agreed to the $2 million penalty, but admitted no illegal or erroneous advertising, said spokesman Garry Hamlin, adding that the company decided it would cost more to litigate the case than to pay the penalty. Dow officials said a 1994 agreement between the company and the state attorney general's office prohibited advertisements touting the safety of its pesticide products. "The 1994 agreement restricted our ability to support and defend our products, even if our statements were true." said Guy A. Relford, the company's head of litigation. For instance, Relford said, the old agreement was interpreted by Spitzer as prohibiting telling people that the federal Environmental Protection Agency had registered one of Dow's products as a reduced risk pesticide. Among the advertised claims cited by Spitzer was: "No significant adverse health effects will likely result from exposures to Dursban even at levels substantially above those expected to occur when applied at label rates. " Dr. Philip Landrigan of the Department of Community and Preventative Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, who was involved in the study, said that claim was false. "Excellent studies conducted by independent scientists have clearly shown that chlorpyrifos, the active ingredient in Dursban, is toxic to the human brain and nervous system and is especially dangerous to the developing brain of infants," Landrigan said.
ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION CEC Environmental News Update is a weekly publication by the Citizens' Environmental Coalition, a 501(c)3 dedicated to fostering dialogue, education and collaboration about environmental issues in the Houston-Gulf Coast Region. Visit the CEC online at www.cechouston.org. To subscribe or unsubscribe, or to suggest items for inclusion, send your request via e-mail to David Gresham at david@cechouston.org. Phone: 713-524-4232 Fax: 713-524-3311 |
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