Greenversations

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

As I was getting ready to go to work, I was listening to the gardening segment
on the local news radio station. The announcer was giving advice on how to eliminate those unwanted critters that might invade the home to escape from the winter cold without having to use toxic substances. He recommended using mouse traps, for example, instead of fumigating or using rat poison.

As I listened to his useful tips, I realized that he was basically advocating for Integrated Pest Management,
a practice that here at EPA we highly recommend,

Without having to use toxic chemicals, you can prevent pests from seeking refuge in your home if you create an environment that is not pleasing to them. How, you may ask? Well, basically, be a very inhospitable host. What do I mean by that? Well, don’t give them any food to eat, nothing to drink, and no shelter! I know we wouldn’t welcome these pests knowingly, but frankly, when we leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight, or leave water for our pets overnight, or even let water accumulate under our plant pots or around the home, or we have a cluttered home, we are extending an open invitation to the unwanted critters!!! Why do I mention clutter like newspapers, bags, boxes, etc., because you don’t want to create the perfect hiding place for them nor their relatives….

So, even if you follow these steps and you get a visit from an unwanted guest like these pests, consider using baits and traps so you can keep toxics out of your home. Keep a healthy home for you, your family, as well as your pets.

Sobre la autor: Lina M. F. Younes ha trabajado en la EPA desde el 2002 y está a cargo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Comunicaciones Multilingües. Como periodista, dirigió la oficina en Washington de dos periódicos puertorriqueños y ha laborado en varias agencias gubernamentales.

Mientras me preparaba para ir al trabajo, escuchaba el segmento de jardinería en la estación de radio noticiosa local. El locutor estaba dando consejos sobre cómo eliminar esos animalitos indeseados que suelen invadir su casa para escaparse del frío invernal sin tener que usar sustancias tóxicas. Recomendaba usar ratoneras, por ejemplo, en lugar de fumigar o usar veneno de ratas.

Al escuchar sus conejos útiles, me di cuenta que básicamente estaba abogando a favor del plan para el Manejo Integrado de Plagas, una práctica que aquí en la EPA recomendamos firmemente.

Sin tener que usar sustancias químicas tóxicas, usted puede evitar que las plagas busquen refugio en su hogar al crea un entorno que no sea agradable para ellas. ¿Y, cómo lo haría? Pues, básicamente, sea un anfitrión inhospitalario. ¿Y, a qué me refiero? Bueno, no le dé ni una miga que comer, ni una gota de beber ni le provea albergue! Sé que normalmente no le brindamos la bienvenida a estas plagas a sabiendas, pero francamente, cuando dejamos los trastes sucios en el fregadero por la noche, cuando dejamos el agua para las mascotas por extensas horas disponible, o dejamos que el agua se acumule en los tiestos o alrededor del hogar, o si tenemos muchos papeles amontonados, estamos llamando a gritos a las plagas e invitando estos animales no deseados! ¿Por qué menciono los periódicos, cajas, bolsas amontonadas en particular? Porque usted no quiere crear el refugio perfecto para que las plagas vengan con sus familiares…

Por ende, si sigue estos consejos y todavía recibe una vista de una de estas plagas no deseadas, considere usar cebos y trampas para mantener las sustancias tóxicas fuera del hogar. La protección de su familia está en sus manos. Tampoco se olvide de las mascotas. Hay que cuidarlas también.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

The other day I was working on some multilingual materials designed to increase awareness on the high levels of mercury in certain types of fish. My family likes to eat fish especially when we eat out. Given that fish is low in saturated fat and an excellent source of protein, I was not overly concerned. However, when I started to review the EPA-FDA fish advisories more closely, I saw the information from another perspective given our family’s eating habits.

First of all, we often go to a sushi restaurant near home. It’s one of the few restaurants we all agree upon. My three older daughters “of child-bearing age” all love to eat sushi and my youngest’s favorite dish is ikuradon, a bowl of rice topped with salmon roe. While I knew we were not regularly consuming fish in the high-mercury category—king mackerel, shark, swordfish and tilefish, the advisories do not make special reference to mercury levels in fish eggs. Exposure to mercury at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidney, lungs, and immune systems of people of all ages. Yet, fetuses, infants, and children are at a greater risk of impaired neurological development given the fact that their internal organs and systems are developing at full swing.

Was I subjecting my daughters, especially my youngest, to an unhealthy diet? I did some Web surfing to find specific info on mercury in fish eggs. Not much luck. I decided to consult one of my EPA colleagues who helped allay my concerns. I want to share the information with my fellow bloggers. I was happy to find out that fish eggs don’t have particularly high levels of mercury. In general, fully grown fish higher in the food chain are the prime suspects when it comes to bioaccumulative contaminants. Some of these contaminants like PCBs and DDT tend to settle in the fatty areas of the fish (like the liver), but mercury is found throughout the fish. Salmon fish roe, Ikura, (イクラ) in Japanese, shouldn’t be a problem. To be on the safe side, I’ll encourage her to eat more grilled salmon which she also enjoys. In the meantime, I’ll have some more wasabi and picked ginger. Arigato.

Sobre la autor: Lina M. F. Younes ha trabajado en la EPA desde el 2002 y está a cargo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Comunicaciones Multilingües. Como periodista, dirigió la oficina en Washington de dos periódicos puertorriqueños y ha laborado en varias agencias gubernamentales.

El otro día estaba trabajando en unos materiales multilingües diseñados para crear conciencia sobre los altos niveles de mercurio en ciertos tipos de pescado. A mi familia le gusta comer pescado especialmente cuando vamos a restaurantes. Como el pescado tiene niveles bajos de grasas saturadas y es una excelente fuente de proteína, yo no estaba tan preocupada por su consumo. Sin embargo, cuando empecé a leer los avisos de EPA y la FDA sobre el pescado, los leí con más detenimiento. Ahora veo la información desde otra perspectiva teniendo en cuenta nuestros hábitos de alimentación.

En primer lugar, solemos ir a un restaurante cercano que se especializa en la comida japonesa de sushi. Es uno de los pocos restaurantes a los cuales todos nos gusta ir. Mis tres hijas mayores de “edad fértil” todas les gusta comer sushi y a la pequeña le encanta comer el ikuradón que es un bol de arroz cubierto con los huevos de salmón. Aunque estaba algo tranquila porque sabía que no solemos comer pescados en la categoría de aquellos de altos niveles de mercurio como pez espada, tiburón, cabala del rey, lucieoperca, y el tilefish, por ejemplo, estos avisos no hacían mención especial de los altos niveles de mercurio en los huevos de pescado. La exposición al mercurio a altos niveles puede ocasionar daños al cerebro, el corazón, el hígado, los pulmones, y los sistemas inmunológicos de las personas de todas las edades. Sin embargo, los fetos, los bebés y los niños son mucho más vulnerables a los riesgos ambientales y posibles daños a sus sistemas neurológicos debido al hecho que sus órganos internos y sistemas están en pleno desarrollo.

¿Acaso estaba poniendo en riesgo a mis hijas, especialmente a la pequeña, con una dieta que no era saludable? Decidí buscar en la Internet información sobre el mercurio en los huevos de pescado sin mucha suerte. Decidí consultar a uno de mis colegas en EPA para tranquilizarme. Quisiera compartir la información con mis amigos de la blogosfera. Me alegra poder decirles que los huevos de pescado no tienen niveles elevados de mercurio. En general, los peces desarrollados y en los niveles más altos de la cadena alimenticia son aquellos donde suelen depositarse los contaminantes bioacumulativos. Algunos de estos contaminantes como los PCBs y el DDT se concentran mayormente en las áreas de mucha grasa como el hígado, pero el mercurio se encuentra a través de todo el pez. Los huevos de salmón, Ikura, (イクラ) en japonés no deben presentar problemas. Para ir a la segura, de ahora en adelante voy a alentar a mi pequeña que como más salmón que también le gusta. Mientras tanto, acompañaré la comida con un poco de wasabi y jengibre curtido. Arigato. Muchas gracias.

Each week we ask a question related to the environment. Please let us know your thoughts as comments. Feel free to respond to earlier comments or post new ideas. Previous questions.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas, but it can build up inside homes and cause lung cancer (it’s number 2, after smoking). You can buy radon test kits to check for radon, improve home ventilation, and other things. January is National Radon Action Month.

What have you done to protect your home against radon?

Each week we write about the science behind environmental protection. Previous Science Wednesdays.

About the author: Michael Firestone, Ph.D., is a biochemist who is the Science Director in EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education.

Simply put, EPA is interested in children because they are not little adults. Their bodies are developing; they eat more, drink more, and breathe more in proportion to their body size than adults; and their unique behaviors such as crawling and putting their hands and objects in their mouths can expose them more to chemicals and organisms. These differences may increase the susceptibility of children to environmental contaminants such as mercury and lead and certain pesticides.

In 1987, I was fortunate for two reasons – I received a promotion to manage a group of scientists who evaluated occupational and residential exposure to pesticides, and I became a father for the first time. Watching my young daughter crawl around on the grass and picking up a small pebble to explore with her mouth made me wonder about possible exposure of young children to pesticides used on lawns – at the same time, I realized that our group of scientists had very little data to answer the question. Thus, I began on a 20-year journey to promote research related to better understanding children’s environmental exposure.

Along the way, even the President became concerned by issuing Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks.

Take some time and watch a toddler very carefully and you will begin to understand just how unique children’s behaviors can be compared to adults – here is a great example:

We’ve made great progress toward improving our knowledge about children’s exposures including the development of guidance to standardize childhood age groups and a brand new database of children’s exposure factors information.

And the federal government is starting an exciting new study called the National Children’s Study whose goal is examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of 100,000 children across the United States.

It has been said that our children are our future – so let’s make sure we develop the tools and data which will help us protect both!

My name is Ashley, and this semester I have the privilege to work at the EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education. I am so excited to spend the next couple of months writing blog entries in order to give middle and high school students a voice to express their own thoughts and feelings on issues like global climate change. Let me start off by mentioning a few things about myself.

What brought me to Washington D.C…

Originally I am from Bolingbrook, Illinois which is about 30 minutes away from Chicago. I am finishing up my last year at Indiana University with a degree in Public Finance. During my junior year in college, I heard about this exciting program called WLP, the Washington Leadership Program. The second I heard about WLP, it instantly caught my attention. WLP offers students the opportunity to spend a semester in Washington DC, in my case, during an exciting time of the year; the presidential election. Students get the chance to experience DC during a fun time in their life, gain practical experience in an area of interest, meet influential people, and take classes up on the Hill. How amazing is that? Not bad for a student.

I wanted to work at OCHPEE after learning the office focuses on environmental health threats and contributes in so many ways to helping parents as well as middle and high school students become environmentally conscious. During my time here at OCHPEE, I want to hear your story including your activities to address global climate change. Your activities can inspire others.

Let’s get started on this week’s topic.

Today many kids are driven to school by their parents rather than taking the bus, walking, or riding a bike. This increases traffic and energy use. Choosing to walk, ride a bicycle or school bus, or even take public transportation, reduces air pollution. Air pollutants can harm kids and cause respiratory problems. Children have respiratory systems that are not fully developed and they are often involved in activities where they breathe deeply and take in toxic air pollutants. Because October 8th is International Walk to School Day we want to hear what you are doing to reduce energy use getting to and from school and other activities. Have you talked to your friends and classmates? What has your school done? Your activities can inspire others so tell us what you’re doing. Send us pictures.

About the author: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division.

Last Saturday, as I was watching the 11:00 p.m. news, the weather anchor gave an advisory of Sahara dust in the area. Too late I thought, since I have an asthmatic three year old. Most of us who suffer with asthma can feel the effects before satellites detect this Saharan cloud. Following the weather advisory, I had him stay inside the house all Sunday as a preventive measure. As feared, Monday morning came and he was wheezing with a full blown asthma attack.

Every summer, particles of dust from the Sahara Desert travel halfway around the globe and settle in the Caribbean area around Puerto Rico. This dust impacts not only our air quality, but the climate. This cloud, full of minerals and fungi, alters the quality of air and impacts not only respiratory health, but ecosystems as well. Some studies trace the loss of coral reefs in the Caribbean to this phenomenon. It’s incredible that these small particles from the Sahara Desert in Africa can cause so many adverse impacts to the environment and health an ocean away.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in July 2000 alone, nearly eight million tons of dust from Africa reached Puerto Rico. That’s the equivalent of eight million pickup trucks (each pickup truck weighs one ton. Satellite imagery tracks this gigantic cloud that arrives from Africa every year, peaking between May and August in our area. Most of the population relies on the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board air quality information. Also the National Weather Service, issues warnings whenever the uninvited guest drops by our beautiful Caribbean island.

I was counting my blessings all summer long since it had been five months since my son’s last attack. A combination of factors had been successful in helping us manage his asthma over the past months. First the medications, second, I had been very vigilant about indoor asthma triggers and third, during the summer, since he was at home, I made him stay indoors every time the air quality index rose to alert levels. Nevertheless, here I was back to square one with our yearly uninvited visitor: Sahara dust.

Sobre la autor: Brenda Reyes Tomassini se unió a la EPA en el 2002. Labora como especialista de relaciones públicas en la oficina de EPA en San Juan, Puerto Rico donde también maneja asuntos comunitarios para la División de Protección Ambiental del Caribe.

El sábado pasado, mientras veía el noticiario de las 11:00 p.m. el reportero ancla del tiempo anunció un alerta de polvo del Desierto del Sahara en el área. Muy tarde, pensé, ya que mi hijo de tres años es asmático y al igual que otras personas asmáticas y alérgicas puede sentir los efectos antes que los satélites puedan detectar esta nube de polvo. Ese día nos había acompañado a realizar encargos e inclusive había jugado afuera. Al día siguiente del aviso, hice que mi hijo se mantuviera dentro de la casa como medida preventiva. Sin embargo y tal como temiera, el lunes ya tenía un ataque de asma.

Todos los veranos las partículas de polvo del Desierto del Sahara viajan alrededor del mundo y se asientan en el área del Caribe, especialmente en Puerto Rico. Este polvo no solo afecta nuestra calidad de aire, pero también el clima. La nube, lleva de minerales y hongos, altera la calidad del aire e impacta severamente a aquellos con condiciones respiratorias, pero también afecta los ecosistemas. Inclusive algunos estudios asocian la pérdida de corales en el Caribe a este fenómeno. Es increíble que partículas tan pequeñas sean responsables de tanto impactos adversos al medioambiente, las personas y a los ecosistemas que se encuentran a un océano de por medio.

De acuerdo a la Administración Nacional Aeronáutica y Espacial (NASA, por sus siglas en inglés), en el mes de julio del año 2000 llegaron a Puerto Rico 8 millones de toneladas de polvo del Desierto del Sahara. Eso es el equivalente a 8 millones de camionetas! ( cada camioneta pesa una tonelada). Aunque las imágenes de satélite vigilan esta nube gigante que llega a nuestro vecindario caribeño entre los meses de mayo y agosto, la gran mayoría de la ciudadanía depende del informe de caldidad de aire de la Junta de Calidad Ambiental de Puerto Rico. Este a su vez es el que utilizan los noticiarios junto a los avisos que emite el Servicio Nacional de Meteorología (NWS, por sus siglas en inglés) para alertar a la población.

Ante este panorama, siempre tomo mis precauciones especiales durante el verano con mis niños para que no se vean afectados con alergias o asma. Hacía cinco meses que a mi hijo menor no le daba un ataque de asma. Una combinación de factores que incluyen medicamentos, controlar los detonantes y el mantenerlo dentro de la casa cuando los informes de calidad de aire indicaban un nivel insalubre, habían resultado exitosos para manejar su condición. Pero cierto visitante no invitado, el polvo del Desierto del Sahara, se encargó que todos mis esfuerzos se hicieran sal y agua en menos de 48 horas.

About the author: Mary Kemp is currently the Homeland Security Coordinator in the Dallas, TX regional office. Mary started at EPA in 1985 and has worked in the asbestos, Superfund, and air programs. She’s keeping us updated on how her office is responding to Hurricane Gustav.

Our first reconnaissance flights from yesterday showed no emergencies at facilities and limited damage. Our water experts will be assisting the state with assessments of drinking water and waste water infrastructure in the hurricane impacted area. They are also sharing and distributing information along the way. Our Public Information Officer is located at the Joint Field Office in Baton Rouge. He is coordinating information sharing and distribution of information too. We are continuing to work with the state. I’m on hold waiting to see if there will be an activation of the general Response Support Corps.