Pollution Audit

A NSW pollution audit found 204 companies and organisations failed to return their certificates before the deadline. It is said surprise audits of about 80 enterprises may occur in the 18 months from Oct ’96.

Victorian Toxic Dump

In the past decade the rise in solid prescribed waste in Victoria was a disastrous 784%, say Werribee Residents of Toxic Dump in Victoria. They are calling for a toxic dump proposed by CSR to be blocked.

Victorian EPA Failing on Air Quality

The Victorian EPA has been criticised for not having updated standards for measuring air quality in the past 16 years, not routinely measuring pollutants on busy roads, not releasing full results from air testing since 1992 and for having a limited network of monitoring stations for air quality.

Manipulating Students

American corporations such as Hoover and Exxon are sending their own "educational" materials to U.S. schools. The materials encourage students to write reports which reflect well on those corporations as a part of the school curriculum.

PVC-Free Cables for Olympics

The manufacturer of cables for the Olympic site, Olex Cables, will be supplying new cables which it claims are free of both PVC and therefore lead. Many other cables in general use contain leaded PVC.

Alternative Property Inspections

A new service called "Geomancy" is available which "[assesses] sites by both ancient and modern methods, on both the physical and the energy levels.... in order to help people develop a greater sense of harmony with their surroundings" It includes a check for toxic materials in the home.

Lead Linked to Birth Defects

A study in the N.W. of England found that lead in drinking water could mean a higher risk of birth defects, including spina bifida and anencephaly, a lack of brain development. They claimed that the risk of such defects rose by 25% for every 10% rise in the lead level in drinking water over 10m g/L. The study was conducted by Dr. John Bound of the Dept. of Paediatrics at the Victoria Hospital in Blackpool.

Lead Survey in U.S.

A study in the U.S.A. from 1991-94 (published Feb’97) found 5.9% of 1-2 year olds had 10 µg/dL or more of lead in their blood, while the average for all 1-2 year olds was 3.1 µg/dL. 10 µg/dL is the national goal in the U.S. and Australia The study also found at particular risk were children living in older housing who were also either non-Hispanic black, poor or living in a large population centre

Product Recall in U.S.

Lead has been found in the paint on some press-studs in children’s clothing produced by Wear Me Apparel Corp. The product is the Little Miracles TM romper, sold by Kmart in the U.S.

"NO" to Mayor’s Car Park Tax

A request by Leichhardt Mayor Kris Cruden has been knocked back by the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning and Minister for Housing, the Hon. Craig Knowles, M.P. The Mayor wanted to tax future residential car parking spaces to pay for tree planting to absorb carbon emissions from future motor vehicles.

RTA in a Jam?

The credibility of the RTA suffered a setback recently, with criticisms that its environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed M5 eastern distributor was seriously flawed. The EIS appeared to overstate benefits to easing traffic on surrounding roads and failed to take into account cumulative effects of pollution plumes and road emissions. The RTA also appears to have overstated likely revenue from the tollway.

Childhood Lead Hospitalisation

Hospitalisation rates due to lead poisoning in the US did not chang significantly during the 1980’s, according to Afredo Vergara PhD. A survey from 1988 to 1992 showed similar statistics to one done from 1979 to 1983. From 1988 to 1992, a total of 53,400 childhood lead poisoning hospitalisation days resulted in estimated direct charges of US$41 million.

Apology

In the previous LEAD Action News a study by Dr. Bruce Lanphear was quoted as claiming that household cleaning alone was not enough to reduce children’s blood lead levels. The LEAD Group Inc would like to distance itself from this study and point out that families in the control group had already participated in an earlier lead in dust study conducted by the same researchers.