Blog Has Moved

Please go to my new website at http://www.greennews4u.com/ I am still working on it and trying different templates. Let me know what you think!

Announcement: In April 2011, GreenNews4U will be starting a weekly Environmental Podcast touching on topics that the listener should find interesting and informative. The podcast will be avaliable on I-tunes, Smart Phones, GreenNews4U Blog, and for download on other venues to be announced.

Some items that will be covered in the first podcast will be Bedbugs, Hotels, Illegal Workers, Safety Fines, Environmental Toxins, and other topics. You will have to listing to hear what I have in store for the first podcast.

Because this is a new venture I am looking for constructive feedback from the listeners on topics that will be covered.

Please help spread the word on this new and Exciting project.

Intermediat School Evacuated in Blue Island, IL

BLUE ISLAND, IL — according to the Chicago Tribune nearly two dozen student and 10 adults from an intermediate school were taken by ambulance to seven near by hospitals because of hazardous materials exposure.

According to Mayor Don Peloquin, a janitor mixed bleach with drain cleaner and was overcome by fumes.

The nursing supervisor at the Metro South Medical Center said the students brought to the hospital were observed for any adverse effects from the fumes, were treated and released, the article stated.

My Notes:

Who in the world trained this person, and why do they have Bleach in a school? Have you ever picked up an MSDS sheet on Bleach? It can cause Death, and mixed with a drain cleaner, your just asking for trouble. That's why MSDS, Blood Born Pathogens, and Right to Know training are very inportant. I belive in the dilution system where chemicals are premixed for you. Lesson to learn... NEVER MIX CHEMICALS!

Click here to read the complete article.

240 Janitors Fired after Imigration steps in

Minneapolis, MN - Federal immigration authorities investigated Harvard Maintenance who allegedly hired workers who did not have the proper documentation, according to Minnesota Public Radio.

As a result Harvard Maintenance will be dismissing 240 employees, that's more than half its Twin Cities workforce.

On another note, two years ago, more than 1,200 janitors at ABM lost their jobs after a similar immigration audit.

ABM signed a non-disclosure agreement with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but Department of Homeland Security documents obtained by MPR News show ABM was fined $108,000 — or about $85 for each janitor who was dismissed.

Employers caught with undocumented immigrants on the payroll can face civil fines and possible criminal charges.

Click here to read the complete article.

Georgetown University - Woman Killed by Lift

Just after 8:00 a.m. Wednesday Morning a female construction worker was killed on the campus of Georgetown University while operating a lift at the site of the new science center near the Leavey Center. Reports say she got stuck between an overhead scaffolding and railing. When emergency services arrived coworkers were prefoming CPR, the woman was not breathing. She was transported to George Washington University Hospital.

DC Police Department and OSHA are investigation. Whiting Turner is overseeing the entire construction project.

UPS Fined $1.3M by New York State

It seems that UPS has great procedures for inspecting vehicles but they fail to use them. The Investigation found that UPS was inspecting and passing their own vehicles even though they were in very poor condition. Becuase UPS has such a large fleet of vehicles they are licensed to condut their own inspections. They now must pay $1.3 million to New York State. As part of the agreement UPS now has an independent inspector who is approved by the attorney general's office to conduct vehicle inspection for five years.

One of their own mechanics blew the whistle on the company after he removed four truck from service in 2006 because they had cracked frames. UPS allowed the truck back on the road with out being repaired. It seems, throught the investigation, that this has been going on since 2004.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman stated "UPS knowingly endangered not only the lives of their own employees but the lives of the driving public by keeping these rotting and decaying trucks on the roadways, UPS was an accident waiting to happen."

OSHA Whistleblower Protection

What rights do you have when your employer takes action against you because you reported them to OSHA for safety violations in the workplace? Know your rights as an employee, everyone deserves to work in a safe environment and should not be forced to preform duties that endangers your livelihood.

For more information on how to report unsafe situations go here.
For more information about Title 29 of Code of Federal Regulations.

Environmental Toxins: Hindering Our Efforts To Live A Green & Healthy Lifestyle

Written by Krista Peterson

Both our planet and our health are worth preserving. Unfortunately, the manufacturing and circulation of environmental toxins like BPA, asbestos, and particulate matter are suffocating the efforts of many Americans who are striving to live green.

Bisphenol A (BPA) and chemicals called phthalates are ingredients in many of the plastic products we use today, including baby bottles and children’s toys. Studies are showing that these chemicals are the cause of developmental issues brought on by the altering of the endocrine system’s processes. In fact, these toxins may be partly to blame for diseases that have haunted us for ages, including diabetes, autism, ADHD, and cancer. We are often exposed to BPA through food packaging, though, according to the EPA, food packaging manufacturing accounts for only 5% of BPA used in the United States.

Besides BPA and the negative effects it can have on our health, there are other environmental toxins. Asbestos is a natural mineral that was used in the construction of buildings, ships, and car parts in the US as early as the 1920’s. Asbestos was used for its fire resistance, and is generally harmless when left undisturbed. However, when asbestos products are tampered with or damaged, their fibers are released into the air and inhaled or ingested. The result is a cancer called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma symptoms are latent for 20-50 years after asbestos exposure and those diagnosed with the cancer statistically live for a few short months.

In addition to the dangers of asbestos, particulate matter, yet another environmental toxin, negatively affects our health. It is a complex conglomeration of tiny particles and drops of liquid consisting of nitrates, sulfates, metals, and organic chemicals. The smaller the particles, the more detrimental they are to our well-being and the easier it is for them to enter the lungs. Particulate matter poisoning may result in asthma, chronic bronchitis, heart disease, coughing, and difficulty breathing. By reducing our dependency diesel and petroleum powered vehicles and power plants.

Though the 2010 Californian BPA ban was unsuccessful, it is up to us to protect ourselves and to preserve our planet. By reducing our usage of plastic products, we can reduce the manufacturing of BPA and similar toxins. Also, if mesothelioma symptoms or asbestos exposure are suspected, see a physician. Those around you may be at risk as well, and your vigilance could better their chances of avoiding or recovering from mesothelioma. Finally, by speaking out against businesses and products that produce particulate matter, we can free our air and secure our long-term health.

What's in your hotel room?

WASHINGTON — Philip Tierno doesn't feel comfortable staying in hotels because he knows too much, according to CNN Travel.

The microbiologist travels with an impervious mattress and pillow cover to protect against the unseen debris that guests leave behind in what he compares to the lost Roman civilization, particles "literally buried over time" in the bed, the article stated.

"What I'm saying is it's not just you in bed, it's who comes after you," said Tierno, director of microbiology and immunology at New York University's Langone Medical Center.

More disturbingly, it's who comes before you, too, the article noted.

According to the article, you can probably imagine what might be lurking in the mattress, but here's a sampling for those who hesitated: skin cells (when humans sleep they shed about 1.5 million cells or cell clusters an hour), human hair, bodily secretions, fungi, bacteria, dust, dust mites, lint, insect parts, pollen, cosmetics ... and more.

Germs also tend to congregate in places touched multiple times by multiple people that may not be cleaned thoroughly, if at all — the interior doorknob, the telephone, the remote control and the alarm clock, the article added.

Click here to read the complete article.

Bedbugs at Broadlawns Medical Center

DES MOINES, IA — An Iowa hospital working to stop the spread of a bedbug infestation was forced to limit access to care in its psychiatric unit for three days after the insects were discovered in two patients' rooms, according to Business Week.

Officials at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, a public hospital that serves Polk County, said workers discovered bedbugs in a room during a routine cleaning in early February, the article noted.

The hospital hired Ecolab, a pest control company, to eradicate the room of the tiny parasites that feed on human blood and spray two adjacent rooms as a precaution; but the problem wasn't over yet, the article stated.

According to the article, more bedbugs were later discovered in another room, and the hospital decided to shut down the entire hallway and several patient rooms for spraying and cleaning to stop the spread.

The three-day process meant the hospital's mental health and psychiatric center, which normally houses 26, was forced to stop admitting patients, the article added.

Click here to read the complete article.

The Smell in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco's big push for low-flow toilets has turned into a multimillion-dollar plumbing stink, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Skimping on toilet water has resulted in more sludge backing up inside the sewer pipes, which has created a rotten-egg stench near AT&T Park and elsewhere, especially during the dry summer months, the article stated.

The city has already spent $100 million over the past five years to upgrade its sewer system and sewage plants, in part to combat the odor problem, the article noted.

According to the article, officials are stocking up on a $14 million, three-year supply of highly concentrated sodium hypochlorite — better known as bleach — to act as an odor eater and to disinfect the city's treated water before it's dumped into the bay: It will also be used to sanitize drinking water.

That translates into 8.5 million pounds of bleach either being poured down city drains or into the drinking water supply every year, the article added.

Click here to read the complete article.