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06 May 99 - definitions; newspapers; videos; mercury reduction ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition --------------------- The first two postings are in response to the 5/5/99 posting from Margaret Nover asking for assistance in defining the terms "non-toxic" and "less toxic." ------------------------ From Glenn Meyer, Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, St. Paul, MN: The Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance was part of an effort to incorporate environmental and public health specifications into the state cleaning supplies contract. A summary of this effort is available on our Web site: http://www.moea.state.mn.us/lc/cleaning.cfm The state of Massachusetts has posted the full contract for "Cleaning Products, Environmentally Preferable": http://www.comm-pass.com/Comm-PASS/Scripts/xdoc_view.idc?doc_id=003688&cp_xx= Another site you might find useful is the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, where they have a document reviewing the terms "toxic and persistent" for use in program development. http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/~cpr/policy/ptsd.html E-mail: glenn ( D O T ) meyer ( A T ) moea ( D O T ) state ( D O T ) mn ( D O T ) us --------------------- From Tanya Baker, Lane County Waste Management, Eugene, OR: I consulted our "Special Waste" department here in Lane County Waste Management. Defining "non-toxic" and "less toxic" can be tricky. For example, "non-toxic" is an especially difficult term to define since anything can be toxic in the right dosage or proper conditions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides the following definition for environmentally preferable: "Environmentally preferable refers to products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. The comparison may consider raw materials acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, reuse, operation, maintenance, or disposal of the product or service." There are a couple of fact sheets available through the EPA website -- http://www.epa.gov/ -- on Environmentally Preferable Purchasing which may be of some interest. I am part of the Lane Area Pollution Prevention Coalition. In our efforts to develop a model "Pollution Solution Home," we had an interesting discussion about the difficulties of defining the most environmentally friendly habits. For example, turning down your water heater to conserve energy may create water quality issues if the temperature is not hot enough to kill certain bacteria. Just food for thought! E-mail: tanya [ DOT ] k [ DOT ] baker [ AT ] co [ DOT ] lane [ DOT ] or [ DOT ] us --------------------- From Bruce Nordman, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA: In his 5/5/99 posting, Jerry Powell noted that many newspapers have been changing their content and layout to need less paper area, accomplishing source reduction of newspaper. A United Nations (Food & Agriculture Org.) report from 1994 says that typical basis weights for newsprint were 51-52 g/m2 (grams per square meter) in the late 1960s, and dropped to 45-48 by the mid 1980s. I dimly recall reading about further basis weight reductions in the past few years, but do not know what typical weights are today. Now, if we could do the same for office paper.... E-mail: BNordman [ AT ] LBL [ DOT ] gov ---------------------- Excerpted from e-mail from Ann Schneider, University of California at Santa Cruz -- Business Environmental Assistance Center, Santa Clara, CA: The California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) will be having its first "Reuse and Recycling Video Festival" at this year's CRRA Conference (June 6-9 at Fort Mason in San Francisco). The concept is to screen the many videos developed by local governments, colleges, schools and businesses. We are looking for inspirational, educational, informational, training and in some cases humorous films that other organizations may want to get copies of. We also hope that the truly brave video developer or producer will provide their bloopers and other out-takes so we can all laugh with you. You can bring brochures and other sales literature for your videos if you would like to sell (or give way) your videos. I am hoping that jurisdictions/videographers will bring copies of their commercials and other public service announcements, so other entities could learn from you or blatantly steal your concepts. The screening room will be at one end of the Exhibit Hall at Fort Mason, next to our "Reuse Salon", or mixing and networking area. Conference Attendees will either be able to ask to see a particular video from the selection, or videos will be shown at particular times (since this is our first attempt at this, we may be modifying the format). Gayle Michel and Dorothy Fadiman, video producers here in the South Bay area, have volunteered to coordinate and organize the screening of the videos. They will be screening their new, "Fix-It Shops, An Endangered Species" at the conference. I attended the premiere screening last Sunday and believe it or not, over 100 people came out to Menlo Park City Hall to see the film and discuss action that needs to be taken to increase repair and reuse. It was fantastic. The audience was not the traditional recyclers but "The People" and other environmental activists. So, if you have a great video that you would like to share, or you know of other videos that should be shared, please contact Gayle and send her a copy so she can begin to catalogue and set-up the schedule. Please feel free to forward this to other listserves, as we are interested in other environmental videos. Our conference is less than a month away. Gayle's contact information is: Gayle Michel; Concentric Media; phone (408)253-3628; fax (408)253-8567; email: gaylem [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com And if you want more info on our conference, please contact CRRA at CRRA ( A T ) aol ( D O T ) com or (916) 441-2772. The website is: http://www.crra.com/1999Conf/1999home.htm Please forward this e-mail message to production companies and other friends of recycling. Thanks and break a leg. E-mail: aschneid [ AT ] cats [ DOT ] ucsc [ DOT ] edu ----------------------- Excerpted from May 6, 1999, press release from Health Care Without Harm, Falls Church, VA (forwarded by Stephanie Davis): According to a report released today, some of the most commonly eaten fish contain levels of mercury that pose a risk to pregnant women and young children. In response to the problem of mercury pollution, health care providers like Kaiser Permanente, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire and New York's Beth Israel Medical Centers are creating model programs for mercury elimination. By phasing out the purchase and use of mercury-containing products and devices, hospitals will eventually decrease the amount of mercury moving up the food chain until it reaches its highest concentrations in top predator fish like tuna, swordfish and shark. These findings are included in the report, "Protecting by Degrees," written by the Environmental Working Group for Health Care Without Harm, a coalition of more than 170 groups dedicated to environmentally responsible health care. Test results reported in "Protecting by Degrees" are consistent with studies done by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1993. In both instances, chunk light tuna contained levels of mercury that create serious health risks. "Tuna fish has too much mercury to be eaten regularly by pregnant women and young children. But that's not the fault of the tuna or the people who caught or canned it," explained Charlotte Brody, RN, Co-Coordinator of Health Care Without Harm. "Industries that use mercury and the governments that regulate them must take responsibility for getting mercury out of our fish and out of our children's developing brains." Safe, cost-comparable alternatives exist for most of the mercury used in hospitals. Thermometers and blood pressure-measuring devices are two of the most commonly used mercury-containing devices. A mercury fever thermometer, like those used in the home, contains enough mercury to potentially contaminate 9,000 cans of tuna fish. A desk-mounted device used for measuring blood pressure contains enough mercury to potentially contaminate 492,000 six-ounce cans of chunk light tuna. Health Care Without Harm is an international campaign made up of health care professionals, hospitals, environmental advocates, organizations of health-impacted individuals, religious organizations and labor unions. The campaign's mission is to transform the health care industry so it is no longer a source of environmental harm by eliminating the pollution in health care practices without compromising safety or care. The Environmental Working Group, a member organization of Health Care Without Harm, is an environmental research organization based in Washington, DC. For a copy of the report (in Adobe Acrobat format only) or more information on Health Care Without Harm, visit our web site at: http://www.noharm.org - end -