• One Dead, Seven Missing After Dam Breaks on Kauai
  
• U.S.-Mexico Border Environment Report Addresses Air Pollution
  
• Puget Sound Cleanup Attracts $2 Million Federal Dollars
  
• Ford Must Get Contaminated Concrete Off New Jersey Sites
  
• Asphalt Company Fined $60,000 for Passaic River Fuel Spill
  
• Awards From EBay Founder Support Environmental Sustainability
  
• New York Nanotech Lab to Update Satellites, Solar Cells
  

One Dead, Seven Missing After Dam Breaks on Kauai

U.S.-Mexico Border Environment Report Addresses Air Pollution

"Low sulfur diesel fuel, emerging technologies, more involvement with tribal governments, and partnerships with border security agencies are just a few examples of the tools we should be using," said Board Chair Paul Ganster.

To both retain good air quality and support transportation activities across the border, officials should bolster infrastructure, technology, personnel and related activities through substantial new funding, the Board recommends, and intensify long-range planning and coordination at the binational, national, and state and local levels to cope with the congestion at border crossings.

Officials should harness new and emerging technologies and fuels to reduce emissions from diesel trucks, buses, municipal and private fleets and passenger vehicles, and identify private/public funding sources to accelerate the process, the report recommends.

Finally, officials should encourage public transportation, ridesharing, car-sharing, biking and walking in border cities so that fewer people will drive alone. The Board's report says that would reduce motor vehicle trips and the emissions of pollutants.

Increased security would also provide increased environmental protection, the Board said. It advised officials to examine methods to reduce the number of undocumented migrants crossing border tribal lands, thus reducing associated damage to sacred sites, burial grounds, archeological sites, important ecosystems, and traditional lifestyles.

Good Neighbor Environmental Board members include representatives from all four U.S. border states - California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas - as well as nine federal agencies.

Border state representatives include senior officials in business and industry, state and local government, ranching and grazing, non-profit groups, tribes, and the academic community. Each year, the Board meets several times in different communities along the U.S. side of the border.

The preserve fragile natural and cultural sites, the Board recommends that partnerships between preservation groups and agencies be encouraged to purchase land with high-value cultural and natural resources, helping to manage growth.

The Board report suggests creation of incentive programs to encourage private landowners and developers to voluntarily protect cultural resources and encouragement of tribal governments and agencies to participate in government-to-government consultation to minimize damage to cultural resources, including sacred sites.

"The Board's recommendations reflect its continued call for action from strong U.S.-Mexico border partnerships, equipped with adequate resources, that span sectors and geographic boundaries," said Board Chair Ganster.

Puget Sound Cleanup Attracts $2 Million Federal Dollars

For more information about the Puget Sound Partnership, visit: www.pugetsoundpartnership.org/index.htm

Ford Must Get Contaminated Concrete Off New Jersey Sites

"We are holding Ford Motor Co. and its contractors fully accountable for illegally distributing and using PCB-contaminated concrete at these sites," Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa Jackson said Friday.

"Not only will all potentially hazardous material be removed, we intend to make sure they follow the strictest environmental controls during those cleanups," she said.

Though the DEP determined the concrete contains very low levels of PCB contamination, use of the material at redevelopment sites in Mercer, Middlesex and Ocean counties has generated concern among residents.

"I think it's imperative we do our utmost to restore the public's trust in our commitment to safeguarding their health and protecting the environment. To that end, I have put all DEP inspectors on notice we are escalating surveillance at all New Jersey disposal and recycling operations - including unannounced inspections. If any violations are found, fines and penalties will be issued without hesitation," Jackson said.

The commissioner is responding to questions raised by municipal officials and community representatives about the concrete trucked to seven redevelopment sites from Ford's now-defunct plant in Edison. Following the shutdown and sale of the facility, Ford hired contractors to remediate the property and prepare it for redevelopment by demolishing and removing buildings on the site, including concrete floor slabs.

In February 2004, Ford contracted with MIG Alberici Inc. of Detroit to perform the demolition. Alberici planned to reuse the concrete from the site for roads and other fill projects on the Ford property.

In November 2004, Alberici obtained the DEP's approval to use the concrete after testing it for contamination, specifically PCBs, and determining the material did not have detectable levels. According to the DEP's cleanup criteria, concentrations of PCBs less than 0.49 parts per million allowed for unrestricted use at the Ford plant site.

But subsequent material sampling revealed PCB contamination ranging from undetectable to 2 ppm.

The U.S. EPA and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have determined that PCBs are probably carcinogenic to humans. Studies in exposed workers have shown changes in blood and urine that may indicate liver damage. PCBs are not known to cause birth defects.

Under the DEP's administrative order issued Friday, Ford must submit a plan within seven days for complete removal and proper disposal of all contaminated concrete material transported to development sites across the state.

These sites include: American Standard site in Hamilton Township and a West Windsor Township site, Mercer County; Fulton Square site in New Brunswick; the former Tingley Rubber Co. in South Plainfield; the Applegarth site in Monroe Township, all Middlesex County; and Laurelton Mobile Home Park and the Brick 70 Plaza site, both in Brick Township, Ocean County.

Ford must remove all concrete material from each site within 30 days after the DEP approves each cleanup plan.

After all the concrete is removed, Ford must conduct post-excavation sampling at each site and prepare a final report on all measures taken to eliminate possible exposure from the concrete removal. Specifically, the report must provide information on the effectiveness of the dust management plan and sampling results from perimeter monitoring.

The report, which will be provided to local officials in each of the affected municipalities, will identify the quantity and locations of the material used at each site.

Asphalt Company Fined $60,000 for Passaic River Fuel Spill

TRENTON, New Jersey, March 15, 2006 (ENS) – The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has fined Tilcon New York Inc., an asphalt company, $60,000 for spilling heating oil into the Passaic River on February 5.

“Tilcon should have taken steps to stop the discharge of fuel at their facility. Once it became apparent that there was contamination in the river, Tilcon should have immediately started clean up,” said DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson. “Instead, DEP learned of the spill from other sources."

DEP responded immediately by deploying cleanup workers to contain the discharge and prevent further contamination of the Passaic River.

The $60,000 penalty was assessed under the Spill Compensation and Control Act for failing to immediately notify the Department of the spill and for failing to take immediate action to stop the discharge. The Spill Act prohibits the discharge of a hazardous substance except in compliance with a state or federal permit.

Tilcon was also cited under the Water Pollution Control Act for discharging pollutants in the river. The law regulates the discharge of pollutants to surface and groundwater.

An investigation revealed that a 10,000 gallon above ground storage tank at Tilcon discharged fuel oil into a containment area, then into a nearby storm drain, which later spread through a tributary into the Passaic River. The sheen stretched for five miles, covering a portion of the Passaic River from Totowa to Paterson.

DEP was part of a team of responders from local, county, and state agencies that worked to contain the discharge. Cleanup crews were hired by the Department to deploy booms in various locations along the river, and to clean product from the river’s shoreline. DEP also supervised the efforts of cleanup crews to flush out all the storm drains in the vicinity of the discharge. The cleanup lasted 10 days and was completed in mid-February.

Although drinking water was not impacted by the incident, the Passaic Valley Water Commission shut down intakes from the affected portion of the river as a precaution for 12 days.

Awards From EBay Founder Support Environmental Sustainability

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 15, 2006 (ENS) - Health Care Without Harm is the recipient of a $765,000, three-year award from the Skoll Foundation, an honor given to leaders of organizations that use the most innovative and effective approaches to making social change.

The Skoll Foundation was created by eBay’s first president, Jeff Skoll, to promote his vision for a more peaceful and prosperous world.

Gary Cohen, co-executive director and founder of Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) was honored by the Skoll Foundation as a social entrepreneur for enabling environmentally responsible health care.

“Health Care Without Harm and Gary Cohen reflect the essence of a Skoll social entrepreneur: practical innovators who resolve social problems and build civil society’s infrastructure and effectiveness,” said Sally Osberg, president and CEO of the Skoll Foundation.

“Health Care Without Harm represents an incredibly powerful force for systemic social change," she said.

HCWH is an international coalition working to reduce pollution in the health care industry, and has been instrumental in closing medical waste incinerators, reducing dioxin pollution, removing mercury products from health care, and shifting health-care purchasing dollars toward safer, less-toxic materials. The coalition, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, has built a growing environmental health movement in the health care industry.

"Health Care Without Harm's goal is to ensure that healthcare professionals worldwide understand the links between toxic chemicals and human health, and become leaders in their hospitals, and in society, in creating a toxic-free future,” said Cohen, a co-founder of HCWH. "Imagine if doctors and nurses around the world joined the race for prevention, rather than just the race for the cure."

HCWH will use the Skoll money for a global campaign to replace mercury-containing medical devices with safe alternatives, and to expand HCWH programs in Europe, South America and Asia.

The grant is one of 16 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship announced this week; two others are to support environmental programs.

Boston-based Ceres, Inc. was awarded $525,000 over three years in honor of the efforts of Mindy Lubber, a founding board member of Ceres, Inc., in 1989, who became its president in 2003. The organization’s goal is to advance institutional responsibility and environmental sustainability, persuading corporations to change their practices by galvanizing institutional investors.

More than two dozen companies took action on climate change as a result of Ceres’ 2003 summit. Its 2005 convening produced a 10-point Call for Action that includes an investor commitment of $1 billion to clean energy technology. Ceres plans to persuade 25 more companies to make public commitments on climate change by 2008.

An award of $615,000 over three years, goes to Albina Ruiz of Ciudad Saludable in Peru. She founded the organization that creates local enterprises to collect and process garbage, charge affordable fees, reduce waste in landfills and generate income by recycling. After promoting her concept as a consultant for 15 years, she founded Ciudad Saludable in 2001. The organization now has trained authorities in 43 municipalities, works with 800 informal recyclers and is helping the government develop Peru’s first national waste management plan.

New York Nanotech Lab to Update Satellites, Solar Cells

Led by director Ryne Raffaelle, the scientists will conduct a project funded by an $847,109 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. Raffaelle says the program may extend to three and half years, with total funding reaching $3 million.

“If successful, the results of this program will improve current solar array and satellite technology, and lay the foundation for long-term improvement in our ability to use solar energy,” Raffaelle says.

Unique to this project is the ability to exploit the fundamental behavior of nanoscale crystals, known as quantum dots, which alter the way a solar cell absorbs light and converts it into electricity.

According to Raffaelle, the electrical, optical, mechanical and thermal properties of nanomaterials can be controlled by changing the particle size, making them useful in semiconductor device development.

Today’s current solar cell technology used for space power relies upon three individual photovoltaic junctions used in a series. These so-called triple-junction solar cells - consisting of the chemical compounds, germanium, gallium arsenide and indium gallium phosphide - are grown latticed-matched on top of one another.

Raffaelle’s team will augment the middle cell in the three-layered sandwich with a quantum dot array to enhance its short-circuit current and improve the overall efficiency of the triple junction cell.

“The use of the quantum confinement offered by nanostructured materials provides us with a new means of breaking out of the normal design constraints associated with ordinary crystalline device growth,” says Raffaelle.

“The theoretical improvements that this can provide are truly remarkable. It’s our job to turn these theories into experimental realities,” he said.

Raffaelle’s nanotechnology research illustrates the possibilities of the new IT Collaboratory on the RIT campus. Governor George Pataki announced the opening of the new $30 million IT Collaboratory on March 3. The one-of-a-kind research and development center is designed to enhance the Finger Lakes region as a leader in development of new technologies in microsystems, photonics, nanomaterials and remote sensing systems.

“When Governor Pataki announced the creation of the IT Collaboratory at RIT, he did so with the understanding that the center would participate in the creation of a stronger, more vibrant economy as a result of its technological innovations,” says Russell Bessette, M.D., executive director of the New York State Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research.

“This DOD award will help further cement RIT’s role as an engine for economic growth and opportunity in the Finger Lakes region as well as statewide,” Bessette said.