It appears that the Chamber of Commerce is not looking out for your safety. It may be that are looking at saving their members money.

The Tennessee Environmental Council on Friday blamed the death of two bills dealing with disposal of coal ash on a lobbyist for the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Read more via Coal Ash Bills Die; Chamber Lobbyist Blamed | Humphrey on the Hill | knoxnews.com.

Eastman Chemical was ranked at 11 as one of the Top Corporate Air Polluters in the U.S.

The Toxic 100 index identifies the top U.S. air polluters among the world’s largest corporations. The index relies on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) project. The starting point for the RSEI is the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), which reports on releases of toxic chemicals at facilities across the United States. TRI data are widely cited in press stories on “top polluters,” but they have limitations that the Toxic 100 addresses:

Toxic 100 Index (Top 20 are shown below)

Click here for full list

This makes two chemical spills at Eastman in the last two weeks!!  What is going on over there?  They were fined $48,000 back in April, 2009 by the Department of Environment and Conservation.  See Eastman Chemical fined by TDEC for many violations

Another chemical spill at Eastman Chemical Company on Wednesday morning.

Eastman officials say there was a brief accidental discharge in the South Fork Holston River due to the over-pressurization of a process reactor.

The spill was a mixture of diethyl ether, the same type of spill that occurred on July 28, 2009, and tetraethyl pyrophosphate.

Representatives from Department of Environment and Conservation’s Johnson City field office conducted a site investigation Wednesday morning.

Eastman reports no employees were injured but approximately one dozen fish were killed. Eastman does not expect this release to have any further adverse impact on the South Fork Holston River. A team is investigating the incident.

via Eastman Chemical Spill In Holston River | TriCities.

The corporate owners of numerous Coldwell Banker real estate brokerage offices in southern Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island will pay $66,700 for violations of lead paint disclosure rules.

The two real estate corporations are NRT New England LLC and Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services, Inc., both doing business as Coldwell Banker Real Estate Brokerage.

EPA inspections and review of submitted information indicated that Coldwell Banker Real Estate Brokerage offices in North Haven and Fairfield, Conn.; Lincoln and Somerville, Mass.; Dover and Manchester, N.H.; and East Providence, R.I. together allegedly committed numerous violations of the Lead Disclosure Rule during multiple real estate transactions between 2005 and 2007. The companies have since certified that they are currently in full compliance with the Disclosure Rule.

Federal law requires that landlords and property owners or their agents disclose to prospective tenants or purchasers about the potential for lead paint hazards in residential properties built before 1978. Disclosure of potential lead hazards in housing to prospective tenants helps parents protect young children from lead poisoning.

Infants and young children are especially vulnerable to lead paint hazards, which can cause harmful effects to intelligence, reading and learning disabilities, impaired hearing, reduced attention span, hyperactivity and behavior problems. Women of child-bearing age with high lead levels can suffer difficulties during pregnancy. Adults with high levels of lead can experience high blood pressure, nerve disorders, memory problems and muscle and joint pain.

More information:
-Lead paint health hazards (epa.gov/ne/eco/ne_lead/index.html)
-Lead-based paint disclosure rule (epa.gov/ne/enforcement/leadpaint/index.html)

via Two Real Estate Firms Fined for Lead Paint Disclosure Violations in Four New England States.

Eastman Chemical has been fined $48,000 for many violations that that are listed in the following link.  Amended Technical Secretary’s Order & Assessment of Civil Penalty

Order Summary from Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

A Technical Secretary’s Order was issued to Eastman Chemical Company in Sullivan County for emission violations, work practice violations, and compliance certification reporting deficiencies. The Order assesses a total Civil Penalty of $48,000.00, of which $24,000.00 is non-contingent.

Eastman’s Betty Payne stated, “Basically they were largely related to missed equipment monitoring,”

Ms. Payne statement does not make me feel safe and comfortable given the very large number of findings in the report.

The counties and metro areas with the nation’s poorest air quality.

Worst Cities For Short-Term Particle Pollution

Worst Cities For Year-Round Particle Pollution

Worst Cities For Ozone Pollution

The annual report–State of the Air 2009–found that six in 10 Americans live in counties where ozone or particle pollution has reached dangerous levels. Both types of pollution can be deadly and have been linked to worsening respiratory conditions like asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, and there is evidence that particle pollution increases risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Read more via America’s Most Polluted Cities – Forbes.com.

Save Money and Energy With a Few Simple Steps

So the saying goes, every day is Earth Day. But perhaps that’s never more true than during a recession.

Turning out the lights when you leave a room, driving only when you need to and shutting off the faucet when you brush your teeth are all simple ways to help the planet. But those same tips are also plenty good for your pocketbook.

Read more via 7 Easy Ways to Conserve

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson signed a final rule to reinstate stricter reporting requirements for industrial and federal facilities that release toxic substances that threaten human health and the environment.

“People have a right to information that might affect their health and the health of their children — and EPA has a responsibility to provide it,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Restoring the TRI reporting requirements assures transparency and provides a crucial tool for safeguarding human health and the environment in our communities.”

The final rule reinstates Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting requirements that were replaced by the TRI Burden Reduction Rule in December 2006. The 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, signed by President Obama on March 11, 2009, mandated that prior TRI reporting requirements be reestablished.

These changes will apply to all TRI reports due July 1, 2009.

TRI is a publicly available EPA database that contains information on toxic chemical releases and waste management activities reported annually by certain industries as well as federal facilities.

The December 2006 TRI Burden Reduction Final Rule expanded Form A eligibility for non-Persistent, Bioaccumulative, Toxic (non-PBT) chemicals to 5,000 pounds and allowed use of Form A for the first time for PBT chemicals under limited circumstances. This rule was met with concern over the availability of required data under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and resulted in a lawsuit by 13 states to restore the TRI Form A thresholds and usage to what they were prior to the 2006 rule.

Following the rule signature, all reports on PBT chemicals must be submitted on the more detailed Form R. For all other chemicals, the shorter Form A may only be used if the annual reporting amount is 500 pounds or less and less than 1 million pounds of the chemical was manufactured, processed or otherwise used during the reporting year.

TRI-ME software and other reporting assistance materials are being revised and will be available soon. TRI reports for 2008 are due on July 1, 2009.

Read more via 04/21/2009: EPA Administrator Reinstates Full TRI Reporting Requirements.

Let’s see, we have them blaming cows for global warming and now fat people are to blame.  What’s next?

The rising number of fat people was yesterday blamed for global warming.

Scientists warned that the increase in big-eaters means more food production — a major cause of CO2 gas emissions warming the planet.

Overweight people are also more likely to drive, adding to environmental damage.

Read more via Fatties cause global warming | The Sun |News.

Last year, downtown Atlanta lost a convention to another Southern city because the visiting group perceived the other city as “greener” than Atlanta. The loss propelled Holly Elmore into action.

“Environmental practices are fast becoming a strong consideration in business decisions,” explains the Green Foodservice Alliance founder. Elmore teamed up with Atlanta Recycles and Laura Turner Seydel — eco-awareness consultant and an Atlanta native — to create the South’s first Zero Waste Zone.

Read more via Downtown Atlanta recycles self into a Zero Waste Zone – CNN.com.