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National Association Of Environmental Professionals Announces Publication Of The June 2005 Issue Of Environmental Practice

Articles Discuss Phosphorus Threat From Chicken Production And Mercury Hazards From Magico-Religious Practices

The National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) today announced the publication of its current issue of Environmental Practice, a journal featuring contemporary articles of environmental interest to the public. Peer-reviewed articles included in the June 2005 issue discuss solutions to watersheds' phosphorus problems due to chicken production; the dangers of mercury use in magico-religious practices; hidden building contamination left unaddressed by current brownfields regulation and remediation practices; and populations benefiting from proximity to wilderness areas in the southern Appalachian region of the United States.

In many parts of the country, chickens are raised for their meat in environmentally sensitive areas. In a Texas watershed, current practices of dealing with chicken litter do not pose a water quality concern, but studies have indicated that a significant expansion of broiler production would more than double the area's ambient phosphorus loads. A recent article, "Economic and Environmental Assessment of Proactive Phosphorus Control Measures for Broiler Operations," indicates that certain relatively low-cost options or even ones yielding net monetary benefits will protect water quality in Texas's Duck Creek in the event of a moderate or even a very significant expansion of the region's broiler industry, according to authors Keith O. Keplinger, Joju Abraham, Larry M. Hauck and Ali Saleh. The authors believe their study holds similar implications for other regions.

Elemental mercury is put to certain magico-religious uses, most problematically the sprinkling of mercury on the floors of homes in Caribbean and Latino communities. Indoor mercury spills are persistent and release toxic levels of mercury vapor over long periods of time. Yet no clear connection has been drawn between ritualistic mercury use and increased levels of mercury in certain parts of the environment, including in the urine of some Latino children. Dr. Arnold P. Wendroff, author of "Magico-Religious Mercury Use in Caribbean and Latino Communities: Pollution, Persistence, and Politics," argues that social, political and economic factors have acted to preclude advocacy for and studies of these affected communities, whose members are largely unaware of their mercury exposure. Without the political mandate to act, environmental agencies have not allocated the resources necessary for environmental professionals to assess and respond to this latent environmental health disaster.

"Brownfields," although not exactly a term familiar in every household, have nonetheless been in the news since the U.S. Congress passed the Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act (BRERA) of 2001. As defined recently by Congress, brownfields are "real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant." While existing programs and protocols have helped to facilitate the reuse of sites with contaminated environmental media, they do not comprehensively address the issues associated with wastes and contamination within the building environment. These must also be quantified before associated risks can be understood, according to Bradley T. Gallant and Frederick W. Blickle, authors of "The Building Decommissioning Assessment: A New Six-Step Process to Manage Redevelopment of Brownfields with Major Structures." Developed for clients in the manufacturing sector, the Building Decommissioning Assessment process defines a standard approach for conducting appropriate inquiry into building systems prior to redevelopment and reuse.

An analysis of wilderness areas in north Georgia concludes that non-use values obtained by an individual without ever setting foot in the wilderness (for example, clean air) are primarily available to the white, lower-income, the retired and higher-income populations bordering the area. Rob Porter and Michael A. Tarrant, authors of "Wilderness Non-Use Values and Environmental Justice in the North Georgia Appalachians," note in their article that there is no strong minority presence near these Appalachian wilderness areas. In addition, they discuss repercussions for the low-income white population as retirement and vacation homes gentrify the area and drive up taxes.

Environmental Practice is a quarterly journal of the NAEP and is published by Cambridge University Press, in conjunction with the graduate program in environmental studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. The NAEP was established in 1975 to promote excellence in the environmental profession and is a multidisciplinary, professional association dedicated to the promotion of ethical practice, technical competency and professional standards in the environmental fields.

For more information, contact the national office at 301-860-1140.

     
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