You think foreign oil dependence is bad, try radionuclides

Stephanie Salter The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — This is a story of international finance and politics, involving such entities as Mo-99, Thallium 201, 73-hour half-lives and a medical industry character known as “Aunt Minnie.”This is also a story that should remind us that when we grudgingly swallow some sort of dye or offer our arm for an IV so our innards can be scanned, most of us have no clue about the infinitely complex and miraculous realm of science behind the process. (More...)

Electrical exam prep

The Department of Commerce is offering Electrical Exam Prep Training in Green Bay. It is a weekly course every Wednesday morning, starting September 29 through December 15, 2010. The times ares 9:00 am to 12:00pm, and it will be offered at the Brown County Library Auditorium in Green Bay.

Links: http://commerce.wi.gov/SB/docs/SB-EducationElecExam0910.pdf

NFPA-1 training

The Wisconsin Department of Commerce, Safety & Buildings Division is presenting four sessions of NFPA-1 Code training in July and August in conjunction with the National Fire Protection Association.


No walk-ins, register by July 8. Offered at four locations: Milwaukee area, Green Bay, Eau Claire, and Richland Center. Only $25 -- a bargain!

See PDF brochure.  


See PDF list of current registrants.

EPA Proposes New Permit Requirements for Pesticide Discharges

Action would reduce amount of pesticides discharged and protect America’s waters

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a new permit requirement that would decrease the amount of pesticides discharged to our nation's waters and protect human health and the environment. This action is in response to an April 9, 2009 court decision that found that pesticide discharges to U.S. waters were pollutants, thus requiring a permit.

(More....)

When natural disasters strike, tragedy can unfold in the lab

When Laura Levy returned to her laboratory
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there
was nothing to suggest that a violent storm had
pummeled the city. On the fifth floor of the
Tulane University School of Medicine, where
Levy’s lab sits, most things were in their proper
place. “It was really most peculiar,” she says.
The laboratories, she adds, “looked just as they
looked the day we left.” (More....)

Air News (Region 5): EPA: Manitowoc and Door Counties in Wisconsin Now Meet Smog Standards‏

EPA: Manitowoc and Door Counties in Wisconsin Now Meet Smog Standards

CHICAGO (May 7, 2010) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 plans to approve requests from the state of Wisconsin to redesignate the Manitowoc County and Door County areas to attainment of the national health-based eight-hour outdoor standard for ozone. Ozone is commonly referred to as smog.

EPA said three years of complete, quality-assured, outdoor air monitoring data for 2006, 2007 and 2008 show that the areas meet the standard. Complete quality-assured monitoring data for 2009 show that the areas continue to meet the standard.

EPA also proposes to approve Wisconsin’s plans to continue to meet the eight-hour health-based ozone standard in the areas through 2020 and to approve motor vehicle emission budgets for Manitowoc and Door counties.

The actions were published on Tuesday, April 27 in the Federal Register. The public has 30 days to comment. Comments may be entered at http://www.regulations.gov/. Refer to dockets ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2009-0730 and follow online instructions for submitting comments.

Comments may also be e-mailed to bortzer.jay@epa.gov or faxed to 312-692-2054.

Smog is formed when a mixture of pollutants react on warm, sunny days. The pollutants are released from cars, factories and a wide variety of other sources. Smog can cause respiratory problems, including coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest pain.
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View all Region 5 News Releases

EPA Updates BP Spill Website with Information on Dispersants

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday posted information on BP’s use of dispersants to its oil spill response website, www.epa.gov/bpspill. The site includes EPA’s plan to monitor BP’s use of dispersants as well as additional background information and frequently asked questions on dispersants. EPA will add information to the site as it becomes available.

EPA continues to add information to its BP oil spill response website to keep the public informed about the impact of the spill and the EPA’s response.

The dispersant page can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants.html

Continue to track EPA’s response to the spill at http://www.epa.gov/bpspill.

Additional information on the broader response from the U.S. Coast Guard and other responding agencies is available at: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/