Marblehead - In support of a bill called “novel” and “precedent setting,” several statewide advocates joined sponsor Rep. Lori A. Ehrlich, D-Marblehead, in testimony before the Joint Committee on Public Health last week.
Ehrlich’s bill, “An Act Relative to Pollution Health Effects Mitigation,” addresses a category of toxic chemical emissions known as “HAPs” or “Hazardous Air Pollutants,” which are not subject to Massachusetts’ power-plant regulations. These substances include certain volatile organic chemicals, pesticides, herbicides and radionuclides that present tangible hazards, based on scientific studies of exposure to humans and other mammals, according to Ehrlich.
Representative Ehrlich concluded her testimony by saying, “I encourage the committee to consider its novel approach and join me in sending a message that it’s not just trees and global warming at stake when emissions go up those stacks. It’s us.”
Ehrlich said she refers to it as a “people bill” because most legislation addressing pollutants attempts to recognize and address the damage inflicted upon the environment.
"Instead, with this bill, I am taking a different route," she said. “While crafting this legislation I attempted to bring the impact on our health, a cost borne not only by the sick and their families, but to all of society with rising health care costs and lost work days into the economic transaction.”
Ehrlich said if the bill becomes law, any funds received from the assessment would go into a funding health studies.
Marblehead - Even a fuzzy Sesame Street Elmo doll can contain lead.
That’s what a small group of concerned North Shore citizens found out recently during a lead and chemical testing event at the Marblehead Community Center, hosted by state Rep. Lori Ehrlich in an effort to garner support for the passage of the Safer Alternatives Bill.
The recent testing was conducted with the help of an expensive laser meter, which looks a lot like a pricing gun found in any grocery store. The meter shoots an X-ray into the product being tested, such as the Elmo doll, and brings back data about the chemical composition of that product.
Because the meters cost up to $40,000, there are only a few in the country. The one used during the event was on loan for a short time to the Boston-based offices of Clean Water Action. The device has been used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to screen packaging, the Food & Drug Administration to screen food, and many state and county health departments to screen for residential lead paint. Continued exposure to hazardous substances can lead to health problems in children.
