EPA Sponsors Free Integrated Pest Management (Pest Control) Training for Multi-family Housing to be held September 12 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Press release:

EPA Sponsors Free Integrated Pest Management (Pest Control) Training for Multi-family Housing to be held September 12 in Philadelphia, Pa.

PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 13, 2012) - - Attention multi-family property owners, property managers and maintenance staff, pest control operators and residents.

The free Integrated Pest Management training for multi-family housing is a one-day training course that is sponsored and taught by the National Center for Healthy Housing and supported by EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection.

The training will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Mid-Atlantic Region office located at 1650 Arch St., Philadelphia, Pa.

The course will cover:

• ·         Using the least toxic and most effective measures for pest control
• ·         How to manage pests within a housing community using strategies that pose no risk or minimum risk of pesticide exposure to vulnerable, sensitive, and disabled populations, including infants and children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with chemical sensitivities.
• ·         The major health risks posed by common pests, including the connection between asthma, cockroach, and mouse allergens.
• ·         The biology, behavior, and at least two least-toxic control measures for each of the pests covered in the training.
• ·         Contacts and solutions when pest control problems develop.

Integrated pest management is an approach to pest control that is superior to conventional extermination and monthly spraying strategies. It emphasizes eliminating nesting places as well as sources of food and water for the pests and banishing the pests from the property. It uses the safest pesticide in the safest manner only when necessary. Studies by Purdue University and Virginia Tech show that this approach is more effective, and when the pests are under control, is cost effective. Programs at Boston Housing Authority, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority and in Salinas, California highlight the promise of IPM.

The class is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

You must pre-register for the training because of building security. No walk-ins will be allowed into the building. And a photo ID is required.

To register, please go to:

http://www.nchh.org/Training/HealthyHomesTrainingCenter/TrainingPartners/PennState.aspx

For more information, contact Dion Lerman at dlerman@psu.edu or 215-264-0582.

EPA Reaches Agreement with Park Nicollett Health Services; Company Will Fund Lead Abatement in Low-Income Housing

Press release:

For Immediate Release                                                             No. 12 – OPA055

EPA Reaches Agreement with Park Nicollett Health Services; Company Will Fund Lead Abatement in Low-Income Housing

Chicago (July 23, 2012) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached an agreement with Park Nicollet Health Services to resolve allegations of Clean Air Act violations at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. EPA alleged the company failed to keep required records and submit required reports on emissions from ethylene oxide sterilizers at the hospital. After being notified of the violations, the company took steps to meet all requirements.

Under a consent agreement and final order, Park Nicollet Health Services will pay an $18,750 fine and spend $56,250 on a project to protect families in St. Louis Park and Minneapolis from hazards associated with lead-based paint. The project will include removing lead-based paint and dust and replacing lead-based painted surfaces or fixtures in low-income housing occupied by children under age 6 or pregnant women.

“As a result of this agreement, the people of Minneapolis will breathe cleaner air and fewer young children will be exposed to dangerous lead at home,” said EPA Regional Administrator Susan Hedman.

Lead exposure affects the nervous system and can cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children 6 years old and younger are most at risk.

More information about toxic air pollutants and about lead is available on EPA’s Website: http://www.epa.gov/air/toxicair/newtoxics.html and http://www.epa.gov/lead/.