New EPA grant to reduce mercury exposure from fish
Toolbox
Staff Report - Published: November 27, 2008
Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation has received $9,000 to control mercury exposure from fish in a new round of EPA grants for New England.
The funding will be used to support the "Outreach to Ethnic and Tribal Communities Regarding Mercury in Fish" project. The intent is for the effort to reach at least 10,000 residents including the Abenaki tribe and other diverse populations in Vermont to reduce mercury exposure. The various methods for reducing consumption will include advisories, multilingual education and outreach to target populations.
The grant is part of about $380,000 awarded in the New England states.
In New Hampshire, Breathe New Hampshire was awarded $34,800 for the "TFS Plus: Healthy Schools, Healthy Children, Healthy Minds" project.
The effort will recruit up to four public school districts and provide leadership, coordination and resources to help schools deploy effective environmental interventions to ensure healthy and productive learning environments.
The Nashua Regional Planning Commission was awarded $34,980 for the "Nashua Regional Energy Program."
The project will address climate change in the 13 communities of the Nashua Region by providing education and outreach to the community, identifying greenhouse gas emission sources in municipal buildings, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In Maine, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians was awarded $28,000 for their "Asthma Healthy Homes Initiative." The project will develop a culturally appropriate healthy homes education and outreach program that will also include home visits for families with asthmatics to ensure that tribal families have the knowledge, skills and resources needed to improve their asthma management and quality of life.
In Massachusetts, The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head received $25,000 for the "Lead-Free Fishing Outreach" project that will provide education, outreach and compliance assistance activities to raise awareness of lead-free alternatives to traditional fishing weights. It will reach 3,000 people through local tackle shops, and high visibility events including the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head was awarded $33,000 for the Environmental and Natural Resources Outreach Kiosk, a project that will create an interactive, educational kiosk. It will provide local residents and visitors to tribal lands an understanding of environment and public health issues, current projects to protect and restore natural resources, compliance assistance efforts, and information on the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head was also awarded $14,330 for the "Hazardous Materials & Multi-Casualty Incident Training" project. This work will coordinate an islandwide, multi-agency training, response activity, and table top demonstration of a hazardous materials scenario on or near tribal lands to allow agencies, emergency responders and the tribe to develop an effective response protocol that protects ecological and tribal health.
The Pioneer Valley Asthma Coalition was awarded $34,594 for the "Building Asthma Safe Environments" project. The project will work with health-care providers and community health educators to promote asthma self-management, integrate evidence based healthy homes principles into existing asthma management services, and reduce environmental exposures in the home for at least 40 families in Springfield, Mass.
In Connecticut, the state Department of Public Health was awarded $35,000 for the "Building a Statewide Comprehensive, Sustaining Tools for Schools Program" project. This effort will help 90 schools in Connecticut improve the indoor air quality of the school environment for children by implementing Tools for Schools, providing training for school staff, and other activities to reduce exposure to asthma triggers and create healthy indoor learning environments.
In Rhode Island, a $29,749 urban gardening pest management grant has been awarded to Southside Community Land Trust while $35,000 was awarded to the Childhood Lead Action project that will create an outreach campaign on childhood lead poisoning and prevention to reduce exposure of immigrant and refugee children to lead hazards in the home.
In a New England-wide grant award, the Medical Foundation's Asthma Regional Council was awarded $35,000 for the "Healthy Homes Promotion Project." The initiative will provide training and educational programs on holistic healthy homes approaches for the communities of Fall River and Springfield, Mass., and promote regional learning, networking, and build institutional capacity to address environmental contributors to asthma and other chronic conditions.
For more information, visit Healthy Communities Grant Program's Web site at http://epa.gov/region01/eco/uep/hcgp.html.
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