Connect with us

Rhode Island

Guest Opinion: Rhode Island must address its PFAS situation

Published

on

Guest Opinion: Rhode Island must address its PFAS situation


They’re within the coating of your nonstick frying pan. The wrapper of your favourite burger. The stain-resistant upholstery of your sofa, and even the water coming out of your faucet.

They’re PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — an enormous group of poisonous chemical substances which might be utilized in hundreds of shopper merchandise, and they’re now additionally in our water and the blood of practically each American.

The Rhode Island Basic Meeting is contemplating a number of payments to restrict Rhode Islanders’ publicity to those “eternally chemical substances,” so named as a result of they keep within the surroundings fairly than breaking down. Two payments deal with testing for PFAS in consuming water (2022-H 7233) and soil (2022-H 7234) and cleansing it up. Two others deal with to limiting contamination of our water and landfill by banning PFAS from merchandise equivalent to meals wrappers (2202-H 7438A), clothes, carpeting, furnishings and firefighting foam (2022-H 7436). One other creates a process pressure to develop methods and safe funding to assist hearth departments substitute PFAS-laden turnout gear with PFAS-free gear (2022-H 8133).

Advertisement

Every single day, we study extra concerning the pervasiveness of PFAS in our surroundings and ourselves, and about its risks. The Company for Poisonous Substances and Illness Registry notes research have related PFAS with elevated ldl cholesterol, decreased vaccine efficacy, modifications in liver enzymes, low delivery weight, and elevated incidence of testicular and kidney most cancers.

Just about each American has PFAS of their blood, absorbing it by way of the water they drink, their garments, their nonstick pans and quick meals wrappers. The extent of contamination shouldn’t be totally identified, as this can be a massive household of chemical substances—a number of thousand—that haven’t been routinely monitored.

What we all know for certain is that we want laws to manage the introduction of those chemical substances into our water and soil by utilizing merchandise that don’t include them. And we should set a contaminant restrict —we suggest 20 components per trillion—so water suppliers and properly homeowners can take a look at their water towards it, and instantly remediate if mandatory.

We should additionally start the method of changing firefighters’ gear and firefighting foam with PFAS-free alternate options. Over the previous a number of years, most cancers has changed coronary heart assaults and line-of-duty incidents because the main reason for firefighter deaths. Scientists level to the shedding of PFAS, each into the air when uncovered to the warmth of a hearth and into the pores and skin by way of sporting PFAS-laden gear, as a possible purpose.

The excellent news is that private-sector firms at the moment are waking as much as the hazards of PFAS. A current examine by Shopper Experiences discovered PFAS in packaging, plates, bowls and utensils of most main quick meals chains. A number of of those firms — from McDonald’s to Burger King to Chipotle — say they are going to transfer to PFAS-free wrappers.

Advertisement

There at the moment are alternate options to PFAS-laden firefighting foam. Work is underway on alternate options for turnout gear. And when the U.S. Home of Representatives handed the Construct Again Higher invoice, it allotted $95 million to fund the substitute of contaminated gear. Though the invoice didn’t transfer ahead, this underscores the importance of this downside.

The federal authorities is, in the end, directing its consideration to those toxins. The Environmental Safety Company issued a “PFAS Strategic Roadmap” in late 2021, and the lately handed infrastructure invoice contains $10 billion for addressing PFAS in consuming water, a few of which can come to Rhode Island.

For now, it’s important that we move this laws in Rhode Island, as a lot of our neighbors have accomplished.

Rhode Island state Rep. June Speakman (D-Dist. 68, Warren, Bristol) and Rep. Terri Cortvriend (D-Dist. 72, Portsmouth, Middletown) are the sponsors of a number of Rhode Island Home payments addressing PFAS.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Rhode Island

Up to $5,000 reward offered for tips on who dumped emaciated dog’s body in trash bag in Rhode Island

Published

on

Up to ,000 reward offered for tips on who dumped emaciated dog’s body in trash bag in Rhode Island


Lincoln, RI – PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction on cruelty charges of the person(s) responsible for dumping a dead dog at Barney’s Pond on Smithfield Avenue.

On December 14, the Lincoln Police Department responded to a report of a dead animal in a trash bag in the parking lot of the pond and discovered the body of a severely emaciated dog with visible signs of trauma. They believe the body was left between the evening of December 13 and the morning of December 14. A white Toyota RAV4 may be connected to the case and is considered a vehicle of interest.

Police are searching for this vehicle of interest, a Toyota RAV4. Photo: Lincoln Police Department

Advertisement

No leads or suspects have been identified, so PETA is asking for the public’s help.

“This poor dog was apparently starved, abused, and then dumped on the side of the road like garbage,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “There may be other animals in the perpetrator’s possession, so PETA asks anyone with information to come forward immediately—other lives may depend on it.”

Anyone with information about the deceased dog or the vehicle should contact Detective Lieutenant Brad Stewart at 401-333-8485.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Rhode Island

The Miriam Hospital In Providence Getting Key Upgrades

Published

on

The Miriam Hospital In Providence Getting Key Upgrades


PROVIDENCE, RI — The Miriam Hospital in Providence will undergo a renovation project, which will upgrade its emergency department and inpatient units, hospital officials said Monday.

The upgrades were approved with a certificate of need from the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) based on a recommendation from RIDOH’s Health Services Council, a spokesperson for Brown University Health, which owns the hospital, said.

“Receiving this approval marks a crucial step forward in our steadfast commitment to delivering exceptional patient care and advancing medical excellence,” Miriam Hospital President Maria Ducharme said. “Our current building, now over 100 years old, can no longer adequately support the demands of modern patient care. In addition, our emergency department is a fragmented space that no longer supports efficient patient flow and the highest levels of communication we strive to deliver to those who have come to rely on us for their care. These much-needed renovations will create a safe, comfortable, environment that prioritizes the health and well-being of our community.”

Work is scheduled to begin spring 2025 and will be carried out in three phases throughout the next three years. Hospital officials said this phased approach is designed to minimize disruptions to ongoing patient care and the surrounding communities.

Advertisement

The first phase will involve demolishing the hospital campus’s oldest building to create space for a new emergency department and private patient rooms. The renovation project has an estimated cost of $125 million for completion, the majority which will be funded through a centennial capital fundraising campaign.

“As a cornerstone of our community, the Miriam Hospital has always been committed to delivering exceptional care,” Brown University Health President John Fernandez said. “This investment reflects Brown University Health’s unwavering dedication to modernizing our facilities, advancing healthcare and improving outcomes for everyone we serve.”

Have a news tip? Email jimmy.bentley@patch.com.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Rhode Island

Here’s How Much Minimum Wage Will Go Up In RI On Jan. 1

Published

on

Here’s How Much Minimum Wage Will Go Up In RI On Jan. 1


RHODE ISLAND — Minimum wage workers in Rhode Island are among about 9.2 million nationwide who will get a pay bump in 2025.

The pay raises taking effect Jan. 1 will increase worker pay by about $5.7 billion in the 21 states that are boosting the minimum wage, according to an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank that analyzes the economic effect of policies on primarily low- and middle-income families.

In Rhode Island, the minimum wage will increase in 2025 to $15 an hour, up from $14 an hour in 2024. The tipped minimum wage stayed the same at $3.89 an hour.

The raises will increase 2025 pay for minimum wage workers in Rhode Island by about $46.5 million — or an average of $767 a year.

Advertisement

About 13.6 percent of the workforce and about 65,100 Rhode Island residents are directly or indirectly affected by the minimum wage hikes. About 33,300 children — 16.1 percent of all children in Rhode Island — live in households where a minimum wage worker lives.

Nationwide, more than a quarter (25.7 percent) of workers getting a minimum wage pay increase are parents, and more than 5.8 million children live in households where an individual will receive a minimum wage hike, the analysis said.

One in five (20.4 percent) of affected workers are in families with incomes below the poverty line, and nearly half (48.5 percent) have family incomes below twice the poverty line.

Teenagers are often disproportionately likely to become minimum wage workers, the analysis said, but about 88 percent of those getting raises are adults. Among them, about half are full-time workers.

Of all adult workers getting a minimum wage bump in 2025, 41.4 percent have completed at least some education beyond a high school degree.

Advertisement

In addition to Rhode Island, others among the 21 raising the minimum wage in 2025 are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Virginia, Vermont and Washington.

In addition, about 48 cities and counties, mostly in California, Colorado and Washington, are raising wages above their state minimum wage floors.

Most minimum wage hikes taking effect Jan. 1 are a result of state laws that tie minimum wage increases to inflation. The raises are automatic in 13 of the states and effect about 56.2 percent of workers getting raises.

Have a news tip? Email jimmy.bentley@patch.com.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending