Webinar Identifying Urban and Industrial GHG Sources Using Continuous d13C Observations

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) come from a variety of natural and anthropogenic sources and have a powerful global warming impact.  Understanding the magnitude and distribution of these emissions spatially and temporally is critical to evaluating present and future climate impacts. Stable isotope signatures of methane and carbon dioxide are often employed to investigate the relative importance of various sources (and sinks).

Picarro invites you to a webinar on Identifying Urban and Industrial GHG Sources Using Continuous d13C Observations. This live webinar, featuring Felix Vogel (Researcher, LSCE) and David Kim-Hak (Product Manager, Picarro), will focus on GHG source identification. Felix will share his experiences in monitoring atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane concentrations and stable isotopes. David will present information about how Picarro technology has enabled continuous and in-situ measurements of stable isotopes, including providing information on the Picarro G2201-i for best-in-class greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration and isotopic measurements. If you are interested in learning about urban and industrial GHG source identification, this is the webinar for you!

Picarro Live Webinar:
Identifying Urban and Industrial GHG Sources Using Continuous d13C Observations
Register
Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Other Training Courses

Sustainability Issues

Watershed Management – Stream Ecology-Wetlands

Fracking- Hydraulic Fracturing

Reduce Exposure to Toxic Chemicals and Compounds

“The Tendr coalition includes pediatric neurologists, several minority physician associations, nurses, learning disability advocacy groups, environmental organizations, and the Endocrine Society, which has compiled several scientific statements documenting adverse health effects linked to endocrine-disrupting chemicals that mimic or disrupt the hormones in our own bodies. Dozens of scientists and health providers have signed the statement, as has Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program.”

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How to Limit Your Exposure to Toxic Chemicals

A coalition of doctors, scientists and health advocates says you may be able to reduce your overall exposure to toxic chemicals by taking the following steps:

  • Reduce pesticide exposure by choosing organic strawberries, apples, nectarines, green beans, celery and spinach.    (This may be expensive, you may want to consider growing your own or at least washing and rinsing the items or buying from a USA Source).
  • Choose seafood low in mercury like salmon, sardines, and trout.  (Limit the intake of bottom feeders).
  • Breast-feed your baby if you can; if you use formula, make sure the water is lead-free.  (Lead-free water may require the installation of a point of use water treatment system).
  • When buying furniture with padding like a high chair, sofa or mattress, ask for products that are labeled free of toxic flame retardants.
  • Avoid exposing the family to tobacco smoke, wood smoke from fireplaces and wood stoves, idling car exhaust, cooking fumes from stoves and grills.
  • If you’re putting in a new floor, choose either phthalate-free vinyl flooring or wood, bamboo or cork. (Check on the sources of the materials).
  • Avoid plastic toys, backpacks, lunch boxes and school supplies made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which can be a source of phthalates.  (This may be tough- First Choice Buy Made in the USA).
  • Choose fragrance-free personal care products to avoid phthalates in fragrances .   (Try naturally scent oils)
  • When using stool softeners, laxatives and other time-release capsules, look for phthalates on the list of inactive ingredients so you can avoid them.   (How about eat more fiber).
  • Use nontoxic alternatives to pesticides in your yard and on your pets.   (or use them as directed)
  • Screen your house for lead. If it was built before 1978, lead paint may place your family at risk. If paint is chipping or peeling, it can build up in house dust and stick to children’s hands.   (Lead Paint Testing and Comprehensive Water Testing)
  • Reduce household dust that may contain lead, flame retardants, phthalates and pesticides. Take shoes off before you come into the house and use a doormat to trap dirt outside and inside the doorway. Damp mop, use a HEPA-filtered vacuum cleaner and dust with a microfiber cloth.   (Least us not forget Mold and Radon)

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Source:

Know Your H20 – Get a Community Hazard Report

Environmental Health Product – Tri-Heat Heating Pad

Since I am getting Older – I came across this product seems interesting at our local BNI Business Meeting – Where I was speaking about the Know Your H20 Program and it is part of our BUY Local and Support Local Business Efforts.

heating pad with controller

Tri-Heat is a new style heating pad that was designed to help people with muscle, joint and arthritic pain find a more comfortable and effective way of applying heat therapy.Heat application is a commonly prescribed therapy in today’s medical field and Tri-Heat’s unique design makes it perfect for treating pain in hard to target areas such as the neck, wrist, shoulder, elbow and knee, among others. 

Traditional heating pads are flat, flimsy and offer no support. When you try to wrap them around the injury you have to struggle to hold them in place and fit them to your joints. When you constantly have to readjust them you lose the heat and therefore any benefit they offer.

Tri-Heat is different. When you place it in the area that needs treatment you don’t have to adjust it or struggle to make it fit into the muscle and joint because the design allows it to comfortably stay in place and heat effectively. It’s great for Arthritis sufferers, as well as athletes looking to warm up their leg, arm, and shoulder muscles before a big game.

Tri-Heat comes with:

  • 4 Heat Settings
  • Moist Heat Capability
  • Two Heated Sides
  • 40 Min. Auto Off

Tri-Heat Brochure 1

Forty Fort, PA 18704 Email: contact@triheating.com 844-Tri-Heat or 844-874-4328

Think Healthy, Eat Healthy, Safe Community, Drink Clean Water, and Make a Difference !

Our Self Help Educational Programs

AquiSense POU POE Treatment System with UV Disinfection Multiple Barriers

AquiSense can help provide families with the purest water available.  The PearlAqua harnesses the power of ultraviolet (UV) light to destroy pathogens in the most natural way possible, without adding any harmful chemicals.  The PearlAqua has been compactly designed to be a Point-of-Entry (POE) or Point-of-Use (POU) system.  Physical filtration of the water is required before UV disinfection so a PearlAqua is a great addition to any existing water treatment system.

The PearlAqua was designed to work with any water treatment system so installation of the unit is easy and retrofitting is simple.  Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems remove dissolved inorganic solids from water, but not organic materials or pathogens.  This may lead to algae growing in the holding tank, but recirculating the water through a PearlAqua will prevent algae from ever growing. Traditional UV disinfection systems use a large amount of electricity and heat the water while they disinfect.  These systems also use mercury gas-filled lamps to create their UV light. Mercury lamps are very fragile and release mercury into the water stream when they break.

The LEDs inside the PearlAqua last for 10,000 hours.  A mercury lamp will have a similar lifespan, but a mercury lamp can only be turned off/on a few times per day.  This limitation leads to the lamp remaining on, even when there is no water flow – hence annual replacement.  The PearlAqua LED system can be turned on/off an infinite number of times per day, so the unit only runs when water is flowing through it, greatly extending the lamp replacement interval. For example, a PearlAqua unit that is on for 2 hours a day will only need a lamp replacement every 14 years!

 The Units provide  “The Home Concept

1 .DC input power means solar power is possible
2. After hot water tank as pathogen barrier
3. Point of use legionella control
4. Disinfect rain water after storage
5. Post septic tank for environmental protection
6. Reuse grey water without concern of infection
7. RO/filter system final polishing and/or bio-film control

For more news and information – Go to News Page

A few steps

Step 1 – Get your water tested.
Step 2 – Get the water properly treated.

Norweco Singulair No Sand Mound System in Pennsylvania Get the Nitrogen Out

Norweco new at-grade bed is approved in Pennsylvania and other states for our Singulair® residential wastewater treatment system! We are proud to offer Pennsylvania the most affordable and effective residential onsite wastewater treatment system. Our Singulair® system, accompanied by our award-winning Hydro-Kinetic Bio-Film Reactor®, produces a clear, odorless effluent that is safely returned to the drain field (NO SAND MOUND REQUIRED).

Norwalk Wastewater Equipment Company (Norweco) is a manufacturer of water and wastewater treatment products, systems and chemicals. They specialize in small-flow treatment applications, ranging from municipal treatment systems for small towns and villages, all the way down to systems for the individual family home. Their products are designed to provide a high level of treatment in the most efficient, cost-effective manner. They place special focus on customer service, product innovation, research and development, regulatory cooperation, industry education and employee fulfillment. Their corporate offices are located in Norwalk, Ohio, we serve a diverse customer base through our licensed distributors and dealers across North America and around the world. Norweco has both concrete and a high density polyethylene options that will meet all your design needs for residential wastewater.

All of our systems carry NSF Standards 40, 46 and 245 listings and have been proven product since the 70’s.  I look forward to hearing from you in the near future and working with you on using our affordable product. Thank you once again for showing interest in Norweco and feel free to contact us at any time.

The Singulair® system has been approved and used for decades in North America and continues to lead the way in today’s market. Certified and proven in hundreds of thousands of installations, the Singulair®, in series with our Hydro-Kinetic Bio-Film Reactor®, is the most innovative, state-of-the-art wastewater treatment system. Consider these advantages:

  • Precast concrete & HDPE tanks include pretreatment
  • Non-mechanical, demand use, built-in flow equalization (surge control) and filtration
  • Low electrical usage
  • Simple to install and maintain
  • No large replacement expenses
  • Environmentally safe – no harmful product to replace

Norweco systems are available state-wide through our network of dedicated, hard-working local distributors. For additional information on design applications or where you can purchase Singulair® systems, give Paul Cannon a call at (419)668-4471 or email him at pcannon@norweco.com.

Please mention to Paul you save this Announcement on the Keystone Clean Water Team Portal – It appears this is suitable for flows up to 800 gpd or two single family homes or a house with 7 bedrooms (3 bedroom house – 400 gpd; each additional bedroom – 100 gpd).

Product Literature
Singulair Brochure
Singulair Specifications
TNT_Flyer
Training
Norweco treatment systems are currently solving wastewater treatment problems throughout Pennsylvania. We invite you to join us at an upcoming Factory Training School to learn more about our company and products. Norweco schools are accredited by the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for six hours of continuing education credit. Please contact me at 1-800-NORWECO or pcannon@norweco.com for additional information.

Training for PASEOs
Water and Wastwater Training Topics

http://www.pacleanwater.org

It is important to Neighboorhood Hazard Reports and get your well water tested.

More on sewage options in Pennsylvania.

 

Understanding the Health Risks of Private Well Ownership

Understanding the Health Risks of Private Well Ownership
Guest blogger / writer – Julie Bowen <julie@palatino.org>

As a country, we are proud of our reputation for having the safest and cleanest drinking water in the world. However drinking water that is procured from privately owned wells is not regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or many state agencies, meaning that the owners of those wells are responsible for ensuring that their water is safe and drinkable. Water from private wells tastes crisp and refreshing, and it can be a wonderful gift to own your own water source. It is also important to acknowledge that many residents living in rural areas have no choice but to procure their water from private wells or cisterns.  However, regardless of the reasons that their water is sourced from private wells, it is essential that private well owners are aware of the health risks involved in private well ownership as well as the myriad of benefits that they can obtain.  

The Risks of Water Contamination

Drinking water from wells can be contaminated in a variety of different ways:  either due to naturally occurring chemicals and minerals, the land use and farming practices in the area surrounding the well, and a malfunction of the wastewater treatment systems operating on the well itself. As a result of this, there are a wide range of illnesses that can be contracted via drinking contaminated well water. These can range from short-term gastrointestinal and stomach illnesses that includes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea to more severe long term illnesses such as reproductive problems, neurological disorders, and other chronic illnesses.  Death by drinking water is not common, but it has happened.  Individuals with compromised immune systems, as well as children, pregnant women, and elderly people, are more vulnerable to the effects of certain contaminates and should be especially vigilant about the quality of their privately owned drinking water.

Two of the parasitic illnesses private well owners should be most aware of are Hepatitis A and Giardia (which is the parasite that causes the illness giardiasis, a common cause of diarrhea). Giardiasis is a relatively short lived condition, that is caused by water becoming contaminated by either mammalian or human feces. The parasite itself is resistant to basic chlorination, meaning that it tends to be particularly resistant to water treatment methods, however once infected most individuals have overcome the illness in approximately 7 days. More deadly are the risks posed by the liver condition hepatitis A, which is a highly contagious illness that is also contracted via the fecal oral route, due to water contaminated by infected feces.  Hepatitis A is a self-limited disease that does not result in chronic infection, but the symptoms can be severe and pose a particular risk to vulnerable individuals.

Taking the Appropriate Precautions                      

Because of the risks of being exposed to contaminated drinking water, it is recommended that in addition to regularly checking the quality of your drinking water, and taking the necessary precautions to ensure it avoids contamination, private home owners also secure comprehensive health insurance.  This will help them to ensure that they are fully protected in the unlikely instance that something should go wrong with their water supply, and they should contract one of the myriad of illnesses listed above.                          

The Keystone Clean Water Team (KCWT) is committed to ensuring that home owners with responsibility for private wells are given the support, the information, and the technology that they need to ensure that their well based drinking water is as clean and as safe as possible. The quality of well water should be tested at least three times a year, and the well itself should be regularly repaired and maintained to protect the water that is inside. When it comes to modern well technology, knowledge is power, so it is important to be as informed as possible about what is happening inside your well, and well as any possible risks that you face. The process involved in maintaining healthy well water can seem complicated, and the language involved in the process unnecessarily convoluted, which is why The Keystone Clean Water Team can help homeowners interpret their test results and ensure their water is as safe as it can be.

A few thoughts from the KCWT:

  1. When people say may water taste great and looks great – I have no problem – 50% of the time they have a problem that can make them sick.
  2. Of these individuals, 50% of the time the problem can be eliminated for a few hundred dollars.
  3. Some recent work on lead in drinking water found that 2 out of 3 private well samples had elevated lead; whereas only 1 out of 10 city water samples had a lead issue.  Testing your well water quality is important, but you must understand our risks.
  4. Blood lead testing is important for kids – get it done if you are living an older community that has or had historic industrialization.

A few suggestions:

  1. Download our free phone App.
  2. Get Your Water Tested (Portion of the Proceeds Help the KCWT)
  3. Neighboorhood Hazard Reports
  4. Order the Private Well Owner Educational Guide

 

Obama Flint Michigan – Drinking Water Issues – Comments Water Quality Association

Dear Valued WQA Member,

Following President Barack Obama’s important visit to Flint, Michigan yesterday, the Water Quality Association applauds the President’s position on water filtration in Flint. As a result, WQA has responded by demonstrating how the drinking water treatment industry can help bring immediate solutions for the residents of Flint. Today, WQA President Don McGhee issued an Official Statement on President Obama’s Visit and sent an The Honorable Barack Obama offering to provide certified filters and related technologies, technical advice, as well as public education.
To learn more about President Obama’s statements regarding the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan, please visit the links below:

Click here to view President Obama’s speech to the Flint community.

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Recommendations

  1. Get your water tested.
  2. Check if you see signs of corrosion or a lead issue.
  3. Barrier filter (Point of Use)
  4. Kids – blood lead levels tested

Good luck

Know Your H20?

http://www.knowyourh20.us

 

EDIBLE YARDS and FREE Seed Swap

For Immediate Release: FREE forum “EDIBLE YARDS” and FREE Seed Swap

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SEEDS (Sustainable Energy Education & Development Support) kicks off its 2016 education series with a free forum on Edible Yards to be held Tuesday, March 29 from 7:00pm to 9:00 pm at the Park Street Complex, 648 Park Street in Honesdale.

Learn how to grow healthy food while becoming more self-reliant and creating a bio-diverse environment for a healthy planet.

Several expert panelists will share their tips and tricks on topics including
raising chickens, foraging, growing fruit trees, beekeeping, and much more. In addition, members from the Audubon Society and Master Gardeners will be part of this informative event with plenty of time for Q & A.

No space? No problem! Learn about Honesdale’s Community Garden that provides plots for residents.

SEEDS will also be hosting a free Seed Swap. Bring seeds you’ve collected from your own garden or extra seeds you’ve purchased, and share with others.

Come and participate in this fun and informative evening.
Baked goods and light refreshments will be served. There will also be door prizes.

SEEDS (Sustainable Energy Education and Development Support) is a non-profit organization that promotes energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable living. Visit www.seedsgroup.net to join our newsletter list to be notified of all our upcoming free forums.

Other Online Training

Self-Help and Personal Awareness
Alternative and Renewable Energy

State issues sewage violation against Sunrise Lake

By Anya Tikka
— Residents continue to complain about sewer and water problems at Sunrise Lake.

Some say their ground and well water are contaminated, and that their sewage mounds, which are supposed to filter wastewater, are failing.

An inspector from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) found that a leaky sewer mound is polluting the water in the area, a matter in dispute. Some residents claim the property owners’ association is not following through by notifying affected residents.

Chip Dingman, president of the Sunrise Lakes Property Owners Association, said he could not comment because of pending litigation brought by the resident.

A resident told the Courier he wished to remain anonymous because of a pending lawsuit. He said the DEP told the property owners’ association to shut down the failed sewage system at the end of January because it was leaking. The DEP also took soil samples in early February, and the test results, according to the resident, “came back very bad.”

The state says it’s looking to the township to address the issue.

“The township just sent the Sunrise Lake administration a Notice of Violation,” said Colleen Connolly, DEP’s North East Pennsylvania representative, in an email to the Courier. “DEP is not directly involved in this other than the township sewage enforcement officer keeping us informed of what steps it is taking to remedy the situation.”

– See more at: Read More

General Comments

  1. Water Testing – private well owners have contacted the KCWT about this situation our recommendation is the following:
    a. Contact a private certified testing laboratory to have your water tested.  At a minimum, the water should be tested for total coliform, E. coli., pH, conductivity, chloride, nitrate, nitrite, surfactants (Foaming agents), and total dissolved solids.
  2. If you can afford additional testing we recommend- TKN, ammonia, COD, sodium and potassium.

Installing a Rain Garden

Install a rain garden in your community  – Possible ROAs for a Groundwater Guardian Project

Spring is just around the corner, and a great time to think about installing a rain garden.  A rain garden is a garden of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers planted in a small depression, which is generally formed on a natural slope.  It is designed to temporarily hold and soak in rain water runoff.  Rain gardens help filter out pollutants such as fertilizers, chemicals, bacteria, and others contained in runoff.  They also incorporate native vegetation, reducing the need for fertilizers and after the first year, maintenance is usually minimal.

Rain gardens are effective in:

  • removing up to 90% of nutrients and chemicals
  • removing up to 80% of sediments from rainwater runoff
  • allowing for 30% more water to soak into the ground than a conventional lawn

Consider installing a rain garden as one of your team’s 2016 Result-Oriented Activities.  Remember, you can add an ROA at any time during the year.  Involve the public and make it an educational event!  Read more about how rain gardens benefit a community and how to get started.

 Rain Gardens

Stormwater Management for Homeowners
Some examples of water features – Dallas, PA