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Environment
Newscripts
The Ordure of the Day, No Painting over the Problem, Why Freshman Chem Is So Difficult, Chew and Go
December 5, 2005
| A version of this story appeared in
Volume 83, Issue 49
The ordure of the day
As if congress does not have enough to argue about, now it's arguing over manure, according to a report by the Bureau of National Affairs.
Rep. Ralph M. Hall (R-Texas) has introduced legislation to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act, better known as Superfund, to ensure that manure is not considered a hazardous substance under the act. The bill, H.R. 4341, has drawn support from the agricultural groups most likely to benefit: the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the National Chicken Council, and the National Pork Producers Council.
EPA says that in raising animals for market, the large quantities of manure produced at pork, poultry, and cattle farms can leach into groundwater and pollute the air, thus posing risks to health and the environment. As manure breaks down, it nourishes pathogens and gives off ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. At large animal operations, the quantities of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide might trigger reporting requirements under the law.
Some courts have already ruled that large animal-raising operations are subject to reporting requirements. Such operations produce about 500 million tons of manure annually, according to Michele M. Merkel, senior counsel with the Environmental Integrity Project. She says the animals produce three times more waste than humans generate in the U.S. annually, and if not properly handled, the waste poses serious risks to human health.
No painting over the problem
To provide consumers with advice on responsible use of paint, the National Paint & Coatings Association has joined with the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) and Earth 911, a group that provides local environmental information. Together, they have opened the Paint Wise Web portal-www.paint.earth911.org-to provide instructions on how to purchase, apply, store, and dispose of paint. Users can even learn where to find paint disposal facilities.
According to PSI, it costs $8.00 per gal to recycle or dispose of leftover paint, at an annual cost of $280 million.
The site includes a zip-code-enabled directory of disposal and recycling facilities. However, in some cases users might consider using leftover paint instead of taking it to a disposal or recycling center. Typing in a New York City zip code yields recycling centers only as close as 58 miles and as far as 116 miles away. The farthest facility is in Springfield, Mass.
Why freshman chem is so difficult
Students taking workshops for introductory chemistry courses at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, receive handouts outlining course requirements, grading criteria, and guidelines for success.
The people segment of the handout offers freshman chemistry students the following advice: While all the workshop instructors have an excellent grasp of chemistry, some of them speak English as a second language. … If you have difficulty communicating with your instructor, be patient, listen and speak carefully, and let them know of specific difficulties you have in communicating with them so they can work on improving.
Chew and go
Army scientists are developing a chewing gum that soldiers on maneuvers can use to avoid gum infections and tooth decay, according to a Nov. 11 article on www.nature.com. At the recent annual meeting of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, the army researchers said that they have developed a protein fragment that in lab tests kills harmful mouth bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans.
The protein fragment, identified as KSL, attacks bugs that cause plaque by breaking down the bacteria's cell membranes. It would be an improvement over another antimicrobial ingredient used in chewing gums and some mouthwashes: chlorhexidine, which has side effects such as tooth staining, mouth irritation, and impaired taste.
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This week's column was written by Marc Reisch. Please send comments and suggestions to newscripts@acs.org.
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