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Iraqi Environment Ministry and UN to Assess Polluted Sites

BAGHDAD, Iraq, September 14, 2004 (ENS) – Environmental contamination left by years of war is about to be investigated by Iraqi scientists working on a new $4.7 million project funded by the government of Japan. Impacts on human health and the environment left by oil and chemical fires and spills will be assessed at five of 300 polluted sites across Iraq in preparation for a long term plan to clean up the country. The project will be coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of the Environment, both agencies announced today. Iraqi Environment Minister Mishkat Moumin said, "My country is faced with a wide range of pressing issues that must be addressed if the Iraqi people are to enjoy a stable, healthy and prosperous future. Delivering a clean and unpolluted environment is a key piece in this jigsaw puzzle towards a better future." Going in, the scientists will be trained in the latest laboratory and field testing skills, and they will become the nucleus of the first independent Iraqi team of environmental assessors. They will share samples with UNEP's Post Conflict Assessment Unit in Geneva so that testing of the samples can be […]

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States Sue to Cut Pesticide Use in Public Housing

ALBANY, New York, September 13, 2004 (ENS) – Six state attorney generals have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in an attempt to reduce the use of pesticides in public housing. The suit charges the federal agency is failing to comply with a 1996 law that requires the use of safer pest management practices in thousands of public housing developments across the United States. The lawsuit was filed last week in federal court in Brooklyn by attorneys general from New York, Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico, Wisconsin and the U.S. Virgin Islands. "There is no reason to subject children and other residents of public housing to potentially harmful chemicals when there are other effective ways to deal with pests," said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. "We must use common sense and other tested, effective methods of pest control to ensure that kids are as safe as possible no matter where they live." The suit aims to force HUD to require housing authorities to use integrated pest management, a method that eliminates pests without toxic pesticides. The practice relies on regular inspections and traps, as well as preventative actions such as installing screens, repairing structural […]

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