Teachers from 334 Connecticut schools reported getting sick from mold and other environmental hazards, including rodent droppings, extreme heat and cold, dust, asbestos and more.
Asthma
Posted inPolitics
Malloy hails EPA decision to tighten restrictions on smog
WASHINGTON – Gov. Dannel Malloy on Friday lauded the U.S. Environmental Agency’s reversal of its decision to delay a new rule that would lower the level of ozone emissions permitted from fossil-fuel burning, such as the exhaust from auto tailpipes and power plant smokestacks. Malloy had argued a stricter ozone rule is needed because Connecticut is polluted by emissions from other states, putting its businesses at a disadvantage and threatening the health of state residents.
Posted inHealth
Trying for a breath of fresh air in treating asthma
Asthma affects Connecticut residents at higher rates than the nation’s population as a whole, and it’s on the rise. Several local efforts are trying to make headway in changing the course of the disease, using approaches some say could serve as a model for addressing other chronic illnesses that are more heavily influenced by what happens in a patient’s daily life than treatment in the medical system.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Bridgeport deserves hearing on bill to phase out coal-fired plant
Connecticut legislators have apparently decided not to hold a hearing on HB 6616, a measure that would phase out the use of coal to generate power and provide a smooth transition away from power plant jobs. The coal-fired Bridgeport Harbor Generating Station has been polluting the air for years, We demand evironmental justice and the right to be be heard on this bill.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Connecticut’s summer air some of the worst on East Coast
As the EPA readies new air pollution standards, Connecticut not only doesn’t meet the old ones, it has some of the worst air in the country — and it’s been getting worse.
Posted inEducation, Health
ER visits and hospitalizations for asthma on the rise
A growing number of people are using hospital emergency departments for treatment of asthma symptoms. Each year from 2005 to 2009, Connecticut residents with asthma symptoms on average visited the emergency room 22,000 times, and were hospitalized 4,800 times.