Rhode Island Group Will Receive EPA CARE Grant to Assess Environmental Health Issues in Newport

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Release date:

10/31/2007http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/c5b4e34d3d2fce3185257385006\

d01b9?OpenDocument

Contact Information: Jeanethe Falvey, (617) 918-1020

(Boston, Mass. – October 31, 2007) - With the help of a $100,000 grant from

EPA, the Rhode Island Area Health Education Center (RI AHEC) will be able to

target environmental health issues in Newport.

The $100,000 grant will be managed by the Southern Rhode Island branch of the

RI AHEC and is part of EPA’s Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE)

program. CARE is an initiative to help community groups identify and address the

critical environmental health issues in a specific local area.

“This grant will help accelerate the innovative and ground-based efforts of the

SRI AHEC to address local environmental problems and create community based

solutions in Newport,” said Varney, regional administrator of EPA’s New

England office.

“This is an open door of opportunity for the City of Newport, we are excited to

move forward to improve the environmental health issues that currently face us,”

said Sattel, Director of Programs for the Southern Rhode Island AHEC. “The

grant will allow us to look at a range of issues, identify the top five health

concerns and take some definitive action.”

Newport has a considerable population of disadvantaged citizens, exacerbating

environmental health issues. Approximately 20% of residents under the age of 18

and 8% of residents over 65 live in poverty. SRI AHEC has additionally noted

that compared to families living above the poverty line, children in

disadvantaged homes have a 50% greater chance of developing cancer from exposure

to hazardous air pollutants, are 50% more likely to live near a Superfund site,

and 200% more likely to live near a facility emitting air pollutants targeted

for reduction under the Federal Clean Air Act.

The CARE grant will bring together the “Building a Healthy Newport Environment

Coalition” to document environmental health issues and community concerns,

prioritize the key risks and supplement the resources needed to tackle the

issues of highest priority with committed local organizations.

Specific environmental risks in the community needing to be addressed at

greater lengths include: lead poisoning; moisture/mold exposure that can trigger

asthma; diesel and particulate emissions from buses and trucks; and poor water

quality affecting beaches and the watershed area.

EPA’s CARE program was launched in 2005 and has since grown from a network of

merely 12 communities to nearly 50 ongoing projects around the country. This

year, EPA has provided $4 million under CARE to help community groups build

collaborative partnerships between residents, businesses, organizations and

local and state governments.

More information on EPA’s CARE program (epa.gov/care)

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