New WA PFAS rules could affect clothes, cleaners
The Washington Department of Ecology is proposing new rules that would restrict the sale of products in the state that contain so-called “forever chemicals.”
PFAS have been linked to cancer and detrimental effects to human immune and reproductive systems.
They’re found in many household products and were in the firefighting foam used at Fairchild Air Force base and the Spokane International Airport that contaminated many wells on West Plains.
"We are proposing a rule to limit forever chemicals in clothes, cleaning products and car washes, while also requiring companies to tell us when they are used in nine other product categories," Marissa Smith, state Department of Ecology spokesperson, said.
Several other states have already restricted the product categories that would be banned under the new rules. Because of that, Smith said the department doesn’t expect to see a dramatic increase in price of those products in Washington.
"The product categories here we are proposing to bans PFAS are PFAS are already restricted in products in those other states," she told SPR News. "So we expect the market is already moving away from PFAS in those products. So we don’t expect to see big changes in consumer product price associated with this rule."
Ecology is taking public comment on the proposed restrictions. You can find out more on the Department of Ecology website.
UW grad student's bike sensor could map safer routes for cyclists
The Washington State Transportation Commission is scheduled to receive a presentation later this month [June] about a bike sensor that maps where cars and cyclists could collide.
The commission develops transportation policy and conducts studies authorized by the State Legislature.
It's interested in using data from the sensor to inform policy to make roads safer.
University of Washington PhD. student Joe Breda created the sensor, called ProxiCycle.
It attaches to a bike's handlebars and automatically maps where cars pass within three feet of a cyclist.
"So I wanted to create a signal that could be measured quickly and easily without people having to manually report things to just approximate where is it safe so we can start showing people where they can ride right now if they want to avoid danger from getting hit by a car," he said.
Breda told KNKX public radio he hopes to map different parts of the country to give people safe routes to commute by bike.
He said he's still trying to figure out how to share the map.
Invasive green crabs appear to be spreading rapidly
State fish and wildlife managers are facing another surge of European green crab populations.
This invasive species is known for threatening native shellfish, eelgrass and aquaculture with its strong claws and voracious appetite.
It has been detected on the Washington coast for decades.
But concerns escalated about ten years ago, when green crabs were first detected in the Salish Sea.
Last year, Washington wildlife teams trapped and disposed of more than a million specimens.
Marine ecologist Emily Grason leads the Washington Sea Grant’s Crab Team.
"Every year we see more and more green crabs. We see them in new places and occupying new types of habitat in the same places that they've been found for a few years," said marine ecologist Emily Grason, who leads the Washington Sea Grant’s Crab Team. "And all of these are signs that … the invasion is continuing to progress.”
She said last year’s El Nino boosted the survival rates of green crab larvae and helped to spread them further.
Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor remain the biggest hot spots, but there are signs of possible spreading into Hood Canal and Puget Sound.
A 2022 emergency order has been funding stepped up management efforts for the past 3 years.
The public can help by learning how to identify green crabs and sharing their sightings data with the government.
A big “Salish Sea Molt Blitz” takes place on June 20th.
DEI changes at the U of I impact campus organizations
The University of Idaho has made changes and closures at campus offices that concern diversity, equity and inclusion after the state board of education passed a resolution concerning DEI at public universities last December.
U of I’s clubs and student organizations that serve diverse groups are still on campus, said Blaine Eckles, the vice provost for student affairs and dean of students.
"Everyone has a right to congregate under the First Amendment freedom of speech," he said. "You can gather with whom you want."
Eckles told Northwest Public Broadcasting that student fees are used to finance these organizations. That’s why these groups are on campus.
Miguel Rios, a senior at U of I, is a member of Sigma Lambda Beta, which is a predominantly Latino fraternity.
"I did notice a change within my student organization, in terms of funding, because we relied a lot on the Office of Multicultural Affairs for funding for events that we used to have," he said.
Rios, who’s also the president of the Multicultural Greek Council, said the offices that closed helped put on multicultural celebrations.
Maddie's Place continues work after closure scare
A Spokane nursery for drug-addicted infants is finding its footing in a tough fund-raising climate.
Last week, Mayor Lisa Brown announced Maddie’s Place had received a one-time, $2-million grant from the state.
She also announced the city is allocating $300,000 from its share of an opioid settlement. Other money has come from Spokane County and private donations.
Maddie’s Place chief executive Shaun Cross told SPR News his success raising money is from his organization’s results.
He said the nursery has cared for 136 infants who were exposed in the womb to toxic drugs.
In many of the cases, mothers were treated with their babies.
"Of those 91 moms that have stayed with us, 95%, 87 are in recovery today, in custody of their infant, and housed," he said. "So what we're finding is that it's a way to reach the moms, the biological mom, and then it's a way to reach the biological dad."
Cross said there’s only one other nursery in the U.S. that does similar work.
He said with the fentanyl crisis worsening in the Spokane area, the need for the care the nursery provides will be needed more than ever.
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Reporting by Steve Jackson, Freddy Monares, Bellamy Pailthorp, Diana Romero and Doug Nadvornick.
Diana Romero is interning at NWPB through Voces Internship of Idaho, an equity-driven program for young Latinos to work in Idaho news.