Daniel Salzler No. 1064
EnviroInsight.org 5 Items August 21, 2020
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1. During This Period of Intense Heat, And Sun, You Must Understand How To Protect Yourself. Going out into the sun is both good for you and also very dangerous.
When going into the sun, be sure to use and understand the limits of the Sun Protection Factor (SPF). SPF measures the length of time product protects against skin reddening from UVB rays, compared to how long the skin takes to redden without protection. If it takes 20 minute without protection to begin reddening, using an SPF 15 sunscreen theoretically prevents reddening 15 times longer, or about 5 hours.
Select a sunscreen that is free of parabens, phthalates, PEG’s, propylene glycol, SLS, dioxanes, orybenzone, toluene, and synthetic fragrance. Go to EWG.org to check the possibilities.
2. The Vitamin D Conundrum During This Pandemic. With the Covid-19 virus keeping us inside, many more of us are deficient in vitamin D. Our bodies create vitamin D naturally by converting the ultraviolet rays of the sun into this nutrient (it’s actually a hormone, not a traditional vitamin). UVA are the rays that get through sunscreens and leads to melanoma (skin cancer). UVB rays pass through the sunscreen and skin without skin damage. 41.6 % of Americans are vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D is essential for the immune system and bone density Short periods of time in the sun are okay, periodically, but skin reddening are not Also, if you work indoors, under flourescant lights, these lights will suck the vitamin D out of your body.
There are three ways to get vitamin D, 1) sun, 2) food, and 3) supplements [pills].
Sunlight
Our bodies convert sunlight to vitamin D (actually a hormone not a vitamin). An older adult needs as much as three time the sun exposure to produce the same amount of vitamin D a child produces. The older we get, the more vitamin D is sequestered in abdominal fat rather than being available for the body to use.
Food
It is also important to eat foods that are rich in vitamin D. Some of these foods include:
Food Vitamin D (in IU’s)
Fatty Fish (Salmon, Trout, Mackerel) …………………384 to 71
One can of Tuna………………………………………………..458
Cod Liver Oil…………………………………………………… 450
Portobello Mushrooms……………………………………..316
Ham (one cup)………………………………………………… 129
Fortified Milk …………………………………………………..128
Yogurt……………………………………………………………….80 to 120
Fortified Nondairy Milk (Soy, Almond Milk)……….96 to 112
Fortified Cereal………………………………………………….Up to 100
Fortified Orange Juice ……………………………………….100
Pork ……………………………………………………………………. 88
Eggs …………………………………………………………………….. 44
Source US Dept of Agriculture
Supplements
There are many Over-The-Counter brands of vitamin D brands available to the consumer. Consult with your doctor to determine your need.
3. Death By Trench Collapse Need Never Occur. Recently the Phoenix area reported a trench wall collapse, killing the workers in the trench. This never should have happened.
There is a common misconception that the majority of trench collapse victims succumb to suffocation and airway obstruction injuries. However, traumatic injuries and crush syndrome are the leading cause of death due to the large impact force generated by a vertical trench wall collapse.
Trenches excavated more than 4 feet in depth are considered to be a confined space (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.146). Trenches 5 feet (1.5 meters) deep or greater require a protective system unless the excavation is made entirely in stable rock.
The average trench is six feet deep and by the time the collapsed soil reaches the bottom of the trench, it is travelling at forty-five miles an hour. Any workers inside the trench area are now impacted by the equivalent of a pickup truck traveling 45 miles per hour. It is the company employer who must ensure that trained trench rescuers with proper trench rescue equipment are readily available, especially if there is a potential for the presence of a hazardous atmosphere in the trench.
Before going into a trench, these general trenching and excavation rules should be executed:
Access and Egress
OSHA requires safe access and egress to all excavations, including ladders, steps, ramps, or other safe means of exit for employees working in trench excavations 4 feet (1.22 meters) or deeper. These devices must be located within 25 feet (7.6 meters) of all workers.
General Trenching and Excavation Rules
- Keep heavy equipment away from trench edges.
- Keep surcharge loads at least 2 feet (0.6 meters) from trench edges.
- Know where underground utilities are located.
- Test for low oxygen, hazardous fumes and toxic gases.
- Inspect trenches at the start of each shift.
- Inspect trenches following a rainstorm.
- Do not work under raised loads.
To prevent trench cave-ins:
- SLOPE or bench trench walls
- SHORE trench walls with supports, or
- SHIELD trench walls with trench boxes
Employers should also ensure there is a safe way to enter and exit the trench. Keep materials away from the edge of the trench. Look for standing water or atmospheric hazards. Never enter a trench unless it has been properly inspected.
29 CFR 1926.650, 29 CFR 1926.651, 29 CFR 1910.146, and 29 CFR 1926.652 are applicable OSHA standards.
Source: OSHONLINE.com/August
4. ‘The Pie Keeps Shrinking’: Lake Mead’s Low Level Will Trigger Water Cutbacks For Arizona, Nevada. Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will again receive less water from the Colorado River next year under a set of agreements intended to help boost the level of Lake Mead, which now stands at just 40% of its full capacity.
The federal Bureau of Reclamation released projections on Friday showing that Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, will be at levels next year that continue to trigger moderate cutbacks in the two U.S. states and Mexico.
Those reductions could eventually increase in the next few years if Lake Mead drops further. The estimates show the reservoir near Las Vegas will likely begin 2021 about 10 feet above a level that would trigger larger cuts.
The Colorado River, which supplies cities and farmland from Wyoming to Southern California, has long been chronically overused and has dwindled during two decades of mostly dry years. The drought has been worsened by higher temperatures unleashed by climate change.
The reductions to Arizona and Nevada are part of a 2019 deal called the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan, which also calls for California to face cuts if reservoir levels continue to fall. Under a separate accord, Mexico will contribute next year by leaving some of its allotted water in Lake Mead.
The federal government’s forecast also estimated the levels of Lake Powell along the Arizona-Utah border. That reservoir, the country’s second largest, now sits 50% full.
The projections show that Lake Mead, while remaining above an official shortage level, will for a second year bewithin a zone called “Tier Zero,” which brings the initial cuts in Arizona and Nevada.
If the states that rely on the river hadn’t reached the shortage-sharing agreements, the federal government’s data shows that Lake Mead would have dropped significantly lower, said Sarah Porter, director of Arizona State University’s Kyl Center for Water Policy. Source: AZCentral.com
5. New Border Wall Near Unique Wetlands Endangered Water Supply. PHOENIX (AP) — The agency in charge of building the border wall received repeated warnings: tap water from nearby wells, and the unique wetlands of southeastern Arizona — yes, Arizona — home to a variety of wildlife and endangered fish will go dry.
Immigration officials didn’t head those warnings. Then, several ponds at the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge found themselves without water or with an extremely low supply, according to documents obtained by two different environmental groups.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency in charge of the refuge, said in a statement on Thursday that ponds “remain intact and the refuge continues to manage for endangered fish and wildlife.”
Contractors working for U.S. Customs and Border Protection began building a new stretch of border wall there in October, pumping millions of gallons of groundwater to mix cement for the 30-foot (9-meter) steel fencing that has been a signature promise of President Donald Trump. The Trump administration has promised to build 450 miles (724 kilometers) of wall along the border with Mexico by the end of this year; it has so far built 275 miles (443 kilometers).
The San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1982 to protect the rare wetlands in the middle of the desert that are home to a variety of wildlife, including several species of fish that are protected by the Endangered Species Act. Sitting on over 2,300 acres on the U.S.-Mexico border in southeastern Arizona, close to New Mexico, the refuge is home to hummingbirds, 75 species of butterflies, bats and, most importantly, to fish native to Rio Yaqui, which the refuge was set up to protect.The refuge itself is supposed to be protected under environmental laws, but the government has waived those in the name of border security.
Dozens of records obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity, which has sued to stop border wall construction, show months of warning from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife employees in charge of the refuge that went largely ignored.
The agency pleaded with CBP to refrain from drilling groundwater from any wells within a 5-mile (8-kilometer) radius of the refuge, using a 2003 study showing that doing so would be detrimental to the water supply. CBP did so anyway.
A report by the Fish and Wildlife Service that was obtained by Defenders of Wildlife, another conservation group that opposes border wall construction, shows that contractors withdrew millions of gallons of water from a well that’s 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) from the refuge, resulting in the lower water levels within the refuge and even some empty ponds.
In an email to Fish and Wildlife staff on Nov. 22, Radke wrote that he has “repeatedly and consistently” requested CBP not pull water from wells within 5 miles of the refuge, adding that “we are already experiencing the impacts that were predicted.” Ponds dropped as much as a foot of water, which Radke wrote was unheard of during the winter season, when the wetlands experience less evaporation and no transpiration.
A Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman said in a statement that the agency continues to coordinate with CBP “and has a positive working relationship with the agency.”
She said Fish and Wildlife has documented a correlated drop in deep aquifer well head pressure and that the refuge recently found larger capacity pumps are now needed to maintain pond levels and outflows, adding that the contractor in charge of the project has purchased and is installing those higher capacity pumps.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press.
Copyright 2020 EnviroInsight.org
