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As part of the testing, Ashley Ellis with UTC takes samples from each source of water inside the childcare facility being used for drinking water or to prepare foods—such as water fountains, kitchen sinks and bathroom sinks. Photo credit to Angela Foster with UTC.
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Free Lead Testing Through TN CUPP
National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, which runs from October 23–29, calls to action the numerous ways to reduce children’s exposure to lead to prevent serious health impacts. Lead is a toxic metal that can be harmful to human health when ingested. Children under the age of six years old are particularly sensitive to the effects of lead because their bodies are still undergoing development. Earlier this year, through TDEC’s Tennessee's College/Underserved Community Partnership Program (TN CUPP), partnerships were developed with both the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis to provide free lead testing to the childcare facilities within their respective surrounding communities. The project involved students from these higher education institutions working with Tennessee Department of Human Services-licensed childcare facilities located in Bradley, Hamilton, Marion, and Shelby Counties to achieve the following objectives:
- Increase testing participation among the childcare centers so that lead concentration levels at point-of-use drinking water outlets could be determined
- Provide education about the free service and the importance of lead testing
- Assist those providers needing to take corrective action with technical assistance and make referrals for funding to complete remediation and/or fixture replacement
Because childcare facilities are not required to test their drinking water for lead, this project has been an important source of outreach to these facilities to utilize the free lead testing services available to determine if lead is present in their drinking water.
This TN CUPP project has been a benefit to all who have participated in it. The community benefits from having safe drinking water for children. Childcare providers benefit from having free technical assistance available as well as funding available for remediation, if necessary. And the institution’s professors and students also benefit by gaining hands-on experience in their areas of study, with students earning college credit and building their resumes, and professors gaining recognition for their department and university. To learn more about TDEC’s TN CUPP program, click here.
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TDEC’s Office of Sustainable Practices (OSP) oversees the Tire Environmental Act Program Grant (TEAP)which focuses on the beneficial end use of tires, helping to reduce their impact on the waste stream and eliminate the health impacts associated with illegally dumped scrap tire stockpiles
Since the program’s inception in 2015, a total of 19 projects have been approved. These projects include the purchase of tire processing equipment for recycling facilities, the installation of tire derived products such as rubberized porous hiking trails, and research into rubberized asphalt for Tennessee roads. A total of $3.4 Million in funding has been provided for these projects which has helped divert more than 5.5 million tires from landfills.
The 2023 TEAP grant cycle will open mid-January and close mid-April. Eligible entities include for-profit businesses, local governments, non-profits, as well as higher education institutions and K-12 schools. Interested parties can visit OSP’s TEAP webpage for more information.
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TGSP Member Highlight
As part of Volvo Group, the Volvo Penta branch is targeting net-zero value chain emissions by 2040 through its commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative, a partnership between the United Nations, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature as well as other organizations. A significant focus of Volvo Penta Marine of Lexington’s work is to achieve net-zero through focusing on recycling and enhancing the sustainability of production processes.
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Last week TDEC celebrated Tennessee’s Zero Waste Day by organizing several educational webinars for the public and coordinating a Zero Waste Take-Back Day. The week of events was designed to help Tennessee residents take control of their waste, highlight Tennessee businesses that have taken Zero Waste initiatives, and provide resources to help citizens go Zero Waste in their every-day lives. The webinars featured a variety of guest speakers in the Zero Waste industry including panelists from several of Tennessee’s refill stores and NewTerra compost, as well as representatives from the non-profit Tennessee Environmental Council, and Metro Nashville’s Zero Waste program. The webinars can be viewed at the links below.
In addition to the webinar series, TDEC partnered with The Good Fill Store, at their West Nashville location, to host a “zero waste take back” event in which they accepted miscellaneous and hard to recycle items from residents. They were able to capture 251 pounds of miscellaneous recyclables. The full week’s impacts can be seen in the graphic above.
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Small Business Environmental Assistance Program
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TDEC staff are working hard every day to fulfill TDEC’s mission of protecting and improving the quality of Tennessee's air, land, and water through a responsible regulatory system. Here are some recent success stories from the department:
- Over $72 million in grants have been issued so far from the state’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) fund, in the form of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure grants.
- This year, every municipal solid waste region achieved the state’s reduction goal for 25% solid waste reduction.
- Almost all of Tennessee’s air quality is in attainment, meaning our air quality meets or is cleaner than the national standard.
- Tennessee has the best ratio in the nation of active underground storage tanks to tank cleanup projects. Additionally, no state with an equal or greater number of underground storage tanks has a lower cleanup project backlog than Tennessee.
- TDEC has received over $40 million dedicated to remediating the state’s Superfund and National Priority Listed sites, which are industrial sites that have historical contamination and pollution.
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Homemade Stock with Fall Vegetables
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Deadline: December 9, 2022
Conferences/Workshops/Training Opportunities
November 7-9, 2022
November 16, 2022
Stay tuned as we receive updates about upcoming conferences.
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