Disaster has hit the Argentina national football team, following the sacking of Edgardo Bauza, after eight matches as coach. He is said to be the shortest-serving Argentina coach since 1974.
Edgardo Bauza, former coach of Argentina
Bauza, 59, was appointed in August last year and guided his side to three wins, two draws and three defeats, placing the team outside the automatic qualifying place for the tournament in Russia.
Finishing fifth would mean a play-off against a team from Oceania. They have four games left in qualifying with their next match against third-placed Uruguay on 31 August.
They last failed to qualify for a World Cup in 1970.
President of the Argentina Football Association, Claudio Tapia, told newsmen that Bauza has been informed that he ceases to be the national team coach.
“The national team is playing badly and everyone knows it.”
Reports have it that Jorge Sampaoli of Sevilla and Diego Simeon of Athletico Madrid are early favorites to take over the Argentina job, ahead of a friendly match against rivals in Brazil in June.
A puzzling surge in western Uganda patients diagnosed with a painful, disfiguring skin condition known as elephantiasis was caused not by the parasitic worms typically associated with the affliction, but by long-term exposure to irritating soil minerals absorbed while walking barefoot, according to a new study published on Monday, April 10, 2017 in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Podoconiosis is caused by repeatedly walking barefoot in volcanic soils, says the study
The investigation by a team of experts from the Uganda Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was prompted by what appeared to be a relatively recent and intense outbreak of elephantiasis in 2014 and 2015 in the Kamwenge District of Western Uganda, an area not previously known to harbour the inflammatory disease.
While the people affected had painful swelling and ulcerating sores associated with the condition, they lacked evidence of the microscopic filarial worms that cause the most common form of elephantiasis, a condition known as lymphatic filariasis. After reviewing the medical history of 52 of the victims, scientists concluded they were suffering from a form of elephantiasis podoconiosis – which also meant this was no sudden outbreak.
“People can be suffering from podoconiosis, a non-infectious disease, for decades before it becomes obvious that they are developing elephantiasis,” said Christine Kihembo, MD, a senior field epidemiologist with the Ugandan Ministry of Health and the lead author of the study. “Many of the people affected in Western Uganda probably had been suffering silently without help for more than 30 years.”
Podoconiosis is caused by repeatedly walking barefoot in volcanic soils, which contain tiny, sharp mineral crystals that can penetrate the soles of the feet. For some people, once these crystals are under the skin, they provoke repeated cycles of inflammation. Over time, the inflammation produces a build-up of scar tissue that eventually blocks lymphatic vessels and produces dramatic and disabling swelling and open sores in the lower legs.
According to the WHO, this type of elephantiasis is typically associated with farming and years of working barefoot in freshly turned soil. But Kihembo said that until about 50 years ago, the area of Uganda where the patients she studied live was completely covered with forest and grasslands.
According to the report, in the 1960s, a large migration of people swept into the area in search of farmland “and subsequently, the soils were laid bare.” But early signs of the disease went undetected because neither the settlers nor healthcare workers in the region had any experience with podoconiosis, which is known to occur in some parts of Eastern Uganda, but is more commonly described in Ethiopia. The WHO estimates at least one million people in Ethiopia are estimated to be affected by podoconiosis, but it affects other parts of Africa along with volcanic regions of Southeast Asia and Central and South America as well.
Investigations by the researchers revealed patients who for many years had suffered routine bouts of itching, foot pain and swelling that were dismissed as minor problems.
The scientists ultimately concluded that, “contrary to the perception that an outbreak of elephantiasis had occurred in the area, we have uncovered a chronic neglected tropical disease with a relatively stable annual incidence over the last 30 years.”
According to the study, the mean age of those diagnosed with elephantiasis in the region is 48 years old. However, the scientists believe the disease process itself likely began when the victims were much younger.
Evidence shows that the easiest way to prevent podoconiosis is for people to wear shoes and regularly wash their feet. Indeed, many of the patients in the study reported frequently digging in the soil to grow crops and never wearing shoes or washing their feet after being barefoot in the soil. There is now an effort underway in the region to conduct a public health education campaign to focus on the importance of better foot hygiene.
Kihembo noted there have been some misperceptions in the community about the cause of the disease. For example, she said that when word got out that people were suffering from a condition called elephantiasis, a rumor spread that it was caused by dung from elephants that live in surrounding forests and occasionally stroll through local farms. And even when people understand the real cause, the solution is not as simple as it may sound, Kihembo said.
“It can be a challenge to get people to focus on foot hygiene in a poor, rural community where there are many hardships, and going barefoot is not generally viewed as one of them,” she said.
Kihembo said flagging early signs of the disease is crucial because proper foot care can prevent it from progressing any further. Eventually, podoconiosis reaches a “point of no return” where the swelling cannot be reversed, she said.
“People end up being isolated and stigmatised by the disease and they can develop secondary infections due to the ulcers on the skin, all of which cause a further decline in their health and their ability to be productive members of the community,” Kihembo said.
The podoconiosis investigation was undertaken as part of the Uganda Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP), a collaborative effort between the Uganda Ministry of Health and Makerere University School of Public Health, with support from CDC. Since the programme’s inauguration in January 2015, the Uganda fellows have successfully investigated more than 60 disease outbreaks and conducted dozens of other applied epidemiologic investigations on emerging public health threats across the country.
“This is a perfect illustration of why there is often no substitute for getting out into the field and interviewing patients to determine why they are getting sick and what can be done to help them,” said ASTMH President Patricia F. Walke. “These findings can help inform the decisions of health authorities in planning education campaigns to stop further suffering from this terrible, but entirely preventable, form of elephantiasis.”
Founded in 1903, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene is the largest international scientific organisation of experts dedicated to reducing the worldwide burden of tropical infectious diseases and improving global health.
Achieving global biodiversity targets will be a strong contribution to realising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said Dr. Cristiana Paşca Palmer, newly appointed Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, in a meeting held on Friday, April 7, 2017.
Cristiana Paşca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
In her first meeting with the Secretary-General, Paşca Palmer, the former Romanian minister of Environment, Waters and Forests, said her top priority is to raise the profile and political visibility of the CBD while working cooperatively with other entities across the UN system in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those for which biodiversity plays a key role, such as goals 14 and 15.
Paşca Palmer said, “We discussed the ever-evolving issues surrounding biodiversity and and its growing complex challenges around the globe, including the strong inter-linkages between ecosystems resilience, peace, security, and more broadly, the resilience of the human systems. In this vein, the link between biodiversity and food security was flagged as a key issue. We agreed that the July 2017 session of the High-Level Political Forum, the United Nations central platform for following-up the implementation of the universal Sustainable Development Goals, represents an excellent opportunity to highlight the benefits of mainstreaming biodiversity into key sectors such as agriculture and fisheries.
“It was uplifting to know that the Secretary-General shares my concern and genuinely cares about the state of biodiversity and how it affects every single living being on Earth. I left New York inspired and hopeful about the work that lies ahead and how we can make a difference under the new UN leadership.”
The United Nations Biodiversity Conference held in Mexico in 2016 focused on mainstreaming biodiversity into agriculture, fisheries, forestry and tourism. The mainstreaming theme will continue in December 2018, in Egypt, at the next UN Biodiversity Conference, which will focus on expanding the mainstreaming biodiversity agenda into other key sectors such as, energy and mining, infrastructure, manufacturing and processing, and health.
In light of this, Guterres and Paşca Palmer also discussed the contribution of this theme to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and exchanged views on the potential road map towards the conference in Egypt, as well as the subsequent meeting of the parties, to be hosted by China in 2020.
Guterres highlighted the opportunities presented by the upcoming 12th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests in May 2017 as well as The Ocean Conference in early June 2017 to promote biodiversity and its links to sustainable development.
The on-going shake-up within Ghana’s natural resources sector is now peaking, with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) much more emboldened to demand accountability of entities operating within that area. Accordingly, Newmont Ghana has been taken to task on its assertion that it is “committed to transparent processes in engaging and partnering local communities to improve lives and mitigate impacts associated with its operations in Ghana.”
Local community members advocating for the protection of rights of communities affected by mining
Led by the Kasa Initiative, the country’s CSOs in natural resources and environment, have challenged Newmont Ghana to live up to its claim by making public, reports of actual monitoring, “in line with provisions of international protocols that the company has subscribed to such as ‘The Free Prior Informed Consent’,”
It, among other things, calls for the consultation of a local community before the start of any development, and is underpinned by the principle that a community has the right to give or withhold its consent to proposed projects that may affect the lands they customarily own, occupy or use.
Newmont Ghana is one of the mining firms with prime concessions in Ghana’s Brong-Ahafo and Eastern regions. Its assertion of commitment to transparency was contained in a Ghana News Agency (GNA) publication dated February 13, 2017. The publication focused on the response by Newmont Ghana’s Senior Director of Sustainability and External Relations, Paul Sowley, to media reportage on the recent launch of two Reports by WACAM with support from the Ford Foundation.
The research based reports are: “Assessing the social and economic effects of mining on women affected by Newmont Ghana Gold Limited’s operations” and “Exposure to toxicants in environmental contaminants within Newmont Ghana Gold Limited – Ahafo Mine: Human health risk assessment approach”.
The GNA publication quotes Mr. Sowley as saying, “We are currently studying the accuracy of the reports… Our review will include following up with the Reports’ authors to better understand their data collection, analysis and assessment methods, which seem to lack the scientific rigour to support their conclusion.”
In a press release dated March 28, 2017, Kasa queried Newmont Ghana’s response and considered it as an attack. The press release described it as a “quick and unprofessional… because they had not taken adequate time and pain to study the findings made in the report before attacking the results and methodology.”
The press release was co-signed by Kasa’s Coordinator, Kwame Mensah, and WACAM’s Associate Executive Director, Mrs. Hannah Owusu-Koranteng. It stated: “If Newmont Ghana is in doubt of the rigour of the methodology and analysis, we are proposing an independent research on the same issues with protocols jointly determined by the parties.”
It further challenged Newmont Ghana “to make your ground water monitoring data available to the public, so as to keep the public informed of your own monitoring information. These are some of the actions that will make your company as transparent as you claim to the media.”
Kasa also considered Newmont Ghana’s stance as denial, which according to the press release, “is one of the foremost strategy used by mining companies to rebuff adverse findings resulting from their actions.” It noted that that since Newmont Ghana is currently studying the report, “… it is strange that without studying the report, they criticise the report,” an action the press release has described as, “obviously another strategy used by mining companies to refuse to take responsibility for their actions.”
The press release again stated: “an honest and transparent approach would have been for Newmont Ghana to study the report and verify the findings before concluding that the report lacks scientific rigour.”
It said the Reports revealed that “43% of the parameters measured in the study area were found to be below the detection limit of 10ug/L respectively for Arsenic, Mercury, Manganese, Lead and Cadmium, and were all found to be below the World Health Organisation (WHO) permissible guideline values.
However, 57% of the parameters in the research area were found to be above WHO guideline values for Arsenic, Manganese and Cadmium, confirming Newmont Ghana’s own prediction that its operations will have impact on groundwater resources. The press release cited the company’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prepared at the time of the launched of Phase 1 of the programme in February 2005, as stating that “quality of groundwater in the project area could be adversely affected by the waste rock disposal facilities, tailing storage facility, ore stockpiles, process water pond, mine pits, septic systems, and landfill”.
The press release also mentioned that Newmont Ghana’s operations have resulted in the loss of a total of 6,907 farm fields in the Ahafo Mine area, which has affected 823 households.
The press release acknowledged the company’s efforts in implementing “its social and economic obligations under the Environmental Impact Statement, which was one of the bases for the approval of your mines operations.”
But declared that: “Ghana Government indirectly bears the cost of Newmont Ghana’s corporate social responsibility project, because the cost of the corporate social responsibility projects are counted as part of the company’s operational cost which is tax deductible and this reduces the amount of tax the company pays to government of Ghana.”
The press release highlighted that: “Newmont Ghana per its agreement with government of Ghana is not paying Property tax to the Asutifi North District Assembly.” It said the payment of this tax could have been used by the Assembly to finance some of the infrastructural development projects or provide social amenities in the district.
It asserted that, “in effect, Newmont Ghana is taking credit for these social obligations which in reality, should be attributed to the government of Ghana. It is also important for the public to appreciate the fact that social amenities provided by Newmont Ghana are meant to replace the destruction their operations had caused to existing community infrastructure and systems such as communities’ water sources, schools, livelihoods and resettlement.”
It added, “They are not charities being doled out by Newmont Ghana to communities.”
Access to climate finance by institutions and governments received a boost last week when two international organisations decided to collaborate in that regard.
Mr Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi (SG UCLG Africa) and Mr Stéphane Pouffary (President of ENERGIES 2050) during the workshop. Photo credit: United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa)
This came about on Friday, April 7, 2017 in Rabat, Morocco when Pan-African organisation, United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), and ENERGIES 2050, an NGO that intervenes on the International scene to implement a low carbon development model, signed a protocol during a workshop on the access of local and regional authorities in Africa to climate finance.
The protocol, it was gathered, is the first of a series that will realise the establishment of the Task Force to support the cities and territories in Africa in accessing climate finance.
The goal of the workshop was to initiate a process of implementation of an ecosystem bringing together all relevant players, so that African local authorities are able to submit applications that are eligible to climate finance, and in particular to the Green Climate Fund.
The workshop also served as a starting point for the establishment of a Task Force with the aim to design and implement a roadmap for the proposed ecosystem, of which a first presentation will be made on the Preparatory meeting for COP23 in May 2017 in Bonn, Germany.
Only States are responsible for the negotiations and the resulting commitments in the fight against climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However, Cities, and more generally local stakeholders, play a central role in the implementation of these commitments and more generally in the implementation of measures to combat climate change.
Cities now house more than half of the world population and consume 60% to 80% of the energy produced globally. Three-quarters of the greenhouse gas emissions, that are the cause of current climatic disturbances, are directly associated with urban spaces, and it is a known fact that by 2050, 75% of the world’s population will live in cities.
During COP22, African cities requested the establishment of a dedicated window for sub-national governments within the Green Climate Fund. They expressed the hope that a capacity-building programme would be set up to make local governments eligible for green climate funds and other climate finance instruments. Finally, African cities proposed that UCLG Africa be recognised as an implementing agency for the Green Climate Fund.
The gathering brought together together Moroccan institutions (Interior Ministry, General Directorate for Local Governments), the Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech, and the Communal Equipment Fund (FEC) and international institutions (ISESCO), two International associations (ENERGIES 2050, Dossiers et Débat pour le Développement Durable) and international experts.
A three-day international conference will explore how engagement between State and non-State actors can be further strengthened in the key sectors for Africa, such as energy, agriculture and human settlements.
Cotonou in Benin Republic hosts the 9th Africa Carbon Forum
The Africa Carbon Forum (AFC) will likewise attempt to determine the role of future carbon markets in achieving enhanced climate action towards the goals of sustainable development.
The AFC 2017, which is the ninth in the series, holds in Cotonou, Benin Republic, from June 28 to 30, 2017.
Themed: “Collaborative climate action for sustainable development in Africa”, the event will cover:
Practical examples of policies, initiatives and actions in Africa;
Barriers and enabling measures for engaging climate action in key sectors;
Financial instruments and regulatory frameworks; and,
Advancing the implementation of climate action.
“With a comprehensive programme of plenary sessions, workshops, a ministerial section, side events and exhibits, this is a one of a kind event in the region,” state the promoters, describing the forum as “a great opportunity for financiers, policymakers and project developers to share experiences, network and build capacity”.
They add: “Over the past decade the ACF has provided a unique platform for Africa to engage on climate change issues in the region. The Forum brings together key stakeholders from the public sector and other non-Party actors from Africa and beyond. It witnesses the participation of key multilateral and bilateral development institutions and experts to discuss urgent actions needed on the ground and share experience and build capacity for implementation of actions.”
Rangers International FC of Enugu has suspended its coach, Imama Amakapabo, following the club’s poor run of form in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
Rangers International FC of Enugu
The suspension was handed down to the coach immediately Rangers played out a disappointing 2-2 draw against Zesco United of Zambia on Sunday, April 9, 2017 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe in Enugu, in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup competition.
The Flying Antelope had led 2-0 courtesy of Chibuzo Madu and Osazu Okoro’s goals, before the Zambians equalised less than 30 minutes before time.
General Manager of Rangers, Christian Chukwu, told reporters after the match that the Flying Antelopes “lost” the match against Zesco from the bench.
“We lost the match due to the kind of changes effected during the game. The Coach has been told to step aside for now because everybody is angry,” Chukwu said.
Rangers, who is the reigning NPFL champions, was eliminated from the CAF Champions League by Egypt’s Zamalek, who won their fixtures 5-3 on aggregate. Rangers had to drop down to the qualifying stages for the second-tier Confederation Cup.
Meanwhile, players of Akwa United FC were attached by Kano Pillars fans after the NPFL match, which saw the home team losing 0-1 to the visitors.
Christian Piabana broke the heart of Kano football fans as he scored the only goal.
Immediately after the game, Pillars’ supporters crowded the referees and pelted them with stones and dangerous weapons. The police had to use tear gas to disperse the rampaging crowd as several cars were damaged.
In a related development, the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Football Club (MFM) has recorded the biggest win in the week 18 of the NPFL, after beating rivals El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri 3-0 at the Agege Stadium in, Lagos.
Stephen Eke scored one of the goals to increase his goal tally to 14.
Amos Gabriel scored in the 89th minutes to give ABS football club a 1-0 victory over Nasarawa United.
In Bauchi, Wikki Tourists beat Gombe United 3-1. Shooting Stars of Ibadan were 2-1 better than Niger Tornadoes, while Sunshine Stars edged Remo Stars 1-0 at the Akure Township Stadium. The game between Lobi Stars and Ifeanyi Ubah ended goalless.
Rivers United at home beat Abia Warriors 1-0, even as Katsina United secured a 2-1 victory over Enyinba FC of Aba.
Reports from Katsina say Enyiba’s players were attached by Katsina United fans after the game.
With the Government of Canada depositing its instrument of ratification on Friday, April 7 2017, the number of countries that have ratified the Minamata Convention on Mercury now stands at 41.
Canadian officials deposit the country’s instrument of ratification, thereby becoming the 41st future Party to the Minamata Convention on Mercury
A minimum of 50 nations are required to ratify the Convention to make it legally binding, implying that just nine more ratifications are needed for the global treaty to reach this milestone.
And, upon achieving the breakthrough, the coast becomes clear for the scheduled First Conference of the Parties (COP1) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury to take place in the last week of September, 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty aimed at protecting human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury, was agreed at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC5) in Geneva, Switzerland on Saturday, January 19, 2013.
Canada’s ratification was preceded by those of Ghana, Honduras, Liechtenstein and Togo.
Nigeria is one of the 128 signatories to the global treaty, but she is yet to ratify it.
Ratification automatically makes a nation a Party to the Convention with the duty to domesticate its content.
The signing of the Convention would enable such a country to:
Develop a National Implementation Strategy (NIS)/Action Plan to holistically address challenges relating to the reduction and elimination of Mercury;
Undertake a comprehensive inventory as a basis to develop and implement a more robust Mercury preventive programme which will include the identification and location, contaminated sites and extent of contamination, storage, handling and disposal to ensure that mercury related activities do not result in further damage to health and the environment;
Enhance national capacities with respect to human resources development and institutional strengthening, towards addressing concerns about the long-term effects of Mercury on both human health and the environment and also to ensure the effective domestication of the instrument that will be implementable at national level;
Sensitise the populace and policy makers on the hazards of mercury;
Develop and implement Mercury Release Minimisation Projects; and,
Control mercury supply and trade.
Nations that have ratified the Convention include: Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Canada, Chad, China, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Gayana, Honduras, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Mali and Mauritania.
Others are: Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Switzerland, Togo, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Uruguay and Zambia.
Major highlights of the Minamata Convention include a ban on new mercury mines, the phase-out of existing ones, the phase out and phase down of mercury use in a number of products and processes, control measures on emissions to air and on releases to land and water, and the regulation of the informal sector of artisanal and small-scale gold mining. The Convention also addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste, sites contaminated by mercury as well as health issues.
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials are proposing to eliminate two programmes focused on limiting children’s exposure to lead-based paint, which is known to cause damage to developing brains and nervous systems.
When children have exposure to lead paint, both cognitive and emotional disabilities can develop. Young children are especially at risk since they have a tendency to put items – such as paint chips – in their mouths.
The proposed cuts, outlined in a 64-page budget memo revealed by The Washington Post on Friday, April 7, 2017 would roll back programmes aimed at reducing lead risks by $16.61 million and more than 70 employees, in line with a broader project by the Trump administration to devolve responsibility for environmental and health protection to state and local governments.
Old housing stock is the biggest risk for lead exposure – and the EPA estimates that 38 million U.S. homes contain lead-based paint.
Environmental groups said the elimination of the two programmes, which are focused on training workers in the safe removal of lead-based paint and public education about its risks, would make it harder for the EPA to address the environmental hazard.
One of the programmes falling under the axe requires professional remodelers to undergo training in safe practices for stripping away old, lead-based paints from homes and other facilities.
The training programme for remodelers was set up under a 2010 EPA regulation that aims to reduce exposure to toxic lead-paint chips and dust by requiring renovators to be certified in federally approved methods of containing and cleaning up work areas in homes constructed before 1978.
The rule applies to a broad range of renovations, including carpet removal and window replacement, in homes inhabited by pregnant women and young children.
Some operators in the home renovation industry have criticised the rule as too costly, noting that some customers simply opt to hire contractors who deliberately skirt the federal standards.
Lead is a potent neurotoxin, and particularly harmful to children and the elderly. Its dangers in gasoline, paint and drinking water have been scientifically documented over many decades, which has led to stronger regulatory protections.
In a 2014 report, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found that 243,000 children had blood lead levels above the danger threshold – and that permanent neurological damage and behavior disorders had been associated at even lower levels of lead exposure.
“The most common risk factor is living in a housing unit built before 1978, the year when residential use of lead paint was banned in the United States,” the CDC found.
EPA spokeswoman Julia Valentine said in an email that the two programmes facing cuts are “mature,” and that the goal of their elimination is to return “the responsibility for funding to state and local entities.”
The Lead Risk Reduction Programme, which would be cut by $ 2.56 million and 72.8 full-time equivalent employees, is charged with certifying renovators who work in buildings that may contain lead-based paint and upholding federal safety standards for such projects. Located in the agency’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, the lead risk reduction programme also helps educate Americans about how to minimise their exposure to lead in their homes.
“The basis for the EPA reduction is that states can do this work, but then we’re going to take away the money we’re going to give to states,” said Jim Jones, who headed the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, which administers the lead-based paint program, in the Obama years. “I think it’s just one of many examples in that budget of the circular thinking there that just doesn’t hold together.”
But the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, which represents some of the industry’s biggest players, welcomed the plan to abolish the two programmes. The association’s chief executive, Fred Ulreich, said in a statement that the group “has long supported moving” the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Programme “from EPA down to the individual states.”
Fourteen states – Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin – run programmes to train contractors how to properly handle renovations involving lead paint, according to the EPA’s website. The rest rely on the federal government to provide training.
Ulreich said in his statement that his group “believes that the program can be better run and enforcement can be more vigorous the closer it is to the local contractors.”
But Ulreich added that the group would object to states who seek to run a lead “abatement programme.” The group has successfully delayed a programme in Maryland that goes further than the current federal requirements when it comes to lead paint removal.
Erik Olson, who directs the Natural Resources Defense Council’s health programme, said in an interview that the move leaves children in dozens of states unprotected.
“If the state doesn’t have a programme, which is true in most states, and if the EPA doesn’t have a programme, how are you going to have compliance with the lead rules?” Olson asked. “Basically, this is the guts of the programme that protects kids from lead poisoning from paint.”
State efforts to reduce lead risks have had mixed results. In 2004, New Jersey created the Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund, which was supposed to provide loans and grants to homeowners and landlords to help them remove lead-based paint from aging housing stock. The programme was supposed to be funded by sales tax revenue from cans of paint, which was expected to be $7 million to $14 million a year.
Instead, over the next dozen years, the legislature and Democratic and Republican governors diverted more than $50 million from the fund to payment of routine bills and salaries.
The EPA’s Valentine said in an email that the agency is “working towards implementing the president’s budget based on the framework provided by his blueprint,” and that “while many in Washington insist on greater spending, EPA is focused on greater value and real results.”
The cuts to the lead-paint programmes would not directly affect EPA programmes related to lead in drinking water, as in the case of Flint, Mich. Those programmes fall under the agency’s Office of Water. But the EPA memo does propose reducing funding and staff for the agency’s drinking water programmes as well.
Changes to how the federal government addresses lead paint could affect hundreds of thousands of renovators, noted Remodeling magazine Editor in Chief Craig Webb.
The latest U.S. Census classified 78,000 firms as being in residential remodeling, with 278,921 employees. But since the 2010 rule also affects many siding, painting and wallcovering contractors, as well as individual proprietors, the number could be much higher.
The EPA announced in November 2016 that they had pursued more than 100 enforcement actions for lead-based paint hazards, many of those focused on the nation’s largest companies.
In 2014, Lowe’s home improvement chain agreed to pay $500,000 and create a compliance programme across its 1,700 stores as part of a settlement agreement with the EPA.
Lowe’s had “failed to provide documentation showing that the contractors it hires to perform renovation projects for Lowe’s customers had been certified by EPA, had been properly trained, had used lead-safe work practices, or had correctly used EPA-approved lead test kits at renovation sites,” the agency charged. (The company did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.)
Later, Sears reached a similar settlement with the agency. Sears also declined to comment for this story.
The National Association of Home Builders has objected to EPA’s regulation, charging that it is “an inefficient tool for achieving the environmental and health goals of the underlying statute and rule.”
On Tuesday, association spokeswoman Elizabeth Thompson said in an email: “At this point, it is premature to comment until something official has been announced.”
By Chris Mooney and Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post
Executives of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), led by the president, Amaju Pinnick, have paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, thanking him and Nigerians in general for their support in the last CAF elections.
NFF President, Amaju Pinnick
Pinnick won a place on the CAF Executive Committee during the elections.
Pinnick said his victory would not have been possible without the backing of the minister and the good people of Nigeria.
“Our visit is to say ‘Thank you’ for the support you gave us, when we embarked on the journey. You encouraged us to go and conquer and make sure we get ourselves into the continental body, as Nigeria is too big not to be part of such body,” Pinnick stated.
In his response, Dalung, on behalf of the federal government, urged Pinnick to use his new position in CAF to better the lot of Nigerian football.
“You must put to bare not only your wealth of influence, but you must exert the corporate integrity of Nigeria, anywhere you find yourself taking decision that affects the country,” Dalung said, calling on the NFF authority to, as a matter of urgency, attend to decadence of football facilities in the country.
Meanwhile, the latest football rankings released by FIFA on Thursday, April 6, 2107 came as good news to Nigeria following the Super Eagles’ rise to 40th position in the world and 5th in Africa.
Nigeria picked up points from the 1-1 draw against Senegal in London to move one spot in the latest rankings and also behind Egypt, Senegal, Cameroon and Burkina Faso in Africa’s top five.
Cameroon, who is the next opponent of the Super Eagles, is still ranked higher than the German Gernot Rohr-tutored team, but the Eagles are ranked higher than fellow World Cup qualifier group rivals Algeria and Zambia, who are ranked 54th and 97th respectively.
South Africa, Libya and Seychelles who are group rivals to Nigeria in the race to 2019 AFCON are ranked 64th, 91st and 196th respectively.
The 2019 AFCON qualifiers start in June.
In a related development, the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) has suspended the referee who officiated the match between Gombe United and Rivers United on Saturday, April 2, until the end of the season. Referee Salafa Agboola had disallowed the goal scored by Rivers United by Asamoah Godbless in the 84th minute decided at the Pantani Stadium, Gombe.
Secretary to the Referee’s Committee of the NFF, Sanni Zebai, on Wednesday reached a decision that Agboola of Osun State Referees Council be suspended till the end of the season.
Zebai added that the decision to suspend Agboola was as a result of poor handling and sheer display of incompetence which affected the outcome of the match.
He added that video clips and report of Referee Assessors found the referee wanting in the discharge of his duties, which also revealed gross abuse of the Law of the Game in the said match.
The sanctioned referee has been recommended to the Disciplinary Committee for further action.
