Fifteen-year-old Michael Browne of Milton received a $500 grant from TURI to remove 40 to 60 pounds of lead from the use of recreational fishing.  The project will help him earn his Eagle Scout rank, a recognition that only 5 percent of all Boy Scouts achieve.

You’ve probably heard the phrase “Get the Lead Out” as it pertains to gasoline and paint.  But did you know that lead sinkers used in recreational fishing are poisoning wildlife such as loons and eagles while safer alternatives exist?  This is just one example of how this year’s TURI Community Grant Projects will raise awareness to encourage people to make safer choices when it comes to toxic chemical use.

The Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) has funded $57,409 for seven community grant projects designed to reduce toxic chemical use across the Commonwealth. 

“The diversity of these projects highlights how all of us can reduce toxic chemical use at the source to make our lives healthier and safer,” says TURI’s Rachel Massey.

The newly funded grants are:

Youth Grant: Lead Fishing Weight Exchange Project.  Project Manager Michael Browne, Milton. Boy Scout Troup 5 (Eagle Scout Project), Great Blue Hill District of the Boston Minuteman Council.  Total funding $500.
Fifteen-year-old Michael Browne will distribute educational materials about the dangers of lead for wild game, birds and fish to 500 Boston-area Boy Scouts, families and area residents.  To reach his goal of removing 40 to 60 pounds of lead from the use of recreational fishing, he will attend fishing derbies and offer lead-free sinkers in exchange for lead sinkers.

Healthy Lawns for Healthy Families Project (third year).  Project Manager Jessica Cajigas, Town of Westford Water Department.  Project funding $5,000.
Now in its third year, the goal of this project is to raise awareness on a regional basis of the link between pesticide-use reduction and protecting water resources and human health.  Brochures, materials and presentations about safer lawn care will be distributed to 13 towns, homeowners, garden centers, lawn-care providers, pediatricians and veterinarians. A series of organic lawn-care workshops for homeowners and professional landscapers will be offered in April.

Auto Shop Alternatives Project. Project Manager Megan Baldwin, Sanitarian, Town of Watertown Health Department. Total funding $5,000.
The Town of Watertown Health Department will provide training for approximately 45 auto shop owners in Watertown.  The town will also provide selected auto shops lead-free wheel weights such as tin, zinc and steel to pilot test the performance and encourage replacement.

Safe Shops Project. Project Manager Tiffany Skogstrom, Safe Shops project manager, Boston Public Health Commission. Total funding $11,809.
The Boston Public Health Commission will help auto repair shops in Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan adopt safer alternatives to perchloroethylene ('perc')-based aerosol brake cleaners.  They will also work with auto body and paint shops to replace toluene, xylene and acetone used to clean paint spray guns.

Union Toxics Use Reduction Capacity Building. Project Managers Tolle Graham and Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, MassCOSH, Dorchester. Total funding $11,600.
The goal of this project is to educate union members about the options for toxics use reduction in the workplace.  The first phase of trainings will focus on 11 unions associated with industries that use toxic chemicals perchloroethylene, lead, hexavalent chromium, and DEHP —f our of the five chemicals recently studied in the TURI “Five Chemicals Study.”

Integrated Pesticide Management (IPM) Educator Training in Public Housing Project (second year).  Project Manager Patricia Hynes, Center for Healthy Homes and Neighborhoods at Boston University’s School of Public Health. Total funding $11,500.
Public housing managers or residents often resort to using dangerous pesticides within apartments to eliminate pests.  The IPM Educator Training is focused on long-term prevention.  Residents, building managers, housing authorities, private multi-family property owners, and pest control contractors will be trained on safer strategies to control pests, such as source reduction and habitat modification.

Healthy Floor Finishing Project. Project Manager Hiep Chu, executive director, Vietnamese-American Institute for Development (Viet-AID), Dorchester.Total funding $12,000.
To protect floor-finishing workers from highly flammable and toxic products, the Healthy Floor Finishing Project will train a group of Boston area Vietnamese floor finishers in alternative, safer products.  Viet-AID will distribute fire prevention and health and safety information and develop an educational program in Vietnamese for cable television.
 
The TURI Community Grant Program was established in 1994 to support community organizations and municipalities in their efforts to raise awareness of ways to reduce toxic chemical use at the source.  TURI issues requests for proposals in June and applications are due by the end of August.  For more information, visit www.turi.org.