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Group Wins EPA Grant to Help Reduce Environmental Hazards in D.C. Homes

Release Date: 06/14/2007
Contact Information: Terri A. White (215) 814-5523

PHILADELPHIA, (June 14, 2007) A District of Columbia nonprofit organization will use $100,000 in federal funding to help reduce environmental hazards that residents can be exposed to in their homes. The Coalition for Environmentally Safe Communities (CESC) will target lead and household problems that can trigger asthma.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded grants to CESC and nine other nonprofit groups across the country for a total of $1 million that will support community-based projects dealing with environmental and public health issues. The funding is made available through the agency’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-solving program, which assists communities in developing proactive, strategic approaches to their environmental justice issues and to achieve community health goals.

“CESC recognizes the vital role it can play in support of larger efforts to combat health issues like asthma and childhood lead poisoning,” said Donald S. Welsh, EPA’s mid-Atlantic regional administrator. “By increasing awareness of household hazards and things people can do to lessen their risks, CESC is essentially building a front-line defense against these health problems that are especially harmful for children.”

CESC will produce environmental health related resources and offer technical assistance and training to a wide range of organizations including schools, health clinics, daycares, government agencies and other service organizations that can help residents reduce environmental hazards affecting them. Their work will extend to some areas of Prince Georges and Montgomery counties in Maryland.

For more information on EPA’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-solving program, visit https://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/grants/ej-cps-grants.html .