IKE published its Summer Newsletter in July.  Call IKE at 317-442-3973 or send an email to get a hard copy.  A PDF file will soon be available at this site.  In the meantime, the information in the newsletter has been parsed out on the IKE webpage with links. 

Knowing What is Not Known:  Can Parents Handle It?

Getting the Lead Out — Of our Kids!

• IKE Advisory Council Meeting:  October 5 from 1:30 to 4:30 in Indy

• July 6 Advisory Council Meeting:  The Council had its first meeting on July 6 and refined the new organization’s vision, mission, 5-year goals and first-year action plan. Call 317-442-3973 or email us at mccabe@ikecoalition.org for minutes. The Council’s next meeting will be October 5 in Indy. We will work on the specifics of the action plan and how to achieve it. All IKE supporters are welcome to attend. Please come!

• Mercury and Medical Waste:  IKE requested that IDEM require Indy’s mass-burn incinerator ensure that mercury has been removed from medical waste before being allowed to burn the waste. IKE is using Healthcare Without Harm’s mercury elimination pledge as a model for permit conditions.

• Air Toxics in Elkhart, Lake, Marion and Vanderburgh Counties:  The results are coming in from IDEM’s monitoring results. And they provide surprising insight. A group is forming in Indy to evaluate and communicate the results and has requested a grant from the Indianapolis Foundation. IKE is providing support. We need similar groups in the other counties. Volunteers anyone??!!!

• IDEM and Public Health Subcommittee: Special thanks to the Environmental Quality Service Council and Indiana State Senator Beverly Gard. At the July EQSC, under Senator Gard’s leadership established four committees to work on legislative policy issues. One will address IDEM and Public Health Issues. This subcommittee, chaired by Senator Vi Simpson, has the opportunity to bridge the disconnect that has developed between environmental programs and public health as well as evaluate right-to-know as a new paradigm to protect kids!

• Pesticides in Schools and Day Care:  A subcommittee of the Indiana Pesticide Review Board is crafting model legislation to address pesticide use in schools and child care centers. Steady progress is being made. IKE is providing staff support. We need school representatives to get involved. Draft proposals should be available by late July.

• Poison Prevention:  IDEM is in the final stages of providing an $18,000 grant to IKE to review the Indiana Poison Centers records. The goal is to identify poison prevention opportunities and develop strategies to realize those opportunities. Now, we need to find matching funds.