Leaks of hazardous chemicals from underground storage tanks are becoming less common in Iowa, according to the supervisor of the Underground Storage Tanks (UST) division of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Elaine Douskey credits several new provisions enacted within the last few years, including a federal law which allows states to cut off fuel deliveries to gas stations that are out of compliance with UST regulations.  “It’s kind of a quick way to take enforcement without going through the long legal process,” Douskey says. “It’s a very effective in getting people back into compliance.”

In addition, Iowa adopted a provision which requires new tank systems to have a secondary containment unit.  “The simplest way I explain this…is it’s a tank inside a tank,” Douskey says. “You can have a release and not have it be a leak into the environment.”

Around 40 to 50 leaks from underground tanks are reported around the state every year, according to Douskey. The Environmental Professionals of Iowa Fall Symposium is taking place tonight (Monday) and tomorrow in Johnston. The featured speaker will be Carolyn Hoskinson, Director of the Office of Underground Storage Tanks for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Douskey says Hoskinson’s first ever visit to the state as director coincides with the 25th anniversary of the creation of the EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks. The EPA is also set to roll out new regulations dealing with the tanks next year. “It’s kind of a bench mark point in our program and the nation’s program to take a look at where we’ve been, where we’ve come, and how we make improvements.”

Hoskinson’s is scheduled to speak at a luncheon tomorrow (Tuesday). She began her career with the EPA in 1991 and became Director of the Office of Underground Storage Tanks in 2009.

(Radio Iowa)

Some Iowans will be able to trade a pack of cigarettes for a cold turkey sandwich as part of this week’s 38th annual Great American Smokeout, which is set for Thursday. Chuck Reed, with the American Cancer Society office in Des Moines, says the event is designed for smokers who want to live a healthier life. “It’s a terrific day to not only not smoke for one day but also to develop a plan where you can quit for good,” Reed says.

Estimates find 23-hundred Iowans will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year and 18-hundred will die from it. Through events like Thursday’s Smokeout, Reed says smokers can envision their life without tobacco. “If you can quit for a day, that shows you that you can do it and then if you can make that plan and get the support you need and the help, hopefully you can be smoke-free for the rest of your life,” Reed says.

Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the U-S, yet nearly one in every five Iowans smoke. Studies find cigarette usage has dropped dramatically over the decades. “Right now, the adult smoking rate in Iowa is about 18.1%,” Reed says. “If you go back to post-World War Two days, it was about 50%.”

Various American Cancer Society offices across Iowa will be holding special events on Thursday, like the turkey sandwich giveaways. There’s also a free mobile phone game app where you use a water gun to blast cigarette-smoking zombies. Learn about the steps to take to quit smoking, with resources and support, at 800-227-2345 or the website: www.cancer.org.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) reminds Iowans who need help quitting smoking or using smokeless tobacco of a great incentive to enroll in Quitline Iowa before the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout® on November 21. As part of a new expanded offering that began in October, any participant who enrolls could be eligible for eight weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy, either patches, gum or lozenges.

Iowans can take advantage of the program benefits offered by Quitline Iowa by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW. The program gives participants access to a trained Quit Coach® to help them achieve freedom from tobacco. The Quit Coach® provides services including:

• Preparing participants for their Quit Date
• Helping develop an individualized Quitting Plan
• Providing tips and support to live in a smoke-free environment
• Offering advice and information on medications that may help with withdrawal symptoms

The Great American Smokeout® grew out of an event in 1974, when the editor of a Minnesota newspaper organized the first D-Day, or Don’t Smoke Day. Two years later, on November 18, 1976, the California Division of the American Cancer Society® successfully encouraged almost 1 million smokers to quit for the day. That event marked the first of what would become an annual event across the nation in 1977.

Tobacco users can call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or visit www.quitnow.net/iowa today to enroll in the program and talk to a Quit Coach®. Registration specialists and Quit Coaches are available 24 hours a day.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center must repay more than $34,000 in flood aid.  The Sioux City Journal says the center had hired temporary workers to remove exhibits and other items to higher ground as Missouri River floodwaters menaced Sioux City in late May 2011. The workers also helped build a berm to protect the center and its sister facility, the Betty Strong Encounter Center.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency later provided nearly $78,600 in flood aid to the private nonprofit cultural group. But an audit showed the center’s board didn’t actually approve hiring the workers and paying for use of their pickups and other equipment.

State and federal officials eventually ruled the labor-related expenses couldn’t be reimbursed, so the center has to pay back some of the money.