TURI in the News
We are pleased to report that UMass Lowell has reached an agreement with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education for $1.3 million in additional stimulus money to fund TURI for the current fiscal year. This will provide funding for TURI's remaining staff, as well as a modest amount of funding for administrative costs and programs (approximately 1/3 of last year's program spending).
Thank-you to all who expressed support for the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Program and for TURI. This year's activities have begun with the comprehensive TUR Planner course, which will be followed by the 20th TURA Anniversary Symposium and Continuing Education Conference on Nov. 4. Stay tuned for more updates in the next few weeks!
Background: TURI's independent line item has been eliminated from the state budget for Fiscal Year 2010. TURI has been rolled into the University of Massachusetts line item as an unfunded earmark, putting the Institute's future in question. The Boston Globe has covered TURI's situation in some detail, including an editorial. Links to these articles are provided below.
If you would like additional information on TURI's current status, please contact Janet Clark at 978-934-3346, or janet@turi.org.
UML e-News summary |
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Twenty Years of Reducing Toxics Celebrated URL: http://www.uml.edu/Media/eNews/TURI_Symposium.html |
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Agency focused on cutting toxics loses funding, Boston Globe |
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(Article, The Boston Globe, July 1, 2009)
"It is a miniscule slice of the state's $27 billion budget - less than $1.5 million to fund an obscure environmental agency at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. But the Toxics Use Reduction Institute is part of a state-mandated program that has reduced the use of hazardous substances by local manufacturers 41 percent in its 20-year history. That funding has been eliminated, and the institute's 18 employees do not know where their next paycheck will come from - or whether it will come at all. ..." URL: http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/07/01/mass_agency_focused_on_cutting_toxic_use_loses_funding/ |
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When Haste Makes Toxic Waste, Boston Globe |
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(Op-ed by Ken Geiser and Joel Tickner, The Boston Globe, July 14, 2009)
"The same week that US Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts hailed House passage of the most sweeping environmental legislation since the 1970s, the Commonwealth cut one of the most effective state environmental laws in the country by virtually eliminating the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at UMass-Lowell. ..." URL: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/07/14/when_haste_makes_toxic_waste/ |
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Broken promise in toxic times, Boston Globe |
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(Editorial, The Boston Globe, August 7, 2009) "Layoff notices went out recently to employees at the state's Toxics Use Reduction Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. They are among many victims of the state's fiscal meltdown, but at a time when recycling workers in New Bedford are
stricken by noxious fumes - to cite just one crisis involving chemicals - the state should
think twice before lowering its guard against toxic industrial materials. ..."
URL: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2009/08/07/broken_promise_in_toxic_times/ |
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Guest View: Reduce Use of Toxics |
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(Op-ed by State Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral, South Coast Today, August 8, 2009) Two events Monday highlight the critical need to reduce the use of toxic chemicals in the commonwealth. Ironically, at a time when we should be investing in safer technologies, funding has been eliminated for the successful Toxics Use Reduction Institute. URL: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090808/OPINION/908080319/-1/NEWS06 |
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Mass. Toxics Reduction Institute Loses Funding, Greener Design |
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Mass. Toxics Reduction Institute Loses Funding
By GreenerDesign Staff
Published July 8, 2009 URL: http://www.greenerdesign.com/news/2009/07/08/mass-toxics-reduction-institute-loses-funding |
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It Was Twenty Years Ago Today |
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(Op-ed by MASSPIRG, Metro International)
"With apologies to the Beatles, it was actually twenty years ago this month, in July of 1989, when Massachusetts' landmark Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA) was passed into law and signed by Governor Michael Dukakis. After the disastrous Love Canal episode in upstate New York in the late 1970's, where thousands lost their homes and health as a result of the wanton use and disposal of toxics by a company called Hooker Chemical, a major national effort began to identify and clean up toxic waste and to reduce the use of toxic chemicals. ..." URL: http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/07/10/03/0336-72/index.xml |
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TURI Leading U.N. Environment Programme Chemicals Project |
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Rachel Massey of the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) convened a two-day meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in June to kick off a project for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The study will help guide international chemical policies and programs. URL: http://www.uml.edu/Media/eNews/United_Nations_Massey.html |
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'Green' light' city company recognized for helping environment |
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6/11/09 Herald News, Lightolier of Fall River was recognized as a Champion of Toxics Use Reduction at a June 2009 State House ceremony URL: http://www.heraldnews.com/business/x313680023/Green-light |
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In the News: Online Database Is Nation's Most Comprehensive |
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TURI holds the nation's most comprehensive pollution prevention data set available online, according to an article published in the September issue of the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE) News. The database is available at http://turadata.turi.org. URL: http://www.uml.edu/Media/eNews/TURI_Database.html |
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Grants Make Safer Options Possible |
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9/6/08 MetroWest Daily News article about the 2009 TURI Community grants. URL: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x690583684/Wiley-Grants-make-safer-options-possible |
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Bellingham business praised for being green |
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6/11/08 TURI and legislators honored Silver Hanger Cleaners and Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials at a June 2008 recognition ceremony at the Mass. State House. URL: http://www.milforddailynews.com/archive/x142955060/Bellingham-business-praised-for-being-green |
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