Agency Honors Southern California Sanitation Districts for Environmental Project

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 recently honored the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County (Whittier, Calif.) for a successful public outreach project designed to reduce the amount of lindane entering the wastewater collection system. Lindane, a powerful neurotoxin used in the treatment of head lice and scabies, enters the collection system when it is rinsed off and continues to be a health and environmental hazard after it is discharged from treatment plants, according to EPA. Ingestion of lindane may cause seizures, birth defects, liver and kidney damage, cancer, and death, the agency said. The Sanitation Districts on Nov. 28 received one of 31 awards presented by EPA Region 9 in its third annual Environmental Achievement Awards program. The Lindane Usage Reduction Project was a collaborative effort with the City of Los Angeles and the National Pediculosis Association (Newton, Mass.), a nonprofit head-lice educational organization. An EPA Region 9 Pollution Prevention Leadership Grant helped fund the project. A pilot test of the program in two Southern California cities yielded a 50% reduction in lindane entering the collection system, and the number of physicians prescribing lindane in the two areas fell from 81% to 43%, EPA said. In addition, public awareness that lindane damages the environment increased from 32% to 95% among target audiences, the agency said. The project also was instrumental in helping pass state legislation banning medical uses of lindane, according to EPA. The Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County comprises 25 independent wastewater and solid waste management districts serving about 5 million residents in 78 cities and unincorporated areas. For more information about the Lindane Usage Reduction Project, call Sanitation Districts senior engineer Ann Heil at 1-562-699-7411, ext. 2950.