For the last thirty years, we have understood the problems associated with groundwater contamination. So when officials learn that nearby gasoline stations or dry cleaners have leaks, the response is now routine. There is an attempt to gain source control – which means to stop the leak from occurring – and then there is an effort to clean the groundwater. End of story? Perhaps not.

Vapor Intrusion is an area of growing concern across the country as multiple states enact regulations in response to the USEPA Guidance Document published in November of 2002. A copy of this document, Draft Guidance for Evaluating the Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway from Groundwater and Soils, can be accessed on the USEPA website: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/ca/eis/vapo r.htm.

The one form of air pollution everyday Hoosiers have the most control over is also the one that in almost all of northeast Indiana is the leading contributor to the risk of cancer. In 160 of 183 census tracts in northeast Indiana, the chemical benzene is the biggest contributor to the risk of cancer among airborne pollutants studied by the Environmental Protection Agency. The biggest source of benzene is auto exhaust, meaning Hoosiers’ addiction to cars could be deadly.

The state Department of Environmental Protection proposed last month the nation's toughest standard for perchlorate, a chemical used in explosives that was first discovered in 10 public water sources in 2004. The drinking water limit of 2 parts per billion would be dramatically stricter than a proposed level of 24.5 parts per billion, announced by the US Environmental Protection Agency in January.

Factory farms or giant livestock farms, which are also known as “feedlots that house thousands of cows, chickens or pigs,” can produce staggering amounts of animal wastes. The way these wastes are stored and used has profound effects on human health and the environment.

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