The recently confirmed Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency was in Kansas City, Mo. Wednesday to present a federal grant to the Black Health Care Coalition.
McCarthy said the agency was one of 39 applicants to receive an Environmental Justice Small Grant Award from the EPA. She said the process was competitive, saying there were hundreds of proposals.
The grant offers $30,000 for one year to educate teachers and health care professionals about the onset and treatment of childhood asthma.
A health care professional before she came to EPA, McCarthy emphasized the agency was about protecting the environment and public health.
“Chronic childhood asthma impacts one in 10 children in this country…and when you look at minority populations you can double that number,” said McCarthy.
On another topic McCarthy downplayed the disagreements over the President’s plan to reduce carbon emissions. The topic fueled a heated debate during public hearings earlier this week at the EPA regional offices in Lenexa, Kan.
