These bulletins are archived and searchable on the CHE-WA website: http://washington.chenw.org/bulletins.html If you would like to join the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) and the CHE-Washington regional group, please complete the application on the CHE website: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/application Joining CHE means receiving up to four email messages a month from the CHE National listserv. CHE costs nothing to join and the benefit is shared information and opportunities for further engagement, if you choose. Be sure to mark that you want to join the Washington State Regional Group at the bottom of the application.
Companion bulletins are available for different audiences:
While there is overlap with this bulletin, there are some events and announcements unique to those bulletins.
1) Seminar Series: Seeking Sustainable Solutions
Wednesday March 25, 2009
Reception 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Seminar 6:30 - 8:00 p.m., Post-seminar networking 8:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Seattle, Washington
Downstairs at Town Hall on Eighth and Seneca (1119 Eighth Avenue)
Sponsor: Sustainable Path Foundation, along with Antioch University Center for Creative Change, ShoreBank Pacific and the Sequoia Foundation
The series continues with a seminar titled "Climate Change and Water: Local Perspectives on a Global Problem" that will look at our current situation and put forward community-wide solutions for how we respond to serious issues relating to growth, development, climate and community. We'll also look at personal solutions -- what you can do in your home, and with your lifestyle, that can reduce not just your carbon footprint, but also your "water footprint." With Philip Mote and Steve Malloch. The final lecture in the series will be "Exploring Energy & Design: Smart Solutions for the Built Environment" on May 13th.
Price: $5-15; see the website
Website: http://sustainablepath.org/category/seminar-series/
Contact: 206-443-8464 or info@sustainablepath.org
1) Chemical and Heavy Metal Toxicity Seminar
Friday through Sunday, February 27 - March 1, 2009
Seattle, Washington
Sponsor: Klinghardt Academy of Neurobiology
Chemical and heavy metal toxicity is at the core of many medical issues (cancer, neurological illnesses, fatigue, MS and others). This seminar focuses on solutions. What are the relevant diagnostic tests and safe, effective, reliable and affordable strategies to deal with the body burden of chemicals and metals? Please check the website below for more information.
Price: $675, $425 students
Website: http://www.klinghardtneurobiology.com/calendar.htm
Contact: Klinghardt Academy of Neurobiology, 303-499-4700
2) Indoor Air Quality and Health, Part II
Tuesday March 10th, 2009
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Eastern time
Sponsor: Environmental Health Initiative of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
The quality of our indoor environments affects our well being and productivity. In addition, the risk of disease is increased by factors such as indoor air pollutants, toxins and microbes on surfaces, and human contact. The seminar starts with a brief summary of our current understanding of ambient air-pollution health concerns. Contrasting outdoor air to indoor air as a public good, it is seen that the policy debate about regulating indoor environments is still quite confused. A pollutant-specific framework rather than a comprehensive framework has characterized public and private responses to indoor air quality to date. Examples include formaldehyde, asbestos, radon and now molds. Contemporary topics of molds and synthetic organic compounds illustrate the continuing concerns about the health of indoor environments. Howard Brightman, ScD, PE, CIH, executive director of Children's Hospital Boston, will present.
Price: free
Website: http://www.ehinitiative.org/Projects/tele_con.htm
Contact: Laura Abulafia, Laura@aaidd.org
3) Introduction to Managing Environmental Data with Microsoft Access
Wednesday and Thursday, March 25 - 26, 2009
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Bellingham, Washington
at Western Washington University Computer Lab - AW (Academic Instructional Center) 306
Sponsor: Northwest Environmental Education Council
This course is designed for participants who wish to gain beginning to intermediate skills in using Microsoft Access to build relational databases for managing and mining their environmental data. This comprehensive class uses Access 2003 to cover in-depth the use of tables, queries, forms, reports and macros objects through extensive hands-on exercises. These Access database subjects are taught using real-world environmental examples with actual field data. This class is recommended for anyone desiring a concentrated exposure to Access training in a powerful two- to three-day class. This is the first of two classes in a series.
Price: $495, $395 for Native American Tribes; nonprofits; government agencies; students; and NAEP, NEBC, NWAEP members
Website: http://nwetc.org/comp-401_03-09_bellingham.htm
Contact: 206-762-1976
Online Calendar. All upcoming events are listed in a searchable calendar: http://www.chenw.org/cgi-bin/searchevents.cgi
Most of the articles below come from Environmental Health News, http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/
Documentary movie: Black Mold Exposure. This movie follows the lives of several mold victims following their exposures and interviews experts all over the country. The film will be available in select theaters in the US soon.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1336984/
EPA announces 3rd annual Rachel Carson Contest. The US Environmental Protection Agency invites the public to submit creative projects to the 3rd annual Rachel Carson intergenerational "Sense of Wonder" contest. There are four categories: photography, essay, poetry and dance.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/E95EE75A256D7E7E8525755A005DC6C6
Call for papers on climate change and rural child health. The International Journal of Public Health (IJPH) invites researchers, activists, practitioners and policy makers with an interest in climate change to consider contributing to a special 2010 issue on climate change and rural child health. The deadline for submission of papers is June 1, 2009. Send inquiries to the lead co-editor of this issue: Dr Erica Bell, Deputy Director, University Department of Rural Health, University of Tasmania: Erica.Bell@utas.edu.au
Call for Proposals: Translating Research to Protect Health through Health Promotion, Prevention, and Preparedness. The purpose of this FOA is to accelerate the translation of proven effective interventions into public health practice through implementation, dissemination, and diffusion research. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/CD09-001.htm
Call for Proposals: Understanding the Role of Nonchemical Stressors and Developing Analytic Methods for Cumulative Risk Assessments. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants program, is seeking applications from interdisciplinary teams. This RFA is focusing on two of the challenges: (a) STAR-E1, the development of statistical and other analytical techniques that will enable the analysis of disparate types of data, and (b) STAR-E2, the evaluation of the combined effects of nonchemical and chemical stressors. National Center For Environmental Research.
http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2009/2009_star_cumulative_risk.html
Fillings debate rages on. The largest source of mercury exposure for most people in developed countries is inhalation of mercury vapour from dental amalgams. Dublin Irish Times, Ireland.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2009/0224/1224241701441.html
Testing for toxins likely to poison business. A new federal law requiring all U.S. businesses to test their children's products for lead and other toxic chemicals could have some wide-ranging consequences. Daytona Beach News-Journal, Florida.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newEAST01022409.htm
Health risks of long-term exposure of cell towers near schools debated. Every decade or so, some product sparks debate, stirs health concerns and raises scientific quandaries. Now cell phone towers are stoking controversies in school districts across the country. St. Petersburg Times, Florida.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/article978572.ece
BPA may pose greater threat to newborns. Bisphenol A, the controversial chemical used to make plastic, lingers far longer in the bodies of babies who ingest it than in adults because they lack a crucial liver enzyme needed to break it down, according to researchers at the University of Guelph.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090224.LBPA24/TPStory/
[Editor's note: See a related article about BPA effects on hormones that control puberty and ovulation in rats: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/BPA-affects-early-puberty-ovulation-in-rats/ an another about how BPA, even below levels considered safe by the EPA, increase breast cancer risk in rats exposed through their mother's breast milk: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/low-bpa-raises-breast-cancer-in-adult-rats-nursed/ ]
U.S. Climate Change Science Program must focus on health, experts say. The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) must make public health a strong focus as it undergoes an internal reorganization under the Obama administration, say leading medical experts, health and environmental groups. PRNewswire.
Monday, February 23, 2009.
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-23-2009/0004976591&EDATE=
Coal ash: the hidden story. What happened in Kingston, Tennessee, when the dam holding back coal slurry broke represents just a small slice of the potential threat from coal ash. How industry and the EPA failed to stop a growing environmental disaster. Center for Public Integrity.
Sunday, February 22, 2009.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/1144/
Children under 6 years old top concern. The EPA suggests that all children under the age of 6 have their blood tested regularly for lead. Because many homes, especially those built before 1978, contain lead-based paint, children can be exposed to the toxic metal even if their yards are clean. Pittsburg Morning Sun, Kansas.
Sunday, February 22, 2009.
http://www.morningsun.net/news/x1658752481/Children-under-6-years-old-top-concern
Museum, school partner on home health project . The new Center for Environmental Health and Human Ecology will work to raise awareness about the dangers of lead paint, poor water quality in residential and other buildings and other related issues. Associated Press.
Sunday, February 22, 2009.
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20090222/NEWS01/902220310/1002
Young teens who smoke may boost MS risk. Smokers who pick up the habit in their early teens may nearly triple their risk of developing multiple sclerosis later on, according to the first study to look at the relationship between early smoking and MS. Reuters Health.
Saturday, February 21, 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/02/20/eline/links/20090220elin005.html
Nations to write treaty cutting mercury emissions. More than 140 countries have agreed to negotiate a legally binding treaty aimed at slashing the use of the metal mercury, with the goal of reducing people's exposure to a toxin that hampers brain development among infants and young children worldwide. Washington Post.
Saturday, February 21, 2009.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/20/AR2009022003378.html
U.S. study ties fast food to stroke risk. People who live in neighborhoods packed with fast-food restaurants are more likely to suffer strokes, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. Reuters.
Friday, February 20, 2009.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN1953186220090219
Chromium carcinogenic in water; new standard in the works. Hexavalent chromium, the controversial 'Erin Brockovich' chemical, is carcinogenic in drinking water, scientists have concluded. California will soon propose a new health guideline for water supplies. Environmental Health News.
Friday, February 20, 2009.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/chromium-in-drinking-water
Pregnant women should lower their 'sushi' intake due to mercury. According to joint guidelines issued from both the FDA and the EPA, women of child-bearing years trying to conceive or already pregnant should limit their fish intake to no more than (2) 6 oz. servings a week of a lower level mercury contaminated fish like salmon, shrimp or flounder and avoid fish like swordfish, ahi tuna and shark in order to protect the unborn child from potentially severe nerve and brain damage, sight and hearing loss and even birth defects. Examiner.com.
Friday, February 20, 2009.
http://www.examiner.com/x-2491-Pregnancy-Examiner~y2009m2d19-Pregnant-women-should-lower-their-sushi-intake-due-to-mercury-toxins
Indoor air pollution 'worsens asthma symptoms in kids.' The quality of air inside an asthmatic child's bedroom can have an adverse impact on his health, according to a new study. Asian News International, South Asia.
Friday, February 20, 2009.
http://www.sindhtoday.net/health/66810.htm
Environmentalists to sue for disclosure of chemicals in cleaning products. The makers of Tide, Ajax and other common household cleansers are being asked to come clean about their ingredients. Environmental and health activists announced plans for a lawsuit to make Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and two other major firms reveal the chemical ingredients of their cleaning products and their research on their effects. Los Angeles Times.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2009/02/the-makers-of-t.html
[Editor's note: See a related article about health risks of cleansers: http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=9e7f9e15e12f3ce46496f80bfc4e84d4 ]
The greening and cleaning of America's schools. It's a pristine, cavernous warehouse tucked into a South Florida neighborhood. This is also the unlikely epicenter of a green movement branching out to protect our most precious and vulnerable resource, children. Miami WFOR TV, Florida.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
http://cbs4.com/local/ecozone.school.green.2.937308.html
CDC licenses technology to remove lead from skin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has licensed its own technology to a cleaning-products manufacturer to make wipes that can protect children, factory workers and the military from lead exposure. Wall Street Journal.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123491637222104303.html
How a tagged television set uncovered a deadly trade. Dozens of "scavenger children" scour dumps looking for fragments of microchips, motherboards and cathode ray tube hubs they can melt down. In scratching a living removing tiny quantities of raw material, they expose themselves to a cocktail of neurotoxins and carcinogens. London Independent, England.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/how-a-tagged-television-set-uncovered-a-deadly-trade-1624873.html
[Editor's note: See a related article about lead in the developing world: http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=09-P13-00008&segmentID=8 ]
The effect of fine and coarse particulate air pollution on mortality: a national analysis. An analysis showed an increased risk of mortality for all and specific causes associated with PM2.5, and the risks are higher than what previously observed for PM10. Environmental Health Perspectives.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009.
http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2009/0800108/abstract.html
Debate continues over GMOs. Some residents are becoming increasingly concerned about genetically modified organisms whose DNA have been manipulated in order to change their characteristics, as such crops become more abundant on Kaua‘i. Kaua'i Garden Times, Hawaii.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009.
http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2009/02/16/news/kauai_news/doc4999129982dea741999325.txt
Get smart about science. Every day, we sip a steady stream of health news about something we could eat or drink and how it will help save us from Health Nightmare X -- or help cause it. Chicago Tribune, Illinois.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-coffee-health-benefits-090216,0,3002199.story
As low levels of vitamin D are linked to a growing range of health problems...Could sunshine save your life? Evidence is growing that we all need more vitamin D - and that low levels of it are causing serious and widespread health problems. London Daily Mail, England.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1147262/As-low-levels-vitamin-D-linked-growing-range-health-problems--Could-sunshine-save-life.html
Health complaints rising as use of wood-burning devices grows. An increasing number of people are firing up wood stoves, furnaces and fireplaces as a hedge against rising heating bills, but this alternative fuel, steeped in history and romance, has become a health hazard for many. Hartford Courant, Connecticut.
Monday, February 16, 2009.
http://www.courant.com/news/health/hc-woodsmoke0216.artfeb16,0,7866824.story
Scientist: Environmental health is public health. Biologist Tyrone Hayes, of the University of California at Berkeley, sees a close connection between the health of frogs and the health of humans. Earth & Sky.
Monday, February 16, 2009.
http://www.earthsky.org/radioshows/53076/scientist-environmental-health-is-public-health
Greening the farm. Ad hoc efforts by an impressive array of federal and state agencies, farmer alliances, chemical companies, and nonprofit advocacy groups are dramatically shifting the way pesticides are made and used. As a result, pesticide use in the U.S. has dropped. Chemical & Engineering News.
Monday, February 16, 2009.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/87/8707cover.html
Living near trees 'makes people live longer and feel happier.' The research shows that people have happier relationships and perform better in tests when they live in tree-filled neighbourhoods. Other studies showed that health levels could be "predicted by the amount of green space within a one-mile radius". London Daily Telegraph, England.
Sunday, February 15, 2009.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/4612176/AAAS-Living-near-trees-makes-people-live-longer-and-feel-happier.html
Environmental health experts offer advice on hearing disorder. City of York Council's environmental health team is advising residents how to avoid tinnitus and similar hearing problems. The Press, York, UK.
Saturday, February 14, 2009.
http://www.thepress.co.uk/news/4126749.Environmental_health_experts_offer_advice_on_hearing_disorder/
Asthma may be contracted in womb. A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
suggests that pollution-related asthma may start in the womb. The Times of India.
Saturday, February 14, 2009.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health--Science/Asthma-may-be-contracted-in-womb/articleshow/4129616.cms
Assessing environmental health impacts in a complex world. A recent study suggests that a more inclusive and integrated approach to assessing environmental health risks and policies is needed to deal with the increased complexity and systemic nature of the risks. Environmental Expert.com.
Friday, February 13, 2009.
http://www.environmental-expert.com/resultEachPressRelease.aspx?cid=8819&codi=45287&idproducttype=8&level=0
Government's new online cancer risk tool omits minorities. A new interactive online tool can help older Americans assess their risk for developing colon cancer. The catch is that it only works for whites. New York Times.
Friday, February 13, 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/health/12cancer.html?_r=1
Secondhand smoke linked to dementia. People exposed to secondhand smoke may face as much as a 44 percent increased risk of developing dementia. HealthDay News.
Friday, February 13, 2009.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/hscout/2009/02/12/hscout624060.html
New risks linked to asthma rise. A decline in aspirin use, exposure to household sprays and cleaners and lack of vitamin D may all help explain surging asthma rates in the past few decades. New York Times.
Friday, February 13, 2009.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/new-risk-factors-linked-to-asthma-rise/
Why health at conception must be immaculate. The environment in which a foetus is conceived can be critical to the later physical and mental development of the child, affecting its IQ, risk of obesity and of a range of diseases throughout life. London Independent, England.
Friday, February 13, 2009.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/why-health-at-conception-must-be-immaculate-1608230.html
No evidence of autism-vaccine link, court rules. In a major setback for the fight to link autism to vaccines, a special federal court ruled that the MMR vaccine and vaccines that contained a mercury-based preservative were not connected to the autism that developed in three children. Los Angeles Times, California.
Friday, February 13, 2009.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-vaccine13-2009feb13,0,3844915.story
A guide to eco and natural paints. The constituents of conventional paints may include formaldehyde, heavy metals and nasties known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs for short. But how good are the alternatives? London Guardian, England.
Thursday, February 12, 2009.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/09/eco-natural-paints-guide-best
More smokers quit if paid, study shows. Smokers who are paid to quit succeed far more often than those who get no cash reward, according to a new study that provides some of the strongest evidence yet that financial incentives can help change such behavior. Wall Street Journal.
Thursday, February 12, 2009.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123438843231174457.html
Women would quit nursing if pollutants found in breast milk. A majority of breastfeeding women said if they knew the milk was tainted with pollutants they would wean their babies early out of fear of exposing them to environmental chemicals, even though nursing enhances infant body and brain development and doctors and researchers encourage it. Environmental Health News.
Thursday, February 12, 2009.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/women-wean-if-phthalates-in-milk/
New safety law doesn't mean all's well in toyland. A new federal law took effect this week banning chemicals called phthalates in children's toys and other kids' products. But it's no guarantee that the products are safe. Companies aren't required to publicly disclose the chemicals they use in place of phthalates. Morning Edition, NPR.
Thursday, February 12, 2009.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100038395
DuPont gets more time to test PFOA. DuPont Co. has been given a last-minute pass on a federal deadline to complete testing on products thought to be a source of a controversial chemical in the environment. Wilmington News Journal, Delaware.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090210/NEWS/902100331
Cigarettes' effects reach far beyond cloud of smoke. Parental smoking is a serious health problem for millions of children, regardless of where it's done. Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Texas.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009.
http://www.caller.com/news/2009/feb/10/cigarette-smoke-is-harmful-to-many/
WHO sets tolerable levels for melamine in food. International experts said on Friday they had set a tolerable daily intake for melamine, an industrial chemical found in tainted Chinese milk, soy and pet food products and linked to the deaths of at least six babies. Reuters.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009.
http://www.canada.com/health/sets%20tolerable%20levels%20melamine%20food/1038214/story.html
Safety of makeup called into question. The safety of makeup worn by millions of teenage girls is being questioned. Some scientists say it contains potentially dangerous chemicals [including phthalates, parabens and fragrances]. CBS News.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009.
http://cbs5.com/consumer/health.make.up.2.931448.html
Researchers link obesity to birth defects. Obese women are more likely to give birth to children with spina bifida, heart problems, cleft palate and a number of other defects, British researchers said on Tuesday. Reuters.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009.
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE51979K20090210