Environmental Health Commons^™

Exploring Knowledge, Beliefs And Practices Of Radon Gas Exposure Among Public Health Workers, Paschal Nwako

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Radon gas exposure is the highest cause of lung cancer among people that never smoked in the United States. People exposed to elevated levels of radon had a higher risk of developing lung cancer. Achieving the long term goal of the Indoor Radon Abatement Act (IRAA) of 1988 require a combined efforts of government agencies. Public health workers are change agents and their role in protecting and improving the health of their communities are well documented. This study created and utilized a multi question survey, the Public Health Workers Radon Assessment Instrument (PHWRAI) to explore knowledge, beliefs, personal and professional …

A Preliminary Examination Of Elevated Blood Lead Levels In A Rural Georgia County, R. Christopher Rustin, Yu Sun, Chris Calhoun, Christy Kuriatnyk

Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Rural areas are often viewed as lower risk for lead poisoning and toxic exposures seriously impacting development of the brain and central nervous system; this report examines the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels for children <6 years of age in rural Ben Hill County, GA.

Methods: Lead surveillance data from the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) were analyzed using SAS®v-9.3 to calculate the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels (≥5ug/dL) among those children in Ben Hill County who had been tested for lead; the results were compared to Georgia and national data.

Results: A preliminary analysis of 2010-2015 screening data for Ben Hill County indicates that 8.73% …

An Assessment Of Data Related To Inspections Of Risk Factors For Public Swimming Pools, Shanita Shack, Maurice Redmond, R. Christopher Rustin

Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is mandated to ensure that public swimming pools are safe for those who use them. This mandate is carried out by the DPH and local environmental health professionals through regulations and inspections. In 2015, legislation was introduced proposing to reduce the authority of the DPH to inspect certain pool types (apartments, subdivision, condominiums) and thus reduce regulatory protections in place for swimmers. To ensure that the DPH had current information on the risks associated with pools, the EH team, with assistance from a graduate student, analyzed inspection data to evaluate risk factors …

Georgia’S Rapid Expansion Of Mosquito Surveillance In Response To Zika Virus, R. Christopher Rustin, Deonte Martin, Rosmarie Kelly

Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Presentations

Objective: To describe the Georgia Department of Public Health’s (DPH) mosquito surveillance capacity before and after Zika virus was declared a public health emergency, review and compare mosquito surveillance results from 2015 to 2016, and evaluate the risk of autochthonous vector transmission of Zika virus based on 2016 surveillance data of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.

Introduction: Zika virus was declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization on February 1, 2016. With Georgia hosting the world’s busiest international airport and a sub-tropical climate that can support the primary Zika virus vector, Aedes aegypti, and secondary …

Determining The Effects Of The Think Risk Initiative As Implemented By The Southern Nevada Health District, Karalin Nichole Cronkhite

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the United States, someone becomes infected with a foodborne illness every 2 seconds, is hospitalized by a foodborne illness every 4 minutes and dies due to a foodborne illness every 3 hours. Foodborne illness is preventable, yet each year, 1 in 6 Americans is affected by it from contaminated foods or beverages. There are over 250 different foodborne diseases, and in 2015, there were 73 confirmed cases of Salmonella infection in Southern Nevada alone. Since the emergence of public health, food establishment inspections have been an important part of the regulation of food safety. Risk-based inspections were developed by …

Use Of A Modified Greenscreen Tool To Conduct A Screening-Level Comparative Hazard Assessment Of Conventional Silver And Two Forms Of Nanosilver., Jennifer Sass, Lauren Heine, Nina Hwang

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Increased concern for potential health and environmental impacts of chemicals, including nanomaterials, in consumer products is driving demand for greater transparency regarding potential risks. Chemical hazard assessment is a powerful tool to inform product design, development and procurement and has been integrated into alternative assessment frameworks. The extent to which assessment methods originally designed for conventionally-sized materials can be used for nanomaterials, which have size-dependent physical and chemical properties, have not been well established. We contracted with a certified GreenScreen profiler to conduct three GreenScreen hazard assessments, for conventional silver and two forms of nanosilver. The contractor summarized publicly …

Airborne Infectious Agents And Other Pollutants In Automobiles For Domestic Use: Potential Health Impacts And Approaches To Risk Mitigation, Syed A. Sattar, Kathryn E. Wright, Bahram Zargar, Joseph R. Rubino, M. Khalid Ijaz

Publications and Research

Theworld total of passenger cars is expected to go fromthe current one billion to >2.5 billion by 2050. Cars for domestic use account for ∼74% of the world’s yearly production ofmotorized vehicles. In North America, ∼80% of the commuters use their own car with another 5.6% travelling as passengers.With the current life-expectancy of 78.6 years, the average North American spends 4.3 years driving a car! This equates to driving 101 minutes/day with a lifetime driving distance of nearly 1.3 million km inside the confined and often shared space of the car with exposure to a mix of potentially harmful pathogens, …

Aneuploidy: A Common And Early Evidence-Based Biomarker For Carcinogens And Reproductive Toxicants., Daniele Mandrioli, Fiorella Belpoggi, Ellen K Silbergeld, Melissa J. Perry

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Aneuploidy, defined as structural and numerical aberrations of chromosomes, continues to draw attention as an informative effect biomarker for carcinogens and male reproductive toxicants. It has been well documented that aneuploidy is a hallmark of cancer. Aneuploidies in oocytes and spermatozoa contribute to infertility, pregnancy loss and a number of congenital abnormalities, and sperm aneuploidy is associated with testicular cancer. It is striking that several carcinogens induce aneuploidy in somatic cells, and also adversely affect the chromosome compliment of germ cells. In this paper we review 1) the contributions of aneuploidy to cancer, infertility, and developmental abnormalities; 2) techniques for …

The Eco-Epidemiology Of Pacific Coast Tick Fever In California, Kerry A. Padgett, Denise L. Bonilla, Marina E. Eremeeva, Carol A. Glaser, Robert S. Lane, Charsey Cole Porse, Martin B. Castro, Sharon L. Messenger, Alex Espinosa, Jill Hacker, Anne Kjemtrup, Bonnie Ryan, Jamesina J. Scott, Renjie Hu, Melissa Hardstone Yoshimizu, Gregory A. Dasch, Vicki Kramer

Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Rickettsia philipii (type strain “Rickettsia 364D”), the etiologic agent of Pacific Coast tick fever (PCTF), is transmitted to people by the Pacific Coast tick, Dermacentor occidentalis. Following the first confirmed human case of PCTF in 2008, 13 additional human cases have been reported in California, more than half of which were pediatric cases. The most common features of PCTF are the presence of at least one necrotic lesion known as an eschar (100%), fever (85%), and headache (79%); four case-patients required hospitalization and four had multiple eschars. Findings presented here implicate the nymphal or larval stages of D …

Consumer Product Chemicals In Indoor Dust: A Quantitative Meta-Analysis Of U.S. Studies, Susanna D. Mitro, Robin Dodson, Veena Singla, Gary Adamkiewicz, Angelo F. Elmi, Monica Tilly, Ami R. Zota

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Indoor dust is a reservoir for commercial consumer product chemicals, including many compounds with known or suspected health effects. However, most dust exposure studies measure few chemicals in small samples. We systematically searched the U.S. indoor dust literature on phthalates, replacement flame retardants (RFRs), perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), synthetic fragrances, and environmental phenols and estimated pooled geometric means (GMs) and 95% confidence intervals for 45 chemicals measured in ≥3 data sets. In order to rank and contextualize these results, we used the pooled GMs to calculate residential intake from dust ingestion, inhalation, and dermal uptake from air, and then identified hazard …

School Siting Near Industrial Chemical Facilities: Findings From The U.S. Chemical Safety Board's Investigation Of The West Fertilizer Explosion., Veronica A Tinney, Jerad M Denton, Lucy Sciallo-Tyler, Jerome A. Paulson

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) investigated the April 17, 2013 explosion at the West Fertilizer Company (WFC) that resulted in 15 fatalities, more than 260 injuries and damage to more than 150 buildings. Among these structures were four nearby school buildings cumulatively housing children in grades K-12, a nursing care facility and an apartment complex. The incident occurred during the evening when school was not in session, which reduced the number of injuries.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this paper is to illustrate the consequences of siting schools near facilities that store or use hazardous chemicals, …

Rickettsiologist Pavel F. Zdrodovskii: Larger Than Life, And Not Just For His Famous Book, Marina E. Eremeeva, S. N. Shpynov, I. V. Tarasevich

Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

This article highlights the biography and scientific accomplishments of Pavel F. Zdrodovskii and his contributions to understanding the biology, pathogenesis, treatment, prevention and epidemiology of brucellosis, rickettsioses and many other infectious diseases.

Air Pollution, Pulmonary Oxidative Stress, And The Endothelin System In The Development Of Cardiovascular Injury., Jordan B. Finch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project was to examine the role of endothelin-1 (ET-1) as a mediator in the pathway between air pollution exposure and the development of vascular injury. A human cohort and male mice (C57BL/6 and ecSOD-Tg) were used to evaluate changes in the ET-1 system in response to exposures of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Human ET-1 levels were significantly associated with environmental factors and markers of vascular change, but were decreased with increased PM2.5. No association was seen between ET-1 and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) except for EPC-4, possibly indicating a regulatory relationship with this specific population. In …

4,4’-Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (Ddt) And 4,4’-Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (Dde) Promote Adipogenesis In 3tl1 Adipocyte Cell Culture, J Kim, Q Sun, Y Yue, Kyong-Sup Yoon, K -Y Whang, J M. Clark, Y Park

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

4,4’-Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), a chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide, was extensively used in the 1940s and 1950s. DDT is mainly metabolically converted into 4,4’- dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE). Even though most countries banned DDT in the 1970s, due to the highly lipophilic nature and very stable characteristics, DDT and its metabolites are present ubiquitously in the environment, including food. Recently, there are publications on relationships between exposure to insecticides, including DDT and DDE, and weight gain and altered glucose homeostasis. However, there are limited reports regarding DDT or DDE and adipogenesis, thus we investigated effects of DDT and DDE on adipogenesis using 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Treatment …

Impacts From The Use Of Antibiotics In Livestock: Methods Of Transmission Of Antibiotic Resistance From Livestock To Humans, Kristin M. Walden

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Antibiotic use in livestock production has been around since the 1950s. Antibiotic feed is used in livestock and other meat producing animals for three reasons: illness prevention, illness treatment, and growth promotion. Unfortunately, since the time that antibiotics were first invented, antibiotic resistant bacteria have become a threat to public health. There are many studies showing methods of transmission of antibiotic resistance from livestock to humans. Antibiotic resistance can spread from livestock to soil, water, insects, and food, which ultimately comes into contact with humans. A proposed study to measure antibiotic resistance when eliminating antibiotic feed will provide a hypothesis …

Effect Of An Improved Biomass Stove On Acute Lower Respiratory Infections In Young Children In Rural Nepal: A Cluster-Randomised, Step-Wedge Trial, James M. Tielsch, Joanne Katz, Subarna K. Khatry, Laxman Shrestha, Patrick N. Breysse, Scott L. Zeger, +5 Additional Authors

Global Health Faculty Publications

Background

Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) are an important cause of death in young children in low income countries. High concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) indoors caused by open burning of biomass are associated with risk of ALRI. However, improved biomass stoves reduce emissions and might reduce the incidence of lower respiratory illness. A cluster-randomised, step-wedge, community-based trial was conducted to estimate the eff ect that a change from open burning of biomass to improved biomass stoves could have on rates of ALRI in children younger than 36 months in a rural area of southern Nepal.

Methods

Households were …

Inquiry Into The Implementation Of Bush’S Executive Order 13211 And The Impact On Environmental And Public Health Regulation, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman, Gunwant Gill, Miriam Jovanovic

Publications and Research

Executive Order 13211, promulgated in 2001, requires the federal government to consider the impact of federal action on energy independence as part of the George W. Bush’s National Energy Policy. This law review examines whether EO 13211 was used to curtail environmental protection and natural resource conservation. The article begins with a review of the procedure required of federal agencies under EO 13211 and its associated documents. The paper then examines case law and published federal rulemaking proceedings and examines how federal agencies apply tests to evaluate the potential energy effect. The study concludes that EO 13211 strikes a reasonable …

Β-Thujaplicin: A Soil Antifungal, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Dennis J. Baumgardner, MD

Background: β-thujaplicin (β-Th), also known as hinokitiol, naturally occurs in cedar mulch, is found in personal care products and has in vitro antitumor activities. It is antibacterial and antifungal, but has not been tested on soil. Scedosporium apiospermum (Sce) is an emerging “extremophile” fungal pathogen found in built outdoor environments. Purpose: Pilot β-Th as “natural” soil antimicrobial or for isolation of extremophiles, and to explore β-Th resistance as selective advantage to Sce in mulched landscape. Methods: A variety of outdoor and indoor environments were used for 2 sets of 24 paired soil samples. Soil/H20 slurry (0.1 ml) was spread on …

The Shellfish Corner -- Water Quality And Culture Of Shellfish In Prohibited Waters, Michael A. Rice

Michael A Rice

A Pilot Study For Plant The Seed: A Nutrition Education Program Using Local Food Environment To Put Theory Into Action, Yeon Bai, Shahla M. Wunderlich, Karen A. Lee

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

The purpose of this study is to implement Plant the Seed, a garden-based nutrition education program designed to reconnect children with locally grown food, food environments of the past and present, and the benefits of eating seasonal foods. The pilot study investigates the environmental context and theory variables known to influence healthy food choice behavior. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) provided a framework for the program’s curriculum and evaluation. The target audience is middle school students. Plant the Seed is a two-part program. In Part 1 (classroom), students participate in practical, interactive activities based on specific educational objectives that target …

Fine Particulate Air Pollution And Hospital Emergency Room Visits For Respiratory Disease In Urban Areas In Beijing, China, In 2013, Qin Xu, Xia Li, Shuo Wang, Chao Wang, Fangfang Huang, Qi Gao, Lijuan Wu, Lixin Tao, Jin Guo, Wei Wang, Xiuhua Guo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

Heavy fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) air pollution occurs frequently in China. However, epidemiological research on the association between short-term exposure to PM_2.5 pollution and respiratory disease morbidity is still limited. This study aimed to explore the association between PM_2.5 pollution and hospital emergency room visits (ERV) for total and cause-specific respiratory diseases in urban areas in Beijing. Methods Daily counts of respiratory ERV from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2013, were obtained from ten general hospitals located in urban areas in Beijing. Concurrently, data on PM_2.5 were collected from the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, …

Fine Particulate Air Pollution In Saudi Arabia : Implications For Cardiopulmonary Morbidity, Shedrack Rujooga Nayebare

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Fine particulate (PM2.5) air pollution is a major issue in Saudi Arabia. Though the health effects of exposure to PM2.5 have been extensively studied in developed countries of Europe and North America, this research is yet to be done in developing countries of Africa, some parts of Asia and the Middle East including Saudi Arabia. This is the first comprehensive assessment of PM2.5 air pollution in Saudi Arabia describing the major emission sources as well as assessing the association of daily exposures to PM2.5 and its chemical constituents with cardiopulmonary morbidity.

The Impact Of Urbanization On Mosquito-Borne Viruses, Nikhita Puthuveetil

Undergraduate Research Posters

Mosquito-borne diseases such as yellow fever, dengue, and West Nile are rapidly emerging across the globe. Their emergence is often aided by the growth of their vector population, or the organisms that transmit the virus to the host. Urbanization and land use often destroys the habitat of the virus and its vector. However, the virus and its vector often survive despite the changes to its environment. The goal of this paper is to find out exactly how urbanization and changes in land use affect mosquito-borne viruses and how these viruses survive despite the destruction of their habitats. To understand how …

Echinococcus Multilocularis In Foxes And Raccoon Dogs: An Increasing Concern For Baltic Countries, Guna Bagrade, Gunita Deksne, Zanda Ozoliņa, Samantha Jane Howlett, Maria Interisano, Adriano Casulli, Edoardo Pozio

Harold W. Manter Laboratory: Library Materials

Background

In Europe, the life cycle of Echinococcus multilocularis is predominantly sylvatic, involving red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) as the main definitive hosts and rodents such as muskrats and arvicolids as intermediate hosts. The parasite is the etiological agent of human alveolar echinococcosis, a malignant zoonotic disease caused by the accidental ingestion of eggs shed by definitive hosts in their feces. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of E. multilocularis in red foxes and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) and to study the environmental factors favoring the perpetuation of the parasite in Latvia. …