Environmental Public Health Commons^™

Chapter 5. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Copd), David Mannino, Janet Croft, David Brown

David C. Brown

No abstract provided.

Lead In Green Turf, Shawn Gerstenberger

Shawn Gerstenberger

Green turf. You see it everywhere: football fields, day care centers, parks.... But is it safe? A UNLV professor says it can release lead, which people could inhale or ingest. But the Synthetic Turf Council says no one has reported bad effects. How safe is the turf we play on? How can we change it? The research professor breaks down the green turf situation for us.

Effects Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) On Response Perseveration And Ultrasonic Vocalization Emission In Rat During Development, Howard Cromwell

Howard Casey Cromwell

The 3 major symptoms of autistic spectrum disorders include 1) social behavioral alterations, 2) problems in communication and 3) higher-order motoric deficits of perseveration and stereotyped movements. Previous work has shown that early developmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) alters rat pup social motivation and juvenile rat social recognition/investigation. The present work extends this previous research by examining how perinatal PCB exposure alters motoric functions and communication abilities at different stages of development. Action perseveration was examined using performance measures from a T-maze environment. Communication abilities were evaluated by monitoring ultrasound emission in rat pups during a brief isolation from …

Opening The Industry Playbook: Myths And Truths In The Debate Over Bpa Regulation, Thomas Mcgarity, Rena Steinzor, Matthew Shudtz, Lena Pons

Rena I. Steinzor

For the last two decades, scientists have amassed evidence that bisphenol A (BPA) poses a threat to human health. Although scientists have targeted BPA as a public health concern, plastics industry lobbyists have attempted to thwart the efforts of federal, state, and local authorities to reduce exposure to BPA. This paper reviews the major arguments advanced by the plastics industry and debunks them as “myths” that public health officials must reject. The five topics covered include: the myth of scientific consensus on safety; the myth that only studies complying with “Good Laboratory Practices” guidelines are adequate for making regulatory decisions; …

Re-Engineering Environmental Health For Challenging Times, R. Konkel, Tony Lewis, Sian Buckley, Polly Rodirguez

Steve Konkel

Times are challenging, irrespective of whether the landscape is viewed from an economic, political, or social perspective. NEHA Presidents have challenged the profession to look at workforce development issues, and raised the question as to what the future of environmental health practice looks like. Does Environmental Health need to be re-defined or refined every five years or so? After attending this session you will understand some of the current challenges to the environmental health practice, and be able to define characteristics of threshold concepts and how they might be applied in a variety of environmental health contexts.

A Journey With A Clear Destination: Environmental Health Research, R. Konkel, David Evans, M. Mulcahy

Steve Konkel

Research is vital if we are to improve the health of the population on the island of Ireland and provide better qualtiy and access to services. Yet all too often, research can be a neglected and overlooked component of evironmental health.

When Every Drops Counts: The Public Health Impact Of Drought, R. Konkel, Mark Miller, Robert Blake, Valeria Carlson

Steve Konkel

What are the public health effects of drought? What is the role of public health and environmental health in planning for drought? What are the political implications of drought and need for public health to be involved in drought planning? How can we reshape environmental health involvement in drought planning?

Using An Innovative Electronic Interface To Develop A Public Health Guidance Document, R. Konkel

Steve Konkel

This is part of a presentation given at the NEHA (National Environmental Health Association) 2009 conference in the Atlanta Enterprise Center June 21-24 in Atlanta Georgia.

Rural Utility Cooperative (Ruc) Final Evaulation Report: Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (Anthc), R. Konkel

Steve Konkel

The Rural Utility Cooperative (RUC) Final Evaluation is designed to answer several interrelated

questions:

• Is the RUC working as envisioned?

• Is it making an impact in the RUC Communities?

• Are the RUC Communities better off than the Non-RUC communities?

Determining Client Need In A Multi-State Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Consortium: From Training To Practice, Suzanne Christopher, Tim Dunnagan, George Haynes, Lili Stiff

Tim Dunnagan

Background: A multi-state consortium was developed in the US to conduct baseline data collection and intervention research on fetal alcohol syndrome. Each state employed support specialists whose job it was to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption in women who were at high risk for drinking alcohol during their pregnancy. The purpose of this paper is to report how support specialists in three primarily rural/frontier states were trained to assess client need and how client need was actually assessed in the field.

Methods: A qualitative process evaluation was conducted using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted with state staff involved in support …

Fatal Injuries In The United States Involving Respirators, 1984-1995, Anthony Suruda, William Milliken, Dale Stephenson, Richard Sesek

Dale J. Stephenson

There is little published information concerning the epidemiology of fatal injuries involving respiratory protection. We compiled a case series from U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation reports from 1984 through 1995. For the 12-year period there were 41 incidents resulting in 45 deaths due to asphyxiation or chemical poisoning while wearing a respirator. There were 23 deaths related to airline respirators, 17 deaths involving use of negative pressure (air purifying) respirators, and 5 deaths involving self-contained breathing apparatus. Among the 23 deaths involving airline respirators, 15 were associated with compatible connection couplings for breathable air and inert gases. Three …

Environmental Health In Public Health, R. Konkel, Darryl Barnett, Joe Beck, Worley Johnson

Steve Konkel

A most intriguing question, and one that leads to many debates both inside and outside of the environmental health field, is a definition of environmental health. The answer given is often tempered by one's political slant (i.e., liberal, moderate, or conservative) and by one's professional training (e.g., public health sanitation, chemistry, nursing, ecology, planning, public administration, etc). Although agreement is needed to effectively address the challenges in the field, disagreement often centers on what constitutes environmental health and even on the name or nickname that should be applied to individuals whose primary focus is on one or many aspects of …

Respiratory Protection, David Wallace, Tori Burns, Dale Stephenson, Dean Lillquist

Dale J. Stephenson

No abstract provided.

University Wellness: A Strategy On Trial, Tim Dunnagan

Tim Dunnagan

No abstract provided.