Surgeon
General Delivers Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes
On June 9 in Washington, DC, the Acting U.S. Surgeon
General Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H., released his “Call
to Action to Promote Healthy Homes.” According to the Acting
Surgeon General, “the Call to Action looks at the ways housing can affect
health, and its release will initiate a national dialogue about the importance
of healthy homes.”
The Call to Action is part of the national Healthy Homes
Initiative led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD). HUD, CDC and other partners joined the Acting Surgeon
General to highlight the public health importance of promoting healthy homes.
During the event, HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims also announced
the release of HUD’s Healthy
Homes Strategic Plan. HUD’s plan demonstrates why healthy
homes are a national priority, describes what steps should be taken to achieve
healthier housing, and highlights the key public and private partners for implementation.
The remarks from Surgeon General
Galson and HUD Deputy Secretary Sims, as well as other materials from the release
of the Call to Action (including a 4½ min. podcast of a Q&A session
with the Surgeon General), are available
online.
NCEH/ATSDR
Start “National Conversation” on Chemical Exposures
CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health and
the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry launched an 18-month long
“National Conversation” on public health and chemical exposures
with a kickoff meeting in Washington, DC on Friday, June 26th. The stated
intention of the “conversation” is “to identify and prioritize
actions for strengthening the public health approach to chemical exposures.”
In addition to the kickoff event in DC, the conversation will include a number
of meetings in locations to be announced around the country, in addition to
web-based discussions and forums. As part of the initiative, NCEH/ATSDR has
formed six working groups, covering monitoring, scientific understanding, policies
and practices, chemical emergencies, serving communities, and education and
communication. Individuals interested in serving on a work group have to apply
through a nomination process and be selected by the conversation organizers.
Additional information and nominating forms are available at http://www.2009nationalconversation.com.
The kick-off meeting in DC was
attended by a wide range of participants, including national environmental groups,
chemical industry representatives, and activists from communities impacted by
toxic pollution. Several of the activists used the breaks and Q&A time to
call upon government to “stop talking and start acting,” dismissing
the meeting as yet more delay to addressing the problems they are facing and
pointing to the highly
critical report on the shortcomings of ATSDR recently issued by
the staff of the House Committee on Science and Technology. Other groups viewed
the meeting as a sign that the new Administration is open to changing the direction
of the agency and national policy on chemical exposures. While the conversation
is potentially a positive step, the Alliance notes that comprehensive reform
of how we ensure the safety of chemicals used in our home and placed in our
environment is going to require Congressional action and a thorough revision
of the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA).
HUD
Announces $4M in Healthy Homes Funding
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced
on June 19 that $4 million is available to improve methods to detect and control
lead-based paint, mold and other housing-related safety hazards that harm children.
These Healthy Homes Technical Studies grants will be awarded competitively to
multiple academic and non-profit institutions, state, tribal or local governments
that advance the recognition and control of residential health and safety hazards
or improve our understanding of the link between housing and health.
The grants are intended to further implement of HUD's Healthy
Homes Strategic Plan, and the Call
to Action to Promote Healthy Homes, both recently released, which
encourage government agencies, other research organizations, and scientists
to develop and support a portfolio of rigorous healthy homes research. In addition,
both documents recommend that agencies and sectors work together to provide
guidance and technical assistance to support safe, healthy, and environmentally
friendly housing options.
HUD will award approximately six to ten grants ranging
from $250,000 to $800,000 each. Applications may be downloaded from HUD’s
Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control website (www.hud.gov/lead).
The deadline for submitting an application is August 18, 2009.
Gulf
Coast Communities Hope to Rebuild Sustainably with Civic Works Act
The Gulf Coast Civic Works Act (HR 2269) has been widely
received by community, environmental, and human rights organizations alike as
a necessary piece of legislation to promote infrastructure, training, comprehensive
flood protection and energy efficiency in the communities still recovering from
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. HR
2269 was introduced in the U.S. House May 6th by Representatives Zoe Lofgren
(CA), Rodney Alexander (LA), Joseph Cao (LA), Charles Gonzalez (TX), Charlie
Melancon (LA), Gene Taylor (MS), Bennie Thompson (MS), John Conyers (MI), Alcee
Hastings (FL), Barbara Lee (CA), John Lewis (GA), Peter Stark (CA), and Charlie
Rangel (NY).
The Gulf Coast Civic Works Campaign (GCCWC), a non-partisan
partnership of community, environmental, labor, student and human rights organizations,
argues it would create 100,000 “green” living wage jobs and training
opportunities for Gulf Coast residents and displaced people to rebuild critical
infrastructure, restore natural flood protection and increase energy efficiency.
The legislation allows the federal government to partner
directly with local leaders and non-profits to address remaining recovery challenges
while building resilience to climate change, mitigating the effects of future
deadly storms and confronting poverty. It also addresses the challenges faced
by internally displaced, elderly, disabled, women, low-income, immigrant and
minority communities.
The Alliance applauds the introduction of this Act and
encourages groups like the GCCWC to continue their work to enact this legislation.
Over the past four years the Alliance has created a number of resources for
flood-damaged communities, which can be accessed here.
EPA
Beginning to Approve RRP Trainers, Issues Additional Guidance
To date, EPA has approved six training entities to offer
the classes necessary for contractors to become certified renovators under the
RRP rule. Although this number is lower than many had expected two months after
the opening of applications, the Alliance and other advocates have been assured
that EPA is working on streamlining the process and ensuring approvals roll
out more quickly in the coming weeks. Nearly 100 additional applications to
become training providers remain in various stages of processing for accreditation.
To help clarify expectations and requirements for accreditation,
EPA has released a revised application and additional information for training
applicants. The new application includes an additional question about whether
the provider intends to use non-permanent training facilities (i.e. deliver
the training as a road show) and provides clearer instructions for what the
EPA would like to see in the course test blueprint and quality control plan.
Separately, EPA has provided additional instructions for taking photographs
of students and numbering the training certificates. The new application is
available here
and the additional guidelines here.
There is still a substantial
need for additional training providers! The Alliance believes that at least
1,000 will be necessary to ensure contractors have access to training and to
successfully implement the rule. We are continuing to support potential trainers
through our train-the-trainer class, which will be taught in Chicago in August,
and additional locations to be determined. For more information see our train-the-trainer
page.
Home
Lead Safety Tax Credit Act (Re-)Introduced
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
(D-RI) introduced the Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 2009 (S. 1245). The
bill would provide up to a $3,000 tax credit for 50% the cost of lead hazard
reduction work done by owners or tenants in low-income (less than 185% of poverty
line) housing built before 1960.
Versions of this bill have been introduced in the last
several congresses, including by Senators Clinton and Obama in the previous
congress. Prospects for the bill, however, may be better this time around.
Association found between bone lead
elevation and memory impairment in older adults
A research article published in the May 27 online issue of NeuroToxicology,
“Bone lead levels are associated with measures of memory impairment in
older adults,” found that older adults with higher amounts of lead in
their bones have greater memory impairment than adults with low lead levels.
Researchers found that in men and women 55-67 years old,
higher bone lead levels were associated with poorer performance on tasks used
to assess memory deficits — deficits often seen in adults with Alzheimer’s
disease. The researchers measured shin- and heel-bone lead levels in 47 volunteers
using X-ray fluorescence. Subjects with higher bone lead levels were less able
to remember specific patterns or the locations of items. Other studies have
found associations between lead exposure and cognitive deficits in older adults,
but this is the first study to link lead exposure with specific measures of
memory impairment that are characteristic of Alzheimer's Disease. The abstract
for this article is available here.
Popular weed killer kills human cells, intensifying
debate over “inert” ingredients
Used in yards, farms and parks throughout the world, Monsanto Company’s
Roundup is a top-selling weed killer. Now researchers say that one of Roundup's
so-called “inert” ingredients can kill human cells, particularly
embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells, stoking the debate about the
solvents, preservatives, surfactants and other substances that manufacturers
add to pesticides. Inert ingredients tend to be less scrutinized than active
pest-killing ingredients, and since specific pesticide formulas are protected
as trade secrets, manufacturers need not disclose them publicly.
Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, is the most-used
herbicide in the U.S. Most earlier health studies have focused on the risks
of glyphosate, its active pest-killing ingredient, rather than other ingredients
found in Roundup. In the new study, Roundup’s inert ingredient polyethoxylated
tallowamine (POEA) multiplied the toxic effect of glyphosate and was actually
more deadly to human embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells than glyphosate
itself. The researchers speculated that Roundup may cause pregnancy problems
by interfering with hormone production, possibly leading to abnormal fetal development,
low birth weights or miscarriages. They also said that their results highlight
the need for health agencies to reconsider the safety of Roundup. The article,
which appeared in the January 2009 issue of the journal Chemical Research
in Toxicology, is available here.
Pesticides remain in homes long after their use
An article in the June 15, 2009, issue of Environmental Science and Technology
shows that pesticides, including some that have been banned for decades, persist
in homes. The authors found that most floors in occupied homes in the U.S. have
measurable levels of insecticides that may serve as sources of exposure to occupants.
Dust samples were analyzed for 24 current and past-use
residential insecticides, all of which were found in some of the homes. Fipronil
and permethrin, both currently used, were found in 40 percent and 89 percent
of homes, respectively. DDT and chlordane – two pesticides that have been
banned for decades – were detected in 42 percent and 74 percent of homes,
respectively. Other insecticides banned from residential use several years ago
were also found in a sizeable percentage of the homes.
Researchers conclude that children
could be at particular health risk because of their more frequent contact with
floors, and future generations could also be exposed. These exposures should
be considered in health risk assessments that guide public safety regulations,
the authors recommend. The abstract for this article is available here.
In Memoriam —
Kathryn R. Mahaffey, Ph.D.
The Alliance would like to recognize and applaud
the life and work of Kathryn R. Mahaffey, who passed away on June 2, 2009, after
decades of work that advanced the nation’s health and environment. She
is remembered as a beloved wife, mother, scientist and community member who
served as a source of inspiration with her principled and tireless intellect.
She was the rare scientist who knew how to apply the lessons from academic research
to protect public health. Her work changed the face of epidemic heavy metal
poisoning, endocrine disruptors and many other environmental pollutants that
afflict children, pregnant women and other at-risk populations.
Dr. Mahaffey had an exceptional and diverse career, with
appointments at FDA, NIOSH, NIEHS and EPA. Most recently, she served as a Professorial
Lecturer at the George Washington University School of Public Health. She was
the first to ensure that the number of lead poisoned children in the U.S. was
determined accurately through the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey in the 1970s, allowing the nation to track a dramatic reduction in children’s
blood lead levels over the past three decades. She also conducted path-breaking
scholarship on mercury poisoning. She was a principal author of the eight-volume
Mercury Study Report to Congress that broke new scientific ground and focused
national attention on mercury exposure in the U.S. As a public health activist,
her work won cheers from children’s health scientists and attacks from
those who considered the facts to be injurious to their interests.
In addition to her scientific work, she founded and led
the Green Group at the Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ in
Bethesda, MD, and was a volunteer math tutor and leader of the math club at
DC’s Marie Reed Elementary School, working with underachieving students.
She is survived by her husband, David Jacobs, Director of Research at the National
Center for Healthy Housing; her daughter, Harriet Meehan; her son, Bert Kramer;
her mother, Harriet Mahaffey; two sisters, Rebecca Latimer and Deborah Westover;
two step-children, Paul and Robin Jacobs; and two grandchildren, Lillian and
Evalyn Meehan.
Alliance
News
The Alliance’s Executive Director Patrick
MacRoy was a guest this past week on WTIC’s “Greener Living with
Dr. G.” Patrick spoke with Dr. G about a range
of healthy homes issues including lead poisoning, air fresheners, formaldehyde,
and indoor air quality. To hear the podcast, visit WTIC’s webpage.
Click on the left-hand link under “Greener Living w/ Dr. G 6/20/09 Hr.
2.”
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Upcoming
Events
The National Association of County and City Health Officials
(NACCHO) will host a workshop entitled “Public Health 101 for Non-Lawyers:
Using the Law as a Tool to Protect and Promote the
Public’s Health” on July 29, 2009 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET
in Orlando, Florida. For additional information, please visit this
webpage.
On August 6-7, 2009, the annual summer symposium on high-impact
green affordable housing and community development will take place at the Park
Plaza Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. The symposium is titled: Green Homes &
Sustainable Communities: The changing landscape for financing, developing, and
managing green affordable housing and is presented by Enterprise and Nixon Peabody
LLP Legally Green, sponsored by the Home Depot Foundation. Register online here.
The Alliance continues to hold “Train the Trainer”
courses throughout the country in order to help prepare organizations to become
accredited trainers under EPA’s rule. In partnership with the Neighborworks
Training Institute, the Alliance will be holding an upcoming training in Chicago
on August 17-18th. To register for the Chicago NTI, visit this
webpage.
Save the date for the symposium entitled “Promoting
Environmental and Policy Change to Support Healthy Aging,” to be held
September 15-16, 2009, in Chapel Hill, NC. This symposium is a third in a series
funded by CDC's Healthy Aging Program. More information on this symposium can
be found here.
The 2009 National
Environmental Public Health Conference: Healthy People in a Healthy Environment
seeks to promote the nation’s environmental health capacity by enhancing
the expertise of environmental health professionals - including public health
and healthcare professionals, academic researchers, representatives from communities
and organizations, as well as advocacy and business groups with a primary interest
in environmental public health. The conference will be held October 25-28 in
Atlanta, GA.
The American Public Health Association will be holding
its Annual Meeting
on November 7-11, 2009 in Philadelphia, PA. The theme this year is “Water
and Public Health: the 21st Century Challenge.” The conference will explore
the latest public health challenges and learn about what can be done to protect
our resources, our health and our world. For more information or to register,
visit this webpage.
