Wisconsin Supreme
Court Gives Green Light to Teenager's Lawsuit Against Lead Pigment Companies
The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a 4-2 opinion on July
15 that allows a teenaged boy from Milwaukee to sue lead pigment companies for
his lead poisoning, allegedly caused by white lead carbonate pigment found in
the paint of three rental properties where he lived. The boy, Steven Thomas,
has already recovered damages from two of the three landlords involved in his
poisoning.
The court, in Thomas v. Mallett, reversed two
lower courts when it said that while Thomas could not prove which pigment manufacturers
were directly responsible for his harm, he should be able to sue a number of
those companies under the Wisconsin common law notion of risk-contribution.
Under the risk-contribution theory, Thomas can proceed with a negligence claim,
a strict products liability claim, or both. The court did, however, affirm the
two lower courts when it denied Thomas the ability to sue the pigment companies
under civil conspiracy and enterprise liability theories, saying that he lacked
sufficient evidence to proceed with either one.
In order to prevail using the risk-contribution theory,
Thomas will have to prove, among other things, that he ingested white lead carbonate,
that the white lead carbonate caused his lead poisoning and subsequent injuries,
that the pigment manufacturers produced or marketed white lead carbonate between
the time the first rental property was built (1905) and 1978, and that the companies’
conduct in producing or marketing white lead carbonate was a breach of duty
to Thomas.
If those requirements are met, it will be up to the pigment
companies to each show that they either did not manufacture or market white
lead carbonate between 1905 and 1978, or that they did not distribute or market
white lead carbonate and white lead carbonate-based paints in the Milwaukee
area during that time period. For companies that cannot meet one or both of
those criteria, the court said a jury would best decide their potential liability
to Thomas. The companies involved in the suit are American Cyanamid, Atlantic
Richfield, DuPont, NL Industries, SCM Chemicals, Sherwin-Williams, and ConAgra.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the first in the nation
to authorize individual lawsuits against lead pigment companies. The opinion
does not apply to any lawsuits outside the state of Wisconsin. Though Thomas
is not directly applicable to the City of Milwaukee’s case against two
pigment companies, in light of the court’s decision in the Thomas
case, Mautz Paint (now part of Sherwin-Williams) and NL Industries dropped their
request to the Wisconsin Supreme Court to stop the City’s lawsuit. The
City’s case against the pigment manufacturers will now proceed to trial,
which should begin within the next several months.
GAO Expresses
Concern over EPA’s Ability to Protect Public from Toxic Chemicals
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report
in mid-July that concluded that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
is failing to protect the public from toxic compounds because of a lack of data
on those chemicals. EPA has gathered health and safety data on about 15% of
all chemical compounds that have been introduced in the last 30 years. The GAO,
Congress’ investigative arm, recommended several improvements to the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA) as a way to remedy the data collection problems.
The report said, in part, “EPA does not routinely
assess existing chemicals, has limited information on their health and environmental
risks, and has issued few regulations controlling such chemicals.” The
report concludes that EPA “lacks sufficient data to ensure” that
the Agency is adequately safeguarding the public.
Roughly 82,000 chemicals exist in an inventory required
by TSCA. Of those chemicals, some pose dangers to humans such as cancer, reproductive
disruptions, damage to developing brains, and birth defects. Americans are exposed
to some of the classes of chemicals, including flame retardants like PBDEs,
phthalates in plastics, and others, in their homes every day. Of the tens of
thousands of chemicals in the TSCA inventory, EPA has only banned five, despite
evidence that many more pose significant risks to human health.
GAO stated that flaws in TSCA are mostly to blame and recommended
several improvements to the law, including explicit authority for EPA to enter
into enforceable consent agreements under which chemical companies are required
to conduct health and safety testing; authority for EPA to require chemical
manufacturers and processors to develop and provide test data based on certain,
standardized criteria; and authority for EPA to share with states and foreign
governments certain health and safety information provided to the Agency that
may be deemed “confidential information.” Some advocates urge Congress
to go further and require that EPA forbid chemical companies from labeling any
health and safety information as “confidential” or “trade
secrets.”
In response to the GAO report and efforts by advocates,
Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced the Child, Worker, and Consumer Safe
Chemicals Act (S. 1391) in late July to strengthen TSCA and provide EPA with
more explicit authority to gather data needed to protect the public from toxic
chemicals. Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) has pledged to introduce companion
legislation in the U.S. House.
CDC
Issues Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals
In July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) issued the Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental
Chemicals, based on data obtained through the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted by CDC’s National Center for Health
Statistics. NHANES is a series of surveys on the health and nutritional status
of the U.S. population. The report reveals continued human exposure to substances
commonly found in the home, including lead, environmental tobacco smoke, phthalates,
and pesticides.
While the report is part of an important, ongoing biomonitoring
effort on the part of CDC, it does have limitations, largely stemming from its
reliance on NHANES data. NHANES’ current design does not permit examination
of exposure levels by locality, state, or region; proximity to sources of exposure;
or use of particular products. Because the report is only the third of its kind,
it is also not possible to examine statistical trends that could indicate whether
exposure to certain chemicals is rising, falling, or generally remaining the
same within the U.S. population. The report also did not assess exposure to
all potential environmental toxins. Some chemicals not included in the report,
such as PBDE flame retardants, have become chemicals of concern for environmental
health practitioners and researchers.
Furthermore, CDC cautions that the measurement of an environmental
chemical in a person’s blood or urine does not by itself mean that the
chemical causes disease. Separate studies of varying exposure levels and health
effects are required to determine which blood and urine levels pose the lowest
risk and which levels can result in disease, illustrating the need for continued
and adequate funding for research into the toxicological effects of industrial
chemicals and other substances to which Americans are routinely exposed.
Draft Rules
for Testing Pesticides on Humans Draw Fire, Congress Agrees on Human Testing
Language
Despite a finding by the National Research Council (NRC)
that testing pesticides on children, pregnant women, and newborns would be generally
unethical, a draft EPA rule uncovered in early July would have allowed human
pesticide tests to include these groups under certain circumstances. Senior
EPA staff, Representatives and Senators, and advocates objected strongly to
the draft rule and said it is unacceptable to allow any pesticide testing on
children and other vulnerable populations. The pesticide industry responded
at the time by saying that it believes that “sound science and public
health protections have affirmed the safety and ethics of human data studies.”
The draft rule did follow some of the recommendations found
in the February 2004 NRC report, but it proposed allowing pesticide studies
on children if the testing was conducted during kids’ “normal activities.”
The NRC also recommended that EPA establish a review board to evaluate proposed
human pesticide studies, but the Agency claimed at the time that the board would
“unnecessarily confine EPA’s discretion” and rejected the
recommendation in the draft rule.
Congress then moved to correct what it saw as flaws in
the draft rule. In late July, the House and Senate reached agreement on language
as part of the FY 2006 Interior appropriations bill that bars EPA from considering
any human test data in its evaluation of pesticides until EPA completes a rule
governing such testing and the use of test results. The language does not permanently
ban EPA from using human test data; rather, it limits the types of tests and
data that are acceptable. According to the bill language, EPA will be forbidden
from using any data from pesticide tests involving pregnant women, infants,
and children, and it will have to establish an independent board to review all
proposed pesticide studies that will examine human test subjects.
The controversy over human testing of pesticides erupted
earlier in 2005 when the EPA’s Children’s Health and Environmental
Exposure Research Study (CHEERS) came to light. The study would have enrolled
60 low-income families in Florida who agreed to continue exposing their children
to indoor applications of pesticides in exchange for $970, children’s
clothing, and a camcorder. CHEERS was partially bankrolled by the American Chemistry
Council, an association of chemical and pesticide manufacturers. EPA was forced
to cancel the study because of an outcry among the public and Members of Congress
over ethical concerns.
Washington
State Research Shows Increased Health Care Costs from Toxins
New research from Washington State illustrates that exposure
to a variety of toxic chemicals, including those found in the home, leads to
increased health care costs and additional burdens to state taxpayers.
The study, conducted by a researcher with Antioch University
Seattle’s Center for Creative Change, shows that between $1.6 billion
to $2.2 billion in health care costs are attributable to addressing childhood
conditions, including asthma, cancer, lead poisoning, birth defects, and neurological
and behavioral disorders, that can be caused or exacerbated by toxic chemicals.
Childhood lead poisoning alone is estimated to cost the state $1.5 billion every
year, while treating childhood asthma runs $50 million annually. Adult diseases
such as cancer, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, and others, add
an additional $2.8 billion to $3.5 billion to the state’s health care
cost burden.
Alliance Joins
Notice of Intent to Sue EPA Over Delayed Lead-Safe Renovation Rule
In early July, the Alliance for Healthy Homes joined a
group of more than a dozen public and environmental health organizations in
filing a Notice of Intent to sue EPA over a nine-year delay in issuing a legally
mandated lead-safe remodeling and renovation rule. Each year that EPA delays
action on the rule, 1.4 million American children are exposed to dangerous lead
hazards.
In 1992, Congress required EPA to issue a rule that would
require lead-safe work practices to be used when remodeling or renovating buildings
built before 1978, the year that lead-based paint was banned in the United States.
The rule was to have been adopted by October 1996.
In 2004, EPA scrapped a draft rule prepared by the Clinton
Administration in favor of a voluntary approach that most lead poisoning prevention
advocates called inadequate. EPA abandoned that voluntary program in May 2005.
On August 2, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) released
internal EPA documents that the group obtained showing the Agency’s early
thinking about several regulatory options. These options include requiring lead-safe
repair in “child occupied” homes only, and applying lead-safe renovation
rules only to pre-1960 housing.
Along with the Alliance, groups joining the notice of intent
to sue include PEER, the Lead and Environmental Hazards Association, Improving
Kids’ Environment and the Organization of the New Eastside of Indianapolis,
Project 504 of Minneapolis, the Maine Lead Action Project, Cleveland Communities
Organized Against Lead, Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth, Group
14621 Community Association of Rochester, NY, California Communities Against
Toxics, the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry of Cleveland, and the Arc of the
United States.
Study
Reinforces Association Between Housing Disrepair and Pest Infestations
A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives
in July reinforces a previously identified association between housing disrepair
and pest infestations. The researchers involved in the study used a number of
indicators, including peeling paint, water damage, and presence of mold, to
judge whether the housing in the study was in disrepair. The scientists also
chose to examine housing conditions in a poor rural area where the majority
of residents are renters. Their results show that housing disrepair can lead
to infestations of rodents and cockroaches no matter where such homes are located.
The study found that cockroach, mouse, and rat infestations
were common in homes that were in states of disrepair. The probability of rodent
infestation increased with findings of peeling paint, water damage, and mold,
and the probability of cockroach infestation increased when peeling paint and
water damage were found. The researchers also found that housing disrepair and
its associated pest infestations were associated with an increased likelihood
of indoor use of pesticides, which can expose children and their families to
dangerous chemicals like chlorinated hydrocarbons and organophosphates.
Researchers found that while most of the participants in
the study frequently cleaned their homes, their ability to properly maintain
their homes was hindered by poor housing conditions caused by landlord inattention
to repairs and maintenance. They concluded that the rural poor live in inadequate
housing that is often not affordable, and that interventions to improve housing
quality are needed. The researchers also credit HUD’s Healthy Homes Initiative
with developing programs and projects to support the goal of providing low-cost
interventions and quality housing for all Americans, and they recommend that
agencies tracking Healthy People 2010 goals monitor distinct regions throughout
the country to ensure that the plight of vulnerable groups like the rural poor
are not overlooked. Overall, the scientists said that “efforts to improve
housing should be prioritized as a children’s health concern with substantial
opportunities for success.”
Senator Clinton
Introduces Two Healthy Homes Bills
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) introduced two healthy
homes bills in late July, the Family Asthma Act and the Home Lead Safety Tax
Credit Act.
The Family Asthma Act would provide money to researchers
to help patients manage their asthma, at the same time they examine the environmental
factors that contribute to this disease. The bill would direct funding in particular
to medically underserved communities, and it encourages researchers to collaborate
with local nonprofit organizations and schools to make the fight against asthma
a community-wide goal. The Act would also increase coordination between the
many government agencies and nonprofit organizations that are working on asthma,
asking for recommendations on ways that these groups can improve their response
to asthma, particularly in areas most affected by this disease.
The Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act would give incentives
to homeowners and landlords to engage in the safe removal of lead-based hazards
from their homes and rental units. This bill would also provide tax incentives
for interim control measures. Homeowners who completely remove lead-based hazards
would receive $3,000 in tax credit, while those who use control measures will
receive $1,000. For more information about the bills, visit http://thomas.loc.gov.
EPA Unveils
New Radon Strategy
The EPA unveiled a new, four-point strategy in late June,
designed to combat high radon levels in U.S. homes. In announcing the strategy,
EPA highlighted the progress that has already been made on radon, stating that
about 20 percent of the nation’s homes have been tested for radon, and
in 2003, about 515,000 of the more than 6 million homes estimated to have high
radon levels had been fixed. In addition, about 10 percent of the nation’s
new homes are built with radon-resistant features. However, according to EPA,
this is far from adequate action to protect Americans from radon. The Agency
said that it and its state and local partners must reinvigorate national attention
on radon with new energy and approaches. EPA will seek to foster new and substantial
action in the health, environmental, housing, and community planning sectors
to reach this goal.
EPA’s four-part radon strategy consists of: 1) building
new partnerships and increasing national outreach efforts through targeted grants,
running a public service announcement, and developing new strategies to ensure
that radon is addressed during all residential real estate transactions; 2)
growing the number of states, tribes, and local agencies with active and effective
radon programs; 3) accelerating market-based action to reduce radon levels in
residential buildings as a normal part of doing business; and 4) expanding scientific
knowledge and technologies to help reduce radon levels.
Rhode Island Advocates
Hang on to Most of Their State Lead Law
On July 1, lead poisoning prevention advocates in Rhode
Island reached a compromise with the state Legislature on a set of amendments
to the state’s Lead Mitigation Act that was originally enacted two years
ago, retaining most of the law’s key provisions despite a strong push
by opponents to gut the law. The law requires landlords to protect tenants and
their children from lead hazards by setting enforceable minimum housing standards
for most pre-1978 rental housing and requiring landlords to attend a lead awareness
class. Compliance with the housing standards entitles property owners to get
lead liability coverage as part of their homeowners insurance. Tax credits,
grants, and loans are made available to assist property owners with the costs
of compliance. The law also provides for training and technical assistance to
landlords.
The Rhode Island Apartment Owners Association vigorously
opposed the Act. They received support from Rep. Joseph Trillo, a Republican
from suburban Warwick who tried to create hysteria about the bill through community
meetings, op-ed pieces, and his own cable TV show. The Childhood Action Lead
Project staff reported that the first vote taken on an amendment offered by
Rep. Trillo that would have exempted most properties from the law “passed,”
until it was discovered that a Representative actually voted 3 times, casting
votes for two legislators who were not present.
The law, originally slated to go into effect in July 2004,
had already seen its effective date postponed until July 2005. The amendments
delay the effective date again until November 1, 2005, and they alter several
of the law’s provisions. Unsuccessful amendments pushed by landlord groups
would have greatly widened the classes of properties exempt from the law, attached
a “sunset” provision to the bill, substantially weakened penalties
for non-compliance, and pushed the effective date to July 1, 2006. Changes that
did pass include: exempting owner-occupied two and three-family properties,
senior housing, vacation rentals of 100 days or less, and condominium common
areas from the law; a compliance extension process for landlord financial hardship
and adverse weather conditions; lengthening the time for landlords to perform
repeat inspections from one year to every two years or upon tenant turnover,
whichever is longer; and elimination of mandatory prison sentences from the
menu of penalties for noncompliance.
For more information about Rhode Island’s lead poisoning
prevention law and related efforts, contact Roberta Aaronson at the Childhood
Lead Action Project, roberta@leadsafekids.org.
Research
Links Phthalates to Genital Changes in Baby Boys
On June 1, the online version of Environmental Health
Perspectives published a study conducted by researchers at the University
of Rochester in New York that examined the possible reproductive impacts of
a group of industrial chemicals called phthalates (pronounced tha-lates). The
scientists discovered that relatively low levels of the hormone-mimicking plasticizers
are associated with changes in the genitals of baby boys. This finding comes
on the heels of a 2004 study linking two specific phthalates to asthma (www.afhh.org/res/res_alert_archives_sept04.htm#asthmaphthalates).
The most recent study, the first to examine the effects
on fetuses from exposure to phthalates in the womb, found a strong association
between the chemicals and subtle changes in the size and anatomy of male infants’
genitalia. The findings were based on tests of 85 human mothers and their sons.
They found that mothers with the highest levels of phthalates in their systems
late in their pregnancies had babies with a cluster of genital alterations—boys
born to mothers of this group were four to ten times more likely to have genital
changes than boys with the lowest exposure levels.
The scientists said that they do not know if boys with
such genital changes will develop reproductive problems in the future, though
laboratory animals experiencing the same changes had lower sperm counts, infertility,
and testicular abnormalities when they matured. Reproductive health experts
said that even if such health impacts in humans are not yet clear, the anatomical
changes alone are distressing.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC), the chemical industry’s
trade and lobbying arm, claimed that the anatomical changes are not significant
and that the authors of the study reported no negative health affects associated
with phthalates. A spokesperson for the ACC asserted, “As of now, the
authors have yet to demonstrate that their data are solid, or that they are
meaningful.” Several scientists rebutted the ACC’s statement, saying
that the associations between phthalate exposure and genital changes “are
strikingly strong. Overall, this is a very important study.”
Phthalates are used in a wide variety of household goods,
including baby bottles, plastic wrap, food containers, soft plastic toys, and
almost all products made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The chemicals have also
been shown to accumulate in household dust, providing an easy pathway for inhalation
and ingestion, especially by children.
Report Identifies
Over 250 Chemicals in Umbilical Cord Blood of Newborns
In a report released in mid-July, the Environmental Working
Group (EWG) identified a total of 287 industrial chemicals, pollutants, and
other contaminants in the blood of the umbilical cords of ten newborn babies.
Of those compounds, EWG stated that 180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217
are toxic to the brain and nervous system of humans or animals, and 208 can
cause birth defects in humans and animals. Included among the chemicals were
seven high-toxicity pesticides, some of which have been illegal to use or produce
in the United States for over 30 years.
The cord blood analysis was the first of its kind to look
for such a wide variety of chemicals. EWG tested for over 400 chemicals, 261
of which had never been tested for in cord blood, and 209 of which had never
been detected in cord blood. Chemicals found in cord blood are of great importance,
because their presence means that the developing fetus was exposed to those
chemicals while in the womb.
Some of the chemicals found in umbilical cord blood include
mercury, a potent neurotoxin; polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which have been linked
to cancer; organochlorine pesticides like DDT, hexachlorobenzene, dieldrin,
and aldrin, all of which are known to cause cancer, interfere with reproductive
development, or both; and PBDE flame retardants, commonly found in household
dust and thought to adversely affect brain development and the thyroid.
In response to the study, the chemical industry complained
that EWG is overstating the significance of chemicals in cord blood. EWG countered
that assertion by saying, “If these children are being born with these
chemicals, we need to know they’re safe. We shouldn’t have to wait
until children are harmed to do something.”
EWG recommends that Congress significantly strengthen the
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to allow EPA to more stringently regulate
the more than 82,000 chemicals that exist in the TSCA database.
Research
Finds Relationship Between Household Income Levels and Indoor Air Pollutants
Research presented at Indoor Air 2002 and published in
the March 2005 issue of the Journal of Environmental Health shows a
connection between income level and the level of indoor air pollutants found
in the home. Scientists studying homes and childcare facilities in non-urbanized
counties in New York State found that high levels of lead dust, radon, carbon
monoxide, asbestos, and mold existed in some of the homes, and relationships
between some of those indoor air pollutants and income level were observed.
Generally, low-income households had significantly more problems with indoor
air contaminants than did middle- and high-income households.
The study found that low-income housing, whether owner-occupied
or rented, tends to be older and in a state of disrepair due to deferred maintenance
by the property owner. Common problems include chipping and peeling paint, deteriorating
asbestos, cracked foundations, and leaking combustion appliances and equipment
such as stoves, furnaces, and water heaters. The study also found that low-income
households, whether they own or rent their homes, generally do not have the
resources necessary to conduct or force repairs and maintenance needed to lower
indoor pollutant levels.
Low-cost intervention tools, low-interest loans, and grants
to low-income households and to landlords may be ways to help families avoid
indoor air problems. When the study was originally presented, the researchers
called for an extensive analysis of the benefits and costs to society of improving
housing conditions versus the costs of diseases caused by indoor air pollutants,
such as lead poisoning, asthma, and lung cancer. A recent study in Washington
State (see “Washington State
Research Shows Increased Health Care Costs from Toxins”)
could provide a model for such an analysis.
EPA Reopens
Comment Period on Environmental Justice Strategic Plan
On July 28, EPA issued a supplemental notice in the Federal
Register reopening the public comment period for the draft "Framework for
Integrating Environmental Justice" and "Environmental Justice Strategic
Plan Outline". Based on requests for more time to comment, the public comment
period has been reopened until August 15.
The Environmental Justice Strategic Plan is designed to
integrate environmental justice more fully into the Agency's programs and operations.
The Agency focuses attention on minority and low-income communities that are
disproportionately and adversely affected by environmental and human health
risks, in accordance with Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions to Address
Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations).
EPA
Seeking Comments on Proposed Pesticide Review Program
To ensure that pesticide registrations continue to meet
current health and safety standards, EPA is seeking public comment on a proposed
approach to review each existing pesticide registration every 15 years. This
new registration review program, mandated by the Food Quality Protection Act,
will begin in 2006 to ensure that "older" pesticides will still meet
the statutory standard of no unreasonable adverse effects.
Under the proposed process, the agency would assess any
changes that have occurred since the agency's last registration decision on
the pesticide. EPA would determine the significance of such changes and whether
additional restrictions are needed to ensure that the pesticide meets current
requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
Registration review will replace the reregistration and
tolerance reassessment programs which are nearing completion. As in those programs,
the registration review process would allow for substantial public participation,
but unlike those "one-time reassessment" programs, registration review
will reoccur for each pesticide every 15 years.
During the 90-day public comment period for this proposal,
the agency will also hold two public information meetings on the proposed rule.
The first session, on August 23, will be held in Arlington, VA (Washington,
DC metro area). The second session, scheduled for September 1, will be in Chicago.
All comments are due by October 11.
Pediatric
Environmental History Tools Available Online
The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation
(NEETF) has launched a new website for those in the pediatric health field.
Located at www.neetf.org/Health/PEHI.htm,
the site provides an online resource portal with environmental history tools
and an environmental history taking primer. Environmental history taking is
an important practice for pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners attempting
to discover potential risks for childhood lead poisoning, environmental sources
of asthma symptoms within the home and elsewhere, and potential exposure to
other indoor environmental hazards such as pesticides.
The Pediatric Environmental History Screening Form is a
one-page document designed to be administered by a pediatrician in less than
five minutes to capture most of the common environmental exposures to children.
It can easily be administered during well-child exams or to assess whether an
environmental exposure might be a contributing factor in a sick child’s
symptoms.
The Pediatric Environmental History Primer provides background
information on issues included in the screening form and recommendations that
health care providers can make to families seeking to control or eliminate hazards
in their homes.
The environmental history taking tools were developed as
part of NEETF’s Pediatric Environmental History Initiative, a multi-year
project seeking to incorporate environmental history taking into the clinical
practice of pediatricians and pediatric nurses. More information about the tools
and the Initiative are available from Rebecca Love, at love@neetf.org
or 202-261-6475.
New Community-Based
Participatory Research Resource Available
A new book, Community Research on Environmental Health:
Studies in Science, Advocacy and Ethics, is now available to researchers, community-based
organizations, and others interested in community-based participatory research
(CBPR) in environmental health.
The editors of the book relate the experiences of
several community environmental health research collaborations across the United
States and highlight lessons to be learned for those who are going to be involved
in environmental health CBPR in the future. The book includes a case study on
asthma and housing conditions and an entire section on housing and health. For
more information or to purchase a copy of the book, visit www.ashgate.com.
Funding Opportunities
EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP),
in coordination with the EPA Regional Offices, is soliciting applications for
projects that further the goals of the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program
(PESP). Eligible applicants include the 50 states, the District of Columbia,
any agency of a state including state universities, and all federally recognized
tribes. Under this program, EPA will provide financial support to eligible applicants
to carry out projects that reduce the risks associated with pesticide use in
agricultural and non-agricultural settings.
EPA specifically seeks to build integrated pest management
(IPM) capacities or to evaluate the feasibility of new IPM approaches at the
local level (i.e., innovative approaches and methodologies that use application
or other strategies to reduce the risks associated with pesticide use).
Some examples of possible projects include: developing
and utilizing measures to determine and document progress in pesticide risk
reduction; investigating methods for establishing IPM as an environmental management
priority and integrating the ethic within both governmental and non-governmental
institutions of the state or region; initiating projects that test and support
innovative techniques for reducing pesticide risk or using pesticides in a way
to reduce risk, and innovative application techniques to reduce worker and environmental
exposure; and conducting projects focusing on IPM for specific pests.
The total amount of funding available for is expected to
be approximately $470,000, with a maximum funding level of $47,000 per project.
Applications are due August 15. For more information, see www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-PEST/2005/June/Day-30/p12923.htm.
Upcoming Conferences
On September 17, California Chapter 1 of the American Academy
of Pediatrics is hosting its annual winter postgraduate course entitled "Children's
Health and the Environment, 2005" at the UCSF-Laurel Heights Conference
Center in San Francisco. The conference will include discussions of environmental
influences on asthma, helping children avoid environmental health hazards, and
identifying environmental health hazards in children’s homes. Physicians
and nurses attending this course may earn CME credit. For more information,
see www.aapca1.org.
The Philadelphia area will host the Mid-Atlantic Conference
on Eliminating Childhood Lead Poisoning and Combating Indoor Environmental Hazards,
September 28-29. The conference will consist of two tracks, one focused on prevention
of childhood lead poisoning, the other on addressing other indoor environmental
health hazards including mold. For more information on the program tracks and
other conference details, visit www.leadmoldconferences.com.
The Conference on Children’s Health and the Environment
will be held in Baltimore on October 1. The conference is sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic
Center for Children’s Health and the Environment, the Maryland Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene, and EPA Region 3. It will cover emerging issues
in children’s environmental health, asthma, mold issues, outcomes of environmental
exposures, and risk communication strategies. Periodically check www.gwu.edu/~macche/events.html
for more details, or contact Aurora Amoah at 202-994-1166, toll-free at 1-866-622-2431,
or E-mail at eohaoa@gwumc.edu.
The Environmental Health and Child Development Conference
will be held in Ann Arbor, MI, November 3 at the University of Michigan—Ann
Arbor (Rackham Graduate School). The conference will focus on preventing toxic
threats to child neurological development in Michigan. Special emphasis will
be placed on heavy metals and their effects and persistent organic compounds
such as pesticides. It is co-sponsored by the American Association of Mental
Retardation, Michigan Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics, Ecology Center
of Ann Arbor, Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, Michigan
State Medical Society, and the Center for Children's Health and Environment.
For more information, contact Lauren Zajac, MPH, at the Ecology Center of Ann
Arbor, lauren@ecocenter.org.
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