- September and October CHE Partnership Calls
- Resources from Past CHE Partnership Calls
- Tools, Announcements and Resources for CHE Partners
- CHE Science News Headlines
- New CHE Partners
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Dear CHE Partners and Friends:
Like it or not, we live in a media-driven world. Those of us who work and read in the scientific and health fields take notice when a notable study appears in a prestigious journal, but most people do not. Thus - again, like it or not - when an important article on environmental health appears in a mainstream publication, it may well become a bigger "real world" event than if that same piece appeared in say, Science or the New England Journal of Medicine. And so we at CHE would like to alert you to a cover story in the August issue of Vogue magazine titled "An Inconceivable Truth: The Link Between Infertility and the Environment."
This article, by Robert Sullivan, outlines the scientific and human side of this issue, which was comprehensively explored at our landmark conference in San Francisco last February. Many CHE Partners are quoted, including Theo Colborn, Sarah Janssen, Shanna Swan, Linda Giudice, Fred Vom Saal, Carolyn Raffensperger and Charlotte Brody. While some readers may have concerns with some aspects of the article, it undeniably marks a heightened profile for the kind of issues CHE Partners are concerned about - and among a broad target audience, American women. It remains to be seen how many will take both personal and "political" action to reduce exposures to the chemicals detailed in the piece. In any event, we encourage you to read it - on your local newsstands now or at: www.safecosmetics.org.
Although we are in the middle of the traditionally quieter summer season, there is much going on among CHE circles, so do please read on about our next Partnership calls, various resources newly developed and published and recent news of note. We wish you all a good summer.
Steve Heilig, MPH
Director of Public Health and Education
San Francisco Medical Society and CHE
September and October CHE Partnership Calls
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1. September and October CHE Partnership Calls
SAVE THE DATES for upcoming CHE Partnership Calls - Tuesday, September 11 on the Faroes Island Consensus Statement and Thursday, October 11 on Nanotechnology and Medicine. These calls will last one hour and will be recorded for documentation purposes.
- Join us on Tuesday, September 11 at 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern for a discussion about the Faroes Statement: Human Health Effects of Developmental Exposure to Environmental Toxicants, a consensus statement on the importance of fetal exposures for adult health. The statement was recently issued by the International Conference on Fetal Programming and Developmental Toxicity at a conference in Torshavn, Faroe Islands that took place in May of 2007.
Our featured presenter will be Dr. Philippe Grandjean, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health. The moderator of this call will be Steve Heilig, MPH, Director of Public Health & Education, San Francisco Medical Society and Collaborative on Health and the Environment. We will hear a science update from Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, Science Director, Science and Environmental Health Network.
- Join us on Thursday, October 11 at 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern for a discussion about the health risks, medical applications and policy issues associated with nanotechnology. This call is co-sponsored by Health Care Without Harm.
Featured Presenters:
- Dr. John Balbus, Director of Health Programs, Environmental Defense
- Jaydee Hanson, Policy Director, International Center for Technology Assessment
- Ian Illuminato, Health and Environment Campaigner, Friends of the Earth
The moderator of this call will be Steve Heilig, MPH, Director of Public Health & Education, San Francisco Medical Society and Collaborative on Health and the Environment, and we will hear a science update from Jennifer Sass, PhD, Senior Scientist, Health and Environment, Natural Resources Defense Council.
For more information about these calls, visit: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/articles/partnership_calls/.
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2. Resources from the July CHE Partnership Calls
Resources from the July CHE Partnerships Calls, New Approaches to Toxicity Testing: The New National Academy of Sciences Report and Health, Food and Farm Policy: The Farm Bill and Beyond are now available on the CHE website at: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/articles/partnership_calls/.
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3. Tools, Announcements and Resources for CHE Partners
New Health and Environment Bulletin from CHE-Alaska
CHE-Alaska has published a peer-reviewed Health and Environment Bulletin for Health Care Providers on Reproductive Health and the Environment (Spring 2007) that is available at: www.akaction.org.
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New WHO Report Tackles Children's Environmental Health
A new report by the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) says that environmental hazards are responsible for the deaths of several million children every year. The report, titled Principles for Evaluating Health Risks in Children Associated with Exposure to Chemicals, highlights the fact that in children, the stage in their development when exposure occurs may be just as important as the magnitude of the exposure. The report can be found at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2007/np27/en/index.html.
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Countries Support WHO Children's Environment and Health Action Plan to 2009 and Beyond
Environmental health, especially children's health, was high on the European political agenda in June. Health and environment ministers and stakeholders met in Vienna to assess progress within the Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE). This was an important opportunity for non-governmental organizations to show-case some of their projects and activities to improve children's environmental health across Europe. But it was also an opportunity to flag a number of concerns and problematic areas that still need to be tackled by national governments and the EU when adopting and implementing legislation, namely:
- Children's vulnerability, particularly during the prenatal stage
- Need for more inter sectoral cooperation
- Environmental health inequalities
Read an extensive report on the Vienna events on the Health & Environment Alliance website: http://www.env-health.org/r/82.
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Pangea 2007 - A conference for the Future of Pediatric Wellness
Sponsored by the Integrative Pediatrics Council and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the UCSF Department of Pediatrics and the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, the Pangea 2007 conference provides a forum for presentation and intentional dialog about leading topics in pediatric integrative medicine. The two-day program will be held this year in San Francisco, CA on October 25th and 26th. Topics include environmental health, neurodevelopmental disorders, atopic conditions, and vaccines. For more information and to register, go to: http://www.pangeaconference.com/.
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Making the Case for Environmental Justice in Central and Eastern Europe: A New Report by HEAL and CEPL
The Health & Environment Alliance and the Center for Environmental Policy and Law (CEPL), a HEAL member, have launched a new report entitled "Making the Case for Environmental Justice in Central and Eastern Europe" accompanied by a brochure on "Environmental Justice: Listening to Women and Children." The report provides sound support for the assertion that poor and ethnically marginalized people in Central and Eastern Europe, especially women and children, are more exposed to environmental hazards than majority populations. They are also more likely to lack access to water, seweage and other environmental benefits. This situation is further exacerbated by inadequate access to health care. Case studies describe the death of a two year-old from lead poisoning, high rates of birth abnormalities, and an ominously quick succession of child deaths from cancer attributed to the environmental conditions in which they live. More information and electronic version of the report: http://www.env-health.org/a/2571.
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New Report on Toxic Chemicals in Cleaning Products Released by Women's Voices for the Earth (WVE)
Household Hazards: Potential Hazards of Home Cleaning Products is a new report by WVE, a national women's environmental health and justice group based in Montana, which examines 5 types of chemicals commonly found in household cleaners. These five chemicals are especially of concern to women and children, as they are linked to increases in either asthma or reproductive harm (such as birth defects or fertility problems). The report draws from over 75 scientific studies and reports highlighting the links between these chemicals and health impacts. The report can be found at: http://www.womenandenvironment.org.
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Chemicals Compromising Our Children: A New Briefing by the Health & Environment Alliance and CHEM Trust
A briefing entitled "Chemicals Compromising Our Children" has been prepared by HEAL as part of their Chemicals Health Monitor project (www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org). The briefing summarizes the main adverse effects of chemical exposure on children's health - and particularly on their developing brains at fetal stage, and their cost implications in EU terms. A PDF of the briefing can be downloaded here: http://www.env-health.org/IMG/pdf/18June07_final_Briefneuro_for_EU.pdf.
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New Green Chemistry Fact Sheets -- Why We Need Green Chemistry? and Why Promote Green Chemistry?
Chemistry has improved our quality of life, and made thousands of products possible. Unfortunately, this achievement has come at a price: our collective human health and the global environment are threatened. Green chemistry is an approach to the design, manufacture and use of chemical products to intentionally reduce or eliminate chemical hazards. The goal of green chemistry is to create better, safer chemicals while choosing the safest, most efficient ways to synthesize them and to reduce wastes. To download the fact sheets, visit: http://www.cleanproduction.org/Home.php. For more information, contact: Bev@CleanProduction.org.
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New Book by CHE Partner, Phil Brown
Toxic Exposures: Contested Illnesses and the Environmental Health Movement, focuses specifically on breast cancer, asthma, and Gulf War-related health conditions - "contested illnesses" that have generated intense debate in the medical and political communities. Phil Brown shows how these concerns have launched an environmental health movement that has revolutionized scientific thinking and policy. For more information, visit: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/catalog/data/978023112/9780231129480.HTM.
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New Book by CHE Partners, Liz Armstrong, Guy Dauncey, and Anne Wordsworth
Cancer: 101 Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic offers solid evidence that many cancers are preventable, since their causes lie with the contamination of our bodies by pollution from the air we breathe, the products we use, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Each solution shows what individuals and families can do to reduce their risk of cancer, and then moves to solutions for community activists, healthcare workers, labor unions, cities, businesses, governments, and developing nations. For more information, visit: http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/3950.
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North Carolina Community-Based Environmental Justice Summit - Call for Research Presentations - September 7 Deadline
North Carolina's 9th Annual Community-Based Environmental Justice Summit will be held October 19-20, 2007 at the Historic Franklinton Center at Bricks, Edgecombe County, NC. Community members, government officials, environmentalists, students and researchers will participate. The Summit seeks to raise public awareness about environmental justice; connect communities in need with technical resources; support and encourage community-driven research; help communities and policy makers address problems of environmental injustice; and, bring about positive changes in public health and the environment by promoting social and environmental justice. For more information, contact Steve Wing at: steve_wing@unc.edu.
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New on the CHE Website: Add Your Announcements and Events to the CHE Website!
Do you have an environmental health announcement or event that you would like to announce? Now you can add both to the CHE website at: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/.
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DVDs of the CHE National Conference, Environmental Public Health: Science, Medicine, Prevention And Policy are Now Available
We are pleased to offer a limited number of DVDs from the October 2006 CHE National Conference titled, Environmental Public Health: Science, Medicine, Prevention And Policy. Each DVD set (the conference spans three DVDs) is available at cost for $15 (including shipping) and features all of the conference presentations. For more information and to place an order, visit: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/articles/announcements/1045.
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4. CHE Science News Headlines
Most of these articles have been gleaned from Above the Fold.
Report on Chemical's Safety Called Biased
USA Today, Liz Szabo, 7 August 2007
A government report on the safety of a controversial ingredient in plastic is biased toward the chemical industry and downplays potential risks to the public, according to scientists and environmentalists who spoke at a hearing Monday. Continue reading...
Draft EPA 2007 Report on the Environment
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 3 August 2007
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the release of the draft U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2007 Report on the Environment: Highlights of National Trends (ROE HD), which is now available for public review and comment. Continue reading...
Change on Pollution Data Meets Resistance
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Scott Streater, 1 August 2007
Congress has taken the first steps toward blocking a Bush administration policy that many say will make it difficult for residents and public health officials to track industrial pollution. Continue reading...
Environmental Connections: A Deeper Look into Mental Illness
Environmental Health Perspectives, Charles W. Schmidt, 1 August 2007
Mental illnesses produce some of the most challenging health problems faced by society. Now, thanks to a growing union of epidemiology and molecular biology, the role of the environment in the etiology of mental illness has become more clear. Continue reading...
Study: Early Life Exposures Impact Breast Cancer Risk Decades Later
Oakland Tribune, Douglas Fischer, 1 August 2007
A breakthrough study of Oakland women suggests exposure early in life to DDT significantly increases a woman's chances of developing breast cancer decades later. The research makes it clear that the final chapter of DDT's legacy is not yet written. Continue reading...
Unsafe Levels of Chemical Leaching into Drinks, US Panel Says
Toronto Globe and Mail, Martin Mittelstaedt, 1 August 2007
The chemical industry has long insisted that bisphenol A levels in people are so low as to not be a concern. But a new assessment has found the estrogen-like chemical used to make plastic is present in humans at levels similar to those shown to be harmful in animal experiments. Continue reading...
Study Suggests Link Between Pesticides, Autism
Los Angeles Times, Marla Cone, 30 July 2007
Women who live near California farm fields sprayed with organochlorine pesticides may be more likely to give birth to children with autism, according to a study by state health officials to be published today. Continue reading...
New Science: DDT and Breast Cancer in Young Women
Environmental Health News, Synopsis by Pete Myers, 30 July 2007
Women exposed to relatively high levels of DDT prior to mid-adolescence are 5 times more likely to develop breast cancer later in life than women with lower exposures. But exposure after adolescence does not increase risk. Continue reading...
Violence is in the Air, Some Say
Riverside Press-Enterprise, Matthew Sawyer, 29 July 2007
Manganese, an essential nutrient long suspected of causing violent behavior in high doses and long the focus of research into violent behavior, is once again getting the Legislature's attention. Continue reading...
High Mercury Levels Found in One-Fourth of Adults
New York Times, Diane Cardwell, 24 July 2007
One-quarter of adult New Yorkers, roughly 1.4 million people, have elevated levels of mercury in their blood, mainly from eating certain fish, according to survey results released yesterday by the city. Continue reading (registration required)...
Hazard Warning on Home Cleaners
San Francisco Chronicle, Jane Kay, 24 July 2007
Dozens of common household cleaning products contain hidden toxic chemicals linked to fertility disorders in lab animals, according to data gathered by a women's research group. Continue reading...
Bylaws to Curtail Pesticide Use Provoke Pitched Battles
Toronto Globe and Mail, Joanna Smith, 23 July 2007
There are now more than 125 municipalities across Canada - including the entire province of Quebec - that have adopted or drafted some form of anti-pesticide bylaw. But the question of whether to ban pesticides remains hotly contested. Continue reading...
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5. New CHE Partners
We welcome the many new CHE Partners who have joined since the last newsletter. To see the New CHE Partners and the growing list of all CHE Partners, please visit: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/base/partners-recent.
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Thank you for taking the time to read the latest about CHE. As always, we welcome your feedback, suggestions or questions. Please direct them to Eleni Sotos, CHE Program Director, at: Eleni@HealthandEnvironment.org.
Best wishes,
Eleni Sotos, MA, Program Director
and
Frieda Nixdorf, MA, Administrative Specialist
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