- Welcome
- September 15 - CHE Partnership Call - Body Burden: The Pollution in Us -- A Conversation on Biomonitoring
- CHE Working/Discussion/Regional Group Updates
- Tools and Announcements for CHE Partners
- CHE Science News
- Welcome to New CHE Partners
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1. Welcome
Dear CHE Partners and Friends:
The summer of 2005 may well be remembered as the tipping point in the national debate over endocrine disrupting chemicals. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association and a series of excellent reports by Peter Waldman in The Wall Street Journal provided balanced accounts of the threats of these chemicals to public health in media venues that are difficult to ignore. See CHE Science News below for access to these articles.
A second widely discussed environmental health issue this summer was the threat of an avian flu pandemic. The July/August issue of Foreign Affairs, now on newsstands, featured four lead articles related to the prospect of a flu pandemic, two by the brilliant public health writer Laurie Garrett, author of The Coming Plague and Betrayal of Trust. Garrett writes: "Scientists have long forecast the appearance of an influenza virus capable of infecting 40 percent of the world's human population and killing unimaginable numbers. Recently, a new strain, H5N1 avian influenza, has shown all the earmarks of becoming that disease." She argues avian flu is "far more dangerous" than the 1918 Spanish flu that killed 50 million people in 18 months. See CHE Science News below for access to these articles.
Michael Osterholm of the Department of Homeland Defense's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy explores the potential consequences of such a pandemic and the measures needed to reduce the risk. In "The Human Animal Link," William Karesh and Robert Cook, senior veterinarians at the Wildlife Conservation Society make a brilliant case that we live in a time of "one world, one health." Their contribution is to introduce the core concepts of environmental health to the foreign policy establishment. In an effort coordinated Royal Institution World Science Assembly, Nature magazine is providing further coverage of the scientific and medical aspects of the avian virus. For details see: http://www.nature.com/index.html.
Unquestionably infectious disease threats and environmental contaminant threats are both moving upward in public debate. The G-8 Conference in Scotland put a similar spotlight on poverty and climate change. These four issues -- poverty, climate change, infectious disease threats and chemical contaminants -- are among the most central issues in environmental health. It may not be too much to claim that events of the past few months have raised public awareness of some of the most significant environmental health threats to the highest level in recent history.
An environmental health issue that receives far too little attention, by contrast, is the potential health threats of electromagnetic fields. One of the best Partner dialogues in CHE this summer is happening in CHE-EMF, CHE’s Discussion Group on Electromagnetic Fields. Led by Founding CHE Partner Nancy Evans of The Breast Cancer Fund, CHE-EMF demonstrates that sometimes small size can be an advantage. With just a few dozen CHE Partners, CHE-EMF is engaged in a very high quality science and policy dialogue on cell-phones, cell towers, and wired areas where computers do not need a physical connection. If you want to join the dialogue, or simply listen, contact Nancy Evans at: Nancywrite@aol.com.
CHE’s new Working Group on Parkinson’s Disease and the Environment, CHE-PD, was founded in July at the 3rd Annual Young-Onset Parkinson Network Conference in Phoenix. Presentations from this conference are available via an archived webcast (registration required). CHE-PD is being coordinated by Jackie Hunt Christensen, a founding CHE Partner and past Chair of the YOPN (Young-Onset Parkinson Network) who herself is living with Young Onset Parkinson Disease. The Group may expand over time to include Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, and Alzheimer’s Disease. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Jackie Hunt Christensen at: jackiehc@gmail.com. CHE now has Working Groups on Learning and Developmental Disabilities, Cancer, Asthma, Fertility and Early Pregnancy Compromise, Parkinson's Disease, and EMF. For more information about these groups click on Working Groups at the top of this page.
Thanks to all CHE Partners for your interest in and commitment to CHE. We welcome your thoughts and comments. I would also like to extend a special welcome to the new CHE Partners. You have joined a safe place for informed dialogue on how environmental contaminants and other environmental stressors affect human and ecosystem health. Science, civility and collaboration are CHE's three watchwords. We are deeply committed to the progress of the revolution in environmental health sciences. We are equally committed to civility in CHE Partner dialogues. And we encourage collaboration among CHE Partners, especially in the Working Groups and Regional CHE Partnerships, where some of CHE's best work is done.
Michael Lerner
CHE Partner
2. September 15 - CHE Partnership Call - Body Burden: The Pollution in Us -- A Conversation on Biomonitoring
Please join us on Thursday, September 15th 9:00 a.m. Pacific / 12:00 noon Eastern Time for the next CHE Partnership Call, Body Burden: The Pollution in Us -- A Conversation on Biomonitoring.
Confirmed speakers include:
* Ms. Sharyle Patton, Director, Biomonitoring Resource Center at Commonweal
* Mr. Ken Cook, Executive Director, Environmental Working Group
Additional speakers will be announced in the near future.
We will be sending more information and dial-in instructions within the next few weeks. We look forward to your participation. If you would like to join this call, please RSVP to Frieda Nixdorf at: info@healthandenvironment.org.
3. CHE Working/Discussion/Regional Group Updates
CHE Working Group on Parkinson's Disease and the Environment (CHE-PD)
The goals of CHE’s new Working Group on Parkinson's Disease and the Environment (CHE-PD) are to explore potential links between this neurodegenerative disease and contaminants or environmental exposures that may cause it; provide a discussion forum that is conducive to the interaction of researchers, health care providers, community groups and people affected by PD; translate research and policy recommendations into accessible language for the broader community; and explore opportunities for collaboration to strengthen research on health promotion and disease prevention in PD. The CHE-PD conference calls and listserv will focus on those goals. At some point in the future, this group may expand its focus to include other movement disorders as well. For more information, or to participate in CHE-PD, contact Jackie Hunt Christensen at: Jackiehc@gmail.com.
Cancer Working Group (CHE Cancer)
The next CHE Cancer Working Group call, “Exploring Fetal Origins of Cancer,” will be September 13th at 9:00 Pacific/12:00 noon Eastern. The call will focus on a research project being undertaken by Theo Colborn, Ph.D and colleagues at TEDX (The Endocrine Disruption Exchange) in which a literature search for evidence that some postnatal cancers may be determined prior to birth has been conducted. Scientists in CHE’s Cancer Working Group have been reviewing this document for the past six months. It is now a completed database that documents research on the fetal origins of cancer and includes a system analysis, exposure patterns and a list of key abstracts. Speakers include Theo Colborn, Ph.D., Mary Bachran and Pete Myers, Ph.D. Please RSVP to Jeanette Swafford at: Jeanette@healthandenvironment.org if you would like to join this call.
Discussion Group on Asthma and the Environment (CHE Asthma)
CHE Asthma will have its next call on September 28th at 9:00 a.m. Pacific/12:00 noon Eastern. We will continue our discussion of barriers to implementing effective programs. Funding will be the topic of our September call, including issues and opportunities with foundation and government soft money support. We will also discuss strategies for integrating environmental interventions into existing structures for financing. Please RSVP to Jeanette Swafford at: Jeanette@healthandenvironment.org if you would like to join this call.
4. Tools and Announcements for CHE Partners
Addiction and Chemical Intolerance: A Shared Etiology? September 19-20, 2005
At this conference NIEHS and NIAAA will bring together leading researchers to compare and contrast what is known in the fields of chemical intolerance and addiction and explore a new disease mechanism referred to as “Toxicant-induced loss of tolerance” (TILT). This conference will explore TILT’s origins, its relationship to addiction, the clinical parallels between addiction and chemical intolerance, new animal models, genetic polymorphisms, and neuroimaging studies that are underway in this rapidly emerging area. For more information visit: http://www-apps.niehs.nih.gov/conferences/od/aci/.
A Small Dose of Toxicology: The Health Effects of Common Chemicals
Make better decisions about your health and the health of your family with the information found in "A Small Dose Of Toxicology," by Steven G. Gilbert. Learn about caffeine, alcohol, lead, mercury, pesticides and other common chemicals in an easily accessible way. This book is aimed at a broad audience from undergraduates to the general public interested in learning more about the chemicals in their daily lives. Additional information including extensive references and PowerPoint presentations are available at: http://www.asmalldoseof.org/.
5. CHE Science News
With Sales Plummeting, Tuna Strikes Back
New York Times, 19 August 2005, Melanie Warner
For much of the last three decades, canned tuna fish has been America's favorite seafood and a trusted staple of children's lunches. Those days, however, are over.
Manufacturing Science
Living On Earth, 5 August 2005, Jeff Young
A public health scientist suggests that much of the squabbling over scientific certainty in public policy debates about the environment is the result of a concerted strategy by those who want to avoid government regulation. It's a strategy to manufacture doubt, using techniques pioneered by the tobacco industry.
Removing Pharmaceuticals, Hormones, and Cosmetics from Tap Water
Environmental Science and Technology, 4 August 2005, Paul D. Thacker
Forget well-known toxics such as pesticides and industrial chemicals: Scientists are now focusing their energies on common household chemicals and medicines that are not regulated by the U.S. EPA but still come trickling out of your kitchen tap.
Are Our Products Our Enemy?
USA Today, 2 August 2005, Elizabeth Weise
You can't see endocrine mimicking molecules. There's no way to tell from a product label whether they've been used. They may do little harm to adults, but evidence mounts that they can wreak havoc in the development of fetuses and children.
Mercury and Tuna: U.S. Advice Leaves Lots of Questions
Wall Street Journal, 1 August 2005
The FDA had known for many years that canned tuna contained mercury, which studies link to learning impairment in children. It wasn't until March 2004, after regulator tussles, that an advisory cited mercury. But those limits may exceed safe levels too.
Probable Cause
Foreign Affairs, July/August 2005, Laurie Garrett
Since it first emerged in 1997, avian influenza has become deadlier and more resilient. It has infected 109 people and killed 59 of them. If the virus becomes capable of human-to-human transmission and retains its extraordinary potency, humanity could face a pandemic unlike any ever witnessed.
The Human-Animal Link
Foreign Affairs, July/August 2005, William B. Karesh and Robert A. Cook
Recent outbreaks of avian flu, SARS, the Ebola virus, and mad cow disease wreaked havoc on global trade and transport. They also all originated in animals. Humanity today is acutely vulnerable to diseases that start off in other species, yet our health care remains dangerously blinkered. It is time for a new, global approach.
Preparing for the Next Pandemic
Foreign Affairs, July/August 2005, Michael T. Osterholm
If an influenza pandemic struck today, borders would close, the global economy would shut down, international vaccine supplies and health-care systems would be overwhelmed, and panic would reign. To limit the fallout, the industrialized world must create a detailed response strategy involving the public and private sectors.
The Body Chemistry of America
On Point Radio, 27 July 2005
Not so long ago, Americans lived in a world of steel, glass and wood and knew where their food came from. Today, we're surrounded by plastics, pesticides and other industrial chemicals that make their way into our bloodstream and bodies.
'Is My Baby a Boy? Is it a Girl?' No One Could Tell Me
London Times, 26 July 2005, Steve Boggan
The number of male babies born with reproductive disorders is rising rapidly, and some scientists blame a group of chemicals that are around us.
Toxic Waste
Newsweek, 26 July 2005, Martha Brant
New research reveals that children--and even newborns--have dangerous chemicals in their blood. What parents can do to protect their kids. Doctors once thought that the placenta would shield a fetus from harmful chemicals and pollutants.
Common Industrial Chemicals in Tiny Doses Raise Health Issues
Wall Street Journal, 25 July 2005, Peter Waldman
For years, scientists have struggled to explain rising rates of some cancers and childhood brain disorders. Something about modern living has driven a steady rise of certain maladies, from breast and prostate cancer to autism and learning disabilities. A growing body of animal research suggests one culprit may be minute traces of some chemicals, which affect processes like gene activation and brain development of newborns.
EU Commission Weighs Environment against Industry
Planet Ark, 20 July 2005, Jeff Mason
The executive European Commission will lock horns on tough environmental health questions on Wednesday in what activists are calling a make-or-break moment for the future of EU environmental policy.
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Probed as Potential Pathways to Illness
Journal of the American Medical Association, 20 July 2005
Accumulating evidence that some widely used chemicals may have hormonelike effects on the body is heightening concerns about their potential long-term health risks, particularly when developing fetuses and neonates are exposed.
6. Welcome to New CHE Partners
Welcome to the new CHE Partners who joined since the last newsletter.
Organizations:
American Lung Association of Alaska, Anchorage, AK
California Chapter 1, American Academy of Pediatrics, San Rafael, CA
Consumers for Dental Choice, Wynnewood, PA
Mutual Wellness Holistic Health Cooperative, Tempe, AZ
PA Coalition for Mercury Free Dentistry, Wynnewood, PA
The Environmental Community / One Earth, One Mission, Grapevine, TX
Individuals:
Emily Arell, Organizer, Green Corps, Littleton, CO
David Backstrom, MPA, Advisor, Environment Canada, Pollution Data Branch, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Teresina Bailey, M.S., Sewickley, PA
Avi Blau, M.Sc., Project Manager, Foundations' Partnership for Environmental and Public Health, Ramat Gan, Israel
Arlene Blum, Ph.D., Berkeley, CA
Michele Borgialli, M.P.H., M.S.W., Program Specialist, Michigan Department of Community Health, Lead Hazard Remediation Program, Lansing, MI
Nancy Bradshaw, Community Outreach Coordinator, Environmental Health Clinic, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Chris Brown, Colorado Springs, CO
Rebecca Brown, MPH, MEM, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Cheryl Bullard, Program Administrator, Statewide Nebraska Asthma Program, Lincoln, NE
Dawn Buxbaum, BSN, Swampscott, MA
Enrique Eduardo Celi, Architect, Building & Environment Advisor, Estudio Corinto, Atlantida, Uruguay
Kathryn Dowling, Ph.D., MPH, Staff Toxicologist, California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Oakland, CA
Martha Escudero, South Gate, CA
Judy Frabotta, Centre for Integral Economics, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Jeanne Galloway, M.P.A., Chairperson, Northern New England Environmental Health Association, Manchester, NH
Marne Glaser, M.A., School Psychologist, EMR Network, and SC4 of the IEEE's International Committee on Electromagnetic Radiation, Chicago, IL
Carol Hansen Grey, Technology Director, Health Medicine Forum, Lafayette, CA
Diane Hejna, RN, MS, MBA, Director, Ecology Program, St. Joseph Health System, Orange, CA
Betty Holmes, Cedar Rapids, IA
Jen Hult, University of California, San Francisco, CA
Olivier Humblet, M.S., Graduate Student, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Ashley Iwanaga, San Francisco, CA
Katharine Juul, Albuquerque, NM
Jan Kane, R.N., M.A., Alpena Regional Medical Center, Alpena, MI
Amy Kelsey, MPH, Epi Specialist, Missouri Asthma Prevention and Control Program, Jefferson City, MO
Susan Lacombe, BSN, PHN, Asthma Project Manager, Los Angeles Unified School District Nursing Services, Los Angeles, CA
Lodie Lambright, MPA, Program Manager, Asthma Control Program, Rhode Island Department of Health, Providence, RI
Susan Leary, J.D., Alexandria, VA
Luise Light, M.S., Ed.D., Nutrition Consultant, Bellows Falls, VT
David B. Linder, Maple Plain, MN
Tricia Low, Glendale, CA
Melissa Mahar, ND, Naturopathic Physician, Portland, OR
Jayne Mardock, MTS, American Lung Association, Washington, DC
Stephanie Moen, CAFA - Project Director, Tulare County Asthma Coalition, Tulare, CA
Donna Morton, Executive Director, Centre for Integral Economics, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Mary D. Nugent, Grosse Pointe, MI
Mike O'Leary, Phoenix, AZ
Susan Palmer, Mesa, AZ
Mayur Pankhania, MBBS, Doctor, New Medical Boys Hostel, Baroda, Gujrat, India
Zane Parker, Research Director, Centre for Integral Economics, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Yogesh Patel, Concord, NC
Robi Quackenbush, CNM, MSN, Family Health Care Network, Porterville, CA
Carin Reck, Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP), Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Family and Community Health, Lansing, MI
Richard G. Robb, Trustee, Park Foundation, Ithaca, NY
Maya Sadeh, M.Sc., Yad Hanadiv, Beer Sheva, Israel
Michele Schutt, South Gate, CA
Derek Shendell, D.Env., MPH, Director, CA State Projects Office, and Sciences Consultant, Community Action to Fight Asthma, Berkeley, CA
Matt Sluder, Nicasio, CA
Philip Smoker, Birmingham, MI
Yvon Trepanier, Victoria Epilepsy & Parkinson's Centre, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Chad Varney, Green Cove Springs, FL
Mariel Wallace, R.N., Cleveland, OH
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