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Raquel Sanchez knows what it’s like to work day after day under the sweltering sun. Originally from Michoacán, Mexico, Sanchez spent her first seven years in the United States picking grapes, cherries and tomatoes for some of the largest growers in California’s Central Valley.

“I saw many of my coworkers get sick because of the heat,” she said, including one coworker who was so seriously affected that Sanchez had to perform first aid on her. “I always protected myself and tried to help my coworkers.”

When outdoor temperatures climb, workers who harvest food, build homes, deliver mail, tend gardens, or distribute goods may suffer serious health consequences. According to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, nationwide exposure to environmental heat led to 37 work-related deaths and an estimated 2,830 injuries and illnesses that forced people to miss work in 2015, the latest year for which these statistics are available. And as climate change brings more frequent and severe heat events, the risks for people who work outdoors are only expected to increase.

So when Sanchez, who now works as a community health promoter with Campesinas Unidas del Valle de San Joaquin, heard that she could attend a class sponsored by UCLA’s Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program, which goes by UCLA-LOSH, to learn to teach others to prevent heat illness, she jumped at the chance to participate.

In response to several heat-related deaths among California agricultural workers and pressure from worker advocates, California enacted a standard in 2006 to prevent heat illness among outdoor workers. The regulation requires employers to provide drinking water, breaks, shaded cool-down areas and other resources, with additional requirements when temperatures exceed 95 degrees. Only two other states offer similar protections. (A campaign is currently underway to advance a heat illness prevention standard at the national level.) 

“This training initiative was a response to the continuing need for community-level education and capacity building to ensure workers have adequate heat protections,” said Linda Delp, director of UCLA-LOSH and adjunct associate professor in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

Part of UCLA’s Center for Occupational and Environmental Health and its Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, UCLA-LOSH is well-qualified to lead these efforts. The program has served as a safety and health resource for California workers since 1978, and it participated in a statewide heat illness prevention initiative from 2010–12, sponsored by the California Department of Industrial Relations.

This summer’s courses, funded by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Worker Training Program and the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation, were designed as training-of-trainers for community health promoters and worker-leaders like Sanchez. UCLA-LOSH staff partnered with colleagues at the UC Berkeley Labor Occupational Health Program and with local community-based organizations to host four day-long training sessions in Los Angeles, Santa Rosa, Porterville and Lindsay.

UCLA
Veronica Ponce de Leon leading a training session in Santa Rosa, California.

 

The curriculum was designed to both raise awareness of heat as a hazard that particularly affects low-wage workers and vulnerable communities, and to develop participants’ education and advocacy skills, according to Deogracia Cornelio, UCLA-LOSH associate director of education who led the Los Angeles training session. Trainees learned about common signs and symptoms of heat illness, recommended preventive steps, and requirements of the California heat standard. They were then expected to carry out short education sessions with other members of their communities.

The training sessions enrolled about 100 people who in turn have reached close to 600 others, including workers in agriculture, landscaping, construction, garment manufacturing, warehousing and other industries. While the four classes were conducted in Spanish, some participants have gone on to lead education activities in other languages, such as the indigenous Mexican languages of Mixteco and Triqui.

“I didn’t know that heat could have such serious consequences as death,” said Adriana Lúa, a grape packer who participated in the training held in Lindsay in California’s Central Valley. “I’ve been able to share this information with my team members at work as well as my family at home.”

Another participant, Jose Rojas, reflected on the importance of workers knowing the California requirements that employers provide water, shade and rest.

“I used to go under the vineyards to seek shade, or we had to make our own shade,” Rojas recalled of the days before enforcement of the California standard. “Breaks were very short, and we had to go searching for water. I saw many people suffer because of the heat.”

Veronica Ponce de Leon, who facilitated three of the heat trainings for UCLA-LOSH, said that even though the conditions are getting hotter each year, the dangers of heat aren’t discussed enough.

“The participants appreciated how we presented heat as a topic that everyone could relate to and that they could teach to others,” Ponce de Leon said. The people taking each class received handouts, training guides and other materials they could use in their education efforts, and they had the chance to practice their teaching skills throughout the day.

Ponce de Leon marveled at the creative ways these trainers are now reaching others. “I’ve seen pictures of trainers doing heat education not only at work sites but in their homes, at Tupperware gatherings, in Zumba classes, and in many other places where you wouldn’t expect people to take the opportunity to spread the message.”

Beyond educating workers about heat, Cornelio noted the importance of this initiative in providing individuals with the knowledge, skills and confidence to become leaders their communities. Many training session participants concurred. “The course made me relive past experiences working in heat but also to learn about workers’ rights,” Sanchez said. “We learned valuable techniques for sharing this information with the public and to develop our leadership skills.”

Asked what message she now has for outdoor workers, Sanchez didn’t hesitate to respond: “Your health comes before everything else. You have to be healthy to work and feed your family.”

See the original article at UCLA Newsroom

 
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You’re standing in the checkout line at Forever 21, arms overflowing with crop tops and maxi dresses, taking full advantage of this weekend’s end-of-summer sale. You give yourself props: You cut yourself off after your third pair of high-waisted jeans—or so you thought. A highlighter palette tempts you from the rack near the register. What better way to complete your new look than with a pair of poppin’ cheekbones that will only set you back six bucks?

But a slew of questions stops your impulse purchase in its tracks. Why is that highlighter so cheap? Are the ingredients low-quality? Will they make you break out? A swarm of whiteheads starts to invade the sculpted, sun-kissed Chrissy Teigen-esque cheekbones of your daydreams.

Is cheap makeup any worse for your skin than expensive makeup?

The short answer: Not really. Debra Jaliman, a New York City-based dermatologist, says the products her patients suspect might be causing irritation and other reactions run the gamut price-wise. “Sometimes they’re really expensive, and sometimes they’re really cheap.”

The factors that go into making a product expensive often lie outside of its actual quality—think pretty packaging or a brand name affiliation. In fact, “many of the luxury brands are made at the exact same house as the over-the-counter brands to the point of having the exact formulation in a different package,” says Dendy Engelman, a dermatologist also based in New York City. Indeed, big companies often own a number of different brands, drugstore and luxury alike. For instance, L’Oréal owns not only Lancôme, Urban Decay, and Shu Uemura, but also the more affordable Maybelline New York and NYX.

Is there such a thing as too cheap, though? What about makeup from the dollar store?

There’s drugstore cheap, and then there’s dollar store cheap. While Dan Aires, director of dermatology at the University of Kansas Health System, warns against “blindly trusting brand name products,” which drugstores primarily carry, he’s wary of the no-name brands often found in dollar stores. With brand names, there’s at least a decent amount of accountability. “You’re a lot less likely to have problems. They really want to protect their reputation,” he says. “Dollar stores are a good place to stock up on party decorations…but for things that go directly [on and] into your body, it’s worth spending a little more.”

While the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t require that companies run any specific safety tests on their makeup ingredients, those that are reputable and have many physicians on their boards will test their ingredients, says Aisha Sethi, an associate professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine, backing Aires. So while you might pat yourself on the back for scoring that lipstick you swear looks exactly like Fenty’s Mattemoiselle in Candy Venom for only a dollar, know that you also run a greater risk of a rash or other reaction.

What about the makeup at cheap clothing stores?

Aires has similar concerns as he does with dollar store makeup. But some of these retailers do sell the same trusted brands found in drugstores. Forever21, for instance, carries drugstore brands e.l.f. and NYX. Old Navy also sells e.l.f. makeup.

If the price tag isn’t great at predicting whether a product will mess up my skin, what should I look at instead?

“You should read the ingredients on the label,” Jaliman says. And if a product’s label doesn’t list any ingredients? Skip those products altogether, Sethi says. (If you have the time, she suggests searching the company’s website for an ingredient list. Still nothing? Pass.)

What ingredients should I avoid if I have sensitive skin?

If you have sensitive or eczema-prone skin, steer clear of fragrance, which Jaliman and the other dermatologists interviewed for this article all tell me is linked to contact dermatitis, or a red, flaky, itchy rash that emerges in response to direct contact with a substance. Most companies label the mixtures of scent ingredients in their products using umbrella terms like “fragrance,” “cologne,” “essential oil,” “masking fragrance” or “parfum.” Indeed, the FDA doesn’t require companies to list the specific ingredients in these mixtures—but some do, typically toward the end of the ingredients list. (Some examples include citral, geraniol, hydroxycitronellal and lyral.) Fragrances can be hard to avoid, though. Look for products labeled “fragrance-free”—not to be confused with “unscented,” which could actually indicate the addition of a fragrance to mask the product’s scent, Engelman says.

Some preservatives, meant to prevent bacteria, mold, and other microbes from growing on products, can also cause contact dermatitis. Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals can have irritating effects too, says Shane Que Hee, professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. You can find quaternium-15, a formaldehyde-releasing chemical commonly added to makeup, in mascara, eyeliner, and powder. Que Hee adds that butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)—preservatives often found in eyeliner, eyeshadow, lip gloss, lipstick, foundation and blush—can cause skin allergies for some people.

While many of the dermatologists I interviewed for this article note that preservatives known as parabens, such as methylparaben and butylparaben, can irritate skin, the chemical exposure researchers I spoke to were more skeptical. Most studies on parabens have focused on their potential to disrupt hormone signaling “but not so much on the allergy-type effects,” says Dana Boyd Barr, a research professor of environmental health at Emory University. If you’re still concerned, though, look for products labeled “paraben-free.”

Barr does caution against phthalates, such as diethyl phthalate (DEP), used to hold color, fragrance, or shine, or to impart flexibility. Moderately-sized human studies have associated them with allergic effects, like wheezing, coughing, and asthma, “so they may be able to exert skin effects, as well.” But she notes that few studies on phthalates have looked specifically at skin irritation. The problem is, “phthalates are rarely listed” on cosmetic products—and the FDA doesn’t require them to be, since they’re not active ingredients, she says. If you’re worried, choose products labeled “phthalate-free.”

What ingredients should I avoid if I have acne-prone skin?

There are a few scenarios in which makeup can trigger an acne breakout, says Susan Taylor, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, but the most common scenario results from comedogenic ingredients. “That means they’re oil-based and they’re going to plug the hair follicles”—a.k.a. pores—“and that’s going to generate acne.”

Some of the most common comedogenic ingredients include oils—like almond oil, wheat germ oil, and cocoa butter—as well as waxes and petrolatum, Taylor says. She notes that coal tar, a black pigment used in mascara and eyeliner, can also cause breakouts. The same goes for coal tar-derived pigments , whose names start with FD&C or D&C (D&C Red 21, for example), especially red ones. Avoid silicones, too, which often have“–oxane” or “–methicone” tacked onto the ends of their name, Jaliman says. They allow products to glide on easily but can also clog pores. For extra reassurance, shop for products labeled “non-comedogenic.”

What makes a product bad for my lips? Whenever I wear a heavy lipstick or lip gloss, my lips get flaky and irritated.

Lip stains and other long-wear lip products, which tend to have a thicker, denser consistency, can be “really irritating,” says Lisa Airan, a dermatologist in New York City. “Some people can’t tolerate the long duration.” Engelman adds that these products “are not very hydrating” and made with lots of pigment, giving them potential for more of an allergy response.

Okay, and what about that whole endocrine disruption thing? Can I get cancer from using cheap makeup?

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that interfere with hormone function—and parabens, arguably the most notorious, have been detected in female breast cancer tissue, Que Hee says. But while there seems to be a correlation between endocrine disruptors in hair products and breast cancer risk in African American women, epidemiological studies on endocrine disruptors in makeup alone are still ongoing. That said, the concentrations of parabens in makeup are probably not all that different from what you might find in hair products, he says. Other ingredients, like octinoxate and a group of chemicals known as siloxanes, can also interfere with hormone function, although their correlations with breast cancer are less clear. Keep in mind that using a lot of products that contain potential endocrine disruptors (and using them often) ups your risk. Using these products once in a while is not likely to cause any issues.

If it worries you though, avoid products whose labels or safety data sheets list these ingredients, Que Hee says. Again, if you’re worried about parabens, many companies explicitly label their products “paraben-free”—although Barr would rather use products that contain known ingredients than their less-studied alternatives. But she realizes “a lot of people feel differently about that.” She suggests asking companies about the ingredients in their products and deciding for yourself whether you’re willing to accept the possible risks associated with them.

So what you’re saying is that $6 highlighter won’t necessarily make my face explode into a hot, itchy, or pimply mess?

In the end, “it’s all about the ingredients,” Jaliman says. As long as the product lists the ingredients on the label—and you don’t recognize any that could cause your skin problems—then go ahead and glow up. But if you want to be extra cautious, heed Aires’ advice, and make sure it also comes from a well-known brand you’d find at a drugstore.

 

Article by Melissa Pandika, originally published August 22, 2018 in Tonic at https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/ne55d7/is-cheap-makeup-bad-for-your…

Photo by Jennie Robinson Faber

Original Article at: https://theconversation.com/if-being-active-is-good-for-your-health-why-…

Mark HamerMay 15, 2018 12.32am EDT

Men who have physically active occupations are 18% more likely to die prematurely, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The results of this study may surprise many people, given that the health benefits of regular physical activity are well established. 

In the 1950s, a Scottish epidemiologist called Jerry Morris conducted a study of London transport employees. He showed that bus conductors had fewer cases of coronary heart disease and they developed the condition at a later age compared with bus drivers. He concluded that “the greater physical activity of ‘conducting’ (on these double-decker vehicles) is a cause of the lower incidence and mortality in the conductors”. The neat aspect of this work was that all the men lived in broadly similar social circumstances with access to the same health and welfare services. 

This is in stark contrast to findings in present day studies. In these studies people with physically active jobs (manual jobs) are likely to come from lower socioeconomic classes, whereas the people in largely sedentary jobs are from professional and managerial occupations. Unlike the London transport study, these studies aren’t comparing like with like.

Social class

So might social class, then, explain why physically active men – and it is just men – are more likely to die prematurely? 

If so, the paradox can be explained by the factors that are generally associated with lower social circumstances. For example, unhealthy lifestyles, including poor diets, smoking, excess alcohol consumption and less “leisure-time physical activity” have been shown to greatly account for the social gradient in health. Lower socioeconomic classes also tend to have less control over their work, which, coupled to high demands, can result in job strain known to be a potent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. 
Also, we need to consider what it really means to be physically active at work. Is it equivalent to 30 minutes of running, playing rugby or squash – types of vigorous activities that raise heart rate considerably and are thought to provide optimal health benefits? In some so-called physically active occupations, such as cleaning, the intensity of activity undertaken isn’t actually enough to improve fitness. Some of the 17 studies included in the new meta-analysis took things like diet, alcohol consumption and leisure-time physical activity into account when analysing the data. But it is well known that people don’t always accurately recall how much they ate, drank or exercised. And research suggests that these reporting biases tend to be greater in the lower socioeconomic classes. 

It is also worth noting that the higher risk of premature death in those with physically active jobs appear to be stronger in people with low fitness levels. Various studies suggest people from lower socioeconomic classes are less active in their leisure time. So if their activity at work isn’t intense enough, it may not offset the ill effects of being largely inactive during leisure time.

Physical activity – unlikely killer

So what do the latest results tell us? Most people would be more convinced if these results came from an experimental trial. It would be difficult, though, to set up a long-term experimental trial in a workplace and track people for early deaths. Although observational studies, like this latest one, are valuable, they can’t tell us anything about cause and effect. 

Disentangling the effects of social circumstances and a physically active occupation are almost impossible without precise measurement of all possible confounding factors. It is very unlikely that physical activity at work, itself, is causing early deaths. It is far more likely to be the result of social circumstances and related factors such as smoking, poor diet, and job strain that come with the job.

The strong ties between the Fielding School and the L.A. County Department of Public Health (LACDPH), which date back decades, continue to reverberate to the benefit of public health in the region.
“I felt it was essential that the department, as an operating agency, have connections with UCLA as a major academic institution that kept current on the research and was engaged in educational programming,” says Dr. Jonathan Fielding, who served as LACDPH director until 2014 and remains a professor-in-residence at the school (see page 22). “And for the school, such connections bring in people who are in the trenches and up to date on the latest problems, as well as on the realities of what can be done in public health practice. Equally important, the department provides a place where students can go to apply what they’re learning in the classroom in real time.”

Although Fielding retired from his county position in 2014, the FSPH-LACDPH ties remain as strong as ever, with both sides continuing to reap substantial rewards. A number of senior LACDPH members teach courses at the school, while others are brought in as guest lecturers. Dr. Robert Kim-Farley (MPH ’75) is an example of the former: The director of the Communicable Disease Control and Prevention Division at LACDPH, who is also professor-in- residence in FSPH’s departments of epidemiology and community health sciences, teaches Principles of Control of Infectious Diseases. For the course, Kim-Farley invites several of his LACDPH colleagues to speak to FSPH students on issues such as immunization and current or recent outbreaks.

Dr. Paul Simon (MPH ’90), chief science officer for LACDPH and an adjunct professor in FSPH’s Department of Epidemiology, has taught Public Health Surveillance at the school since 1998, drawing on LACDPH experts to provide guest lectures for about half of the class sessions. Simon notes that many LACDPH staff also benefit from informal educational opportunities at the Fielding School.
 

Dr. Lisa V. Smith (standing) is both an adjunct associate professor of epidemiology at the Fielding School and an epidemiologist at The L.A. County Department Of Public Health, where she directs the rapid assessment, training and evaluation team.

In some cases the LACDPH staff education is informal, while other times specific training channels are established. For example, Dr. Hilary Godwin, professor in FSPH’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences, and her doctoral students worked collaboratively with LACDPH staff to develop a series of interactive workshops on the projected health impacts of climate change and how LACDPH staff can leverage their existing expertise and partnerships to help build more resilient communities. In addition to educating staff, FSPH faculty experts have been called on to consult on specific issues. Dr. Michael Jerrett, professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, worked with LACDPH on environmental air pollution monitoring in response to the massive gas leak that began in 2015 in the Los Angeles community of Porter Ranch.

FSPH faculty and LACDPH staff also collaborate on research of interest to both the school and LACDPH. “Since coming to UCLA in 2008, I have benefited greatly from the relationship between FSPH and LACDPH,” says Dr. May Wang, professor in the Fielding School’s Department of Community Health Sciences.Wang has collaborated on several research projects with Simon and Dr. Tony Kuo (MS ’03), acting director of LACDPH’s Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention and an adjunct associate professor of epidemiology at FSPH — most recently on a large National Institutes of Health-funded study using state-of-the-art modeling techniques to evaluate community-based early-childhood obesity prevention strategies. “These research collaborations also provide training and networking opportunities for our master’s and doctoral students,” Wang says. “Such a close collaboration between an academic institution and the local health department is relatively rare and so helpful for creating innovative synergies in translational research and training the next generation of public health professionals and scientists.”

The strong relationship between the school and the county public health department is a boon to the many FSPH students who fulfill their fieldwork requirement through LACDPH internships. “Students are able to see the day-to-day realities of working in a public health department, and that helps them in their own career decision-making,” Kim-Farley says. In addition to MPH students working in various roles, Fielding School PhD students have partnered with LACDPH programs for their dissertation research. Students in the school’s Department of Epidemiology regularly conduct analyses of LACDPH’s robust health data sets, Kim-Farley adds, providing important insights to the county while fulfilling a degree requirement.

Many Fielding School students who gain experience at LACDPH become full-time employees after graduating. “The county benefits as much as the school from the opportunities presented by these internships,” Simon explains. “We are able to identify very talented students who are interested in working in a local health department and connect them with their areas of interest, and it becomes a great pipeline for us. We need well-trained young people to join our ranks, and with the training students receive at the Fielding School they come in well prepared.” In many cases, Simon notes, FSPH students who started with entry-level positions at LACDPH have advanced to high-level positions within LACDPH and/or at state and federal agencies.

Beyond the practical benefits to LACDPH, Kim-Farley sees personal rewards. “It’s very satisfying to engage with the next generation of public health professionals — to be able to mentor and help guide them in their careers,” he says. “At the same time that we’re preparing students to be potential LACDPH hires, we also have the opportunity to excite and inspire them about careers in public health.”

 

Original Article at https://ph.ucla.edu/news/magazine/2017/autumnwinter/article/perfect-pairing

Magazine: 

Magazine Autumn/Winter 2017

Through the 1960s and 1970s, the Los Angeles basin was notorious as one of the world’s smoggiest regions. Since then, population in the sprawling metropolitan area has roughly doubled, energy consumption has soared as the region has become a global economic hub, and despite efforts to get people to carpool and use public transportation, vehicle miles traveled have approximately tripled. But as anyone who lived in the L.A. basin then and now can plainly see, the air is considerably cleaner.

The data support the visuals. Los Angeles meets the standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for four of the six air pollution criteria it regulates: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and lead. For the other two, ozone levels have been reduced by approximately two-thirds from peak levels, and the basin is close to meeting the standard for fine particulate matter after once exceeding it by several-fold.

“Los Angeles shows that with the right policies, even a mega-city can make major improvements while experiencing economic growth,” says Dr. Michael Jerrett, professor and chair of FSPH’s Department of Environmental Health Sciencesand an expert in air pollution exposures and health effects.

The dramatic turn has resulted from the aggressive regulatory policies of the EPA; the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which regulates stationary pollution sources in Southern California; and the California Air Resources Board (ARB), Jerrett says. In particular, the ARB, which regulates pollution from mobile sources, has enacted strict motor vehicle emission controls that have led to cleaner fuels and have driven technological advances to substantially reduce the pollutants from tail pipes.

Not to be overlooked are the critical contributions of the Fielding School, where faculty research and expertise have informed the policies, and where students have been prepared for leadership positions at the regulatory agencies. “The ARB has led the world in supporting technology and measures that reduce emissions across the spectrum,” says Dr. Arthur Winer, FSPH professor emeritus of environmental health sciences and an expert in air pollution and exposure assessment. “At the same time, it has supported the best academic researchers in California, and used the science and engineering from that research to establish cost- and policy-effective measures.”

These advances have resulted in a healthier population. Poor ambient air quality consistently ranks among the top handful of risk factors for premature death, and is associated with greater susceptibility to conditions that include childhood asthma, reduced lung function, cardiovascular disease and poor birth outcomes. Among the many important contributions of Fielding School faculty to the science and policies that have helped to reduce such risks:

» Both Winer and Dr. Yifang Zhu, FSPH professor of environmental health sciences, have published influential findings on the level of exposure to air pollutants near freeways. Winer’s group found that the radius of exposure to the vehicle emissions extended farther than believed, particularly during the early-morning hours. Zhu, starting with her dissertation at the Fielding School under the mentorship of Dr. William Hinds, FSPH professor emeritus of environmental health sciences, has conducted studies showing that tiny (ultrafine) particles are highly concentrated downwind of freeways. The research by Zhu, Hinds, Winer and others focused the attention of health- effects researchers and policymakers on the importance of air quality impacts in proximity to roadways.

» In the early 2000s, a Winer- led group documented significant air-quality concerns inside diesel- powered school buses, showing that students aboard the buses were exposed to dangerous levels of diesel exhaust. The research contributed to actions by the EPA and ARB to retrofit school buses with pollution-reducing devices and to replace diesel with cleaner fuels. In recent years Zhu’s lab has built on those findings with studies indicating that even after emissions from the buses’ tailpipes are minimized, occupants remain vulnerable to exposures from other vehicles. Zhu’s team has been studying a prototype school bus air filtration system, with encouraging results.
 

FSPH faculty members have also helped to delineate the health effects of air pollution exposures. Jerrett is widely recognized as a leader in the use of geographic information science for both assessing exposures and determining the health risks of various exposure levels to pollutants through the field known as spatial epidemiology. He and his colleagues were among the first to document an elevated cardiovascular risk in high-pollution areas, as well as markedly increased odds of asthma and impaired lung function among children living close to roadways.

Dr. Beate Ritz, FSPH professor of epidemiology, conducted pioneering research on the health effects of traffic-related air pollution, including landmark studies showing that living near heavily traveled roads increases the risk of adverse birth outcomes, along with one of the largest studies finding an association between air pollution and autism. Ritz has also led seminal epidemiological and laboratory research demonstrating the toxic effects of pesticides and increased susceptibility to Parkinson’s disease among farmworkers and others in California’s Central Valley. Following up on her findings, she has led a successful effort to ensure funding for the development of the California Parkinson’s Disease Registry, increasing the ability to monitor the risk associated with suspected chemical agents.

Dr. John Froines, FSPH professor emeritus of environmental health sciences, has published fundamental research contributing to the understanding of how air particles, once ingested into the lungs, lead to inflammation, oxidative stress and impaired cellular function. As director of the multidisciplinary Southern California Particle Center and Supersite, funded by the EPA, Froines headed or participated in numerous studies that created a roadmap for how the pollutants lead to poor health outcomes — work that has been widely cited in policy setting arenas.

In addition to informing air pollution policies through their research, FSPH faculty have played hands-on roles through their service on key committees. Among others, Froines contributed to key policies on pesticides and other air contaminants through his leadership on ARB’s Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants, on which Ritz is a current member. Both Jerrett and Ritz have served on the EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Subcommittee. Winer served on numerous policy-setting committees over the course of his career.

Zhu, who has collaborated with researchers at Peking University in China on research seeking to guide policymakers on cleaning the air in Beijing, notes that representatives from around the world have visited the Fielding School to draw lessons from Los Angeles. “The climate, topography and car culture all make the L.A. basin highly susceptible to air pollution problems,” she says. “But the success Los Angeles has had in improving the air quality makes this region a model for others.”

 

Original article at https://ph.ucla.edu/news/magazine/2017/autumnwinter/article/breathing-easier 

Magazine Autumn/Winter 2017

Two years after the largest methane blowout in U.S. history, residents in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles are still in the dark about its long-term effects on their health.

When well SS-25 at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility sprung a leak on Oct. 23, 2015, it released almost 100,000 metric tons over the course of four months — the equivalence of 7.8 million metric tons of C02, or emissions from almost 2 million cars. Along with methane, many other toxins —including benzene — were released and have since been found in homes in Porter Ranch.

State and local agencies say that the levels of toxins residents were exposed to “are not expected to cause a significant increase in overall risk of health effects from either short-term or long-term exposure.” But few agencies are willing to state conclusively that there are no long-term health risks

According to scientists like UCLA professor Michael Jerrett, this is because there is not enough scientific evidence to prove anything. He says it’s important to conduct a comprehensive study to determine if residents are still getting sick from the blowout. And while SoCalGas, the company responsible for the blowout, agreed to fund $1 million for a health study, the sum fell short of the $13 to 46 million that experts, politicians, and county health officials think a proper study would cost.

Dr. Nordella, a local health practitioner who became alarmed at the number of complaints his patients were reporting to him, decided to test residents himself for toxic exposures. His results have left many in the community alarmed.

Watch the episode here: https://news.vice.com/story/could-the-worst-gas-leak-in-u-s-history-be-c…

This segment originally aired Oct. 24, 2017, on VICE News Tonight on HBO. 

 

Published in VICE News Today Oct 24, 2017

By Jika Gonzalez and Sarah Sax 

 

Photo credit: Stephen Conley, PhD

 

Today, 115 scientists and health professionals sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee urging that they maintain or increase funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with an emphasis on standards and programs that protect the health of pregnant women and children. The letter was also signed by the American Congress of Obstetricians & Gynecologists and the National Hispanic Medical Association.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote on a budget recommendation for EPA on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017.

Scientists & Health Professionals Letter to Senate Appropriations (PDF)

October 16, 2017

RE: Budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Dear Chairman Cochran, Vice Chairman Leahy, and other members of the Senate Committee on Appropriations,

We write collectively as a group of scientists, clinicians, health professionals and children’s advocates, to express our strong support for EPA standards and programs that:

1. Protect children’s and pregnant women’s health and
2. Enable the EPA to carry out its mandate to protect communities from pesticides and toxic chemicals using the most current science and scientific practices.

The health of the public, especially those who are most vulnerable, depends on the EPA having enough resources to carry out the research, programs and processes described in more detail below. We urge you to support a budget for EPA that maintains or increases funding for these critical areas. Funds directed to EPA are a wise investment of taxpayer dollars that provides returns many times over in the form of healthy children, pregnant women, families and communities—the human resources who form the critical foundation of a thriving and growing economy.

1. EPA programs help protect children’s and pregnant women’s health from toxic chemicals in the air, water, home and other environments.

We support maintaining or increasing the allocation of funds to EPA’s Science To Achieve Results (STAR) programs for research on children’s and pregnant women’s health and effects of the environment. The STAR program engages some of the nation’s best scientists, researchers, and engineers through grants and graduate fellowships for research complementing EPA’s own intramural research program. This funding mechanism supports specialized research that is critical to inform science-­‐based policy-­‐ and decision-­‐making at the Agency that is not funded elsewhere.

We support maintaining or increasing the allocation of funds to programs to prevent lead poisoning and exposures to air pollutants and toxic chemicals in children and pregnant women and for environmental justice programs. As the ongoing Flint water crisis and recovery show, there is still a critical need to support these programs at the federal, state and local levels. Lead is a known neurotoxic chemical that has no safe exposure level, and yet children are still being exposed to this and many damaging chemicals around the nation. The Flint events also highlight that low-­‐income and communities of color bear disproportionate burdens of toxic chemical exposures; thus, continued funding for environmental justice programs and federal oversight are also needed.

We support maintaining or increasing the allocation of funds for local and state programs to monitor and improve the quality of the environment, which are vital to ensure healthy communities. For example, state and local air quality management, water pollution control, public water system supervision, Superfund, and brownfields programs are just a few of the many programs that are essential to ensure that the environment is free of dangerous levels of substances that could threaten children’s and pregnant women’s health. These programs have a proven track record of carrying out the activities necessary to provide cleaner air, water and environments for families; we are very concerned that reducing funding to these programs could reverse this progress and result in higher exposures to hazardous chemicals in the air, water, food, and household consumer products we encounter daily.

We support maintaining or increasing the allocation of funds for federal and state enforcement of statutes and regulations under EPA authority.Enforcement of environmental regulations is critical to protecting the health of pregnant women and children, and air and water quality from hazardous chemicals and pollutants. Enforcement ensures a level playing field, so corporations that violate the law do not gain an economic advantage over those corporations that act in accordance with regulations that protect public health and the environment.

We support funding to maintain or increase EPA’s total budget. EPA’s work under all of the major statutes has far-­‐reaching impacts on children’s and pregnant women’s environmental health. EPA’s workload is increasing, while its budgets have not kept pace. At minimum, EPA’s 2016 appropriations levels for funding and for staff (full-­‐time equivalent (FTE)) should be maintained.

2. EPA’s research and the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program are critical to evaluate pesticides and chemicals and protect the public from those that pose unreasonable risks.

We support funding to maintain or increase EPA’s research budget. The EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention is tasked with protecting Americans from risky pesticides, industrial, commercial and consumer product chemicals in their homes, workplaces and communities. Last year, Congress passed the Lautenberg Amendment reforms to the Toxic Substances Control Act, which EPA is now implementing. The Agency has enormous statutory obligations and responsibility to protect families from dangerous chemicals; EPA’s total research budget should be realigned to reflect this.

We support fully funding the IRIS program. The IRIS program carries out independent assessments of chemicals, which are important resources for local, state and national authorities to use in decision making on hazardous chemicals, including informing regulations and clean-­‐up standards. As reported by EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board (September, 2017), the IRIS program incorporates a number of scientific best practices in their assessment process, including appropriate evaluation of study risk of bias (not numerical scoring of reporting quality); integrating primary toxicity information and health effects from animal and human studies, supported by mechanistic or other types of data; and using free and open source collaborative software to facilitate cross-­‐Agency collaborations, communication, and public transparency.1 Funding for the IRIS program is needed for EPA to move forward with chemical evaluations and make science-­‐based decisions as required by law.

We appreciate the opportunity to provide our input on appropriations for EPA. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions regarding these comments. The signers’ institutional affiliations below are included for identification purposes only and do not necessarily imply any institutional endorsement or support, unless indicated otherwise.

1 Memo from EPA Scientific Advisory Board to Administrator Pruitt, Sept 1, 2017. Science Advisory Board comments on EPA’s response to recommendations on the Integrated Risk Information System. https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/0/A9A9ACCE42B6AA0E8525818E004CC597/$File/EPA-­‐SAB-­‐17-­‐ 008.pdf

Sincerely,

Veena Singla, PhD, Director of Research Translation; Juleen Lam, PhD, Research Scientist; and Tracey Woodruff, PhD, Director
Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment University of California, San Francisco

Laura Anderko RN PhD
Professor & Robert and Kathleen Scanlon Endowed Chair in Values Based Healthcare School of Nursing & Health Studies, Georgetown University

Ann Aschengrau, ScD Professor of Epidemiology
Boston University School of Public Health

Kathy Attar, MPH
Toxics Program Manager Physicians for Social Responsibility

Edward Avol, MS
Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine University of Southern California

John Balmes, MD
Professor of Medicine, UCSF
Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley

Jacqueline M. Barkoski, MPH, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Public Health Sciences University of California, Davis

Naomi Bardach
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy University of California San Francisco

David C. Bellinger, PhD, MSc
Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Eugene B. Benson, JD
Adjunct Professor, City Planning and Urban Affairs, Boston University Metropolitan College Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Environmental Health
Boston University School of Public Health

Lisa Bero, PhD
Professor, University of Sydney
Adjunct Professor, University of California, San Francisco

Leslie I. Boden, PhD Professor
Boston University School of Public Health

Bruce Blumberg, PhD
Professor, Department of Developmental and Cell Biology University of California, Irvine

Asa Bradman, PhD, MS
Associate Director, Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health (CERCH) Associate Adjunct Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
School of Public Health, UC Berkeley

Phil Brown, PhD
University Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Health Sciences Northeastern University

Susan Buchanan, MD, MPH Associate Professor and Director
Great Lakes Center for Children’s Environmental Health University of Illinois at Chicago

Marie Angelique Cabiya, MD Physician
Advocate Medical Group

Carla Campbell, MD, MS, FAAP
Associate Professor of Public Health, MPH Program Director Department of Public Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences University of Texas at El Paso

Adelita G. Cantu, PhD, RN Associate Professor
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

Courtney Carignan, PhD
Assistant Professor Michigan State University

Susan D. Chapnick
President & Principal Scientist New Environmental Horizons, Inc.

Aimin Chen, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Health University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Terrence J. Collins, Ph.D., Hon FRSNZ Teresa Heinz Professor of Green Chemistry Director, Institute for Green Science
Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University

Jeanne A Conry, MD PhD Past President
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
President and CEO, The Environmental Health Leadership Foundation

Carl F. Cranor, PhD, MSL
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Faculty Member of Environmental Toxicology University of California, Riverside

Kathryn Crawford, MS Graduate Student
Boston University School of Public Health

Nathaniel G. DeNicola, MD, MSHP
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology George Washington University

Vice Chair of Telehealth Taskforce
American Congress of Obstetricians & Gynecologists

Kristie Ellickson, PhD
Graduate Faculty, Environmental Health University of Minnesota

Brenda Eskenazi, PhD
Jennifer and Brian Maxwell Professor of Maternal and Child Health and Epidemiology Director, Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health (CERCH)
School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley

Shohreh Farzan, PhD
Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California

Steven G. Gilbert, PhD, DABT Executive Director
Institute of Neurotoxicology & Neurological Disorders

Myron L. Gildesgame, PhD. Retired, Director and Chief Planner
Massachusetts Office of Water Resources

Barbara Gottlieb
Environment & Health Director Physicians for Social Responsibility Washington, DC

Robert M. Gould, MD
Associate Adjunct Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences University of California, San Francisco
President, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, Physicians for Social Responsibility

Mark E. Hahn, PhD
Senior Scientist, Biology Department Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Alycia Halladay, PhD
Chief Science Officer, Autism Science Foundation
Adjunct, Dept. of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Rutgers University

Kim Harley, MPH, PhD
Associate Adjunct Professor, Maternal and Child Health
Associate Director for Health Effects, Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health University of California, Berkeley

Dale Hattis, PhD Research Professor
The George Perkins Marsh Institute Clark University

Marissa Hauptman, MD, MPH Physician
Boston Children’s Hospital

Russ Hauser, MD
Professor of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Erin Haynes, DrPH, MS
Associate Professor of Environmental Health College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati

Wendy Heiger-­‐Bernays, PhD
Clinical Professor of Environmental Health Director, EH MPH Program and EHA Certificate Boston University School of Public Health

Amy Herring, ScD Professor
Duke University

Irva Hertz-­‐Picciotto, PhD
Director, Environmental Health Sciences Center, UC Davis
Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences and the MIND Institute University of California, Davis

Joan F. Hilton Professor
Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics University of California, San Francisco

Deborah Hirtz M.D.
Professor, Neurological Sciences and Pediatrics University of Vermont School of Medicine

Maeve Howett, PhD
Assistant Dean and Clinical Professor, College of Nursing University of Massachusetts Amherst

Katie Huffling, RN, MS, CNM Executive Director
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

H. Patricia Hynes, PhD
Emeritus Professor of Environmental Health Boston University School of Public Health

Dan Jaffe, PhD
Professor and Chair, Physical Sciences Division School of Science. Technology, Engineering and Math University of Washington

Doreen Karoll, MD
Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician

Clinical Instructor, Boston University Medical School
Patricia D. Koman, PhD, MPP President and Senior Scientist Green Barn Research Associates

Erica Koustas, PhD Scientific Consultant
University of California, San Francisco

Carol Kwiatkowski, PhD
Executive Director, The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX) Assistant Professor Adjunct, North Carolina State University and University of Colorado, Boulder

Diana J. Laird, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences University of California, San Francisco

Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc, FAAP Dean for Global Health
Professor of Environmental Medicine, Public Health and Pediatrics Arnhold Institute for Global Health
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Bruce P. Lanphear, MD, MPH
Clinician Scientist, Child & Family Research Institute, BC Children’s Hospital Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC

Patricia Lasley
PEHSU Region 5 Coordinator University of Illinois, Chicago

Arthur Lavin, M.D. Advanced Pediatrics Cleveland, OH

Soo-­‐Jeong Lee Associate Professor
School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco

Jonathan Levy, ScD
Interim Chair and Professor Department of Environmental Health
Boston University School of Public Health

Patricia Janulewicz Lloyd, DSc Assistant Professor
Department of Environmental Health Boston University School of Public Health

Peggy Lopipero-­‐Langmo, MPH Environmental Science Instructor City College of San Francisco

Jennifer Lowry, MD, FAAP Pediatrician and Toxicologist Kansas City, MO

Ulrike Luderer, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Developmental and Cell Biology University of California, Irvine

Kristen Malecki Assistant Professor
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Emily Marquez, Ph.D. Staff Scientist
Pesticide Action Network

Andres Martinez, PhD Research engineer
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering The University of Iowa

Ethan Mascoop, MPH
Boston University School of Public Health

Rob McConnell, MD
Professor of Preventive Medicine University of Southern California

Jennifer McPartland, PhD
Senior Scientist, Health Program Environmental Defense Fund

Catherine Metayer, MD, PhD
Faculty, School of Public Health University of California, Berkeley

David Michaels, PhD, MPH
Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Milken Institute School of Public Health
The George Washington University

Mark Miller MD, MPH Assistant Clinical Professor
University of California, San Francisco

Pamela Miller
Executive Director, Alaska Community Action on Toxics Anchorage, AK

Mark A. Mitchell M.D., MPH, FACPM
Chair, National Medical Association Council on Medical Legislation
Co-­‐Chair, National Medical Association Commission on Environmental Health

Stefano Monti, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine and Biostatistics Boston University, Boston, MA

Rachel Morello-­‐Frosch, PhD, MPH Professor, School of Public Health University of California, Berkeley

Raymond Neutra, DrPH, MPH
Principal, Raymond Richard Neutra Consultants

Thomas B. Newman, MD, MPH
Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Pediatrics, School of Medicine University of California, San Francisco

Peter Orris, MD, MPH
Professor and Chief, Occupational & Environmental Medicine University of Illinois Hospital and Health Science System

David Ozonoff, MD, MPH Professor of Environmental Health
Boston University School of Public Health

Vasantha Padmanabhan, MS, PhD
Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Environmental Health Sciences
University of Michigan

Heather Patisaul, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences NC State University

Katherine Pelch PhD Senior Scientist
The Endocrine Disruption Exchange

Frederica P. Perera, DrPH, PhD Professor of Public Health
Director, Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health Dept. of Environmental Health Sciences
Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

Elena Rios, MD, MSPH, FACP President & CEO
National Hispanic Medical Association

Beate Ritz MD, PhD Professor of Epidemiology
Center for Occupational and Environmental Health FSPH, UCLA

Joshua F. Robinson Assistant Professor
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences University of California, San Francisco

Melissa Rose, MPH Program Manager
Environmental Health Sciences Center Center for Children’s Environmental Health University of California, Davis

Nancy C. Rothman, Ph.D.
CEO & Principal Scientist
New Environmental Horizons, Inc.

Leslie Rubin, MD Physician
Break the Cycle of Health Disparities, Inc

Ruthann Rudel, MS Director of Research Silent Spring Institute

Madeleine K. Scammell, DSc
Associate Professor of Environmental Health Boston University School of Public Health

Susan L. Schantz, PhD
Professor of Toxicology and Neuroscience, Illinois Children’s Environmental Health Research Center Director, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
University of Illinois, Urbana-­‐Champaign

Ted Schettler MD, MPH Science DirectorScience and Environmental Health Network

Perry Sheffield, MD, MPH Assistant Professor
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

David Sherr, Ph.D.
Professor
Boston University

Gordon J. Strewler, MD Professor of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco

Patrice Sutton, MPH Research Scientist
Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment University of California, San Francisco

Maureen Swanson, MPA Director, Healthy Children Project
Co-­‐Director, Project TENDR (Targeting Environmental Neuro-­‐Developmental Risks) Learning Disabilities Association of America

Evelyn O. Talbott, DrPH, MPH Professsor, Dept of Epidemiology University of Pittsburgh

Tanya Khemet Taiwo, MPH PhDc. Dept. of Epidemiology
University of California, Davis

Ho Luong Tran, MD, MPH President & CEO
National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians

Laura N Vandenberg Assistant Professor
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Ondine von Ehrenstein, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences Fielding School of Public Health
University of California, Los Angeles

Aolin Wang, PhD Postdoctoral Scholar
Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment University of California, San Francisco

Thomas Webster, DSc
Professor, Dept. of Environmental Health Boston University School of Public Health

Robin M. Whyatt, DrPH Professor Emeritus
Department of Environmental Health Sciences Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

Lauren Zajac, MD, MPH, FAAP Pediatrician, Assistant Professor
Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Marya Zlatnik, MD, MMS
Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences University of California, San Francisco

R. Thomas Zoeller, Professor Biology Department
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Ami R. Zota, ScD, MS
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Milken Institute School of Public Health
George Washington University

Medical Associations

American Congress of Obstetricians & Gynecologists

National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physician National Hispanic Medical Association

—————————————————————

Visit Project TENDR for more information http://projecttendr.com/scientists-health-professionals-letter-to-senate…

Image by Daniel Mennerich licensed for use under Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/ 

The field of chemical regulation is experiencing a shift from risk-based approaches to preventative ones. Initiatives in the European Union (REACH) and California (Safer Consumer Products) are leading the way for such prevention-based regulation. The authors of a recent IEAM paper propose integrating predictive toxicology into Alternatives Analysis, to expedite the process and foster a more rapid and defensible decision when identifying the most environmentally-friendly chemical for a given application.  In this podcast, lead author Tim Malloy presents a case for employing predictive toxicology approaches in chemical alternatives analysis and outlines ways to achieve the integration. Access the article in the September 2017 issue of IEAM. (Length: 12 min)

Listen to this episode and others on iTunes or YouTube.

Access all IEAM podcasts at ieampodcast.com

Dr. Richard Jackson speaks with KCBS about how we can prevent damage from future disasters as we rebuild from current ones. Have a listen to the show, recorded Tuesday September 5, 2017 at http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/audio/kcbs-in-depth/#

Summary: Cleaning up and rebuilding. The people of Houston and the surrounding region are looking to the future after Hurricane Harvey.    But, rebuilding should include changes to make the community safer like building standards, geographic disclosures about potential dangers from natural disasters, or man-made ones, such as proximity to industry toxins.  Doctor Richard Jackson is a public health and disaster preparedness expert  who says when it comes to public safety, regulations should be seen as protections. He discusses this, and the other elements needed for successful community disaster recovery, with Jane McMillan.

Image from NASA Goddard Space Flight, licensed under creative commons.

An alliance of leading scientists, health professionals and children’s health advocates, known as Project TENDR, today issued a call for national goals necessary to eliminate lead poisoning in American children by 2021. In a viewpoint published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics, Dr. David Bellinger, Dr. Bruce Lanphear and Dr. Aimin Chen assert that fully protecting children from lead now and in future generations is eminently doable.

Recent research shows that even low levels of lead in a child’s blood can harm brain development, leading to learning disabilities, lowered IQ and attention disorders. As confirmed by the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, one in six children in the U.S. has a learning or developmental disability. On average, it costs twice as much to educate a child with a learning or developmental disability as it does to educate a child without one according to the National Education Association and the American Institutes for Research.

The TENDR experts have charted a course for safeguarding children from lead poisoning within five years and eliminating exposures to lead by 2030. “The time has come to consign childhood lead poisoning to the medical history books,” said David Bellinger, lead study author and Professor of Neurology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. “We know where the lead is, we know how it gets into children’s bodies, we know what it does to harm health. What we need is the political will to get the job done.” The alliance recommends and says that, if fully adopted, these new national goals are achievable within five years:
• Federal agencies adopt health-based standards and action levels that rely on the most up-to-date scientific knowledge.
• Federal, state and local governments protect pregnant women and children by identifying and remediating sources of lead exposure prior to exposure.
• Congress creates an independent expert advisory committee to develop and fund a long-term national strategy to eliminate lead toxicity in pregnant women and children.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no safe level of lead. Federal standards on allowable levels of lead in paint, dust, air, water and soil are obsolete and have failed to protect children in cities nationwide. “Some may say that lead is already low, or, that we are pushing for too much. But, lead is entirely toxic, period. We want to reduce exposure so that by 2021 there is no child with blood lead levels above 5 microgram/deciliter which is the current reference limit set by the CDC. Currently about 2.5% of U.S. children between ages 1 and 5 years still have blood lead levels above that,” explains article co-author Dr. Aimin Chen, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

The TENDR experts recommend setting new health-based standards and action levels to protect all children from lead poisoning. The key to prevention is to avoid exposures by identifying and eliminating sources of lead in the environment.

“No matter how you look at it—protecting kids’ brains, reducing the numbers of kids needing special education, increasing the number of productive workers paying taxes, or increasing global competitiveness—it makes sense to eliminate lead exposure,” says article co-author Dr. Bruce Lanphear, Professor of Children’s Environmental Health at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia. These measures incur high benefits for low costs. A 2009 study by the Economic Policy Institute found that for every $1 spent to reduce exposures to lead, society would benefit by $17-$221. This benefit is comparable to that of childhood vaccines.

At its Interim Meeting in November 2016, the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates adopted policy supporting regulations and efforts designed to protect young children from lead exposure, in alignment with Project TENDR’s goals. 

The authors received no external funding for the viewpoint. Project TENDR is supported by the John Merck Fund, Passport Foundation, Ceres Trust and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences.

ABOUT PROJECT TENDR
Project TENDR, which stands for “Targeting Environmental Neuro-Developmental Risks,” is an alliance of over 50 of the nation’s top scientists, health professionals, and health advocates, including UCLA COEH’s Beate Ritz. It was launched and is co-directed by Maureen Swanson of the Learning Disabilities Association of America and Irva Hertz-Picciotto, director of the University of California Davis, Environmental Health Sciences Center. TENDR’s longterm mission is to lower the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD, autism and learning disabilities, by reducing exposure levels to chemicals and pollutants that can contribute to these conditions, especially during fetal development and early childhood. Visit Project TENDR’s consensus statement for more information.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Release date: May 15, 2017
Text courtesy of Project TENDR
David Zucker, dzucker@hbbf.org
Stephanie Stohler, sstohler@hbbf.org, 617-842-4751