These bulletins are now archived and searchable on our website: http://www.iceh.org/LDDIbulletins.html If you would like to join the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) and the LDDI Working Group, please complete the application on the CHE website: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/application Joining CHE means receiving up to four email messages a month from the CHE National listserv. CHE costs nothing to join and the benefit is shared information and opportunities for further engagement, if you choose. Be sure to mark that you want to join the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative Working Group at the bottom of the application.
1) The Learning Disabilities Association of Maine and others are presenting "Making the Connection III: Toxics and Tomorrow's Children" in Portland, Maine, from 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Friday March 14, 2008. The conference will connect the work of organizations and individuals concerned about the impact of toxics on Maine children's health including the important connection between exposure to toxic chemicals and learning and developmental disabilities. Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc, author of the report on pesticides and children's health that was instrumental in securing passage of the major pesticide law in the United States, will keynote. For more information, please contact Physicians for Social Responsibility, psr_maine@yahoo.com or visit http://www.ldame.org/events.html
2) LDDI members AAIDD (American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) and the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) have joined with other environmental health groups on a very effective campaign encouraging Walmart, Target and other “box” stores to phase-out products containing bisphenol A. This is the first time LDDI members have focused on a consumer marketing initiative in addition to their efforts education and policy.
3) LDA held its 45th annual international conference in Chicago two weeks ago. The Healthy Children Project and LDA's research committee organized an excellent day-long Medical Symposium on the influence neurotoxicants may have on children's reading abilities. Dennis Molfese, PhD, and David Bellinger, PhD, who both spoke, agreed to explore publishing a special issue of the Journal on Developmental Neuropsychology based on the presentations made at the Symposium. In addition, three other break-out sessions during the conference were focused on environmental health, including LDA state policy-based activities, the LDDI scientific consensus statement and healthy schools.
4) Learning Disabilities Association of Maine will hold its Annual Conference on Friday April 11, 2008, in Waterville, Maine. The conference theme is "Learning Disabilities & Coexisting Emotional Problems." This intense mental-health professional program includes the "co-morbidity" disorders often found with individuals with learning disabilities including anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, anger control/bipolar disorder, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Dr. Larry Silver will focus on the clinical description, diagnosis and treatment of these disorders ending the day with a group discussion and response to your questions. For more information, please contact LDA of Maine, 207-465-7700 or info@ldame.org or see the website: http://www.ldame.org/index.html
5) AAIDD's next teleconference will be "Lead Exposure and Developmental Disabilities" at 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday April 8, 2008. For details, please contact Laura Abulafia, 800-424-3688 or laura@aaidd.org or visit the teleconference web page: http://www.ehinitiative.org/Projects/tele_con.htm
Monday March 17, 2008
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Albany, New York
at the New York State Education Department (NYSED), Conference Room 129, 625 Broadway
Sponsor: Children's Environmental Health Partnership of New York
Please join us for the Second New York State Children's Environmental Health Symposium, where experts in research, practice and policy will meet to learn of emerging issues in children's environmental health. Preregistration is required by March 13th. To register, please send your name, organization, mailing address, email address and telephone number to Pam Hadad Hurst, pshhurst@gw.dec.state.ny.us or call Pam or Stephanie Petrone at 518-402-8533.
Price: free, but there are fees for parking
Contact: Stephen Boese, 518-462-0632 or sboese@healthyschools.org
Thursday March 20, 2008 (Seattle, Washington)
Friday March 21, 2008 (Spokane, Washington)
Monday March 24, 2008 (Portland, Oregon)
check the website for times, specific locations, and sponsors for each event
Curious how over 80,000 chemicals are approved for use in the United States? Do you trust that they are safe? Dr. Richard Denison, senior scientist in Environmental Defense's Washington, DC, office, will speak about our nation's policies regarding chemicals used in everyday products and their risks. He will talk about the risks, rewards and need for thoughtful policies for the emerging industry of nanotechnology. Ken Zarker from the Department of Ecology will give a State Chemical Policy update. Brown bag lunch.
Price: unknown
Website: http://www.nahmma.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=18
Contact: North American Hazardous Materials Management Association, 877-292-1403 or nahmma@imigroup.org
Wednesday through Friday, March 26 - 28, 2008
Seattle, Washington
Sponsor: Public Health -- Seattle & King County
2008's conference will build on the success of the 2006 conference by expanding the topic areas covered. The topics for Access 2008 are disrupting access to tobacco, creating access to smoke-free living, and assuring access to cessation. The agenda will emphasize innovative and promising strategies toward a tobacco-free future as well as practices proven to be successful. The conference is open to all tobacco professionals, educators, law enforcement, researchers, policy-makers, students and others who work or learn in a tobacco-related field. Application for CHES Category I continuing education contact hours (CECH) has been made to the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC).
Price: unknown
Website: http://www.accessconference.org/
Contact: Access 08, 206-296-7613 or info@accessconference.org
begins Thursday March 27, 2008
Mount Vernon, Washington
at the Skagit Valley Food Co-op Room 309, 202 South First Street
Sponsor: Skagit Valley Food Co-op and Northwest Earth Institute
This is the first of a seven-session course which includes approaches to create healthy home environments for children, explores ways to foster a child's connection to nature, and looks into how media might hinder child development.
Price: $20 book fee
Website: http://www.nwei.org/discussion_courses/course-offerings/heathty-children-healthy-planet
Contact: Marilene Richardson, 360-863-1820 or contact@nwei.org
Thursday April 3, 2008
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Midland, Michigan
at the Valley Plaza Resort and Conference Center, 5221 Bay City Road
Sponsor: American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) Environmental Health Initiative
AAIDD launched an Environmental Health Initiative in July 2003 designed to promote good health and reduce disability by forging groundbreaking partnerships among the developmental disabilities networks and the environmental health communities. The goals of this unique collaboration are 1) to raise awareness about the complex links between exposure to neurotoxic chemicals and developmental disabilities and 2) raise awareness that those living with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities may be at greater risk of secondary health effects from toxic exposures than individuals without disabilities. Nicholas Newman, DO, FAAP, will provide participants with information on strategies to reduce the environmental impact of neurotoxic chemicals in children, discuss the research regarding the connection between the exposure to neurotoxic chemicals and disability, and provide a call to action that leads to an increase in the positive developmental outcomes for children.
Price: free, but registration is required
Contact: Angela Martin, 313-577-9470 or Angela.M.Martin@wayne.edu
Thursday and Friday, April 3 - 4, 2008
Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Abingdon, Virginia
at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, 1 Partnership Circle
Sponsor: Virginia Department of Education's T/TAC at Virginia Tech
On the first day, participants will have the opportunity to attend two half-day sessions presented by national speakers in the field of autism spectrum disorders including Asperger syndrome. On the second day, participants to be able to attend several breakout sessions covering a variety of topics related to supporting students and individuals with ASD.
Price: $79 for both days, includes meals and materials
Website: http://www.cpe.vt.edu/asd/index.html
Contact: Conference Registrar, 800-848-2714 or lyonst@vt.edu
Saturday April 12, 2008
8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Fort Lee, New Jersey
at the Hilton Fort Lee George Washington Bridge, 2117 Route 4 Eastbound
Sponsor: Lyme-Induced Autism (LIA) Foundation
This one-day conference will educate attendees with an intermingling of traditional and alternative therapies to provide treatment strategies to begin in our healing journey. This conference will cover topics that would be appropriate for parents of children with autism, Lyme disease and related infections, adults with Lyme disease and medical professionals.
Price: $70 until March 1st, $85 before the conference or $95 on-site
Website: http://www.lymeinducedautism.com/spring2008njconference.html
Online Calendar. Upcoming events extending more than one month in the future are listed in a searchable calendar: http://www.iceh.org/cgi-bin/searchevents.cgi
Most of the articles below come from Environmental Health News, http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/
New Members. The Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative welcomes these new members:
For a full list of LDDI members, please visit the LDDI website: http://www.iceh.org/LDDImembers.html
TOXMAP has updated cancer and other mortality data. TOXMAP is a Geographic Information System (GIS) from the Division of Specialized Information Services ( http://sis.nlm.nih.gov ) of the US National Library of Medicine (NLM) ( http://www.nlm.nih.gov ) that uses maps of the United States to help users visually explore data from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Toxics Release Inventory and Superfund Program. TOXMAP also now shows more detailed roads at a variety of map scales.
http://toxmap.nlm.nih.gov
Nuclear Power Information Tracker. This website from the Union of Concerned Scientists allows users to search for nuclear reactors by various criteria such as reactor type, operational status and safety concerns. Information about individual reactors includes ownership, the dates of operations, residential population within 10 miles and safety issues.
http://www.ucsusa.org/nucleartracker
EPA knows more about children's health today than ever. A 10-year research effort on children's environmental health was highlighted in a new report, "A Decade of Children's Environmental Health: Highlights from EPA's Science to Achieve Results Program." The report summarizes research from the STAR children's health program over the past 10 years, highlighting scientific findings in epidemiology, exposure science, genetics, community-based participatory research, interventions, statistics and methods. This body of work has impacted policy in the United States and influenced scientific directions internationally.
http://www.healthyenvironmentforkids.ca/english/news/index.shtml?x=3678
Pharmaceuticals found in drinking water. A vast array of pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, anticonvulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows. Associated Press, 10 March 2008.
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x1574803042
Diesel exhaust stresses brain. Even a brief exposure to the level of diesel exhaust typical of heavy traffic is enough to stress the brain, according to a study. South African Press Association, South Africa, 10 March 2008.
http://www.health24.com/news/Brain_Neurological/1-896,45425.asp
Benzene on the rise in Houston's air, city officials say. Mayor Bill White challenged Texas' chemical industry to reduce its emissions of toxic chemicals such as benzene four months ago and promised punitive measures if it failed to do so. Houston Chronicle, Texas, 9 March 2008.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5604561.html
The vitamin D miracle: Is it for real? The benefits of vitamin D are no longer restricted to cancer prevention: Studies have linked a shortage of the compound to such serious, chronic ailments as multiple sclerosis, diabetes, heart disease, influenza and schizophrenia. Toronto Globe and Mail, Ontario, 9 March 2008.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080308.wxvitamin08/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home?cid=al_gam_mostview
Canadian dentists missed mercury control target. Thirty per cent of Canadian dentists missed a voluntary 2007 target to better control how they release mercury into the environment, but the dentists insist they're making good progress in cleaning up their act. Canadian Press, 9 March 2008.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080308/dentists_mercury_080308/20080308?hub=Health
Alarm bells sound over threat of mercury contamination. A coalition of environmental groups, First Nations and academics are demanding that the province investigate the threat of mercury contamination from industrial activities in the Canadian Boreal Forest. Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal, Ontario, 9 March 2008.
http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories_local.php?id=96787
Great Lakes fish soak in new poison. Toxic flame retardants commonly used in computers, televisions and textiles have accumulated dramatically in Great Lakes fish over the past two decades, prompting legislative efforts to ban the compounds. Muskegon Chronicle, Michigan, 9 March 2008.
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/retardant_poisoning_fish.html
E numbers still rife in hundreds of foodstuffs. Additives linked to hyperactivity in children are used as ingredients in hundreds of products, campaigners warned last night. Edinburgh Scotsman, Scotland, 9 March 2008.
http://news.scotsman.com/health/E-numbers-still-rife-in.3859033.jp
CDC scrambles to reassure on vaccine safety. CDC officials scrambled to reassure the public that childhood vaccines are safe after news spread that another agency had acknowledged a link between a child's autism and the shots she received as a toddler. Baltimore Sun, Maryland, 8 March 2008.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-te.autism07mar07,0,4923337.story
Analysis: Vaccine-autism link unproven. For those convinced that vaccines can cause autism, the sad case of a Georgia girl, daughter of a doctor and lawyer, seems like clear-cut evidence. Associated Press, 8 March 2008.
http://www.mercurynews.com/healthandscience/ci_8488207?nclick_check=1
Smokers 'make their children ill.' A leading hospital says up to a third of the children it treats for certain conditions are ill because their parents smoke in front of them. BBC, UK, 8 March 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/7284793.stm
Senate OKs sweeping product safety reform. The Senate on Thursday passed the most sweeping reform of the nation's consumer safety system in a generation, including stricter tests for toys, greater public access to complaints about products and an overhaul of the federal safety agency charged with regulating most items in American homes. Chicago Tribune, Illinois, 8 March 2008.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-billmar07,1,7229855.story?page=1
State Senate approves bill banning 'toxic toys.' The Senate overwhelmingly approved a measure outlawing toys that contain certain levels of toxins, overcoming objections by opponents who said it effectively steals Christmas and sales tax income. Tacoma News Tribune, Washington, 8 March 2008.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/303398.html
Lead exposure may hasten mental decline. Could it be that the "natural" mental decline that afflicts many older people is related to how much lead they absorbed decades before? Belleville Intelligencer, Ontario, 8 March 2008.
http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=934397
Sewage-based fertilizer safety doubted. A federal judge is challenging the validity of data behind the government's assertion that converting industrial pollution and raw sewage into free fertilizer for farmers poses no health risk. Associated Press, 7 March 2008.
http://www.charlotte.com/nation/story/524922.html
Florida farmworkers want UN intervention. Nobody helps with their illnesses traced to pesticides, so farmworkers from Lake Apopka are asking for intervention by the UN based on racial bias. Orlando Sentinel, Florida, 7 March 2008.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-locfarmworkers07030708mar07,0,7585131.story
Fight looms over consumer database. Industry groups are vigorously fighting a proposal for an Internet site where complaints about products, such as toys, could be posted. Los Angeles Times, California, 6 March 2008.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-consumers6mar06,1,2239010.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Scientist says chemical might not be so harmful. Dale Sickles, a neurotoxicologist and vice chairman of Cell Biology and Anatomy at Medical College of Georgia, serves on an external review panel for the EPA on acrylamide. Augusta Chronicle, Georgia, 6 March 2008.
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/030608/met_189894.shtml
[Editor's note: see a related article at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/03/06/scipots106.xml ]
Companies opt to provide less information on toxics release inventory reports. More chemical makers are submitting less information to EPA about their releases of toxic substances, according to data the agency has provided to C&EN. Chemical & Engineering News, 6 March 2008.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/86/i10/8610news2.html
Industry trying to block smog cleanup. Big industries are waging an intense lobbying effort to block new, tougher limits on air pollution that is blamed for hundreds of heart attacks, deaths and cases of asthma, bronchitis and other breathing problems. Associated Press, 5 March 2008.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/03/05/national/w102217S88.DTL&type=politics
Pesticides may be hidden danger to child IQ. Household pesticides may cause some of the intellectual development problems in children previously associated with lead, an Australian toxicologist says. ABC News, Australia, 5 March 2008.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/03/05/2178230.htm
Public urged to lead on environmental safety. From testing schools for PCBs in window caulk to ridding those schools of caustic cleaning supplies, the public must play a larger role in making their communities safer, speakers said at a major environmental conference on Monday. Bergen County Record, New Jersey, 5 March 2008.
http://www.northjersey.com/environment/environmentnews/Public_told_to_take_the_lead__on_environmental_safety.html
Hinchey proposes tougher TCE standards. U.S. Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will introduce legislation today that would mandate protective standards for the industrial solvent TCE in air and water, taking into account the vulnerability of women and children. Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, New York, 4 March 2008.
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080304/NEWS01/803040330/1006
Environmental speaker sheds light on toxins. When the Environmental Working Group commissioned a study of 10 people to find if any of 413 toxic chemicals were in their bodies, the group was surprised that 287 chemicals were detected. Southtown Star, Illinois, 4 March 2008.
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/823617,030408environment.article
Blood lead levels in Alaska raise concern. Roughly one in 10 Alaska workers tested for lead in their blood in recent years had an amount that the CDC considers unhealthy. Anchorage Daily News, Alaska, 3 March 2008.
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/333066.html
Flood of drugs, little oversight. Last week, a team of Food and Drug Administration inspectors visited the Chinese plant owned by Baxter supplier Scientific Protein Laboratories of Waunakee, Wis. There they found evidence of lax hygiene and safety standards. Chicago Tribune, Illinois, 3 March 2008.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun_baxter-heparin-baxmar02,0,2155065.story
PCBs get a closer look. With a crucial PCB report looming later this month, an environmental advocacy group is seeking to refocus attention on the chemical's health and environmental effects. Pittsfield Berkshire Eagle, Massachusetts, 3 March 2008.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/localnews/ci_8434349
Legislator wants to snuff out smoking in rental units. Advancing California's continuing war against smoking in public and private, a San Fernando Valley lawmaker is pushing a statewide measure that could prohibit renters from smoking inside their own homes. Los Angeles Daily News, California, 3 March 2008.
http://www.dailynews.com//ci_8412738
Parents, schools work to cope with autism. Misunderstandings are part of daily life for parents of an autistic child, along with a host of other issues. Autistic children often have impaired social skills, communication problems and unusual, repetitive behaviors. Kalamazoo Gazette, Michigan, 2 March 2008.
http://blog.mlive.com/citpat/2008/03/parents_schools_work_to_cope_w.html
Non-toxic tots. There's a six-week wait for a $15 stainless steel sippy cup made without harmful compounds and retailers are anxious to take orders for a tea set made of recycled plastic milk jugs and organic crib mattresses. Washington Post, 1 March 2008.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/29/AR2008022903658.html
Md. House votes to curb lead in products for children. Maryland would hire inspectors to enforce a ban on manufacturing, selling, importing or distributing toys and other children's products containing dangerous levels of lead under legislation that passed overwhelmingly yesterday in the House of Delegates. Washington Post, 1 March 2008.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/29/AR2008022901861.html
Maine supports bill to target toxic toys. The Baldacci administration Thursday joined others in support of legislation to more closely regulate toxic chemicals used in toys and other children's products, saying the federal government has fallen short on the job. Associated Press, 1 March 2008.
http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=60917668879249
New report focuses on the effects of secondhand smoke. U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona this week issued a comprehensive scientific report which concludes that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Bend KFXO FOX, Oregon, 1 March 2008.
http://www.foxcentraloregon.com/health/3280206.html
[Editor's note: see a related article at http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Health/2008/03/10/secondhand_smoke_a_risk_to_children/7572/ ]
Outspoken scientist dismissed from panel on chemical safety. Deborah Rice, an award-winning toxicologist, was removed from a group of experts researching a widely-used flame retardant after industry lobbyists complained that she was biased. Los Angeles Times, 29 February 2008.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-epa29feb29,0,6191299.story
Concerns grow but the grass doesn't. Health concerns and evidence that synthetic turf contributes to the urban "heat island" effect and storm water runoff problems have led elected officials and environmental groups to call for a time-out in the use of synthetic turf. Gotham Gazette, New York, 29 February 2008.
http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/parks/20080229/14/2449
People drinking well water vulnerable to contaminants. More than 2 million people across the state are living with the prospect that the water they use daily for drinking, cooking and bathing could be tainted with dangerous toxins. Fayetteville Observer, North Carolina, 28 February 2008.
http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=286932
Birth control pills spark an environmental debate. Birth control pills, like batteries and baby bottles, have become the latest item in American homes to become a focus of environmental and health concerns. Columbia News Service, 27 February 2008.
http://www.kansascity.com/238/story/508076.html
Kids vaccine linked to fever, seizures. Children suffered higher rates of fever-related convulsions when they got a Merck & Co. combination vaccine instead of two separate shots, according to a new study presented Wednesday. Associated Press, 27 February 2008.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j2Gafsj5iWxlQZZP1JUO2ksLt9SgD8V30TK80
Lead programs help residents take action. Did you know your child could be getting poisoned right in front of your eyes, and you not even know it? It happens all the time. Hartford WFSB, Connecticut, 27 February 2008.
http://www.wfsb.com/money/15418877/detail.html
New Jersey joins states seeking to ban toxic chemicals in baby products. New Jersey is joining a growing number of states seeking to ban potentially toxic chemicals found in name-brand children's baby bottles, toys, powders and lotions. Newark Star-Ledger, New Jersey, 27 February 2008.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/02/new_jersey_is_joining_a.html
The danger behind coal-fired power plants. There is new concern in Utah over the generation of power, and there's a smoldering debate over coal-fired power plants. What is the cost of these power plants to human health? Salt Lake City KTVX TV, Utah, 27 February 2008.
http://www.abc4.com/content/features/story.aspx?content_id=258d00a8-f1a6-4996-9dc1-7ba85d1925be