Special AnnouncementTo members of the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative: The staff of the Institute for Children's Environmental Health have been pleased to create and send these weekly bulletins to you during the last year and a half. However, as in most nonprofits, our staff time is both our greatest asset and a limited resource. We have recently had to do some re-examination of the use of our staff time, and we've decided to simplify the format we have been using -- a weekly publication with summaries of upwards of 20 pertinent articles. Instead, you'll see that from now on the bulletin will come to your inbox every other week. We will publish upcoming events happening further in the future, and we will send interim messages if needed about events that we learn about after a bulletin has been published. Another change is that we will no longer include full summaries of news and research articles. Because most of our news stories are available through the "Above the Fold" news feed, we will simply provide their introduction and links from those articles that we think will be of most interest to this membership. We will continue to provide highlights of news and events within LDDI. We trust this bulletin will continue to serve to keep you informed about news and activities in environmental health. We also welcome your feedback. Elise Miller, Executive Director, and Nancy Snow, Editor |
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 at http://www.healthandenvironment.org/roles/register?&phase=registerform. 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) LDDI's fall 2007 teleconference series: To fulfill the educational goals of the cancelled LDDI national conference in Atlanta last May, we will launch this seven-part teleconference series on Wednesday September 12th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern with each call including a panel of speakers who were to present in Atlanta.
2) LDDI's consensus statement: This statement is currently being drafted by Steve Gilbert, PhD, founder and director of the Institute for Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders, with support of almost a dozen key researchers from across the country. This will be further reviewed, refined, finalized and signed by as wide a circle of researchers as possible by October 2007 and presented at the International Neurotoxicology Conference to be held in San Antonio, Texas, (not Austin as previously reported) November 11-15th, 2007.
3) American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities has rescheduled their July 10th environmental health research teleconference call for 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday August 14, 2007. Their guest presenter Cynthia Bearer, MD, PhD, will speak on "Detecting the Impact of Ethanol on the Fetus and Understanding its Underlying Mechanism." For more information and notes from previous calls, please see http://www.ehinitiative.org/index.htm.
4) LDDI partners the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, with others, are sponsoring the NADD 24th Annual Conference & Exhibit Show. Scheduled for October 24 - 26, 2007, at the at the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown in Atlanta, Georgia, the conference will include presentations related to promotion of wellness, prevention of illness, common symptomology in physical and psychiatric disorders, environmental health, interdisciplinary collaboration, cross systems collaboration, Autism Spectrum Disorders and family issues, and skill building. The conference theme is "Physical & Mental Wellness: Promising Practices (ID/MH)." For more information, please visit http://www.thenadd.org/pages/conferences/24th/index.shtml or contact Conference Assistant Brenda Reuss, 800-331-5362 or breuss@thenadd.org.
Thursday and Friday, July 19 - 20, 2007
Portland, Oregon
at the Oregon Convention Center's Portland Ballroom 251
The conference will provide a dynamic forum for exploring issues related to community-based research partnerships, methods, funding and project planning, and the dissemination of findings. Effective models of CBPR from the northwest and throughout the country will be showcased. The conference will provide a forum for examining the role of CBPR in improving health and eliminating health disparities -- highlighting the voices of community members, researchers, funders and others working with underserved and underrepresented populations; build upon the knowledge and skills of participants interested in the application of CBPR for social change and improved health; explore the multi-faceted process of CBPR -- including partnerships, methods and ethics -- and to learn from partnerships that have addressed these challenges and opportunities; and explore local, state and national funding sources, including opportunities to hear directly from grant seekers and funders.
Website: http://www.nwhfevents.org/
Thursday through Saturday, July 19 - 21, 2007
Charleston, South Carolina
at the Charleston Marriott
Recent events have shed light upon the tragic consequences that a disaster can have on an already inequitable health system. But the truth is that for many Americans, it doesn't take a Hurricane Katrina for disparities in healthcare to impact their day-to-day life. There is a growing chasm between the quality of health for the working poor and those with ready access to America's doctors and hospitals. The National Conference on Health Disparities in Charleston will bring together health care providers, funding agencies, political leaders and public policy makers to tackle this problem's history, then forge new strategies and visionary thinking to help facilitate the reduction and ultimately the elimination of health disparities in the United States. With a focus on the 13 most affected states, the conference will endeavor to understand where we've been and what we've learned from those experiences with an eye on where health disparities can be improved and how to facilitate such change.
Website: http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=203591eb-574d-48dc-a0bf-cf58e7c99167
Most of the articles below come from Environmental Health News feed, http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/.
Doctor who sparked vaccine scare faces UK hearing. The British doctor who sparked a health scare by suggesting a childhood vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella is linked to autism faces a hearing on Monday into charges of professional misconduct during his research. Reuters. 16 July 2007.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSL1529355320070715
Perfect lawns, environmental hazard. The shimmering green of the finely groomed Long Island lawn may trigger an owner's pride and neighborhood envy, but it also could pose a serious health risk. New York Newsday, New York. 15 July 2007.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lilawn0715,0,3680551.story?coll=ny-top-headlines
Want a safer home? Throw a party. Safer Home Parties are a new approach Clean Water Action is using to provide information about making homes safer by using fewer chemical-based products. Saginaw News, Michigan. 15 July 2007.
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grpress/index.ssf?/base/features-0/1184481966115060.xml&coll=6
Concerns over genistein, part II. Researchers now report finding a range of perplexing effects attributable to the soy phytoestrogen genistein in experiments with male mice. Science News. 14 July 2007.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20070714/food.asp
China exports jewelry made with toxic U.S. waste. On the other side of the world, discarded US electronics fill foreign slums with toxic metals that are hand-removed by unprotected workers. Seattle King 5 TV, Washington. 14 July 2007.
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_071307ENB_china_toxins_KS.713c7f2b.html
New advice on plastic baby bottles. In what could be a first among mainstream parenting books, the updated version of "Baby 411" tells readers to stop using polycarbonate plastic baby bottles, which contain the chemical Bisphenol A. Chicago Tribune, Illinois. Opinion, 13 July 2007.
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2007/07/popular-parenti.html
Law hasn't curbed school bus pollution. Nearly two years after voters mandated pollution controls on school buses, children are still breathing cancer-causing diesel fumes on the ride to and from school. Bergen County Record, New Jersey. 13 July 2007.
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDYmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcxNjcwMjMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0
Toxins in humans go unrecorded. Researchers at Simon Fraser University have found methods used to calculate chemical levels in humans may seriously underestimate our true toxic loads. Vancouver Province, British Columbia. 13 July 2007.
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=9872a1b2-b3c5-48e7-ac38-852a985c10f8
Organic farming could feed the world. A switch to organic farming would not reduce the world's food supply and could also increase food security in developing countries, say the authors of a new study. New Scientist, England. 13 July 2007.
http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn12245-organic-farming-could-feed-the-world.html
Law lowers lead limit for blood. The number of lead poisoning cases is expected to quadruple under standards in a new law Gov. John Lynch signed yesterday. Manchester Union Leader, New Hampshire. 13 July 2007.
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Law+lowers+lead+limit+for+blood&articleId=3a88b529-98dd-448f-ac11-5b66ec917663
New class of chemicals accumulating in people, land animals. Pesticides and fragrances are accumulating in people and Arctic land animals, part of a class of thousands of chemicals that need to be assessed for the potential to collect in the food chain. Bloomberg News. 13 July 2007.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a9c4Vhv7Ou8o&refer=canada
5 of 6 kids lack required lead tests. Most Upstate New York children don't get tested for lead at ages 1 and 2, despite state regulations requiring doctors to do the screenings. Utica Observer-Dispatch, New York. 13 July 2007.
http://www.uticaod.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070713/NEWS/707130324/1001
E-waste recycling spews dioxins into the air. Air around e-waste recycling areas in Guiyu, China, contains the highest levels of dioxins ever recorded. Environmental Science & Technology. 12 July 2007.
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2007/july/science/rc_ewaste.html
Pollution making Great Lakes fish inedible. Could eating fish from the Great Lakes become a thing of the past? Environmentalists say it's very likely, given the levels of toxins dangerous to both fish and people present in the lakes. Epoch Times, Canada edition, Canada. 12 July 2007.
http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-7-12/57560.html
Treated sewage still contaminated. Chemicals suspected of interfering with hormone systems in humans and wildlife are leaching out of consumer products and into wastewater, where they end up in the Bay and beyond, according to a report released Wednesday. Oakland Tribune, California. 12 July 2007.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_6351058
Nanonano. Nanotechnology can be found in everyday products like sunscreen and may even someday cure cancer. But what do we really know about it? It is one of today's most promising avenues of research, but experts say it could also be one of the most perilous. Baltimore Sun, Maryland. 12 July 2007.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-to.hs.nano12jul12,0,5122236.story
Toronto health board seeks right-to-know bylaw on toxic chemical use. The city's Board of Health is moving ahead with plans to implement a bylaw to ensure residents across Toronto have access to information about the toxic chemicals being used in their communities. Scarborough Mirror, Ontario. 12 July 2007.
http://www.insidetoronto.ca/News/City_Hall/article/29188
Detroit receives $4M to battle lead paint. The grant money, which will be administered by the Planning and Development Department, will be used to fix homes where children younger than 6 live and for landlords to improve their properties. Detroit News, Michigan. 13 July 2007.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070713/METRO01/707130365/1006
Fund aims to protect pregnancies. Trying to combat Berkshire County's high rates of women who smoke during pregnancy, a consortium of environmental and health care agencies are using a federal grant to provide counseling to expecting mothers. Pittsfield Berkshire Eagle, Massachusetts. 12 July 2007.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/headlines/ci_6354594
From the mouths of babes. As you read this, your young child may be chewing on a toy that would be banned in 14 countries because of safety concerns with one of its chemical ingredients. San Francisco Chronicle, California, Editorial, 12 July 2007.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/12/EDG6QQ4VOP1.DTL
Autism: the truth. As the leaked and incomplete results of a study on autism again raise fears among parents, the scientist leading the research tells our correspondent that the new reports are alarmist and wrong. London Times, England. 12 July 2007.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article2060575.ece
Danger feared from chemicals getting into Bay. Chemicals found in household products like antibacterial soap and plastic bottles are found in sewage water that is discharged into San Francisco Bay, posing a threat to wildlife and humans, according to new data. San Francisco Chronicle, California, 11 July 2007
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/11/MNGFVQUHC21.DTL
Toxics in Packaging. A new national study released today found for the first time ever that over 60% of PVC packaging tested contains toxic heavy metals that violate state toxics in packaging laws in 19 states -- including Washington's law. Of the packages tested, 16% exceeded the screening threshold of 100 parts per million for the presence of one or more of the restricted heavy metals (cadmium, lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium) and may be in violation of state toxics in packaging laws. Cadmium and lead were the most frequently detected of the four regulated metals. The average cadmium concentration detected in the samples that failed the screening test was 449 ppm while the average lead concentration was 1,740 ppm. The two types of packaging that most frequently failed the metals screening test were Flexible polyvinylchloride (PVC) packages and inks/colorants used on plastic shopping/mailing bags. The study was conducted by the Toxics In Packaging Clearinghouse, a network of nine state environmental agencies coordinating toxics in packaging legislation. Press release from Center for Health, Environment and Justice, 10 July 2007.
http://www.toxicsinpackaging.org