EPA Announces New Office To Support Children's Health

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Carol M. Browner announced that EPA is creating an Office of Children's Health Protection. One of this office's duties is to carry out the agenda from EPA's 1996 report, "Environmental Health Threats to Children." This agenda includes addressing a wide array of complex environmental threats to children's health, from air pollution that can exacerbate asthma to toxic chemicals that can lead to serious health problems. It also includes expanding families' right to know about environmental issues affecting children.

Key actions planned for the office include (1) reviewing and setting child-protective environmental standards; (2) researching and setting new policies on children's unique susceptibility and exposure to pollutants; and (3) expanding communities' right to know and education on children's health.

Philip Landrigan, MD, chairman of the Department of Community Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, will help lead this effort as the senior advisor to the administrator for children's health. Dr. Landrigan, an expert on environmental health and pediatrics, helped produce the 1993 study by the National Academy of Sciences on pesticides and children and is co-author of the book Raising Children Toxic Free.

The full text of EPA's press release concerning this new office is available through the EPA web site.

[Table of Contents]

Carnegie Corporation Offers Child- and Adolescent-Related Publications Online

The Carnegie Corporation, created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding, has put many of its child- and adolescent-related publications or publication ordering information online at http://www.carnegie.org/. Some of the publications address child development, violence prevention, education, school health promotion, science teaching, conflict resolution, middle school human biology, role of sports in youth development, parent education, business and adolescent health, and learning in the primary grades. The Carnegie Corporation of New York's Publications Office can also be reached at 437 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022; telephone (212) 371-3200; fax (212) 754-4073.

[Table of Contents]

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Notice to Readers

Because of staff changes, no Volume (Vol.) 6, Number (No.) 4 issue of Hazardous Substances & Public Health was produced. In addition, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Spring) and No. 2 (Summer) issues are being combined and delivered as Volume 7, Number 1/2, Spring/Summer 1997. ATSDR plans to return to a quarterly newsletter release schedule with the Vol. 7, No. 3 (Fall) issue.

[Table of Contents]

On April 15, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) unveiled the healthfinder web site (http://www.healthfinder.gov), a gateway to consumer health information resources produced by the federal government and its partners. Healthfinder will allow people to get reliable health information faster and easier, according to HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala. The site includes links to health-related information such as web sites, organizations, publications, databases, support and self-help groups, and discussion lists. Searches can be done by health topic, and topics can be narrowed by age group or other demographic categories and by kind of resource sought (all, web only, organization only).

[Table of Contents]

NACCHO Provides Two New Resources for Working in Communities

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is providing new resources for performing assessments of community environmental education needs and improving collaborations between local health departments and communities.

The first resource is Partnerships for Environmental Health Education: Performing a Community Needs Assessment at Hazardous Waste Sites. This guide is designed as a tool to assist local health departments in working collaboratively with communities to identify environmental health educational needs and develop cooperative action plans to meet those needs. The first draft was pilot tested by 10 local health departments, with the support of NACCHO and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). NACCHO revised the guide based on feedback from the pilot test. The guide is available, with or without an accompanying diskette that includes modifiable forms for data collection, for the following prices: NACCHO active member - $18 without diskette, $22 with diskette; nonmember - $28 without diskette, $32 with diskette.

The second resource is Improving Community Collaboration: A Self-Assessment Guide for Local Health Departments. This guide is designed to provide local health departments with a philosophy and method for enhancing their relationships with the community to improve public health, particularly at hazardous waste sites. Its central goal is to enable local health departments to assess critically their role in working with community residents in a true decision-making partnership. The guide's content is drawn from the experiences of local health departments, community groups, and other health agencies. It is available to NACCHO members for $15 and nonmembers for $25.

Both guides were supported through a cooperative agreement with ATSDR and were released in spring 1997.

To order either of these guides, contact Anissa Bradby, NACCHO, 440 First Street, NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20001; telephone (202) 783-5550; fax (202) 783-1583.

[Table of Contents]

Public Health GIS News and Information Available Via E-Mail

The bimonthly, electronic newsletter Public Health GIS News and Information is available free of charge through e-mail to anyone interested in using geographic information systems (GIS) in the public health arena. Dedicated to scientific excellence and advancement in disease control and prevention through the use of GIS technology, the newsletter is a means by which Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry staff and others can communicate about GIS-related activities and issues.

The newsletter provides timely information on a wide range of GIS topics, including assistance with applications of GIS technology, professional meetings and conferences, communications from GIS users subscribing to the newsletter, and public health GIS literature.

To subscribe or receive a copy of the newsletter, send an e-mail request to the editor, Charles M. Croner, PhD, Office of Research and Methodology, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at cmc2@cdc.gov or call (301) 436-7904, ext. 146.

[Table of Contents]

Health Studies Available to the Public

ATSDR environmental health scientists conduct health studies at Superfund sites nationwide to evaluate the health effects of hazardous substances on exposed populations. The following health studies are available to the public in paperback through the National Technical Information Services (NTIS) (costs include $4 shipping and handling):

• Reproductive, Neurobehavioral, and Other Disorders in Communities Surrounding the Rocky Mountain Arsenal,* Colorado State University, Department of Environmental Health, Fort Collins, Colorado (August 1996), NTIS no. PB96-178058. Cost: $51.

• Symptom and Disease Prevalence With Biomarkers Health Study, Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant, Hall County, Nebraska (September 1996), NTIS no. PB96-187760. Cost: $29.

• Disease and Symptom Prevalence Survey, Tucson International Airport Site, Tucson, Arizona (September 1996), NTIS no. PB96-199484. Cost: $45.

• Evaluation of Developmental Disabilities in Relation to Environmental Exposures in Groton, Massachusetts* (March 1997), NTIS no. PB97-137715. Cost: $42.

*This document, supported by funds from an ATSDR grant, was printed as submitted by the grantee and was not revised or edited to conform with ATSDR guidance.

To order these health studies and others prepared by ATSDR, contact NTIS, Sills Building, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22151; telephone (703) 487-4650; fax (703) 321-8547. For more information on health studies activities, contact Sharon Campolucci, deputy director, Division of Health Studies, ATSDR, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, MS E31, Atlanta, GA 30333; telephone (404) 639-6200.

[Table of Contents]

COURSES

• Maine AHEC Health Literacy Center, University of New England

  6th Annual Summer Institute: Low Literacy Communications Skills for Health Professionals; July 20-26, 1997; Biddeford, Maine. The summer institute consists of three courses taught by national literacy experts Jane Root, PhD, co-author of Teaching Patients with Low Literacy Skills, and Sue Stableford, MPH, director of the Maine AHEC Health Literacy Center. Participants will learn to create materials for low-level readers and culturally diverse populations. Enrollment is limited. The courses are

  • Write It Easy-To-Read Level 1: Creating Health Messages That Work, July 20-23, cost: $379.
  • Getting the Word Out: Presenting the Easy-To-Read Message, July 24, cost: $95.
  • Write It Easy-To-Read Level 2: Creativity and Advanced Skill Building, July 25-26, cost: $239.

  For more information, contact University of New England, College of Professional and Continuing Studies, Hills Beach Road, Biddeford, ME 04005; telephone (207) 283-0171, extension 2440; fax (207) 282-6379.

• National Environmental Health Association (NEHA)

  NEHA, under a cooperative agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, is conducting nationally the workshop "Health Risk Communication for Environmental Health Professionals." The workshop provides participants with tools for effective risk communication and community involvement, emphasizing the application of these tools in Superfund-related settings. Developed by environmental health professionals and risk communication experts, the course focuses on problem identification and practical solutions. Participants have an opportunity to discuss their specific needs in developing risk communication skills. The course includes lectures, discussions in small and large groups, and a case study that allows participants to apply practical skills. Instructors are Chris Wiant, PhD, deputy director of the Tri-County Health Department, and Mary Young, MS, public health educator with the Wisconsin Division of Health. Cost: nominal to no fee (varies by location).

  Remaining 1997 NEHA Health Risk Communication Workshops

  Date			Location			Contact
  
  May 13		Clearwater, Florida		Dean Bodager, (407) 245-0468
  May 29		Columbia, Missouri		Dianna Pasley, (314) 789-3372
  June 3		Indianapolis, Indiana		Sylvia Garrison, (812) 855-3233
  August 21	Wausau, Wisconsin		John Hausbeck, (608) 266-4821
  September 18 	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Wilder Bancroft, (412) 578-8144
  

  NEHA will sponsor an additional workshop on June 27, 1997, as a preconference session for NEHA's 61st annual meeting (See also "Calendar")at a cost of $69. For general information on the workshops, contact Larry Marcum at (303) 756-9090, extension 303.

• Harvard School of Public Health

  Human Rights and Health: A New Perspective in Public Health; June 10-13, 1997; Boston, Massachusetts. This course explores the fundamental and newly recognized link between

  health and human rights and is appropriate for public health professionals, health policy makers, and activists. The course introduces participants to the field of human rights (documents, concepts, practices) and enables them to apply the human rights framework, including the critical issues of discrimination and dignity, in public health practice. The course also examines current controversies, such as universalism and cultural relativism, as well as human rights and the health care system. Continuing medical education (Category 1:19) credit is offered. Cost: $695.

  For more information, contact Harvard School of Public Health, Center for Continuing Professional Education, 677 Huntington Avenue, LL-23, Dept. B, Boston, MA 02115-6096; telephone (617) 432-1171; fax (617) 432-1969; e-mail cmartin@sph.harvard.edu; Internet http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ccpe/.

[Table of Contents]

CALENDAR

May 16-17, 1997; Marketing and Public Policy Conference 1997; Boston, Massachusetts. Contact: Easwar Iyer or George Milne, University of Massachusetts School of Management; telephone (413) 545-5667; fax (413) 545-3858; e-mail eiyer@mktg.edu or milne@mktg.umass.edu.

May 24-27, 1997; Medical Library Association (MLA) 1997 Annual Meeting; Seattle, Washington. Contact: MLA, PO Box 4267, Carol Stream, IL 60197-4267; telephone (312) 419-9094; fax (312) 419-8950.

June 28-July 2, 1997; National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) 61st Annual Educational Conference & Exhibition; Washington, DC. Contact: NEHA, 720 S. Colorado Blvd., Ste. 970, S. Tower, Denver, CO 80222-1925; telephone (303) 756-9090; fax (303) 691-9490.

July 26-29, 1997; Conference on Communication and the Environment; Syracuse, New York. Contact: Sue Senecah, Environmental Studies Department, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Syracuse, NY, 12210; telephone (315) 470-6570; e-mail ssenecah@mailbox.syr.edu.

Table of Contents | HSPH Newsletter Homepage | ATSDR Home Page

This page last updated on October 24, 2003
Contact Name: Wilma López/ WLópez@cdc.gov