Tuesday Workshops

October 27, 2009: 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

E 1: Fire and Ice: Data-driven Responses to Extreme Heat, Wildfires, and Cold Weather

This session will feature four separate presentations on how data can be used to drive decisions for public health planning and response during and after public health emergencies. Participants will hear how officials in New York City analyzed data on fatalities following recent extreme heat events to identify risk factors and opportunities for intervention. Participants also will hear from health officials in Missouri—the one state that includes hyperthermia as a reportable condition—who have engaged in such surveillance since 1985. Another presentation will focus on decisions made during California’s 2008 wildfires in which air quality data were used to guide emergency public health action—including door-to-door visits on tribal land, distribution of portable HEPA HVAC units and N95 masks along with proper instructions for use, establishing clean air shelters, and cancelling certain public events. Finally, the session will include an overview of the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response that was used to mitigate the health impact of the January 2009 ice storm in Kentucky that left thousands stranded for weeks without access to basic necessities. " The 2008 California Wildfires: Emergency response strategies to lessen the public health impact of s

Shelley DuTeaux: The 2008 California Wildfires: Emergency response strategies to lessen the public health impact of s

Nathan Graber: Adaptive strategies to prevent heat-related mortality: lessons learned from New York City, 2008

Lori Harris-Franklin: The Heat Is On

Sara Vagi: Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) After Ice Storms in Kentucky

Top of Page

E 2 Infertility as a Public Health Priority: Understanding the Role of Environmental Health

Infertility affects millions of men and women across the United States each year. There are many opportunities for progress in this area, including the need for more public health research, surveillance, communication, and program and policy development. While some causes of infertility are under investigation, there remain large gaps in knowledge. In particular, the role of environmental and occupational hazards has not been adequately defined. This session will provide a primer on the national action plan for infertility, focusing on infertility as an emerging priority, and will propose ways we can move forward in addressing these issues through research, policy, screening, and education of target populations.

Nina Larsen: A Public Health Focus on Infertility: National Action Plan and Next Steps

Maurizio Macaluso: A Public Health Focus on Infertility: An Emerging Priority

Richard Wang: A public health focus on infertility: Unmet needs and opportunities for action

Top of Page

E 3: Considerations for Indoor Environments: New Directions in Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention

Indoor pollution sources that release gases or particles into the air are the primary cause of indoor air quality problems. Carbon monoxide, in particular, has received increased public attention as poor indoor air quality has been linked to a host of health problems. To address concerns about carbon monoxide (CO) in indoor air, environmental public health practitioners need to use a variety of practices and technologies. Participants in this session will learn about innovative programs to address CO exposure, including novel approaches for placing generators to limit CO entry. This session also will review the findings of a CDC study that assessed public attitudes toward CO safety in the United States on a national level; a household survey conducted in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, that investigated the presence of residential CO alarms; and a study of populations impacted by CO poisonings in Florida.

Steven Emmerich: Modeling the Effects of Outdoor Use of Gasoline Powered Generators on Indoor Carbon Monoxide Levels

Laurel Harduar Morano: An in-depth review of the factors related to unintentional non-fire related carbon monoxide poisoning

Shahed Iqbal: National carbon monoxide poisoning surveillance framework

Michael King: Attitudes about Carbon Monoxide Safety in the United States: The 2005 and 2006 HealthStyles Survey

Shubhayu Saha: Who has Carbon Monoxide alarms in Mecklenburg County?

Top of Page

E 4: Global Food and Agriculture

Though food is essential to everyday life, growing, harvesting, preparing and consuming food can potentially be detrimental to our health. Because food and agriculture-related illnesses affect a large portion of the world’s population, evaluating and understanding contributing factors to these illnesses is essential to improving public health. This session will explore a spectrum of concerns related to food and agriculture, including occupational exposures to pesticides amongst cotton pickers, poor indoor air quality associated with cooking on open fires and unvented stoves, aflatoxin contaminated maize in Eastern Kenya, and public health implications of regulations and practices related to U.S. imported produce.

Tayyaba Ali : Biomonitoring female agriculture workers exposed to pesticides using micronucleus assay ; a follow

Johnni Daniel: Comprehensive Assessment of Maize Aflatoxin Levels in Eastern Kenya, 2005 - 2007

Patricia Lovera: Poisoned fruit: The rising consumption and waning regulation of imported produce

Alisa Smith: Global Clean Cooking Partnership Improves the Health and Environment of Millions of People

Top of Page

E 5: Heavy Metals: Cadmium and Mercury in Environmental Health

As a result of extensive, longstanding use in human industry and products, heavy metals are widely dispersed in the global environment. They have the tendency to accumulate in biological systems and can be potentially toxic at even relatively minor levels of exposure. In this session, the sources and deleterious health outcomes of mercury and cadmium will be explored. Utilizing the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a link between elevated cadmium exposure and low bone density and osteoporosis will be described. Additional studies will address mercury exposure related to fish and marine mammal consumption in Alaskan and tribal communities and discuss risk-benefit analysis for consumption advisories.

Rebecca Jeffries Birch: Association between urinary cadmium and bone density: NHANES III, 1988-1994

Colleen Martin: Blood Mercury Levels among Consumers of Locally Caught Fish, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation

Lori Verbrugge: Alaska’s Statewide Hair Mercury Biomonitoring Program: Results to Action

Top of Page

E 6: Children’s Environmental Health: West Michigan Case Study

This session will highlight two successful programs conducted in West Michigan: the Greater Grand Rapids Children’s Environmental Health Initiative (GRCEHI) and a Children’s Environmental Health (CEH) pilot project conducted by the USEPA Region 5 from 2006?2008. The success of the GRCEHI will be discussed along with the Environmental Health Indicators Work Group within the GRECHI which analyzes environmental health data for the targeted communities to support effective resource allocation and measure program successes. The CEH, which focused on creating a holistic approach for children's environmental health in Western Michigan, will be discussed along with lessons learned.

Mary Hultin: Creating a holistic approach for children's environmental health in West Michigan

Maryann Suero: EPA Lessons Learned: West Michigan Children's Environmental Health Initiative

Robert Wahl: Environmental Health Indicators Work Group of West Michigan

Top of Page

E 7: Beyond the Big Green E: The Role of Ecosystems Services in Environmental Public Health

A healthy ecosystem is a fundamental part of maintaining human health. Assessments of ecosystems services and linkage of ecological components and processes to pubic health outcomes is an important part of the environmental health profession. This session will focus on understanding different ecosystems, how ecosystems services can influence health, and the importance of tracking ecosystem service information to address critical information gaps. The session features speakers from various federal agencies who will participate in a discussion with the audience on future directions for the role of ecosystem services in environmental public health. The discussion also will explore linkages with the national environmental public health tracking network as well as climate change and health activities.

Joan Aron: Panel Discussion

Laura Jackson: Introduction to Ecosystem Services: Our life-support system and key to well-being

Susan Lovelace: Coastal Ecosystem Services and Human Health and Well-being

David Nowak: The role of vegetation in mitigating human exposure to urban air pollution

Judy Qualters: Dissemination of ecosystem data through Tracking Network: - Challenges and Opportunities

Top of Page

E 8: Avoiding Adverse Environmental Factors: Action Tools for Healthy Schools

Children (and many adults) spend more time in the nation’s more than 100,000 schools than in any other environment, underscoring the critical importance of working toward safe and healthy school environments. This session will feature presentations by ATSDR and state partners to examine the problem of gym floors containing mercury in schools in Michigan and Minnesota and the potential need to develop a national strategy. In addition, participants will learn the importance of community involvement in the school site selection and cleanup process to adequately protect students and school workers. This session also will offer a review of tools and techniques for ensuring safe and healthy school environments developed by the Southeast Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit.

Christina Bush: Identifying and Testing Mercury-Containing Polymer Floors

Steven Fischbach: Avoiding Environmental Hazards In the School Siting Process

Robert Geller: Safe and Healthy School Environments

Steven Jones: Mercury-Containing Polymer Floors: Isolated Occurrences or National Issue?

Top of Page

E 9: Thank you for Not Smoking: Second Hand Smoke Exposures after Smoke-Free Law Implementation

Second hand smoke has been linked to numerous deleterious health outcomes including heart disease and lung cancer. Furthermore, recent guidance by the Surgeon General suggests that the adverse health effects of second hand smoke can only be addressed by eliminating all indoor smoking. In this session, biomonitoring approaches and health effects data will elucidate the benefits of smoke-free laws and identify susceptible populations. The session will describe an exposure study among pregnant women population studies from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The session also will include an assessment of the current status of smoke-free laws in states.

Kenneth Aldous: Secondhand smoke exposure among nonsmokers in New York.

John Bernert: Exposure of the US Population to Secondhand Smoke Assessed Through the Use of Biomarkers.

Gerald DeLorenze: Women at risk for higher second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure during pregnancy: who are they?

Michael Tynan: State Smoke-free laws: Effectively Protecting Employees and the Public from Secondhand Smoke Exposure

Top of Page

E 10: Food and Health: How American Agricultural Practices and Changing Demographics Affect Disease

Food systems exist at the complex intersection of science and society. The food we eat reflects market forces, policy decisions, and social preferences, and can either have a beneficial impact or exact a heavy toll on public health. In this session, the connection between food systems, sustainability, and healthy aging will be identified. Chronic diseases of aging are a growing national concern integrally tied to our food systems. Additionally, presenters will discuss current risks to food security. Currently, US fruit and vegetable production falls short of per capita consumption needs to meet dietary recommendations. These and other recognized failures of our current food systems will be examined in light of the U.S. Farm Bill. While the extant food system’s shortcomings are immense, this session will look beyond the present and explore the extraordinary opportunity for development of sustainable, healthy local food systems.

Michael Conard: Redesigning the Food System for Public Health and Sustainability

Christa Essig: Agriculture and Food Security; Considerations of Biodiversity, Land Use, and Petroleum

Rebecca Klein:The Farm Bill and Environmental Public Health

Ted Schettler: Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging: What’s Driving Both Chronic Disease and Environmental Degrad

Top of Page

E 11: Environmental Health and Healthy Communities: Promising Practices, Policies, and Partnerships

CDC defines a healthy community as a community that is continuously creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding those community resources that enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and in developing to their maximum potential.” This session will describe best practices and policy approaches to achieve healthy communities. . Presentations will include a characterization and analysis of the use of health impact assessments in the United States between 1999 and 2008. Participants will also learn about the importance of incorporating health responsibilities into the work of all agencies whose decisions influence health, even when the mission and functions of those entities do not explicitly contain health priorities. This session will also highlight successful, replicable efforts to educate local planning commissioners on environmental health hazards and health risks and, using Los Angeles County as an example, will highlight how effective land-use strategies can be used to increase physical activity and prevent chronic conditions. Finally, the potential environmental public health benefits of public land acquisition programs (particularly when they are successful at extending and connecting open spaces) will be examined.

Jean Armbruster: Healthy Environments through Land Use Policy: Experiences from LA County Department of Public Health

Christopher Coutts: Creating a Connected Landscape Structure in Florida: A Focus on Human Health Benefits

Scott Holmes: Assuring Environmental Health Hazards are Considered in Land Use and Community Design Decisions

Richard Jackson: Health in all policies: implications for environmental health

Candace Rutt: "Use of Health Impact Assessment in the United States:39 Case Studies, 1999–2008

Top of Page

E 12: Maintaining a Healthy and Sustainable Water Supply: Water Treatment and Preparedness

Ensuring the health and sustainability of our waters is a vital concern in environmental public health. In this session, both technological and managerial opportunities for improvement will be presented, including application of innovative ferrate wastewater treatment and management of whole watersheds for sustainability. Additionally, the challenges to water system sustainability presented by natural disasters will be examined. Analysis of the public health’s response to the 2008 Georgia drought will identify challenges presented by water scarcity, and the sustainability of water and sanitation interventions after Hurricane Mitch will be assessed to inform future disaster relief efforts.

Betsy Kagey: Drought in Georgia: Public Health Response

Michael McNutt: Watershed Management and Sustainability: A Holistic Approach to Water Quality Attainment

Raquel Sabogal: A Seven Year Follow up of a Sustainability Evaluation of Water and Sanitation Interventions after a Hurricane

Brady Skaggs: Ferrate for Wastewater Disinfection and Wetland Restoration: Public Health Implications

Top of Page

E 13: New Directions in Healthy Homes: Techniques for Taking Action

There is widespread consensus that healthier homes lead to healthier lives. When effectively implemented, Healthy Homes interventions address a multitude of home-based environmental hazards and can result in a triple net benefit of green jobs and skilled workers, significant health improvements for residents, and enhanced housing stock and neighborhood stability. This session will provide a roadmap for communities moving toward the Healthy Homes approach, highlight a suite of courses developed by the National Healthy Housing Training Center and Network, and provide an opportunity to discuss the importance of incorporating green principles into housing rehabilitation and other Healthy Homes initiatives. Additionally, the Wisconsin Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health will offer lessons learned in its Healthy Homes outreach efforts.

Susan Aceti: A Suite of Healthy Homes Training for Health and Housing Professionals

David Jacobs: An evaluation of the health outcomes of green and healthy housing rehabilitation

Ruth Ann Norton: Maximizing Healthy Homes Opportunities

Brooke Thompson: Wisconsin Healthy Homes Program- An Overview

Top of Page

E 14: Towards Sustainability: One Organization at a Time

Efforts towards institutional sustainability are a central component of a healthy future. A myriad of institutional efforts to enhance sustainability provide a great opportunity to share best practices. This session will review sustainability initiatives at Emory University and the CDC. Additionally, presenters will discuss lessons learned in local environmental public health department efforts towards sustainability, both intradepartmentally and programmatically. Finally, this session will include a presentation on practical strategies to promote the long-term viability of programs developed to reduce environmental factors associated with chronic disease, which will ultimately inform organizational efforts towards a healthier, greener future.

Peggy Barlett: Food, Healthy Connections: Emory's Sustainable Food Initiative

Adele Houghton: Greening from Within: Translating Internal Sustainability Initiatives into Innovations in Environment

Joseph Ralph: The Impact of Sustainability for Program Capacity

Liz York: Go Green, Get Healthy: An agency-wide effort toward sustainability

Top of Page

E 15: Public Health with an Ocean View, Part 2: Bugs in Our Water—and in Our Food!

These back-to-back sessions discuss the public health impacts from our interactions with oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes. In Part 2, Bugs in Our Water—and Our Food!, we highlight tools to assess how microbes in our ocean waters impact our health and seafood safety. Discussion includes how organic aggregates contribute to the persistence of aquatic pathogens. Tools include modeling bacterial transport in nearshore waters, detecting and tracking pathogens in coastal waters, the BEACHES study, climate change impacts on harmful algal blooms that cause shellfish toxicity, and improving shellfish safety by understanding the genetics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Lora Fleming: BEACHES Study: Health Effects and Exposures from Non-point Source

M Maille Lyons: How do organic aggregates contribute to the persistence of aquatic pathogens?

Stephanie Moore: Climate change impacts on harmful algal blooms that cause shellfish toxicity

Philip Roberts: Modeling bacterial transport in nearshore waters

Jill Stewart: Detecting and Tracking Pathogens in Coastal Waters to Reduce Public Health Risks

Mark Strom: Improving shellfish safety by understanding the genetics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Top of Page