Highlights
Meeting Presentation Online
The presentation from the May 26th meeting is now posted: "The World Health Organization's Just-released Cell Phone Study: Case For Precaution?"; please see CHE-Washington's Meetings page for details.
The Northwest Children's Environmental Health Forum October 1 and 2, 2009
CHE-WA's working group on Children's Environmental Health was thrilled
to host more than 300 participants at its Northwest Children's
Environmental Health Forum last week, October 1-2, in Tukwila,
Washington. A diverse audience participated including healthcare providers,
students, scientists, policy makers, elected officials' staff, children's
advocates, local citizens and more. Elise Miller, national director of CHE, opened the
event with a speech emphasizing the importance of scientific research on the
environmental factors impacting our children's health and intellectual potential. Ted
Schettler, MD, science director for the Science and Environmental Health Network,
framed environmental factors in the broader context of social and economic stresses that
together exacerbate children's ability to reach their full potential. Other plenary speakers
shared the latest research on environmental factors linked to learning and developmental
delays, autism, endocrine systems, and impacts that can be passed down through
several generations in a family.
The second day of the forum focused on policy opportunities to better protect children's
health. CHE-WA was honored to host Ron Sims, the new Undersecretary for Housing and
Urban Development, and Martha Berger, EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection,
offering perspectives on national efforts to protect children's environmental health.
To learn more about the forum (slides and other materials will be posted within a
month), or to join CHE-WA's children's environmental health working group, please see the Forum web page.
Resources: Ways to protect the very young from toxic chemicals
What do we really know about how our children are affected by toxic exposures, especially during their critical developmental years?
Visit this searchable database and find more information on every topic covered in the 2009 Northwest Children’s Environmental Health Forum.
If you are a:
- Health professional
- Parent
- Builder
- Agency worker
- School official
- Policy maker
- Homeowner
- Pregnant woman
- Child care provider
This resource will provide the latest information to help protect the developing child from the effects of harmful environmental exposures.
Limit or expand your search with six categories, including languages.
Oregon Environmental Council Publishes First Ever Look at the Annual Costs of Environmental Disease in Oregon
The Price of Pollution: Cost Estimates of Environmentally Related Disease in Oregon, a new study by the Oregon Environmental Council, finds that environmentally attributable diseases from sources such as lead, diesel, and mercury cost the state $1.57 billion annually. The estimate for children alone is $1.10 billion per year. This is the first-ever study of the cost of environmental disease for Oregon. See the report on the OEC website: http://www.oeconline.org/kidshealth/priceofpollution/index.
Pollution in People Report
Oregonians are polluted with many hazardous industrial chemicals according to a new study conducted by the Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) and the Oregon Collaborative for Health and the Environment (CHE-OR). The report, Pollution in People, includes these key findings:
- Toxic chemicals from consumer products, food, and industrial pollution contaminate our bodies.
- The toxic chemicals in our bodies are cause for concern because they can lead to health problems.
- Every participant was contaminated with phthalates, PCBs, mercury and PFOA.
The Oregon Environmental Council and CHE-OR strongly recommend that a comprehensive safer chemicals policy be developed and adopted by our government.
CHE-Oregon Website
CHE-Oregon has published a website with information about events and resources for members and others interested in environmental health in Oregon. Visit the site at http://www.oeconline.org/kidshealth/healthprofessionals/che.
Fact Sheets Published
The Research & Information Working Group of CHE-Washington has published printable Fact Sheets corresponding to the topics in the clearinghouse on health and environmental quality in Washington State that they created earlier this year. This work was completed with support from the Institute for Children's Environmental Health and Antioch University Seattle and was sponsored by the Seattle Biotech Legacy
Foundation. For links to the fact sheets, please visit the Enter Clearinghouse web page.
Precaution Academy and Briefing
Materials from our June Precaution Academy and Briefing are now listed on the CHE-Washington Precautionary Principle Working Group page.
CHE-Washington Research & Information Group Unveils Website
A new clearinghouse website has been created under the direction of Dr.
Kate Davies, chair of the Collaborative's Research and Information Working
Group and Core Faculty in Environment & Community at Antioch University
Seattle. The new site summarizes information on chronic diseases and
disabilities and environmental quality in Washington State and contains
links and references to about 500 data sources. It deals with diverse topics
such as asthma, urban sprawl & health, climate change, pesticides, adult and
childhood cancer, contaminants in air, water and soil, and learning &
developmental disabilities.
"This is the first website of its type in the country to offer such a
comprehensive picture of health and environmental quality at a state level,"
said Dr. Davies. "It takes complex scientific information and makes it
understandable by the lay-person." A study released by Dr. Davies in 2005
showed that environmental diseases and disabilities cost Washington State
more than $2 billion a year in healthcare and related costs.
Read the complete media advisory about the new site.
Report Reveals the High Health Care Costs Stemming from Toxics in Washington's Environment
More than $2 billion a year in health care costs – an amount matching the biotechnology industry's contribution to the state economy – can be tied to diseases and disabilities linked to environmental contaminants, according to a study released recently by Dr. Kate Davies, faculty at Antioch University Seattle. View these documents:
Tiny Footprints Program
The Oregon Environmental Council (OEC), has created a program called Tiny Footprints™. They offer a new web site (www.tinyfootprints.org) and baby-shower kit to support parents and their communities interested in raising their children in ways that are good for the environment AND their children's health. This information is for people who are expecting a baby and are interested in creating an environmentally healthy home for their child.
The Tiny Footprints™ program offers tips about simple, easy-to-make choices that can make a big difference in and around the home. For example, Tiny Footprints™ shopping tips for a healthy home include such easy-to-make choices as:
- Look for "mild," "biodegradable" soaps, lotions, cleaners and detergents.
- Look for products made from solid wood (vs. particle board).
Check out the new website and join community conversations on expecting, adventuring with baby, green products and services, nutrition, eco-healthy homes, and on how to build an eco-healthy parenting community of your own. Networking is a great way to learn from the choices other parents have made. At OEC, we hope to learn from the community too!
One of the coolest aspects of the program is the nation's first Tiny Footprints™ Baby Shower Kit, a one-stop, hands-on guide for organizing a fun and "eco-healthy" baby shower. This kind of shower is a great way to engage family and friends in the quest to raise a new loved one in an environmentally healthy home. It makes a great gift for an expecting friend! The kit includes attractively printed shopping tips and information cards and is available for a small fee. Basic kit contents are also available online for free.
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