CHE logo and link to CHE-WA home page

The Collaborative on Health and the Environment – Northwest

 ICEH logo and link to the ICEH website

A Partnership Network for Environmental Health
Established and Coordinated by the Institute for Children's Environmental Health
Mt. Rainier Tyrone Hayes, PhD Hanford Site physician examines a farmworker child Columbia River girl at a drinking fountain smokestacks salmon children birding

Mission

The Collaborative on Health and the Environment – Northwest (CHE-NW) is a regional branch of CHE National, a nonpartisan partnership of over 1700 individuals and organizations. CHE seeks to raise the level of scientific and public dialogue about the role of environmental contaminants and other environmental factors in many of the common diseases, disorders and conditions of our time. Participation is open to health professionals, researchers, health-affected and patient groups, advocacy organizations and indeed anyone concerned about protecting the health of current and future generations from environmental harm.

CHE-NW now has two state initiatives: CHE-Washington (CHE-WA), established in March 2003, and CHE-Oregon (CHE-OR), established in February 2005. We have learned that it is important to focus on the state level so that members can collaborate on educational and policy efforts that are unique to their respective state (or city or county within that state) and participate in face-to-face meetings more easily. Regional CHE Groups will each develop their own "flavor" and areas of interest depending on those involved.

Many issues, however, cross state borders. By sharing information between states in the same region, we can also enhance and strengthen our collective work. For example, colleagues in both Washington and Oregon have been working to implement the precautionary principle. Learning which strategies have worked and which have not in different places helps us to take smarter steps in our own cities and counties.

Many other "overlapping" examples exist as well, and for this reason, we have chosen to create the CHE-NW website to serve as an umbrella for our regional efforts – a site where issues that are clearly of importance to all of us can be highlighted. Meanwhile, the state CHE initiatives will continue to update their respective pages for members who want to know about specific activities in their particular state.

If you are interested in becoming a member, please click on the state where you want to join for membership information or on the CHE National site and mention the state CHE with which you would like to engage.

We hope in the future that other states in Northwest, such as Alaska, Idaho and Montana, and even the Canadian province of British Columbia, will join us.

Thank you for your interest.

For more information, please contact

Elise Miller, MEd
Institute for Children's Environmental Health
1646 Dow Road
Freeland, WA 98260
Phone 360-331-7904 Fax 360-331-7908
emiller@iceh.org

Note: The website of CHE-NW reflects the emphasis and focus of CHE-NW. The interpretation of scientific information unique to the regional sites is under regional control and does not necessarily reflect CHE National's views. To learn more about CHE National please visit www.healthandenvironment.org/.

Environmental Health News from the Pacific Northwest

from Environmental Health News

Environmental Health News Archives

Highlights

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.

CHE-Washington

The Collaborative on Health and the Environment – Washington (CHE-WA), established originally as CHE-Northwest in 2003, is a state network of over 270 researchers, healthcare providers, health-affected groups, environmental health and justice advocates and other concerned citizens committed to addressing environmental health issues linked to chronic health concerns in Washington State. Our overarching goal is to promote the cross-pollination of ideas and opportunities between different sectors concerned with environmental contributors to chronic health problems in order to create a safe and healthy future for all in the Northwest.

CHE-WA meets face-to-face four to five times a year. During these meetings, we highlight emerging science in the environmental health field, share information on our respective activities, incubate new ideas and opportunities, and invite partners to present on a particular environmental health theme.

CHE-WA currently has three working groups:

  1. the Precautionary Principle Working Group
  2. the Research and Information Working Group
  3. the Environmental Justice Working Group

For more information, please visit the CHE-Washington website or contact Elise Miller, emiller@iceh.org or 360-331-7904.

CHE-Oregon

The Collaborative on Health and the Environment – Oregon (CHE-OR) is a regional group which first met on February 3, 2005, when nearly 100 researchers, health care practitioners, advocacy groups, funders and concerned individuals gathered at Doernbecher Children's Hospital at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). The Oregon Environmental Council, in partnership with the OHSU Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and the OHSU Prevention Research Center hosted this initial meeting.

The CHE-OR listserv is for the purposes of sharing new research, upcoming events and policy/regulatory initiatives related to environmental health issues in the Northwest.

We welcome all interested CHE Partners. For more information on how you can get involved in CHE-OR, Visit the CHE-Oregon website at http://www.oeconline.org/kidshealth/healthprofessionals/che or contact Renee Hackenmiller-Paradis, program director of the Oregon Environmental Council and coordinator of CHE-OR, at reneep@oeconline.org or 503-222-1963 ext. 110.

CHE-Alaska

The Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE)-Alaska formed as a regional group in December 2005 following the Alaska Conference on Health and the Environment. We invite participation from health care professionals, researchers, health-affected and patient groups, students, educators, advocacy organizations, and any individual concerned about protecting the health of current and future generations from environmental harm.