Energy-Efficient Buildings Can Be Hazardous To Health
From the Harvard School of Public Health press release
Buildings that are being weatherized and made energy-efficient and air tight can be hazardous to one’s health, according to a new Institute of Medicine (IOM) report. The report, “Climate Change, the Indoor Environment, and Health,” prepared by a committee chaired by Harvard School of Public Health’s (HSPH) John Spengler, recommends that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ensure that building weatherization and energy-efficiency efforts not generate new indoor health issues or worsen existing air quality. Among concerns cited are energy-efficiency updates (retrofits) of older buildings, use of untested or risky upgrades, and other alterations that could generate mold-causing dampness, poor ventilation, excessive temperatures, and emissions from building materials that may contribute to health problems.
“America is in the midst of a large experiment in which weatherization efforts, retrofits and other initiatives that affect air exchange between the indoor and outdoor environments are taking place, and new building materials and consumer products are being introduced indoors with relatively little consideration as to how they might affect the health of occupants,” Spengler, Akira Yamaguchi Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation at HSPH, said in an IOM press release. “Experience suggests that some of the effects could be negative. An upfront investment to consider the consequences of these actions before they play out and to avoid problems where they can be anticipated will yield benefits in health and in averted costs of medical care, remediation, and lost productivity.”
The report was written at the request of the EPA, which asked the IOM to summarize current scientific understanding of the effects of climate change on indoor air and public health, and to offer priorities for action.
Environmental Public Health Tracking Program: Description and Current Uses
From an email alert by Max Anderson through http://nnlm.gov/gmr/
The CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking program provides
national data for environment and health topics at www.cdc.gov/ephtracking.
The data are displayed in maps, charts, and tables for state and county
data. These topics include:•Asthma
•Birth defects
•Cancer
•Carbon monoxide poisoning
•Childhood lead poisoning
•Heart attacks
•Population characteristics
•Reproductive and birth outcomes
The website is targeted at researchers, health professionals, elected
officials, and people who are interested in learning more about population
health. More information is available in a fact sheet (
http://ephtracking.cdc.gov/docs/National_Tracking_Network_Fact_Sheet04012011.pdf)
and Youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J42CLZH1NlE&feature=player_embedded).Additionally, the National program funds 24 states and a city to create
their own website with environment and health data. One example of a
grantees website is in Wisconsin (www.dhs.wi.gov/epht). The website
provides additional measures and the ability to compare a county’s progress
on a time series chart.
Related articles
- EPA Strengthens Key Scientific Database to Protect Public Health (bespacific.com)
National Prevention Strategy: America’s Plan for Better Health and Wellness
National Prevention Strategy: America’s Plan for Better Health and Wellness
The National Prevention Strategy includes actions that public and private partners can take to help Americans stay healthy and fit and improve our nation’s prosperity. The strategy outlines four strategic directions that, together, are fundamental to improving the nation’s health. Those four strategic directions are:
- Building Healthy and Safe Community Environments: Prevention of disease starts in our communities and at home; not just in the doctor’s office.
- Expanding Quality Preventive Services in Both Clinical and Community Settings: When people receive preventive care, such as immunizations and cancer screenings, they have better health and lower health care costs.
- Empowering People to Make Healthy Choices: When people have access to actionable and easy-to-understand information and resources, they are empowered to make healthier choices.
- Eliminating Health Disparities: By eliminating disparities in achieving and maintaining health, we can help improve quality of life for all Americans.
Related articles
Environmental Health Student Portal – Connecting Middle School Students to Environmental Health Information
Environmental Health Student Portal – Connecting Middle School Students to Environmental Health Information
he Environmental Health Student Portal, a product of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), provides a safe and useful resource for students and teachers in grades 6 – 8 to learn how the environment can impact our health. The Web site explores topics such as water pollution, climate change, air pollution, and chemicals.
The topics covered within this Web site provide a great resource tool for teachers. Teachers can use the site to introduce topics, supplement existing materials, or to further explore the connection between human activities and the environment and how these activities affect our health. This resource is a reliable Web site for students to explore and obtain information for research assignments and science fair projects ideas.
The Environmental Health Student Portal takes advantage of several different mediums. The site links to articles, games, activities, and videos. Text varies from easy-to-read to advanced reading levels, which makes this a versatile tool both in and out of the classroom. Users can also explore Science, Technology Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers and view current event press releases from MedlinePlus on environmental health related topics.
A sampling from the Web site
- Topic pages (Air pollution, Water pollution, Chemicals, and Climate) . All topic pages include “Read About It”, games, videos, experiments & projects, homework help, and “For Teachers”
- Tabs For Teachers, Homework Help, and Experiments which draw from the above topic pages
- Careers in Environmental Health Science links and News from MedlinPlus.
- Outreach and Activity Resources (US National Library of Medicine)
- HIV/AIDS
- Kids and Educators Information Outreach
- K-12 Science and Health Education with links to biology, health, genetics, forensics, and health information Web sites
- Distance Education Program - Presentation made to students to help prepare minority high school students for health carreers. Some
The Future Of Our Planet Linked To The Health Of Its People
Image via Wikipedia
From the 14 June 2011 Medical News Today article
A major new research project will examine how policies deProfessor Clive Sabel, from the University of Exeter’s Geography department and European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH) and leader of the project, said: “If we don’t start reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cities, the planet will get hotter and hotter, but every policy to tackle those emissions has a potentially profound effect on human health.
“That could be positive or negative, so in order to make that assessment we have to look at all the evidence and relate that to the on-the-ground technical, social, economic, political and cultural realities. This research aims to integrate data from a large variety of sources to inform key policy decisions to ensure city life is a healthy, positive experience that is sustainable for the future of our planet.”
The European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH), part of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, will also be taking part in the research. Professor Lora Fleming, Director of the centre, said: “One of the unique strengths of this study is the cross cultural comparisons of approaches across many nations, both developing and developed. Climate change is a global environment and human health issue which must be addressed on both local and international levels. This study will help provide some of these future approaches.”
The research will look ahead to 2030 and 2080 to see what the impact would be if various carbon reduction policies would be, particularly in context of a warming climate where issues such as heat stress and water availability will become more prevalent.
signed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could impact human health.Led by the University of Exeter the three year 3.5 million Euros programme of research will involve experts from 17 institutions across eight countries. …
…Professor Clive Sabel, from the University of Exeter’s Geography department and European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH) and leader of the project, said: “If we don’t start reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cities, the planet will get hotter and hotter, but every policy to tackle those emissions has a potentially profound effect on human health.
“That could be positive or negative, so in order to make that assessment we have to look at all the evidence and relate that to the on-the-ground technical, social, economic, political and cultural realities. This research aims to integrate data from a large variety of sources to inform key policy decisions to ensure city life is a healthy, positive experience that is sustainable for the future of our planet.”
The European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH), part of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, will also be taking part in the research. Professor Lora Fleming, Director of the centre, said: “One of the unique strengths of this study is the cross cultural comparisons of approaches across many nations, both developing and developed. Climate change is a global environment and human health issue which must be addressed on both local and international levels. This study will help provide some of these future approaches.”
The research will look ahead to 2030 and 2080 to see what the impact would be if various carbon reduction policies would be, particularly in context of a warming climate where issues such as heat stress and water availability will become more prevalent.
Related articles
- Country By Country Analysis Of Years Left Until Science-demanded Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions (chimalaya.org)
- Climate change education can still be part of a slimmed-down curriculum (guardian.co.uk)
- Human Health Project: Getting Feedback on Cases (scienceroll.com)
- Can cities lead the way in cutting greenhouse gas emissions? [del.icio.us] (guardian.co.uk)
Carcinogens – Eight Substances Added To The List
From the 12 June 2011 Medical News Today article
Eight substances have been added to the list of carcinogens by the HSS (US Department of Health and Human Services) today. The Report of Carcinogens has added formaldehyde, aristolochic acids, o-nitrotoluene, captafol, cobalt-tungsten carbide (in powder or hard metal form), riddelliine, certain inhalable glass wool fibers, and styrene to the list of carcinogens….
…The NTP prepares the Report on Carcinogens for the HHS Secretary. It is a congressionally mandated document. It identifies substances, agents, mixtures or exposures in two categories:
- Those that are known to be human carcinogens
- Those reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens
A substance which is included in the list in the Report on Carcinogens does not in itself mean it causes cancer. There are many factors which cause cancer, including how long the human is exposed and a person’s susceptibility to a particular substance.
There are now 240 carcinogens in the list.
Related Resources
- Environmental Health and Toxicology (specialized information services from the US National Institutes of Health and US National Library of Medicine)
- HazMap -an occupational toxicology database designed to link jobs to hazardous job tasks which are linked to occupational diseases and their symptoms. It is a relational database of chemicals, jobs and diseases.ToxNet - Databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases
- Household Products Databases - This database links over 8,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) provided by the manufacturers and allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients and many more databases..
- Toxicology Web links from NIH & NLM (extensive list of govt, non-govt, and international Web sites)
- Toxicology Resources especially for the public (from NIH and NLM), including ToxTown and ToxMap
Related articles
- Cancer Link?: Styrofoam Chemical Added to Govt. List (abcnews.go.com)
- Industry Bucks At NIH’s List Of New Carcinogens Styrene, Formaldehyde (MedicalNewsToday)
- It’s official: Formaldehyde is a “known Human Carcinogens”- via ProPublica and Democracy Now (euzicasa.wordpress.com)
Haz-Map updated to include more information about occupational exposures to hazardous substances
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From a 4 May 2011 National Library of Medicine listerv item
Haz-Map now includes 1212 new chemical agents and twelve chemical
categories with significance regarding occupational exposure.The twelve categories of chemical agents include metals, solvents,
pesticides, mineral dusts, toxic gases and vapors, plastics and rubber,
biological agents, nitrogen compounds, dyes, physical agents, other
classes, and other uses.
http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/hazmap_cgi?level=0&tree=AgentHaz-Map is an occupational toxicology database designed to link jobs to
hazardous job tasks which are linked to occupational diseases and their
symptoms.The Haz-Map Jobs table is based on the 1997 Standard Occupational
Classification (SOC) system. The Industries table is based on the North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The Diseases table is
based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9).Information from textbooks, journal articles, and electronic databases was
classified and summarized to create the database.
Other NLM toxicology databases include
- Household Products Database -Potential health effects of chemicals for common household products
- Tox Town -Interactive guide to potentially toxic substances and environmental health issues in everyday places
-
TOXNET -Databases on hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases
Related Articles
- NIOSH Chemical Hazards V2.1 for iPhone and iPad Released (themactrack.com)
- Who’s exposed – and what can they do about it? Biomonitoring for consumer products and workplaces (scienceblogs.com)
- US must strengthen efforts to restrict chemicals that threaten health, say researchers (yubanet.com)
- Chemical law fails to protect kids’ health: MDs (cbc.ca)
- Environmental Toxins (education.com)
- 83,000 Chemicals And Growing: Is It Time To Stop Regulating and Start Banning? (worldtruthtoday.com)
- The Environment Factor: How They Arises and What Should be Done? (socyberty.com)
- HazMasterG3 Only CBRNE/HME System Compatible With Army’s First SmartPhone (prweb.com)
- Study describes health effects of occupational exposures in Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant workers (physorg.com)
- Women Action For Ecology WOMEN MORE VULNERABLE TO TOXIC EFFECTS OF… (preetlari.wordpress.com)
Annual Health Care Costs Rise Dramatically, Says New Study
Percent of Youth 4-17 ever diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: National Survey of Children's Health, 2003
Poor childhood health caused by environmental factors, such as air pollution and exposure to toxic chemicals, cost the United States $76.6 billion in 2008, according to authors of a new study in the May issue of Health Affairs. This price tag represents a dramatic increase in recent years, rising from 2.8 percent of total health care costs in 1997 to 3.5 percent in 2008…
Click here for a Medical News Today summary of the research article (May 3, 2011)
Excerpts
Researchers used recent data to estimate the number of environmentally induced conditions in children and then calculated the annual cost for direct medical care and indirect costs, such as lost productivity resulting from parents’ caring for sick children. They found that the aggregate cost of environmental illness in children was $76.6 billion in 2008 dollars.
The study provides an update to an analysis of 1997 data that documented $54.9 billion in annual costs of environmentally contributable childhood diseases in the United States. In comparing the two studies, researchers found that diminished exposure to lead and reductions in costs for asthma care were offset by diseases newly identified as environmentally induced, including attention deficit disorder,[Editor Flahiff's note: see above map] and the added burden of mercury exposure. This toxic metal, from contaminated fish and coal-fired power plants, can harm the developing brain and is associated with intellectual disability.
Key findings from the study:
- Lead poisoning cost $50.9 billion
- Autism cost $7.9 billion
- Intellectual disability cost $5.4 billion
- Exposure to mercury (methyl mercury) cost $5.1 billion
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder cost $5.0 billion
- Asthma cost $2.2 billion
- Childhood cancer cost $95.0 million
Related Articles
- US must strengthen efforts to restrict chemicals that threaten health, say researchers (scienceblog.com)
- Asthma Rates on the Rise in U.S. (webmd.com)
- Protect our kids from toxic mercury (cnn.com)
- US must strengthen efforts to restrict chemicals that threaten health, say researchers (medicalxpress.com)
Natural Resources Defense Council: Smarter Living
The home page tabs provide access to News, Issues, Policies, Smarter Living options, and more.
The Smarter Living sections include a wide range of resources and information, including
- A searchable Chemical Index to learn about chemicals commonly used in everyday products, find out what the health concerns and sources of exposure are, and how to stay safe.
- An eating local section with maps to local farmer’s markets, search box for produce in season by state, food label information, and more
- Food tips and news, including recipes and shopping wise advice
- Health tips and news, including health reports and pet care advice
- Home and yard tips and news under topics as energy, water & air, yard & garden
- Smart Shopper’s Guides
Related Resources
- Household Products Databases - This database links over 8,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) provided by the manufacturers and allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients
- ToxNet - Databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases
Related Articles
- Great News! (chefann.com)
- Keeping Your Food and Water Safe (everydayhealth.com)
- 42 Disease Clusters Identified In U.S. (huffingtonpost.com)
- “Natural Resources Defense Council: One out of three counties in the US lower 48 states faces an increased risk of water shortages due to climate change” and related posts (coyotegulch.wordpress.com)
- Poll: Most Americans Support EPA and Clean Energy (doyourpart.com)
- Eating Environmentally (everydayhealth.com)
- Do you live in one of the nation’s ‘smartest regions for transportation’? (grist.org)
Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD)© – Resource for Environmental Chemicals/Human Disease Relationships
From the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Fact sheet
The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) elucidates molecular mechanisms by which environmental chemicals affect human disease. CTD is a data file on the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET®). It contains manually curated data describing cross-species chemical–gene/protein interactions and chemical– and gene–disease relationships. The results provide insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying variable susceptibility and environmentally influenced diseases. These data will also provide insights into complex chemical–gene and protein interaction networks. CTD is compiled by the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL), with support from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Once in the complete CTD site via TOXNET, users can perform several types of searches, for example:
• Browse relationships among chemicals, and obtain detailed information about them, including structure, toxicology data and related genes, diseases, pathways and references. See: Chemicals
• Browse relationships among diseases, and obtain detailed information about them, including related chemicals, genes, pathways and references. See: Diseases
• Browse search for genes from diverse vertebrates and invertebrates by symbol, synonym, accession ID, organism taxon, chemical, interaction type, disease or Gene Ontology annotation. See: Genes
• Search for cross-species chemical–gene and protein interactions curated from the published literature. Interactions may be retrieved by chemical, interaction type, gene, organism or Gene Ontology annotation. See: Chemical–Gene Interactions
• Search for references by gene, organism taxon, chemical, chemical–gene interaction type, disease, citation information or accession ID. See: References
Further examples of searches that can be conducted once users are in the complete CTD site via TOXNET include:
• Which human diseases are associated with a gene/protein? (Sample query)
• Which human diseases are associated with a chemical? (Sample query)
• Which genes/proteins interact with a chemical? (Sample query)
• Which chemicals interact with a gene/protein? (Sample query)
• Which references report a chemical–gene/protein interaction? (Sample query) •Which cellular functions (GO terms) are affected by a chemical? (Sample query)
Users can also easily conduct their CTD search strategy against other databases, e.g., Hazardous Substances Data Bank®, TOXLINE®, and ChemIDplus®.
About
This blog presents a sampling of health and medical news and resources for all. Selected articles and resources will hopefully be of general interest but will also encourage further reading through posted references and other links. Currently I am focusing on public health, basic and applied research and very broadly on disease and healthy lifestyle topics.
Several times a month I will post items on international and global health issues. My Peace Corps Liberia experience (1980-81) has formed me as a global citizen in many ways and has challenged me to think of health and other topics in a more holistic manner. (For those wishing to see pictures of a 2009 Friends of Liberia service trip to this West African country, please visit www.fol.org. My photo album is included).
Do you have an informational question in the health/medical area?
Email me at jmflahiff@yahoo.com
I will reply within 48 hours.
This blog is a companion site to my Health and Medical News and Resources Web site with…
- Informational sites and guides
- Links to help from others (as health care providers and support groups)
- Interactive tools (as health calculators and apps)
- Select related news sites and blogs
My professional work experience and education includes over 10 years experience as a medical librarian and a Master’s in Library Science. In my most recent position I enjoyed contributing to our library’s blog, performing in depth literature searches, and collaborating with faculty, staff, students, and the general public.
While I will never be be able to keep up with the universe of current health/medical news,
I subscribe to the following to glean entries for this blog
- Medical News Today, a MediLexicon International daily online health news product
- MedLib-L ,a medical librarian discussion list
- Science Daily – Your source for the latest research news
- A Consumer and Patient Health (CAPHIS) discussion list , by a section of the Medical Library Association (MLA)
- MedlinePlus email updates from the US National Institutes of Health
- Public Health Partners from the National Library of Medicine
- US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) electronic newsletter with updates on the agency’s efforts to “improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans”
- Krafty (Medical)Librarian,” a collection of writings from Michelle Kraft on items of interest to medical librarians. She tends to write on technology and medical libraries but she also writes about things in general on librarianship, medicine and health”
- Research Buzz, “news about search engines, digital archives, online museums, databases, and other Internet information collections since 1998″
- Library Journal – Breaking News
- librarian.net by librarian consultant Jessamyn West
- The Cornflower, the blog of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region
- DocuTicker with “abstracts from ‘grey literature’: PDF reports published by government agencies, think tanks, NGOs, research institutes and other public interest groups”
- PubMed New and Noteworthy, updates from the largest indexer of biomedical journals in the world
- Free Government Information, a ”place for initiating dialogue and building consensus among the various players (libraries, government agencies, non-profit organizations, researchers, journalists, etc.) who have a stake in the preservation of and perpetual free access to government information”
- Scout Report, a “weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators”
- Latest from Brookings Institute, independent research reports on social and political issues
- KevinMD.com -”Social Media’s leading physician voice”
- EurekAlert-Medicine and Health
