Environmental Health MPH 632- Christina K-H

M10.5 Blog about an occupational safety and health organization One health and safety program that OSHA sponsors is the OSHA Alliance Program. This program aims to promote safe and secure workplaces as well as increase worker input in the workplace. OSHA works with groups and agencies that believe in worker safety and health. These include unions, consulates, trade and professional organizations, businesses, and educational institutions. The Alliance program includes training workers on regulations and standards, encouraging order participation in the workplace, and facilitating various forums that discuss workplace safety and health. What I most appreciate about this program, is that it encourages worker involvement. With worker input, the health and safety of the workers can be exponentially increased.

M10.8 Blog about an occupationally-related disease Pneumoconiosis is a type of lung disease that can be contracted through inhalation of dust. Symptoms include inflammation, coughing, and fibrosis. This is typically found amongst coal miners. Dating back to the 1950's, countries began to implement laws and regulations regarding dust exposure for coal miners. This has lead to a steady decrease in Pneumoconiosis diagnoses to this day. The outliers to this decrease include countries like China, who still yield a high percentage of coal (it's their major energy source). Currently, x-rays are the gold standard for monitoring and diagnosing Pneumoconiosis. By law, miners are required a chest x-ray every 5 years by the mines they work at. In April of 2014, the Deparment o Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued the reduction of miner's exposure to coal dust. This has been seen as a monumental step in reducing the prevalence of...

M9.4 Blog: Heavy Metals  An environmental health response to a severe outbreak of childhood lead poisoning in NigeriaCasey Bartrem  It's quite devastating to read about 400 deaths that occurred in children at such a young age (5 years or younger). With outside sources coming in to help, I think they did the right thing in involving the community members and locals with the process of remediation. The remediation aimed to reduce exposure, build multi-level support during health crises, and creating long-term  environmental remedies for miners. This is an example of where medical prevention is key in order to minimize the death rates amongst populations. I believe prevention strategies could have been set in place, if there was more education and transparency about lead and its effects by the government or public health sector. Lead Poisoning It's crazy to think that childhood lead poisoning was only recognized a century ago. I am hap...

M9.3 Blog: Green Chemistry Before today, I had never heard of the term, "green chemistry" before. I am happy to know that there are steps being taken towards creating safer options when it comes to chemicals. I appreciate that green chemistry is actively eliminating the use of hazardous substances. Green chemistry speaks to the ability for scientific innovation to address serious environmental problems. The 12 principles of green chemistry were thorough and focused. In general, I like that they are moving towards coming up with solutions, rather than just banning certain materials without offering replacement products. Having something tangible is a great way to motivate people to switch their products. 

M9.2 Blog: Six Chemical Classes Highly fluorinated: these chemicals are used in our products to reduce stain and provide water repellency. These chemicals are manufactured and manmade. They are found in our water sources and our home products. They are found in 98% of Americans and can cause a plethora of diseases such as thyroid disease and kidney disease. 3,000 highly fluorinated chemicals are used in our products right now.  Antimicrobials: Antimicrobials are a class of chemicals that are used to kill microorganisms. They are found in consumer products and building materials. Specific antimicrobials can lead to a plethora of disease and health issues including antibiotic resistance.  Flame Retardants: Flame retardants are used to slow or stop fires. They are added to consumer and building materials as well to meet regulations. It can do more harm than good by producing more smoke and toxic gases when used to put out a fire.  Bisphenols and Phtha...

M8.5 Blog about an ideal chemical policy  The two main messages that were addressed in most of the chemical policies and that I believe are essential for an ideal chemical policy are stricter regulations and new policy. First, many of the articles discussed regulations or lack there of. This means making sure that all regulations, whether they be for hazardous chemicals in the workplace, or food pesticides, are strict and thorough. Tightening up regulations will ensure a healthier nation as a whole. This leads me to my second point of policy change. Creating new policies that reduce harm for communities and workers is imperative in a chemical policy. These new policies should also include strict guidelines for companies who do not pass regulation tests. Mere fines are not enough. There needs to be further repercussions, or even shut downs, for companies who are not working towards a safer and healthier nation.

M8.4 Blog Chemical Policy Reform I looked at the last header titled, " Take Immediate Action to Protect Communities and Workers". The background paper discussed the importance of protecting at risk communities and at risk workers now , from chemical exposures that may debilitate their health. Many companies just do the minimum required by government agencies, and some do not even meet that minimum. Thousands of permit violations, and accidental releases have led to many companies failing to meet regulations. There needs to be more done than just imposing fines on these companies.  Departments sich as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Association, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Centers for Disease Control and State government agencies need to work together in order to propose legislation that protects communities and workers. 

M8.3 Blog Pesticides For last nights meal, I had asparagus, pork, and rice. The website showed that asparagus had 9 pesticide residues. The most common pesticide was methyl. The breakdown is listed below: 1 — Known or Probable Carcinogens 7 — Suspected Hormone Disruptors 3 — Neurotoxins 3 — Developmental or Reproductive Toxins Next, I looked at pork, which had 3 residues. I was shocked to see that a vegetable had a higher pesticide count than meat. The most common pesticide was  Carbaryl. The breakdown of pesticides were as follows: 1 — Known or Probable Carcinogens 3 — Suspected Hormone Disruptors 1 — Neurotoxins 1 — Developmental or Reproductive Toxins Lastly, I looked at rice, which had 15 pesticide residues! The most common pesticide was piperonyl butoxide. The breakdown of pesticides in rice were as follows: 4 — Known or Probable Carcinogens 4 10 — Suspected Hormone Disruptors 2 — Neurotoxins 3 — Developmental or Reproductive  Overal...

M7.8 Topic of interest I am most interested in environmental racism and the rise of the environmental justice movement. I want to look at how environmental racism has played out in the past few decades, ad what movements have bee created to combat these injustices. Have there been any steps taken to reduce environmental racism? If so, have they worked? Some of the agencies that may be involved include the Environmental Helath Coalition, who believes that environmental justice means the right of all people and communities to live, work, and play in a clean and safe environment. This could also include the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and other smaller non-profits who are committed to environmental justice. 

M7.4 Local environmental services  The San Francisco Department of Public Health had a large range of environmental health services including body art, hazardous waste, hazardous materials, childhood lead prevention, noise, rodents mosquitos and other insects, massage, healthy housing, agriculture, water programs, air and smoking, weights and measures, cannabis, program on health, equity and sustainability, transportation and health, and garbage. I am most surprised at the smaller niche services the  SFDPH provides including body art, massage, and cannabis programs. I found the cannabis program to be the most compelling, simply because it just recently became legal in some states. This program was created to to oversee certain aspects of cannabis such as manufacturing, cultivation, pesticide usage, storage and disposal of hazardous materials, and noise pollution. The website mentions that after 2018, the cannabis program will be overseen by the Office of Cannabis. I am shoc...

M7.7 Agency's role I decided to look at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency. This agency was created to support farms and farming communities by providing various programs. Some of these programs include disaster relief, commodity price guarantee, loan programs, and conservation programs. Because food is one of the biggest parts of every day life, the government felt it necessary to protect the farmers and farm operations to ensure stability and quality of our food. The agency in particular, helps farmers to adjust production to meet the demands of the American people. This includes creating a steady price for agricultural products to make sure the farmers are compensated fairly, and the consumers are buying at fair prices.

M6.7 Blog: Obesogens Some of the locally grown produce that is available in California in early October include: apples, artichokes, arugula, asian pears, avocados, basil, beets, bok choy, broccoli, and Brussel sprouts. As you can see, there is a lot of produce. There is an alphabetical list located here: https://www.seasonalfoodguide.org.  As one pediatrician was quoted, "s erving healthy and sustainably grown food is as essential to the health of our community as the medical care we provide." It  seems like  there is a plethora of produce being produced during any given  season , thus I think it is very smart that hospitals utilize seasonal local foods that are available. This will lead to economic benefits for the community as well as health benefits for the patients. A harvest calendar for California can be found here:  http://www.pickyourown.org/CAharvestcalendar.htm#northerncal.  The second article takes an environmenta...

M6.6 Blog: Use of Antibiotics 1. Antibiotic Resistance: Antibiotic resistance is often talked about in the medical field, because patients are continuing to not finish antibiotic prescriptions. However, this article discusses a less talked about reason of why antibiotic resistance is growing.  The FDA claimed that 80 percent of antibiotics in the United States are sold for agricultural purposes. This article suggests that the best way to address the issue of antibiotic resistance is to prevent the development of AR bacteria by ending the use of nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock. 2. Nearby Livestock may raise superbug risk: This article discusses how  MRSA, a hard-to-treat staph bacteria has become resistant to antibiotics. MRSA used to be associated with hospitals and health care facilities, but nowadays, MRSA infections are occurring in the community. This raises red flags surrounding the link between American ...

M6.4 Blog: Industrial Farming The Vanishing of Bees captures the issue of "colony collapse disorder". This means there are no dead bees around, no mites or pathogens to explain the problem, and the hive abandons the queen and babies. This movie touches upon the political, ecological, and economic impacts that the disappearance of bees have on our society. I think the two main reasons losing bees is important to pay attention to is because first, bees are an indicator of environmental quality. If bees are dying by the thousands, there is something terribly wrong with our environment that must be addressed. Secondly, bees pollinate 15 billion dollars worth of food annually in the U.S. Losing bees will impact the economic nature of our nation. Just like The Vanishing of the Bees, Dirt! the movie, talks about the economic, environmental, social, and political impact soil has on our society. It particularly ...