 Announcements
1999
TLV®/BEI®
Book (ISBN: 1-882417-32-1)
A pocket-sized reference and
guide for recognizing, evaluating, and controlling exposures to more than
700 chemical substances, physical agents, and biological determinants. More
than 50 Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs) for more than 80 chemical substances
are listed with introductory information for each section providing philosophical
and practical bases for the uses and limitations of the threshold limit
values (TLVs) and BEIs. Substances and agents under study for the coming
year are also listed. Available from The American Conference of Governmental
Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH); 1330 Kemper Meadow Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio
45240; phone: 513-742-2020; fax: 513-742-3355; e-mail:
mail@acgih.org or on the Internet at
http://www.acgih.org/store/ .
Should
I Eat The Fish I Catch?
Produced by the Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
the brochure and a compendium piece were produced as part of the Clean Water
Action Plan: Restoring and Protecting America’s Water. The brochure provides
information on how to reduce exposure to the contaminants found in noncommercial
fish and is directed to communities where sport and subsistence fishing
are prevalent. It is available in English, Spanish, and Hmong. The compendium
paper, Public Health Implications of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Exposure, summarizes the latest research on the dangers of eating PCB-contaminated
fish. For a copy of the brochure contact EPA’s National Center for
Environmental Publications, 11029 Kenwood Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242;
phone: 513-489-8190. For a copy of the paper contact ATSDR’s
Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine, MS F-32, 1600 Clifton Road,
NE, Atlanta, GA 30333; phone: 404-639-6204. For more information
on the Clean Water Action Plan, contact the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Office of Water, Fish Contamination Program (4305), 401 M Street
SW, Washington, DC 20460, Internet:www.epa.gov/ost/fish,
or the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR); phone:
(toll free) 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737).
Communicating
to Improve Health
Can health communication efforts
affect behavior? Who should be targeted? How big should a communications
campaign be to make a difference? The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has
produced a report, Communicating to Improve Health, to answer these
and many other health communications questions. The report is an outcome
of a gathering of 80 leading communications and health professionals who
convened to discuss health communications. Copies of the report may
be ordered from Barbara Sherwood, Communications Aide, The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, P.O. Box 2316, Princeton, NJ 08543-2316; phone: (609)452-8701;
e-mail: publications@rwjf.org.
A
Hazardous Inquiry: The Rashomon Effect at Love Canal
By Allan Mazur, 255 pp, with
illus. $26, ISBN 0-674-74833-6, Cambridge, Mass, Harvard University Press,
1998.
Author Allen Mazur discusses the issues of Love Canal using the Rashomon
effect, which involves viewing the same situation from multiple perspectives.
Mazur provides an overview of the perspectives involved in this case, including
the company involved, the school board that built the school, the public
health community, and the local citizenry. The book also provides a history
of the environmental movement, including background of the early days of
environmental concern. The text would be useful to those interested in environmental
science and medicine and to those interested in risk communication, the
media, and the political arena.
New
Website in Spanish
 The
National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, recently launched a new Spanish-language website on environmental
health. The new address is www.cdc.gov/nceh/spanish/spanish.htm
[Table
of Contents]
 Calendar
August
- August 16–20, 1999.
The Public Health Training Modules focus on the health assessment
process, health assessment products, and public health activities and
are presented by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry. Topics include toxicology principles, prevention effectiveness,
basic epidemiology, effective writing and communication, geographic
information systems and spatial analysis techniques, and the hands-on
analytical contaminant transport system (ACTS).Contact Annette
Dodd, phone: 404-639-6251; e-mail:
axd2@cdc.gov or Bob Kay, phone: 404-639-0628; e-mail:
rlk1@cdc.gov.
- August 30–September
3, 1999. Basic Course for Health Assessment and Consultation
presented by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. This
week-long training will offer courses on the health assessment process
and the conduct of public health activities; it includes a one-day field
trip. For specifics on the basic course, contact Bob Kay, phone:
404-639-0628; e-mail: rlk1@cdc.gov
or Annette Dodd, phone: 404-639-6251; e-mail:
axd2@cdc.gov.
[Table
of Contents]
September
- September 22–24, 1999.
Environmental Problem Solving with Geographic Information Systems:
A National Conference presented by the
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Conference participants will exchange information on the process of
using geographic information systems in environmental applications and
problem solving, especially in the areas of watershed and groundwater
protection, nonpoint source water pollution assessment and control,
and cross-media contamination and management. Cincinnati, Ohio. To
be placed on the mailing list contact Rebecca Glos; phone:
703-318-4797; fax: 703-736-0826; or e-mail:
rebecca.1.glos@cpmx.saic.com. Registration and agenda information
is available on the Internet: http://www.epa.gov/ttbnrmrl/.
- September 22–24, 1999.
The Role of Human Exposure Assessment in the Prevention of Environmental
Disease, a workshop sponsored by the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), the NIH Office of Rare Diseases, the NIH National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, the National Toxicology Program, the
National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Industrial
Health Council, will be held in Rockford, Maryland. The workshop will
focus on the exposure-response-disease paradigm and describe current
opportunities and challenges in exposure assessment research among other
topics. For further information, contact NTP Liaison and Scientific
Review Office, NTP/NIEHS, P.O. Box 12233, MD A3-01, Research Triangle
Park, North Carolina 27709; phone: 919-541-0530; or the Internet:
http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/.
- September 24–25, 1999.
Children and Environment: Parental Concerns course presented
by the Washington State Pediatric Environmental Specialty Unit and the
University of Washington’s Northwest Center for Occupation Health &
Safety. This course will aid health professionals in understanding the
complexity and public implications of environmental issues, the current
level of scientific understanding, how other professionals answer questions,
and resources available in the “community.” Specific topics include
biological contaminants in water and food, endocrine disrupters, human
genome and environmental genome projects, asthma in urban communities,
and flouridation. Contact: Northwest Center for Occupational
Health & Safety; 4225 Roosevelt Way NE, #100; Seattle, WA 98105;
phone: 206-543-1069; fax: 206-685-3872; or on the Internet:
http://depts.washington.edu/envhlth/conted.html.
[Table
of Contents]
Who's
Making News at ATSDR...
Former
ATSDR Assistant Administrator, Barry L. Johnson, Authors New Work on Hazardous
Waste
 Dr.
Barry L. Johnson, former Assistant Administrator of Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, is the author of the new
book, Impact of Hazardous Waste on Human Health, Hazard, Health Effects,
Equity, and Communications Issues. The book is intended for policy
makers, environmentalists, toxicologists, public health officials, academic
personnel, and health care providers.
“Dr. Johnson provides
the first in-depth analysis of the adverse health effects of substances
released from hazardous waste sites. The book evaluates the toxicity of
substances most often released from sites and summarizes findings from
epidemiologic studies of communities impacted by hazardous waste. Dr.
Johnson also describes risk communication principles and practices, health
promotion approaches to preventing adverse health effects, comparative
risks of environmental hazards, and issues of environmental equity. The
author concludes that uncontrolled hazardous waste sites are a major hazard
to the public’s health.”
The book is published by Lewis
Publishers, New York.
ATSDR
Creates Office of Tribal Affairs
The Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has established an Office of
Tribal Affairs to better serve the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native
tribes. The office provides a central, identifiable point-of-contact to
assist American Indian and Alaska Native peoples to reach ATSDR and its
many environmental public health programs. The office also will help ensure
availability of staff members who are sensitive to the concerns of American
Indian and Alaska Native peoples. These staff members will assist others
within the Agency to coordinate effectively with tribal governments and
members. The Office of Tribal Affairs is a part of ATSDR’s Division of Health
Assessment and Consultation and can be reached toll free at 1-888-42ATSDR
(1-888-422-8737).
ATSDR
Enhances Communication Links
We at ATSDR want you to be able
to contact us quickly and easily and to be able to access the most up-to-date
information on the new and ongoing ATSDR activities and services in environmental
health. Our new website address and toll-free number are intended
to make that happen.
Website:www.atsdr.cdc.gov
 Call
Our Toll-free Number: (888)42-ATSDR...that's (888)422-8737
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