EPA Participates at the 3rd Annual Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) Policy Summit in Washington DC

agricultural workers, Annual Latino Medical Student Association, environmental health, Environmental Protection Agency, Farmworkers, Hispanic health care disparities, LMSA, Office of Pesticide Programs, Office of Public Engagement, office of research and development, pesticide safety, Recognition and Management of Pesticide Poisonings, Worker Protection Standard, WPS 1 Comment

By Ana Rivera Lupiañez

As a proud Latina, working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), I always look for opportunities to volunteer at activities that promote the Agency’s mission, particularly those initiatives aimed at protecting vulnerable populations.

On October 22, I volunteered to participate at the third annual Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) Policy Summit. The conference, for medical students nationwide, was sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington D.C. The goal of the policy summit was to provide students with tools to become involved in health policy processes in order to address and improve health disparities facing the Latino community.

Kathy Sykes, Senior Advisor for Aging and Public Health of EPA’s Office of Research and Development, gave a presentation on the agency’s efforts toward “Closing the Gap on Hispanic Health Care Disparities”. Students were very impressed to learn about EPA’s involvement in developing environmental health policy regulations aimed at improving health disparities faced by the Latino population.

After the workshop sessions, the students had the opportunity to stop by the exhibitors’ booths to ask questions and gather informational brochures. I joined Kathy Sykes (Office of Research and Development), and Melissa Vargas (Office of Public Engagement) to staff our booth. Medical students were delighted to receive copies of EPA’s Recognition and Management of Pesticide Poisonings: 6^th Edition manual. The manual is an excellent tool for healthcare providers and serves as a quick reference resource for the best toxicology and treatment information for patients with pesticide exposures.

It was very rewarding to see many students, particularly those hailing from agricultural areas of California and Texas, very interested in the recent revisions to EPA’s Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS). The WPS is aimed at reducing the risk of pesticide poisoning and injury among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers. The revised WPS puts in place stronger protections for the nation’s two million agricultural workers and their families working on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses, and will afford farmworkers similar health protections to those already afforded to workers in other industries.

The enthusiasm on the faces of these young students and their eagerness to serve the vulnerable and underrepresented minorities represents a promising step forward toward closing the gap on Hispanic health care disparities. They would certainly make any Latina mother proud! I’m very hopeful that these young students will continue working to improve the health and environment of Hispanics throughout our nation.

About the author: Ana Rivera Lupiáñez is an Environmental Protection Specialist with the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticides Programs, Field and External Affairs Division, Certification and Worker Protection Branch in Washington, D. C.

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author alone. EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog, nor does EPA endorse the opinions or positions expressed. You may share this post. However, please do not change the title or the content. If you do make changes, please do not attribute the edited title or content to EPA or the author.

EPA's official web site is www.epa.gov. Some links on this page may redirect users from the EPA website to a non-EPA, third-party site. In doing so, EPA is directing you only to the specific content referenced at the time of publication, not to any other content that may appear on the same webpage or elsewhere on the third-party site, or be added at a later date.

EPA is providing this link for informational purposes only. EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of non-EPA information provided by any third-party sites or any other linked site. EPA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies, internet applications or any policies or information expressed therein.

Jan 6, 2010

Science Wednesday: Greetings from a “Strategic Optimist”

office of prevention, office of research and development, pesticides and toxic substances, Science Wednesday, strategic optimist 6 Comments

Each week we write about the science behind environmental protection. Previous Science Wednesdays.

I received a great holiday gift on December 24 when the U.S. Senate confirmed me as the Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD). I am thrilled that President Obama and EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson have trusted me with this incredible opportunity.

I take great pride in joining EPA’s leadership team, and am eager to get started with the important work ORD does in making a real difference for the American people.

Coming to EPA is kind of a homecoming for me. Over twenty years ago I joined the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances as chief of the industrial chemistry branch, and I’ve been fortunate to keep in touch with my many EPA friends and extraordinary colleagues over the years.

The Office of Research and Development is a cornerstone of this Agency, seen in the fact that both President Obama and Administrator Jackson have emphasized cutting-edge, independent scientific analysis as critical to the work of EPA. We here at ORD have a chance to not only explore innovative solutions to protect our health and the environment, but to reassure the American people that nothing will compromise our commitment to openness and scientific integrity.

As we look toward the 40th anniversary of EPA’s founding, the issues we face are more complex and subtle than they were at our founding—and the need for the best science is greater than ever.

Those who know me well know that I consider myself a “strategic optimist.” That means I bring to the table an ambitious vision, and a firm understanding that we can only get there if we take the correct actions. Identifying those actions will require the best science and technology that ORD has to offer. That is why—like Administrator Jackson—my highest priorities for ORD are the integrity, independence, and transparency of the scientific processes, and the application of this science to the programs throughout EPA.

image of Assistant Administrator Paul Anastas About the Author: Prior to his confirmation as the Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development, Paul T. Anastas was the Teresa and H. John Heinz III Professor in the Practice of Chemistry for the Environment at Yale University, where he also served as the director of the Center for Green Chemistry & Green Engineering. He is widely known as “the Father of Green Chemistry.” Anastas earned his B.S. from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and his M.A. and Ph.D. in chemistry from Brandeis University.