Children’s Centers

Aug 19, 2016

This Week in EPA Science

Children's Centers, Citizen science, cyanobacteria, ecosystem services, nanomaterials, research recap, sunscreen 0 Comments

By Kacey Fitzpatrick

Need an excuse to hang out inside? Here’s something to read while you stay out of the heat. Check out the latest in EPA science.

Foxes and Ecosystem Services at Western Ecology Division
Late this spring, a self-operated wildlife camera captured several photos of adult gray foxes carrying food items from surrounding wild lands onto the grounds of EPA’s Western Ecology Division Laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon. Find out what they were up to in the blog Foxes and Ecosystem Services at Western Ecology Division.

Investing in our Children’s Futures
To protect children from environmental threats and help them live healthier lives, EPA and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences created the Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers (Children’s Centers). Read about the five new Children’s Center grants in the blog Investing in our Children’s Futures.

The Northeast Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program
As cyanobacteria bloom incidence continues to increase, EPA strives to create and improve methods for bloom prediction, monitoring, and management. The Northeast Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program will help generate region-wide data on bloom frequencies, cyanobacteria concentrations, and spatial distribution through three coordinated projects. To learn more about the program read the blog The Northeast Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program: One Program, Three Opportunities for You To Get Involved!

If you do decide to head outside, don’t forget the sunscreen! Here’s a little lesson in sunscreen chemistry.

Suncreen and Sun Safety: Just One Piece of the Story
It’s not surprising that sunscreens are detected in pool water (after all, some is bound to wash off when we take a dip), but certain sunscreens have also been widely detected in our ecosystems and in our wastewater. So how is our sunscreen ending up in our environment and what are the impacts? Find out in the blog Suncreen and Sun Safety: Just One Piece of the Story.

And coming up next week:

Let’s Talk About Wildfire Smoke and Health
Monday, August 22nd at 1:30 p.m. EDT
There are over 20 wildfires currently burning in the United States. Join us for a twitter chat with EPA research cardiologist Dr. Wayne Cascio and health effects scientist Susan Stone, along with experts from the U.S. Forest Service and the Centers for Disease Control, to discuss wildfire smoke and health.

To join the twitter chat and ask questions, please use ‪#‎WildfireSmoke and follow @EPAAir. Get more details in the blog Let’s Talk About Wildfire Smoke and Health.

About the Author: Kacey Fitzpatrick is a writer working with the science communication team in EPA’s Office of Research and Development. She is a regular contributor to It All Starts with Science and the founding writer of “The Research Recap.”

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.

Aug 17, 2016

Investing in our Children’s Futures

Children's Centers, Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Centers, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 1 Comment

By Jim Johnson

One of the greatest threats to children today comes from the environment. Exposure to pesticides, pollution, and heavy metals while in the womb or during early periods of development can cause serious and lifelong health concerns. To protect children from environmental threats and help them live healthier lives, EPA and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) created the Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers (Children’s Centers). Teams of multidisciplinary experts at Children’s Centers across the country are looking at how children’s health is impacted by environmental and chemical exposures, epigenetics, non-chemical stressors and other factors with a focus on translating this research into practical information for public use.

This year, EPA and NIEHS are awarding five new Children’s Center grants. Research supported under these awards includes the interplay of air pollution, particulate matter and obesity on asthma among inner city children; prenatal and early childhood pollutant exposure and adverse birth outcomes; air pollution, polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and adolescent cognitive, emotional, behavioral health outcomes; cumulative environmental exposures and increased risk for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia; and the effects of environmental contaminants on the microbiome and neurodevelopment. Each of the newly funded Children’s Centers is receiving between 1.25-1.5 million dollars per year for up to four years.

There are many obstacles to protecting children’s environmental health. Understanding the complexity of these challenges is just one way that EPA and its partners are reducing harmful environmental exposure and making the world a safer place for children and our communities.

About the Author: Dr. James H. Johnson Jr. is the Director of EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research.

May 11, 2016

Events to Watch for in May

Children's Centers, computational toxicology, harmful algal blooms, upcoming events, webinars 0 Comments

By Michaela Burns

May is the best month—yes I said it. It’s the month before summer vacation, it’s the month where the weather gets warmer, and it’s the month of my birthday. Here are some public meetings and webinars EPA is hosting this month.

Look out for these events!

Children’s Center Monthly Webinar
Wednesday, May 11^th 1:00 p.m. ET

Up first is the EPA and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Children’s Center Webinar series. This month’s topic is on the exposome, the measure of exposures in an individual lifetime and how those exposures affect their health. This webinar is bringing together leading experts in this field—Dr. Elaine Faustman from University of Washington, Dr. Roy Gerona from University of California, San Francisco, and Dr. Stephen Rappaport from University of California, Berkeley. After the presentations, Dr. Yuxia Cui of NIEHS will moderate a discussion.
Register now to be a part of the conversation.

Harmful Algal Blooms
Wednesday, May 18^th 3:00 p.m. ET

Most algae species are not harmful, but sometimes certain types can bloom in excessive amounts and cause severe damage to human health, aquatic ecosystems, and local economies. Harmful algal blooms (HABs), algae that produce unhealthy toxins, cause problems across the nation. EPA researchers are looking for ways to eliminate or reduce the negative effects of HABs.
Register to get up to speed.

iCSS Chemistry Dashboard
Thursday, May 26^th 11:00 a.m. ET

Curious about chemistry data for over 700,000 chemicals? Then you can’t miss this month’s Computational Toxicology Communities of Practice webinar. Tune in to learn more about our Interactive Chemical Safety for Sustainability Chemistry Dashboard. This online tool provides access to chemical structures, experimental and predicted data, and additional links to relevant websites and applications. Chemistry information on thousands of chemicals will now be more publicly accessible!
Contact Monica Linnenbrink (linnenbrink.monica@epa.gov) to register.

Responding to Harmful Algal Blooms
Tuesday, May 31st, 2:00 p.m. ET

Harmful algal blooms pose particular challenges for small drinking water systems. In this month’s small systems webinar, EPA Environmental Engineer Nicholas Dugan will review the removal capacities of common processes used in drinking water treatment, present a strategy for evaluating an existing treatment facility, and discuss how to use this information to improve a facility’s performance. Heather Raymond of Ohio EPA’s Division of Drinking and Ground Waters will cover source and finished water monitoring options and their limitations and benefits. Bonus—Attendees have the option of receiving a certificate for one continuing education contact hour for each webinar. Register now!

For more events check out the EPA Research Events page.

About the Author: Michaela Burns is an Oak Ridge Associated Universities contractor and writer for the science communication team in EPA’s Office of Research and Development.

Oct 14, 2014

Children’s Health: An Investment in Our Future

arsenic, asthma, Children's Centers, children's environmental health, chlorpyrifos, EPA/NIEHS Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Program, National Center for Environmental Research, Science to Achieve Results (STAR) 2 Comments

By Dr. James H. Johnson Jr.

Children’s health is our best investment.

Although children make up 30 percent of the population, they are 100 percent of our future. As a former college professor, I’ve had the distinct honor of serving as an educator and mentor to many, many young people, and there is no greater personal or professional pleasure than watching that kind of investment grow.

Today marks the beginning of Children’s Health Action Week at EPA, and I’m thrilled to kick off a number of blog posts we will be sharing about what is without a doubt one of the greatest investments we make in our nation’s future: children’s environmental health research.

In 1998, EPA, together with our partner at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), established the EPA/NIEHS Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Program (Children’s Centers), one of the most successful public health research programs in the world. The program funds multi-disciplinary, community- and university-based research centers that together serve as a network of top experts and practitioners in children’s environmental health.

The Children’s Centers program fosters collaborative research that connects scientists, social scientists, pediatricians, public health professionals and community organizations all focused on a single overarching goal: to improve the health and environments of children. Together, their work has led to groundbreaking research results. Examples include:

Children living within 75 meters of a major road had a 50% greater risk of exhibiting asthma (McConnell et al, EHP, 2006);
A link between low-level arsenic exposures during pregnancy and low birth weights (Fei et al, Environmental Health, 2013);
Children exposed prenatally to high levels of the pesticide chlorpyrifos have lower intelligence testing scores at age seven (Rauh et all, EHP, 2011);
Prenatal exposure to phthalates may adversely affect child respiratory health and increase the risk of asthma among inner-city children (Whyatt et all, EHP, 2014); and
Organic brown rice syrup may be a source of arsenic exposure (Jackson et all, EHP, 2012).

The Centers are explicitly designed to match researchers with public health experts and caregivers so that the results of their work quickly and effectively reach those who can put it into practice and protect children wherever they live, learn and play.

For the past 16 years, EPA has invested over $130 million (matched by NIEHS) to fund more than 30 Children’s Centers.

This week, EPA is not only celebrating the great strides we have made in children’s health research, but we are also recommitting ourselves to our overall mission of ensuring safe and healthy lives for all children. The Children’s Centers are providing the research that will help parents and mentors achieve that. It is a rewarding investment.

Please join me in celebrating children’s health week and 16 years of scientific achievement by learning about how EPA and its partners are providing a better world for our children, today.

About the Author: Dr. James H, Johnson Jr. is the Director of EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research, which runs the Agency’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program as well as other grant, fellowship, and awards programs that support high quality research by many of our nation’s leading scientists and engineers.

Oct 30, 2013

Advancing Children’s Environmental Health: Our Best Investment

chemical safety, Children's Centers, Children's Health Month, Lek Kadeli, National Institute of Environmental Health, Research 2 Comments

Anyone who has ever enjoyed watching a toddler explore their world knows that along with that marvelous sense of discovery comes potential trouble. Young children crawl around on the floor, play in the dirt, and don’t hesitate to retrieve a wayward cookie or other delectable treat hidden among the dust bunnies underneath the couch—and pop it straight into their mouth.

Behaviors like these, as well as their smaller bodies and still developing internal systems, make children more vulnerable to pollution and other environmental risks than us adults. That’s why we here at EPA make protecting children’s health a top priority.

Editor's Note: The views expressed here are intended to explain EPA policy. They do not change anyone's rights or obligations. You may share this post. However, please do not change the title or the content, or remove EPA’s identity as the author. If you do make substantive 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 specific content on 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.