Environmental & Public Health

Did you know every time you step on your car’s brake – whether at a stoplight, an intersection or while parking– small amounts of copper debris are released onto the streets and into the air, eventually making it into California’s waterways? Considering the millions of drivers in the state, and the number of times we all hit our brakes, the cumulative impact of copper debris takes a toll on California’s environment.

Fellow Rachel Morello-Frosch believes, despite the uncertainties, doctors and other clinicians can offer women very useful advice. For example, diets rich in organic foods reduce exposures to pesticides, as measured by urinary levels of their metabolites. And people can choose not to buy body lotions known to contain phthalates or furniture with foam cushions steeped in flame-retardants. Indeed, advising patients on the best ways to reduce potentially toxic chemical exposures is an essential component of public health prevention.

While blood lead levels were declining, scientific evidence was mounting to show there is no safe level of exposure to lead in infants and young children. Studies showed that adverse neurological effects were happening at lower and lower levels of lead exposure. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced the level of lead in blood used to identify those with elevated exposure to 5 µg/dL. Today, approximately 500,000 children have levels at or above 5 µg/dL.

Friends of the Earth is celebrating Women’s History Month by recognizing the contributions and careers of several women on Friends of the Earth’s staff. We discussed their inspirations, interests, the importance of women in the environmental movement and each shared advice for the next generation looking to be a part of the movement.

High levels of potentially harmful exhaust particles from jets using Los Angeles International Airport have been detected in a broad swath of densely populated communities up to 10 miles east of the runways, a new air quality study reported Thursday. The research, believed to be the most comprehensive of its type, found that takeoffs and landings at LAX are a major source of ultrafine particles. They are being emitted over a larger area than previously thought, the study states, and in amounts about equal in magnitude to those from a large portion of the county's freeways.

Three tank cars carrying a hazardous liquid derailed Wednesday morning on train tracks under the Benicia Bridge, and although there were no reports of leaks, the incident rekindled fears about the potential dangers of derailments along the East Bay's industrial and refinery belt. ...

Confirming what Chicago-area commuters have experienced for years, federal regulators have documented spikes of lung- and heart-damaging pollution in the acrid blue clouds that hover between diesel locomotives at Union Station. ...

COEH faculty affiliate Asa Bradman from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health became chair of Biomonitoring California’s Scientific Guidance Panel (SGP) effective November 2015. Dr. Bradman has been a member of the SGP since 2007, first appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and later reappointed by Governor Jerry Brown. Dr. Bradman will coordinate with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), one of three state departments that implement Biomonitoring California, to facilitate three SGP meetings annually. ...

Like the pioneers of the organic farming movement, a growing cadre of doctors, nurses and dietitians understand that healthy food begins with healthy soils.