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WORKSHOPS

"Environmental Health Science 101: The Science You Need to be Effective."  On September 7, 2004, the UC Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) Outreach Core offered a workshop for environmental activists and other lay people seeking scientific information on exposure, remediation and clean up of contaminated sites.  Four SBRP scientists presented their research on the health effects of toxic exposure and new methods of prevention. The accessible, understandable program included small group sessions with each of the scientists for more in-depth discussion of advocates' specific areas of interest.  Click to view presentations:

• Superfund Introduction (Joyce Martin)

• Environmental Biotechnology 101 (Dan Oerther)

• Biology 101 (Jodi Shann)

• Environmental Engineering 101 (Paul Bishop)

• Molecular Biology 101 (Alvaro Puga)

"Obesity Research Collaboration Workshop."  This interdisciplinary program held August 6, 2004 was attended by over 120 University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital researchers and industry representatives.  Keynote speaker Dr. Barbara Alving (right), then Acting Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), gave an overview of the National Institutes of Health's obesity research priorities.  In addition, 23 current or proposed obesity research projects were shared by UC and Children's scientists, in the broad categories of causes & patterns, form & measurement, prevention & control, and public health burden.  The day concluded with a panel-audience discussion of ways to encourage and increase collaboration on obesity-related research projects. The workshop was sponsored by the UC Dept. of Environmental Health with the support of the Dean's Discovery Fund.  [Workshop agenda]   [Research summaries]

"Reconnecting Health and Land Use Planning."  In January, March and May 2004, the EPC held a series of working sessions with urban planners, economists, environmentalists, city, county, state and federal officials, historians, policy analysts, and health professionals from the Greater Cincinnati region to develop policy recommendations and strategies that address the recognized health impacts of urban sprawl.  The sessions tackled three major areas:  (1) Public Education on Health Impacts of Sprawl (Leader: Julie Sparks - Northern Kentucky Health Dept.); (2) Economics of Health Impacts of Sprawl (Leader: Haynes Goddard – University of Cincinnati Economics Department); and (3) Regionalism (Leader: Liz Blume -Xavier University Community Building Institute).  Click here for Findings and Recommendations, organized into sections on asthma, obesity, and mental health. 

Partners on this project were the Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue of Xavier University and the Sustainable Future Program of Northern Kentucky University.  Funding was provided by the Dean's Discovery Fund of the UC College of Medicine. 

“Sprawl: The Impact on Vulnerable Populations.”  The EPC planned and implemented this day-long workshop, held July 8, 2003 in Kettering Laboratory for over 100 health professionals, attorneys, planners, research scientists, academicians, public officials and interested citizens.  Featured were presentations by national speakers Dr. Samuel Wilson (below), Deputy Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which underwrote the program; Dr. Howard Frumkin, Professor and Chair of The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University; and Ms. Kathy Sykes, Senior Advisor of the Aging Initiative, US EPA.  Area experts in pediatrics, geriatric medicine, urban and health planning, architecture, economics, and law also led workshop sessions. The event was co-sponsored by the UC Department of Environmental Health’s Center for Environmental Genetics and Molecular Epidemiology in Children’s Environmental Health Training Program. 

Download .pdf files:

• Workshop Proceedings
• PowerPoint presentations

• Samuel H. Wilson, MD:  “The Environmental Health Crisis (Including Sprawl): A Response Based on Partnership, Planning and Environmental Stewardship”

• Howard Frumkin, MD, DrPH:  “Urban Sprawl and Public Health: A Focus on Vulnerable Populations”

• Kathy Sykes, MA:  “U.S. EPA’s New Aging Initiative”

• Bruce Lanphear, MD, MPH:  “Housing and Children’s Health”

• Brian Saelens, PhD:  “Physical Inactivity and Health Impacts in the Elderly and the Young”

• Louise Danzl:  “The Impact of Urban Factors on Public Health”

• Haynes Goddard, PhD:  “The Role of Transportation Planning in Dealing with Sprawl”   

• Cincinnati Enquirer article, July 9, 2003

“State and Local Environmental and Health Agencies: Surviving in the Post 9/11 World.” The EPC co-sponsored this June 9, 2003 workshop held in the Kingsgate Conference Center on the UC Medical Center campus.  Over 30 representatives of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana agencies attended to learn more from the US EPA’s National Homeland Security Research Center, the UC Dept. of Environmental Health’s Center for Health-Related Aerosol Studies, and Hamilton County public health officials on how to prepare for potential bioterrorism.  Participants also engaged in priority-setting sessions and recommended courses of action.   Additional workshop sponsors were the UC Department of Environmental Health’s Superfund Basic Research Program, Center for Environmental Genetics, Molecular Epidemiology in Children’s Environmental Health Training Program, and Midwest Consortium for Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program.

The following year, the EPC helped plan the October 29-30, 2004 workshop "Perspectives on Biodefense: Science, Politics and Practice," sponsored by the University of Cincinnati, City of Cincinnati, U.S. EPA, and VA Medical Center, and attended by over 120 people.  The EPC moderated a session on "Communicating the threat: what should the public know and when?"

PUBLICATIONS

Presentation, "The Precautionary Principle" for the Alliance for Chemical Safety, November 2004 [7 slides]

Poster, UC Superfund Basic Research Program Outreach Core     Presented at the SBRP Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, November 2004

Findings & Recommendations, Reconnecting Health & Land Use Planning workshop series, June 2004

Proceedings of the Environmental Policy Center workshop "Sprawl: The Impact on Vulnerable Populations," July 8, 2003 [89 pages]

Review of the book Precaution: Environmental Science and Preventive Public Policy, edited by Joel A. Tickner, ScD (Washington: Island Press, 2003) in the May/June 2003 issue of Public Health Reports (Vol. 118, No. 3, pp. 270-1) 

Presentation, "What is Environmental Policy?," for the UC Dept. of Environmental Health Division of Epidemiology & Biostatistics seminar series, February 2003 [59 slides]

PARTNERSHIPS & OUTREACH

Addyston Environmental Task Force: Policy Center staff co-chair the Communication Subcommittee of this organization formed in July 2005 by the Mayor of Addyston and an Ohio State Representative to address community concerns regarding the health effects of accidental releases of industrial chemicals. Task Force membership includes community members, elected officials, educators, industry representatives, environmental regulators, and emergency responders. In January 2006, the Alliance for Chemical Safety recognized the significant efforts of the Task Force and subcommittee with its “Best Risk Communication Award”.

Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) Outreach Core:  The Environmental Policy Center assumed leadership of this effort at the University of Cincinnati in October 2003.  UC has been a SBRP site for the last 16 years, one of 19 funded nationwide by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).  Current outreach efforts include "Environmental Health Science 101: The Science You Need to be Effective", a workshop for environmental advocates; technical support to communities with toxic waste concerns; and assistance to state and local environmental and health officials on biodefense issues.

Netwellness.com:  The EPC provides advisory support and content development consultation for this consumer health web service housed at the University of Cincinnati in partnership with The Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve University.  Established in 1994, the site answered its 20,000th consumer question in July 2003, and receives over 1 million hits per month worldwide.

Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana (OKI) Regional Council of Governments,  formed in 1964, brings together local governments, business organizations and community groups committed to developing collaborative strategies, plans and programs which will improve the quality of life and the economic development potential of the Tri-state.  The EPC Director is a member of the Board of Trustees.

The Regional Ozone Coalition (ROC) is a voluntary association of local governments, organizations and businesses committed to reducing smog in Boone, Butler, Campbell, Clermont, Hamilton, Kenton and Warren counties in Ohio. The EPC Director is currently Vice President.  The ROC addresses the smog problem through public and business education, involvement and outreach.

Torrice Productions:  The EPC has provided consultation and advisory support to this Cincinnati-based documentary filmmaker for an upcoming program on urban sprawl.  Among other efforts, Torrice Productions has also documented the ongoing negative impacts of global warming on Pacific island nations.