This section will include timely information on new environmental/occupational topics or old topics that re-surface in a new way. Examples of hot topics would include new environmental hazards to children, communities organizing to improve environmental conditions, seasonal hazards, new or urgent federal legislative activity and model State legislative activity which may affect us all. Please feel free to email us with "Hot Topics" of interest to nursing.
ANA 2004 Biennial Convention
Several Environmental Health Nursing presentations were made at the ANA convnetion this year, held in Minneapolis, MN June 26 - 29. Click here to view Dr. Barbara Sattler's presentation entitled Keeping Your Public Healthy: Recognizing Community Environmental Health Risks.
NEETF Website for Meteorologists
Check out the new Web tool – www.EarthGauge.net. It is being designed as a platform that will link health, water and environment implications of weather events and help TV weathercasters cover important issues with ease, regularity and frequency.
Soon a new feature will be added that will provide daily messages and tips to weathercasters in 30-40 of the largest media markets. These will be timed to the pending weather conditions of the day and can thus easily be added on to the normal weather report as a brief, but effective supplement.
NEETF needs your advice. Please take a few minutes to look the site over and see if you might suggest other information sources, categories or overlooked issues. It is a work in progress. The site info is ultimately for public consumption so don’t feel you need to be too technical.
Mercury
To view a new presentation go to www.envirohealthaction.org and click on the "Featured Action" to hear Dr. Katherine Shea speak about the dangers of mercury.
To view and download a new resource entitled Health Fish, Healthy Families go to http://www.mercuryaction.org/fish/
On-line CE in Environmental Health Nursing
The Safe Workplaces & Healthy Learning Places: Environmentally Healthy Schools
Environmental Health in the Health Care Setting
Environmental Healthy Homes and Communities
Online CE modules are now available on the American Nurses Association Website. These independent study modules (ISM) will prepare RNs practicing in schools, health care settings, and the community to address issues associated with environmental health risks.
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Environmental Chemicals and Breast Cancer: Why Is There Concern?
Of special interest to nurses and health professionals!
How can you be exposed to environmental chemicals?
Are there concerns about chemicals in the home and the workplace?
Do chemical exposures early in life affect breast cancer risk?
What about pesticides and breast cancer risk?
Get the facts.
You can view complete scientific presentations from:
Cornell University Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors.
Please visit the BCERF website: http://envirocancer.cornell.edu
Nursing CE contact hours will be available!
New Environmental Health Curriculum at University of Maryland
University of Maryland Environmental Health Curriculum for Ungergraduate Nursing Education
Pilot Course: Advocating for Healthy Environments and Healthy People
The Michigan Public Health Training Center invites you to participate in the pilot course, Advocating for Healthy Environments and Healthy People. This online, self-paced course is now available at no charge to you. Your feedback on the content and mechanics of this course is vital to create a course that will be a valuable and effective training tool. Click here to learn more.
FEEDBACK IS NEEDED BY JULY
Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative Presentations
Presentations are now available from the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) meeting, held at the National Institutes of Health on May 19, 2004. Please see: http://www.iceh.org/Pages/LDDI.html
Nurses Stethoscope - May 2004
Minnesota
The RN No Harm train the trainer will be held in Minneapolis , MN on June 25-26 as a preconference to the ANA Biennial Convention. Blue Vinyl: A Toxic Comedy, will be shown on Friday June 25 with a panel of speakers. Please contact Ann Melamed for an application or more information: annmelamed@earthlink.net
We have a good number of nurses coming from the Minnesota-Wisconsin area so the local Health Care Without Harm folks can be planning their follow up work with this committed group of nurses.
Maine
Bettie Kettell, as head of the Environmental Impact Committee/Pollution Prevention Team at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick , Maine , organized an “Earth Day Environmental Fair” and Thermometer exchange on April 21, 2004 . They had more than 25 exhibitors; kids' recycling games and activities; presentations ranging from art-from-trash to boat building; and, of course, refreshments. About 500 people visited the fair and they were able to collect 220 thermometers. This was a great idea for Earth Day or even for Nurses Day!
Washington
Maggie Flanagan has been voted the Healthcare Panel Chairperson for the 2004 WA Governor's Industrial Safety and Health Conference. This year it will be in Spokane , Sept. 28th thru 30th. Topics for Healthcare are indoor air quality and respiratory protection. They are looking for speakers on these topics. (Unlike the Alaska Governor's Safety and Health conference, on whose planning committee Maggie's been as well, this conference looks for speakers from the area.) The website for this conference is: http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/TrainTools/GovConf
Also news from Washington: Thanks to support from the Washington State Nurses Association, funding is being restored for Ecology's Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins (PBT) program and for mercury and flame retardant chemical phase outs in the State of Washington. This is especially exciting because of the broad base of support from Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition members and other supporters. A number of legislators really began to understand PBTs as a public health issue, especially following reports on how these chemicals are building up in peoples' bodies.
American Journal of Nursing (AJN)
The April 2004 Earth Day issue of American Journal of Nursing (AJN) Health & Safety column is “The Precautionary Approach: Thinking Like a Nurse” by Charlotte Brody and Ann Melamed.
Collaborative for Health and the Environment (CHE)
The Collaborative for Health and the Environment is a network of individuals and organizations focused on helping folks understand the science connections between environmental risks and health outcomes. CHE does this by mining the existing peer-reviewed science and current reports by governmental and non-governmental organizations, and presenting the information to health professionals and patients affected by specific diseases that may be associated with an environmental risk. Each month there is a briefing on the science associated with a specific topic. Past presentations include Parkinson's disease, mercury poisoning and infertility. Access to the briefings is available to those who register with the CHE campaign via the website: www.CHEforhealth.org. There is also a website that contains summaries of peer-reviewed papers and categorizes them for easy retrieval: www.protectingourhealth.org
American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA)
On Thursday June 17, 2004 , Peggy Wolff will give an all-day preconference “Transforming our own Healthcare Environments” at the American Holistic Nurses Association 24 th Annual Conference in Scottsdale , Arizona . You can find more information about this wonderful conference, “Unleashing the Potential,”
at: http://www.ahna.org/events/2004.html
Massachusetts
The MNA marched on the Massachusetts State house on May 11, 2004 , with well over 500 nurses marching for nursing ratios. They had 325 organizations from across the state walking with them. It was a very successful day….and the weather cooperated too.
Commonweal Network
In March 2004 at the Commonweal retreat Center just north of San Francisco , a dozen each of nursing and environmental leaders came together for three days of learning each others language and values. The attendees formed a network of environmentalists and nursing organizations that are committed to continue the momentum established during the meeting in a variety of ways:
* Imagining what could be different in nursing practice - at the bedside, with building design, health economics, and scientific research.
* Working with major nursing educational organizations such as the American Association of the College of Nurses and the National League of Nursing to raise awareness and develop a strategy for better integration of environmental health concepts.
* Enhancing nursing's workplace advocacy and collective bargaining activities by incorporating environmental health into efforts to improve nursing working conditions.
* Actively engaging within the nursing community and in partnerships with others towards a goal of healthy people and a healthy environment.
Information on the follow-up activities will be incorporated into the enviRN website:www.enviRN.umaryland.edu . To find out more about the national efforts, contact Brenda Afzal at: afzal@son.umaryland.edu
USEPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
Here are a few web sites to direct you to various "green" and/or "clean" school programs, demo projects and funding/grants made available by EPA:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/schools/top_sub.cfm?t_id=49&s_id=53
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/b1ab9f485b098972852562e7004dc686/a8bbd75fa39028c185256dc700560d96?OpenDocument
htttp://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/schoolbus/grants_2003.htm
ICN 23rd Quadrennial Congress
International Council of Nurses' (ICN) 23rd Quadrennial Congress is scheduled for 21-27 May 2005, in Taipei , Taiwan . Prominent guest speakers will give plenary sessions on nursing knowledge and innovation, focusing on the most pressing and timely topics of interest for nursing and health care.
The main objectives of the ICN Congress are:
- to support informed and sustainable improvement in policy and nursing practice;
- to advance nursing's contribution to health care
- to facilitate the dissemination of evidence highlighting effective nursing interventions; and -to encourage innovation
Deadline for receipt of abstracts is 15 September 2004. Additional information can be found at http://icn.ch/congress2005/info.htm.
Ohio
From Kathleen Morris: an issues and answers column on fish advisories for their next issue of the Ohio Nurses Review, available for other nursing publications with credit to Kathleen Morris and the Ohio Nurses Association:
Something Fishy
Issue: What should I tell expectant mothers about limiting fish in their diets? Where can I find information?
Answer: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) have released a joint advisory statement for 2004 regarding consumption of fish by women in child-bearing years, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children. What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish offers recommendations for choosing and eating fish and shell fish based on mercury content.
Mercury is a naturally occurring element that presents as a heavy liquid at room temperature. In its elemental form, mercury is not considered biologically available; although when spilled in the home or workplace, mercury vapors do present a long-term risk to for inhalation. Methylmercury is found in the environment and is biologically available; i.e., readily absorbed by the human body. Mercury finds its way into land, air, and water when mercury-containing products are manufactured or disposed of through incineration, landfill, or other improper means of disposal. Once returned to the environment, mercury interacts with organic elements to become methylmercury. Mercury enters the food chain when animals consume it, including fish. Fish higher on the food chain, such as shark, swordfish, King Mackerel, and Tilefish have been identified as containing high levels of methylmercury. When eaten, methylmercury accumulates in the human body. While not a significant risk to most adults, mercury is a potent neurological and renal toxin that does pose a risk to the more vulnerable developing fetus and young child. Women of childbearing age, although not currently pregnant, may accumulate an excessive body burden of mercury, thus presenting a potential for developmental damage during future pregnancies or while nursing.
The EPA/FDA fish advisory makes the following three suggestions for women and young children under the age of six:
1. Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.
2. Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shell fish that are lower in mercury.
· Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
· Another commonly eaten fish, albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.
3. Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal area. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don't consume any other fish during the week. (http://www.fda.gov).
Forty states currently issue fish advisories for local lakes and streams. The Ohio fish advisory for 2004 was issued by the Ohio EPA (http://web.epa.state.oh.us) and may also be accessed from the "Alerts and Advisories" section of the Ohio Department of Health web site at www.odh.state.oh.us. Twenty-four rivers in forty-one Ohio counties are included in the more restricted advisories issued for 2004. In addition, Ohio recommendations advise no more than one meal per week of any sport fish caught from any water body in Ohio. A complete list of limitations for Ohio by body of water and contaminant is available at http://epa.state.oh.us/dsw/fishadvisory/limitmeals.html.
The Ohio EPA and the Ohio Department of Health's Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program are acting as partners in transmitting fish advisory information to Ohio families.
Nurses may further this health teaching by including fish advisories in their work with young women and mothers of infants or young children.
Mad as a Hatter
The Mad Hatter of " Alice and Wonderland" fame was based on real life experience.
Hatmakers were exposed to mercurous nitrate while making fur hats. These victims of occupationally associated illness developed neurological deficits including tremors, twitching, and confused speech…hence the term, "mad as a hatter." Mercury was not banned in the hat industry of the United States until 1941. (http://www.hgtech.com/Information/Mad%20Hatter.htm)
National Children's Study
WHAT IS THE NATIONAL CHILDREN'S STUDY?
The National Children's Study will examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of more than 100,000 children across the United States , following them from before birth until age 21. The goal of the study is to improve the health and well-being of children. For the most recent e-update(s) on the progress of the National Children's Study please go t http://nationalchildrensstudy.gov
National Library of Medicine's Household Products Database
The Household Products Database/HPD (http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov) now links over 5,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) provided by the manufacturers. HPD allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients.
Several features were added to HPD in June:
*A "Pet Care" category (http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/prodtree?prodcat=Pet+Care) and additional brands (including hair color products).
*"Product Safety and Recall Lists" (from the FDA and CPSC Web sites). The lists (http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/recalls.htm) include products that appear in HPD, or products of similar type; they are updated each time the database is updated.
*A "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) page (http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/faq.htm).
*A link/search from HPD's "Chemical Information Page" to PubMed to help users find effects of the chemicals to humans in the published biomedical literature.
*Ability to search only in a particular product category (http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/search.htm).