Journal of Environmental Health最新文献

This article will identify the state of science on the generation, production, and transport of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Additionally, this article will focus on the transport of these environmental contaminants through air sources. It is important to explore why air exposure is critical to bring awareness to a problem that is not always immediately apparent. From a biological standpoint, clean air is necessary to sustain healthy life. Thus, it is key to understand the environmental transport of chemicals such as PFOS and PFOA with regard to their ability to migrate (i.e., air to water and water to air) and thus create unsafe air. The fluorinated backbone of these substances is both hydrophobic and oleophobic/lipophobic, while the terminal functional group is hydrophilic (water loving). Therefore, PFOS and PFOA compounds tend to partition to interfaces, such as between air and water with the fluorinated backbone residing in air and the terminal functional group residing in water. This article will identify opportunities for research to further the understanding of their potential impacts to human health.

Internships are an essential component of preparing prospective college graduates for entering the practice-based field of environmental health (EH). EH professionals continually encounter events or hazards of high complexity and impact, and many experienced EH professionals are expected to retire within the next several years. Efforts are needed to ensure a supply of highly qualified and prepared graduates is available to sustain and strengthen the EH workforce. The National Environmental Public Health Internship Program (NEPHIP) addresses this need by supporting health department internships for EH students of academic programs accredited by the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council. We conducted an assessment to examine former NEPHIP intern and mentor experiences and perspectives on 1) how well the internships prepared interns for careers in EH and 2) to what extent the internships provided value to the host health department. Overall, the internships appeared to provide EH students with a well-rounded professional and practice-based experience, while health departments benefited from hosting interns with a foundational knowledge and college education in EH. Promoting the value of public health department EH internships could encourage more students and graduates to seek internship or employment opportunities with health departments, ultimately strengthening the EH workforce.

As part of our continued effort to highlight innovative approaches to improve the health and environment of communities, the Journal is pleased to publish regular columns from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ATSDR serves the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances. The purpose of this column is to inform readers of ATSDR's activities and initiatives to better understand the relationship between exposure to hazardous substances in the environment, its impact on human health, and how to protect public health. The conclusions of this column are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of ATSDR or CDC. Caroline Cusack is an epidemiologist at ATSDR. Marian Pavuk is a lead epidemiologist at ATSDR. Nina Dutton and Tara Serio are Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellows at ATSDR. Eric Yang is currently a statistical analyst at Aspen Dental Management, Inc.

NEHA strives to provide up-to-date and relevant information on environmental health and to build partnerships in the profession. In pursuit of these goals, we feature this column on environmental health services from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in every issue of the Journal. In these columns, authors from CDC's Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch, as well as guest authors, will share insights and information about environmental health programs, trends, issues, and resources. The conclusions in these columns are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of CDC. Vivi Siegel is the crisis and emergency risk communication lead for CDC's Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice in the National Center for Environmental Health.

Pathogen growth caused by improper or slow cooling of hot foods was a contributing factor in 504 of restaurant- and deli-related outbreaks in the U.S. from 1998-2008. Little is known, however, about restaurant cooling practices. To fill this gap, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Environmental Health Specialists Network (EHS-Net) conducted an observational study to identify and understand factors that might determine which methods restaurants follow to rapidly cool food. These methods include refrigerating food at ≤41 °F, at shallow depths, and in containers that are ventilated, unstacked, and have space around them. EHS-Net personnel collected data through manager interviews and observation of cooling processes in 420 randomly selected restaurants. Regression analyses revealed characteristics of restaurants most likely to use the cooling methods assessed. These characteristics included ownership by restaurant chains, manager food safety training and certification, few foods cooled at a time, many meals served daily, and a high ratio of workers to managers. These findings suggest that regulatory food safety programs and the retail industry might improve cooling methods-and reduce outbreaks-by providing and encouraging manager food safety training and certification, and by focusing intervention efforts on independent and smaller restaurants.

The National Environmental Health Association is publishing a three-part series that highlights collaboration and partnerships with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and redevelopment stakeholders to promote environmental health and land reuse as environmental and public health practices. This series will serve as a guide for identifying new and existing resources that can be adopted at the local environmental health level to safely reuse environmentally impacted land to improve community health outcomes. The conclusions in this series are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and ATSDR.

As part of our continued effort to highlight innovative approaches to improve the health and environment of communities, the Journal is pleased to publish a bimonthly column from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ATSDR serves the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances. The purpose of this column is to inform readers of ATSDR's activities and initiatives to better understand the relationship between exposure to hazardous substances in the environment, its impact on human health, and how to protect public health. The conclusions of this column are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of ATSDR or CDC. Kelsey Benson is an environmental epidemiologist at ATSDR. Elizabeth Irvin-Barnwell currently serves as the acting chief of the Environmental Epidemiology Branch at ATSDR. Angela Ragin-Wilson currently serves as the acting deputy director of the Division of Toxicology and Human Health Sciences at ATSDR. Pat Breysse is the director of CDC's National Center for Environmental Health/ATSDR.

NEHA strives to provide up-to-date and relevant information on environmental health and to build partnerships in the profession. In pursuit of these goals, we feature this column on environmental health services from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in every issue of the Journal. In these columns, authors from CDC's Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch, as well as guest authors, will share insights and information about environmental health programs, trends, issues, and resources. The conclusions in these columns are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of CDC. Kerton Victory is an environmental health specialist and emergency coordinator with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) Emergency Preparedness and Response Office (EPRO). Jill Shugart is a senior environmental health specialist and the Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance coordinator with NIOSH EPRO. Sherry Burrer is a senior epidemiologist and emergency coordinator with NIOSH EPRO. Chad Dowell is the NIOSH deputy associate director for emergency preparedness and response. Lisa Delaney is the NIOSH associate director for emergency preparedness and response.