“Why Don’t People Walk?!” – A Case Study of Active Travel at a Sustainable University

More and more people in the western world have a sedentary lifestyle that is likely to be damaging their health and active travel is a potential solution to this problem. This is because active travel involves activities like walking, running, or cycling for at least some of a person’s journey to work, school or play. It could also involve other modes of transport, however there still needs to be substantial part of the journey that requires physical activity.

This presentation is based on a case study in Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in the United Kingdom (UK); NTU is the #1 University in the UK’s University Green League. The work identifies the importance of understanding current behaviors, specifically those issues that act as barriers and those that can be harnessed as facilitators to change personal habits with the goal of achieving positive health, well-being and sustainability-focused outcomes.

The research is innovative as, in order to achieve the above outcomes, it combines the ‘Stages of Change’ model (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1986) with another respected theoretical models within the psychology of behavior change, namely the ‘Theory of Planned Behavior’ (Ajzen, 1991).  The key premise of the paper is that, having identified barriers and facilitators to lifestyle changes and embedded behavior that have significant health implications associated with them. Lessons learned can then be drawn upon to increase the effectiveness of specific well-being and sustainability initiatives for healthy communities.

This talk could be of interest to practitioners involved in initiatives that seek to change behavior through environmental health interventions in communities or in a wider sustainability context.

Healthy Homes Programs and Effective Public Health Governance

Local healthy housing programs, which are typically supported and approved by boards of health, have been the driving force in the rise of the healthy homes movement.

This presentation will provide information about local public health governance and the roles and responsibilities of boards of health, strategies for including healthy homes principles into board policies and nuisance law regulations, and information on how boards of health can advocate for healthy homes issues.

Radon Activities in Comprehensive Cancer Control Programs – Finding the Gaps to Connect Existing Resources.

Introduction

Radon is a radioactive gas and the second leading cause of lung cancer. Most states have federally-funded radon programs. Radon testing and remediation is relatively inexpensive. Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC) programs may be aware of this existing resource. 

Methods

All currently-available CCC plans (65) and interim progress reports were reviewed for the terms “radon,” “radiation,” or “lung.” Actions to address radon exposure were categorized into: education, testing, remediation, or policy development/evaluation.

Results

62% (n=40) of all plans had terminology that could be associated with radon yet only 38% (n=25) explicitly addressed it. Radon education was the most common action (25 plans) followed by: home testing (20), remediation (10), policy development/revision (10), and policy evaluation (1). 

Conclusion

CCC programs may not be aware of the link between radon exposure and lung cancer. CCC programs and radon programs should consider collaborative efforts to leverage scarce resources to address radon exposure.

OELs, and PELs, and SLs…Oh My?: A Review of Industrial Hygiene and Environmental Reference Levels and their Applicability to Indoor Air Quality Investigations

Analysis of indoor air quality sampling data can be complicated and challenging with the variety of reference values available as resources for comparison today. Industrial occupational exposure levels such as the Occupational Safety & Health Administration Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) and American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) or outdoor/unaffected area controls have traditionally been viewed as the benchmark for comparison during IAQ investigations of most occupational settings. However, environmental reference levels, such as the OEHHA Reference Exposure Levels (RELs) and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Screening Levels (SLs) have become more readily available are now more frequently referenced as baselines of comparison, especially in office buildings and other non-industrial settings. Industrial hygienists and environmental, health & safety professionals must have a detailed understanding of the meaning and applicability of both traditional industrial hygiene and current environmental reference values in order to perform a comprehensive analysis of IAQ sampling data. This presentation will provide an overview of the development an intended application of several industrial hygiene and environmental reference levels, and discuss considerations for applicability to indoor air quality investigation scenarios.

The Inspector’s Guide to Indoor Pool Air Quality

The indoor air quality associated with swimming pools in hotels, water parks and other recreational facilities can pose a variety of health risks to swimmers, lifeguards and building occupants. Additionally, the high humidity environments of indoor pools combined with the off-gassing of disinfection by-products can interact to damage building interiors and impact building use.  These problems can be mitigated through a combination of proper water feature management and well designed indoor ventilation systems. This presentation will provide an overview of the health threats and occupant comfort issues commonly associated with indoor water feature air and how this indoor environment can impact building structure and use. It will discuss the critical components for managing indoor water feature air, including environmental quality and occupant comfort maintenance. The above information will then be used to provide a background and basis for a discussion of the Center for Disease Control’s draft Ventilation and Air Quality Module of the Model Aquatic Health Code and how pool operators, building managers and inspectors can use this proposed code as a guide to resolving indoor air quality complaints.       

The Fungus Among Us: Blasto Isolated in the Home Environment

During 2010 a large outbreak of Blastomycosis, a potentially life-threatening fungal infection caused by Blastomyces dermatitidis, occurred in Marathon County, Wisconsin. A disease investigation was conducted by the local health department in conjunction with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the State of WI Dept of Health and Marshfield Clinic.  The investigation included environmental sampling within recognized cluster areas of soil, air and rodents.  Blastomyces has only been successfully identified in the environment twice in relation to human illness.  Sampling in this outbreak led to the discovery of a Blastomycosis isolate from the basement of a home where unrelated tenants who lived in the home in succession were diagnosed with Blastomycosis.  Recommendations were developed to reasonably remediate the basement in response to the positive air sample result. The presence of the CDC heightened the concerns of the community.  Policies were challenged by both the media and the community creating a controversy over the disclosure of locations and the confidentiality of diagnosed individuals. This presentation will discuss the benefits and disadvantages of environmental sampling for Blastomyces.  In addition, the importance of public communication through the press and how it can impact various aspects of a community will be examined.

Home is Where the Hazards Are

It is no secret that the trend in environmental health is a holistic approach that focuses on the environment that plays the most significant role in the lives of most people: the home environment. For many public health departments and other community service programs, the transition to Healthy Homes can be a challenging one, especially in today’s economy. Few models are in place and the guidance from federal agencies is limited, as they are yet unsure how they want healthy homes to look. They are counting on local and state programs to build the model of Healthy Homes. The Home is Where the Hazards Are presentation follows an urban mid-sized county level health department in its journey from a childhood lead poisoning prevention program to the holistic healthy homes department it is today. The Marion County Public Health Department (MCPHD) of Indianapolis, Indiana is the recipient of two federally funded healthy homes grants: Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Healthy Homes Demonstration grant 2009-2012 and Healthy Homes Production grant 2011-2014. Today, through its Healthy Homes Department, MCPHD addresses IAQ issues such as radon gas, environmental tobacco smoke, mold and pest control issues as well as lead based paint hazards and unintentional injuries. The panel of the Lead Safe and Healthy Homes Department (LSHHD) of MCPHD will discuss challenges and barriers to initiating healthy homes services, including limited funding and workforce, lack of experience or knowledge with expanded audience and safety/health hazards, and public perception of the county health department and “healthy homes”. Attendees will also learn about elements vital to the initial success of the department and available resources for assessment tools, education, services and intervention items.

Empowering a Superfund-impacted community by increasing environmental health literacy

The Koppers  Superfund site is a former wood treatment facility located in a residential neighborhood in Gainesville, Florida.  Improper waste disposal methods led to widespread soil and water contamination from numerous toxic chemicals, including dioxin.  Soil sampling in the neighborhood adjacent to Koppers found dioxin concentrations above the Florida SCTL and residential yards are slated for remediation.  Many residents in this low-income neighborhood have experienced high levels of anxiety and fear because of the soil contamination and disclosure that indoor dust samples also indicate high levels of dioxin and dioxin-like chemicals in their homes.  The Gainesville Environmental Health Education Project was developed with the goal of reducing residents’ exposure to hazardous chemicals in their home environment by addressing gaps in knowledge and understanding about routes of exposure, risk behaviors and the attention needed to keep infants, children and pets safe from contact with harmful chemicals – communicated in easy-to-comprehend language and hands-on activities. The culminating event will be the Eco-Health Festival, a family-friendly event to be held for 500 families next May at the neighborhood elementary school.  This project is supported by a $25,000 EPA Environmental Justice grant administered by Suwannee River Area Health Education Center, in Alachua, Florida.

The Effects of Indoor Air Pollutants on the Lung Health of Asthmatic Patients

Environmental studies have consistently shown an association between air pollution and exacerbations of illness in people with respiratory diseases such as Asthma (Zhengmin, 2010). Asthma, a chronic disorder in over 160 million people causing one death every twenty seconds, involves the interaction of airflow obstruction, bronchial hyper-responsiveness, and inflammation (WHO, 2005). Medical practitioners currently attribute any degradation in lung health to pathophysiological factors, and routinely suggest expensive steroids and other inhaler treatments to alleviate respiratory disorders. The goal of my research is to uniquely quantify the effect of airborne pollutants on the degredation in lung health of asthmatic patients enabling targeted remediation that incorporates both pathophysiological and environmental factors.

It was hypothesized that the Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) rate of asthmatic subjects varies inversely with the concentration of each pollutant, including airborne particulate matter (PM10), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs). In Phase 1, over 100 subjects were recruited to participate in this study. Using scientific and HIPPA compliant methods, over 4 million air quality and PEFR readings. Based on the Pearson R Correlation coefficient, a strong inverse correlation was determined between the degradation in the PEFR and the PM10 and TVOC levels, but not between the CO2 and CO concentration levels.

In Phase 2, I developed a novel mathematical model and an interactive online application to quantify the percent what percent of a subject's PEF degradation is caused by the levels of PM10 and TVOC in each subject's environment. Medical practitioners and Environmental specialists alike could use my mathematical model as it provides a better estimate for the PEF rate and supports targeted remediation of indoor air quality. I have written a letter to the Chairman of the EPA and the U.S. President asking them to allow me to present my findings to them and discuss possible amendment to the Clean Air Act needs to include TVOCs as a criteria pollutant. Possible ideas for future research include engineering a smart thermostat that monitors air quality real-time and studying the effect of TVOC on the endothilial lining of our lungs.

Indoor Air Quality in Rural Alaskan Homes

Residential indoor air quality is a pillar of environmental health. With exceptionally high rates of respiratory disease, a critical housing shortage and exceptionally demanding heating needs, Alaskan households face major indoor air challenges. In this session we will examine how the unique aspects of climate, geography, building construction and culture influence air quality in rural and remote Alaskan homes.

Nationwide, many agencies offer research, outreach material and best-practice recommendations regarding indoor air quality. Unfortunately, Alaskan environmental health workers are finding much of this material is poorly suited to the unique and challenging conditions of our state. A careful review of housing issues and respiratory disease rates details a web of weighty, and often unique, air quality factors that gravely impact health. By making use of available research, as well as field experience, we will explore and prioritize the air quality concerns which have the greatest impact on rural residents.

Looking towards the future, we will discuss how increased concern over heating efficiency and the progressive “tightening” of Alaskan homes will create new challenges for the residential environmental health professional.

We will describe a systematic, evidence-based review of health and housing factors and how it can be used to set priorities and a address a complex health topic. While this session will focus specifically on the residential indoor air quality issues of remote and rural Alaska, it will be well suited to anyone trying to develop or adapt health initiatives for a unique audience.

Preserving Our Past to Protect Our Future

This is a lecture by two award-winning industry leaders in the Intermountain West. The developer and builder, Dennis Cunningham, established a new paradigm for homes and residences that combines traditional values with smart location, healthy living and advanced energy-efficiency measures. The sustainability consultant and Healthy Homes Specialist, Sharon Patterson, has guided the Meadow Ranch neighborhood and The Gee student housing project towards multiple LEED certifications based on holistic solutions for better indoor air quality, efficiency, community connectivity and durability. Both Dennis and Sharon were instrumental in establishing the US Green Building Council Chapter in Idaho and are frequent presenters on sustainable homes and communities throughout the region. Meadow Ranch manages to meld the technological advancements of our time with the simplicity of being able to share a drink on your neighbor’s front port, pick an apple from the community orchard and stroll sidewalks to reach bike paths, restaurants, post offices and other community conveniences. The Gee speaks to the needs and desires of college students looking to live a sustainable lifestyle. Compare and contrast how times change and how they stay the same as well as how different generations view sustainability.

Taming Toxins in the Wild West

This is an interactive learning environment for identifying the connectivity between our choices and protecting the natural wonders that inspire us. Skilled facilitator and sustainability expert, Sharon Patterson, will introduce several real life scenarios and map a process for not only connecting issues but for creating solutions. We will explore water supplies and how to safely replenish rather than deplete them; sources of energy and opportunities to conserve it in our homes, businesses and schools; and, rethinking the products we use to reduce the toxins that sicken our society. You can anticipate a ‘world café’ type of format in which lively group discussions transpire into concrete ideas to take home and transform your world in small ways that generate significant impact on our larger communities and ecosystems.