[Autism=Mercury]EPA Awards Grants For Environmental Health Education

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EPA Awards Grants For Environmental Health

Education<http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=281>

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=281

(*Beyond Pesticides*, February 7, 2008) The U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) has awarded more than $500,000 in federal grant funds to

several states and non-profit organizations to be used for programs to

educate health care providers and women of childbearing age on environmental

health risks.The grants were provided to five states and non-profit

organizations in Ohio, Michigan, Oregon, Florida, and Texas, and are to

focus on educating women, especially pregnant women, on the hazards of

environmental contaminants and hazards to children. Health issues such as

exposure to mercury, lead, environmental tobacco smoke, chemicals,

pesticides, drinking water contaminants, and indoor and outdoor air

contaminants have been especially targeted. These grants are estimated to

benefit 3,000 health care providers and 10,000 women of childbearing age. " We're

giving pregnant women information on how to avoid exposure to certain

environmental hazards to give children a healthy start to life, " said Dona

Deleon, acting director, Office of Children's Health Protection and

Environmental Education. " These grants help the public health community

reach women during this important time in their lives. " According to the EPA,

pregnancy is a time for joy and celebration, but it is also a time to be

especially careful about the environment in which one works and lives.

Various behaviors and experiences are associated with adverse health

outcomes for both the mother and infant. These experiences can occur before,

during and after pregnancy.

Recent studies have found that pregnant women and young children are

vulnerable to household exposures of pesticides and other chemicals.

Children born to mothers living in households with pesticide use during

pregnancy have over twice as much

risk<http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=241>of getting

cancer, specifically acute leukemia (AL) or non-Hodgkin lymphoma

(NHL). Asthma, autism and a host of other respiratory and neurological

problems have been associated with exposures to pesticides and other

environmental agents.

Also important are the effects of pesticide residues on foods eaten by

children. A study published this month in *Environmental Health Perspectives

* <http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=275> also found that

children who eat a conventional diet of food produced with

chemical-intensive practices carry a greater chemical burden than those on

an organic diet.

Grant recipients would develop training programs for physicians and other

prenatal care providers to help assess and educate preconception and

pregnant women about environmental health exposures and risks during

pregnancy. Some programs would focus on providing sustainable and replicable

outreach programs that empower communities and families to identify and

reduce environmental exposure risks.

EPA is awarding the following grants:

- The Duval County Health Department, ville, Fla., received

$100,000 to develop health care provider training, assessment tools, and

consumer education materials on environmental health risks.

- The Ohio Department of Health, Columbus, Ohio, received $97,204 to

increase health care provider awareness through the development of provider

assessment tools and an all-inclusive patient screening tool for

environmental home risks.

- The Michigan Inter-Tribal Council, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., received

$117,747 to develop health care provider training for Healthy Start Program

Maternal and Child Health home visiting staff at seven tribal Healthy Start

project sites on environmental health assessment and education, and to

provide community-wide education on environmental health risks to their

prenatal patients.

- The South Central Area Health Education Center, San , Texas,

received $98,115 to develop health care provider training in five South

Texas clinics and to develop patient education materials on environmental

health risks.

- The Oregon Department of Human Services, Portland, Ore., received

$100,000 to develop education and assessment tools for public health nurses

and their prenatal patients on environmental health risks.

*Source: US EPA

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