Greening Our Children & Yours! Sharing Ideas on Environmental Health and Hazards

STEPHANIE BLANK – LAURA SEYDEL – LISA TUSH

Imperial Room
265 Peachtree Center Avenue Northeast
Atlanta, GA 30303

About Phil Landrigan

Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., M.Sc., the Ethel Wise Professor and Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine, is a pediatrician, epidemiologist, and internationally recognized leader in public health and preventive medicine. He has been a member of the faculty of Mount Sinai School of Medicine since 1985 and Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine since 1990. Dr. Landrigan is also the Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center.

Dr. Landrigan graduated from Boston College in 1961 and from Harvard Medical School in 1967. He completed an internship in pediatrics/medicine at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital and a residency in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Boston. In 1977, he received a Diploma of Industrial Health from the University of London and a Masters of Science in Occupational Medicine degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He then served for 15 years as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). While at CDC, Dr. Landrigan served for one year as a field epidemiologist in El Salvador and for another year in northern Nigeria. He participated in the Global Campaign for the Eradication of Smallpox. Dr. Landrigan directed the national program in occupational epidemiology for NIOSH. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal of the US Public Health Service.

In 1987, Dr. Landrigan was elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine and Editor of Environmental Research. He has published more than 500 scientific papers and 5 books. He has chaired committees at the National Academy of Sciences on Environmental Neurotoxicology and on Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children. The NAS report that he directed on pesticides and children’s health was instrumental in securing passage of the Food Quality Protection Act, the only environmental law in the United States that contains explicit provisions for the protection of children. From 1995 to 1997, Dr. Landrigan served on the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veteran’s Illnesses. In 1997-1998, Dr. Landrigan served as Senior Advisor on Children’s Health to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and was instrumental in helping to establish a new Office of Children’s Health Protection at EPA. From 2000-2002, Dr. Landrigan served on the Armed forces Epidemiological Board. Dr Landrigan served from 1996 to 2005 in the Medical Corps of the United States Naval Reserve. He retired in 2005 at the rank of Captain. He continues to serve as Deputy Command Surgeon General of the New York Naval Militia, New York’s Naval National Guard.

Dr. Landrigan is known for his many decades of work in protecting children against environmental threats to health, most notably lead and pesticides. His pioneering research on lead toxicity at low levels persuaded the US government to mandate removal of lead from gasoline and paint, actions that have produced a 90% decline in incidence of childhood lead poisoning over the past 25 years. Dr. Landrigan has been a leader in developing the National Children’s Study, the largest study of children’s health and he environment ever launched in the United States. He has been centrally involved in the medical and epidemiologic studies that followed the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He has consulted extensively to the World Health Organization.
In the News

Dr. Landrigan and his work were recently profiled in The Daily News feature The Daily Check Up. View the PDF.  Read the commentary by Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc, “What’s Getting Into Our Children?” that appeared in the New York Times on August 4, 2009.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Connecticut Department of Public Health

January 28, 2010                                              Contact: William Gerrish

(860) 509-7270

Pregnant Women and Families with Young Children Warned About Bisphenol A (BPA)

Baby Bottles, Plastic Containers and Canned Food Can Contain Chemical

Hartford – The Connecticut Departments of Public Health (DPH) and Consumer Protection (DCP) are advising pregnant women and families with young children to be aware of dietary sources of bisphenol A (BPA) and to minimize these exposures where possible.  This advisory is a follow-up to last week’s statement from the  U.S.   Food and Drug Administration in which a concern was raised for BPA effects on the developing fetus and infants.

“There still remains considerable uncertainty about BPA’s health effects,” stated DPH Commissioner J. Robert Galvin.  “Given the potential for health risks, it’s prudent to prevent exposure in children.  The recently passed law which bans BPA from certain children’s products in  Connecticut will not take effect until next fall, however, there are simple ways to decrease exposure to this chemical.”

“Manufacturers have been proactive on this issue for many new products, but consumers should be aware that older manufactured products may likely contain BPA,” DCP Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr. said.  ”For example, rather than reusing older baby bottles, consumers may consider replacing these with glass or newer products.”

BPA is a chemical used in certain types of baby bottles, plastic storage containers and the lining of canned food.  Tiny amounts can migrate from the packaging and contaminate the food or liquid.  BPA is an endocrine disruptor which acts like estrogen in the body and some studies suggest it can cause abnormal development and promote cancer and obesity.  The concern is highest for babies in the womb and shortly after birth.  The data on BPA health effects are controversial and more research is planned.

Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and infants can decrease BPA exposure by taking the following steps:

• Choose breastfeeding over bottle-feeding.
• If you bottle-feed your baby:

o       Use BPA-free baby bottles

o       Consider powdered rather than liquid formula, unless recommended to use liquid formula by your doctor.

o       For those who pump breastmilk, be sure to store it in BPA-free containers.

• Limit your intake of canned food and drinks – choose fresh foods whenever possible and also choose frozen or dried foods over canned foods where possible.
• Do not microwave food in plastic containers – BPA has been found to leach out of a variety of plastic containers, even some that are “microwave safe”.
• Avoid drinking out of hard clear plastic (polycarbonate or PC) water bottles. Stainless steel and glass drinking vessels are BPA-free.
• Do not use plastic drinking or food storage containers that are scratched.

Last year, the  Connecticut legislature passed Public Act 09-103 banning BPA from baby bottles, infant formula cans and reusable food containers beginning October 1, 2011 (the legislation allows for existing products to remain on the shelves until 10/1/2012.)

For additional information on BPA:

• US Food and Drug Administration Update on BPA: http://www.fda. gov/NewsEvents/ PublicHealthFocu s/ucm197739. htm

• DPH Fact Sheet: http://www.ct. gov/dph/lib/ dph/environmenta l_health/ eoha/pdf/ plastics_ primer_final. pdf

The Connecticut Department of Public Health is the state’s leader in public health policy and advocacy with a mission to protect and promote the health and safety of the people of our state. To contact the department, please visit its website atwww.ct.gov/dph or call (860) 509-7270.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/25/mehmet-oz-on-morning-joe_n_435526.html

Confused about whether you need to filter your tap water? And how to do it?

We all know that drinking plenty of good, clean water is important for a healthy body. Learn how to stay hydrated while cutting down on your exposures to common drinking water pollutants.

http://www.ewg.org/healthyhometips/filtertapwater?utm_source=toxnf&utm_medium=email&utm_content=first-link&utm_campaign=hht

On of GOC’s committee members has asked me to post this informative website -  ICEMS. The International Commission on Electromagnetic Safety advises safer use of cell phones for kids and pregnant women. It contains a lot of pertinent and topical information. Check it out!

http://www.icems.eu/index.htm

The International Commission for Electromagnetic Safety (ICEMS) is a non-profit organization that promotes research to protect public health from electromagnetic fields and develops the scientific basis and strategies for assessment, prevention, management and communication of risk, based on the precautionary principle

The Precautionary Principle states, when there are indications of possible adverse effects, though they remain uncertain, the risks from doing nothing may be far greater than the risks of taking action to control these exposures. The Precautionary Principle shifts the burden of proof from those suspecting a risk to those who discount it.



A Greening Our Children meeting attendee sent me this important link. I think it’s very informative.

http://lesscancer.org/

Less Cancer provides solutions to prevent cancer causing exposures known to have powerful impacts on the environment, economy and on human health to include preventing, heart disease, asthma, and diabetes. Through education and information, Less Cancer is a solutions-based catalyst for change.

Watch this and weep. We need to be aware of the destruction of everyday plastics.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/capt_charles_moore_on_the_seas_of_plastic.html