Environmental Health Resources and Links

EH Orgs — Info & News  — Energy  — Waste Minimization & Incineration  — Clean Air  

Local Air  — Toxins  — Consumer Products  — Healthy Homes & Living 

Oregon PSR Pages:     Waste Minimization & Incineration    — A Call for Safer Chemicals 

  Marion County Forum Series Event   — Plastics Guides

Healthy Fish Healthy Families (not yet updated)   — In Harm's Way References

Local & Regional Environmental Health Organizations

• Northwest District Association (NWDA)
• Oregon Environmental Council (OEC)
• Oregon Toxics Alliance (OTA)
• Oregon Center for Environmental Health (OCEH)
• Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC; at Lewis & Clark)
• Pacific Environmental Advocacy Council (PEAC; at Lewis & Clark)
• Oregon DHS Environmental Public Health Tracking System

National Environmental Health Organizations 

• Environmental Working Group (EWG)
• Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE)
• Environmental Integrity Project (EIP)
• Health Care Without Harm
• Commonweal

Databases, News & Journals

• Environmental Health Perspectives
• Environmental Health News (Subscribe to the Above the Fold newsletter here)
• Science & Environmental Health Network
• What's in your toybox? Search a database to find health alerts on toys
• Search or browse a database of environmental health research and toxin information
• Search or browse a database for finding toxicity and health risks of common household and automotive products
• National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• 12th Report on Carcinogens, National Toxicology Program of the Department of Health and Human Services
• National Toxicology Program, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment - Information on chemicals listed under Proposition 65 for cancer or reproductive toxicity
• Generate an in-depth pollution report for your county covering air, water, chemicals, and more at Scorecard, hosted by the Environmental Defense Fund
• Find information about toxics used in industry and household products from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry of the US Department of Health & Human Services
• CHE Toxicant and Disease Database
• CHE Toxicant and Disease Database - Links to other Databases and Resources
• Chemical Effects in Biological Systems - database from the NIEHS National Center for Toxicogenomics
• Chemical Emergencies website from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Chemical Safety Information from International Programme on Chemical Safety and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
• ChemIDplus - a chemical dictionary file of compounds of biomedical and regulatory interest
• EPA Substance Registry System
• Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) - a toxicological data file of individual chemicals
• Hazardous Substance Release/Health Effects Database from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
• Integrated Risk Assessment System (IRIS) from the Environmental Protection Agency - includes info on reference doses, carcinogenicity, non-cancer effects, and reproductive hazards
• International Agency for Research on Cancer- database on carcinogenicity of chemicals searchable by group or chemical
• International Chemical Safety Cards: International Programme on Chemical Safety
• Medical Management Guidelines for Acute Chemical Exposures from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
• Mother Risk - based at University of Toronto, an on-line information and hotline for healthcare providers and the public for information on the risks of drugs, chemicals, and disease during pregnancy and lactation
• NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
• Pesticide Action Network Pesticides Database - current toxicity and regulatory information for pesticides
• Toxicological Profile Information Sheet from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
• Toxnet - Databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases from the National Institutes of Medicine/National Library of Medicine
• WONDER database - access to a wide variety of reports and numeric public health data - from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Energy

• Coal:
  • Code Black (National P.S.R.)
  • Moving Beyond Coal (The Sierra Club)
  • Coal is Not the Answer (The Sierra Club)
  • Dirty Money (Rainforest Action Network)
  • Coal Is Dirty (The DeSmog Project, Taniforest Action Network and Greenpease USA; Catherine Thomasson, M.D., of Oregon P.S.R. featured in video here!)
  • LOCAL: Portland General Electric Boardman coal-fired power plant
• Natural Gas:
  • The Facts on Liquefied Natural Gas: Why LNG is bad for Oregon Prepared by Martha & Allen Neuringer, Oregon Citizens Against the Pipelines
  • Liquified Natural Gas Ports and Pipelines: Putting Our Economy, Communities and Quality of Life at Risk Prepared by Columbia Riverkeeper
  • Columbia Riverkeeper
  • Oregon First
  • Wahkiakum Friends of the River - emphasis on the lower Columbia
  • Citizens Against LNG (CAL) - emphasis on Southern Oregon/Coos Bay
  • Friends of Living Oregon Waters (FLOW) - based in Grants Pass
  • LNG Pollutes - based in California, but also Oregon issues
  • Pacific Environment - emphasis on the Pacific Rim
  • No LNG site by filmmaker Tim Riley, focus on safety issues
• Nuclear:
  • Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World
  • International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
  • Peace and Security Coalition                 
  • Nuclear Information and Resource Center
  • Sierra Club: "Why not nukes? Considering the nuclear option"
  • Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
  • Council for a Livable World

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Waste Minimization & Incineration

• NEW: Resources promoting waste minimization and opposing incineration - Compiled by Joseph Miller, Oregon PSR
• NEW: Resources on the Marion County Covanta Incinerator (Brooks, OR) and North Marion County Disposal Facility Ash Monofill (Woodburn, OR) - Compiled by Joseph Miller, Oregon PSR
• NEW: Events on waste minimization and incineration
•  Waste-Citizen Advocacy Network (Waste-CAN)
• An award-winning 20-minute video on The Story of Stuff 

• A 10-minute video of discussion by expert Dr. Paul Connett on Energy from Waste: Part 1 - The Myths Debunked (2007)
• Portland Metropolitan Area Recycling and Municipal and Hazardous Waste Resources
• Pharmaceuticals in the water: Oregon Pharmaceutical Take Back Stakeholder Group Executive Summary (July, 2007)

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Clean Air

• Make the connection between breast cancer and air pollutants with a handout from the Breast Cancer Fund
• January 2009 Journal Club Articles on the Health Effects of Air Pollution:
  • Review of health effects: American Academy of Pediatrics, 2004
  • Pregnancy Outcomes: Sram, et al., 2005
  • Coal burning pollution: Perera, et al., 2008 
  • Air Pollution and cardiovascular disease: Brook, et al., 2004 (American Heart Assoc.)      
  • Cancer Incidence in Children: Whitworth, et al., 2008

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Local Air

•  Portland Community Air Quality:
  • Northwest District Association
  • Northwest Environmental Defense Council (Lewis & Clark)
  • Oregon Environmental Council Toxics in the Air we Breathe
  • Oregon P.S.R. Invisible Toxic Soup air pollution presentation (coming soon)
  • Oregon DHS Environmental Public Health Tracking System
  • Portland Air Toxics Assessment (Department of Environmental Quality)
    • Review of P.A.T.A. progress for 2010
• The Gorge:
  • Portland General Electric Boardman coal-fired power plant in Boardman, Oregon
  • Threemile Canyon Farms large-scaled agricultural operation in Boardman, Oregon
  • Friends of the Columbia River Gorge
  • Department of Environmental Quality assessment of the Gorge health
• Eastern Oregon:
  • Ash Grove Cement Company in Durkee, Oregon

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Toxins

• Chemicals Policy:
  • A Call for Safer Chemicals (Alliance for a Safe and Green Oregon)
  • Louisville Charter for Safer Chemicals
  • Find out about the Consumer Product Safety Act of 2008, which banned three phthalates and strengthened lead standards in children's products
  • Search for bills, get general information and reviews on our current regulations, and see alternative policy drafts compiled by the Lowell Institute for Sustainable Development Chemicals Policy Institute
  • Read about how risk assessments work in a report by the California EPA
  • The SIN* List (*Substitute It Now!) identifies a set of chemicals through the combined efforts of public interest groups, scientists, technical experts and businesses. The list is based on credible, publicly available substance information from existing databases, scientific studies and new research.
• Neurodevelopmental Toxins:
  • Find resources in the Northwest from our companion reference list for the In Harm's Way: Toxic Threats to Neurodevelopment presentation
  • Get the latest on a variety of environmental health topics with the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities' teleconferences
• Environmental Mercury:
  • Print our Healthy Fish, Healthy Families brochure with wallet reference card on mercury levels (Also in Spanish)
  • Calculate the amount of mercury you will consume by eating various types of fish
  • Before your next fishing trip, read up on the current advisories on locally caught fish from the Oregon Department of Human Services
  • Weigh in on ecological issues when choosing which fish to eat
  • Keep a wallet card on safer fish choices
  • Find out about the suit against the PGE Boardman plant from the Sierra Club or Northwest Environmental Defense Center
  • Print out a poster about mercury in fish
• Pesticides:
  • Reduce low-dose pesticide exposures in infants and children by reading the PSR guide for parents and patients
  • Print a pesticide residue on fruits and vegetables wallet reference card
  • Find out about alternatives to common pesticides from the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides
  • Get pesticide fact sheets from the National Pesticide Information Center
• Lead:
  • Print out an informative brochure  about how to protect your children from lead poisoning (Oregon DHS)
  • Get comprehensive information on lead poisoning from Oregon Department of Human Services Lead Prevention Program
  • Find out about free Portland metro area blood lead level screening at the Josiah Hill Clinic
• Toxic Flame Retardants:
  • Watch a one minute film on PBDEs from Northwest Environment Watch
  • Read a fact sheet from Washington Toxics Coalition on general information, safer options, and alternatives
  • Look at a study done in the Northwest on PBDEs in breastmilk
  • Read reports done by the Environmental Working Group:
    • Tainted Catch: Brominated fire retardants (PBDEs) found in San Francisco Bay fish --and people
    • Mother's Milk: Toxic fire retardants (PBDEs) in human breastmilk
    • In the Dust: Fire retardants in dust
• Nanomaterials:
  • Read about the measures being taken to evaluate the health risks of nanomaterials
  • Nanoparticles [A well referenced overview of the effects of nanoparticles on human health and an introduction to the emerging area of "nanopathology"]  Dublin, Ireland  2007
  • Incineration and Nanoparticles - Paul Connett   Video   2:43  2007
  • Health Effects of Fine, Ultrafine, and Nanoscale Air Particulates Created by Incinerators - Joseph Miller 1/08

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Consumer Products

• Toys:
  • What's in your toybox? Search a database to find health alerts on toys
• Plastics:
  • Print a guide to safer plastics (PSR)
  • Print a Ten Simple Ways to Avoid Exposure to Plastics
  • Read the smart plastics guide (Institute on Agriculture and Trade Policy)
  • Get an introduction to phthalates and your health with a news article from the Philly Inquirer
  • Find a range of information on endocrine disruptors at the Our Stolen Future website, which accompanies the book written by Theo Colburn
  • Get additional sources from our reference list used in our Plastics and Human Health presentation
• Food:
  • Visit our Campaign for Safe Foods page
  • Find out why breastfeeding is still best for baby (English and Spanish)
  • Get a consumer dairy products guide for rBGH free products in Oregon
  • Print a smart meat and dairy guide
  • Find local and sustainable meat and dairy in your area
  • Print a smart produce guide
  • Choose veggies and fruits based on the amount of pesticide residues on them
  • Find your Local Farmers Market in Oregon
• Cosmetics:
  • Find out which personal care products are safest at Environmental Working Group's "Skin Deep" Cosmetics Safety Database
  • Have the latest updates and health concerns about cosmetics
  • Environmental Working Group's Scented Secrets page on alternative fragrances
  • The Dirty Dozen Chemicals in Cosmetics - The Green Guide  9/07
  • GreenerPenny: Phthalate-and Paraben-free Skin Care List   8/10/08

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Healthy Homes and Living

• Create a healthy environment for your child's development, English and Spanish
• Get recipes for safe household cleaners through OEC or through Metro
• Search or browse a database for finding toxicity and health risks of common household and automotive products
• Get tips on sustainable living and outdoor recreation at the Portland area regional government website
• Learn how to prevent cancer in the workplace by reading the Union Occupational Cancer Hazards Guide
• Body Burden Studies and Biomonitoring:
  • Coming Clean Network: Body Burden
  • EWG Report: BodyBurden 2 - The Pollution in Newborns 7/14/05
  • Collaborative on Health and the Environment :: Body Burden: The
    Pollution in Us -- A Conversation on Biomonitoring 9/15/05
  • Collaborative on Health and the Environment :: CDC Biomonitoring and
    Body Burden Reports 2/20/03
  • National Caucus of Environmental Legislators: Myths and Facts About Biomonitoring
  • National Conference of State Legislators: Biomonitoring Legislative Resources
  • EWG: Human Toxome Project - Mapping the Pollution in People
  • CDC: National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals
  • PSR: Bearing the Burden - Health Implications of EnvironmentalPollutants in Our Bodies
  • PANNA: Chemical Trespass - Pesticides in Our Bodies and Corporate Accountability 2004
     

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Many of these items are great for reading, but please think before you print!

For more information about the Environmental Health program, call 503-274-2720 or contact info@oregonpsr.org.

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