Table of contents  •  Who we are ... people and programs  •  Where we've been ... and where we're going  •  
Facts and figures  •  Acknowledgments


What we do ... and whom we serve  •  Beyond the Laboratory Walls

Sacred objects,
safely returned

Beyond the laboratory walls

Breathing safely in the dusty trades

Particulate air pollution

Probing genetic variations

	top to bottom: Eric Dinh, YMCA EcoLeaders; Yolanda Sinde, CCEJ; Carol Dansereau, Washington Toxics Coalition

Researchers in the Department's largest center, the Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health (CEEH), reached beyond the controlled environments of their laboratories last year to engage in challenging discussions of racial disparity, poverty, and pollution.

At the request of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)-part of the National Institutes of Health and the major federal funding source for environmental health sciences research and community outreach-the CEEH hosted a regional Town Meeting. Dr. Kenneth Olden, director of the NIEHS, and a half dozen of his key staff came to Seattle for the event. This was the fourth NIEHS-sponsored Town Meeting, and the first in the Pacific Northwest.

Planning for the Town Meeting took researchers to the Yakima valley, tribal lands, and industrial neighborhoods, said Associate Professor Thomas Burbacher, director of the Center's Community Outreach and Education Program (COEP).

As a result of the process, the CEEH expanded its outreach program in new directions. The Center, based in the DEH and funded by NIEHS, already had a seven-year track record with school outreach. Through the Town Meeting, the Center began working with community groups that had more complex agendas.

Environmental justice was a key theme of community testi-mony at the Town Meeting-Healthy Environments, Healthy Communities-which was held September 29-30, 2000 at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle and attended by more than 200 people. The two-day event included workshops, discussion circles, an open microphone session, and presentations by more than 20 community groups, youth groups, and tribal nations.

Community Issues

Workshops and discussion circles brought researchers, legislators, and community members together to discuss health risks of pesticides to agricultural workers and their families, contamination of seafood by marine toxins and chemical pollutants, hazardous waste sites, culturally appropriate research strategies, and links between indoor and outdoor air pollution and asthma.

Faculty members Rich Fenske, Dave Eaton, Matt Keifer, and Tom Burbacher listen to Judith Vega describe the needs of various constituencies at a planning meeting in the Yakima valley inset: Dr. Kenneth Olden, director of NIEHS

Community members urged investigators to become advocates for disease prevention, not just providers of scientific data. "We want to see decisions based not on risk assessment but on prevention," said Carol Dansereau of the Washington Toxics Coalition. "We need community-based research, not community-placed research. We're being studied to death," Yolanda Sinde of the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice (CCEJ) told researchers at the Town Meeting. "We do need research," Sinde added, "but we also need action once we get the information. We need researchers to work with the communities to find solutions to the problems as well."

While he was in town, Olden met with members of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe and visited Seattle's South Park neighborhood, which has a high percentage of low-income and minority residents, and high levels of air, noise, and chemical pollution from freeways, airports, and industry. "I acquire a sense of urgency by hearing people testify at these meetings," said Olden. "So-called intractable environmental problems can be solved through investment in fundamental science and new technologies," he said. "Ultimately, the American people have to decide how many cases of cancer or Parkinson's disease are acceptable."

That sense of urgency has led to action by NIEHS and CEEH staff. In the months following the Town Meeting, center staff began work on several community projects.

Shoalwater Bay project

In collaboration with the Shoalwater Bay Tribe on the Washington coast, the CEEH has requested funds from the NIEHS to develop a Shellfish Monitoring Management Plan. "We're looking at the overall health of the bay, using shellfish as our medium," said Garry Burns, the Tribe's environmental director. Information from the study will provide a foundation for future work addressing the high rate of pregnancy loss among members of the Shoalwater Tribe. The grant application was a direct result of the Town Meeting, specifically the opportunity to meet with Olden, said Burns. "We had a very productive meeting with him face-to-face."

Youth network

CEEH staff organized a videoconference that allowed students from across Washington state to participate in the Town Meeting. The videoconference project, called the Youth Network for Healthy Communities, was so popular that it has become a continuing project. By summer 2001, 18 middle and high school teachers and their classes had participated in three conferences. "Students researched environmental health issues in their communities, ranging from impacts of Superfund sites to the health effects of wildfires, the environmental impact of diesel power generators, and E. coli bacteria," said COEP Curriculum Manager Jonathan Sharpe.

Health justice network

As a result of the Town Meeting, CEEH staff became actively involved in this coalition, which is committed to addressing health justice issues, such as disparities associated with race, class, and ethnicity. The coalition is planning a conference for January 2002, and members have begun presenting workshops on health disparity in Washington state, said COEP Manager Chetana Acharya.

Healthy schools roundtable

CEEH staff participated in the planning of the Healthy Schools Roundtable, organized by the Insti-tute of Children's Environmental Health and EPA (Region 10) with the goal of finding ways to better protect children's environmental health in schools. Roundtable participants included state agencies, parents and parent-teacher organizations, educator and school administrator organizations, indoor air experts and activists, and state representatives.

Charlie Cunniff of the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle explains community concerns to US Congressman Jim McDermott, Ken Olden, and Dave Eaton

Healthy futures project

COEP staff are working with the Institute for Children's Environmental Health to involve young people throughout Puget Sound in researching environmental health issues.

For further reading

Community Coalition for Environmental Justice Web site,
http://www.ccej.org/

Community Outreach and Education Program Web site, http://depts.washington.edu/ceeh/Outreach/outreach.html

DEH Town Meeting Web site,
http://depts.washington.edu/townmeet/

Freeman, K. Center attacks core issues in land of apples and Seattle town meeting targets environmental justice. Environ Health Perspect 2000; 108(12):A554-558.
http://hpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2000/108-12/niehsnews.html

NIEHS Town Meeting Web site,
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/od/tnhome.htm

Washington Toxics Coalition Web site,
http://www.watoxics.org/