Environmental Justice at DEOHS

Faculty, staff and student at DEOHS are engaged in projects to ensure that all community members are involved in environmental health in the pursuit of Environmental Justice.

INITIATING IN PROCESS JUSTICE


An Environmental Justice Town Meeting
In September of 2000, the NIEHS Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health (CEEH) sponsored a town meeting: “Voices for Healthy Environments, Healthy Communities” that focused on environmental health and environmental justice issues in Washington State.

The town meeting was a forum for community members to help guide the future NIEHS research agenda. It was successful because of the center's commitment to a truly participatory process. The planning team made an effort to have equal representation from community organizations, government agencies, scientists and affected individuals. Over 200 people attended this town meeting, held at Mount Zion Baptist Church, Seattle. The two-day event included workshops, discussion circles, an open microphone, and presentations from over 20 community groups. View the Report from this meeting.

"We need community-based research, not community-placed research. We're being studied to death," Yalonda Sinde of the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice (CCEJ) told researchers at the “Voices for Healthy Environments, Healthy Communities town meeting.

National Environmental Justice Advisory Council Hosting Committee
In December of 2001, three DEOHS institutes were part of the Hosting Committee for the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) meeting in Seattle. The Hosting Committee worked hard to ensure that community members were involved in planning the evening program and that they had an opportunity to dialog directly with NEJAC members. Click to here to view the dialog.

The Risk Roundtable: Evaluating Risk from a Tribal Perspective
In January of 1998, the Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication (IRARC) held a three-day educational forum. This forum brought together tribal representatives from across the region and nation and government agency representatives to educate tribal scientists about risk methods and strategies, educate federal and state scientists about risk issues in Indian Country, and to identify obstacles to solving risk issues, potential for collaboration, and avenues for incorporating tribal solutions into federal guidance and actions. It was held at the Wildhorse Resort in Pendleton, OR. It was hosted by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) and co-sponsored by CTUIR and the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP). Please contact Lisa Younglove at 206-616-3439 or email at lry@u.washington.edu for more information.

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ENGAGING IN EJ RESEARCH AND ON-GOING PROJECTS

The Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication (IRARC)

  • Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe
    Since 2000, IRARC and the Community Outreach and Education Program (COEP) has had an ongoing partnership with the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe. We have provided consultation on sampling strategies for assessing potential shellfish contamination and reviewed grant proposals (at least one of which was successfully funded by Bureau of Indian Affiars). We have also partnered with the Tribe in a project funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences(NIEHS) to scope shellfish contamination issues which has led to several grant proposals designed to investigate these issues. Together with other Tribes, community groups and the UW Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health, IRARC co-authored a manuscript promoting role of Tribes and communities in research. Please contact Lisa Younglove at 206-616-3439 or lry@u.washington.edu for more information.

  • Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
    Since 2000, IRARC and the Community Outreach and Education Program (COEP) has had an ongoing partnership with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. We have helped develop sampling strategies and statistical analyses for seafood consumption and provided technical support and review for numerous grants. Together with other Tribes, community groups and the UW Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health, IRARC co-authored a manuscript promoting role of Tribes and communities in research. Please contact Lisa Younglove at 206-616-3439 or lry@u.washington.edu for more information.

  • Marine Resources for Future Generations
    Since 2000, the Marine Resources for Future Generations (MRFFG) has had a partnership between the Korean Women’s Asssociation, the Indochinese Cultural & Services Center, the University of Washington, and various government agencies. The group meets monthly, and our mission is to promote safe and sustainable shellfish harvesting and ensure environmental justice for future generations. The Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication has helped in formatting, production and printing of a cookbook to promote safe seafood consumption to the Puget Sound Asian-Pacific Islander (API) community. We have also assisted in grant proposals and organized youth tours of UW Environmental Health laboratory facilities. Together with MRFFG, and some Puget Sound Indian Tribes and the UW Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health, IRARC co-authored a manuscript promoting role of Tribes and communities in research. Please contact Lisa Younglove at 206-616-3439 or lry@u.washington.edu for more information.

The Center for Child Environmental Health Risk Research (CHC)

  • Community Based Participatory Research Project
    Beti Thompson, Gloria Coronado, Eric Vigoren, William Griffith, and Elaine Faustman have partnered in this unique community-based participatory research project (CBRP). This project to investigate multiple pathways that may contribute to organophosphate pesticide exposure in adults and children living in agricultural communities will be ongoing until 2008. Organophosphate (OP) pesticides continue to be widely used in the United States. There is concern that they are related to ill health among adults and children. Although exposure to OP pesticides is generally examined in relation to farmwork via a take-home pathway or drift, it can occur in a number of ways, making it difficult to accurately assess risk. It is less certain to what extent children are exposed through environmental, dietary and lifestyle pathways. Please contact Lisa Younglove at 206-616-3439 or lry@u.washington.edu for more information.

  • Pesticide Exposure Pathways
    The overall objective of this project is to understand the underlying physical and behavioral mechanisms by which non-occupational exposure occurs following pesticide applications. Pesticide spray drift continues to be a concern in farming communities. Children living in close proximity to fields or in agricultural households have been found to have higher exposure than their non-agricultural counterparts. Since 1998, Michael Yost, Richard Fenske, Jaya Ramasprad, Kai Elgethun, and Sarah Weppner implement current studies to understand the proximity exposure pathway that arises due to off-target movement of pesticides. We combine our novel methods for studying children’s activity patterns with our expertise in ambient monitoring of pesticide residues and modeling of transport processes. Please contact Jaya Ramasprad at 206-221-3550 or jaya@u.ashington.edu for more information.

  • Community Intervention Project
    From 1999-2004, Beti Thompson, Gloria Coronado, Rich Fenske, William Griffith, and Elaine Faustman studied to reduce the take-home pesticide exposure among children of farmworkers. To better understand the take-home pathway, we examined the work and home practices of farmworkers that might be related to the take-home pesticide pathway. Specifically, we looked at farmworkers’ tasks, their self-reported overall contact with pesticides, cleaning and other safety facilities available to them as part of their jobs, and their home practices that might reduce the amount of pesticide residues taken into the home. We found a substantial proportion of our sample reported having been exposed to pesticides. We also found that farmworkers had different perceptions of exposure to pesticides depending on the farm tasks they did. Please contact Lisa Younglove at 206-616-3439 or lry@u.washington.edu for more information.

The Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health (PNASH) activities:

  • El Proyecto Bienestar (The Well Being Project)
    El Proyecto Bienestar is a community-based participatory research project focused on the occupational and environmental health issues of Hispanic agricultural workers in Yakima, Washington. Hispanic agricultural workers in the Yakima Valley provide the manual labor that makes Washington among the most productive agricultural states in the country. However, agricultural workers experience many social, economic, cultural and legal constraints to the health and well-being of themselves and their families. Proyecto Bienestar partners include the University of Washington, the Yakima Valley Farm Worker's Clinic, Radio KDNA and Heritage University. The goal of the project is to study environmental and occupational risks and develop an issues-driven action plan according to the priorities set by the community. Several research methodologies are being used in order to best identify and prioritize risks.

  • Workplace Determinants of Take-Home Pesticide Exposure
    PNASH Director Richard Fenske and the Center’s Industrial Hygienist Kit Galvin are collaborating with Washington state employers and workers on a project with two major goals: to better understand how workplace chemicals are inadvertently brought into workers’ homes and to reduce the exposure to pesticides of workers and their families, especially children. Investigators began by sampling vehicle and household dust to determine the extent that the take-home pathway contributes to home pesticide residue levels. Subsequent interviews and work site evaluations contributed to the design of several interventions that were then tested. PNASH studies found a strong association between home and vehicle dust for a number of pesticides, providing further support for the take-home exposure pathway. This project will continue through September of 2006. For details, see Kit Galvin (kgalvin@u.washington.edu), K. Pesticide Take-Home Pathway Interventions.

  • The Readability of Farm Safety Materials for Migrant Farm Workers
    Eastern Washington University Center for Farm Health and Safety researcher Mark Landa’s studied the links between literacy and safety among Hispanic farm workers. He measured the comprehensibility of graphics such as signs and symbols and text such as paragraphs and labels. His work indicates that less than half of the pesticide safety materials used in his study were understood by the subjects. The more text there was, the harder it was to understand. Education and literacy were only part of the capacity to learn. The highest score in Landa’s comprehension test was achieved by a 70 year-old woman with two years of formal education. Interested parties may obtain a copy of the report by contacting Mark Landa at markl@mfwi.org.

  • Development of a Community Theater Troupe: Health and Farm Safety Training for Hispanic Agricultural Workers
    Pamela Elkind, Director of the EWU Center for Farm Safety and Health, used Spanish-language theater to educate farm workers about health hazards and prevention strategies. The project presented four one-act plays with community actors in a fiesta setting to farm workers in the Yakima Valley. Two videos resulted:
      • Suenos y Desafios addresses sound ergonomic practices in general, and musculoskeletal injury reduction in packing houses specifically.
      • Dora Evelia focuses on pesticide safety and was edited to include EPA pesticide guidelines and English subtitles.
    Interested parties may obtain a copy of the report, abstract of evaluation, “how to” information, or for videos (DVD or VHS) by contacting the Center for Farm Health and Safety at (509) 359-7995.

Community Outreach and Education Program activities

  • Environmental Justice Network in Action (EJNA)
    The Community Outreach and Education Program (COEP) is supported by the NIEHS Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health and the UW Superfund Basic Research Program. COEP staff has actively participated in the Environmental Justice Network in Action (EJNA), a coalition convened by Seattle Public Utilities. EJNA is made up of community based organizations, agencies and academics, who have been working together since 2001, to determine what environmental health concerns are most relevant to recent immigrant and refugee population in King County. Focus groups, interviews, and surveys were used to gather information on the best ways respond to the environmental health concerns of our underserved communities. Outreach activities, conducted by community members, have included in-home visits, staffing booths at community fairs and presentations at professional meetings. Click here for more information.

  • Keep connected via Environmental Health Voices
    Subscribe to the biannual newsletter EH Voices and learn more about COEP’s interactions with local environmental justice advocates. Also read about the Health, Environment And Life (HEAL) academy at Cleveland High School, where the students are focusing on environmental and health justice. Click here for more information. Sign-up for a weekly dose of EJ from the EH Voices Listserv. The goal of the EH Voices Listserv is to share environmental health headlines, regional resources and environmental health and justice information with community members, researchers, and agency staff.

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CREATING EJ EDUCATION AVENUES


The DEOHS Seminar Series

  • February 2004: “The Science of Politics of Environmental Risk: Views From the Environmental Justice Movement” featuring Dr. Devon Pena, Professor at UW Department of Environmental Anthropology.

  • March 2005: “Reshaping Science and Research for Environmental Justice” featuring Running-Grass, Environmental Justice Specialist Region IX, Environmental Protection Agency.

  • February 2005: “A Discussion of the Proposed EPA CHEERS Study” featuring four students of the DEOHS graduate program. The seminar presented the scientific merit, politics, and environmental justice issues of an extremely controversial EPA study, Children’s Environmental Exposure Research Study (CHEERS). The students initiated the seminar in order to promote inter-departmental discussion about such “real life” issues.

  • October 2005: “Mercury Regulation and Environmental Justice: Issues for Human Health, Environmental Quality, and Tribal Rights” featuring Professor Catherine O’Neil, J.D.

DEOHS Courses

  • The Environmental Risk and Society (ENVH 472) course includes one week on EJ. EJ is explored by looking at environmental health risks as they relate to communities of color and low-income populations.
  • The Hazardous Waste Management (ENVH 446) course includes one discussion on EJ. EJ is investigated by looking at environmental health risks of Superfund sites as they relate to communities of color. Furthermore, EJ is examined by discussing different perceptions of risk by different communities.
  • Exploring Environment and Health Connections (ENV H 111) course includes two course period lectures on EJ. Social and scientific concepts of EJ are presented.

EJ Listserv

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the e-mail list, please visit http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/ehvoices or e-mail a request to crowtalk@u.washington.edu.

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