Environment and Human Health, Inc.
File:EHH LOGO blue 180.png | |
Founded | 1997 |
---|---|
Type | Environmentalism |
Focus | Public Policy, Education, Environment and Human Health |
Website | www |
Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI) is a United States-based nonprofit environmental organization made up of doctors, public health professionals and policy experts.
EHHI is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization located in North Haven, Connecticut. The science-based organization is committed to the reduction of environmental harms through education and legislative efforts. EHHI publishes research reports and makes recommendations for individuals and governmental agencies.
The organization identifies risks to human health and attempts to change public policy. EHHI is not a membership organization, and all of its support comes from foundations and individuals. The group has published reports on issues such as pesticides, plastics, wood smoke, asthma, cell phone radiation, synthetic turf, vehicle exhaust and school bus diesel emissions, and other environmental concerns.
EHHI was founded in 1997 with funding from the Tortuga Foundation and the Dome Foundation. Over the years, EHHI has received grants from The Heinz Endowments, The Connecticut Health Foundation, The Patrick & Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation, the Stewart and Constance Greenfield Foundation, Forrest & Frances Lattner Foundation, the John Merck Fund, the Charles Meade Foundation and other charitable foundations.
EHHI maintains an eJournal that summarizes links to articles and studies about environmental and human health issues. EHHI is a member of a coalition working to prevent fracking waste from entering Connecticut.
Areas of work[edit]
Drinking water wells[edit]
- EHHI investigated whether lawn and tree care pesticides were leaching into private drinking water wells (1999). The study showed that lawn and tree care pesticides were capable of filtering down through the soil into residential drinking water wells.
Pesticides in Schools[edit]
- EHHI studied at pest control practices in Connecticut schools to see when and how pesticides were being applied inside schools in Connecticut (1999). EHHI's testimony at the Connecticut General Assembly led to stricter regulation of pesticides in schools.[1]
School Buses[edit]
- EHHI's study of school children's exposures to diesel exhaust on school buses showed that children riding the bus were 5-10 times more heavily exposed than in the ambient air (2002).[2] The study led to restrictions on school bus idling in the state of Connecticut. [3] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus program is designed to help communities reduce emissions by retrofitting older diesel school buses.[4] The report was authored by John P. Wargo, Ph.D., the Tweedy-Ordway Professor of Environmental Health and Political Science at Yale University, a faculty advisor to the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy. The study urged cleaner fuel, equipping buses with particulate traps, shortening bus routes, and eliminating the practice of lining up idling school buses in front of schools.
Asthma[edit]
- Asthma is the most common chronic disorder of school-age children and youth. An asthma study of Connecticut children in grades K-12 detailed high rates of asthma among elementary schoolchildren, and laid out a model for tracking asthma (2000). Connecticut passed legislation to track asthma in schoolchildren and implemented a statewide asthma plan that is revised every five years.[5] A follow-up study surveyed school nurses to estimate the prevalence of asthma among children attending grades K-5 in Connecticut schools. The study also examined environmental factors that may contribute to asthma or to asthma symptoms in children in elementary schools (2003).
Pesticides[edit]
- EHHI's study of health risks associated with lawn-care pesticides investigated use and regulation of chemicals used on lawns. EHHI testified at the Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut now has some of the strongest pesticide laws in the nation. Connecticut banned lawn-care pesticides on the grounds and playing fields of grammar and middle schools (2003).[6][7]
School Nutrition[edit]
- A study of school nutrition and physical activity in schools revealed the state of nutrition and physical activity (2004). The Connecticut school nutrition bills that resulted are among the strongest in the U.S[8] [9]
Breast Cancer[edit]
- A study about breast cancer included a questionnaire to help women understand and accurately evaluate their risks for the disease (2006).
Vehicle Exhaust[edit]
- A study on the health risks of vehicle exhaust showed the contribution of vehicles to air pollution and resulting health effects (2006). Vehicle exhaust is especially hazardous to the health of pregnant women and children.
Synthetic Turf[edit]
- A study performed at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station examined harms associated with recycled ground-up rubber tires in artificial turf playing fields and toddler playgrounds (2007). The report reviewed past studies from many countries on the waste tire crumb rubber infill and highlighted where many studies were flawed, documenting that crumb rubber infill posed inherent risks to health.
Plastics[edit]
- A study on health effects of certain plastics, including phthalates and bisphenol A, described chemicals that may harm children and reproductive health (2008). In 2009, Connecticut passed a ban on all products containing bisphenol A (BPA) targeted to children under age three.[10]
The LEED Debate[edit]
- A study analyzed the Green Building Council's use of LEED certification as a building standard. The study showed that LEED certification values energy efficiency over human health (2010).
Outdoor Wood Furnaces[edit]
- A research study focused on the harms of outdoor wood furnaces (OWFs) used for heating (2010). The original research was published in Inhalation Journal. EHHI set up monitors to measure inside air in houses located near outdoor wood furnaces. The results showed that homes as far away as 850 feet experienced infiltration from wood smoke from neighbors' OWFs.[11]
Cell Phones[edit]
- A research study on potential health effects of cell phones examined exposures in research animals during pregnancy (2012). The report, which contained a review of past studies on cell phone exposures, recommends safer cell phone use practices.
Flame Retardants[edit]
- A study examined health hazards associated with flame retardants and made the case for policy change (2013). Synthetic flame retardants are persistent environmental chemicals present in the tissues of most humans who have been tested.
Synthetic Turf[edit]
- A careful analysis study on synthetic turf fields showed that certain research studies cited by industry do not actually prove that fields are safe (2013).
Wood Smoke[edit]
- A research study explained the dangers of breathing wood smoke. The report described the rise of recreational wood burning appliances, which spread smoke to neighboring properties (2018). Emissions from wood burning, diesel fuel combustion, coal power plants, and cigarettes contain remarkably similar chemicals.
References[edit]
Environment and Human Health, Inc.[edit]
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- ↑ https://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/act/Pa/2005PA-00252-R00SB-00916-PA.htm
- ↑ http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/article/610547/gma-puts-heat-on-bus-exh?page=52
- ↑ https://www.cga.ct.gov/2002/act/Pa/2002PA-00056-R00HB-05663-PA.htm
- ↑ https://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-school-bus
- ↑ https://www.cga.ct.gov/2001/act/Pa/2001PA-00004-R00HB-07505SS1-PA.htm
- ↑ https://www.cga.ct.gov/2007/ACT/PA/2007PA-00168-R00HB-05234-PA.htm
- ↑ https://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?A=2708&Q=468812
- ↑ https://www.cga.ct.gov/2004/act/Pa/2004PA-00224-R00HB-05344-PA.htm
- ↑ https://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/ACT/PA/2006PA-00063-R00SB-00373-PA.htm
- ↑ https://www.cga.ct.gov/2009/ACT/PA/2009PA-00103-R00HB-06572-PA.htm
- ↑ https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1820/2745d52ac69d56affc0888bbe6d685709cdd.pdf