An attempt to reduce air pollution in China’s cities had some unintended consequences. JPB Fellow Lara Cushing draws a comparison to California. Read more.
Wildfire Particulates Raise Cardiopulmonary Health Concerns
New research reveals that exposure to smoky air and the particulates created in wildfires can cause increased cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalizations for people 65 and older. Read more.
Visualizing environmental justice on the Chelsea Creek
During the Chemicals in the Creek Open Water Data installation, researchers (including Senior JPB Fellow Sara Ann Wylie) and community members floated data lanterns onto the Chelsea River in Massachusetts to create a physical representation of Clean Water Act violations by local oil storage facilities. Read more.
Pushing Policy for Policies
By JPB Senior Fellow Diana Ceballos Nail salon technicians, many nail salon owners as well, are some of the most inspiring hard-working entrepreneurial people I have met through my 15-years of research experience in occupational health. Many of them want the industry to be better and have expressed difficulty choosing safer nail products. I understood this best when studying the composition of plasticizers, which are chemicals that are added to…
Impacts of Harmful Algal Blooms in the U.S.
In 2015, a major toxic bloom of algae shut down the Dungeness crab and razor clam fisheries along the U.S. West Coast for up to 5 months. Commercial landings of Dungeness crab were down $97.5 million compared to the previous year and the fishery failures resulted in disaster declarations. In collaboration with the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the University of Washington, NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center…
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Fellow Tony Reames wins place on Grist 50
Assistant Professor Tony Reames has been selected for the renowned Grist 50, an annual list featuring the most promising green innovators and influencers—who are under the age of 40. Founded in 1999 as one of the first online-only news publications, Grist serves as a hub for sustainability-focused issues such as clean energy, sustainable food, livable cities, and environmental justice. Each year, Grist “scours the sustainability space to find up-and-coming people…
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Flame-retardant Monitoring May Require Repeated Tests
Many consumer products, including electronics, contain flame-retardant chemicals that slow or prevent fire from starting or growing. In the workplace, employees may be exposed while manufacturing or recycling consumer products that contain flame-retardant chemicals. Monitoring and preventing exposure is critical since workplace exposure to some of these chemicals is linked to an increased risk for hormonal, immune, and reproductive disorders. Read more about JPB Senior Fellow Diana Ceballos‘s research and…
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Greenness and Depression Incidence among Older Women
Recent evidence suggests that higher levels of residential greenness may contribute to better mental health. Despite this, few studies have considered its impact on depression, and most are cross-sectional. The objective of this study was to examine surrounding residential greenness and depression risk prospectively in the Nurses’ Health Study. Read more.
Paint strippers need informed solutions, not regrettable substitution
JPB Senior Fellow Dr. Diana Ceballos talks about an article she and her colleagues from NIOSH published about methylene chloride. Methylene chloride is a chemical used in paint strippers that is bad for the environment and very toxic — it can even kill you. Methylene chloride is dangerous for workers and consumers and we need safer strippers- but my new research shows the dark side of making a substitution without a careful…
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Study uses satellite data to pinpoint widespread oil industry “flaring”
A new study by JPB Fellow Lara Cushing, a San Francisco State University Assistant Professor of Health Education, and colleagues at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine shows that satellite data can be used to effectively track the potentially harmful, underreported oil and gas industry practice known as “flaring.” Read more.