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Association of Public Health Laboratories' 2006 Strategy
Activities for the Coming Year
Activity 1
We will maintain a current website that has links to publications, organizations, and news items that may educate and / or aid in the development of public health practices and environmental stewardship
How does this activity reduce pesticide risk?
The website will increase awareness of the issue. As more producers understand the issue more positive action will be taken toward the implementation of environmentally friendly practices
How will you measure the risk reduction gained from this activity?
The website will be measured by the number of website visits.
Activity 2
One example of how our members contribute specifically to the area of pesticide safety is illustrated through the current work of Dr. Romesh Gautom, Director, Public Health laboratories, Washington State Department of Health. A recent study being conducted by Dr. Gautom's laboratory in partnership with farm-worker advocacy groups indicates that one in five Washington state pesticide handlers experienced significant health effects from mixing or spraying chemicals. The study was based on results from Washington's first year of state testing in 2004. Blood samples taken from the handlers were tested to measure levels of cholinesterase, an enzyme vital to the body's nervous system which is inhibited by more than three dozen pesticides. The report, titled "Messages from Monitoring," was released February 8, 2005 by the Farmworker Justice Fund in cooperation with United Farm Workers of Washington State in a news release, titled "Phase out Worst Pesticides to Protect Farm Workers; New Report on Medical Monitoring Results Calls for Immediate Actions."
How does this activity reduce pesticide risk?
This activity is an example of a laboratory process known as biomonitoring. Biomonitoring is the process by which chemicals are measured in human blood, urine, saliva, and tissues. It is the most accurate form of exposure analysis currently available, and allows us to make a connection between chemicals in the environment, and the concentration of these chemicals that ends up in the human body as a result of environmental exposure. Once levels of chemicals in the body are determined, they can be linked to health effects. A great example of this is lead in gasoline. Due to elevated blood lead levels being observed in the population in the 1970s, especially among children, researchers were able to determine that lead in gasoline was the culprit responsible for exposure. As such, lead was removed from gasoline, and an immediate correlation could be seen; as lead was phased out of petroleum products, blood lead levels in children declined proportionately. Likewise, if elevated levels of pesticides are found in the population, and these levels can be linked to adverse health effects, the biomonitoring data serves as an invaluable tool for evoking policy changes that preserve human health and well-being, such as changes to existing exposure limits, etc. On the flipside, if pesticide levels are found in the blood and cannot be linked with any adverse health outcome, it helps researchers and policymakers to determine that certain pesticides are safe, if used correctly.
How will you measure the risk reduction gained from this activity?
Through monitoring (providing comments on legislation, attending legislative briefings, responding to state and Federal requests for information and support, etc.) various policy activities, such as introduction of new health and regulatory legislation, APHL will be able to determine whether our efforts in pesticide environmental stewardship (combined with those of many other PESP partners) are having impact and instigating reform.
Activity 3
Through our membership, we have in place several communication tools that can be used to facilitate the exchange of information between APHL and our members. The E-Update, our weekly electronic newsletter, is very popular with our members. It is an excellent format for the communication of important public health news, industry announcements, and upcoming meetings and courses. The APHL Minute, our bi-monthly newsletter, provides information regarding recent happenings in the state public health and environmental laboratory arenas, and includes article submissions contributed by APHL program staff, and from our members. In addition to these regular publications, APHL also operates numerous e-mail list-serves, which provide a channel through which to disseminate information in a more rapid and immediate fashion. Through the utilization of these various communication methods, APHL can assist PESP in imparting its message to the state public health and environmental laboratory communities.
How does this activity reduce pesticide risk?
By facilitating communication, important information in the public health arena is shared. This information will serve to raise awareness of issues pertaining to pesticide risk, i.e. exposures.
How will you measure the risk reduction gained from this activity?
This will be measured by feedback from the members regarding issues and situations in their states related to pesticide use/misuse.