Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit Resource Guide for Clinicians

This resource listing is a general introduction to environmental health information that is readily available on the Internet or through hotlines and clearinghouses. The purpose of the resource listing is to direct health providers, patients, and the general public who are in search of environmental and health information to a few good starting points that will yield useful information. Many of these starting points, in turn, will lead to other resources of potential interest. By following this initial direction, you can rapidly expand upon the data, knowledge, and resources available to productively address an array of important environmental health concerns. While there are a few wonderful international links listed, it was prepared in support of training programs in the United States, which is consequently the geographical area of focus.

The following are included in this guide:

• Health Provider Networks and Resources
• Environmental Health Information, Education, and Advocacy
• Federal Government Sites
• Chemical Fact Sheets
• Hotlines and Clearinghouses

Health Provider Networks and Resources

American Academy of Pediatrics provides networks and resources in children's environmental health, including the handbook Pediatric Environmental Health - 2nd Edition. Created in recognition that environmental hazards are among parent's top health concerns for their children, yet little time is spent training physicians to recognize and treat ailments resulting from exposure to harmful substances and environments. "When introduced in 1999, this first-of-its-kind handbook provided physicians with an invaluable tool for identifying, treating, and preventing pediatric environmental health hazards. Now the 2nd edition updates and expands the scope of the text with 10 new chapters covering emerging environmental threats, as well as updated content for a wide range of health hazards, and much more. By American Academy of Pediatrics Editor: Sophie J. Balk, MD." Softcover, 2003, 723 pgs, Price: $44.95
http://www.aap.org
Handbook: Pediatric Environmental Health - 2nd Edition

American Association of Occupational Health Nurses provides professional resources, educational activities and standards of care and practice.
http://www.aaohn.org

American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine serves as a professional organization of occupational medicine physicians.
http://www.acoem.org

American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) is the national professional society for physicians committed to disease prevention and health promotion. ACPM's 2,000 members are engaged in preventive medicine practice, teaching and research. Many serve on ACPM committees and task forces and represent preventive medicine in national forums, contributing to the organization's role as a major national resource of expertise in disease prevention and health promotion. ACPM was established in 1954.
http://www.acpm.org/about.htm

American Lung Association has a proven commitment to environmental health. Topics of air quality, chemical hazards in school and workplace settings, and tobacco control are covered in depth on their website with recent statistics available. Materials available (several also offered in Spanish) include: Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Action Kit, Protecting Yourself from Air Pollution, Working Safely With Chemicals, How to Read a Material Safety Data Sheet, as well as tobacco material targeted to youth and adults.
http://www.lungusa.org

American Nurses Association (ANA) is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.9 million registered nurses (RNs) through its 54 constituent member associations. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

The ANA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health provides expertise on issues related to the nursing professional and healthcare industry. The mission of the Center is to protect the health and well-being of nurses and their patients and communities through policy advocacy, programs, and training on the prevention and control of occupational and environmental hazards in relation to healthcare settings.
http://www.nursingworld.org/
The Center for Occupational and Environmental Health
Pollution Prevention Kit for Nurses: http://nursingworld.org/dlwa/osh/environm.htm

American Public Health Association has a section on Environment that "works to focus attention on human health effects of environmental factors and helps to shape national environmental health and protection policies." Among APHA's useful resources available from their website is an Advocacy Manual for Health Professionals.
http://www.apha.org
Environment Section:
http://depts.washington.edu/aphaenv/
Advocacy Manual:
http://www.apha.org/NR/rdonlyres/A5A9C4ED-1C0C-
4D0C-A56C-C33DEC7F5A49/0/Media_Advocacy_Manual.pdf

Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics includes 55 clinics across the United States and Canada that specialize in occupational and environmental health issues. Provides referrals to clinics for medical advice and care, conducts educational activities, and maintains a lending library. http://www.aoec.org

• Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs) "As part of its ongoing cooperative agreements with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), AOEC has formed a project establishing Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs). The PEHSUs include the collaboration between the pediatric clinic and the AOEC occupational and environmental clinic at each site. The PEHSU's have been developed to provide education and consultation for health professionals, public health professionals and others about the topic of children's environmental health. AOEC coordinates the activities for all of the PEHSUs. Primary funding for the PEHSUs comes from the ATSDR and EPA."
  http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HEC/natorg/pehsu.html

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) is concerned about ecosystem health, human health and sustainable development. Major goals are to educate physicians on environmental issues, providing them with both accurate information and a framework for thinking about environmental problems; to prepare spokespersons to comment on the health implications of environmental issues in an accurate and rigorous manner; to serve as a "think tank" for considering the health implications of environmental issues; to provide a forum in which physicians can meet and discuss health issues associated with environmental problems together with non-physician colleagues who have the knowledge and insight they need; and to advocate certain positions or courses of action. They have some excellent resources on the site.
http://www.cape.ca/

EnviroDX is a multimedia, case-focused, computer-based learning program on environment-related diseases. The organizing metaphor for EnviroDx is an exploratory "virtual clinic" affiliated with a busy medical school. The program user takes the part of a practicing physician faced with a patient with an unknown disease or condition that is possibly caused by exposure to environmental factors. Upon completion of the program, the user should be familiar with: the components of an environmental history, the steps required to diagnose a specific type of environmental disorder tests required to make specific diagnoses, sources of information on industrial chemical product ingredients and their potential health effects, activities of federal, state, and local organizations that address occupational and environmental issues in health, measures a physician might recommend to treat or prevent a specific environmental-related disorder. Created by a team under Eddy Bresnitz, M.D., M.S., EnviroDX is hosted by the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah.
http://library.med.utah.edu/envirodx/index.html

Health Care Without Harm is global coalition with 443 member organizations in 52 countries representing hospitals and health care systems, medical professionals, community groups, health-affected constituencies, labor unions, environmental and environmental health organizations and religious groups. The mission is to transform the health care industry worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. Links to many chemical alternatives can be found on the web site
http://www.noharm.org

Organization of Teratology and Information Services maintains pregnancy and environmental hot lines throughout the country to answer questions regarding prenatal exposures. Centers and hot lines can be found on their website.
http://www.otispregnancy.org

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is a leading public policy organization with over 30,000 members representing the medical and public health professions and concerned citizens, working together for nuclear disarmament, a healthful environment, and an end to gun violence. PSR is the United States Affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. PSR has mobilized an Environment and Health Network that links activists and issue experts around the world to address serious environmental threats to human survival. The national PSR website has information for the public and providers on topics of medical waste, persistent toxic pollutants, health effects of global climate change, incineration and dioxin, pesticides, safe food and drinking water, clean air and water, and children's environmental health.
http://www.psr.org

• Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility (GBPSR) is a regional affiliate of PSR. GBPSR has over 1000 members in Eastern Massachusetts who individually and collectively work on a variety of issues relating to human and ecosystem health, including environmental pollution and degradation, quality and access to health care, energy security, community and personal violence, and social justice and human rights. GBPSR’s Human Health and the Environment Project (HHEP) has been a leading voice nationally on public health issues relating to children’s health and the environment, including noted programs Generations at Risk: Reproductive Health and the Environment, In Harm’s Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development, and the Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit, endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
  http://www.igc.org/psr/

• Oregon Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility’s mission is to help create a peaceful world, eliminate nuclear weapons, achieve a healthy and sustainable environment, and reduce violence and its causes. Oregon PSR works with health professionals to educate colleagues through its In Harm’s Way program about linkages between environmental toxins and child development, and by coordinating with other organizations to reduce the use and release of toxic substances in Oregon. The Campaign for Safe Food project of Oregon PSR works to advance the establishment of an agricultural system and food supply in Oregon that does not use genetically engineered organisms, by focusing on limiting biopharmaceutical crops and recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST) in dairy products.
  http://www.oregonpsr.org>

• San Francisco Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility (SF PSR) is a regional affiliate of PSR that strives to protect public health and the environment, with a focus on populations disproportionately affected by environmental hazards, particularly children. We work to reduce toxic hazards at health care facilities by supporting an end to mercury and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic use, and provide education on environmental health issues to health providers. SF PSR brings a powerful, scientifically credible, and widely respected message to the public about environmental health concerns. SF PSR also works with the health care community to assess current hospital food procurement practices and to examine alternative food purchasing strategies to bring healthier, more sustainably grown foods to the hospital setting.
  http://www.sfbaypsr.org/

• Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility (WPSR) is a regional affiliate of PSR that works to engage the community to create a healthy, peaceful and sustainable world. Our efforts to improve environmental and human health focus on eliminating persistent toxic chemicals, and on protecting children’s health and futures from toxic exposures. WPSR works with health providers to phase out PVC medical devices containing DEHP, and provides In Harm’s Way presentations to health professionals as part of its efforts to protect children from preventable sources of harm.
  http://www.wpsr.org/

Science and Environmental Health Network works at many levels in support of the effective application of science to protect and restore individual, public, and ecosystem health.
http://www.sehn.org

Teratology Society is a multidisciplinary scientific society founded in 1960, the members of which study the causes and biological processes leading to abnormal development and birth defects at the fundamental and clinical level, and appropriate measures for prevention.
http://www.teratology.org/

Environmental Health Information, Education, and Advocacy

Alliance for Healthy Homes is a national, nonprofit, public interest organization working to prevent and eliminate hazards in our homes that can harm the health of children, families, and other residents. These hazards include lead, mold, carbon monoxide, radon, pests, and pesticides. The web site offers advice on prevention strategies and holistic approaches to maintaining a healthy home and community. They also provide information on legal tenant rights, landlord responsibilities and various housing laws.
http://www.afhh.org

American Lung Association (ALA) of Washington has developed a Home Environmental Assessment List (HEAL) consisting of a 10 page checklist used by Master Home Environmentalist volunteers when doing a general environmental assessment in a community member's home. It's also available in a 5 page Do-It-Yourself version. For copies, contact your local ALA at 1-800-lungusa - American Lung Association - Master Home Environmentalist Program.
http://www.alaw.org/

Beyond Pesticides, a service of the National Coalition against the Misuse of Pesticides (NCAMP), provides access to a national directory of least toxic service providers and has programs on pesticide use in schools and public buildings, pesticide legislation, exposure of children to polluted soils around public utility poles. The site includes a fact sheet on What to Do in a Pesticide Emergency.
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/

Bio-Integral Resource (BIRC) is a nonprofit organization offering over 25 years of insight experience, and leadership in the development and communication of least-toxic, environmentally sound, integrated pest management (IPM) methods and policies of urban and agricultural applications.
http://www.birc.org/

Center for Informed Decision-Making has as its objective to help citizens make informed decisions about important environmental, health, and safety issues. Their web site explains the basics of environmental and health assessments, provides case studies, offers expert forums, and links to additional resources.
http://members.aol.com/cygnusgrp/index.html

Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) was founded in 1981, by Lois Gibbs, the community leader at Love Canal. CHEJ seeks to help local citizens and organizations come together and take an organized, unified stand in order to hold industry and government accountable and work toward a healthy, sustainable future. CHEJ’s campaigns focus on environmental health threats to children and building public support for preventive action to protect public health, the environment and our economy. These efforts focus tools, resources and media attention on local grassroots struggles and support organizing around state and local policy initiatives. The web site offers many environmental reports and a slide show on protecting children from environmental threats.
http://www.chej.org/

Children's Environmental Health Network is a national project dedicated to pediatric environmental health. The Network's mission is to promote a healthy environment and to protect the fetus and the child from environmental hazards. Three areas of concentration for the Network are education, research, and policy. Publications include numerous fact sheets in English and Spanish on toxic chemicals, as well as the CEHN Training Manual on Pediatric Environmental Health. In addition to explaining children's vulnerability, routes of exposure, absorption, metabolism, etc., it also explains adult teaching methods and effective learning techniques.
http://www.cehn.org

Children's Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC) is a charitable, nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public, specifically parents and caregivers, about environmental toxins that affect children's health.
http://www.checnet.org

• HealtheHouse is CHEC's "interactive resource for information on how to reduce environmental health risks to children in and around the home". Here there is a Virtual House that shows where dangerous everyday household products can be found and eliminated, a Quiz for personalized information about what you're doing right, what you can change and how, a Resource Room with how-to's, articles, and a chemical database, and six simple House Rules for keeping a healthy home.
  http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/home/index.asp

• The Blue Butterfly Campaign is an initiative to help spread the word about the 5 Easy Steps to a Healthier Home that everyone can easily follow to create a cleaner, healthier environment for their children.
  http://www.bluebutterfly.org/

• CHEC also offers First Steps, a monthly email program for pregnant women or the parents of a newborn, to provide information on protecting baby's health. First Steps is designed to provide timely information to minimize the fetus' or baby's exposure to toxic chemicals. Monthly emails identify common sources of toxic exposure at each stage of development followed by simple steps you can take to minimize the risk to your baby.
  http://ga1.org/chec/join.tcl?community=f

Collaborative on Health and the Environment, is a diverse partnership of individuals and organizations working collectively to advance knowledge and effective action to address growing concerns about the links between human health and environmental factors. Underlying all of CHE's activities is a commitment to strong, uncompromised science. CHE Partners share the conviction that under conditions of scientific uncertainty, when evidence of the potential for harm to human health and the environment is scientifically compelling, precautionary measures that emphasize exposure prevention should be undertaken.
http://www.healthandenvironment.org/

Duke University Occupational & Environmental Medicine hosts a very large and diverse web site with multiple links to sources of environmental and occupational health information. One of the best on the web. Offers a listserve for clinicians and public health professionals to instantly communicate with one another.
http://dukeoccmed.mc.duke.edu/

EnviroLink is a nonprofit organization that attempts to link all grassroots organizations and volunteers through an online community. The site provides information and referral links through the Library on a variety of topics including activism and education. Current awareness on environmental topics worldwide is done through the News Service. The Sustainable Business Network is a marketplace for information about and resources from businesses that practice environmentally sound operations.
http://www.envirolink.org

Environmental Defense provides a wonderful site, Scorecard.org, for geographically specific information about toxic chemicals in the United States: where they come from in your community, what their human health effects are, and what actions you can take.
http://www.scorecard.org

Environmental Health Center was established in 1988 as a division of the National Safety Council to improve public understanding of significant health risks and challenges facing modern society. Their homepage is useful for public education and outreach efforts, emergency planning and management, and environmental journalism. They offer Environmental Journalism Resources, Hazardous Chemical Backgrounders (fact sheets on physical properties, health effects, economics, and regulations), information on air quality, children's health, climate change, radioactive and solid waste, as well as water quality.
http://www.nsc.org/ehc.htm

Environmental Research Foundation Environmental Research Foundation (ERF) was founded in 1980 to provide understandable scientific information about the influence of toxic substances on human health and the environment. ERF provides information to grass-roots community activists, environmentalists, journalists, librarians, and others to further environmental justice at the local level. It specializes in information on hazardous substances and technologies, including landfills, incinerators, pesticides, organochlorine compounds, risk assessments, and their effects on human and environmental health. A newsletter, Rachel's Environment & Health News is available by e-mail.
http://www.rachel.org/home_eng.htm

Healthy Schools Network (HSN) is a nationally recognized, state-based advocate for the protection of children's environmental health in schools. HSN strives to build awareness of children's environmental health needs and assure every child and school employee an environmentally healthy school, through research, information and referral, advocacy, and coalition building.
http://www.healthyschools.org

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) is a Minnesota-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and education, science and technology and advocacy. IATP raises awareness about pollutants in food and from food production, their sources, and their demonstrated or possible impacts on human health. IATP helps consumers make safe food choices by providing tools like the Eat Well Guide and the Smart Fish Guide. IATP advocates for health protective public policies and pollution prevention and provides information for the public and providers on the following issues: use of antibiotics in animal agriculture, public health impacts of factory farming, pesticides, toxins in sludge and fertilizers, children's environmental health and persistent toxic pollutants, such as mercury, brominated flame retardants and dioxins. IATP provides key leadership in the following initiatives: Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), Keep Antibiotics Working, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment and Mercury Free Minnesota.
http://www.iatp.org

Institute for Children's Environmental Health (ICEH) is a non-profit educational organization working to ensure a healthy, just, and sustainable future for children. The primary mission of ICEH is to foster collaborative initiatives to mitigate environmental exposures that can undermine the health of current and future generations. Their site includes a primer on Environmental Health Basics that lists multi-media resources and hotlinks. ICEH hosts a Partnership for Children's Health and the Environment that organizations can join.
http://www.iceh.org/
Partnership for Children's Health & the Environment: http://www.partnersforchildren.org

Institute for Global Communications provides a gateway to five online communities of activists and organizations working for peace, conflict resolution and negotiation, labor force representation, women in development, and environmental health and ecology (through EcoNet). Each network provides worldwide coverage for current awareness. IGC also maintains a member's directory.
http://www.igc.org

International Joint Commission (IJC) is a collaboration between the U.S. and Canada to address water quality along boundary waters between the two nations. The IJC Health Professionals Task Force offers Environmental Health in Family Medicine modules on lead, outdoor air, indoor air, pesticides, water quality, and persistent organic pollutants that can be downloaded at no charge. Also available free on their site is The Health Effects Review, a quarterly review and summary of the scientific literature on human health effects and environmental pollutants.
http://www.ijc.org/en/home/main_accueil.htm

Medweb offers numerous on-line links to public and private environment and health resources.
http://www.medweb.emory.edu/MedWeb/SPT--Home.php

Minnesota Department of Health has created a web site to improve access to information about children's environmental health. The site describes MDH programs and activities related to a variety of children's environmental health issues, including cancer surveillance, school indoor air quality, chemical exposures, health professional education and asthma. The site also provides information about practical steps to prevent and reduce children's exposures to common chemicals.
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/children/national.html

The National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF), chartered by Congress in 1990, is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing environmental education in its many forms. They aspire to build a nationwide environmentally literate community that cares for and protects the environment at home, at work, and in its communities. NEETF provides environmental health training tools for pediatric health care providers on a dedicated web site. The site was developed as part of the Children’s Environmental Health Faculty Champions Initiative, which aims to build health professional capacity to address children’s environmental health issues. The website features PowerPoint Presentations and Resources developed by leading experts in the field of pediatric environmental health education. The presentations offer an overview of many of the environmental health topics most frequently encountered by pediatric health care providers, including: children’s unique vulnerabilities to environmental health risks, environmental history taking, asthma, tobacco smoke, ultraviolet light, pesticides, lead and mercury. The website also includes a comprehensive list of NEETF’s environmental health publications for health care providers, as well as selected environmental health resources from a variety of other sources. These tools can be accessed through the Children’s Environmental Health Faculty Champions Initiative website: www.neetf.org/health/champions.
http://www.neetf.org/

Our Stolen Future The book Our Stolen Future brought world-wide attention to scientific discoveries about endocrine disruption and the fact that common contaminants can interfere with the natural signals controlling development of the fetus. This website tracks the most recent developments. Our Stolen Future is hosted by Environmental Health Sciences, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2002 to help increase public understanding of emerging scientific links between environmental exposures and human health. EHS publishes 2 other websites - www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org is a resource for new news, science and reports on environmental health and is an easy-to-use and powerful search engine. www.ProtectingOurHealth.org (in partnership with the Collaborative for Health and the Environment - CHE) is an archive of science content from CHE.
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org

Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA) advocates the adoption of ecologically sound practices as an alternative to pesticide use. With other groups, it promotes sustainable agriculture, food security, and social justice. In addition to action alerts, connections to other organizations, fact sheets, and reports, the PESTIS database is available to search online for information on specific pesticides and alternatives. Another feature maintained is the PANNA Pesticides and Children Web Page that offers links to information and resources regarding children's unique vulnerability to pesticides.
http://www.panna.org/

Preventing Harm is a project of the Clean Water Fund to increase awareness of how learning and behavioral developmental disabilities may be related to toxics in air, water or food. This site is geared towards parents and parents-to-be, physicians and health care professionals, educators, and environmentalists working together to learn more, find resources, share what we learn, and take family and community action to protect children from environmental harm during vulnerable periods of development.
http://www.preventingharm.org/

REPROTOX, the Reproductive Toxicology Center, contains summaries on the effects of medications, chemicals, infections, and physical agents on pregnancy, reproduction, and development. The REPROTOX® system was developed as an adjunct information source for clinicians, scientists, and government agencies. Several levels of subscriptions available.
http://www.reprotox.org/

Sustainable Communities Network promotes communications and collaborations among grassroots and community-based programs. Groups involved in environmental protection efforts such as recycling, conservation, watershed and wildlife protection share case studies and resources.
http://www.sustainable.org/

University of California at Berkeley maintains a resource guide to Toxicology and Occupational Health Resources. The site links to agencies, publications and databases.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/PUBL/tox.html

University of Wisconsin Extension offers Help Your Self to a Healthy Home, a 24-page booklet, including five short home environment checklists -"Questions to Ask" on air, lead, drinking water, hazardous household products, and pesticides. Designed as a self-assessment screening tool for parents and other caregivers.
Home Assist: http://www.uwex.edu/homeasyst/
Booklet: http://www.uwex.edu/homeasyst/hasorder.html

Washington Toxics Coalition is dedicated to protecting public health and the environment by identifying and promoting alternatives to toxic chemicals. They advance research, grassroots organizing, publications and presentations, conferences, and provide a Toxics Hotline to provide reliable information about preventing pollution in homes, schools, workplaces, agriculture, and industry. You can also access online their guide, Protecting Children from Toxic Exposures, that includes facts on topics such as air, lead, drinking water, hazardous household products, and pesticides.
http://www.watoxics.org/pages/root.aspx

Federal Government Sites

Agency for Toxics Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ATSDR serves the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances. ATSDR is directed by congressional mandate to perform specific functions concerning the effect on public health of hazardous substances in the environment. These functions include public health assessments of waste sites, health consultations concerning specific hazardous substances, health surveillance and registries, response to emergency releases of hazardous substances, applied research in support of public health assessments, information development and dissemination, and education and training concerning hazardous substances. Their web site leads to summaries and reports of hazardous substances, guidebooks, and HazDat (a database of information about Superfund sites, hazardous substance releases, and health effects). The site is also useful for the links it provides through the ATSDR Information Center Bookmarks.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/

Environmental Health Project (EHP) was established by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Its goal is to assist the agency to achieve reductions in illness and death among children under five in developing countries from major diseases related to environmental conditions.
http://www.ehproject.org/

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides a wealth of information about EPA activities, products, recommendations, and requirements on its extensive website. The site leads to information about community participation, resources for environmental education, grant information, chemical fact sheets, pesticides, software and database resources, hotlines, EPA libraries, regional and state contacts, and more. The EPA Office of Children's Health Protection serves as a clearinghouse for EPA's initiatives and information on children's health. Contains links to fact sheets on a range of exposures, provides information on current research, where you can get additional information.
EPA Homepage: http://www.epa.gov
Office of Children's Health Protection:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/homepage.htm

• Envirofacts contains data from five EPA systems that are used to assist the Agency in monitoring and overseeing compliance with federal regulations. The general public can use this source to obtain information about facilities in their community. The five systems represented are: 1) Aerometric Information Retrieval System Facility Subsystem (which contains air pollution data for about 150,000 regulated facilities), 2) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Information System (Superfund data on hazardous waste sites), 3) Permit Compliance System (water discharge permit information for over 75,000 facilities), 4) Resource Conservation and Recovery Information System (data used to track handler permit or closure status for over 450,000 facilities and transporters), and 5) Toxic Release Inventory System (data on releases of over 600 toxic chemicals by over 33,000 reporting facilities). Online queries and mapping tools are also available through this site.
  http://www.epa.gov/enviro/index.html

• National Pesticide Information Service
  NPIC is a cooperative effort of Oregon State University and the U.S. EPA.
  1-800-858-7378
  Questions on pesticides to: npic@ace.orst.edu
  http://npic.orst.edu/

• Risk Screening Environmental Indicators is a computer-based (Windows) model that is also available through the EPA to help interpret the information that you find. The model permits screening-level analysis of risk-related impacts of toxic chemical releases and transfers in the U.S.
  http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/rsei

• TEACH Website
  Toxicity and Exposure Assessment for Children's Health (TEACH) The TEACH Web site contains summaries of scientific literature and U.S. federal regulations relevant to children’s environmental health. TEACH currently focuses on information that pertains to 18 chemicals of concern.

  The goal of the TEACH project is to complement existing children’s health information resources by providing a listing and summary of scientific literature applicable to children’s health risks due to chemical exposure. The focal point of this children’s health project is the TEACH Web site, which has two main components: 1) a searchable database that contains references from the relevant scientific literature pertaining to children’s chemical exposure, and summarizes key points of that literature; and 2) TEACH Chemical Summaries (for all chemicals listed in the TEACH database, as they become available, see Note below) which condense essential points from the reference summaries provided in the TEACH database.
  http://www.epa.gov/teach/

• U.S. EPA Directory Assistance
  (202) 272-0167
  Directory assistance to EPA offices that have information on the environment and EPA: brochures, fact sheets, consumer guides, and educational materials.

• U.S. EPA National Service Center for Environmental Publications
  (513) 489-8190
  Clearinghouse, publication information, and ordering service for EPA publications, including ACCESS EPA, an extensive yearly directory of EPA and other public sector information resources including hotlines, libraries, and databases.

• Technology Transfer Publications and Support Division
  800-490-9198 or (513) 489-8190
  Formerly Center for Environmental Research Information (CERI), the focal point for the exchange of EPA's scientific and technical information.
  http://www.epa.gov/ttbnrmrl

Healthfinder® is a free gateway to reliable consumer health and human service information developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthfinder can lead you to select online publications, clearinghouses, databases, web sites, and support and self-help groups, as well as the government agencies and not-for-profit organizations that produce reliable information for the public.
http://www.healthfinder.gov

National Center for Environmental Health is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides leadership to promote health and quality of life by preventing or controlling those diseases, birth defects, or disabilities resulting from interaction between people and the environment. Their site has information and education resources on a broad range of topics, including asthma, birth defects, radiation, sanitation, and lead in blood.
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is one of the National Institutes of Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The mission of the NIEHS is to reduce the burden of human illness and disability by understanding how the environment influences the development and progression of human disease. To have the greatest impact on preventing disease and improving human health, the NIEHS focuses on basic science, disease-oriented research, global environmental health, and multidisciplinary training for researchers.

NIEHS publishes Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news on the impact of the environment on human health. Its content is free online: http://www.ehponline.org/
http://www.niehs.nih.gov

• Children's Environmental Health & Safety Inventory of Research (CHEHSIR) is a publicly accessible database created to ensure that researchers and federal research agencies have access to information on all research conducted or funded by the federal government that is related to adverse health risks in children resulting from exposure to environmental health risks or safety risks. This information is available to the public, scientific, and academic communities, as well as all federal agencies.
  http://www.niehs.nih.gov/dert/profiles/1999/chehsir.htm

• The National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences established the NTP Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction in 1998 to serve as an environmental health resource to the public and to regulatory and health agencies. The Center provides scientifically-based, uniform assessments of the potential for adverse effects on reproduction and development caused by agents to which humans may be exposed. This is accomplished through rigorous evaluations of the scientific literature by independent panels of scientists.
  http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov

• NIEHS and EPA operate the Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) which offers funding support for research on hazardous waste sites and their health effects as well as networking opportunities for researchers and partnering organizations. The NIEHS and the U.S. EPA website for the programs posts research summaries and grant opportunities. You can join a listserve to learn about current research by sending your e-mail address to inhof@niehs.nih.gov.
  http://www-apps.niehs.nih.gov/sbrp/index.cfm
  Research Briefs:
  http://list.niehs.nih.gov/pipermail/sbrp-brief/2004-January/000047.html

• Environmental Health Clearinghouse, a service of Information Ventures, Inc. and sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, is staffed by junior and senior scientists trained in environmental health issues. Questions can be directed to them over the telephone (800-643-4794, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., EST); by electronic mail (envirohealth@niehs.nih.gov); or through their Internet site. In response to questions, the clearinghouse staff will conduct customized research, perform literature searches, and mail results to requestors. The clearinghouse also offers fact sheets on pesticides, environmental impact statements, human and ecological risk assessments, and information packets on a variety of topics. Among the environmental topics included in the clearinghouse collection are health effects, worker exposure, waste site and chemical spills and releases information, materials for schools and students, environmental justice issues, and women's health issues.
  http://infoventures.com/

National Library of Medicine (NLM) hosts the Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP) which provides a wealth of health, toxicological, chemical, and chemical release information. TEHIP databases are available on the Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET), a free web-based search system. It is also a gateway to MEDLINE. Among the many databases available from Toxnet are:

• CCRIS (Chemical Carcinogenesis Research Information System) contains evaluated data and information, derived from bioassays on nearly 8,000 chemicals. Studies relate to carcinogens, mutagens, tumor promoters, cocarcinogens, metabolites and inhibitors of carcinogens.

• DART/ETIC (Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology/Environmental Teratology Information Center) is a bibliographic database covering teratology and developmental toxicology literature published since 1950.

• EMIC (Environmental Mutagen Information Center) are bibliographic databases covering agents tested for genotoxic activity in literature from 1965 to the present.

• GENE-TOX a data bank created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with genetic toxicology test results on over 3,000 chemicals.

• TOXLINE a bibliographic database covering the biochemical, pharmacological, physiological, and toxicological effects of drugs and other chemicals. It contains over 2.5 million citations, almost all with abstracts and/or index terms and CAS Registry Numbers.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/

• Medline is a bibliographic database of abstracted medical literature. The National Library of Medicine offers it free.
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/databases_medline.html

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is entrusted with overseeing worker protection and enforcement of workplace standards. Web site offers information and links on programs and services, compliance assistance, standards, and technical information.
http://www.osha.gov

Public Health Training Network (PHTN) is a distance learning system that takes training to the learner. PHTN uses a variety of instructional media ranging from print-based to videotape and multimedia to meet the training needs of the public health workforce nationwide.
http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/phtn/default.asp

National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Title Identification Service / Document Ordering Service
(703) 605-6000
To research a title or to order documents from government agencies.

U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington DC 20402
(866) 512-1800, (202) 512-1530
Supplies documents from government agencies.

Chemical Fact Sheets

EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics provides Chemical Fact Sheets and technical summary documents. Some of these fact sheets are available through the Internet.
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/chemfact

EXTOXNET is a cooperative effort of the University of California, Davis, Oregon State University, Michigan State University, and Cornell University. Together, they maintain Pesticide Information Profiles, a databank of profiles on over 160 pesticides. Each profile covers acute and chronic toxicity, environmental effects, manufacturing information, and references. These profiles are not based on an exhaustive literature search; nevertheless, they are highly informative and supplement the information found on pesticide product labeling and other sources.
http://ace.orst.edu/info/extoxnet/

Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) contains EPA carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risk assessment and regulatory information on over 500 chemicals. The risk assessment data have been scientifically reviewed by groups of EPA scientists and represent EPA consensus. IRIS also contains EPA Drinking Water Health Advisories and literature references.
http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?IRIS

Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) is a comprehensive, scientifically reviewed, factual database containing records for over 4500 toxic or potentially toxic chemicals. It contains extensive information in such areas as toxicity, environmental fate, human exposure, chemical safety, waste disposal, emergency handling, and regulatory requirements.
http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?HSDB

Material Safety Data Sheets are designed for workers and emergency personnel to provide guidance on proper procedures for handling and working with toxic substances. The sheets include physical data, toxicity, health effects, first aid, storage and disposal procedures, and more. Many sites on the Internet include MSDS.
http://www.ilpi.com/msds/index.html

New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Right to Know Program provides online access to hundreds of chemical fact sheets. Information on each fact sheet includes: identification, hazard summary, how to determine exposure, workplace exposure limits, ways of reducing exposure, acute and chronic health hazard information, workplace controls and practices, personal protective equipment, safe handling and storage, definitions of terms, information on flammability and reactivity, and recommended first aid practices.
http://web.doh.state.nj.us/rtkhsfs/indexfs.aspx?lan=english

ToxFAQs is a series of over 50 summaries of hazardous substances being developed by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Division. Each fact sheet provides answers to frequently asked questions about exposure to substances found around hazardous waste sites and corresponding human health effects.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html

Hotlines and Clearinghouses

Air and Radiation

U.S. EPA National Indoor Air Quality Information Hotline
(800) 438-4318
Health information, on passive smoke, formaldehyde, and other indoor air quality issues.

Lead

National Safety Council's National Lead Information Center
(800) 424-LEAD
Information, publications, referrals, and technical assistance in English or Spanish on lead-related issues.

Community Right-to-Know

U.S. EPA Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know (EPCRA) Information Hotline
(800) 424-9346
Information on community right-to-know and emergency planning regulations.

RTK-Net
A Project of OMB Watch
(202) 234-8494, http://www.rtknet.org/
Call for information about this computer network that provides access to TRI data, health facts on chemicals, census data, and other information and data on hazardous waste, air, and water.

U.S. EPA TRI User Support Service
(202) 566-0250
Support obtaining and using the Toxics Release Inventory.

Environmental Justice

Office of Environmental Justice Small Grants Program
(202) 564-2515, (800) 962-6215
Grants to fund Environmental Justice projects by community-based organizations.

Consumer Product Safety

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Hotline
(800) 638-2772
Information and educational materials on consumer product safety, including children's toys and electrical products. Spanish speaking staff available.

Hazardous Emergencies

Chemtrac Emergency Spill Information
(800) 424-9300
Emergency number providing information regarding large chemical spills and leaks.

Health

March of Dimes
1-888-MODIMES (663-4637)
National Women's Health Network
(202) 628-7814
Women's health advocacy group with general women's health information and a resource center.

Occupational Safety and Health

Clearinghouse for Occupational Safety and Health Information (at Centers for Disease Control)
Technical Information Service: (800) 35-NIOSH
Access to NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) information, resources, and activities.
Library: (513) 533-8321
Interlibrary loans, catalog available. Maintains an automated database and library open to the public.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Referral Service
(800) 321-OSHA
Referral service concerning occupational safety and health complaints and emergencies. Call with life threatening emergencies.

Pesticides and Toxicants

National Pesticide Information Center
(800) 858-7378

Pollution Prevention

U.S. EPA Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse
(202) 566-0799
Technical, policy, and grant information for companies and communities seeking to reduce use and production of hazardous materials.

Technology Transfer Center at the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute, University of Massachusetts Lowell
(978) 934-3275, Fax (978) 934-3050
Clearinghouse and research library, and literature search service for reports, case studies, and fact sheets on pollution prevention and toxics use reduction.

Water and Wastewater

National Drinking Water Technical Assistance Unit, West Virginia University
(800) 624-8301, Option 3
Collects, develops, and provides information about drinking water issues.

U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline
(800) 426-4791
Information about EPA's drinking water regulations and other related drinking water and ground water topics.

U.S. EPA Water Resource Center
202-566-1729 (24-hour voicemail)
Distributes EPA Office of Water publications.

Acknowledgement: This guide is based on materials originally developed by the JSI Center for Environmental Health Studies (www.jsi.com).