141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

283620
Environmental and public health laboratories: An expanding reach to improve environmental health


Monday, November 4, 2013

Michael Heintz, MS, JD, Environmental Health, Association of Public Health Laboratories, Silver Spring, MD
Megan W. Latshaw, PhD, MHS, Environmental Health Programs, Association of Public Health Laboratories, Inc., Silver Spring, MD
Surili Sutaria, MS, Association of Public Health Laboratories, Workplace, Silver Spring, MD
  
Government operated public health and environmental laboratories can significantly advance the efforts of researchers looking for additional resources. These state and local laboratories have the capabilities to conduct a wide range of environmental research, including human biomonitoring, environmental contamination evaluations, consumer product testing, and analyses of chemical and radiological threats. In some cases, these laboratories can provide opportunities for workforce development in the form of Fellowships and internships.

Public health laboratories can serve as venues for research when academic and private institutions do not have adequate or specialized resources to conduct needed inquires. Typically, the community is unaware that every state has at least one government laboratory, and in many cases multiple laboratories focusing on specific areas of concern. Such facilities can assist other researchers when investigating environmental health concerns.

This presentation from the Association of Public Health Laboratories will focus on raising awareness of, and providing information about, the state and local laboratories that can assist in the research conducted at academic and private institutions using the results from the 2012 Environmetnal Health Survey. In this way, researchers, policymakers, and communities can be aware of a wider set of resources available to advance their work.

Learning Areas:

Communication and informatics
Environmental health sciences
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the research efforts of environmental public health laboratories. Identify the collaborative efforts of environmental public health laboratories. Describe the forms of community outreach by environmental public health laboratories. Describe the funding sources of environmental public health laboratories. Explain the role of public health and environmental laboratories in creating environmental policy. Describe non-traditional forms of environmental health testing undertaken by public health and environmental laboratories.

Keyword(s): Environmental Health, Chemical Analyses

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the Senior Specialist for Environmental Laboratories since Feb 2012. In my role, I led the efforts to finalize, release, and evaluate the data obtained by the 2012 Environmental Health Survey. In addition, I work directly with state and local environmental health laboratories, including the issues addressed in the survey responses.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3092.0: Poster Session: Emerging Issues in Environmental Health