Environmental Health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 6,939 deaths and 477,000 emergency department visits annually during 2009 to 2013 were attributed to 13 waterborne pathogens. The annual cost of hospitalization and treatment associated with these diseases totaled $3.8 billion.

With antimicrobial resistance being one of the top global public health threats, integrated antimicrobial resistance surveillance systems are critical in gathering data, understanding resistance trends, creating stewardship plans and accurately quantifying resistance at national and local levels.

Recent studies have linked phthalates with type 2 diabetes, but limited research exists on the potential association between phthalates and gestational diabetes (GDM), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and continuous glucose tolerance measures during pregnancy.

The Imperial Project was a collaboration between community organizations, academia, and state partners created to investigate levels of particulate matter, a criteria air pollutant, in the highly impacted community of Imperial County. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) techniques were used to ensure that community members were engaged in each step of the research process.

Ultraviolet disinfection (UVD) units provide advanced onsite wastewater treatment, which is essential in regions where soils are unsuitable for conventional onsite sewage systems (OSSs). Although UVD treatment systems provide high-quality effluent under testing conditions, field effectiveness of UVD units is poorly understood.

Escalating prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in recent decades has triggered increasing efforts in understanding the role played by environmental risk factors as a way to address this widespread public health concern. Several epidemiological studies show associations between developmental exposure to traffic-related air pollution and increased ASD risk.

Across the country, dry cleaning is the largest source of emissions of the toxic chemical perchloroethylene (Perc).