Policy

I work at the US Environmental Protection Agency as a physical scientist in the Radiation Protection program. Depending on the day, I may be developing radiological risk assessment tools, crafting risk communication products or supporting radiological emergency preparedness activities.

As smoke from wildfires on the West Coast makes its way across the US, it’s becoming clear that our future will involve coexistence with fire.

Right now, some 140,000 agricultural workers are picking apples, peaches and other crops at the peak of Washington’s harvest season, just as Gov. Jay Inslee has declared a state of emergency in response to wildfires burning across the state.

Oceans affect every human life — no matter how far away from a coastline a community may be. Oceans supply fresh water and oxygen, regulate the climate, influence the weather and affect human health. People rely on these large bodies of water for food, income, transportation and recreation. In turn, human activities can impact oceans and the systems they support.

Lianne Sheppard fought recent efforts by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suppress the role of academic scientists advising the agency on environmental policy. The University of Washington professor also battled back against attacks on her research into the link between cancer and glyphosate, a widely used herbicide.

Editor's note: In January 2022, Anna Humphreys and colleagues, including DEOHS Assistant Professor Nicole Errett, published a paper in BMC Public Health on the impacts of rural wildfire smoke on mental health and well-being, and opportunities for adaptation.

 

Kaitlyn Kelly MPH, Environmental and Occupational Health Hometown Carmel, CA Future plans Continue her work as a policy specialist for the Washington State Department of Health.

Alexa Yadama BS, Environmental Health Hometown Pullman, WA Future plans A career in environmental or public health, and eventually a master’s in public health. “ I really appreciate mixing public health with my science background and helping people with the knowledge I have.”

Women who experience high employment precarity prior to or during pregnancy have a 48% higher risk of delivering low-birth-weight infants than women with low employment precarity, according to a study from researchers at the University of Washington School of Public Health.

Read the news release about Baker's study

  Countries including the US are taking dramatic steps to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, with some barring entry to anyone who has recently visited China. But do travel bans work?

Many state and local health agencies recognize the threat of climate change but need more resources and clearer, more flexible guidance to reduce its impact on public health, according to a new study from the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS).

Washington is expected to face increasingly smoky summers. A few things you can do to prepare now:

 

Rachel Shaffer doesn't flinch from controversy. As a doctoral student in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, Shaffer is wading into some of the most heated environmental health issues of our time. Her PhD work in environmental toxicology investigates the connections between air pollution and dementia. That's just the beginning.

As a physician with a passion for science, social justice and patient care, Dr. Joel Kaufman gravitated to public health from his earliest days as a college student pursuing BA and MD degrees in a combined six-year program.

Communities underneath and downwind of jets landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport are exposed to a type of ultrafine particle pollution that is distinctly associated with aircraft, according to a new University of Washington study that is the first to identify the unique "signature" of aircraft emissions in Washington state.

Female farmworkers experience workplace sexual harassment at rates that are two to three times higher than in other sectors, according to recent studies.

After 18 years at the University of Washington, Peter Johnson, professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, will retire in mid-November.

Babies born today will face unprecedented health risks and life-long health consequences from rising temperatures, according to new research published Wednesday from The Lancet.

  From flood-damaged Houston to fire-ravaged Paradise, CA, Nicole Errett’s research takes her into the heart of communities trying to recover after catastrophe strikes.

DEOHS at the Washington State Legislature UW DEOHS faculty and research will help inform state policy as part of several bills passed by the Washington State Legislature this spring:

Washington is considered a national leader in efforts to reduce prescription drug overdose, thanks in part to changes in opioid prescribing practices championed by Dr. Gary Franklin.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to change how it tallies up the costs and benefits of rules limiting mercury emissions—a move two University of Washington experts say would make it harder to protect people from the harmful health effects of air pollution.    It’s a new front in the two-decade-long battle to regulate toxic mercury emi

A group of 15 air pollution experts—including three scientists from the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS)—say recent changes made by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have damaged the quality and credibility of the EPA’s scientific review process for federal clean air standards.

US health care systems should extend their commitment to “do no harm” by ensuring that their own operations are powered by renewable energy, according to a new brief on climate change and health in the United States.

We’re learning more all the time about the health risks of breathing dirty air—and the news is alarming.

Research with real-world impact: DEOHS student’s work leads to environmental recommendations to create cleaner waterways.