The Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition (NWTCC) will host a webinar on November 19th entitled "How do our Contaminated Cleanup Sites Compare?" The webinar will be conducted by Dr. Peter L. deFur, president of Environmental Stewardship Concepts. Dr. deFur is meeting with community groups at their cleanup sites in EPA Region 10. His webinar will draw comparisons of regional cleanup sites on which he is working – types of contaminants, cleanup plans, and alternative cleanup options.
Center Updates
University of Washington Superfund Research Program (UW-SRP) Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics Core Laboratory (Core lab) recently acquired 'next generation gene sequencing instrumentation' that enables them to offer timely and effective sequencing applications for research scientists to provide important information about cell function. The Core lab works with UW-SRP scientists to measure both physiological and genetic changes associated with neurotoxic exposures in humans and wildlife.
A successful Northwest Children's Environmental Health Forum was held near Seattle, in December 2013. This was the third in a series of biennial conferences on children's environmental health. The focus of this educational forum was harmful environmental exposures that may occur before and during pregnancy.
Keum Young Lee, a Superfund Research Program Trainee at the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, received her doctorate in December, 2013. Keum's leading-edge research has opened the door for certain long-lived tree species to be considered as viable field study candidates for chlorpyrifos phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is the use of plants to clean up contaminated soil.
Each year since 2005, the Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition (NWTCC) has held a summit-style annual organizational meeting. The coalition was originally conceived by a handful of community groups that were working independently on their local waste site or pollution issues, and faced multiple layers of challenges and uncertainty. Today the NWTCC includes members from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington representing a broad geographic region and sharing many common experiences.
Dr. Evan Gallagher has been engaged in environmental toxicology research for 25 years and has been using aquatic models to study the effects of cadmium, copper and chlorpyrifos (ATSDR priority hazards) in his UW-Superfund Research Project since 2005.
Dr. Jim Gawel was the invited speaker at the UW-SRP Agency Seminar at EPA Region 10 this summer. Dr. Gawel is an Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Engineering, University of Washington Tacoma. Jim shared his recent research findings on arsenic fate, transport, and bioavailability in regional lakes.
When Toluwalose (Tolu) Okitika arrived in Seattle as a Master of Public Health student in the Environmental and Occupational Health Program, she was already well versed in environmental health issues that impact regional communities in Nigeria. In 2012-13, Tolu was involved in two research projects at the University of Washington (UW) School of Public Health. She initially worked with Dr. Judith Wasserheit in the Department of Global Health.
The Linnton Neighborhood Association (LNA) offers many services for their community in Portland, Oregon. The LNA was formed to provide a forum to help unify residents and businesses around common interests that impact their quality of life. The LNA supports activities for seniors and youth, and offers tutoring for children. The association also has an environmental watchdog group tasked with monitoring and responding to activities that could negatively impact their community.
The South Seattle Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group was formed a few years after the Lower Duwamish Waterway in Seattle was officially named a Superfund site. The group came together in response to requests from communities for improved communications between local and federal agencies, organizations working on environmental health issues and impacted community members.
A new approach to identifying and characterizing an individual's exposure to organophosphorus (OP) compounds has been developed by researcher Judit Marsillach and her colleagues in the Superfund Research Program laboratory of Dr. Clement Furlong. OPs are among the most common causes of poisoning worldwide, with three million cases of pesticide poisonings per year.
Region 10 EPA says it in their publications: “Your comments on the proposed plan are important. Your comments may make a difference.” The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition Technical Advisory Group says it to newscasters, in editorials and at public meetings: “Public comments regarding EPA’s proposed plans have changed the plan and improved cleanup.” The word is out and it’s written in the multiple languages spoken in the area: “There are 20 Days left to make a difference, the public comment period closes on June 13th!”