Category Archives: public health law

Happy Public Health Week

Posted on April 16, 2014 by tbach

Public Health Law Research (PHLR), a grantee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has been celebrating National Public Health Week by contributing graphics and posts on the specific role that public health law plays in improving human health.  PHLR’s research agenda is … Continue reading →

Posted in environmental health law, lead, public health law, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Happy Public Health Week

New FDA guidance on antibiotic (antimicrobial) use in cows, pigs, and chickens

Posted on December 12, 2013 by tbach

Human antibiotic resistance has been on the radar for several years, but did you know that antibiotic-resistant infections kill 23,000 people in the U.S. and make another 2 million sick each year?  Some of this resistance has come from medical … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, agriculture and human health, animal welfare, antibiotics in livestock, antimicrobials, environmental health, FDA, food contamination, Food processing industry, public health, public health law | Tagged | Comments Off on New FDA guidance on antibiotic (antimicrobial) use in cows, pigs, and chickens

Senator Frank Lautenberg, environmental public health advocate

Posted on June 3, 2013 by tbach

Senator Lautenberg, who has figured so prominently in this blog for the past week, died this morning.  He was 89.  A five-term senator from New Jersey, he came to public service after a career in business, at the end of … Continue reading →

Posted in carcinogens, chemical safety regulation, congress, environmental health, environmental health law, environmental justice, government, precautionary principle, public health, public health law, synthetic chemicals, TSCA, vulnerable populations | Comments Off on Senator Frank Lautenberg, environmental public health advocate

Meat with a side of Drug Resistant Bacteria

Posted on April 19, 2013 by msinnott

Last month, the FDA released the 10th National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System Retail Meat Annual Report. The results showed, among other things, that 81% of ground turkey, 69% of pork chops, 55% of ground beef, and 39% of chicken sold … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, agriculture and human health, animal welfare, CAFO's, environmental health, environmental health law, food contamination, public health, public health law, Vegetarian/Vegan | Comments Off on Meat with a side of Drug Resistant Bacteria

U.S. government agreed to clean up its “mess” in Vietnam

Posted on April 16, 2013 by KarenLee

On August 9, 2012, the United States initiated a project to “clean  up” herbicides including Agent Orange used in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. A large amount of toxic chemicals were used in Vietnam by the U.S. government to discover … Continue reading →

Posted in carcinogens, DDT, dioxins, environmental health, environmental health law, environmental justice, environmental law, pesticides, public health, public health law | Comments Off on U.S. government agreed to clean up its “mess” in Vietnam

The Rehberg Amendment’s $214,775 Price Tag

Posted on April 11, 2013 by ju11

Black lung is a disease that afflicts coal miners. It is both incurable and irreversible in later stages.  It is caused by inhalation of excessive amounts of coal mine dust.  According to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety … Continue reading →

Posted in environmental health, environmental health law, environmental justice, environmental law, Fine Air Particulates, pollution control standards, public health, public health law, risk assessment, risk management, Uncategorized, vulnerable populations | Comments Off on The Rehberg Amendment’s $214,775 Price Tag

Health Impact Assessments: A Tool to Determine the Health Impacts of Government Policies

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Emily Dupraz

As individuals, we tend to consider all of consequences before we make an important decision. When we buy a car, for example, we consider how much we want to spend, where we plan to drive, who we plan to transport, … Continue reading →

Posted in built environment, CDC, environmental health, environmental health law, environmental justice, international law, public health, public health law, public participation process, risk assessment, risk management, WHO | Comments Off on Health Impact Assessments: A Tool to Determine the Health Impacts of Government Policies

Creating the Crave

Posted on March 28, 2013 by smooney

The Trinity of Addiction and its Environmental Health impacts A recent article in the New York Times Magazine spoke mainly to the public health problem of processed food and obesity, but also contained an undercurrent about environmental health and how … Continue reading →

Posted in environmental health, FDA, Food processing industry, public health law, Uncategorized, WHO | Comments Off on Creating the Crave

New Disease Cluster Legislation Introduced in the Senate

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Emily Dupraz

  Identifying disease clusters is one way environmental health advocates have been able to link the causation of cancer to releases of toxic chemicals in the environment. According to the National Cancer Institute, a disease cluster is “the occurrence of a … Continue reading →

Posted in environmental health, environmental health law, EPA, precautionary principle, public health, public health law, Uncategorized | Comments Off on New Disease Cluster Legislation Introduced in the Senate

What’s Next for the Great Lakes?

Posted on March 4, 2013 by mkyle

Harmful Algae Blooms Threaten Lake Erie The World’s Largest Source of Freshwater The Great Lakes contain the world’s largest supply of freshwater. In fact, according to NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), the Great Lakes contain 18% of the world’s supply … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, agriculture and human health, algal blooms, Clean Water Act, climate change and health, dead zones, drinking water, environmental health, environmental health law, EPA, Great Lakes, nonpoint source pollution, phosphorus, pollution control standards, public health, public health law, routes of exposure, water quality standards | Comments Off on What’s Next for the Great Lakes?