Surface Sampling Methods for Bacillus anthracis Spore Contamination

During an investigation conducted December 17–20, 2001, we collected environmental samples from a U.S. postal facility in Washington, D.C., known to be extensively contaminated with Bacillus anthracis spores. Because methods for collecting and analyzing B. anthracis spores have not yet been validated, our objective was to compare the relative effectiveness of sampling methods used for collecting spores from contaminated surfaces. Comparison of wipe, wet and dry swab, and HEPA vacuum sock samples on nonporous surfaces indicated good agreement between results with HEPA vacuum and wipe samples. However, results from HEPA vacuum sock and wipe samples agreed poorly with the swab samples. Dry swabs failed to detect spores >75% of the time they were detected by wipe and HEPA vacuum samples. Wipe samples collected after HEPA vacuum samples and HEPA vacuum samples after wipe samples indicated that neither method completely removed spores from the sampled surfaces

Who Believes in Me? The Effect of Student-Teacher Demographic Match on Teacher Expectations

Teachers are an important source of information for traditionally disadvantaged students. However, little is known about how teachers form expectations and whether they are systematically biased. We investigate whether student-teacher demographic mismatch affects high school teachers’ expectations for students’ educational attainment. Using a student fixed effects strategy that exploits expectations data from two teachers per student, we find that non-black teachers of black students have significantly lower expectations than do black teachers. These effects are larger for black male students and math teachers. Our findings add to a growing literature on the role of limited information in perpetuating educational attainment gaps

Flavoring exposure in food manufacturing

Flavorings are substances that alter or enhance the taste of food. Workers in the food-manufacturing industry, where flavorings are added to many products, may be exposed to any number of flavoring compounds. Although thousands of flavoring substances are in use, little is known about most of these in terms of worker health effects, and few have occupational exposure guidelines. Exposure assessment surveys were conducted at nine food production facilities and one flavor manufacturer where a total of 105 area and 74 personal samples were collected for 13 flavoring compounds including five ketones, five aldehydes, and three acids. The majority of the samples were below the limit of detection (LOD) for most compounds. Diacetyl had eight area and four personal samples above the LOD, whereas 2,3-pentanedione had three area samples above the LOD. The detectable values ranged from 25–3124 ppb and 15–172 ppb for diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione respectively. These values exceed the proposed National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended exposure limit for these compounds. The aldehydes had the most detectable samples, with each of them having >50% of the samples above the LOD. Acetaldehyde had all but two samples above the LOD, however, these samples were below the OSHA PEL. It appears that in the food-manufacturing facilities surveyed here, exposure to the ketones occurs infrequently, however levels above the proposed NIOSH REL were found. Conversely, aldehyde exposure appears to be ubiquitous

Environmentally Just Futures: A Collection of Community-Driven African Environmental Education and Improvement Initiatives

Advocating for healthy environments is a matter of justice. Changes in environments have tremendous impacts on the health of communities, and oftentimes, individuals are unable to safeguard themselves through individual actions alone. Efforts frequently require collective action and are often most effective when led by the communities most impacted. In this spirit, we launched “Vibrations”, an African environment photo essay contest. Through funding and publicity, we aimed to support community-led environmental improvement and education initiatives presently taking place on the continent. We received nearly two dozen submissions and selected eight winners. The winners come from five countries (Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, and South Africa) and have taken on a range of projects aimed at improving environments across a variety of African regions. Projects included efforts to combat pollution, create environmentally conscious school curricula, utilize clean energy sources, and spread awareness about environmental justice concerns in local communities. It is our hope that this report highlights these transformative community-driven efforts, promotes continued conversations on environmental justice in Africa, and encourages meaningful action via policy changes and collaborations throughout the African continent and beyond.</jats:p

Environmentally Just Futures: A Collection of Community-Driven African Environmental Education and Improvement Initiatives

Advocating for healthy environments is a matter of justice. Changes in environments have tremendous impacts on the health of communities, and oftentimes, individuals are unable to safeguard themselves through individual actions alone. Efforts frequently require collective action and are often most effective when led by the communities most impacted. In this spirit, we launched &ldquo;Vibrations&rdquo;, an African environment photo essay contest. Through funding and publicity, we aimed to support community-led environmental improvement and education initiatives presently taking place on the continent. We received nearly two dozen submissions and selected eight winners. The winners come from five countries (Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, and South Africa) and have taken on a range of projects aimed at improving environments across a variety of African regions. Projects included efforts to combat pollution, create environmentally conscious school curricula, utilize clean energy sources, and spread awareness about environmental justice concerns in local communities. It is our hope that this report highlights these transformative community-driven efforts, promotes continued conversations on environmental justice in Africa, and encourages meaningful action via policy changes and collaborations throughout the African continent and beyond

Pesticide dose estimates for children od Iowa farmers and non-farmers

Farm children have the potential to be exposed to pesticides. Biological monitoring is often employed to assess this exposure; however, the significance of the exposure is uncertain unless doses are estimated. In the spring and summer of 2001, 118 children (66 farm, 52 non-farm) of Iowa farm and non-farm households were recruited to participate in a study investigating potential take-home pesticide exposure. Each child provided an evening and morning urine sample at two visits spaced approximately 1 month apart, with the first sample collection taken within a few days after pesticide application. Estimated doses were calculated for atrazine, metolachlor, chlorpyrifos, and glyphosate from urinary metabolite concentrations derived from the spot urine samples and compared to EPA reference doses. For all pesticides except glyphosate, the doses from farm children were higher than doses from the non-farm children. The difference was statistically significant for atrazine (p<0.0001) but only marginally significant for chlorpyrifos and metolachlor (p=0.07 and 0.1, respectively). Among farm children, geometric mean doses were higher for children on farms where a particular pesticide was applied compared to farms where that pesticide was not applied for all pesticides except glyphosate; results were significant for atrazine (p=0.030) and metolachlor (p=0.042), and marginally significant for chlorpyrifos (p=0.057). The highest estimated doses for atrazine, chlorpyrifos, metolachlor, and glyphosate were 0.085, 1.96, 3.16, and 0.34 μg/kg/day, respectively. None of the doses exceeded any of the EPA reference values for atrazine, metolachlor, and glyphosate; however, all of the doses for chlorpyrifos exceeded the EPA chronic population adjusted reference value. Doses were similar for male and female children. A trend of decreasing dose with increasing age was observed for chlorpyrifos