Community-Based Health and Exposure Study around Urban Oil Developments in South Los Angeles.

Oilfield-adjacent communities often report symptoms such as headaches and/or asthma. Yet, little data exists on health experiences and exposures in urban environments with oil and gas development. In partnership with Promotoras de Salud (community health workers), we gathered household surveys nearby two oil production sites in Los Angeles. We tested the capacity of low-cost sensors for localized exposure estimates. Bilingual surveys of 205 randomly sampled residences were collected within two 1500 ft. buffer areas (West Adams and University Park) surrounding oil development sites. We used a one-sample proportion test, comparing overall rates from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) of Service Planning Area 6 (SPA6) and Los Angeles County for variables of interest such as asthma. Field calibrated low-cost sensors recorded methane emissions. Physician diagnosed asthma rates were reported to be higher within both buffers than in SPA6 or LA County. Asthma prevalence in West Adams but not University Park was significantly higher than in Los Angeles County. Respondents with diagnosed asthma reported rates of emergency room visits in the previous 12 months similar to SPA6. 45% of respondents were unaware of oil development; 63% of residents would not know how to contact local regulatory authorities. Residents often seek information about their health and site-related activities. Low-cost sensors may be useful in highlighting differences between sites or recording larger emission events and can provide localized data alongside resident-reported symptoms. Regulatory officials should help clarify information to the community on methods for reporting health symptoms. Our community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership supports efforts to answer community questions as residents seek a safety buffer between sensitive land uses and active oil development

Bridging Bays, Bridging Borders: Global Justice and Community Organizing in the San Francisco Bay Area

We offer this document as our own effort to build the inclusion and understandings that will help both communities and leaders recognize the grassroots wisdom and issues that could help us realize the positive impacts from globalization and minimize the negative aspects that have concerned us all. Another world is possible, but it is up to us to build it

Examining differences in menstrual and intimate care product use by race/ethnicity and education among menstruating individuals

IntroductionUnited States consumers spend over two billion dollars a year on intimate care products. These products, along with scented menstrual products, are marketed for odor control, perceived “freshness,” and vaginal/vulvar cleanliness. However, these scent-altering products may increase exposure to carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Prior research has not adequately characterized demographic differences in product use. The objective of our study is to examine racial/ethnic and educational differences in menstrual and intimate care product use among people who menstruate.MethodsWe pooled data from two US-based cross sectional studies to examine demographic characteristics and product use in 661 participants aged 18–54 years. Participants reported use of scented and unscented menstrual products (tampons, sanitary pads, and menstrual cups) and intimate care products (vaginal douches, sprays, wipes, and powders). We examined differences by race/ethnicity and education using log-binomial regression and latent class analysis (LCA), which can identify groups based on product use patterns.ResultsOur sample was 33.4% Black, 30.9% Latina, 18.2% White, and 16.2% another identity. Approximately half the population had a bachelor's degree or more; 1.4% identified as transgender and 1.8% as non-binary. In adjusted models, scent-altering products (i.e., scented menstrual and intimate care products) were more likely to be used by those with less formal education (p < 0.05). Unscented menstrual products were more likely to be used by those with more formal education. Compared to Black participants, White participants were more likely to use unscented tampons and menstrual cups and less likely to use douches and wipes (p < 0.05). Using LCA we identified two groups: one more likely to use scent-altering products, and a second more likely to use unscented menstrual products. Less education and older age, but not race/ethnicity, was significantly associated with membership in the group more likely to use scent-altering products. While sex/gender composition did not statistically vary across groups, all non-binary participants fell in the unscented menstrual product group.DiscussionLower educational attainment was consistently associated with greater use of scent-altering menstrual and intimate care products. Future research should examine associations between body odor stigma, product use, and health risks at intersections of race, class, and gender

Body Burden Politics: How Biomonitoring Data is Influencing Chemicals Governance in the U.S.

This dissertation investigates how the proliferation of biomonitoring research in government, academic, industry, and advocacy arenas is influencing chemicals governance in the United States. Biomonitoring, the technology that allows for the measure of synthetic chemicals in human blood, breast milk, and other tissues, has rapidly emerged as a valuable tool for assessing exposures to toxic chemicals. Still, it remains a contested science since many chemicals that can be measured have not been the subject of health studies and are not associated with regulatory benchmarks. Scientists from industry, advocacy organizations, and government engage in heated debates about the implications of biomonitoring data for regulation. As biomonitoring technology has become more widely accessible, social movements have increasingly leveraged biomonitoring data to demonstrate the extent of toxic exposures. Through case studies of the chemicals bisphenol A and chlorpyrifos, this dissertation investigates the circumstances under which biomonitoring data has been successfully leveraged by social movements to compel product substitutions and chemical phase-outs. It also examines the ongoing challenges to deploying biomonitoring data towards systemic change, particularly in vulnerable communities such as workers and fenceline communities, despite extensive health evidence. This dissertation adds to literatures in environmental justice, environmental health, and science and technology studies, in order to better understand and therefore address the complex relationships among toxic chemicals, humans, and the environment

Chlorpyrifos contamination across the food system Shifting science, regulatory challenges, and implications for public health

Chlorpyrifos is one of the most widely used pesticides in the world since it was developed in the 1960s, yet it is little known by the public despite growing certainty of its harm to human health and the environment. This chapter traces chlorpyrifos’ legacy on the eve of its ban by the EPA, more than three decades since it became the majority replacement pesticide following the ban of DDT. Over-the-counter sales of the chemical ended in 2000 because of the overwhelming evidence of damage to children, but agricultural uses persisted. Over the past three decades, farmworkers' advocates, environmentalists, and environmental health scientists have documented harm in exposed groups and exerted ongoing pressure on regulatory agencies to curb the chemical's use. This article examines the conflict over chlorpyrifos and argues for a food systems and precautionary public health based approach to regulatory decision-making over pesticides. Ongoing contestations by scientists over the meaning and interpretation of chemical exposures despite mounting evidence of widespread population exposures to multiple chemicals require new frameworks for approaching pesticide regulation. The case of chlorpyrifos also raises important questions about replacement chemicals which themselves can prove to be problematic

Chlorpyrifos contamination across the food system Shifting science, regulatory challenges, and implications for public health

Chlorpyrifos is one of the most widely used pesticides in the world since it was developed in the 1960s, yet it is little known by the public despite growing certainty of its harm to human health and the environment. This chapter traces chlorpyrifos’ legacy on the eve of its ban by the EPA, more than three decades since it became the majority replacement pesticide following the ban of DDT. Over-the-counter sales of the chemical ended in 2000 because of the overwhelming evidence of damage to children, but agricultural uses persisted. Over the past three decades, farmworkers' advocates, environmentalists, and environmental health scientists have documented harm in exposed groups and exerted ongoing pressure on regulatory agencies to curb the chemical's use. This article examines the conflict over chlorpyrifos and argues for a food systems and precautionary public health based approach to regulatory decision-making over pesticides. Ongoing contestations by scientists over the meaning and interpretation of chemical exposures despite mounting evidence of widespread population exposures to multiple chemicals require new frameworks for approaching pesticide regulation. The case of chlorpyrifos also raises important questions about replacement chemicals which themselves can prove to be problematic

Neighborhood Oil Drilling and Environmental Justice in Los Angeles

Why are we warned about some toxic spaces and substances and not others? The essays in Inevitably Toxic consider the exposure of bodies in the United States, Canada and Japan to radiation, industrial waste, and pesticides

Neighborhood Oil Drilling and Environmental Justice in Los Angeles

Why are we warned about some toxic spaces and substances and not others? The essays in Inevitably Toxic consider the exposure of bodies in the United States, Canada and Japan to radiation, industrial waste, and pesticides