busph environmental health

Spring 2012 Gijs van Seventer Doctoral Seminar

Organized by: Colleen Makey, Judy Ou, and Jean van Seventer
- Contact: Jean van Seventer, jvsevent@bu.edu
Location: BU School of Medicine Instructional Building Campus Map, L210
Time: Noon - 1PM

From Pests to Poisons: Basic Science, Epidemiology, and the Policy of Pesticides

This seminar series will provide an overview of the basic science, epidemiology, uses, and policy of pesticide use. Speakers will cover the mechanisms of pesticide action, means by which humans and insects are exposed, human health outcomes of exposure, and the policy debates over pesticide use.

Date	Mini-Series	Speaker	Title	Abstracts and Readings
January 27	Fate and Transport	Hotze Wijnja Environmental Chemist, Division of Crop and Pest Services, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources	Environmental Fate and Transport of Pesticides This presentation will cover the principle processes that govern the environmental fate and mobility of pesticides, including dissipation processes and off-target movement of applied pesticides. Regulatory aspects will also be addressed.	Recommended Reading: Monitoring Study.pdf Pesticides Environment.pdf
February 3	Fate and Transport	Hotze Wijnja Environmental Chemist, Division of Crop and Pest Services, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources	Exposure and risk assessments of pesticide and pesticide product ingredients in surface and ground water: Case studies conducted for pesticide program needs in MA Three case studies on pesticide exposure and risk assessments that were conducted in the context of the pesticide regulatory program in MA will be presented: 1) Surface water exposure and ecologic risk of surfactants present in herbicide products used for right-of-way vegetation management; 2) Ground and surface water exposure and risk from herbicide use in rights-of-way on Cape Cod; 3) Monitoring study on the occurrence of pesticides in Spy Pond (Arlington, MA) and Aberjona River (MA).	Recommended Reading: Ecological Risk Assessment.pdf
February 10		Chris Gill Associate Professor, International Health, BUSPH	Malaria Control and DDT Dr. Gill will discuss some of the pros and cons of using DDT for malaria control or as part of a potential eradication campaign in the current age.	Recommended Reading: Rogan.pdf
February 17	Regulation	Wendy Heiger-Bernays Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Health, BUSPH	Regulation of Pesticides in the US Pesticide use in the US continues to increase. This multi-billion dollar industry is regulated at the federal level, with some conditions allowed in the states. In this seminar we trace the life of a "new" pesticide from production to your hardware store or table, focusing on the steps in this regulatory process that require scientific, rather than economic considerations.	Recommended Reading: Tenenbaum 2008.pdf Risk Assessment.pdf
February 24		Henrik Selin Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, BU	Global Chemicals Management: The Science and Politics of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) This presentation focuses on global chemicals management and the past, present and future of the Stockholm Convention on POPs. It examines important and overlapping science and policy issues for better protecting human health and the environment from persistent, toxic, and bioaccumulating substances.	Recommended Reading: Chapter 1.pdf Additional Reading: Chapter 7.pdf
March 2		Brenda Eskenazi Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of California, Berkeley	Pesticides and Child Health Dr. Eskenazi will discuss ...	Recommended Reading: tba.pdf
March 9		Al De Maria Medical Director, William A. Hinton State Laboratory Institute Bureau of Infectious Disease Prevention, Massachusetts Department of Public Health	Balancing Risk and Benefit in Controlling an Endemic Arbovirus Disease This presentation will give an overview of the history of eastern equine encephalitis in Massachusetts, and it's control and controversies arising out of control efforts. Case studies from the past 10 years in Massachusetts will be discussed.	Recommended Reading: Human EEE in MA.pdf Additional Reading: Case Report MGH.pdf MMWR EEE.pdf Media Cancer EEE.pdf
March 16	Spring Break
March 23		Richard Pollack Chair, Mosquito Advisory Group at Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, Commissioner at Norfolk County Mosquito Control Commission, Public Health Entomologist at HSPH	Differing perspectives on the burdens imposed by mosquitoes, mosquito-borne disease and interventions. Elected/appointed officials and members of the public often have wildly divergent views on the risks and burdens caused by mosquitoes and mosquito-borne disease, as well as the expectations and risks associated with interventions. Case studies will illustrate selection of appropriate thresholds for action and strategies.	Recommended Reading: Review 2010.pdf
March 30		Leslie London Director, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town	Pesticides, politics, and risks to emergent farmers: the contradictions of redress of inequalities in post-apartheid South Africa As South Africa grapples with post-apartheid reconstruction, policies that seek to redress inequalities resulting from race-based land dispossession by the previous government, may have unintended consequences. While intending to restore black farmers to the land and provide them with meaningful livelihoods, lant restitution policies have also followed neoliberal prescripts and put pressure on farmers to become commercially successful. This has lead to increased risks of exposure to hazardous chemicals and may, paradoxically, increase hazards for emergent black farmers in post-apartheid South Africa.	Recommended Reading: Human Rights and Health.pdf
April 6	TBA
April 13	TBA
April 20	TBA
April 27	TBA
April	Special Topic	Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine; VA Boston Healthcare System, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine http://www.bu.edu/aphasia/about-us/affiliated-researchers/carole-palumbo-ph-d Dr. Palumbo will provide an overview of different types of neuroimaging, including how the images are created, what information is derived from each imaging technique and how the images are analyzed. Examples will then be shown of how these techniques may be applied to the study of neurotoxicant exposure.	The Use of Neuroimaging in the Assessment of Neurotoxicant Exposures	Readings: Palumbo_2011.pdf