Our Purpose
CHEC exists to help individuals & communities identify the most important environmental problems facing them; empowering & energizing them with tools to prioritize & develop their own action plans towards more sustainable solutions for a healthy environment. Read more»
Project Highlight - PRETA
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Pittsburgh Regional Environmental Threat Analysis (PRETA) 2009 - 2010 | |||
| Environmental health encompasses all aspects of the natural & built environment that may affect human health. The characteristics of the Southwestern Pennsylvania region, from its legacy industries to diverse topography, make conducting an analysis of threats & barriers to environmental integrity & health of vital importance. CHEC has been charged by The Heinz Endowments to investigate the environmental threats that pose the highest risk to the Pittsburgh region, through a Pittsburgh Regional Environmental Threat Analysis – PRETA for short. The initial scope of PRETA will consist of the 10-county Southwestern PA region as defined by the Southwestern PA Commission. |
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What's New?
Social Media - Facebook
Find us on Facebook to keep up with our current projects! www.facebook.com
Heinz Endowments Renews Funding for CHEC
August 25, 2009 — To expand environmental public health efforts at the University Of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public, the Heinz Endowments has awarded $250,000 to the school’s Center for Healthy Environments & Communities (CHEC). The grant will help support the mission of the CHEC... Read more»
CHEC Awarded Grant for Program Evaluation of Childhood Environmental Asthma Control Project
September 1, 2009 — The Center for Healthy Environments and Communities has been awarded a $30,000 grant from Healthy Home Resources (HHR) of Pittsburgh. HHR provides assessment & remediation services to remove asthma triggers from the homes of children, living in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area, diagnosed with asthma. Read more»
In the News... 'Something's Fishy'
September 3, 2009, Pittsburgh City Paper — Modern humans live in a chemical soup. Auto fumes & food preservatives, prescription drugs & polyester dust ... we eat man-made chemicals, drink them, inhale them & absorb them through our skin. Read article»
Allegheny River Stewardship Project (ARSP)
ARSP is an effort by leading researchers, working together with concerned citizens of the Alle-Kiski Valley river communities, to determine the sources & types of river pollutants by monitoring the levels of toxins in fish living in the river. Read more»
Upcoming Events
Water Workshop 2009 - Water: A Global Crisis
November 21, 2009 — 8:30 AM
A Workshop for Science Teachers, Sponsored by Pittsburgh Regional Center for Science Teachers (PRCST) & the PA NASA Educator Resource Center (ERC)
Speakers: Dr. Jeanne M. VanBriesen of CMU & Drew Michanowicz, MPH of CHEC
Fee: $75.00 Limited to 20 teachers. Four ACT 48 hours.
For more information, contact: Jane Konrad, PRCST, konrad@pitt.edu
Calendar
Our History
CHEC was founded in 2004 at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) under a grant from the Heinz Endowments. Our mission is to improve environmental health in Western Pennsylvania through community-based research.
We take a community-based approach to analyzing the social, economic, political, policy, behavioral & geographical variables associated with environmental health issues, as well as the traditional physical-chemical aspects of local environmental health problems.
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