Archives
News: 2009
Pitt project examining environmental threats in region
November 10, 2009 — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Are mercury levels in Pittsburgh-area rivers a health threat? If so, how big a threat? What are the risks from coal waste impoundments & gas well drilling operations? What about emissions from power plants, specific industrial facilities or diesel engine-powered construction equipment & tow boats?
A comprehensive environmental health risk analysis for southwestern Pennsylvania, recently started by the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Healthy Environments & Communities, aims to provide some answers to those questions & dozens more. Read more»
Dr. Volz recognized as one of GASP's 40 Environmental Heroes in 2009
October 23, 2009 — Who else was honored? (PDF)
Surge in gas drilling amplifies debate over water treatment rules in PA
September 6, 2009 — Tribune-Review
A battle is brewing over proposed rules designed to protect the state's water resources from high levels of pollutants — action prompted by a boom in natural gas drilling that generates millions of gallons of wastewater laced with salts and chemicals. Read more»
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 more»
American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, November 7-11, 2009
CHEC had 5 abstracts accepted for publication & presentation at the 137th annual APHA meeting in Philadelphia, PA. Links to the abstracts, times & locations of the presentations are listed below:
- Community-based participatory environmental health research to improve water quality on a major water source in Southwestern PA. Abstract #197439»
- Coal combustion waste placement in PA; An environmental justice issue with implications for contamination of surface & ground waters & human & ecological exposure via inhalation & ingestion. Abstract# 202076»
- Community participatory driven research; Comparisons of water quality variables & concentrations of toxic elements downstream from Allegheny River gravel mining operations during periods of activity & inactivity. Abstract# 200296»
- An evaluation of the Pittsburgh Healthy Home Resources Environmental Asthma Intervention; Assessing primary caretaker changes of knowledge, attitudes & beliefs concerning their ability to care for their child. Abstract# 204200»
- A revised Aquatic Hazard Assessment of Bisphenol A: Evidence that current risk models may not be sufficiently protective. Abstract# 203316»
Coal Combustion Waste & Water Quality testimony
April 30, 2009
Dan Volz, MPH, DrPH testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Water Resources & Environment regarding “Coal Combustion Waste & Water Quality." The Subcommittee requested testimony regarding the water quality impacts of coal combustion waste storage & what actions should be taken to mitigate these impacts. Read testimony»
Toxic metals in Valley fish exceed Pittsburgh's
April 21, 2009 — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Mercury, arsenic & selenium found in fish sampled in the Allegheny River from Springdale north to Ford City were found at levels significantly higher than in fish in the Pittsburgh area, according to a new study. Read more»
Directive to PPG Industries by PADEP
March 9, 2009
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), along with evidence from the research of the Allegheny River Stewardship Project, has issued a directive to PPG industries to collect & treat wastewater at Armstrong County site. Read more»
SAHA’s coal-ash residue
February 11, 2009 — San Antonio Current — Read article»
Dust Mights
January 21, 2009 — San Antonio Current
SAHA’s digging up coal ash at its old Swift site. Neighbors say they’re getting the blowback. Dr. Dan Volz visits Tennessee Valley Authority Fly Ash Disaster & comments. Read more»
News: 2008
Tennessee Valley Coal Ash Spill Buries 400 Acres, Damages Homes
December 23, 2008 — ENS Newswire
A retaining wall at the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Kingston coal-fired power plant collapsed early Monday morning, causing 2.6 million cubic yards of fly ash to be spilled across hundreds of acres. Read more»
Drill press: Environmental, sportsmen's groups want stricter regulation of natural gas projects
November 28, 2008 — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thirteen environmental and sportsmen's organizations have asked the state to do a better job regulating water use and disposal by deep natural gas well drillers that are rushing to tap into the potentially lucrative Marcellus Shales geologic formation. Read more»
Heinz Endowments Funds Center for Healthy Environments and Communities at GSPH
September 29, 2008 — Pitt Chronicle
In an effort to expand environmental public health efforts in Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH), the Heinz Endowments has awarded $200,000 to the school’s Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC). The grant will help support the Allegheny River Stewardship Project, a community-based environmental health project exploring water contamination in the Allegheny River, one of CHEC’s flagship programs. Read more»
Drugs found in drinking water
September 2008 — Associated Press (AP)
The AP released an article on various medications found in water in various places in the United States. Read more»
Local anglers are invited to catch fish for river research
May 4, 2008 — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
University of Pittsburgh professor, Dr. Conrad Volz, is examining the presence of contaminants in fish in the river. His earlier studies detected high levels of mercury and selenium in channel catfish in Kittanning and pharmaceutical hormones in fish in the Pittsburgh area. Read more»
Something Fishy in Pittsburgh: Studies Suggest Water Pollution Still Pervasive
Spring 2008 — University of Pittsburgh Research Review
New research at the University of Pittsburgh suggests that pollution in the region’s rivers continues to present a health threat to residents who use the local water supply and eat fish caught here. Read more» (PDF)
Mercury found in the air in Ford City, Clearfield
April 24, 2009 — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review — Read article»
What's in Your Water?
April 17, 2008 — Chicago Tribune
The Tribune finds trace amounts of drugs and chemicals — including anti-seizure medication and a Teflon ingredient — in Lake Michigan drinking water. Read more»
Study to search rivers for drug contaminants
March 31, 2008 — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Two environmental agencies will take a closer look at pharmaceutical and hormone contaminants in the Allegheny River and other local waterways this summer. Read more»
Dr. Volz interviewed on ABC Healthy Life
March 11, 2008 — ABC News
See Dr. Volz's interview on the program, Healthy Life: Water Contaminants. Watch video»
Study to check health of the Allegheny River
February 25, 2008 — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Scientists will swarm the Allegheny River this spring for research projects that will collectively become one of the most comprehensive studies of aquatic life in the region. Read more»
News: 2007
Region's abundance of water raises risks
December 26, 2007 — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
As "water wars" migrate east, the Pittsburgh region stands out as a place where water abounds. But experts say that doesn't mean the water here is safe from problems. Read more»
Breast Cancer Cells Thrive in Polluted Fish
December 2007 — Breast Cancer Fund — Read newsletter»
Store-bought Freshwater Fish Contain Elevated Levels Of Mercury, Arsenic & Selenium
November 8, 2007 — Science Daily (press release) — Read article»
Fish Consumption Research Featured on WQED OnQ
October 1, 2007 — WQED's OnQ
OnQ featured the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health's (GSPH) Pittsburgh Fish Consumption Study, as part of its weeklong series on health and cancer, on Thursday, November 17, at 7:30 p.m. The segment titled "What's in the Water" follows Dan Volz, DrPH, MPH, as he and local anglers, who are donating their catch, fish for white bass and channel catfish from Pittsburgh's three rivers. Once caught, the fish will be analyzed for levels of heavy metals and chemicals with estrogen-like activity in order to gauge the health risks of fish consumption. According to Dr. Volz, "Fish are like canaries in the coal mine." Watch video or download a more detailed project description (PDF).
Home program finds friendly visits are helping families of children with asthma
July 4, 2007 — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — Read article»
Fish study raises red flag on water supply
June 21, 2007 — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — Read article»
New Kind Of Canary In Coal Mine?
April 11, 2007 — WPXI News
Trout season is just a few days away, but are the fish you catch in Pittsburgh area waters safe to eat? That is what Conrad Daniel Volz, DrPH, MPH, a researcher with the University of Pittsburgh Center for Environmental Oncology, is trying to determine. He is heading up a study that is looking at contamination in area rivers. Read more»
News: 2006
Agent Orange health study ending
September 20, 2006 — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review — Read article»
News: 2005
Community Information System to Benefit Pittsburgh Neighborhoods
December 21, 2005 — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Developed for the city by an academic and nonprofit partnership, CIS is a map-based computer tool that lets the user see real-time conditions on any property. Planners can spot trends and patterns of use and misuse, see potential for improved use and where planning now can reduce problems later. Read more»
No contamination found at Alaska A-bomb test site
September 11, 2005 — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
A scientific expedition to a remote Aleutian island led by a University of Pittsburgh researcher has found no signs of radioactive waste seeping from the largest underground nuclear explosion in the nation's history. Read more»
Pitt researchers fish for mutants
July 18, 2005 — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Male smallmouth bass developing eggs in the Potomac, carp with low sperm counts in Nevada's Lake Mead and white suckers with male and female characteristics in Colorado's South Platte River have Pittsburgh researchers wondering what might be found in Western Pennsylvania's three rivers. Read more»
Area aid workers see tsunami's wrath
June 13, 2005 — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review — Read article»
Previous CHEC Events: 2009
2009 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Exposition
Philadelphia, PA
November 7-11, 2009 — All Day Event
CHEC Presenters: CD
Volz, C Christen, D Michanowicz, K Ferrar
The APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition is the oldest & largest gathering of public health professionals in the world.
CHEC had 5 abstracts accepted. Learn more»
2009 National Environmental Public Health Conference
Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, Atlanta, GA
October 28, 2009
CHEC Presenter: Conrad Dan Volz, DrPH, MPH — "An exploratory study of mercury release data with biomarkers of neuro-developmental disorders in children from Southwestern PA" Abstract»
GSPH Informational Marketplace
Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA
October 26, 2009
CHEC had an informational booth as part of GSPH's Open House for prospective students.
Grow Your Knowledge of Cancer: Prevention & Detection Conference
St. John's Episcopal Church, Sharon, PA |
Leslie N Firth Learning Center, Mercer, PA October 6, 2009 CHEC Speaker: Charles Christen, MEd, LPC "Environmental Factors and Cancer Risk" |
24th International Activated Carbon Conference
Holiday Inn, Pittsburgh, PA
October 6-7, 2009
CHEC Speaker: Conrad Dan Volz, DrPH, MPH
Title: "Endocrine Disruptors Problems & Solutions" Read more»
Third Annual Rachel Carson Legacy Conference
"When Chemicals Disrupt: Managing Our Risks"
September 25, 2009
Bidwell Training Center, Pittsburgh, PA
CHEC Speaker: Conrad Dan Volz, DrPH, MPH
Title: "Wildlife Effects from Exposure to Xenoestrogens: State of the Science"
Opening Pandora's Box - Coal & Your Health: From Cradle to Grave
May 21, 2009
CHEC Speaker: Conrad Dan Volz, DrPH, MPH - Forum 1: Water»
Coal Combustion Waste & Water Quality testimony
April 30, 2009
CHEC Speaker:
Dan Volz, MPH, DrPH testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Water Resources & Environment regarding “Coal Combustion Waste & Water Quality." The Subcommittee requested testimony regarding the water quality impacts of coal combustion waste storage & what actions should be taken to mitigate these impacts.
Read testimony (PDF)»
ARSP Community Meeting
March 16, 2009
Allegheny Township Community Building, Leechburg, PA
Community Meeting to present results of the Allegheny River Stewardship Project
Ecological & Human Health Risk from Coal Combustion Waste
March 11, 2009
Kent State University
CHEC Speaker: Conrad Dan Volz, DrPH, MPH
CHEC Brochures
Current Version: 2009 | Previous Versions: 2007-2008 | 2005-2007
