Kathleen's Environmental Health Blog

1. I read the Codex standards for olive oil, which I use frequently. There were 9 pages of information on safety standards used for olive oil, which was amazing to see - I had no idea that there are so many considerations for food safety. In thinking about what I ate today, and the amount of standards invoked, I would estimate that I probably had five foods that had health standards listed for them on Codex. 2. I work with a lot of people who experience homelessness and one thing I think of frequently is their lack of a refrigerator. They're at risk for then eating high amounts of processed foods that don't need to be refrigerated, or running the risk of having their food go bad without a refrigerator. 3. Nurses should buy meats that have not been treated with antibiotics, and should educate their patients to do the same. While the healthcare industry takes a lot of heat for antibiotic resistance, which is deserved to a certain extent, the agriculture industry should receive mo...

1. I work in a clinic that does not offer food to patients, so changing the food that we provide to organic isn't an option because we don't provide food. However, it would be important to engage patients in their buying choices, as well as attempting to get them involved in organic community gardens, if possible. I work in an FQHC and I'd bet that 99% of my patients would say that organic is too expensive for them. There's a lot of truth to this I'm sure, and as part of that, one thing that could be done is to lobby local government and state government to cover organic food options under CalFresh. 2. I'm a vegetarian so I often like to think that I avoid a lot of the harms from Factory Farms, and also like to think that I don't support Factory Farms by being a vegetarian, but I recognize that milk and cheese that I consume are probably also from factory farms. With the knowledge of how bad factory farms are for the environment, how inhumane they are for an...

1. San Francisco gets their tap water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. All I could could find was a list of generic contaminants that are present in the water - such as some bacteria, some viruses, salts and metals, pesticides, VOS, and radioactive materials. There were no examples of which were most common in the water. I found the testing and treatment of water from the reservoir information, but there was nothing listed about what the cutoff is for when water would be considered unsafe for consumption. It also stated that lead is not found in the water. There's certainly potential health risks for VOS, pesticides, bacteria, viruses, radioactive materials (and everything listed) - especially for vulnerable populations like kids, older adults, pregnant women, and immunocompromised.   2. Floods could carry all sorts of contaminants into the water reservoirs, leading to unsafe drinking water.   3. If I were to make a campaign for stopping drinking bottled water, it would be: 'D...

1. To make sure that there is safe water in my area, it's important to stop pollution, advocate for clean energy and alternatives to oil, advocate for no pesticides that could run off, as well as using natural products without chemicals in terms of cleaning supplies and beauty products.   I found a few organizations in the Bay Area that work on water protection. One of the most interesting that I found is called Baykeeper, and they work to monitor pollution in the Bay. One thing that I found really interesting about it is that they have a patrol boat that they have go around the Bay to investigate potentially harmful activities.   2. I love the idea of being a groundwater guardian in my community, and I loved reading about Ms. Seacrest's story and the fact that she became interested in groundwater after noting he son's illness. I love that she is self-educated, and also collaborated with a variety of people and professionals in bringing together communities to protect water...

I found an interesting article regarding Colorado's governor who signed an executive order to improve air quality, yet also is pro drilling for oil in Colorado - which negatively impacts the air there. I thought that this article was interesting in that it speaks to the fact that we can talk about climate change and how much we care about it as much as we want, but it takes concrete and real change to make a difference. 1. In order to create a national campaign on Radon, I would rally healthcare providers like NPs, RNs, and MDs to speak out on harmful effects of radon. I would work with public health departments across the United States to get promotional materials out to hospitals, clinics, and in populated areas. I'd also invest in making radon testing kits accessible for people to be able to test at home and provide information on steps to take if their home did have radon. I'd also get testimonies form people who got lung cancer due to radon exposure to use as promoti...

1. I had a tough time finding any information about an environment team at schools close to me in San Francisco. I looked through school websites as well as the department of public health's environmental health sector and couldn't find anything about the environment. I imagine that the head of facilities addresses environmental concerns, but I'd be curious to see in what ways a full on environmental team could make an impact in a school setting. 2. You could look for major sources of pollutants - like printers. It would also be important to change air filters. People can educate themselves on common sources of pollutants and do a thorough check in the school to attempt to reduce harm. School buses should be parked away from where kids wait. Painting should occur only if the windows are open and if the area is well aerated. 3. As a community health nurse, and a nurse in general, people respect the opinions of nurses. Nurses are the most trusted profession in the United ...

1. I live in San Francisco far from BART, so much of the transportation around me is bus based or driving. I live close to Golden Gate Park, which has 'the Wiggle' bike trail - which goes from GGP to the Mission, where I work, so I'm about to ride my bike to work which is great. Many students in my area utilize public transportation. I love that Golden Gate Park offers a place that is semi removed from the cars and industrialization of San Francisco. I would hope that having a hub of greenery and trees helps mitigate some of the environmental effects of living in San Francisco where there are so many cars. 2. I had never heard of the Health Impacts Assessment, but am so glad it exists. From my knowledge, there are no major projects happening around where I live, potentially because it is already so developed. I did live in Malawi for about a year, which is a developing country, and there was a lot of discussion happening there as to how to minimize deforestation (a huge i...