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Pages 1-10

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From page 1...
... The Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Science, Research, and Medicine held a regional workshop at the University of Iowa on November 29 and 30, 2004, to look at rural environmental health issues. Iowa, with its expanse of rural land area, growing agribusiness, aging population, and increasing immigrant population, provided an opportunity to explore environmental health in a region of the country that is not as densely populated.
From page 2...
... The definition of environmental health has evolved with research; therefore, the goals of environmental health should be to establish and maintain a healthy environment, to promote an environment that improves well-being both in function and in structure, and to allow the environment to be sustainable, said Roundtable member Donald Mattison of the National Institutes of Health. Rural America faces challenges such as poverty and isolation, limited access to health care, increasing prevalence of obesity, exposure to hazardous air and water pollutants, farm injuries, and a shrinking demographic.
From page 3...
... HEALTH AND THE RURAL ENVIRONMENT Significant differences exist between rural and urban populations and their health care delivery systems. When actions at the local rural community health level are planned or information on national policy decisions with implications for rural health is sought, it is important to understand the unique characteristics of rural communities, their environments, and the conditions under which health
From page 4...
... Therefore, systems that minimize ecological impacts and that transition agricultural practice to a new phase that features more renewable energy transformations must be the target of agroecologists and agricultural scientists, said Ricardo Salvador of Iowa State University. Some agricultural production practices have direct health effects, said Mark Ritchie of the Institute of Agricultural and Trade Policy.
From page 5...
... The program was created to manage the health concerns that have emerged as a result of complex environmental regulations, limited financial resources, an aging infrastructure, an aging population, and decreasing populations in rural communities. This program works with the towns as a nonregulatory program in a regulatory manner but using a community-based team process that assists local governments with assessing and solving local public health and environmental challenges, and the towns know and respect that, said Jackie Stumpff of NEP.
From page 6...
... The new Farm Bill included an expansion of land and water conservation programs, said Huntoon. Other grant programs added to the Farm Bill focused on biological product-based energy: ethanol, biodiesel, biomass research and development, and biorefinery development.
From page 7...
... Rural residents are also affected by water quality because they are drinking water from their own wells, which are not subject to the Safe Drinking Water Act, noted Schnoor. Shallow groundwater wells less than 50 feet deep are commonly contaminated with pesticides, nutrients, industrial chemicals, and various volatile organic carbon compounds (USGS, NAWQA, 2005)
From page 8...
... Also, people are often concerned that abandoned houses are a reservoir for rodents and insects that can travel to nearby homes, particularly in urban areas. Environmental health issues in the context of occupied housing include lead poisoning in children, carbon monoxide, fire and electrical hazards, water damage and mold, private wastewater treatment systems, the lack of rental housing codes, and improper sanitary conditions.
From page 9...
... Although the Roundtable defines environmental health in broad terms, not all aspects of environmental health could be discussed in their entirety during the limited time of the meeting. This workshop summary captures the presentations and discussions by the speakers and participants, who identified areas in which additional research was needed, the processes by which changes could occur, and the gaps in our knowledge.


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