1999 Resolutions Adopted by the National Environmental Health Association.

Resolution to Support the Responsible Irradiation of Foods

Whereas:

* foodborne illnesses, both nationally and internationally, continue to constitute a major preventable public health problem;

* foodborne illnesses also create serious economic problems;

* irradiation of a wide range of food and food products will significantly decrease the foodborne illness problem throughout the United States and the world;

* irradiation of certain foods is currently practiced in some 40 countries;

* irradiation of certain foods has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as well as by scores of national and international scientific and professional groups;

* years of research have proven the efficacy and safety of the food irradiation process;

* irradiation also enhances the keeping quality and shelf life of a wide range of food and food products;

* the improved national and international availability of numerous foods will enhance nutritional status of the public;

* the majority of consumers already support the need for irradiated food and food products; and

* pilot projects indicate that most individuals who are not aware of the public health advantages of irradiated food will support irradiation when provided with the necessary information;

Therefore, be it resolved that

1. the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) strongly supports food irradiation with appropriate disposal of the radiation source;

2. FDA and USDA should be encouraged to expand food irradiation approval to include processed meat and poultry products; and

3. NEHA encourages state and local public health officials publicly to support the expansion of the food irradiation process on a national and international level.

In furtherance of the objective supported by this resolution, this statement will be addressed to appropriate committee chairs of the U.S. Congress; appropriate officials of FDA and USDA; appropriate peer professional and scientific organizations such as the Environmental Council of the States; the Association of Food and Drug Officials of the United States; the Association of State Agricultural Officials; the American Medical Association; the American Public Health Association; the International Association of Milk, Food, and Environmental Sanitarians; Underwriters Laboratories; state food and consumer protection supervisors; the National Association of County and City Health Officials; the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials; and others as appropriate, including the news media.

Resolution to Support a Global Approach to the Prevention of Youth Tobacco Use

Purpose: To prevent children worldwide from using tobacco products.

Whereas:

* by 2030 worldwide deaths from tobacco use are expected to surpass 10 million a year (to more than triple);

* at this level, tobacco-associated deaths will surpass the number of deaths from tuberculosis, malaria, and maternal/childhood conditions combined;

* in developing countries, smoking will cause one out of three adult deaths in 2020, up from one in six (1990);

* NEHA is concerned with the health of our communities, our nation, and the world; and

* a global approach to tobacco prevention was identified during the first International Policy Conference on Children and Tobacco, recently held in Washington, D.C.;

Therefore, be it resolved that NEHA hereby endorses a global strategy against tobacco use by youths.

Resolution to Support a Federal Trade Commission Requirement for Surgeon General Warning Labels on Cigars

Purpose: To make tobacco warnings consistent. Since cigarettes and smokeless tobacco currently have hazard warnings on packaging, it would be appropriate for cigars to carry such a label.

Whereas:

* while cigarette smoking has declined since 1993, the number of cigar smokers has increased 50 percent;

* this matter has been studied by the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office on Smoking and Health;

* one of the studies involving 18 focus groups of teens reported that more than one-third of the teenagers had smoked a cigar in the past 30 days; and

* U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher has supported this initiative;

Therefore, be it resolved that NEHA hereby recommends that the Federal Trade Commission require cigar manufacturers to put a Surgeon General warning label on their products.

Resolution to Support Public Health Principles and Guidance for Brownfields Policies and Practices

Whereas:

* communities across the country, with the support of all levels of government, are moving rapidly to redevelop abandoned or underused properties (brownfields), which may be contaminated by toxic substances;

* the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has identified at least 450,000 such sites nationally;

* federal and state laws in many jurisdictions are reducing standards and liability for cleanup and otherwise speeding up the development process; and

* there is risk that due diligence is not being given to ensuring that health risks are being addressed as part of the development process;

Therefore, be it resolved that NEHA adopts the following document, titled "Public Health Principles and Guidance for Brownfields Policies and Practices."

Be it further resolved that NEHA will seek to disseminate these principles and this guidance as widely as possible and to advocate their application to local, state, and federal policies.

Public Health Principles and Guidance for Brownfields Policies and Practices

National Association of County and City Health Officials, September 1998

In those communities with brownfields properties, where the health of the public is an issue, NACCHO seeks to provide guidance to local health officials and other agencies with the responsibility to protect public health. The purpose of this guidance is to define an optimal response in linking public health to economic redevelopment for those local health departments with the capacities to meet the guidance. This guidance stresses the importance of working closely with the community and values an expanded role for public health in economic redevelopment processes. While all health agencies may not have the authority and resources they need to play a comprehensive role in community revitalization activities, the expanding number of brownfields properties and efforts to speed up the development process in many jurisdictions require an enhanced vigilance with respect to health consequences. Given the potential health consequences of brownfields, all local health departments are encouraged to address as many of these guidelines as possible.

General Principles

* "When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken, even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically. In this context, the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof[ldots]. The process of applying [this principle] must be open, informed, and democratic and must include potentially affected parties. It must involve an examination of the full range of alternatives, including no action." (Adapted from the Wingspread Statement on the Precautionary Principle, developed January 23-25, 1998, Racine, Wisconsin.)

* The health of the public is intimately linked to economic prosperity, and economic development is vital to creating healthy and sustainable communities.

* Economic redevelopment potentially affects public health--positively and negatively.

* The health of the community and the environment must be protected by ensuring that development poses no known significant health threats during the cleanup process or through future use.

* The potential exposure to hazardous substances must be investigated.

Role of Public Health Authorities in Site Activities and Decision Making

* Seek to ratify the readiness of the property for redevelopment, drawing on local health agency expertise when present, or seeking state/federal advice as appropriate.

* Ensure an audit of the site and assess health concerns, with active participation from the community.

* Develop a permanent process for integrating the work of public health, from start to finish, into zoning, land use, and other activities related to redevelopment.

* Strongly encourage partnerships between U.S. EPA and local health agencies to institutionalize a public health role in assessing the brownfields property.

* Determine the baseline health of the local community potentially affected by the proposed site.

Full Collaboration and Participation in Brownfields Process by Affected Community Residents

* Health and planning officials should ensure that affected community residents have early, sustained, and effective participation in all stages of brownfields decision making and that mechanisms are available to make this participation possible.

* Developers and redevelopment authorities must provide adequate public notice of the proposed development plan, including a timeline and where to submit comments.

* Members of the public must be assured of an opportunity to submit written comments on the proposed cleanup plan and/or to request a public meeting.

* Health and planning officials should support strong community collaboration practices, beyond those required by U.S. EPA; the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council's community collaboration principles--written by community representatives--should be used as one possible example. [*]

Community Knowledge, Training, and Assistance

Communities with local health agency leadership should

* build the capacity of the community to participate by providing technical assistance, training, advisory groups, and other support to ensure effective participation;

* provide equal protection to all residents with respect to enforcement of all health and environmental laws and standards, and work to ensure the adequacy of those laws;

* expand and protect the public's right to know about contamination and strengthen right-to-know, enforcement, and compliance activity in affected communities;

* provide answers to the community's questions about public health concerns;

* foster the development of community leaders--capacity building for the community;

* provide the public with access to any studies or reports completed for the redevelopment project;

* post signs at the site in question with information on the proposed plan;

* interpret results of environmental impact assessments for communities (i.e., present scientific data);

* work with communities to evaluate the health risks redevelopment poses to the community;

* keep communities abreast of the results of environmental exposure assessments, as well as public health activities needed given those assessments, and receive more information on thresholds for public health effects; and

* engage in outreach efforts to existing networks and to groups that ordinarily don't participate.

Standards for Sustainable Communities

* Ensure that the contamination is cleaned to appropriate health and environmental standards and does not threaten public health.

* Ensure that laws cannot be weakened primarily because of the cost of the cleanup.

* Ensure that future use of the property does not include activity that will lead to new health problems.

* Ensure that properties designated for residential use or as schools, as compared with industrial uses, require the strictest standards.

* Ensure that cleanup standards and programs are not weakened.

* Ensure that residents are fully involved in planning and implementation of relocation plans whenever relocation is required, as well as a plan to ensure their well-being in any relocation.

* Ensure that brownfields reuse is compatible with local land use and community perspectives.

Monitoring, Surveillance, and Diagnosis

Local health agencies should

* maintain off-site testing requirements to ensure that contamination has not migrated;

* identify the health effects of redevelopment;

* ensure that the affected community participates in audits and assessments; and

* ensure that public health issues are not overlooked.

Funding for Public Health

U.S. EPA and other bodies making grants to cities must provide funding for

* public health agencies to participate in redevelopment activities,

* communities to participate in redevelopment activities, and

* monitoring and enforcement of institutional controls as required by law.

Resolution Regarding Community Water Fluoridation 

Whereas:

* fluoride is a naturally occurring element, and adjusting the fluoride content of community water supplies is the single most effective and safe public health measure to prevent tooth decay and to improve oral health for a lifetime;

* community water fluoridation is a public health measure that benefits individuals of all ages and socioeconomic groups, especially those without access to regular dental care;

* an additional 30 million people must receive optimally fluoridated water from public water supplies to meet the year 2000 national health objective of increasing to at least 75 percent the proportion of persons served by community water systems providing optimal levels of fluoride;

* the average cost for a community to fluoridate its water is estimated at 51 cents per year per person, which, over a lifetime translates to less than the amount required to treat a single cavity; and

* fluoridation of community water supplies is supported by the American Dental Association, the U.S. Public Health Service, the American Medical Association, and the World Health Organization;

Therefore, be it resolved that NEHA recognizes the public health value of community water fluoridation for protection against tooth decay.

(*.) The Model Plan for Public Participation (November 1996), National Environmental Justice Council, a federal advisory committee to U.S. EPA.

One of NEHA's responsibilities is to speak up on issues of concern to our members. Adopting resolutions is one way of fulfilling that responsibility. At NEHA's 1999 Annual Educational Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, the council of delegates (upon recommendation of your board to directors) voted officially to adopt resolutions supporting the following:

* responsible irradiation of foods;

* a global approach to the prevention of youth tobacco use;

* a Federal Trade Commission requirement that cigar labels carry a warning from the Surgeon General;

* public health principles and guidance for brownfields policies and practices; and

* community water fluoridation.

The resolutions supporting public health principles and guidance for brownfields policies and practices and community water fluoridation were originally adopted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). Because NEHA supports these resolutions in principle, its council of delegates voted to adopt them along with the others.

By publishing these NEHA resolutions in your Journal, we strive to keep you informed about where we stand as your association on issues critical to environmental health. We welcome all comments, whether for or against the resolutions, and encourage readers with opinions on these issues to express them in letters to the editor.