Award-Winning Student Research Abstracts.

The following abstracts were taken from the award-winning student research presentations made at the National Environmental Health Association's 1999 Annual Educational Conference and Exhibition (AEC) in Nashville, Tennessee.

Thanks to generous donations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these students received a plaque and up to $1,000 in travel expenses for presenting their research at the conference.

NEHA strongly encourages all students interested in presenting research at next year's AEC to do so. It is a rewarding learning experience for all who participate!

A Study of the Effects of Using Tire-derived Fuel at a Pulp and Paper Mini-mill

Joe McHugh, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina 

The process of converting scrap tires into a productive, supplemental fuel has gone from a experimental concept two decades ago, to a viable and continuously used resource in the U.S.' pulp and paper industry.

Pulp and paper consumption of tire-derived fuel (TDF) is currently used at a rate of fourteen million tires per year, with many more mills currently evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of TDE In this research session, Mr. McHugh reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of TDF by focusing on Jackson Paper, a pulp and paper mini-mill in Sylva, North Carolina, and whether TDF is advantageous to the mill's productivity.

Acute Health Effects Among Sanitation Landfill Employees

Panagiota Kitsanta, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

This unique study examined the reported symptoms and acute health effects among landfill employees working at eight different landfills in the state of Virginia. The reported symptoms were associated with job tasks, chemicals, and materials to determine possible exposures. In addition, a hygienic evaluation of the work environment of one of the landfills was conducted. This study was unique in that the survey results were compared with the hygienic data. The study indicated a higher prevalence of work-related neurological, neuromuscular, respiratory hearing, and gastrointestinal symptoms among the landfill workers than among the control group.

Resource Efficient Desalinization: Protecting Public Health through Increased Availability of Fresh Water

Troy Ritter, Eastern Kentucky University, Lexington, Kentucky

As the populations of developing countries continue to expand at near logarithmic rates, the availability of fresh water continues to decrease. In fact, a May 1999 report from the International Water Management Institute stated that many arid regions of the world must double their fresh water supply by 2005. This fresh water shortage is an obstacle to human welfare even though an unlimited supply of seawater is accessible. Many large communities have implemented desalinization processes to supplement existing fresh water supplies. However, current methods are expensive to construct and operate, and require highly skilled labor for maintenance. This makes them impractical for the small, poverty-stricken villages that comprise developing horticultural societies. The goal of this research is to design an inexpensive, easily constructed and operated facility powered by passive energy resources.

Improving the Learning Environment through Indoor Air Quality Awareness and Education

Angela J. Hobson, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) developed the hands-on, self-instructing guide entitled Indoor Air Quality: Tools for Schools Action Kit as an outreach to schools across the nation to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) and the overall learning environment. A recent study on the awareness of IAQ issues among daycare operators in the state of Illinois indicated a strong need for increased awareness of IAQ in the daycare environment. As a result, the American Lung Association of Illinois, using the kit as a major component, implemented a statewide educational effort to increase IAQ awareness and to improve IAQ in Illinois schools and daycare facilities. The training focused on increasing the ability of school officials and daycare operators to identify possible IAQ problems and to take measures to prevent and control these problems. This presentation demonstrates how the tools developed were applied to reach the goals of this effort.

Perceptions on Pediatric Environmental Health: A Needs Assessment Survey Questionnaire

Sanders K. Chai, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

A needs assessment survey was conducted in the Northwestern U.S., via a one-page mailed questionnaire to describe perceptions regarding the level of concern, specific concerns, source of information, and frequency of concerns on children's environmental health. The sample population consisted of Head Start parents, PTA presidents, public health officials, school nurses, naturopaths, pediatricians, and family practitioners. This session featured the survey results, including response rates, demographic data, and questionnaire responses. The results illustrate important differences in perceptions regarding children's environmental health among a sample of people involved with childcare and health. Understanding these differences is critical for meaningful risk communication and research and resource allocations for children's environmental health.

NEHA serves many audiences through the Journal. One of those important audiences is our student members. In an effort to be more responsive to this special group of "soon to be" professionals, NEHA has determined how we might be of greatest assistance to the future of our profession. We have learned that our students are anxious about their developing careers and are seeking as much information as possible to help them effectively plan their futures in environmental health.

In response to this need for practicing information from practicing professionals, NEHA's Board of Directors authorized this special column devoted to student concerns. Published periodically throughout the year, this column features a variety of student-related material--from discussions of critical issues commonly faced by students to student accounts of career building experiences to abstracts from award-winning student research projects.

Contributions to this column may be furnished by any NEHA member interested in offering valuable thoughts and advice to emerging professionals. If you would like to offer thoughts on an issue of concern to students, please contact Content Editor Julie Collins, and we well gladly consider printing them.

On behalf of our students, we are pleased to offer this column devoted to their concerns.