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Your Environment. Your Health.

Community Engagement: New Approaches and Success Stories

Superfund Research Program

Session I: Community Engagement Activities at Superfund Sites
March 31, 2011 • 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET
An archive of this webinar is available on EPA's Clu-in Training & Events webpage

  • Introduction by Linda Birnbaum Ph.D., Director NIEHS
  • Moderator: Ms. Beth Anderson, Superfund Research Program (NIEHS)
  • Presenter: Anna Goodman Hoover, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University of Kentucky
    • Presentation title: "Using Community-Based Participatory Communication in Superfund Communities"
  • Presenter: Sharon Lin, Region 9, U.S EPA
    • Presentation title: "Risk Reduction Through Behavior Change"

In this session, Anna Goodman Hoover, SRP grantee from the University of Kentucky, presented "Using Community-Based Participatory Communication in Superfund Communities". This overview focused on a community-driven future vision for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) which has been impacted by trichloroethylene and technetium-99 contamination in the groundwater. Sharon Lin, US EPA, presented "Risk Reduction Through Behavior Change", focusing on activities around the Palos Verdes Shelf Superfund Site, one of the largest DDT and PCB contaminated sediment sites in the country. She spoke about a community based social marketing approach used to educate local fishermen and community members about health risks of eating contaminated fish and to promote safer fishing and fish eating practices.

Session II: Community Engagement Activities for Safe Drinking Water
April 14, 2011 • 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET
An archive of this webinar is available on EPA's Clu-in Training & Events webpage

  • Moderator: Carole Braverman, Regional Science Liaison, US EPA Region 5
  • Presenter: Laurie Reynolds Rardin, Research Translation Coordinator Dartmouth Toxic Metals, Superfund Research Program , Dartmouth College
    • Presentation title: "Face-To-Face Communication Empowers Communities to Spread the Word"
  • Presenter: Radomir Schmidt, Post-doctoral Researcher, University of California - Davis
    • Presentation title: "Engaging the community - pilot scale MTBE bioremediation project in Glennville, California"

In this session, Ms. Laurie Reynolds Rardin, SRP funded researcher from Dartmouth College, presented "Face-To-Face Communication Empowers Communities to Spread the Word". This presentation focused on the Dartmouth Toxic Metals Superfund Research Program Research Translation Core's recently produced "In Small Doses: Arsenic", a 10 minute movie which explains how and why owners of private wells in northern New England should check the levels of arsenic in their drinking water. By providing this information in a visually engaging format, the goal was to persuade private well owners to test their wells and put in an arsenic remediation system if warranted. Face-to-face communication and access to copies of the video proved to be one of the best methods of distribution by expanding the delivery network and allowing the movie to be shown by local town government and public health officials, residents, and on local cable channels. Following her presentation, SRP funded researcher from UC-Davis, Radomir Schmidt, discussed a MTBE bioremediation project in Glennville, CA. The project was designed to test existing bioreactor technology for potential drinking water production. The UC-Davis researchers tested for a panel of potential waterborne pathogens. They sought to promote a sense of project ownership in local residents through information exchange meetings, demonstrations of the bioremediation process, and by recruiting locals to help monitor the day-to-day running of the bioreactor.

Session III: Community Engagement Activities in Native American Communities
May 23, 2011 • 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET
An archive of this webinar is available on EPA's Clu-in Training & Events webpage

  • Moderator: Charles Maurice, Superfund and Technology Liaison, EPA Region 5
  • Presenter: Anna Harding, Professor, College of Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University
  • Presenter: Barbara Harper, Associate Professor, College of Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University
    • Joint presentation title: "Addressing Tribal Exposures to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Building Tribal Capacity though a Tribal-University Partnership"
  • Presenter: Laurel Schaider, Research Associate, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health
  • Presenter: James Shine, Senior Lecturer on Aquatic Chemistry, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health
    • Joint presentation title: "Fate and Exposure Studies of Metals in Rural Oklahoma: Engaging Communities"

In this session, SRP funded researchers Dr. Anna Harding and Dr. Barbara Harper of Oregon State University presented a seminar entitled "Addressing Tribal Exposures to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Building Tribal Capacity though a Tribal-University Partnership". Their seminar focused on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) in Oregon and other tribes in the United States who may be at increased risk of disease due to cumulative PAH exposures from traditionally smoked foods, air exposure from traditional smoking of foods, and ambient air pollution. Their work served to build tribal capacity and establish a Tribal Advisory committee, institutional review board (IRB) protocols and material and data sharing agreements, and culturally appropriate activities focused on tribal needs. SRP funded researchers Dr. Jim Shine and Dr. Laurel Schaider of Harvard School of Public Health presented a seminar entitled "Fate and exposure studies of metals in rural Oklahoma: Engaging communities". For the last seven years, Dr. Shine and Dr. Schaider conducted studies in rural northeastern Oklahoma involving heavy metals associated with mine waste and mercury exposure among subsistence and recreational fishers. Through these research activities, proactive engagement with community groups, Native American tribes, and state and federal agencies enhanced the quality and relevance of the research and promoted greater trust among all groups.

Session IV: Community Engagement: Train the Trainer
July 7, 2011 • 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET
An archive of this webinar is available on EPA's Clu-in Training & Events webpage

  • Moderator: Sharon Beard, Industrial Hygienist, NIEHS Worker Education and Training Program
  • Presenter: Denise Moreno Ramirez, Program Coordinator, U.S.-Mexico Binational Center for Environmental Sciences and Toxicology and Superfund Research Program Outreach Core, University of Arizona
    • Presentation title: "Transferable Training Modules on Environmental Health for Promotoras"
  • Presenter: Kenny Oldfield, Principal Investigator, WETP Cooperative Agreement Awardee, Jefferson State Community College
  • Presenter: April Sells, Tribal Emergency Management Director, Poarch Band of Creek Indians
    • Joint presentation title: "NIEHS Training Helps Native American Community Prepare for Disasters

NIEHS-funded programs have played cutting edge roles in the development and implementation of "Train the Trainer" strategies. Superfund Research Program grantees at the University of Arizona have trained community health advocates (promotoras) on topics including pesticides, arsenic, environmental toxicology, and fate and transport of environmental contaminants. Denise Moreno Ramirez discussed her work to develop and test training modules appropriate for promotora groups in Arizona, Sonora, and the US-Mexico Border region. Worker Education and Training grantees provide hazardous materials first responder training to Native American Tribes. Kenny Oldfield from Jefferson State Community College and April Sells from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Alabama, discussed their work in building an emergency response capability not just for the tribe but also for their region of the state.

For more information, contact:

Heather Henry, Ph.D.
Health Scientist Administrator, Superfund Research Program
Tel 984-287-3268
henryh@niehs.nih.gov
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