Why should we have to test cannabis products?
By Shawn Kassner, senior scientist, Neptune and Company, Inc. Over the past few years, we have seen many states legalize medical and recreational cannabis. Legalization…
Environmental Health
Q&A with Iowa’s Environmental Laboratory Director
We talked with Michael Wichman, PhD, environmental laboratory director at the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa, about what makes environmental labs unique. Learn…
APHL: US needs an environmental health surveillance system to prevent crises like Flint
By Megan Latshaw, director, environmental health, APHL The public health crisis caused by inordinately high levels of lead contamination in Flint, Michigan is inexcusable, urgent…
Responding to the Animas River disaster: Who’s testing what?
by Megan Latshaw, director, Environmental Health, APHL It was Saturday morning and my energetic six-year-old daughter was occupied for a moment, so I had a…
The lowdown on lead
Ruhiyyih Degeberg, MPH, senior specialist, Environmental Health, APHL Six months ago I transitioned from the newborn screening program at APHL into the environmental health program.…
Healthier Communities Thanks to the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network
By Michelle M. Forman, senior specialist, media, APHL Your state’s childhood cancer rates are within normal – but what about your community that was once…
From The Lorax to the Laboratory
by Vanessa Burrowes, APHL-CDC Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratory Fellow, North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health When I was a kid, I was pretty curious…
Biomonitoring and the Public Health Laboratory: Everything You Want to Know
Simply stated, biomonitoring allows public health practitioners to understand whether environmental contaminants are being absorbed into people’s bodies. Given improvements in technology; the capabilities and…
Vector-borne disease vs chemicals in bug spray: Weighing the risks
By Michelle M. Forman, senior media specialist, APHL With hot and humid weather comes news of diseases spread by mosquitos and ticks, while we also…
Arsenic in the water: Are filters and bottled water enough protection?
By Melissa Murray Jordan, senior environmental epidemiologist, Bureau of Epidemiology, Division of Disease Control and Health Protection, Florida Department of Health Private wells in many…