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Resources
This page will provide you with important resource information about the EPA, EPA's inventory of aging related research, and factsheets and other materials on various environmental hazards. It will also provide useful links to connect you to federal agencies, state, local and tribal organizations, and non-governmental organizations concerned about the environmental health of older Americans. In addition, on the Recursos en Español page of this Web site, you will find links to some Hispanic organizations that have resources in Spanish.
Growing Smarter, Living Healthier: A Guide to Smart Growth and Active Aging is available to be downloaded. You may also order a copy on line.
Links
- Fact sheets on Environmental Health
- Posters, Brochures and Other
- Special Topics
EPA Links
- Environmental Protection Agency - Home Page
- Join the "Aging_Initiative" Listserver!
- EPA Regional Map
The following links will direct you to EPA program offices:
- American Indian Environmental Office (AIEO)
- Office of Air and Radiation (OAR)
- Office of Environmental Information (OEI)
- Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)
- Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ)
- Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances (OPPTS)
- Office of Research and Development (ORD)
- Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER)
- Office of Water (OW)
- Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
- Senior Environmental Employment Program (SEE Program)
- Smart Growth
- The Impact of Aging on the Environment
American Indian Environmental Office - coordinates the Agency-wide effort to strengthen public health and environmental protection in Indian Country, with a special emphasis on building Tribal capacity to administer their own environmental programs.
Office of Air and Radiation - oversees the air and radiation protection activities of the Agency including national programs, technical policies, and regulations.
- Air Quality Map
- AIRNOW - The AIRNOW website offers daily air quality information (AQI) forecasts as well as real-time AQI conditions for over 275 cities across the US, and provides links to more detailed State and local air quality websites.
- 2004 National Air Quality Conference: Your Forecast to Breathe By
- Older Adults and Air Quality
- RadTown USA - RadTown USA is a new, animated, interactive website that provides basic information on radiation in our world. It is a virtual community showing a wide variety of radiation sources as you may
encounter them in everyday life. Explore RadTown’s houses, school, stadium, construction site, flying plane, moving train and much more. Discover RadTown USA.
- Formaldehyde in Mobile Homes
Office of Environmental Information
- Envirofacts - your one-stop source for environmental information.
- Enviromapper - Access to a wealth of environmental information in your desktop.
- Window To My Environment - A powerful new Web-based tool that provides a wide range of federal, state, and local information about environmental conditions and features in an area of your choice.
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)
How Collaborative Supplemental Environmental Projects Can Enhance Community Benefits
SEPs are environmentally beneficial projects that violators of environmental laws voluntarily undertake in partial remission of fines and penalties. A colloquium was held in 2006 and concluded that increased public accessibility to SEP information would increase the likelihood that an enforcement action will conclude with a SEP, and that the impacted community will have a say in what type of SEP would best address its concerns. It proposes some 'best practices' for creating economic, environmental and environmental health, economic, and social benefits through leveraged SEPs.The report is available at http://www.policyconsensus.org/publications/reports/index.html
Office of Environmental Justice - serves as a focal point for ensuring that communities comprised predominately of people of color or low income populations receive protection under environmental laws.
Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances - develops national strategies for toxic substance control and promotes pollution prevention and the public's right to know about chemical risks.
- Read the Label First: Protect Your Kids (PDF) ( About PDF)
- Read the Label First: Protect Your household (PDF) ( About PDF)
- Read the Label First: Protect Your Garden (PDF) ( About PDF)
- Read the Label First: Protect Your Pets (PDF)
- Keeping
Apartment Homes Pest-Free Without Toxic Pesticides (PDF) ( About PDF)
The article originally appeared in the June 2004 edition of the National Apartment Association's UNITS magazine (article written by Kathy Seikel, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs)
Office of Research and Development - is responsible for the research and development needs of the Agency's operating programs and the conduct of an integrated research and development program for the Agency.
- Aging and the Environment: A Research Framework (PDF) (6 pp, 125K, About PDF). Andrew M. Geller and Harold Zenick
- Summary Report of a Peer Involvement Workshop on the Development of An Exposure Factors Handbook for the Aging
- Aging and Toxic Response: Issues Relevant to Risk Assessment (Final)
This document is intended to orient EPA scientists and risk assessors to physiological and biochemical factors in older adults that may influence their responses to exposures from environmental chemicals. Although it is not a comprehensive review of literature, the document identifies several data gaps and research needs that may inform the Office of Research and Development’s Research Initiative on Aging in conducting research for better characterize risk to older adult population from exposure to environmental agents.
- EPA research related, including EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grant program on environmental hazards to older adults.
- Reports and New Information
- Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCP) website
- EPA Study Finds Air Pollutants in Cars Cause Health Effects
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) - provides policy, guidance, and direction for the land disposal of hazardous wastes, underground storage tanks, solid waste management, encouragement of innovative technologies, source reduction of wastes and the Superfund Program.
- "Ecycling" Government Computers
Under Recycling Electronics and Asset Disposition Services Summary
For the first time, EPA is awarding contracts to help the entire federal government recycle or properly dispose of computers and other electronic equipment. The new program will prevent hazardous substances inside these items from entering landfills. For example, each computer monitor contains six pounds of lead. All of this equipment contains components that can be reused in the current marketplace or recycled.
EPA has awarded eight Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) to small businesses (three nationwide, three in the eastern U.S. and two in western U.S.). The contractors are Molam International, Marietta, Ga.; Supply Chain Services, Lombard, ILL.; UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries), Washington, D.C.; Asset Recovery Corporation, St. Paul, Minn.; Hesstech LLC, Edison, N.J.; Liquidity Services Inc., Washington, D.C.; Global Investment Recovery, Tampa, Fla.; and Hobi International, Batavia, ILL. The basic contracts approved Dec.16 run for one year with up to four possible one-year extensions, with a combined potential value of up to $9 million.
Under the contracts, companies will evaluate each item and its components, and then, in decreasing preference:
- refurbish and resell them, using the proceeds to offset costs;
- donate them to charitable causes;
- recycle as much as possible; and
- properly dispose of the remainder
With these contracts, EPA is helping the federal government handle the flood of old electronic equipment, but everyone else needs to do the same. For more information on how you can help, including lists of ecycling programs, see the "Plug-in to eCycling" site.
For more information go to
http://www.epa.gov/wastes/partnerships/plugin/ - Community Options for Safe Needle disposal
- Protect Yourself, Protect Other Safe options for home needle disposal
- New information about disposing of sharps
- GreenScapes,
Environmentally Beneficial Landscaping
- The Power of Change: Protecting the Environment for the Next Generation Educational Kit for Older Adults
- Backyard Burning
- Reducing Waste When You Travel
- eCycling: Reuse or Recycle Old Electronics
- Publications:
- What is Household Hazardous Waste?
- Volunteer for Change: A Guide to Environmental Community Service (PDF)
*Also available en Español
Office of Water - is responsible for the Agency's water quality activities including development of national programs, technical policies, and regulations relating to drinking water, water quality, ground water, pollution source standards, and the protection of wetlands, marine, and estuarine areas.
- Journal articles on the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids and preparing fish to reduce the risks of methylmercury and PCBs. For more information, please go to: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/
See "Health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids" and Beyond the bench: Fish tales to ensure healthNote: The following summaries are based on articles from the press and from peer-reviewed publications, and they represent the opinions of the original authors. The views of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government.
- Health benefits of
omega-3 fatty acids Evidence suggests that omega-3 polyunsaturated
fatty acids play an integral role in cell membrane function and
development of the brain and eyes. Optimizing intake appears to
confer many benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease
and possibly a reduced likelihood of behavioral problems, depression,
and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. There
is disagreement as to what level of intake is optimal, however,
British diets are low in omega-3 fatty acids. Good sources include
oily fish and novel sources include fortified eggs and oils derived
from microalgae.
Source: Ruxton, C., 2004. Nurs Stand 18 (48): 38-42.
- Beyond the bench:
Fish tales to ensure health Fishermen are notorious for
telling fish stories about their catches that tend toward exaggeration.
A new kind of fish tale, however, does not stretch the truth when
making a point to the Hmong community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
about the hazards of eating fish contaminated with methylmercury
and PCBs. A video produced by the Community Outreach and Education
Program at the NIEHS Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences
Center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee communicates in
a simple, understandable, and culturally sensitive way the risks
of eating contaminated fish. The video teaches methods of catching
and preparing fish that can reduce these risks. Free full-text
at: http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2004/112-13/niehsnews.html#fish
.
Source: Thigpen, K.G. 2004. Environ Health Perspectives 112 (13):
A738-9.
- Health benefits of
omega-3 fatty acids Evidence suggests that omega-3 polyunsaturated
fatty acids play an integral role in cell membrane function and
development of the brain and eyes. Optimizing intake appears to
confer many benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease
and possibly a reduced likelihood of behavioral problems, depression,
and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. There
is disagreement as to what level of intake is optimal, however,
British diets are low in omega-3 fatty acids. Good sources include
oily fish and novel sources include fortified eggs and oils derived
from microalgae.
- Biological Assessments and Criteria: Crucial Components of Water Quality Programs (PDF) (6 pp, 1 MB, About PDF)
- Dispose of Medicines, Vitamins and Other Supplements Properly (PDF) (2 pp, 645K, About PDF)
- Ground Water & Drinking Water Frequently Asked Questions
- States and Tribes Embrace Bioassessment and Biocriteria for Protecting Streams and Small Rivers (PDF) (6 pp, 528K, About PDF)
- Septic Systems
- Wetlands
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina - the Agency's center for research on how humans and ecosystems are exposed to various pollutants, the extent of that exposure, and the health and ecological effects which result from such exposure. RTP is also the hub of EPA's air pollution programs under the Clean Air Act, and home of the EPA National Computer Center.
Proceedings of the Aging Americans: Impacts on Ecology and Environmental Quality Workshop (PDF) (183 pp, 1.2 MB, About PDF)
August 10-12, 2004 USEPA - RTP Research Triangle Park, NC
Senior Environmental Employment Program (SEE Program)
- HUD-DOT-EPA Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities
- Partnership for Sustainable Communities: A Year of Progress for American Communities (PDF) (16 pp, 1.8MB, About PDF)
- Office of Sustainable Communities
- Getting to Smart Growth (PDF) (104 pp, 2MB, About PDF)
- Getting to Smart Growth II
- National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement
- Creating Great Neighborhoods: Density in Your Community
- Smart Savings: Climate Solutions for Cities (PDF) (4 pp, 163K, About PDF)
The Impact of Aging on the Environment
- Office of Water fact sheet on smart growth
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Center for Watershed Protection
- Low Impact Development
Center
- Green Roots