ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 350 / C&RL News ■ May 2002 IN T E R N E T RESOURCES Environmental health Sites that focus on protecting our natural resources by Ola Carter Riley T he relationship betw een the environment and living organisms is inseparable. Wa­ ter, air, land, and soil are important to the survival of all living creatures. On the other hand, pollution, global warming, pesticide, and violence, to name a few, are a threat to the health of all life. This selective list of Internet sites provides information on num er­ ous environmental health topics, including m eans of detecting environm ental health problems, sources of assistance, and m eth­ ods of prevention. Associations • A m erican Public H ealth A ssociation. This association claims to be the “oldest and largest organization of public health profes­ sionals in the w orld” with more 50,000 mem­ bers. The m em bership includes researchers, health services providers, teachers, and ad­ ministrators. The association has influenced health policies and set priorities for public health for more than 125 years. Among its notable publications are the A m erican Jour­ n a l o f Public Health and the Nation ’s Health. Access: h ttp://w w w .apha.org/. • A m erican Water R esources A ssocia­ tio n (AWRA). AWRA is open to anyone who is interested in some aspect of water. The Web site provides information on w ater from A m e r ic a n W a t e r r e s o u r c e s A s s o c ia t io n states and conferences, and publication list­ ings. AWRA publishes the J o u rn a l o f A m eri­ c a n Water Resources Association. Access: http://w w w .aw ra.org/. • N ational E n viron m en tal H ealth As­ so c ia tio n (NEHA). NEHA was created in 1937 and has a m em bership of more than 5,000, w ho serve in the public and private sector, in academia, and in the uniform ed services. The association’s mission is “to ad­ vance the environmental health and protec­ tion professional for the purpose of provid­ ing a healthful environm ent for all.” The ma­ jor journal for the association is the Journal o f E nvironm ental H ealth. Other publications include books on food protection, hazard­ ous waste and materials, and m anagem ent and general environmental health resources. Access: h ttp://w w w .neha.org/. • Natural R esources D e fe n se C ouncil (NRDC). NRDC’s purpose is to “safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and anim als” through laws, science, and the support of its 500,000 nationwide members. The links on this site provide information on issues con­ cerning global warming, environmental leg­ islation, nuclear waste and war, and wildlife About the author O/a Carter Riley is coordinator o f bibliographic instruction a t Houston Baptist University, e-mail: oriley@hbu.edu http://www.apha.org/ http://www.awra.org/ http://www.neha.org/ mailto:oriley@hbu.edu C&RLNews ■ M ay 2 0 0 2 / 351 and fishery. This is a searchable Web site with a timeline of environm ental events. Access: h ttp s: / / w w w . n rd c. o r g /. • S ociety o f E n viron m en tal T ox ico lo g y a n d C h em istry (SETAC). This nonprofit or­ ganization is designed for individuals and in­ stitutions involved in environm ental projects related to m anagem ent, conservation, educa­ tion, and research and developm ent. SETAC em braces the study of soil science and engi­ neering, biology, and w ater sciences. This or­ ganization has offices on three continents and a m em bership of m ore than 5,000. SETAC’s major publication is E n viro n m en ta l Toxicol­ ogy a n d Chemistry. Access: h ttp://w w w .setac. org/. G eneral • CHEM-TOX. This Web site provides links to research articles on illnesses that re­ sult from environm ental health issues. Articles focus on diseases affecting the im m une sys­ tem, learning disabilities, gallstones, infertil­ ity, m ental retardation, childhood behavior problem s, and the like. Access: h ttp ://ch em - to x .co m /. • C h ild r e n ’s E n v ir o n m e n ta l H ea lth N etw ork . This site provides resources deal­ ing with ways to protect fetuses a n d children from environm ental health hazards. There are links to inform ation from databases and con­ ferences and governm ental policies that p ro ­ tect children, as well as a dow nloadable train­ ing m anual with guidelines and teaching tools on pediatric environm ental health. This is a searchable Web site. Access: http://w w w .cehn. org/. • e n v ir o h e a lth a c tio n . There is a w ealth of inform ation on this site for consum ers and practitioners. There are links to articles on toxics and health, children’s environm ental health, and air pollution that cover plants, indoor a n d outd o o r air, safe drinking water, a n d climate changes. The coverage o f these topics is extensive with links to related ar­ ticles, Web sites, and organizations. This Web site can be searched by keyw ord or from a c a te g o ry o f listings. Access: h ttp ://w w w . envirohealthaction.org/. The Web site is p o w ­ ered by Physicians for Social Responsibility. Access: h ttp ://w w w .p sr.o rg /. • E n viron m en tal H ealth Watch (EHW). EHW has a wealth of environmental health in­ fo rm atio n u n d e r th e b ro a d categ o ries of “H o u s e ,” “C om ­ munity,” and “Na- tional/Global.” In­ formation on such topics as mold, in­ door pollution, chemical accidents, and climate changes are linked from the b road topics. Check sheets to identify and test environm en­ tal problem s in the hom e are available through EHW along with practical ways to address environmental health problem s. The site also provides a list of recom m ended reading re­ sources. Access: http://w w w .ehw .org/. • N atio n a l Safety C o u n c il’s E n v ir o n ­ m e n t a n d H ealth Center. This Web site pro­ vides inform ation for five user groups: e d u ­ cators, the general public, professionals, chil­ dren, and journalists. There are links to to p ­ ics on climate change, disaster recovery, haz­ ardous chemicals, a n d the treatm ent of ra­ dioactive and solid waste. Helpful informa­ tion on environm ental issues such as asbes­ tos and radon are linked from the “Fact Sheet.” Access: h ttp ://w w w .n sc . o rg /e h e . htm. • Scorecard. This Web site provides vol­ um es of inform ation on com m unities, the ef­ fect of environm ental contam inants on living organisms, and the com panies that release the contam inants. An interactive m ap allows users to enter a zip code to obtain pollution inform ation on water, waste, air, and land. Scorecard provides information on 12 adverse health effects and the chemicals that may pro­ duce the effect, a profile of chemicals, and the top 10 cancer-risk counties for air pollu­ tion in the United States. This is a searchable Web site. Access: http://scorecard.org/. G o v e rn m e n t • A g en cy fo r T oxic Sub stan ce an d D is ­ e a s e R egistry (ATSDR). ATSDR’s Web site has a prodigious am ount of inform ation on environm ental health issues, public health, and hazardous substances in the environment. http://www.setac http://chem-tox.com/ http://chem-tox.com/ http://www.cehn envirohealthaction.org/ http://www.psr.org/ http://www.ehw.org/ http://www.nsc http://scorecard.org/ 352 / C&RL News ■ M ay 2002 ATSDR’s envi- r o n m e n t a l h e a lt h lin k s p r o v id e c a s e studies, health and nursing information, and topics cover­ ing the effects of hazardous substances and hazardous w aste on hum an life. This is both a searchable and bilingual Web site. Access: http ://w w w . atsdr. cdc. g o v / atsdrhom e. htm l. • C enters fo r D isea se C on trol an d Pre­ v e n tio n (CDC). The CDC’s Web site has vol­ um es of information that cover national and international health topics. Interesting links include “Traveler’s H ealth,” w hich provides information on diseases throughout the world. Access: http://w w w .cd c.g o v /. The CDC/En- vironm ental Health Web page covers topics such as swimming, carbon m onoxide poison­ ing, and drinking water, and links to m orbid­ ity reports and other statistical resources. The site includes additional links to an alphabeti­ cal list of diseases from acantham oeba infec­ tion to zoster, which result from environmental problem s. Access, http://w w w .cdc. gov/health/environm.htm. • E n v ir o n m e n ta l P r o tec tio n A gen cy (EPA). The EPA Web site has a large am ount of information on environm ental health is­ sues for all users. With a mission to “protect hum an health and to safeguard the natural environm ent— air, water, a n d land— u p o n w hich life d e p e n d s,” the EPA has provided links to all aspects of environm ental health issues through links on laws and regulations, educational resources, and programs. Access: h ttp ://w w w .e p a .g o v /. A v a lu a b le link is “Browse EPA Topics,” w hich provides nu­ m erous links to EPA Web sites on m ost e n ­ vironmental health issues, such as pesticide, pollution prevention, and water. This Web site is both searchable and bilingual. Access: http://w w w .epa.gov/epahom e/topics.htm l. • healthfinder. This site, developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, pro­ vides information on consumer health and hu­ man services. Through keyword searching or al­ phabetical listings of topics, healthfinder has a wealth of information on envi­ ronmental health issues and in­ cludes links for 26 diseases caused by environmental fac­ tors. Access: h ttp ://w w w . healthfinder.gov/. • N ational Institute fo r O ccu p ation al Safety a n d H ealth (NIOSH). NIOSH is the research arm of the Centers for Disease Con­ trol and Prevention. Its Web site has an enor­ m ous am ount of information on environm en­ tal health issues. Topics covered on the site include agriculture safety and health, construc­ tion safety, noise and hearing protection, and pesticide illnesses. There is new s on current events th ro u g h th e “S potlight” link. This searchable site links to databases that pro­ vide summaries, analysis, and data on safety and health issues. Access: h ttp ://w w w .cd c. gov/niosh/hom epage.htm l. • N ation al Institute o f E n viron m en tal H ealth S cien ces (NIEHS). NIEHS is one of 27 National Institutes of Health. Links on this site cover a wealth of environm ental health issues, such as research projects, toxicology programs, community outreach activities, and current information in the form of press re­ leases. There are links to the NIEHS library catalog, databases, journal listings, PubMed, CANCERLIT, Current Contents, and Medline. NIEHS provides links for kids and teachers also. This is a bilingual, searchable site. A c­ cess: h ttp://w w w .niehs.nih.gov/. • T h om as. This Web site is the Libraiy of Congress’ source for legislative information. Keyword searching on environm ental health issues results in full text of all legislative in­ form ation introduced by Congress and the Congressional Record since 1989, summaries of bills since 1973, and other congressional comm ittee reports. Access to environm ental health issues can also be obtained through a bill num ber search or through browsing. A c­ cess: h ttp://thom as.loc.gov/. Institutes/research in stitu tio n s • Lovelace R espiratory R esearch Insti­ tute. This Web site provides information on the institute’s major research areas, such as asthma, lung cancer, inhalation toxicology, and allergies. There are also links to resources on minority health issues and the w ork of th e institu te. Access: h ttp ://w w w .tli.o rg / index.html. http://www.cdc.gov/ http://www.cdc http://www.epa.gov/ http://www.epa.gov/epahome/topics.html healthfinder.gov/ http://www.cdc http://www.niehs.nih.gov/ http://thomas.loc.gov/ http://www.tli.org/ C&RL News ■ M ay 2002 / 353 • N e ls o n In stitu te o f E n v ir o n m e n ta l M edicine. This institute is considered to be “one of th e n a tio n ’s o ld est a n d fo rem o st c e n te rs for re se a rc h into h e a lth effects of e n v iro n m en ta l p o llu tio n .” Links are p r o ­ v id e d to th e in stitu te ’s faculty a n d their re se a rc h interest. T h ere are also links to c o n su m e r in fo rm atio n on e d u c a tio n a n d p u b lic s e rv ic e p ro g ra m s . Access. h ttp :// charlotte.m ed.nyu.edu/. • World R esources Institute (WRI). WRI provides research inform ation and practical w ay s to p r o te c t th e e a rth a n d im p ro v e people’s lives through several links on its Web site. “Global Issues” and “EarthTrends” cover areas such as agriculture and food, p o p u la ­ tion and health, biodiversity, climate changes, and w ater resources. EarthTrend, the portal for environm ental information, provides ac­ cess to a searchable database, country pro­ files, maps, and data tables. Access: h ttp :// w w w . w ri. org /index.html. Journals • A p p lied an d E n v ir o n m e n ta l M icro­ b io lo g y . This journal provides a substantial am ount of research in the areas of environ­ mental microbiology, food microbiology, plant microbiology, and biotechnology. Current full- text articles are available to m em bers only; som e articles that are six m onths old are free online. This journal is indexed in Agricola, BIOSIS, Index Medicus, and Science Citation Index. Access: http://aem .asm .org. • E n v ir o n m e n ta l P o llu tio n . This is an international journal that presents research on nature, distribution, and ecological effects of chemical pollutants in the air, soil, and water. Abstracts are available online; full-text is avail­ a b le th ro u g h S cien ceD irect. A m ong th e sources that index this journal are Agricola, Bibliography of Agriculture, CAB Abstracts, Science Citation Abstracts, and Environm en­ tal Abstracts. Access: h ttp ://w w w .e lse v ie r. n l :8 0 / in c a /p u b l i c a t io n s / s t o r e / 4 /0 / 5 / 8 /5 / 4O5856.pub.shtml. • Nature. This weekly international maga­ zine covers all aspects of the sciences. N a­ ture provides original and research articles, reports, a n d com m entaries. O ther valuable features are bo o k reviews, new products, and job listings. The m agazine is indexed in Bio­ logical a n d Agricultural Index, Chemical Ab­ stracts, Current Contents, and General Science Index. Access: h ttp ://w w w .n a tu re .c o m /n a - tu re /. • M arine P o llu tio n B u lletin . This jour­ nal covers all aspects of the environm ental c o n d itio n s o f lakes, e stu a rie s, seas, a n d oceans. Abstracts are available online while full-text is available through subscription to ScienceDirect. Among the sources that index this journal are BIOSIS, Cam bridge Scientific Abstracts, and Current Contents/ASCA. Access: http://w w w .elsevier.com /locate/m arpolbul. • Water, Air, a n d So il P o llu tio n . This is an international, interdisciplinary journal fo­ cusing on the physical and biological pro­ cesses that may pollute plant life, air, water, a n d soil. Some sources that index this jour­ nal are the Am erican Petroleum Institute, Aqualine Abstracts, Ecology Abstracts, and Current Contents/Agriculture. Access: h ttp :// w w w .kluw eronline.com /issn/0049-6979. Electronic lists and discussion groups • B io r e m e d ia tio n D is c u s s io n Group. This discussion group is designed to provide a forum for bioremediation topics. Members can subscribe to receive messages in either n on­ digest or digest mode. Access: http://w w w . biorem ediationgroup.org/. • clim ate-m edical-L . This electronic list is a part of the EPA Global Climate Change Listservs. It addresses the health risk associ­ ated with global warming and water borne ill­ nesses, and shares research findings, informa­ tion on disease surveillance, and intervention strategies. Archived m essages are online. A c ­ cess: http://listserv.icfconsulting.com/climate- m edical-l.html. • HEALTHE. This electronic list educates the general public about potential threats to physical, emotional, and psychological health and well­ being. HEALTHE is geared to help individuals develop management strategies to reduce risk, stay healthy, and find solutions to prevent envi­ ronmentally caused health problems. Access: h t t p : / / m a e l s t r o m .s t j o h n s .e d u / a r c h i v e s / healthe.htm l. • Occ-Env-Med-L. This electronic list is designed to provide those involved in occu­ pational and environm ental m edicine with a tool to discuss, evaluate, and prevent diseases See th e expanded article on the W eb at http://www.ala.org/acrl/resmay02.html charlotte.med.nyu.edu/ http://aem.asm.org http://www.elsevier http://www.nature.com/na-ture/ http://www.nature.com/na-ture/ http://www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul http://www.kluweronline.com/issn/0049-6979 bioremediationgroup.org/ http://listserv.icfconsulting.com/climate-medical-l.html http://listserv.icfconsulting.com/climate-medical-l.html http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/ http://www.ala.org/acrl/resmay02.html 354 / C&RL News ■ M ay 2002 a n d health effects related to exposures at w ork a n d from other environm ents. Access: h ttp ://o cc-en v -m ed .m c.d u k e.ed u /o em /. Special e n v iro n m e n ta l h e a lth issues • ECMC: Environm ental Estrogen and Other H orm ones (EEOH). This Web site is the joint effort of several institutions to provide infor­ mation on a wide variety of natural compounds and synthetic chemi­ cals that mimic natu­ ral h o rm o n e s. The EEOH site focuses on lead and astrobiology. The links to lead focus on its appearance in the home, in the soil, and in the body. There are also links related to testing for lead. Access: http:// www.som.tulane.edu/ecme/eehome/. • E d elson C enter fo r E n viron m en tal an d P reven tive M edicine. This site provides links to inform ation o n num erous diseases and the environmental factors that contribute to them . Stephen B. Edelson, for w hom the center is named, is a practicing physician and a co n su ltan t for environm ental m edicine. “O zone Therapy” and “Environmental Illness” are am ong the m any links that provide a full discussion on diseases a n d their relationship to th e e n v iro n m en t. Access: h ttp ://w w w . ephca.com . • EXTOXNET. This Web site is the joint effort of several major universities with a goal to provide toxicology inform ation to all u s­ ers in an electronic format. Available on the EXTOXNET site are toxicology newsletters, inform ation o n resources, toxicology fact sheets, profile information o n pesticides, and toxicology briefs. Access: h ttp ://a ce .o rst.e d u / info/extoxnet/. • NLM S p e c ia lize d In fo r m a tio n Ser­ v ic e s (SIS). SIS is a division of th e National Library of Medicine. Access: h ttp://w w w .nlm . n ih .g o v /. SIS is responsible for resources and services in toxicology, environm ental health, chemistry, HIV/AIDS, a n d specialized to p ­ ics in m inority health. “Toxicology a n d En­ vironm ent H ealth” links to m ore th an ten databases and other resources related to toxi­ colo g y a n d e n v iro n m en ta l h e a lth issues. O ther valuable links are “Biological W arfare” a n d “H ealth H otline.” Access: h ttp ://sis.n lm . n ih .g o v /. ■ A C R L o ffe rin g fo u r preconferences in A tlanta! Keep up-to-date w ith the latest d evelop­ m ents in advocacy, instruction, information literacy, or rare b o oks at o n e o f ACRL’s preconferences to be offered in Atlanta, June 14, prior to the ALA Annual Conference: • L e g isla tiv e A d v o c a c y W o r k sh o p . D evelop your skills in library advocacy and gain practical inform ation from long-term library advocates w h o will share their ex­ perience and sage advice on the art of per­ s u a sio n . Visit h ttp ://w w w .a la .o r g /a c r l/ law_ac_02.html for m ore information. • In s tr u c tio n fo r First-Year U n d e r ­ graduates: D e v e lo p in g S trategies to Fa­ c ilita te th e ir T r a n sitio n s. Explore char­ acteristics o f first-year u n dergraduate stu­ d e n ts, e x a m in e w h a t th ey are lea rn in g a b o u t inform ation resources a n d strategies in high school, a n d investigate program ­ m atic innovations at th e institutional and library levels that m eet first-year student n e e d s . V isit h t t p : / / w w w .a l a .o r g / a c r l / instruction.htm l for m ore information. •F r o m E x p ec ta tio n s to R esults: Li- brary/F acu lty P a rtn ersh ip s fo r A s s e s s ­ in g Student Learning O u tcom es. Explore various assessm ent instrum ents developed by IMLS grant recipients, a n d find out how to adapt their exam ples to develop som e­ thing to use o n your cam pus. Visit h ttp :// www.ala.org/acrl/infolitIMLS.html for m ore information • RBMS P r e c o n fe r e n c e — N e w O cca­ s io n s , N ew Duties: C h an gin g R oles a n d E x p e c t a tio n s i n S p e c ia l C o lle c t io n s , J u n e 11—14. Explore the changing role of special collections librarians, exam ine the different aspects and implications of change, and discover h ow special collections librar­ ians can take advantage o f change for their o w n use a n d developm ent. Visit h ttp :// i n f o .l i b r a r y .e m o r y .e d u / s p e c i a l / r b m s / preconference2002.htm for more information. http://occ-env-med.mc.duke.edu/oem/ http://www.som.tulane.edu/ecme/eehome/ ephca.com http://ace.orst.edu/ http://www.nlm nih.gov/ http://sis.nlm nih.gov/ http://www.ala.org/acrl/ http://www.ala.org/acrl/ http://www.ala.org/acrl/infolitIMLS.html info.library.emory.edu/special/rbms/