Hello everyone and welcome to our course "Chemicals and Health." Chemicals make up every part of us! Some chemicals are vital to our health, while others may be harmful. In this course we will focus on the effects of some of the many chemicals that we encounter every day. My name is Megan Latshaw and my colleague Beth Resnick and I created this course. I’d like to being by telling you a bit about ourselves. And I’d like to start with Beth. . .

She is an Associate Scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in the Department of Health Policy and Management. Beth serves as the Director of the Office of Public Health Practice & Training, and the MSPH Program in Health Policy. Her research and practice interests include: •  assessing and improving the public health infrastructure •  enhancing knowledge of potential environment and health connections,

and •  developing effective public health policies. On a personal note, Beth has three sons and she and her husband live outside Washington, DC. Moving on to me [click]. . . as my five-year old daughter will tell you, I am not a real doctor. Rather I have a PhD in Environmental and Occupational Health from Johns Hopkins, where I have a faculty appointment (the title on the previous slide).

Well, for starters, have you ever thought about what life was like before the Chemical Age? [click] Glass bottles meant more visits to the doctor or hospital for stitches or infections. [click] Speaking of infections, un-chlorinated water meant increased illness and death from cholera and thyphoid fever. [click] Fewer pharmaceuticals also led to higher rates of morbidity & mortality. [click] Cleaning involved a lot more tired arms and when children’s metal toys broke, you couldn’t just glue or tape them back together.

Well, for starters, have you ever thought about what life was like before the Chemical Age? [click] Glass bottles meant more visits to the doctor or hospital for stitches or infections. [click] Speaking of infections, un-chlorinated water meant increased illness and death from cholera and thyphoid fever. [click] Fewer pharmaceuticals also led to higher rates of morbidity & mortality. [click] Cleaning involved a lot more tired arms and when children’s metal toys broke, you couldn’t just glue or tape them back together.

Videos, a discussion board, 2 quizzes & a writing assignment create a diverse and engaging learning approach.

Before we even begin, we ask that you complete a short, peer-reviewed writing assignment describing your understanding of chemicals and how they impact our health. This assignment only counts for 5% of your grade and serves as an introduction to peer-reviewed writing. We also hope it will serve as an interesting comparison to the last writing assignment which will ask a similar question. Getting to the actual course material, the first modules provides an introduction to chemicals in our environment and attempts to answer the question: What is a chemical and how are we exposed? [click] You’re listening to the first speaker now – my goal is to cover an introduction to the course & an overview of the syllabus [click] One of my heroes, Prof. Burke will: •  define the word ‘chemical’, •  explain how populations are exposed to chemicals (pollutant source pathways), and •  describe how chemicals get into our bodies (mainly via air, water & food). [click]

Module 2 introduces you to the field of toxicology and tries to answer the question: What do chemicals do in our bodies? [click] Professor Trush will: •  Explain the concept of dose response. [click] •  Describe the continuum from environmental hazard to exposure to internal dose to health effects. •  Explain the concepts of absorption, distribution, metabolism & elimination. •  Highlight connection between toxicology & pharmacology (toxic vs. beneficial effects). [click]

Then you will have your first quiz! It will be Multiple Choice and will focus on the first two modules and comprise 20% of your grade.

Module 3 focuses on biomonitoring, which is a fancy way of describing the measurement of chemicals in our bodies. [click] We start off with a homework assignment that include 2 videos: •  A 2-minute one on public health laboratories: http://vimeo.com/52548635, and •  A 5-minute one on a KY community concerned about chemical exposures in their neighborhood: www.prx.org/pieces/91375-riverside-gardens-a-former-resort-community-besie. •  Then we want you to post your thoughts on the discussion board. [click]

Dr. Mortensen will do the first lecture, providing a definition of biomonitoring & how it differs from diagnostic testing that a physician might do. Then she will •  Describe how biomonitoring is used & interpreted, including its limitations. •  Explain the role of CDC in addressing chemical exposures. •  Provide an overview of the National Exposure Report. [click]

Dr. King will discuss how CDC’s data can (or cannot) be used at the state & local level. She will also:

The 4th module addresses the health effects of chemicals [click] Dr. Mitchell will: •  Explain the difference between association and causation. •  Discuss different types of health effects (acute vs. latent, transient vs. chronic, beneficial vs. adverse). •  Describe various health endpoints (neurological, developmental, respiratory, genetic etc.) •  Introduce CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. [click]

Dr. Nachman will discuss hazard identification (& the broader risk assessment process). [click] Then there will be another multiple choice quiz . This one will focus on modules 3 & 4 and also comprise 20% of your grade.

Module 5 covers chemicals policy, specifically asking the question what do we do as a society about chemicals & health? [click] Dr. Denison will: •  Describe some of the approaches to addressing chemicals at the population level (legislation, regulation). •  Discuss the US’ approach to chemical regulation compared to Europe (TSCA vs. REACH). [click] Dr. Samet will talk about air pollution as it relates to chemicals policy, specifically he will touch upon: •  historical air pollution •  how it relates to health •  how the US EPA regulates air pollution & •  how air quality has improved [click]

You will have one final assignment: a peer-reviewed writing assignment that will comprise 35% of your grade.

Our final module demonstrates how all these concepts come together to help address real-world problems and questions: •  Dr. Ken Aldous from the New York State Department of Health will talk about non-smokers who are exposed to smoke just by being in the same room as a smoker and how NY measured their exposure both before and after a ban on smoking in restaurants •  Dr. Joanna Cohen from JHSPH will talk about tobacco companies’ newest products and they try to stay viable given new restrictions on smoking. •  Then Dr. Urvashi Rangan of Consumers Union will discuss chemicals in food and other consumer products. •  Finally, Prof. Pat Breysse from JHSPH will address nanotechnology & worker health.

We have one last module that doesn’t get its own slide since it will simply be a way to pull everything together and provide some ideas for next steps. There are some big questions we hope to cover and have tried to do it in a fun, engaging way. Your participation and feedback will be key to making this a useful course. . .so we hope to hear from you along the way! Enjoy!