U.S. CONGRESS - On June 20, 2017, emeritus dean and professor BERNARD GOLDSTEIN called on lawmakers to support a research agenda to mitigate global climate change during special D.C. hearing. As an expert environmental toxicologist, he emphasized the need to address conservatives’ reasons for not trusting climate science in order to get bipartisan support for research. He concluded that fighting over the issue is potentially disastrous to society...
PITTSBURGH TODAY - “PM2.5 is probably the chief concern for the region, mainly because of its contribution from a source as big as the Clairton plant has an effect over a fairly large area,” said EOH associate prof JAMES FABISIAK.... “Everything that’s a risk factor for bad health is showing up high in that area,” said LUANN BRINK, Allegheny County Health Department deputy director and chief epidemiologist (as well as EPI alum and assistant prof)...
POST-GAZETTE - An early motive for promoting cremation — to prevent contamination — appears overstated. Poorly buried corpses of people who died of infectious diseases in the 1800s could contaminate a nearby water supply, but there would have been no general risk of contamination from those who die of trauma or non-contagious diseases, commented EOH's JAMES FABISIAK.
PITTSBURGH BUSINESS TIMES - County Executive Rich Fitzgerald has named EOH's BERNARD GOLDSTEIN to a nine-member task force to study and recommend action steps to reduce the childhood lead exposure in the region. The task force, to be chaired by HPM's KAREN HACKER, Allegheny County's health director, has six months to make its recommendations.
POST-GAZETTE - In this article, EOH professor emeritus BERNARD GOLDSTEIN and BCHS student BELINDA BERRY tell us that increased funding for removing lead sources from both paint and water is needed. Unfunded mandates from politicians to do more with less will not help. Heightened surveillance of children, as requested by KAREN HACKER, HPM faculty and director of the Allegheny County Health Department, is of particular importance to better follow ...
BEAVER COUNTY TIMES - On the heels of a report released last week that again ranked western PA's air as some of the worst in the country, EOH's JAMES BAFISIAK spoke to a crowd of about 50 Beaver County residents on Monday night. We're committed to sharing our scientific expertise with neighbors concerned about the issues.
FAST COMPANY - There are massive economic benefits in our environmental regulations. A paper by EOH's BERNARD GOLDSTEIN and team members from across the country explores the science of environmental protection, noting that the 1963 Clean Air Act has cut key air pollutants by 70%, even as the U.S. population has grown by more than 50% and the economy (GDP) has expanded by 250%. It explains that Americans largely support environmental protection (j...
KDKA - Radio afternoon news host Robert Mangino interviewed EOH's JIM FANISIAK about the American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report. Even though our Pittsburgh air seems clear, there's a lot more we can do to clear up some of the worst air quality in the country.
POST-GAZETTE - “Air pollution in the form of soot and smog poses a serious threat to the health of those all across the region with children and the elderly being among the most susceptible,” said Jim Fabisiak, associate professor of Environmental & Occupational Health with the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health. “There are no known completely safe levels of exposure.” He said the fine particulates can penetrate deep into...
SOCIETY FOR SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC - The TVA case study fits with many other examples of how coal pollution can harm health, says EOH's BERNARD GOLDSTEIN. “We should get rid of particulates, and coal contributes to that.... If the president gets his way, this would slow [coal’s descent] down,” says Goldstein, who coauthored a March 23 New England Journal of Medicine opinion piece on why the Trump administration should pay attention to environmental...