The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is going to Brownfields 2013 Conference in Atlanta, GA. Are you? Do you want to know how you can protect and improve your community’s health through land reuse? ATSDR is offering community health training at the Brownfields 2013 Conference in Atlanta, GA. (Register on the Brownfields 2013 Conference Website: www.brownfieldsconference.org)
Plan to participate in the ATSDR-hosted affiliate training sessions, “Is it Healthy?” education sessions, films, environmental justice caucus, and pick up free resources at the ATSDR booth.
Learn how to protect and improve community health through land reuse, meet our team, and learn how to use our simple tools to assess brownfield/land reuse sites in your community.
ATSDR-Hosted Affiliate Training and Workshops (May 14, 2013)
Creating a Brownfields Site Inventory while Protecting Public Health
Tuesday May 14 9-10:30 am
Participants will learn to use the ATSDR Brownfields/Land Reuse Site tool to create a rapid site assessment and inventory at brownfield/land reuse sites through hands-on activities and recognize the impacts blighted, contaminated, and vacant properties can have on public health. All participants will be given a free copy of the tool.
Every Site Has a Story to Tell: Using Videos to Improve Community Health
Tuesday 14 11 am – 1 pm
Participants will learn to use video documentaries to educate communities about incorporating public health at brownfield and land reuse sites, view videos that have been used to educate communities about incorporating health monitoring in brownfield and land reuse projects, and talk to filmmaker Robert Safay and others, who have developed videos to promote public health in their communities.
Why Public Health? Leveraging Health Resources
Tuesday May 14 11:30 am – 1 pm
Participants will talk to ATSDR, Southeast Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU), Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness, and Georgia Department of Public Health about how they can help improve community health through redevelopment projects; gain an understanding of why protecting public health in redevelopment communities is important; and gain an understanding of how federal, state and local health agencies can help integrate public health in brownfield/land reuse projects.
Taking Action to Improve Community Health:
ATSDR Action Model and Heath Impact Assessment
Tuesday May 14 1 -4 pm
Participants will learn how indicators of community health status can be established and tracked during redevelopment projects to assess health impacts, learn to use indicators as a means of tracking brownfield program success, and talk to people who have used community health indicators to leverage additional resources for communities.
“Is it Healthy? Public Health and Brownfields Redevelopment” Education Sessions (May 15 – 17, 2013).
Protecting Future Generations through Public Health Approaches
Thursday, May 16, 2:30 – 3:45 pm
The idea of brownfields redevelopment for community reuse is not a new concept; however, delineating the connection between environmental justice and community access to jobs is. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Minority Worker Training Program addresses one of the most important and significant problems with urban unemployment--workers lacking crucial technical and marketable job skills with experience on the job. Explore how this program demonstrates the safety-first holistic approach to training that emphasizes not only environmental and hazmat technical training, but also includes training in environmental public health impacts, life skills, and remedial education. And discover how this program brings together community members and researchers to investigate the potential health risks of environmental and occupational exposures of concern to the community.
The Brownfields Highway to Healthcare
Thursday, May 16, 1:00 – 2:15 pm
Often lacking comprehensive plans, planning staff, and in some cases full-time elected officials, rural communities face significant hurdles in meeting revitalization goals. In this Town Hall meeting panelists will discuss insights from successful brownfields redevelopment project and foster discussion among attendees about the unique redevelopment and revitalization challenges faced by rural communities. *Local session
Don’t Be “Lead” Astray: Addressing Lead Concerns in Brownfields Communities
Friday May 17 9:45 – 11 am
Our widespread use of leaded gasoline and lead-based paint means lead exposure concerns are a unifying thread among communities with brownfields/land reuse sites. In these communities, lead is often associated with older housing stock, but former smelting operations, battery manufacture, or past agricultural lead-arsenate pesticide use can cause significant lead exposures as can other lead uses. The recent lowering of the blood lead level by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 10 ug/dL to 5 ug/dL may help expand efforts to address lead concerns in brownfields communities. Presenters will describe activities in Blue Island (IL), Detroit (MI), and Upper Exploreland (IA) to reduce exposures to lead in paint or soil in brownfields communities. Audience members from municipalities, local health agencies, and environmental consulting will find this session to be informative for their own brownfields program needs. Participants will learn how the lowering of the blood lead level may impact brownfields assessment and clean up activities and how lead outreach activities can be implemented in individual communities.
Brownfields 2013 Film Series (May 15 – 17, 2013).
Brownfields Short Films
Thursday, May 16, 2:30 – 3:45 pm
A series of four short films demonstrate how communities can work together on brownfields clean-up, remediation and redevelopment. Featured in the short films are Asheville, North Carolina; the Glatfelter Mill Redevelopment in Neenah, Wisconsin, and two projects overseen by Native American Indian Tribes, Cherokee in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe in Sequim, Washington. After the films, discussion leaders will highlight important take-away ideas on what communities can do to ensure successful brownfields redevelopment projects.
Environmental Justice Caucus (May 15 7:30 – 10:00 pm).
The format of the Caucus will be a combination of both panel and roundtable discussions. Panelists will each speak briefly about EJ issues and how they are being addressed within their organization. In the audience there will be distinct topic tables and at the conclusion of their presentations each panelist will join an appropriate table to talk with audience about their own community issues.
The ATSDR Team is your partner when working with your community to improve health.
Register on the Brownfields 2013 Conference Website: www.brownfieldsconference.org/
Scholarships: http://www.brownfieldsconference.org/en/attend/scholarships
For more information: atsdr.landreuse@cdc.gov
ATSDR Brownfields Website: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/brownfields/overview.
Focusing on challenges, stories, and issues important to the redevelopment of Brownfields in the South . http://www.southernbrownfield.com