Environmental Engineering & Toxicology

Standing on the edge of Schoolhouse Pond, Chris Roman and Marcella Thompson watched as an unmanned kayak traveled back and forth across the pond in a series of calculated switchbacks. When it had completed its mission, the vessel returned to its starting point, where the two University of Rhode Island researchers were waiting.

COEH faculty affiliate Asa Bradman from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health became chair of Biomonitoring California’s Scientific Guidance Panel (SGP) effective November 2015. Dr. Bradman has been a member of the SGP since 2007, first appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and later reappointed by Governor Jerry Brown. Dr. Bradman will coordinate with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), one of three state departments that implement Biomonitoring California, to facilitate three SGP meetings annually. ...

To study elusive wolverines in the wild, you need to know where they occur. To figure out where they occur, you need wolverines to trigger remote research cameras. To get wolverines to trigger the cameras, you need to attract them with a strong scent, which naturally fades after two to four weeks. To keep that scent refreshed after it fades, you need to hike into backcountry terrain with deep snow and dangerous avalanche conditions in the winter—and that’s where it gets tricky.

With conventional centrifugal (CEN) pumps, less than 50% of southern Bangladesh's farmers invest in irrigation, partly due to high diesel energy costs. New policies are prioritizing sustainable crop intensification in Bangladesh's delta. This objective is unlikely to be achieved without fundamental changes in the energetics and economics of irrigation. Where surface water is available, axial flow pumps (AFPs) may comprise part of the solution to this problem.

Fellow Judith Rubin wrote this article in 2003, but it still holds today. Feel free to use the "Writing a Gift Letter" sidebar at the bottom of the article to encourage your own relatives and friends to rethink their giving habits.

“There’s evidence that diet is one route of exposure to pesticides, and you can reduce your exposure by choosing organic food,” said the lead author, Asa Bradman, associate director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at the University of California, Berkeley. “But I would never say that conventional fruits and vegetables are unsafe. They’re all healthy.” Read more

With wingspans of up to 3 metres, it should be hard to miss the largest bird in North America – but there aren’t a lot of them. The California condor is only just hanging on in its home state, but thanks to a gargantuan conservation effort, the tide may finally be turning.

2. Secondhand fumes. ​While that nail-polish smell is unavoidable, your eyes shouldn't water upon entry. Workers are the most vulnerable to fumes, "but even short exposure to hazardous chemicals can be harmful," says Thu Quach, Ph.D., a research scientist with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California who has done extensive research on nail-salon safety. Read more

In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its first national study tracking personal exposures to dozens of chemicals in a representative sample of the U.S. population. The agency found that almost all Americans had an array of industrial compounds coursing through their bodies, although levels varied depending on such factors as age and gender. While many of these substances are found in everyday products, most have never been adequately tested for potential health effects.