YOUR ASSOCIATION
NEHA NEWS
We Are Partnering to Take Action to Protect Children From Lead Poisoning
The summit and XRF device were made possible through our partnership and collaboration with the National Center for Environmental Health within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Release of Our 2023 Annual Report In March 2023, we released our 2023 Annual Report that sum- marizes the achievements of the organization to build, sus- tain, and empower an eective environmental health work- force. The report demonstrates our continued commitment to being an essential partner and an influential voice in environ- mental health. In addition to words from NEHA Executive Director Dr. David Dyjack and NEHA President Tom Butts, the report provides a visual picture of our achievements under the following headings: • Igniting Potential: Building the Next Generation: In the next 5 years, we will lose one half of the environmental health workforce to retirement. In response, our work in 2023 was even more intentionally focused on creating opportunities to strengthen skills for environmental health students as well as the existing workforce. • Future-Proofing: Sharing Resources and Education for Evolv- ing Needs: Our climate and environment are continuing to change, leading to mounting environmental risks that the work- force must address. Our resources address ongoing and emerg- ing issues to help prepare the workforce for the challenges they face now and into tomorrow. • Cultivating Growth: Training and Investing for Improved Health Outcomes: Perhaps more than ever, the workforce requires new skills and knowledge to prepare for and respond to continued and emerging environmental risks. In 2023, we made significant eorts to modernize study materials, bring together the workforce, and secure substantial grants to support the workforce and the communities they serve. • Global Collaboration: Charting the Path Forward Together: In our global economy, bacteria, viruses, pollution, and contam- ination know no borders. Across the world, we face a shared environmental health future. That is why in 2023, we increased our collaborations with worldwide partners to share resources, perspectives, and ideas, and address emerging and environmen- tal justice issues. • Leading the Conversation: Elevating Visibility With Decision- Makers: To protect the communities they serve, the workforce must be recognized and supported both financially and politi- cally. In 2023 we made strides to amplify the voice and influence of our profession among policymakers through innovative cam- paigns and targeted advocacy at state and federal levels.
Presentation of the XRF device. Photo courtesy of NEHA.
Summit participants. Photo courtesy of NEHA.
Lead is a naturally occurring metal that is invisible to the naked eye. Children younger than 6 years are at the highest risk of serious harm from lead poisoning since their bodies are small and still developing. Lead poisoning can cause brain damage, kidney and liver damage, hearing and speech problems, and reduced bone growth. Even low levels of exposure to lead can cause lifelong learning disabilities, developmental delays, and behavioral issues. In February we hosted a 2-day Childhood Lead Poisoning Pre- vention Summit in Guam with environmental health professionals from the U.S. Aliated Pacific Islands to talk more about regional lead poisoning risks, gaps, and testing challenges. During the summit, we discussed steps to identify the funding and resources required to provide lead poisoning prevention programming in the region as well as opportunities to collaborate across the area, such as using a shared laboratory for testing. We were also honored to join environmental health sta in Saipan and present the chief population ocer of the Common- wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands with a lead detection device known as an XRF (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy).
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Volume 86 • Number 9
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