Summer 2019

This summer flew by! We've celebrated so many milestones throughout the year and this summer was no different.

In January we released our annual newsletter to participants in our New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study and shared that the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services had proposed a bill to lower the drinking water standard for arsenic. On July 13th, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu approved this bill! Soon, the state will impose a new limit on the amount of arsenic that can be present in public drinking water, reducing the maximum amount from 10 parts per billion (ppb) to 5 ppb. The research from our Birth Cohort Study and Toxic Metals Superfund Research Program informed the state's landmark decision and we couldn't be more thrilled.

Arsenic is tasteless, odorless, and naturally occurring in the bedrock found throughout New Hampshire. This poses health risks when arsenic from within the bedrock seeps into soil and enters public and private water supplies. In 2009, we began our New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study to research the long-term health effects that early life exposure to arsenic could pose to residents of New Hampshire and Vermont.

New Hampshire is the second state in the US to take action to reduce the amount of arsenic in its public water supply and we can't wait until this takes effect. We do however, urge private-well owners to continue to monitor the levels of arsenic in their drinking water supply. The new bill will require the state to monitor arsenic in public drinking water, but private-wells may still pose a risk. To find out more on how you can test your private well visit: New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

In light of the news that our study had provided the basis of information used in Gov.Sununu's decision to limit the levels of arsenic in public drinking water, our research was featured across several media outlets! NHPR was one of the first news outlets to break the story and soon the NH Union Leader, the National Institute of Health Sciences, and the Valley News (among others!) followed.

NBC also hosted a special segment on July 16 that highlighted the story and featured Dr. Carolyn Murray. Watch the full video below!

"We're finding health effects at levels that we previously thought were perhaps safe..About 20-25% of moms that enrolled in our study had arsenic that exceeded the ten parts per billion level" - Dr. Carolyn Murray

On August 10th, we celebrated the 10th year anniversary of the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study at the Montshire Museum in Norwich, Vermont. It was wonderful to see all the participants from our research family who could make it to the event. The celebration offered participants to learn more about our recent findings, meet staff and researchers, and explore the museum. We were delighted to see so many families attend and we hope to have more gatherings in the future! Below are some of the photos from the event!

April Recap

April has been a busy month! From April 1st- 7th, we celebrated National Public Health Week. This year’s National Public Health Week theme was “Creating the Healthiest Nation 2030: For science. For action. For health.”

Rural Health was the focus of NPHW on Wednesday April 3rd. Our Children’s Health Center is located in the rural Upper Valley of New Hampshire, where part of our study investigates the correlations between naturally occurring arsenic in private wells and the developmental effects arsenic exposure can have children whose main water source comes from these private wells. Private wells are common in NH, VT, and other rural areas across the country. We cannot believe that we are currently in the 10th year of our New Hampshire Birth Cohort study where since 2009, we have worked to investigate the effects of childhood exposure to arsenic.

World Autism Day is Monday, April 2, 2018, which marked the kickoff of an entire month dedicated to spreading awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Society, the nation’s leading grassroots autism organization, launched the observance month to “promote autism awareness, inclusion and self-determination for all, and assure that each person with ASD is provided the opportunity to achieve the highest possible quality of life.” This year marked the 12th annual celebration of Autism Awareness day on April 2nd and Autism Awareness Month.

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. Indicators of autism usually appear by age 2 or 3. Some associated development delays can appear even earlier, and often, it can be diagnosed as early as 18 months. Research shows that early intervention leads to positive outcomes later in life for people with autism.

Together, with our nationwide team of Children’s Health Centers, researchers have identified potential links between air pollution, pesticides, occupational exposures. Phthalate and the risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

In 2003, researchers at UC Davis initiated CHARGE (CHildhood Autism Risks from Genes and Environment), a case control study of children with and without autism. It is the first comprehensive study of environmental causes and risk factors associated with Autism.

CHARGE has been an instrumental Study that has informed the individual studies of Children’s Health Centers across the country. CEHC Dartmouth participates in this collaborative nationwide network of health professionals. All of the individual findings from each Center in our network has the potential to influence our collective understanding of how environmental risks influence a diverse range of childhood birth outcomes. Together, our centers have influenced and informed health policies.

Check out the images below to learn more about the findings from other Children's Environmental Health Centers that we highlighted on social media during National Autism Awareness Month. Learn more the findings from the Children's Centers Environmental Health Centers nationwide here.

March Updates

We kicked off the month of March by preparing and celebrating Ground Water Awareness Week. This year was the 10th anniversary of its founding by National Ground Water Association. Did you know approximately 132 million Americans rely on groundwater for drinking water. It is used for irrigation, livestock, manufacturing, mining, thermoelectric power, and several additional purposes, making it one of the most widely used and valuable natural resources we have. The following fast facts are provided by the National Ground Water Association. Please visit their website for more information on the event and well-water testing.

• Americans use 79.6 billion gallons of groundwater each day.

• Groundwater is 20 to 30 times larger than all U.S. lakes, streams, and rivers combined.

• 44 percent of the U.S. population depends on groundwater for its drinking water supply.

• More than 13.2 million households have their own well, representing 34 million people.

In March, we received news that Carol Folt, formerly of the University of Chapel Hill, has been appointed as the incoming President of the University of Southern California! We were so delighted to hear this as Carol has worked alongside Margaret Karagas, our Chief Investigator, since the very early days of our study. We congratulate and wish our co-investigator Carol all the best as she takes on her new role of President of USC!