The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #50470

Henry Falk, MD, MPH, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1600 Clifton Rd, NE, Mail Stop E 28, Atlanta, GA 30333 and Richard Walling, Director, Office of the Americas, Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Global Health Affairs, 5600 Fishers Lane, 18-101, Rockville, MD 20857, (301) 443-4010, hxf1@cdc.gov.

The International Environmental Health Subcommittee (IEHS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Environmental Health Policy Committee is an interagency forum for coordination on international environmental health issues, especially those with clear policy relevance. Chaired by HHS with participation from the Office of Global Health Affairs (OGHA), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, as well as agencies outside HHS including the State Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The panel will be chaired by Dr. Henry Falk, Assistant Administrator for ATSDR, and Mr. Richard Walling, Director of the Office of the Americas and Middle East in OGHA. Four panelists, including the co-chairs, will speak to IEHS agency experience on a range of international environmental activities. These include the development of policy for DDT as part of the international Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS) treaty negotiation, the development of a bilateral agreement for environmental health cooperation between the U.S. and India, a look ahead to the key international environmental health issues which will require U.S. policy response in the 21st century, and a review of country-level experience of IEHS member agencies.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will

• be able to describe the roles of U.S. government (USG) agencies in balancing health and environmental interests during negotiations on the Persistent Organic Pollutants treaty;
• have acquired an understanding of the breadth of USG activities in international environmental health;
• understand the range of international environmental health issues for the 21st century which USG policy will potentially be called upon to address.

Keywords: International, Environmental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.