News and Features

This page provides links to this year’s EHS spotlight and news articles.

Quick links to past EHS spotlight and news articles by year:
2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001.

2013 News Items

Spotlight Feature

EHS Feature News page on Recreational Water Illness and Injury (RWII) Prevention Week — May 20–26, 2013 – Twitter chat (May 22, 2013) and new healthy swimming data and environmental health materials related to healthy swimming.

Healthy and Safe Swimming: Pool Chemical–Associated Health Events [PDF - 220 KB] – This month's guest authors, Michele Hlavsa and Michael Beach of CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program, discuss prevention of health events associated with pool chemicals. The article includes examples of pool chemical posters as well as information on the Model Aquatic Health Code and how it can be a beneficial tool in preventing accidents involved with pool chemicals. This article is published in the May 2013 issue of the Journal of Environmental Health.

Be the first to know CDC’s latest recommendations for aquatic venues! Join CDC and partners for the release of the first edition of the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) for final public comment. The event will take place on July 8 at the National Environmental Health Aquatic Symposium, a special preconference session at this year’s National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) conference.

EHS-Net Plain Language Summary on Restaurant Food Cooling Practices – No time to read journal articles detailing EHS-Net findings? The new summary of the 2013 food cooling study highlights the study findings and recommendations.

Monitoring and Controlling West Nile Virus: Are Your Prevention Practices in Place? [PDF - 732 KB] – Guest columnist Roger Nasci describes the 2012 WNV outbreaks in the United States and highlights community-based, integrated mosquito management programs as the best WNV prevention tool available. This article is published in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of Environmental Health.

Richard Gelting PhD, PE (CAPT, USPHS) won the CDC 2013 Engineer of the Year Award and the US Public Health Service 2013 Engineer of the Year Award earlier this year. On February 22, 2013, he was named the 2013 Federal Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers.

EHS-Net-Improving Restaurant Food Safety One Study at a Time [PDF - 168 KB] – Did you know that half of all foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States are associated with restaurants? CDC’s Environmental Health Specialists Network (EHS-Net) did, and since 2002, EHS-Net has conducted 15 studies on restaurant food safety.

CDC’s Summer Program in Environmental Health Enters Fifth Year (AEHAP News page 2) [PDF - 1.4 MB] – The Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs (AEHAP) published an article on the SUPEH internship program in its winter newsletter.

Summer Internship with Environmental Health Services! – Applications due February 13, 2013, for a 10-week summer environmental internship for students majoring in Environmental Health. Interns gain environmental health experience and an understanding of environmental health work at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels.

Monitoring and Testing Module for Public Comment – This draft Model Aquatic Health Code module is open for public comment through February 10, 2013. Ensuring water and air quality is important for maintaining a safe and healthy environment for pool and spa users and operators. The Monitoring and Testing Module identifies activities and procedures that pool and spa operators should follow to proactively evaluate the water and air quality in their facilities. Want to know more about the model pool code? Check out the new frequently asked questions page.

EHS-Net Water Safety Projects – EHS-Net water safety projects include developing multisite projects with our funded partners. EHS-Net’s current multisite project looks at the seasonality of noncommunity water systems to understand how they provide safe drinking water and about vulnerabilities of those systems. Learn about EHS-Net partners’ individual projects to improve the practice of environmental health.

Restaurant Food Cooling Practices – New EHS-Net article includes quantitative data on restaurants’ food cooling processes and practices such as whether cooling processes are tested and proven to be safe; temperature monitoring practices; refrigeration cooling practices, and cooling food temperatures.

Kick Off 2013 With Exciting Workforce Development Opportunities [PDF - 205 KB] – Elaine Curtiss describes the Environmental Health Services Branch’s many workforce training opportunities. Offerings include Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response, Environmental Public Health Online Courses, e-learning on environmental assessments for foodborne illness outbreaks, and integrated pest management courses. This article is published in the January/February 2013 issue [PDF - 107 KB] of the Journal of Environmental Health.

Earlier news items are available on the News and Features Archive page.

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