Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Upper-Midwest Air Quality Alerts Triggered By Canadian Smoke Plumes
In addition to Wisconsin and Minnesota, smoke from the fires was also detected over parts of Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and North Dakota, another map showed. 鈥淪moke originating from Canadian wildfires continues to move southeast across Wisconsin,鈥 the state Department of Natural Resources said. 鈥淧eople with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.鈥 The smoke is forecast to push even further south over the next few days, dipping as far south as the mid-South by Saturday. (Smart, Ward and Elamroussi, 6/15)
Bill Goodman, a Weather Service meteorologist in Upton, explained in an interview on Thursday that the smog would not be as dense as it was last week, when New York鈥檚 skyline nearly disappeared in a thick, orange haze. This time, he said, the smoke 鈥渨ill be experienced as hazy skies,鈥 and 鈥渢he smoke at the surface should be negligible.鈥 (Diaz, 6/15)
Smoke from Canada鈥檚 wildfires caused hazardous pollution last week in the eastern US. What are the short- and long-term effects? CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen explains. (Hetter, 6/14)
In other environmental health news 鈥
The fluoride feed in drinking water in the Greater Boston area has resumed after a three-month pause for construction, officials said Tuesday. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority said water fluoridation restarted on Monday. 鈥淔luoridated water will be arriving at customer鈥檚 homes throughout the next week or so depending on the distance from the water treatment plant and local pipe network configuration,鈥 officials said. (Armanini, 6/14)
The Southern Nevada Health District鈥檚 Mosquito Disease Surveillance Program identified the first West Nile virus-positive mosquitoes of the season in the 89074 zip code, where Henderson鈥檚 Green Valley development is located. Since kicking off in May, the health district鈥檚 surveillance program has tested over 7,000 mosquitoes with 1,100 traps set near parks, wetland areas, wash channels and other breeding grounds across the valley, according to the health district. (Lane, 6/15)
Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) agreed on Thursday to pay $6.9 million to settle claims by New York Attorney General Letitia James that it misled consumers by advertising Roundup weedkiller, which has been linked to cancer, as environmentally safe. (Stempel, 6/15)
As extreme summer temperatures contribute to the uptick in blackouts across the country, a new study shows that when the two events coincide the public health risks can be profound, especially in the Southwest. The study, published last week in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, found that if a multi-day blackout occurs in Phoenix, Arizona, during a heat wave, more than half of the city's population would require emergency medical care to treat heat-related illnesses, and up to 1% of the population 鈥 about 13,000 people 鈥 would die. (VandenEinde, 6/15)
杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News: California Schools Start Hatching Heat Plans As The Planet Warms聽
As hot days become more extreme and common, California education researchers are urging that school districts be required to develop heat plans to keep students safe, just as they have policies for severe storms and active shooters. A policy brief published last month by the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation offers a series of recommendations on how education and building codes can help schools become more heat-resilient in the face of global warming. State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, a Democrat, introduced legislation this year requiring schools to have heat plans by 2027, and another bill would make it easier for schools to create more shaded spaces. (McMurray, 6/16)