ROLL's Environmental Health Impacts
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ROLL’s Environmental Health Impacts Examples from the Field onsidered one of Russia’s most NGOs, and governments overcome The Challenge recognized and successful barriers in working together to solve • 61 million Russians are Cenvironmental initiatives, the critical issues. endangered by environ- Institute for Sustainable Communities’ mental hazards. ISC’s ROLL program staff has more than a (ISC’s) Replication of Lessons Learned decade of experience implementing and • 250,000 die prematurely (ROLL) program is a Russian-to-Russian due to poor environment. managing environmental health projects partnership building stronger networks across Russia. Areas of expertise include • Air pollution kills 40,000 among governments, NGOs, and the health risk assessment, management and people a year. private sector to use best practices for communications, grantmaking, environ- cleaning up the environment, improving mental education, and environmental ROLL’s Impact public health, and sustainably managing research. The ROLL program, supported • $1.4 million have thus far Russia’s natural resource base. by the U.S. Agency for International been invested through ISC in health risk management. Health problems are a critical factor in Development, also offers technical Russia’s ongoing economic, democratic, expertise in air, water, natural resource • 350 children in the Ural and social transition. Investments, management, and energy efficiency. region have been treated for exports, efficiency, and economic growth lead poisoning. Additionally, ISC has developed an are all fueled by a vital, healthy popula- • 4,000 men and youth from extensive network of partners and tion. Citizens across Russia contend daily industrial cities in environmental specialists across Russia. with contaminated drinking water, Bashkortostan have been ineffective solid and wastewater manage- screened and treated for ment, and air pollution. environmentally related ISC’s ROLL program is helping Russians health problems. Moreover, environmental health problems improve their environment and health • 1,200 children living in are among the most preventable and can by introducing cutting-edge health risk assessment methods that lead to efficient, Nizhnii Tagil, Baikalsk, be effectively addressed through commu- practical solutions to serious environmental Yaroslavl, Klin, and the nity action processes that help citizens, health problems. Republic of Chuvashia have been treated for environ- mentally linked diseases. INSTITUTE for SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES Russia’s ROLL Knowledge Key to Preventing Project Results in Additional cities. The project now receives additional and Reducing Prenatal Allergic Funding for Health Risk financial support from the regional Diseases Assessment government’s ecological fund. The grant Three hospitals in the cities of ROLL introduced health risk assessment also funded a regional program to focus Novosibirsk and Mirny, and eight outpa- to transportation planning in Moscow. on medical-ecological rehabilitation, tient clinics in Novosibirsk Oblast, have Specialists from Ecodesign Ltd. developed addressing illnesses brought on by the trained 400 pregnant an emissions dispersion and adverse factors of industrial pollution. women and nearly 150 risk assessment map The experience was so successful that the parents in allergy reduc- showing the distribution of City of Ekaterinburg also created and tion/prevention through 23 chemicals over a 420 supports a similar program. the Family Rehabilitation square kilometer area with a ROLL project data has become an integral Center in Novosibirsk population of 420,000. part of establishing normative baselines (another ROLL grantee). This illustration of the from which to assess industrial impact on An additional 2,000 people health risks associated with general health. A system of “grading and will be trained during the chemical pollutants from assessing” relative risk is being developed coming year. vehicle emissions was and sanctioned by the federal ROLL-sponsored research presented to officials from Sanepidnadzor Ministry as a way to by Professor Ludmila the Departments of Trans- determine concrete connections between Kaznacheya shows that the portation, Epidemiological economic development and health risk. chance of giving birth to a sick, allergic Monitoring, and Environmental Protection Addressing Male Reproductive infant decreases 30-to-40 percent in from both the municipal and federal Health women who are educated about the risks levels. The recommendations from the and ways to avoid them; and the rate of project have been used to justify addi- Family planning center visits by men in environmentalthe Republic of Bashkiria doubled during allergies acquired later by children born tional local funding to support health risk to these mothers is reduced by half. The assessment for other a ROLL project to develop a comprehen- benefits of Kaznacheya’s ROLL-funded areas of Moscow, sive program on training led the chief allergists of the primarily the male reproductive Republic of Sakha and Nizhnii Novgorod subdivision associ- health and infertility. Oblast to recommend adopting the ated with the Third The project also program into their standard operating Transport Ring being resulted in a procedures. constructed near the constitutional center of the city. amendment to Saving Energy Results in protect people’s Improved Treatment Connecting rights to reproduc- Economic The Saratov City Administration Public tive health. Development Health Committee saved more the $1,200 Bashkiria’s Parlia- and Health Risk in heating fuel in its tuberculosis clinic ment is planning to introduce additional through a ROLL project. Not only have ROLL supported a project in the Perm amendments to the Federal Legislature, the energy-efficiency techniques saved region to develop better ways to docu- and is currently developing a comprehen- fuel, but tuberculosis treatment has ment potential prevention and treatment sive program on male reproductive become more effective. Because the clinic options for pollution-related illness in health—the first of its kind in the Russian building is five degrees warmer, patients children, and new diagnostic methods Federation. no longer cut short their treatment to go specific to large, industrially polluted i to warmer places. program A secondary research focus—prolonged In addition, the new-found cooperation kilometer area—supplying tens of chemical contamination affecting human between the public, the city, and the state thousands of people with drinking life expectancy—is proving to be is continuing to pay off as plans are water—was polluted by heavy metals and extremely current and timely. A unique being developed to address air quality sulfates. Because of these findings, a new technique for detecting dioxins in and other public health problems. five-year program for cooperative water humans has been devised and is being quality management has been developed Recommendations for Cleaner shared on an international level, most with the Vurnary Local Administration Drinking Water recently at the international Dioxin and the Local Committee for Natural The guidelines and recommendations of Congress in Barcelona. Resources. Low-cost activities have ISC’s ROLL project in Belgorod Oblast already been implemented to improve Successful Collaborationhealth in detailing drinking water quality problems water quality, including an initiative were included in Belgorod City’s three- Health Risk Management calling for replacing deep well water year development plan and in the In 1998, three ROLL grantees in the City supplies with surface Program for of Serpukhov came together to compile, sources. The Vurnary Reforming summarize, and map soil, surface water, Local Administration has Belgorod Oblast and air pollution in the city. allocated funds for the Housing and upcoming year to Two seminars to discuss the results of the Communal continue with present project brought together more than 190 Services. citizens, representatives from the city remediating strategies administration, environmental protection Immobilizing and develop new agencies, and the state Sanitary and Heavy Metals approaches. Epidemic Control Service. As a result, the in the Soil Mercury Pollution City Council adopted a plan to stabilize A ROLL project in Saratov investigating Reduced in the Chuvash Republic and improve Serpukhov’s environment, chemical behavior of heavy metals in the NPK Mercury in the Chuvash Republic and included it in the city’s budget for the soil identified cadmium, because of its implemented a ROLL-funded project to first time. mobile compounds, as the most serious remove mercury from the waste stream. pollutant. This knowledge led city The proposal included an air quality plan After undertaking an extensive monitor- managers to create a program to immobi- and a strategy to address the problem of ing and remediation program for mercury lize heavy metals in the soils. The city PCB-contaminated food being sold in city contamination in schools and hospitals, was also able to identify and fine the markets. Local growers, the city, and state 82 rooms in local hospitals were found to polluters, and establish buffer zones officials were able to work together to be contaminated (15 have already been around polluted areas. come up with a practical, cost-effective cleaned up). solution to the contaminated vegetable Action to Protect Against problem. Vegetable growers switched to The Chuvash Republic Ministry of Health Contaminated