MI Health/Environment Conferenc

[Scott Sederstrom <sederstrom@igc.apc.org>]

                     ECOLOGY CENTER OF ANN ARBOR
                            PRESS RELEASE
     
     CONTACT: Margo Schneidman
              University of Michigan Medical Center
              (313) 747-1154
              Sandy Eiler
              Eiler Communications
              (313) 761-3399
              Scott Sederstrom
              Great Lakes United
              (313) 482-2926
     
     For Immediate Release: November 16, 1995
     
     Conference Explores Link Between Pollution and Rising Rates
     of Breast Cancer, Reproductive Disorders, and Children's
     Diseases
     
          The Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, together with more
     than two dozen environmental, labor and health
     organizations, is sponsoring a regional conference to
     examine the health effects of pollution.  "The Environmental
     Connection, Rising Rates of Breast Cancer, Reproductive
     Disorders, and Children's Disease," will be held on
     Saturday, Dec. 2 at Washtenaw Community College in Ann
     Arbor, MI.
     
          Featured speakers will be Devra Lee Davis, Ph.D.,
     M.P.H., an epidemiologist at the World Resources Institute
     and former senior scientific advisor to the U.S. Assistant
     Secretary of Health, and Lois Gibbs, executive director of
     Citizens Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste.  Gibbs is an
     activist nationally known for leading the campaign to
     protect her community against the harmful health effects of
     industrial poisons dumped at Love Canal.
     
          A public hearing on environmental health issues
     moderated by Bella Abzug, former congresswoman from New
     York and founder of Women's Environment and Development
     Organization (WE DO), will take place prior to the
     conference, on Friday afternoon from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., at
     the Ann Arbor Public Library.  Andrea Martin, founder and
     executive director The Breast Cancer Fund, will speak at a
     reception following the hearing.
     
          The conference will address compelling evidence that
     exposure to environmental contamination is contributing to
     the dramatic increase in health disorders affecting all
     segments of the population, particularly women and
     children:
     
          *A woman's lifetime risk of developing breast cancer
     is now one in eight, as opposed to one in 20 in 1960. 
     Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer
     in Michigan, after prostate cancer.
     
          *Between 1982 and 1992 the prevalence of asthma has
     increased by 41 percent.  The American Lung Association
     estimates that over half of America's children live in
     areas with unhealthy air.
     
          *Sperm counts have decreased 50 percent during the
     past 50 years in men living in industrialized countries.
     
          The conference provides the opportunity for health
     activists, environmentalists, and members of the public to
     learn about the evidence that links environmental toxins to
     health problems - and what they can do about it.
     
          Workshops will include:
            *Children and the Urban Environment: Asthma and Lead
     Exposure
            *Fertility at Risk: Male and Female Reproductive
     Problems
            *Environmental Problems and Breast Cancer
            *The First Environment: Before-birth Exposure to
     Toxins
            *Taking Political Action for Public Health
            *Reducing Your Risk: Steps Individuals Can Take
     
          Conference and hearing participants include: Rosalie
     Bertel, Ph.D., founder of the International Institute of
     Concern for Public Health; Katsi Cook, midwife, Mohawk
     Nation at Akwesasne; Joan D'Argo, Greenpeace Women's Health
     and the Environment Project; Thomas Darvill, Ph.D.,
     assistant professor of psychology, SUNY Oswego, and co-
     director, Oswego Newborn and Infant Development Project;
     U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers; Ernest Sternglass, Ph.D., professor
     emeritus of radiological physics, University of Pittsburgh;
     Fred vom Saal, Ph.D., professor of biology, University of
     Missouri.
     
          Registration for the conference, which will take place
     from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., is $25.  Low income and student rate
     is $10.  To register call the Ecology Center, (313) 761-
     3186.
                                 ###