School Notes: School of the Environment
September/October 2009

Study links carbon monoxide with heart disease in elderly

Exposure to carbon monoxide, even at levels well below national limits, is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for the elderly with heart problems, according to a study published in September in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The nationwide study of 126 urban communities, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, found that an increase in carbon monoxide as small as one part per million is associated with increased risk of hospitalization from cardiovascular disease among people over the age of 65. This link holds true even when the carbon monoxide levels are less than one part per million, which is well below the EPA's national standard of 35 parts per million for a one-hour daily maximum exposure. This finding suggests an under-recognized health risk to seniors and, according to F&ES professor Michelle Bell, the study's lead investigator, "indicates that exposure to current carbon monoxide levels may pose a public health threat."

Green chemist appointed to Environmental Protection Agency

President Obama has nominated Paul Anastas, Teresa and H. John Heinz III Professor in the Practice of Chemistry for the Environment, as assistant administrator for research and development at the Environmental Protection Agency. He will lead the 2,000-member Office of Research and Development, the EPA's scientific arm that conducts research in air quality, water quality, drinking water, ecosystem services, climate, human health, land cleanup, and pesticides and toxic substances. It also administers the Science To Achieve Results (STAR) research and fellowship program that funds environmental science and engineering research.

Currently director of the Center for Green Chemistry & Green Engineering at Yale, Anastas holds joint appointments in chemistry, chemical engineering, and the environment school. His research focuses on the design of safer chemicals and chemical processes to replace the use of hazardous substances.