Presentations

Presenter: Dr. Juliette O’Keeffe (KT Scientist, NCCEH)

This presentation reviewed current understanding of the key risks associated with the performing arts sector, and the precautions for minimizing risks of COVID-19 transmission in various settings. It will be of interest to environmental and public health professionals developing guidance and recommendations for safe resumption of performing arts activities as well as those working in the sector.

The NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. See upcoming webinars. 

Related Evidence Review: COVID-19 Risks and precautions for the performing arts

Presenter: Jade Yehia (Regional Built Environment Consultant, Island Health)

This presentation synthesizes available evidence on environmental health risks associated with the physical environment in encampments, and best practices to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, to serve as guidance for environmental health practice as an integral part of a multi-sectoral approach to ensure people stay safe and healthy during their time in an encampment.

The NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. See upcoming webinars. 

Related Guidance Document: Environmental public health guidance for encampments during the COVID-19 pandemic

The NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.

Presenter: Kim Perrotta, Executive Director, Creating Healthy and Sustainable Environments (CHASE)

This presentation will summarize the health risks associated with climate change on a global scale and in Canada, identify the actions needed to address climate change which provide immediate health benefits, and discuss the different ways that public health professionals can help mitigate climate change and/or its harm on the populations they serve.

Climate Change Toolkit for Health Professionals

Evidence-informed decision-making seeks to incorporate both scientific or academic knowledge, as well as the practical knowledge of public health professionals. However, the use of scientific evidence is hindered by a number of factors, particularly the lack of an easy-to-use protocol to search, appraise and synthesize academic sources in a timely manner. In this document, we provide an overview of semi-systematic literature reviews as a way to incorporate scientific evidence into EIDM, and we provide a step-by-step protocol encompassing literature search, critical appraisal, and synthesizing new knowledge. The intent of this document is to both assist public health practitioners who wish to conduct their own reviews, as well as provide insight in to the literature review process at NCCEH.

The NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.

Presenter: Dr. Angela Eykelbosh, Environmental Health & Knowledge Translation Scientist, NCCEH The transmission of COVID-19, which occurs primarily through close contact with an infected person, has made it necessary for large proportions of the world’s population to self-isolate in their homes. However, those dwelling in multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) face additional challenges as they must necessarily use and share common areas and facilities, and are dependent upon building managers to maintain good indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Based on a recent NCCEH publication, this webinar will look at some of the evidence on COVID-19 transmission and consider how this applies to transmission risk in MURBs. We will discuss current cleaning and sanitation guidance…

The NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.

Presenter: Dr. Karen Bartlett, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

Occupants of buildings depend on what we term “good” Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). The actual definition of IEQ is somewhat elusive, as it is the absence of problems in the indoor environment which could detract from the health and productivity of occupants. Buildings need to be designed and built with the occupant in mind, and as we rapidly progress into sustainable building designs, we also need to make sure that buildings can accommodate the changing environments of our cities and climate. We will explore some of the facets of the occupant/building interface in these changing environments.

The NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.

Presenters: Mark McCabe, Fraser Health Authority; Christopher Radziminski and Phillip White, City of Vancouver

Presentation 1: Investigating an Outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease from Cooling Towers in Surrey, BC

In August 2018, Fraser Health detected an outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease in Surrey, BC. We employed traditional and novel strategies for identifying and stopping the source, and ultimately, were able to implicate a specific cooling tower as a source of the outbreak. This presentation describes the story of our investigation, the tools and strategies we employed, and key challenges and considerations we faced.

Presentation 2: Driving Down Legionella Risk in the City of Vancouver

This year, Vancouver is implementing mandatory operating…

The NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.

Presenters: Lori Holmes, Huron Perth Public Health; Sunil Varughese, Public Health Ontario; Vince Spilchuk, Public Health Ontario

Cosmetics, such as skin creams containing mercury, have long been used in several countries for skin-lightening, anti-aging and acne treatment effects. The harmful effects of mercury to human health are well known. Although many countries including Canada have restricted its use in cosmetics to protect the public from mercury exposure, production and subsequent access to these products continues to occur.

The following presentation will outline a recent case of mercury poisoning in an infant that led to a collaborative public health investigation involving provincial, federal and international public health stakeholders. Through the…

The NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.

Presenter: Keith Warriner, Department of Food Science, University of Guelph

The next chapter in marijuana legalization is the introduction of commercially produced edibles with the first legal products expected to be on the shelves next month. The regulations appear restrictive and the types of edibles to be available remain obscure. However, there exists a gray market where a diverse range of edibles are available with a trend of domestically produced edibles set to become increasingly popular.

In the following presentation an overview of a foundation risk assessment will be provided. This will include risk identification (biological, physical and chemical), risk characterization, risk management options and risk communication strategies. With regards to the…

The NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.

This seminar highlighted three student research projects from the BCIT Environmental Health Program.

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