CO2 monitoring is an established tool to assess occupancy and ventilation requirements for indoor spaces, typically for the purposes of increasing energy efficiency. During the pandemic, it is critical that spaces are adequately ventilated for the number of occupants and type of activities, but it is often unclear if ventilation objectives are being met. CO2 monitoring can help to address ventilation inadequacy, provided that users are able to install, monitor, interpret, and react to these devices. However, there are a number of technical and risk communication challenges regarding CO2 monitoring by non-expert occupants, including the tendency to misinterpret CO2 as a direct indicator of COVID-19 risk. This webinar will review some of the public health commentary or guidance on CO2 monitoring during the pandemic, and will identify the more challenging aspects of this practice to help facilitate decision-making and communication around CO2 sensors.
Le CCNSE offre régulièrement des présentations dans le cadre d’activités liées au secteur de la santé environnementale tenues partout au Canada, et il organise des ateliers ainsi que des réunions sur divers sujets. Vous trouverez ici une liste de certaines présentations faites dans le cadre de conférences et de webinaires d’organismes externes, en plus de présentations tirées de notre Série de séminaires sur la santé environnementale.
Indoor radon is an important cause of lung cancer in British Columbia (BC), responsible for about 15% of lung cancer deaths. The risk of radon-attributable lung cancers varies across the province, however, depending on geological factors as well as housing characteristics. Accurately assessing the risk posed by residential radon in BC requires sufficient measurements taken from representative samples of homes in each region.
To support this work, as well as other policy and research efforts, the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has established the British Columbia Radon Data Repository (BCRDR), which houses over 14,000 anonymized indoor radon measurements from across the province, including over 11,000 from residences. Measurements are collected from federal, provincial, and regional partner agencies as well as private radon professionals.
In this seminar, we describe the repository and highlight two uses for the data. First, the BCCDC has…
Almost two years since the start of the pandemic, significant psychosocial impacts are still observed in the Canadian population. The results of various surveys, as part of a study carried out by Université of Sherbrooke with the collaboration of international universities, have depicted the association between various risk/protective factors and mental health in times of pandemic. The most recent survey was conducted in October 2021 (in Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland) among a large and representative sample of adults. Special attention will be paid to the evolution in anxiety and depression and its associated risk/protective factors, as well as to a newly explored concept called “pandemic fatigue”. In addition to these results, some interesting comparisons between the attitudes, perceptions and responses towards the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change will be made. Lessons in disaster risk management learned over the past two years can indeed be utilized to enhance risk…
The risk of contracting coronavirus varies among people and places, making some British Columbians more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 than others, due to socio-economic factors, occupational hazards, personal behaviours or other factors that are amplified in places characterised by increased risk of transmission. To better understand this, we developed a vulnerability model to identify differences in COVID-19 risks across neighbourhoods, visualized in a series of maps on a public-facing dashboard that indicate where to focus policy and public health efforts. In this presentation we discuss how we worked with patient partners and some of the actions that have been informed by our maps.Dr. Valorie Crooks, Professor, Simon Fraser UniversityLeah Rosenkrantz, EH & KT Scientist, NCCEH
La distribution géographique des tiques est en expansion rapide en raison du changement climatique, de la migration des animaux et des changements à l’aménagement du territoire. Ce projet visait, d’une part, à mieux comprendre les effets des tiques sur la santé publique canadienne provoqués par ces transformations et, d’autre part, à montrer que certaines stratégies de conception et de gestion de l’environnement peuvent réduire le risque d’exposition aux tiques dans les parcs, les propriétés résidentielles et autres espaces extérieurs. Il comprend quatre rapports : une analyse des risques de santé publique associés aux tiques au Canada, une présentation des impacts du climat et des changements à l’aménagement du territoire sur les risques liés aux tiques, un examen des stratégies de gestion environnementale pour réduire les populations de tiques, et la synthèse de ces leçons sous forme de fiches descriptives simples destinées aux professionnels et usagers des parcs, aux concepteurs…
Urban rats are an important issue globally. Despite ongoing efforts to manage rats, they continue to flourish in cities, indicating that municipalities have not been able to find or widely implement solutions that sustainably eliminate rats. There is no consensus why management efforts may have failed and there is limited research describing or comparing municipal rat management approaches.
This webinar will present a project designed to understand the state of municipal rat management with a view towards providing recommendations for cities seeking to develop or improve their own rat management strategies. To achieve this, our research team traveled to seven cities in the USA with municipal rat management programs, interviewed program stakeholders, attended site visits, gathered rat-related municipal regulations, and synthesized the municipal rat management literature. Overall, we found an entrenched “war-on-rats” paradigm driving municipal rat management and dictating…
Public libraries are evolving, lending out more than just books and acting as hubs for innovative programming. One example in Canada is the rise of radon “Lending Library” programs that connect patrons to radon information and digital radon detectors. Beginning in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, there are now over 300 libraries that lend digital detectors across the country and more come on board regularly. The success of the radon program hinges on the unique role that libraries play in communities. Not only are libraries well-established, trusted sources of knowledge but more and more libraries are taking part in innovative public health initiatives. In some regions, patrons can borrow items such as CO2 and PM2.5 sensors, sun lamps, surgical recovery equipment and even mobility-aides for visitors. There is growing enthusiasm for more collaboration between librarians and public health professionals, in part as they address important issue such as access and health equity. This…
Animal le plus meurtrier au monde, le moustique sévit en disséminant des agents pathogènes dans de nombreux milieux, des tropiques aux régions arctiques, du niveau de la mer au sommet des montagnes, dans les centres urbains des centres urbains aux écosystèmes perturbés comme dans les forêts anciennes épargnées par la civilisation.
On recense actuellement 51 espèces en Colombie-Britannique et 33 au Yukon, mais les connaissances restent très limitées sur la répartition de moustiques indigènes et envahissants dans les zones rurales et nordiques de ces régions, y compris sur les principales espèces vectrices. Plus de données sur les habitats connus et potentiels des vecteurs sont donc nécessaires pour prédire les sites de transmission des arbovirus dans le climat actuel et futur. Nous résumerons ici les connaissances actuelles sur les moustiques en Colombie-Britannique et au Yukon, présenterons les recherches sur le sujet en expliquant leur intérêt pour la santé publique…
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.
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 from the Public Health Agency of Canada and other public health agencies.
Dr. Angela…