October 30, 2002 BOSTON (Boston Herald) -- The state Department of Public Health has won a $2.4 million federal grant to establish a registry to track cases of pediatric asthma, lupus and developmental problems in children, with an eye to linking them with environmental causes.
"We're very excited about it," said Suzanne Condon, assistant commissioner for the agency's Bureau of Environmental Health. "This will greatly advance the field of environmental health."
The agency will work with school health nurses to develop a statewide surveillance system for pediatric asthma and will conduct extensive indoor air quality tests to determine the impact of air quality on asthma, she said.
She noted that schools with air quality problems have reported higher rates of asthma.
A registry of Lupus cases for all Boston neighborhoods will also be established with the grant money. The autoimmune disease affects black, Hispanic and Asian women at higher rates than white women.
The project will also track developmental problems in children in several areas of the state where levels of polychlorinated biphenyls have been a documented problem, including New Bedford and Berkshire County.
The grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control comes in response to a 2001 report that said the existing environmental health tracking system is inadequate. It recommended a nationwide tracking system. Condon said Massachusetts is one of seven states to get one of the grants. Ultimately, she said, "the goal is to establish a national system."
COpyright 2002 Boston Herald. All rights reserved.
