Earth science research to feed into new Center

As reported in the Indianapolis Star on May 1st, the Indiana University School of Medicine will launch a new Center for Environmental Health on July 1st 2006. The Chairman of the Department of Earth Sciences (formerly Geology), Dr. Gabe Filippelli, is part of the team that founded this new Center.

Study of earth materials is a key component of this new Center, which works to connect knowledge of geology, toxicology, and cancer research. Study of earth materials and how humans use these materials is often a pre-requisite to understanding their potential health impacts on humans.

One of the focuses of our Department's research is the connection between usage of earth resources and degradation of water, air, and soil quality. Examples of previous research are noted in the following online articles that feature the research of our faculty and our own Center for Earth and Environmental Science:

• Plastics Planet: The Safety of Plastics Food Containers
• Urban Lead Poisoning in Indianapolis
• Mercury Content of Indiana Coals
• Central Indiana Water Resources Parternship

More information about this new Center will be available after it launches on July 1st, the basic details are in this press release. A partial excerpt of the Star article is below:

IU center to study pollution-illness links
First-of-its-kind initiative in Indiana will focus on cancer and children's health issues
By Tammy Webber

Indiana anglers are regularly warned about high mercury levels in fish, but is the potent neurotoxin really affecting Hoosiers' health? Air pollution typically is higher in neighborhoods surrounding factories, but can higher rates of cancers be traced to such emissions?

In Indiana, such connections are rarely, if ever, found because nobody's routinely looking for them. That will change beginning July 1, when the Indiana University School of Medicine launches a new Center for Environmental Health to explore possible links between pollution and diseases -- as well as how genetics and personal lifestyle choices, such as smoking, can work with pollution to cause illnesses.

The center, the first of its kind in Indiana, initially will concentrate on cancer and children's health, said Director James E. Klaunig, an IU toxicology and pharmacology professor. "This is something that's a need in Indiana and certainly a need for the university," said Klaunig. "This is an accepted science that has been missing from IU and university systems throughout Indiana."...