EHP’s Medical Toolbox is a collection of public health materials and resources for use by health care professionals related to the public health risks of unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD or “fracking”).
Environmental Health Medical Toolkit
The toolkit packet contains educational materials and forms for health care providers. Information includes common acute symptoms associated with exposures, some known chemicals of concern with related health risks, and a patient survey to help ascertain exposure risks.
Watch this video which illustrates what the toolkit has to offer. A free CME/CEU credit can be earned related to the toolkit.
To request a hard copy of the toolkit, email info [at] environmentalhealthproject.org with your mailing information.
The toolkit includes:
- Environmental Health Medical Toolkit (overview)
- Case Definition
- Potential Health Effects Due to Inhalation
- Reference Materials for Diagnostic Coding
- Survey for Patients’ Potential Exposure
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ASTDR)
Community Stress Resource Center
Living in a community that is experiencing long-term environmental contamination can be stressful for many reasons, including uncertainty, health and financial concerns, and feelings of powerlessness. While it is normal for community members to feel stress in these situations, chronic stress can pose health risks in addition to those related to environmental exposures.
ATSDR’s Community Stress Resource Center is aimed at helping public health professionals reduce community stress and build resilience through their work with community members, community-based organizations, and clinicians facing environmental contamination. The Resource Center offers guidance to understand, prevent, and address problems that cause stress, but it is not a specific intervention.
Explore the Community Stress Resource Center to:
- Learn the science about the connection between environmental contamination and stress-related health risks
- Take action by recognizing, preparing, and partnering to reduce community stress and build resilience as part of public health responses to environmental contamination
- Find resources
Resources we suggest you view are a self-guided training on Chronic Stress and Environmental Contamination and a webinar on Preliminary Findings from a Systematic Review of Chronic Environmental Contamination, Psychosocial Stress, and Community Resilience.
Reference Materials for Health Care Providers
- American College of Medical Toxicology Position Statement on Post Chelator Testing
- CDC/ATSDR Guidance on the Interpretation and Blood Laboratory Analyses for VOCs
- PSE's Repository for Oil and Gas Energy Research (ROGER Citation Database)
- National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus
- OSHA/NIOSH Hazard Alert: Worker Exposure to Silica during Hydraulic Fracturing
Community Health Education Materials
- Air Pollution and Respiratory Infections
- Asthma and Shale Gas
- Episodic Exposures to Shale Gas Development Air Pollution
- Facts for School Nurses
- Facts for your Pediatrician
- Health Outcomes from Peer-Reviewed Epidemiological Literature
- MedlinePlus Introductory Video
- Mental Health in Communities with UOGD
- Multiple risks to our health and environment infographic
- Risks to Children at Day Care Centers & Schools Near Shale Gas Development
- Shale Gas and Cancer