Announcing new projects, new staff, and publications to read!

October 2020

Announcing our newest projects, additional funding for sickle cell disease, new staff and new publications to read

Announcing the California Water: Assessment of Toxins for Community Health (CalWATCH) project

Tracking California is happy to announce the launch of the "California Water: Assessment of Toxins for Community Health" (CalWATCH) project.

CalWATCH will increase our ability to track illnesses related to harmful algal blooms (HABs). In our first year, we will increase our capacity to reliably track, and prevent, harmful algal bloom illness state-wide, while also working locally in the Clear Lake, Lake County area to improve outreach, illness reporting, and drinking water monitoring.

Clear Lake has experienced a sharp increase in HABs activity since 2009 and over 60% of Lake County residents receive their drinking water from the lake, which is not systematically tested for the presence of cyanotoxins at intake or as finished drinking water. CalWATCH will identify and test drinking water from wells and small water systems around the lake for algal toxins, nitrates, coliform bacteria, and other contaminants.

New funding for Sickle Cell Disease surveillance

We're also excited to announce that we've received new funding to support maintenance and improvements to our established public health surveillance system for sickle cell disease at the state level. The new funding is for three years, and the work incorporates partnerships with eight additional states and the CDC. We will work with stakeholders to use and disseminate the aggregated data collected and expand partnerships with community-based organizations to better understand their informational needs.

More projects you might be interested in

Achieving Resilient Communities (ARC) Project

Launched in Ventura County in the Spring of 2020, the ARC project is now focusing on farmworker communities, which are at greatest risk from both climate change and historical community disadvantage. Tracking California is working closely with our main local partner, the Central Coast Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), to identify, prioritize and develop community-driven solutions to environmental health challenges faced by farmworkers.

Hormones and Meat: Does Beef Under-Regulation Generate Estrogenic Residues?

The Hormones And Meat: does Beef Under-Regulation Generate Estrogenic Residues? (HAMBURGER) is a preliminary investigation into the potential impact of hormone residues in beef on breast cancer risk. The HAMBURGER project aims to generate much-needed data on hormone residues in beef sold in California, evaluate dietary patterns of beef consumption in women, and estimate potential hormone exposures to women from this source in order to better understand breast cancer risk.

New Trackers!

Ariadne Villegas, Research Associate

Ariadne joined us in June (initially as an intern) and is working on two main projects engaging community partners on building community resilience (ARC) and investigating the potential impact of hormone residues in beef on breast cancer risk (HAMBURGER).

Isadora Nogueira, Research Associate

Isadora joined us in June and splits her time between the Achieving Resilient Communities (ARC) project, the CalWATCH project, and CDC HABs illness tracking programs.

New publications on COVID-19 and Sickle Cell Disease

We are pleased to announce 4 new publications co-authored by our staff at Tracking California.

Tracking California, formerly the California Environmental Health Tracking Program, is a program of the Public Health Institute in partnership with the California Department of Public Health. Tracking California is part of a national initiative coordinated by the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program.

This publication was supported by the Cooperative Agreement Number 5U38EH000953, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.