The University of Arizona’s (UA) Dean Carter Binational Center for Environmental Health Sciences hosted its sixth Specialized Workshop in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico entitled, “Health Impacts, Management, and Treatment of Contaminants in Southern Sonora”, from October 27-28, 2008. The workshop was coordinated in collaboration with Dr. Maria Mercedes Meza Montenegro and her team at the Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora (ITSON).
The focus of the workshop was regional environmental and health impacts in southern Sonora (e.g. arsenic, pesticides, and municipal landfills). A total of 236 participants were in attendance including representatives from academia, government, health workers, and students. The Workshop goal was to provide the most pertinent scientific information regarding contaminants in Sonora. It also served as a networking opportunity for binational scientists willing to develop collaborative projects and training opportunities. A special promotora (women community health workers) training session was incorporating various Mexican researchers involved in environmental health studies. These promotoras learned information to help them in their work in the Yaqui communities where they work. ITSON president, Dr. Gonzalo Rodriguez Villanueva, concluded the conference by stressing the importance of collaborative binational investigations
Workshop topics and presenters:
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Session I. Arsenic Toxicology and Treatment of Water |
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Arsenic Levels in Water for Human Consumption: The Case of Southern Sonora |
Dr. María Mercedes Meza Montenegro – ITSON |
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Arsenic Levels in Dust |
Dr. Diana Meza Figueroa - UNISON |
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Toxicology of Arsenic and its Effects on Human Health |
Dr. Walter Klimecki - UA |
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Collaborative Research on Arsenic and Breast Cancer in Northern Mexico: First Report Regarding Reproductive Factors |
Dr. Lizbeth López Carrillo – Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica |
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Low Cost Treatment for Arsenic Removal within Potable Water Sources |
Dr. Wendell Ela - UA |
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Session II. Solid Waste and Municipal Landfills |
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What are Municipal Landfills?: An Engineering Perspective |
Dr. James Field - UA |
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Municipal Landfill Collaborative Project: The Case of Ensenada |
Dr. Rogelio Vázquez - CICESE |
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Session III. Pesticides |
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The Impact of Pesticides in the Yaqui Valley |
Dr. José Luis Martínez Carrillo - ITSON |
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Health Risk Evaluation Regarding Pesticide Exposure in the Residents of the Yaqui and Mayo Valleys: Project FOMIX-CONACyT |
Ernesto Uriel Cantu Soto, M.S. – ITSON |
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Analysis of Pesticides in Environmental, Biological, and Food Matrices and the Potential Health Impacts |
Dr. Ana Valenzuela Quintanar - Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo |
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Pyrethroids as an Alternative: Investigational Studies |
Dr. Lourdes Aldana - UNISON |
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Human Health Effects to the Exposure of Pesticide Mixes |
Dr. Leticia Yañez Estrada - UASLP |
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Session IV. Promotora Training |
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Fundamental in Toxicology |
Dr. Walter Klimecki - UA |
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Research Ethics When Working with Human Subjects |
Dr. Victor Tovar - Mexican Secretariat of Health |
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The Importance of the Survey: How to Fill Out a Survey and Obtain a Sample |
Dr. Pablo Ruiz - UACT |