A major step forward in protecting Americans from harmful chemical exposures will take place at 11 a.m. EDT on June 9, 2011, when the government, nonprofit and industry leaders of a national conversation release their Action Agenda.

The Action Agenda will include clear, achievable recommendations to help government agencies and other organizations strengthen their efforts to protect the public from harmful chemical exposures. Dozens of government agency, nonprofit and industry experts and thousands of members of the public were involved in developing the recommendations.

The National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures is a collaboration of RESOLVE, a nonprofit consensus-building organization; the American Public Health Association; the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials; the National Association of County and City Health Officials; and others. As part of their mission to advance the public’s health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) supported the National Conversation.

Speakers will include:

• Dr. Christopher Portier, director, National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, CDC;
• Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, executive director, Children’s Environmental Health Network;
• Gail Shibley, administrator, public health division, Office of Environmental Public Health, Oregon Dept. of Human Services/Oregon Health Authority; and
• Dr. Daniel Goldstein, director, medical toxicology, Monsanto.

TO PARTICIPATE: Join this live, phone-based news conference (with full, two-way Q&A) at 11 a.m. EDT on June 9, 2011, by dialing 1 (800) 860-2442. Ask for the harmful chemical exposure action agenda news event.

CAN’T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio replay of this news event will be available on the Web at http://www.nationalconversation.us as of 3 p.m. EDT on June 9, 2011.

CONTACT: Leslie Anderson, (703) 276-3256 or [email protected].