EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Environmental Protection Agency has reached out to Michigan State University to inform the state's fish consumers about the harmful impact of environmental chemicals and help them access appropriate guidelines on eating fish.
Using a $1.5 million EPA grant, MSU researchers Ken Rosenman, Gary Ferenchick and David Solomon – all from the College of Human Medicine – and Kari Hortos from the College of Osteopathic Medicine will work with physicians and other health care providers in Michigan to provide them with the tools and information they need to identify at-risk patients and inform them of the benefits and potential dangers of eating fish.
While there have been advisories for years directed to people who fish and who are fish consumers, there is a concern these are not sufficient, said Rosenman, principal investigator on the grant and also director of MSU's Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
"We need to educate health care providers who can advise their patients on the benefits and hazards of fish consumption, particularly for those most at risk, including children and women of child-bearing age," he said. "Using trusted health care providers can have a huge impact: They can incorporate dietary questions into preventive medicine checkups and provide health fact sheets in their offices to spread this message."
As part of the project, the researchers will develop:
In addition, Rosenman said, the curriculum will be implemented at MSU's colleges of Human Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine, and annual presentations for health care providers will be conducted statewide.
The grant is part of the EPA's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a $475 million plan that calls for aggressive efforts to address the cleanup of toxins, combat invasive species, promote near shore health and restore wetlands and other habitats. Overall, MSU researchers have been awarded more than $3 million for seven projects as part of the initiative. For more information on those projects, go to http://news.msu.edu/story/8352/ . For more information on the EPA initiative, visit www.greatlakesrestoration.us .
Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.