Safety & Health Travelers Health April 2007 The CDC has invited travelers’ health experts to a meeting in Atlanta to discuss changes in travel patterns, traveler behavior and travel health. The meeting is intended to provide the Centers for Disease Control with broad perspectives on the issues the agency is grappling with in travelers’ health; discuss how CDC can continue to be a productive partner in these issues given its mission and role; and generate a report of advice to the agency.

The Keystone National Policy Dialogue on Food Safety and Pesticides
September 1993 | Report #42 | Call 970-513-5835 to order reports

The Keystone National Dialogue on Food Safety and Pesticides was convened because there has existed significant disagreement among key interest groups pertaining to the safety of our food supply with regard to pesticides. The magnitude of these conflicting interests led to a steady increase of media attention, public concern, Congressional interest, and escalating disagreement regarding how to access and ensure the safety of the national food supply. As a result, during the late 1980's, Congress amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (with some issues left unresolved) and considered revisions to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). Furthermore, the public scrutiny of ALAR ® application on apples in 1989 propelled the issue of pesticide use in food production and the safety of the resultant residues into the limelight and onto the national agenda. Dialogue participants felt that discussing these issues in a different forum such as a policy dialogue would be productive. Issues examined and discussed in the Dialogue included how to assess the safety of residues in foods and the diet (risk assessment), policies to protect the food supply from unsafe residues and to regulate the safety of the food supply (risk management), concerns regarding the export of pesticides and the safety of imported foods from other countries, and the impacts (both industrial and agricultural) of changes in pesticide use practices.

This report summarizes the results of the Keystone National Policy Dialogue on Work-related Illness and Injury Recordkeeping. The Center brought together forty-six representatives from labor unions, corporations, health professions, government agencies, Congressional staff and academia in a year-long dialogue to discuss four major topics: (1) recordkeeping criteria; (2) inspection and enforcement procedures; (3) revisions to injury and illness data systems; and (4) capturing information on occupational illnesses.

The Dialogue group developed the consensus recommendations for each topic included in this report. The goal of the Dialogue was to address the four issues outlined above and to develop a report outlining areas of agreement with associated recommendations as well as areas of disagreement.

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The Keystone Center has facilitated a number of policy dialogues focusing on many aspects of research and development in the U.S. Among the issues addressed have been the management of radioactive wastes, the impact of the tort system on product liability, U.S. energy futures, the role of the oceans in hazardous waste disposal, biotechnology regulatory policy, toxic exposure compensation, and the siting of hazardous waste facilities. The insights into science and technology offered by the diverse participants in these projects have led The Center to conclude that it is time to take a comprehensive look at the impact of science and technology R&D on the economic health, quality of life, and national security of the U.S. The basic thesis is that the strategic, economic, and cultural well-being of the U.S. since WW II has been intimately related to our dominance in science and technology. We are losing this historic advantage, and must carefully reevaluate our policies to adjust to new political, economic, and scientific realities. Work on this project has been encouraged by industry, academia, the scientific community, and interests within the federal government. In response The Keystone Center is undertaking a policy consensus dialogue to address the fundamental concerns related to the impact of science and technology R&D on U.S. life. The goal is to develop consensus policy recommendations which can be used by key decision-makers in the Congress and the Executive Branch as they seek to balance national R&D needs associated with economic health, quality of life, and national security.

Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC)
Keystone completed facilitating an EPA advisory committee tasked with making recommendations on a screening and testing program for endocrine disruptors, which are potentially harmful to both human and animal endocrine systems. Implementation of the recommended plan will begin in August 1999. This project is one that continues to draw a great deal of public attention to multi-stakeholder consensus processes and was highlighted on a PBS Frontline focusing on endocrine disruptors and written about in the New York Times. Lynn Goldman, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances and Chair of the EDSTAC stated, "they [EDSTAC] created a way for us to take a huge step forward. The amount of knowledge that is going to be generated to better protect the public and the environment is considerable."

EPA convened EDSTAC, which developed a set of consensus recommendations related to establishment of a screening and testing program for endocrine disruptors. Keystone Center staff facilitated the committee. After receiving the Final Report, EPA is developing a notice proposing an endocrine disruptor screening and testing program. Copies may be obtained free of charge by contacting:

TSCA Assistance Information Service Phone: 202-554-1404
Environmental Assistance Division (7408) Fax: 202-554-5603
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency e-mail tsca-hotline@epamail.epa.gov
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460

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