Devon C Payne-Sturges

• DrPH
• Professor (Full) at University of Michigan

Current approaches to identifying the impacts of structural racism on human development focus on downstream consequences or developmental outcomes rather than the upstream processes that create and perpetuate those negative consequences. Yet, the hallmarks of complex problems like structural racism include feedback relationships linking factors, pa...

This article lays out the historical and scientific background regarding cumulative environmental health risks/impacts (CR/CI). Then discusses a set of action recommendations, including an analysis of EPA's legal authorities, to address CR/CI.

Background: There is growing interest in evidence-based interventions, programs, and policies to mitigate exposures to bisphenols and phthalates and in using implementation science frameworks to evaluate hypotheses regarding the importance of specific approaches to individual or household behavior change or institutions adopting interventions. Ob...

Background: Children are routinely exposed to chemicals known or suspected of harming brain development. Targeting Environmental Neuro-Development Risks (Project TENDR), an alliance of >50 leading scientists, health professionals, and advocates, is working to protect children from these toxic chemicals and pollutants, especially the disproportiona...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently conducting separate Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluations for seven phthalates: dibutyl phthalate (DBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP), and diisononyl...

Background: The combined effects of multiple environmental toxicants and social stressor exposures are widely recognized as important public health problems, likely contributing to health inequities. However, US policy makers at state and federal levels typically focus on one stressor exposure at a time and have failed to develop comprehensive str...

Purpose of Review Racial inequities in air pollution exposure have been documented. There is also interest in documenting the modifying role of race in the link between air pollution and health. However, the empirical literature in this area has yielded mixed results with potentially unclear policy implications. We critically evaluate recent empiri...

Research suggests that children’s exposure to pollutants may impact their neurocognitive development. While researchers have found associations between air pollutants and cognitive development, these associations remain underspecified. Further, these exposures occur in the context of the built environment and may be exacerbated by local social vuln...

The emergence of low-cost air quality sensors as viable tools for the monitoring of air quality at population and individual levels necessitates the evaluation of these instruments. The Flow air quality tracker, a product of Plume Labs, is one such sensor. To evaluate these sensors, we assessed 34 of them in a controlled laboratory setting by expos...

Background Most U.S. studies that report racial/ethnic disparities in increased risk of low birth weight associated with air pollution exposures have been conducted in California or northeastern states and/or urban areas, limiting generalizability of study results. Few of these studies have examined maternal racial/ethnic groups other than Non-Hisp...

Aims: To evaluate the safety of irrigation water sources based on phenotypic antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Enterococcus spp., a potential environmental reservoir for AMR determinants. Methods and results: Eleven sites representing fresh and brackish water rivers, ponds and reclaimed water, were sampled over two years. Samples (n=333) yielded...

Toxic chemicals — “toxicants” — have been studied and regulated as single entities, and, carcinogens aside, almost all toxicants, single or mixed and however altered, have been thought harmless in very low doses or very weak concentrations. Yet much work in recent decades has shown that toxicants can injure wildlife, laboratory animals, and humans...

Background: The twin pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism during 2020 have forced a conversation across many segments of our society, including the environmental health sciences (EHS) research community. We have seen the proliferation of statements of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and commitments to fight racism and health i...

Background: Given policy regulations restricting bisphenol A (BPA) in food-related products, and consumer concerns about adverse health effects, newer bisphenols such as bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol S (BPS) have been developed. Exposure to BPA has been linked to dietary behaviors and poor health outcomes. Objectives: We sought to examine how...

Little progress has been made to advance U.S. federal policy responses to growing scientific findings about cumulative environmental health impacts and risks, which also show that many low income and racial and ethnic minority populations bear a disproportionate share of multiple environmental burdens. Recent scholarship points to a “standard narra...

Background: The combined effects of multiple environmental toxicants and social stressor exposures are widely recognized as important public health problems contributing to health inequities. However cumulative environmental health risks and impacts have received little attention from U.S. policy makers at state and federal levels to develop compr...

A concrete block plant located in Bladensburg, Maryland, wants to expand to include a concrete batching plant on the same property. This expansion could further degrade air quality and impact the health of vulnerable residents. The purpose of this study is to provide information on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) levels near residential areas clo...

Background: Emerging adulthood (ages 18-25 years) is a key turning point in the life course characterized by particularly poor eating behaviors (e.g., low in fruits and vegetables, and high in fast food) and weight gain. Emerging adults are also prime consumers of personal care and other consumer products that may result in differential exposures...

Evidence is growing on the adverse neurodevelopmental effects of exposure to combustion-related air pollution. Project TENDR (Targeting Environmental Neurodevelopmental Risks), a unique collaboration of leading scientists, health professionals, and children’s and environmental health advocates, has identified combustion-related air pollutants as cr...

Abstract Background Neonicotinoids are a class of systemic insecticides widely used on food crops globally. These pesticides may be found in “off-target” food items and persist in the environment. Despite the potential for extensive human exposure, there are limited studies regarding the prevalence of neonicotinoid residues in foods sold and consum...

Cumulative risk assessment (CRA) has been proposed as a means of evaluating possible additive and synergistic effects of multiple chemical, physical and social stressors on human health, with the goal of informing policy and decision-making, and protecting public health. Routine application of CRA to environmental regulatory and policy decision mak...

It is widely recognized that Americans are exposed daily to multiple chemical compounds in our air, food, water, and consumer products, and that many low income and racial and ethnic minority populations bear a disproportionate share of these exposures. Significant research investments have been made to develop methods to assess the combined effect...

Purpose To estimate the prevalence of food insecurity among students at a large mid-Atlantic publicly funded university; examine the association between food insecurity, demographic characteristics, potential financial risk factors, and self-reported physical and mental health and academic performance; and identify possible risk factors for food in...

Background: Numerous international studies have examined cross-sectional correlates of food insecurity (FI) among postsecondary education students. Research is needed to synthesize the findings of this work to support vulnerable students. Objective: To systematically review peer-reviewed and gray literature to assess the prevalence of FI on post...

Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) graduates seeking employment in academic libraries are often expected to possess user instruction and public service skills. However, it is difficult for students to achieve this experience through coursework alone. To address this disconnect, librarians at the University of Maryland (UMD) College Pa...

Introduction Prior studies have found considerable racial and ethnic disparities in second-hand smoke exposure. Although a number of individual-level determinants of this disparity have been identified, contextual determinants of racial and ethnic disparities in second-hand smoke exposure remain unexamined. The objective of this study was to examin...

Children in America today are at an unacceptably high risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders that affect the brain and nervous system including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disabilities, and other learning and behavioral disabilities. These are complex disorders with multiple causes—genetic, social, and en...

We examined community perspectives and experiences with fracking in Doddridge County, West Virginia, USA as part of a larger assessment to investigate the potential health impacts associated with fracking in neighboring Maryland, USA. In November 2013, we held two focus groups with community residents who had been impacted by fracking operations an...

The recent growth of unconventional natural gas development and production (UNGDP) has outpaced research on the potential health impacts associated with the process. The Maryland Marcellus Shale Public Health Study was conducted to inform the Maryland Marcellus Shale Safe Drilling Initiative Advisory Commission, State legislators and the Governor a...

Studies have documented cumulative health effects of chemical and nonchemical exposures, particularly chronic environmental and social stressors. Environmental justice groups have advocated for community participation in research that assesses how these interactions contribute to health disparities experienced by low-income and communities of color...

Objectives: We systematically reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Research's (NCER's) requests for applications (RFAs) and identified strategies that NCER and other funders can take to bolster community engagement. Methods: We queried NCER's publically available online archive of funding opportunities...

EPA publication summarizing latest developments in cumulative risk assessment

The Cumulative Risk Webinar Series was presented to examine and stimulate discussion of topical issues important to advancing cumulative risk assessment (CRA). EPA hosted the webinar series, which ran from August 2012 through December 2013. Presentations were chosen for their innovative research on cumulative, risk, particularly quantitative and qu...

Formally evaluating how specific policy measures influence environmental justice is challenging, especially in the context of regulatory analyses in which quantitative comparisons are the norm. However, there is a large literature on developing and applying quantitative measures of health inequality in other settings, and these measures may be appl...

Formally evaluating how specific policy measures influence environmental justice is challenging, especially in the context of regulatory analyses in which quantitative comparisons are the norm. However, there is a large literature on developing and applying quantitative measures of health inequality in other settings, and these measures may be appl...

Regulatory interventions are the first line of action used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fulfill its mission to protect the environment and health. Although the Agency has prioritized the integration of environmental justice into its activities, uncertainty remains in how these considerations will be incorporated into its regulator...

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) recently identified the integration of environmental justice into its programs and policies as a priority, including how it develops and evaluates environmental regulations. The Agency uses their Action Development Process (ADP) to examine and cultivate regulatory options and other actions i...

While many federal agencies are undertaking environmental justice-related activities to respond to Executive Order 12898 issued by President Clinton in 1994: “Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations,” there is a lack of guidance on how to assess disproportionate human health or environment...

Racial/ethnic and economic disparities exist and persist for many health outcomes and these inequalities in health are really costly to our society. Current research suggests that health disparities are produced by both environmental (e.g. physical, chemical, biological agents to which individuals are exposed in a multitude of settings, including h...

Conventionally, in its decision-making, the U.S. EPA has evaluated the effects and risks associated with a single pollutant in a single exposure medium. In reality, people are exposed to mixtures of pollutants or to the same pollutant through a variety of media, including the air, water, and food. It is now more recognized than before that environm...

In March 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collaborated with government and nongovernmental organizations to host a groundbreaking symposium, “Strengthening Environmental Justice Research and Decision Making: A Symposium on the Science of Disproportionate Environmental Health Impacts.” The symposium provided a forum for discourse on t...

One's place of birth is a major determinant of his or her exposure to environmental toxicants. By understanding biological burdens of long half-life toxicants by race and nativity we can better understand geographic variation in toxicant distribution. We used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2006) biomonitoring data to exa...

This Science Tools Development Implementation Plan discusses overarching goals, strategies, and activities, including a science and research agenda to ensure that U.S. EPA brings the best science to decision making around environmental justice issues. The science and research activities described in this plan build upon discussions and recommendati...

The US EPA has identified the following factors as contributing to an increased risk of disproportionate environmental health burdens in communities of color and low-income communities: 1. Proximity to environmental hazards, 2. Susceptibility/vulnerability, 3. Unique exposure pathways, 4. Multiple and cumulative environmental burdens, 5. Community...

Objective: The paucity of research on environmental health among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (APIAs) is a well-known gap, despite emerging evidence that suggests disparities in exposure among this population. This presentation reviews the factors (environmental exposures, upstream factors, environmentally mediated health outcomes, communit...

In 1994, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) initiated a program to address communication gaps between community residents, researchers and health care providers in the context of disproportionate environmental exposures. Over 13 years, together with the Environmental Protection Agency and National Institute for Occupati...

Biomonitoring is a valuable tool for identifying exposures to chemicals that pose potential harm to human health. However, to date there has been little published on ways to evaluate the relative public health significance of biomonitoring data for different chemicals and even less on cumulative assessment of multiple chemicals. The objectives of o...

Executive Order (EO) 13045, Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks, directs each federal agency to ensure that its policies, programs, activities, and standards address disproportionate environmental health and safety risks to children. We reviewed regulatory actions published by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...

Particulate matter in the air smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) is a known risk factor for respiratory, cardiovascular and other diseases. The World Health Organization suggests that PM2.5 causes the average European to lose 8.6 months of life expectancy. The current study examines the potential association between race and PM2.5 exposure in the Uni...

Healthy People 2010 [US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004. Healthy People 2010. Available: http://www.healthypeople.gov/Publications/ [accessed May 22, 2004]] has established as a top priority the elimination of health disparities. Current research suggests that characteristics of the social, physical and built environment contribute to...

On May 24-25, 2005 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the University of Michigan sponsored a technical workshop on the topic of connecting social and environmental factors to measure and track environmental health disparities. The workshop was designed to deve...

Residential-use pesticides have been shown to be a major source of pesticide exposure to people in the United States. However, little is understood about the exposures to household pesticides and the resultant health effects. One reason that little is known about home-use pesticide exposure is the lack of comprehensive data on exposures to pesticid...

This document is a step-by-step guide to assist Agency staff in integrating children’s health considerations into EPA’s Action Development Process (ADP). It describes the provisions of Executive Order 13045 “Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks” and EPA’s “Policy on Evaluating Health Risks to Children.” This guide...

Although it is often acknowledged that social and environmental factors interact to produce racial and ethnic environmental health disparities, it is still unclear how this occurs. Despite continued controversy, the environmental justice movement has provided some insight by suggesting that disadvantaged communities face greater likelihood of expos...

An abstract is unavailable. This article is available as HTML full text and PDF.

Human exposure research has consistently shown that, for most volatile organic compounds (VOCs), personal exposures are vastly different from outdoor air concentrations. Therefore, risk estimates based on ambient measurements may over- or underestimate risk, leading to ineffective or inefficient management strategies. In the present study we examin...

Communities have long been concerned about the environmental health and environmental quality of their neighborhoods. Community-based exposure assessments have the potential to be an effective way to address these concerns. The success of such studies depends critically on the effective translation and communication of study results back to the stu...

This Workbook will help community leaders, local organizers, and citizens groups assess environmental health problems in their neighborhoods and assist them in tackling these problems. It outlines an approach to identifying problems, gathering information, and establishing the community’s priorities for improving the environmental health of its res...

Typescript (photocopy). Thesis (Dr. P.H.--Johns Hopkins University, 2002. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-179).