The Law Center has taken the lead in organizing
a statewide education and advocacy coalition of environmental
organizations, public health advocates and community
activists. Virtually every case the Law Center has taken
on has prominent public health components, and a strong
statewide coalition will provide more grassroots support
for our clients and for our cases.
The
Coalition established the following goals and objectives
to guide its work:
*To bring the community
voice back into the public health planning process
*To integrate the precautionary
principle in environmental health policy and regulations
*To promote understanding
that the health of the land and the full biotic community
is basic to environmental health
*To develop new criteria
for defining what constitutes 'community risk' (federal
risk assessment criteria apply to white male adults
only, which leaves out over 80% of New Mexicans, including
infants and children)
*To develop independent
information on community health risks, and community-specific
baseline exposures to toxics through monitoring of polluted
sites and human health sampling
*To create community-based
environmental health indicators
*To develop and carry out
a variety of public education initiatives, including
conferences, tool kits and curriculum materials, and
continuing educational programs for health professionals
*To improve communication
and cooperation between NMED, NM DOH and NM communities
