Ami Zota | |
---|---|
Academic background | |
Education | (MS, ScD) [1] |
Ami R. Zota is an associate professor at George Washington University Milken School of Public Health, specializing in public and occupational health. [2] [3] [4] [5]
Zota graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in environmental science and engineering. She later graduated from the Harvard School of Public Health with a master's and doctorate in environmental health in 2003 and 2007, respectively. [2] [6]
Zota has undertaken research on many issues relating to public health. [7] [8] For instance, how fast foods eaters are more likely to be exposed to di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and diisononyl phthalate, [9] and co-authoring a meta-study on household chemicals present in US household dust, concluding that many chemicals present in household dust share endocrine or reproductive toxicity. [10]
Zota serves on the editorial board of journal Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology by Nature. [11]
Zota is the recipient of a career development award from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences for her work identifying how environmental hazards may interact with social disadvantage and psychosocial stressors to exacerbate harms during pregnancy. [12] She was recognized by the Collaborative on Health and the Environment as a Pioneer under 40 in Environmental Public Health.
Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment affecting human health. In order to effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements that must be met in order to create a healthy environment must be determined. The major sub-disciplines of environmental health are environmental science, toxicology, environmental epidemiology, and environmental and occupational medicine.
Phthalates, or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid. They are mainly used as plasticizers, i.e., substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity. They are used primarily to soften polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Note that while phthalates are usually plasticizers, not all plasticizers are phthalates. The two terms are specific and unique and cannot be used interchangeably.
Cosmetology is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty include hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/pedicures, non-permanent hair removal such as waxing and sugaring, and permanent hair removal processes such as electrology and intense pulsed light (IPL).
Proposition 65 is a California law passed by direct voter initiative in 1986 by a 63%–37% vote. Its goals are to protect drinking water sources from toxic substances that cause cancer or birth defects and to reduce or eliminate exposures to those chemicals generally, such as in consumer products, by requiring warnings in advance of those exposures, with the intended goal being that companies choose to reformulate their products without the substances rather than simply providing notice of such substances in their product.
Endocrine disruptors, sometimes also referred to as hormonally active agents, endocrine disrupting chemicals, or endocrine disrupting compounds are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine systems. These disruptions can cause numerous adverse human health outcomes including, alterations in sperm quality and fertility, abnormalities in sex organs, endometriosis, early puberty, altered nervous system function, immune function, certain cancers, respiratory problems, metabolic issues, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular problems, growth, neurological and learning disabilities, and more. Found in many household and industrial products, endocrine disruptors "interfere with the synthesis, secretion, transport, binding, action, or elimination of natural hormones in the body that are responsible for development, behavior, fertility, and maintenance of homeostasis ."
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a United States law, passed by the 94th United States Congress in 1976 and administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that regulates chemicals not regulated by other U.S. federal statutes, including chemicals already in commerce and the introduction of new chemicals. When the TSCA was put into place, all existing chemicals were considered to be safe for use and subsequently grandfathered in. Its three main objectives are to assess and regulate new commercial chemicals before they enter the market, to regulate chemicals already existing in 1976 that posed an "unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment", as for example PCBs, lead, mercury and radon, and to regulate these chemicals' distribution and use.
Xenoestrogens are a type of xenohormone that imitates estrogen. They can be either synthetic or natural chemical compounds. Synthetic xenoestrogens include some widely used industrial compounds, such as PCBs, BPA, and phthalates, which have estrogenic effects on a living organism even though they differ chemically from the estrogenic substances produced internally by the endocrine system of any organism. Natural xenoestrogens include phytoestrogens which are plant-derived xenoestrogens. Because the primary route of exposure to these compounds is by consumption of phytoestrogenic plants, they are sometimes called "dietary estrogens". Mycoestrogens, estrogenic substances from fungi, are another type of xenoestrogen that are also considered mycotoxins.
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, diethylhexyl phthalate, diisooctyl phthalate, DEHP; incorrectly — dioctyl phthalate, DIOP) is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(CO2C8H17)2. DEHP is the most common member of the class of phthalates, which are used as plasticizers. It is the diester of phthalic acid and the branched-chain 2-ethylhexanol. This colorless viscous liquid is soluble in oil, but not in water.
Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) is an organic compound historically used a plasticizer, but which has now been largely phased out due to health concerns. It is a phthalate ester of containing benzyl alcohol, and n-butanol tail groups. Like most phthalates, BBP is non-volatile and remains liquid over a wide range of temperatures. It was mostly used as a plasticizer for PVC, but was also a common plasticizer for PVCA and PVB.
Methoxychlor is a synthetic organochloride insecticide, now obsolete. Tradenames for methoxychlor include Chemform, Maralate, Methoxo, Methoxcide, Metox, and Moxie.
Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) is a phthalate ester having the structural formula C6H4(COOCH2CH 2)2. It is formed by the esterification of isobutanol and phthalic anhydride. This and other phthalates are used as plasticizers due to their flexibility and durability. They are found in many industrial and personal products, such as lacquers, nail polish and cosmetics. DIBP can be absorbed via oral ingestion and dermal exposure. When it comes to excretion, DIBP is first converted into the hydrolytic monoester monoisobutyl phthalate (MIBP). The primary excretory route is urine, with biliary excretion being noted in minor amounts. DIBP has lower density and freezing point than the related compound dibutyl phthalate (DBP).
Dimethyl phthalate (DMP) is an organic compound and phthalate ester. it is a colourless and oily liquid that is soluble in organic solvents, but which is only poorly soluble in water.
Eula Bingham was an American scientist, best known as an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) during the Presidency of Jimmy Carter. During her tenure as the head of OSHA, she eliminated more than 1,000 pedantic regulations and shifted the agency's focus to health and safety risks, establishing strict standards for workers' rights to know about their exposure to hazardous substances.
Ecotoxicity, the subject of study in the field of ecotoxicology, refers to the biological, chemical or physical stressors that affect ecosystems. Such stressors could occur in the natural environment at densities, concentrations, or levels high enough to disrupt natural biochemical and physiological behavior and interactions. This ultimately affects all living organisms that comprise an ecosystem.
1,2-Cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid diisononyl ester (DINCH) is a mixture of organic compounds with the formula C6H10(CO2C9H19)2. DINCH is colorless oil. It is used as a plasticizer for the manufacture of flexible plastic articles in sensitive application areas such as toys, medical devices, and food packaging. It is of interest as an alternative for phthalate plasticizers, which are implicated as endocrine disruptors.
Diethyl phthalate (DEP) is a phthalate ester. It occurs as a colourless liquid without significant odour but has a bitter, disagreeable taste. It is more dense than water and insoluble in water; hence, it sinks in water.
Reproductive toxicity refers to the potential risk from a given chemical, physical or biologic agent to adversely affect both male and female fertility as well as offspring development. Reproductive toxicants may adversely affect sexual function, ovarian failure, fertility as well as causing developmental toxicity in the offspring. Lowered effective fertility related to reproductive toxicity relates to both male and female effects alike and is reflected in decreased sperm counts, semen quality and ovarian failure.
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, commonly referred to as OEHHA, is a specialized department within the cabinet-level California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) with responsibility for evaluating health risks from environmental chemical contaminants.
Paul James Lioy was a United States environmental health scientist born in Passaic, New Jersey, working in the field of exposure science. He was one of the world's leading experts in personal exposure to toxins. He published in the areas of air pollution, airborne and deposited particles, Homeland Security, and Hazardous Wastes. Lioy was a professor and division director at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rutgers University - School of Public Health. Until 30 June 2015 he was a professor and vice chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Rutgers University - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He was deputy director of government relations and director of exposure science at the Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate commonly abbreviated DEHT (Dioctyl terephthalate or DOTP), is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(CO2C8H17)2. It is a non-phthalate plasticizer, being the diester of terephthalic acid and the branched-chain 2-ethylhexanol, which is often generically referred to as octyl. This colorless viscous liquid is used for softening PVC plastics and is known for chemical similarity to general purpose phthalates such as DEHP and DINP, but without any negative regulatory pressure. It possesses very good plasticizing properties and may be used as a direct replacement for DEHP and DINP in many applications.