A lifetime of hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria, finally explained.

Context: Hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, and recurrent nephrolithiasis are all common clinical problems. This case report illustrates a newly described but possibly not uncommon cause of this presenting complex.

Objective: We report on a patient studied for over 30 years, with the diagnosis finally made with modern biochemical and genetic tools.

Consumer perception of household hazardous materials.

Unlabelled: We evaluated consumer perception of household hazardous materials (HHM) to identify links between storage of HHMs and consumer perception.

Methods: 357 telephone surveys were conducted within one county to determine home storage location (high, low, unknown) of 10 substances common to pediatric poisoning. Questions addressed look-alikes, poison information resources, disposal/recycling practices, and the transfer of cleaning products to other containers.

Improving environmental risk management through historical impact assessments.

A historical contaminant impact assessment was conducted at 48 heavy manufacturing facilities located in 20 different states for a U.S.-based company.

Assessing poisoning risks related to storage of household hazardous materials: using a focus group to improve a survey questionnaire.

Background: In fall of 2004, the authors began an investigation to characterize the correlations between the storage of Household Hazardous Materials and the associated health risks, particularly to children. The study area selected was Genesee County, Michigan, near Flint, with data to be collected by a phone survey of residents and through the acquisition of county hospital records containing procedure codes indicating treatment for poison emergencies, and review of poison control center data.

Methods: A focus group was used to identify key topics and relationships within these data for improving the phone survey questionnaire and its analysis.

Heavy metals in an urban watershed in southeastern Michigan.

The occurrence of heavy metals in the soil was measured over a period of several years to determine background concentrations in a heavily urbanized watershed in southeastern Michigan. A spatially dispersed sample was collected to capture the inherent variability of the soils and historic land use. The analysis focused on 14 metals (antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, and zinc) that are part of the USEPA's list of the 129 most common pollutants.

Surface and subsurface geologic risk factors to ground water affecting brownfield redevelopment potential.

A model is created for assessing the redevelopment potential of brownfields. The model is derived from a space and time conceptual framework that identifies and measures the surface and subsurface risk factors present at brownfield sites. The model then combines these factors with a contamination extent multiplier at each site to create an index of redevelopment potential.

Environmental evaluation of subdivision site developments.

An environmental evaluation was performed at 16 subdivision sites within four communities in east-central Michigan. The primary objective was to evaluate the fit between environmental ordinances and the physical/environmental conditions to which they were applied. An environmental response index was developed with indicators to assess water, soil, slope, development density, roads, vegetation, and ecology.