This event will be livestreamed.

Thursday, September 3 at 6:30 pm
Iowa City Public Library
123 South Linn Street
Iowa City

DAN VOSS
Linn County Farmer and Cancer Survivor

AUDREY TRAN LAM
Environmental Public Health Director
University of Northern Iowa Center for Energy & Environmental Education

DR. DAVID CWIERTNY
Director
Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC)
University of Iowa

ORGANIZED BY THE IOWA ALLIANCE FOR RESPONSIBLE AGRICULTURE
Cosponsored by Little Village Magazine

Consistently unhealthy nitrate levels pollute much of Iowa’s drinking water. Iowa’s pesticide usage per capita leads the nation. The state ranks second in the nation for cancer and is one of three states where the incidence of cancer is growing. What are the connections?

On September 3, Toxic Taps and Cancer: Iowa’s Water Quality Crisis looks to provide some answers with a panel of experts examining the public health consequences of nitrate and other industrial agriculture pollutants in Iowa’s drinking water and air.

Fifth generation Linn farmer Dan Voss is no stranger to cancer. Both he and his wife, Susan, are cancer survivors. Voss will share his experience and how it has shaped their perspectives on the connections between agriculture, environmental health, and community resilience.

University of Northern Iowa (UNI) public health expert Audrey Tran Lam will dive into the health impacts of nitrates, agricultural pesticides, PFAS, and factory farm-generated particulates. She’ll provide a look at their relationship with water and air quality and, in turn, how that affects human health.

Since nitrates and other agricultural toxins wind up in our water, it’s crucial to know what we’re drinking. University of Iowa researcher Dr. David Cwiertny will discuss the value of the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research (IIHR) real-time nitrate monitoring network, the status of current funding, and why it’s essential that the state restores full funding to the program. He’ll also talk about an exciting new, privately funded program, Iowa INSIGHT, that will expand the scope of water and air monitoring beyond the current IIHR nitrate monitoring network.

Bring your questions for the Q&A that follows the presentations.

Note: if you are not in Iowa City, the Iowa City Public Library will livestream the event.

About Our Speakers:

Fifth generation farmer Dan Voss is a nationally recognized conservation leader from near Atkins, Iowa. Farming since 1975, he was an early adopter of no-till in 1988 and has led the use of practices like cover crops, strip-till, bioreactors, and saturated buffers to improve soil health and water quality.

As Environmental Health Program Director, Audrey Tram Lam has led UNI’s Center for Energy & Environmental Education working at the junction of where human health and environmental sustainability meet. She holds a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Iowa and a graduate certificate from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Food Systems, the Environment and Public Health. Tran Lam serves on the boards of a host of organizations focused on environmental health.

Dr. David Cwiertny is the Rose and Joseph Summers Chair in Water Resources Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Iowa (UI).

His research broadly focuses on water quality and water treatment, with particular interests at the intersection of public health and policy. At UI, he directs the state-funded Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC), which conducts research to identify, measure, and prevent adverse health outcomes from exposure to environmental contaminants.

The meeting is free. A $5 free will donation supports IARA’s work advocating for a factory farm moratorium, stronger CAFO regulations, and a fully funded IIHR monitoring network.

Learn more about IARA at iowaresponsibleagriculture.org