Public Health timeline
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Alexander Fleming Discovers Penicillin
When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first... Read more
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Begins Trying to Reform Public Health
On November 14, 1934, taking note of the problem of “economic loss due to sickness,” which he characterized as “a very serious problem for many... Read more
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Publication of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring"
Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin in September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping... Read more
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Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act (P.L. 88-206 77, Stat. 401) established a program to help clean up dirty air and to maintain clean air. Congress extended its... Read more
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Cuyahoga River Catches Fire, Setting Off a Series of Pollution Control Legislation
On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River caught on fire. This dramatic event, which got international news coverage, is still a reminder of the need to... Read more
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Founding of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
The NRDC was co-founded by John Adams in 1970. The organization lobbies Congress and other public officials for a public policy that promotes... Read more
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Passage of the Clean Air Act Extension of 1970, Leading to the Adoption of Catalytic Converters
The Clean Air Act Extension of 1970 (84 Stat. 1676, Public Law 91-604) is a United States federal law that requires the Environmental Protection... Read more
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United States DDT Ban Takes Effect
An end to the continued domestic usage of the pesticide was decreed on June 14, 1972, when William D. Ruckelshaus, Administrator of the... Read more
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Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972 (Clean Water Act)
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established... Read more
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Safe Drinking Water Act
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the principal federal law in the United States that ensures safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to... Read more
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Three Mile Island Accident at Nuclear Generating Station
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial core meltdown in Unit 2 (a pressurized water reactor manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox) of the Three... Read more
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Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Commonly Called Superfund, is Signed into Law
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), a United States... Read more
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Chernobyl Disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist... Read more
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Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer Enters into Force
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an... Read more
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Exxon Valdez Strikes Bligh Reef, Causing Disastrous Oil Spill at Sea
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in the Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 23, 1989. It is considered one of the most devastating... Read more
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Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 Goes Into Effect, Expanding the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a publicly available database containing information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management... Read more
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First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit
The Environmental Justice Movement (EJM) is a confluence of social and environmental movements which deals with Environmental Justice In the early... Read more
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Dole 5 A Day Program Commences Distribution of Free Nutritional Education Materials to Schools
Dole 5 A Day begins distributing free nutrition education materials to elementary schools across the United States. Read more
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Dole Launches www.dole5aday.com
Dole 5 A Day launches www.dole5aday.com as another interactive way to educate young children and their families about fruits, vegetables and... Read more
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US Clean Air Act is Amended to Ban the Sale of Leaded Fuel for Use in On-Road Vehicles
The mixture known as gasoline, when used in high compression internal combustion engines, has a tendency to autoignite (detonation) causing a... Read more
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US EPA Requires Home Buyers and Renters to be Informed of Lead-Based Paint Hazards
On March 6, 1996, EPA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued the lead-based paint disclosure rule which ensures that... Read more
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Signing of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental treaty that aims to eliminate or restrict the production... Read more
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Pharmaceutical Industry Agrees to Spend $80 Billion (US) Improving Drug Benefits for Seniors on Medicare
The pharmaceutical industry agreed Saturday to spend $80 billion over the next decade improving drug benefits for seniors on Medicare and defraying... Read more
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CDC Estimates that Number of Americans Infected with Swine Flu has Reached 1 Million
An estimated 1 million Americans have been infected with the H1N1 swine flu, which continues to produce mild illness and a fairly quick recovery in... Read more
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Several Articles in the New England Journal of Health Indicate that Swine Flu is More Dangerous For Younger People
With a worldwide pandemic under way and more than a million Americans sickened by the new swine flu, the special nature of this disease is becoming... Read more