Julie Von Behren
Biographic Data
| ID | 6076966 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Julie Von Behren |
| GIVEN NAMES | Julie |
| FAMILY NAME | Von Behren |
| SIGNATURE | VON BEHREN J |
| AFFILIATIONS | California Health and Human Services Agency |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9342-5299 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 8 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Evaporative coolers and wildfire smoke exposure: A climate justice issue in hot, dry regions
Low-income families in dry regions, including in the Southwestern United States, frequently cool their homes with evaporative (“swamp”) coolers (ECs). While inexpensive and energy efficient compared to central air conditioners, ECs pull unfiltered outdoor air into the home, creating a health hazard to occupants when wildfire smoke and heat events coincide. A community-engaged research project to reduce wildfire smoke in homes was conducted in Cal…
Returning Individual Tap Water Testing Results to Research Study Participants after a Wildfire Disaster
After the devastating wildfire that destroyed most of the town of Paradise, California in 2018, volatile organic compounds were found in water distribution pipes. Approximately 11 months after the fire, we collected tap water samples from 136 homes that were still standing and tested for over 100 chemicals. Each participant received a customized report showing the laboratory findings from their sample. Our goal was to communicate individual water…
Heavy Metals in California Women Living in a Gold Mining-Impacted Community
Gold mining activities occurred throughout the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, leaving behind persistent toxic contaminants in the soil, dust, and water that include arsenic and cadmium. Despite a high level of concern among local residents about potential exposure and high breast cancer rates, no biomonitoring data has been collected to evaluate the levels of heavy metals. We conducted a study to characterize the urinary …
Environmental Street Audits and Black Carbon Measurements in Vietnamese Immigrant Communities
Our results showed higher mean BC concentrations at the regional and neighborhood levels compared with the statewide concentration (0.737 μg/m3). Community members collected quantitative and qualitative data including real-time BC data. The audit process helped to initiate dialogue about environmental health issues in the Vietnamese communities
Environmental Street Audits and Black Carbon Measurements in Vietnamese Immigrant Communities
Environmental Street Audits and Black Carbon Measurements in Vietnamese Immigrant Communities Thu Quach, PhD, MPH, Erika Garcia, MPH, Julie Von Behren, MPH, Jacqueline Tran, PhD, Tina Duyen Tran, MPH, Lisa Fu, MPH, Scarlett Gomez, PhD, Vinh Luu, Thanh Ahlfenger, and Peggy Reynolds, PhD What Is the Problem? • Asian-American communities may face many of the hazards that other communities of color and low-income communities face, but there have been…
Characterizing Workplace Exposures in Vietnamese Women Working in California Nail Salons
Objectives. We engaged Vietnamese nail salon workers in a community-based participatory research (CBPR) study to measure personal and area concentrations of solvents in their workplace. Methods. We measured average work-shift concentrations of toluene, ethyl acetate, and isopropyl acetate among 80 workers from 20 salons using personal air monitors. We also collected area samples from 3 salons using summa canisters. Results. For personal measureme…
Trends in the sex ratio of California births, 1960–1996
Study objective: The male sex ratio at birth (or the proportion of male births in a population) has been suggested as a sentinel environmental health indicator. Usually around 51%, the proportion may be dramatically decreased in offspring of persons with chemical exposures. Recent publications from the USA and elsewhere have noted a small but apparently declining male birth proportion, suggesting the effect of some environmental exposures. This p…
Childhood asthma along the United States/ Mexico border: Hospitalizations and air quality in two California counties
Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993, there has been an increasing need to monitor environmental health trends that may be related to the rapid industrialization of the United States/Mexico border. We studied two counties on the California/Baja California border to obtain baseline data on trends in childhood asthma hospitalizations and two pollutants that aggravate asthma, ozone and particulate matter (less than 10…
Trends in the sex ratio of California births, 1960–1996
Study objective: The male sex ratio at birth (or the proportion of male births in a population) has been suggested as a sentinel environmental health indicator. Usually around 51%, the proportion may be dramatically decreased in offspring of persons with chemical exposures. Recent publications from the USA and elsewhere have noted a small but apparently declining male birth proportion, suggesting the effect of some environmental exposures. This p…
Characterizing Workplace Exposures in Vietnamese Women Working in California Nail Salons
Objectives. We engaged Vietnamese nail salon workers in a community-based participatory research (CBPR) study to measure personal and area concentrations of solvents in their workplace. Methods. We measured average work-shift concentrations of toluene, ethyl acetate, and isopropyl acetate among 80 workers from 20 salons using personal air monitors. We also collected area samples from 3 salons using summa canisters. Results. For personal measureme…
Childhood asthma along the United States/ Mexico border: Hospitalizations and air quality in two California counties
Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993, there has been an increasing need to monitor environmental health trends that may be related to the rapid industrialization of the United States/Mexico border. We studied two counties on the California/Baja California border to obtain baseline data on trends in childhood asthma hospitalizations and two pollutants that aggravate asthma, ozone and particulate matter (less than 10…
Trends in the sex ratio of California births, 1960–1996
Study objective: The male sex ratio at birth (or the proportion of male births in a population) has been suggested as a sentinel environmental health indicator. Usually around 51%, the proportion may be dramatically decreased in offspring of persons with chemical exposures. Recent publications from the USA and elsewhere have noted a small but apparently declining male birth proportion, suggesting the effect of some environmental exposures. This p…
Characterizing Workplace Exposures in Vietnamese Women Working in California Nail Salons
Objectives. We engaged Vietnamese nail salon workers in a community-based participatory research (CBPR) study to measure personal and area concentrations of solvents in their workplace. Methods. We measured average work-shift concentrations of toluene, ethyl acetate, and isopropyl acetate among 80 workers from 20 salons using personal air monitors. We also collected area samples from 3 salons using summa canisters. Results. For personal measureme…
Environmental Street Audits and Black Carbon Measurements in Vietnamese Immigrant Communities
Our results showed higher mean BC concentrations at the regional and neighborhood levels compared with the statewide concentration (0.737 μg/m3). Community members collected quantitative and qualitative data including real-time BC data. The audit process helped to initiate dialogue about environmental health issues in the Vietnamese communities
Environmental Street Audits and Black Carbon Measurements in Vietnamese Immigrant Communities
Environmental Street Audits and Black Carbon Measurements in Vietnamese Immigrant Communities Thu Quach, PhD, MPH, Erika Garcia, MPH, Julie Von Behren, MPH, Jacqueline Tran, PhD, Tina Duyen Tran, MPH, Lisa Fu, MPH, Scarlett Gomez, PhD, Vinh Luu, Thanh Ahlfenger, and Peggy Reynolds, PhD What Is the Problem? • Asian-American communities may face many of the hazards that other communities of color and low-income communities face, but there have been…
Heavy Metals in California Women Living in a Gold Mining-Impacted Community
Gold mining activities occurred throughout the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, leaving behind persistent toxic contaminants in the soil, dust, and water that include arsenic and cadmium. Despite a high level of concern among local residents about potential exposure and high breast cancer rates, no biomonitoring data has been collected to evaluate the levels of heavy metals. We conducted a study to characterize the urinary …
Returning Individual Tap Water Testing Results to Research Study Participants after a Wildfire Disaster
After the devastating wildfire that destroyed most of the town of Paradise, California in 2018, volatile organic compounds were found in water distribution pipes. Approximately 11 months after the fire, we collected tap water samples from 136 homes that were still standing and tested for over 100 chemicals. Each participant received a customized report showing the laboratory findings from their sample. Our goal was to communicate individual water…
Evaporative coolers and wildfire smoke exposure: A climate justice issue in hot, dry regions
Low-income families in dry regions, including in the Southwestern United States, frequently cool their homes with evaporative (“swamp”) coolers (ECs). While inexpensive and energy efficient compared to central air conditioners, ECs pull unfiltered outdoor air into the home, creating a health hazard to occupants when wildfire smoke and heat events coincide. A community-engaged research project to reduce wildfire smoke in homes was conducted in Cal…
Environmental health (8 works) · Medicine (8 works) · Geography (6 works) · Population (5 works) · Biology (3 works) · Demography (3 works) · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities (3 works) · Gerontology (3 works) · Sociology (3 works) · Air Quality and Health Impacts (2 works)