Anne C. Steinemann
Anne C. Steinemann (often referred to as Anne Steinemann; born 1961) is an American civil and environmental engineering academic who has specialized chiefly in the fields of "indoor air quality, product emissions, and exposure assessment" and "drought management, indicators, and information systems", with a focus on engineering and sustainability.[1][2] Currently Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Melbourne, she has also advised numerous government and industry bodies in the United States and Australia and appeared widely in press, radio, television and website segments communicating her findings to the general public.[3][4][5]
Early life and education
Steinemann was born on 29 September 1961 in San Diego County, California.
In 1984 she graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a B.S. (magna cum laude) in civil and environmental engineering. In 1985 she graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a M.S. in civil and environmental engineering. In 1993 she was awarded a Ph.D. by Stanford University in civil and environmental engineering.
Career
Steinemann began her professional career as an Assistant/Associate Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology (1995-2004), Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Washington (2004–13), and Program Manager at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (2012–15).
She was appointed as acting/visiting professor at Linköping University (1988–89), Florida Institute of Technology (2001-12), and Stanford University (2010–11).
From 2015 she has been Professor of Civil Engineering, and Chair of Sustainable Cities, in the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne.[4][6]
Pollutant exposures, indoor air quality, fragranced consumer products
Since 2007 Steinemann has focussed much of her research on "pollutant exposures and associated health effects, including topics of indoor air quality, consumer product testing and evaluation, exposure assessment, and healthy homes and communities".[7]
She has published research papers and monographs on the health effects of fragranced products (such as perfume, household cleaners, laundry supplies, personal care products, scented candles, air fresheners), concluding that those products "impair rather than improve indoor air quality" and "pose a range of health and economic risks."[8][9]
Her nationally representative population studies found that 34.7% of adults in the USA, 33.0% in Australia, 33.1% in Sweden, and 27.8% of people in the United Kingdom report adverse health effects from exposure to fragranced products.[10] Adverse health effects include asthma attacks, breathing difficulties, migraine headaches, dizziness, seizures, rashes, and gastrointestinal problems.[10] The effects are also economic with "more than 20% of respondents entering a business, but leaving as quickly as possible if they smell air fresheners or some fragranced product".[11][12]
She has found that emissions of carcinogenic pollutants from "green," "organic," and "all-natural" fragranced products were not significantly different from regular fragranced products.[13]
Furthermore, she has noted that "relatively few ingredients of the fragranced product emissions" are "disclosed to the public", that "more than 156 VOCs were emitted from the 37 fragranced consumer products" examined by her, and that of those "156 VOCs, 42 VOCs were classified as toxic or hazardous under US federal laws, and each product emitted at least one of these chemicals."[11][14] However, of more than 550 volatile ingredients emitted from these products, fewer than three percent were disclosed on any label or safety data sheet.[15]
Awards
- 2014 - Science Service Award - Department of Water Resources (State of California).[16]
- 2011 - Engineer of the New Millennium - National Science Foundation.
- 1998 - CAREER Award - National Science Foundation.[17]
Select bibliography
Books and monographs
- Microeconomics for Public Decisions by Anne C. Steinemann, William C. Apgar and H. James Brown. Mason, Ohio: Thomson/South-Western, 2005; Askmar Publishing, 2010.
- Exposure Analysis. Edited by Wayne R. Ott, Anne C. Steinemann and Lance A. Wallace. Taylor & Francis, 2006; CRC Press, 2007.
- Evaluation of Nonpotable Ground Water in the Desert Area of Southeastern California for Powerplant Cooling, by Anne C. Steinemann. [Menlo Park, CA]: Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey; Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1989.
Refereed journal articles by Anne Steinemann
- "Fragranced Consumer Products: Effects on Asthmatics,"Air Quality, Atmosphere, and Health 11(1):3-9, 2018.
- "National Prevalence and Effects of Multiple Chemical Sensitivities,"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health 60(3):e152-e156, 2018.
- "Exposures and Effects from Fragranced Consumer Products in Sweden,"Air Quality, Atmosphere, and Health 1-7, 2018.
- "Fragranced Consumer Products: Sources of Emissions, Exposures, and Health Effects in the United Kingdom,"Air Quality, Atmosphere, and Health 11(3):253-258, 2018.
- "Prevalence and Effects of Multiple Chemical Sensitivities in Australia," Preventive Medicine Reports 10:191-194, 2018.
- "Health and Societal Effects from Fragranced Consumer Products", Preventive Medicine Reports, Vol. 5, March 2017, pp. 45–47.
- "Ten Questions Concerning Air Fresheners and Indoor Built Environments",Building and Environment, Vol. 111, January 2017, pp. 279–284.
- "Fragranced Consumer Products: Exposures and Effects from Emissions", Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, December 2016, Vol. 9, Issue 8, pp. 861–866.
- "Volatile Emissions from Common Consumer Products", Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, June 2015, Vol. 8, Issue 3, pp. 273–281.
- "Fragranced Consumer Products: Chemicals Emitted, Ingredients Unlisted", Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Vol. 31, Issue 3, April 2011, pp. 328–333. Lead author with Ian C. MacGregor, Sydney M. Gordon, Lisa G. Gallagher, Amy L. Davis, Daniel S. Ribeiro and Lance A. Wallace.
References
- Anne Steinemann, peerj.com. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- Steinemann CV 2018, nebula.wsimg.com. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- Anne C. Steinemann Archived 2017-01-07 at the Wayback Machine, askmarpublishing.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- Anne Steinemann, unimelb.edu.au. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- Steinemann Bio, Environmental Health Trust, ehtrust.org. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- Prof. Anne Steinemann - The University of Melbourne, unimelb.edu.au. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- About, drsteinemann.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- Sarah Berry, "Fragranced products are making us sick, study finds", Sydney Morning Herald, 6–7 March 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- Anne Steinemann, "Health and societal effects from exposure to fragranced consumer products", Preventative Medicine Reports, Elsevier, Vol. 5, March 2017, pp. 45-47. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- Selected Publications by Dr. Steinemann, drsteinemann.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- Anne Steinemann, "Fragranced consumer products: exposures and effects from emissions", Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, December 2016, Vol. 9, Issue 8, pp 861–866.
- "Fragranced products: Risks for people and profits?", sciencedaily.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- "Anne Steinemann, Volatile Emissions from Common Consumer Products", Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, June 2015, Vol. 8, Issue 3, pp. 273–281. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11869-015-0327-6
- Wendy Koch, "Scented products emit products not on the label", The Cincinnati Enquirer, 4 November 2010, p. 32.
- Anne Steinemann, Volatile Emissions from Common Consumer Products", Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, June 2015, Vol. 8, Issue 3, pp. 273–281. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11869-015-0327-6
- DWR Science Service Awards Archived 2018-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, ca.gov. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- Florida Today, 6 March 2001, p. 39.
External links
- Anne Steinemann's personal website
- Fragrance is a hidden hazard - lecture at University of Melbourne, 6 March 2017; published by the Big Ideas programme, ABC's Radio National, 27 December 2017.
- Fume with a View: Consumer Products and Indoor Air Quality. What are the hidden hazards of everyday fragrances? - interview with Dr Andi Horvath on Up Close, Episode 341, University of Melbourne, 8 May 2015.
- Radio Interview with Anne C Steinemann PhD - interview with Lynn Argent of Living in a Chemical Soup (published by Invisible Disabilities Association on 7 May 2011).
- Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS)
Articles featuring Anne Steinemann
- Elisabeth Leamy, "Bothered by fragrances? This story will be a breath of fresh air.", The Washington Post, 20 March 2018.
- "Sensitivity to everyday chemicals on the rise among adult Americans" MSN News, 16 March 2018.
- "A quarter of people have bad reactions to fragranced products", New Scientist, 14 March 2018.
- "A Quarter Of Americans Suffer From Chemical Sensitivity And It's Getting Worse Fast", IFLScience, 13 March 2018.
- Anthea Levi, "Fragrance Sensitivities Can Actually Be Very Severe, Study Finds", Huffington Post, 16 March 2017.
- Sarah Berry, "Fragranced products are making us sick, study finds", The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 March 2017.
- Anthea Levi, "Why So Many People Hate Scented Products", Time Magazine, 5 March 2017.
- Meredith Engel, "'Green' household products aren’t eco-friendly: study", New York Daily News, 3 March 2017.
- Maureen Salamon, "Many in U.S. Say 'No' to Scented Rooms, Products", webmd.com, 2 November 2016.
- "'A problem of hidden hazards': Common fragrances a public health problem", The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 October 2016.
- "Ten retailers urged to pull potentially toxic products", USA Today, 10 April 2013.
- Sandi Doughton, "About That Clean, Fresh Scent . . .", The Washington Post, 29 July 2008.
- Lynette Evans, "Forget the fragrance", The San Francisco Chronicle, 2 August 2008.
Selected radio and television programs
- MCS: The condition that affects 'one million Australians' but is dismissed by doctors, SBS, 13 August 2018.
- "Can smells make you sick? Research shows scent sensitivity could be dangerous", WMAR Baltimore, 24 April 2017.
- "Scented laundry products release carcinogens, study finds", CBS News, 26 August 2011.
- "Eau d’ Fragrance Fears", National Public Radio's Living on Earth, 21 May 2010.
- "Companies Keep Cosmetics Chemicals Secret", environmentreport.org, 17 May 2010.
- "Could Common Household Scented Products Make You Ill?", CBS New York, 9 March 2011.
- "Air Fresheners' Unlisted Ingredients", 60-Second Science, Scientific American, 15 August 2008.