Please check the CHE-WA website to stay abreast of the latest postings, news and events: http://washington.chenw.org.
To join the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) and CHE-Washington, please complete the form at http://www.healthandenvironment.org/roles/register?&phase=registerform. Be sure to mark that you want to join the Washington State Regional Group at the bottom of the application.
1) The CHE-WA Precautionary Principle (PP) Working Group will hold its next conference call on Monday March 19th at 11:00 a.m. Pacific. For the agenda and call-in number, please contact Steve Gilbert, the chair of the PP Working Group, at sgilbert@innd.org.
2) The fourth annual environmental health lecture series entitled "Our Health, Our Environment: Making the Link -- Seeking Solutions" is underway. The series, sponsored by the Seattle Biotech Legacy Foundation and organized by the Institute for Children's Environmental Health, includes one lecture each month January through April. Remaining lectures:
All lectures will be held at Seattle Town Hall from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., preceded by a reception from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. For more information and to purchase admission, please visit http://washington.chenw.org/lectures.html. Admission is also available at the door.
Town Hall is also hosting Bill McKibben who will be lecturing on "Deep Economy" on March 21st, the same evening as the Biofuels lecture, at 7:30 p.m. For those attendees interested in attending both events, Town Hall has made special arrangements for Environmental Health Lecture Series attendees only. Town Hall will be selling tickets for the Bill McKibben event from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. at the Downstairs door. Tickets are $5 and can only be purchased for cash or check. For more information about the Bill McKibben event, please see http://www.townhallseattle.com/calendar.cfm.
3) Making Change: A Workshop for People Who Want to Build a Better World
April 21, 2007
9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Seattle, Washington
at the Antioch campus, 2326 Sixth Avenue
This one-day workshop will provide participants with the time and space to think more deeply about your work and how it contributes to positive social change. This workshop is intended for people who want to build a better world and who identify themselves as social change agents. This includes people working on environmental, health or social issues in nonprofit or community-based organizations, government agencies or the private sector, as well as others interested in how to achieve positive social change. Sponsored by the Center for Creative Change at Antioch University Seattle and the Collaborative on Health and Environment -- Washington (CHE-WA).
Website: http://www.antiochsea.edu/events/makingchangeworkshop.html
Contact: Kate Davies, 206-268-4811 or kdavies@antiochseattle.edu
March 17, 2007
8:30 a.m.
Portland, Oregon
at the Salvation Army Moore Street Community Center, 5325 N. Williams Avenue
Sessions include 10 Years of Environmental Justice, Tribal EJ Issues, EJ the Law, Local EJ Update, Green Jobs: Emerging Industries and The Living Newsletter. Free admission and lunch.
Contact: eja@lclark.edu
May 10 - 11, 2007
Atlanta, Georgia
at the Morehouse School of Medicine
The theme of this second national conference of the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative is "Priming for Prevention: An Ecological Approach to Research, Education and Policy." Dr. David Satcher, former Surgeon General is our invited keynote speaker, and many other leading researchers, health professionals and advocates will be presenting their cutting-edge work on environmental factors and neurological development. Visit the website below for an updated agenda, a full list of presenters and registration information.
Website: http://www.iceh.org/LDDImeetings.html
Contact: Elise Miller, emiller@iceh.org
The Community Coalition for Environmental Justice (CCEJ) is seeking a part-time administrative co-director to handle the management tasks of the organization that include administrative work, financial management and technology. The co-director will also share executive responsibility with the program co-director for the daily operation of CCEJ, which includes providing leadership in the implementation of the vision and mission of the organization, fundraising, maintaining board relationships and providing staff support. The mission of CCEJ is to achieve environmental and economic justice in low-income communities and communities of color. Our overall goal is to level unequal distributions of power created by racism and other oppressions by bringing informed community voices to the table. We do this through community-organizing campaigns, projects, outreach and education. We have a highly dedicated board of directors, talented staff and numerous volunteers who manage the day-to-day operations of the organization. For more information about CCEJ, visit our website: http://www.ccej.org.
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, a resume, responses to the application questions below and three references from a present/former supervisor, employee and peer. Email the entire application to CCEJBoard@gmail.com by April 15th. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. We hope to fill the position by June 1st. Please direct any questions about this position to the above email address. Please limit your written response for all three questions to one page:
by Marla Cone, Los Angeles Times
March 13, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-food13mar13,1,5668581.story
In an effort to prevent more illnesses from bacteria-tainted produce, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday announced voluntary guidelines for processors of packaged fruits and vegetables, the produce industry's fastest-growing sector. The list of steps to minimize the spread of bacteria includes recommendations for multiple washings of produce, cold storage, regular water testing and monitoring employees for signs of infectious disease. Many processing and packaging companies already follow the federal guidelines, which were first proposed a year ago. The national guidelines will apply to bagged spinach, shredded lettuce, salad mixes, baby carrots, cut melons, broccoli florets and other fresh-cut produce.
Article Summary: In recent years, there has been an increase in illnesses traced to such produce. "More and more, we're seeing fresh-cut produce implicated in outbreaks," said Nega Beru, director of the FDA's food safety office, adding that it has been linked to 25% of all illnesses from produce. The increase is in part because of the growing number of packaged products available to consumers, and the risk of cross-contamination is heightened because they are handled so much. Critics in Congress and from consumer groups say voluntary programs are inadequate because numerous lethal outbreaks of food-borne illnesses have been traced to produce. Beru said adopting voluntary guidelines addressed the issue faster than mandatory rules would. FDA officials said they would consider what else should be done after hearing comments at public meetings over the next month. California's Department of Food and Agriculture and the produce industry plan to begin implementing a voluntary program for leafy greens April 1. Companies that sign the agreement would accept products only from farmers who followed food safety procedures prescribed by the industry.
by Stephen Koff, Cleveland Plain Dealer
March 13, 2007
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1173775762225460.xml&coll=2
Washington -- The federal government suppresses or manipulates information about the environment, prescription drugs and public safety, making it increasingly hard for members of the public to learn about matters that could affect their lives. That was the assessment Monday of former government officials, librarians, scientists and others at a session billed as "a national dialogue with government-openness experts." Several speakers suggested the manipulation was politically motivated -- a way for the Bush administration to downplay global climate change or appease groups opposed to controversial birth control.
Article Summary: Others at the session did not ascribe motives, but they agreed that the public's right to know is frequently compromised. Scientists get a message not to speak out about their research if it doesn't conform to policy. The White House disputes these assertions. Despite their concerns, some speakers said they were optimistic. Among the reasons: Democrats are holding oversight hearings. And the Internet is making it possible for scientists, whistleblowers and bloggers to spread information that otherwise would be suppressed.
by Abigail Leichman, Bergen County [New Jersey] Record
March 13, 2007
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1NDImZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwOTA0OTcmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1
Article Summary: In 1938, Congress passed the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act regulating chemical colorants. Today, those FD&C dyes remain the only cosmetic ingredients regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Cosmetics firms are responsible for substantiating their claims. However, in the past 30 years, the industry's Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel has completed studies on just 10 percent of some 10,500 synthetic, multisyllabic ingredients in products sold to us so we can cleanse, beautify and deodorize. Beyond a lack of information on many chemicals is the short-term focus of tests: "The vast majority of decisions the industry's safety panel makes are based on allergy and skin irritation," said Jane Houlihan, vice president for research at the Environmental Working Group (EWG)), a watchdog organization in Washington, DC. "They are not considering long-term chronic effects." About one of every 100 personal-care products contains known or possible carcinogens, claims EWG. A coalition of health and environmental groups, including the EWG and the Breast Cancer Fund, is working with manufacturers to eliminate or reformulate chemical ingredients suspected of hazards as mild as skin irritation and as serious as cancer, genetic mutation and nerve damage. Last year, the EWG persuaded the FDA to crack down on companies that are violating a law requiring a safety warning on cosmetics containing untested ingredients -- usually, artificial preservatives or fragrances. But testing is expensive and often involves controversial animal studies. Manufacturers may dodge the issue with marketing strategies such as abbreviating or changing the names of ingredients. Label phrases like "dermatologist tested," "all natural" and "hypoallergenic" don't mean much, warns the FDA, nor does the use of the title "Dr." in a brand name. Consumer advocate Paula Begoun argues in "Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me" that it's "completely far-fetched" to assume every man-made ingredient is bad for skin. Some plant extracts, particularly fragrant ones like peppermint, lemon, camphor and menthol, "are inherently potent sources of skin problems."
by Lewis Smith, London Times
March 12, 2007
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article1499696.ece
Fatty acids can help children in exams and improve their behaviour in class and at home, a study suggests. Overweight children who took fatty acid dietary supplements showed dramatic improvements in concentration, reading, memory and mental agility. The advances that their brains made in three months would normally take three years, researchers found.
Article Summary: Researchers said that the results, while based on a small sample, supported recent findings that fatty acids boost brain development and suggest that fast food may stunt mental growth, because processed foods do not contain these acids. After three months the children's reading abilities were a year ahead, their handwriting was neater and more accurate and they paid more attention in class. Improvement were made in every area of academic activity but the most surprising change, said researchers, was in levels of Nacetylaspartate, or NAA, a biochemical indicator of brain development. The children were asked to change their diet but there was no evidence that they did to any great extent and Professor Puri believes that the changes were caused by the supplement, which is derived from oily fish and evening primrose oil. It contains an essential fatty acid called EPA, but significantly, another type of fatty acid, DHA, is absent. Previous studies by Professor Puri have shown this formula can improve brain function in adults.
from Reuters
March 12, 2007
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1236662020070312
CHICAGO -- Black children may be far more susceptible to the ill effects of second-hand tobacco smoke than their white counterparts, U.S. researchers said on Monday. In a study of 220 children with asthma, black children who were exposed to at least five cigarettes a day had significantly higher toxin levels in their hair and blood than white children who were exposed to the same amount of smoke. The study, published in the March issue of the journal Chest, may shed light on why black children are more susceptible to tobacco-related disorders, like asthma, sudden-infant death syndrome and low birth weight, said Dr. Stephen Wilson of the University of Cincinnati, who led the research.
Article Summary: Dr. Wilson speculated that African-American children may metabolize or break down nicotine ... more slowly than white children. He also said the study raises questions about whether ethnic differences play a role in other tobacco toxins and that the study provides one more reason for limiting children's exposure to second-hand smoke.
by Bette Hileman, Chemical & Engineering News
March 12, 2007
http://pubs.acs.org/email/cen/html/031207105801.html
Over the past decade, evidence has accumulated that environmental contaminants, often at low levels, are causing infertility, declines in sperm count, miscarriages, birth defects, and cancers. Yet, a majority of health professionals, policy makers, and public health advocates have little knowledge of these findings. To help remedy this, the University of California, San Francisco, and the multinational advocacy group known as the Collaborative on Health & the Environment (CHE) convened a cross-disciplinary conference at the end of January. UCSF's department of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences and CHE brought together basic and clinical researchers, physicians, public health professionals, policy makers, and environmental activists with the goal of bridging the knowledge gaps among these groups.
Article Summary: Conference participants discussed public policies to improve reproductive health and how some research results might be used to influence clinical care. They also developed new research strategies to help illuminate the relationship between chemical contaminants and reproductive outcomes. Researchers are finding that health effects seen in animals correlate with effects seen in humans. Presentations indicated that exposures over a lifetime, or sometimes even before birth, influence the reproductive success of the adult, although in most cases research has not yet led to consistent or definitive conclusions. Rates of testicular cancer, low sperm counts, undescended testes and hypospadias have increased. There is evidence that all of these conditions have their basis in a common origin: specific errors during development of fetal testes. One type of chemical exposure that could be responsible for this decline in men's reproductive health involves phthalates. Phthalates are ingredients in nearly all personal care and cleaning products that contain fragrances and are added to polyvinyl chloride to make it flexible. Exposure to environmental and workplace chemicals may in some cases lead to preterm delivery, unusually low birth weights, and stillbirths. Twelve percent of babies in the U.S. are delivered preterm, a 30% increase since 1980. There is clear evidence that smoking and secondhand tobacco smoke cause preterm delivery. There is less certain, but good, evidence that exposure to DDT, carbon monoxide, benzene, ethylene oxide, lead, diethylstilbestrol (DES), and particulate air pollution can lead to preterm delivery, and there is "limited" evidence that carbon disulfide, phenoxyacetic herbicides, and phthalates -- especially di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) -- cause preterm birth. Other research raises the possibility that BPA and other substances -- both man-made and naturally occurring -- that mimic or interfere with the action of estrogen may affect early egg development in humans. Exposure to environmental chemicals is clearly harming reproductive health and fertility, but not enough research has been done to tease out the relative importance of the various contaminants.
by Rick DelVecchio, San Francisco Chronicle
March 11, 2007
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/11/BAGDBOJ7U81.DTL
Biofuel research is worth doing and may be one of many essential tools to limit damage from future climate change, but there are big environmental and social risks if it's pushed too hard and too fast. That's the warning from some experts familiar with the history of biofuels and the outlines of UC Berkeley's controversial $500 million energy research pact with oil industry giant BP to create a research center at Berkeley to be named the Energy Biosciences Institute. The institute's primary goal will be facilitating the production of biofuels on a scale large enough to result in a net drop of carbon emissions linked to vehicles -- potentially a huge step in society's response to a changing climate.
Article Summary: The research will focus on molecular-scale chemistry and biology and will be done at Berkeley, which has some of the world's most experienced people and finest machines for these tasks. John Harte, a UC Berkeley professor of energy and resources, cautioned: "There are serious concerns about this technology. To many of us, it doesn't appear to be a free lunch, and we want to understand how much this lunch is going to cost us." With high-tech tools provided by Berkeley researchers, allied scientists at a 640-acre experimental farm at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will work to boost the productivity and overcome the drawbacks of industrial farming for energy. These include problems of pest control, soil depletion, water consumption, land-use changes, the handling of waste, the potential for tough, nonnative fuel superweeds to run rampant and the need for new kinds of farm equipment. And mass production of biofuels shouldn't lead to higher food prices as fuel and food crops compete -- a threat pointed out in a federal study as long ago as 1980. The losers in such a case would be the poor. It's unknown how the climate would respond to broad changes in soil biology and reflected sunlight from a new kind of industrial agriculture, Harte said.
[Editor's note: A lecture on this topic will be presented at Seattle's Town Hall on March 21st. See http://washington.chenw.org/lectures.html for details.]
from BBC News
March 10, 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6433897.stm
Article Summary: No colors or sweeteners are allowed in foods and drinks for the under-threes and most preservatives are banned. The Food Magazine examined 41 medicines aimed at the under-threes, and found only one was free of the additives. The survey found four azo dye colorings, eight benzoate and two sulphite preservatives, and six sweeteners contained in the products examined. Preservatives were present in all but 10, and sweeteners in all but four of the medicines surveyed. Some medicines warned the additives they contained could have harmful side effects, including irritation of the skin and eyes, stomach upset and diarrhea. Survey spokesman Ian Tokelove said colorings and artificial sweeteners could be replaced with natural alternatives. The manufacturers of medicines for the under-threes have insisted their products are safe. Helen Darracott, of the Proprietary Association of Great Britain, the trade association for manufacturers of over-the-counter medicines, said: "Unlike foods, additives in medicines are in very small quantities and are only taken for a short period of time."
by Vanessa Ho, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
March 9, 2007
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/306782_pregnancyhealth09.html
Article Summary: For many moms-to-be, eating for two is a baffling obstacle course around off-limits foods, with Byzantine medical rules, worries about birth defects, endless unhelpful opinions and an overwhelming amount of health information. Last month, a British medical journal published a large study concluding the lower the amount of seafood a pregnant woman ate, the higher her chances of having a child with poor motor and social development and lower verbal IQ. The findings appear to counter longstanding U.S. recommendations that pregnant women limit the amount of seafood they eat because of mercury concerns. For many women, the recent uncertainty over fish is just the latest thing to fret about. Obstetricians and midwives often warn patients about alcohol, cold deli meats and soft cheeses to guard against birth defects, but some women find that the restrictions turn into nine months of stress.
by Adam Cresswell, Sydney Australian
March 8, 2007
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21344162-23289,00.html
CHILDREN in rural Australia will face health problems as climate change starts to bite, and the impact on adults will go much further than the depression that is already affecting some drought-hit farming communities.
Article Summary: Health effects of climate change on rural communities would also include family stress, breathing and respiratory problems caused by more airborne dust and domestic hygiene and infection problems caused by poorer-quality drinking water. Disruption to agriculture would affect food production, raising prices and lowering the quality and availability of vegetables and other healthy products. Rates of smoking, alcohol and other drug use could also be expected to rise. There would also be direct effects, such as the increases in numbers of people killed by heat waves, storms, floods and bushfires. Suitable strategies included better early-warning systems for severe weather events, better community supports and better infrastructure design.
by Moises Velasquez-Manoff, Christian Science Monitor
March 8, 2007
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0308/p13s02-sten.html
Mountains of outdated electronics are rising worldwide, and a United Nations-led initiative launched in Bonn, Germany, Wednesday is trying to set standards on how to recycle it. Known as "e-scrap" or "e-waste," discarded electronics are one of the fastest-growing segments of municipal garbage, piling up three times faster than other refuse. Some of this waste is dumped in landfills, where the toxic substances it contains may leach into groundwater. But 80 percent ends up in developing countries where labor is cheap enough to make the harvesting of materials profitable. There, crude extraction methods and an absence of regulations expose workers to a host of toxic substances. The UN initiative, called Solving the E-waste Problem (StEP), includes industry, environmental, academic, and government groups. Discussions revolve around how to make electronics easier to recycle.
Article Summary: The UN expects the amount of e-waste generated worldwide every year to soon reach 40 million tons, enough to fill a line of garbage trucks stretching halfway around the world. Modern electronics don't lend themselves to speedy disassembly. That means more labor, more labor means higher costs, and high costs make e-scrap recycling less attractive. If products could be designed for easy dismantling, recycling would be profitable not only in poor countries, but in the United States and European Union nations as well. One way to bring this about is to hold firms responsible for their products from the beginning to the end of their life spans. Some companies, including Xerox, HP, and Dell, have proactively established recycling programs for their outdated products. Legislation mandating e-waste recycling is already in place in the EU and in four US states. Some argue that recycling is profitable now and necessary in order to keep rare materials in circulation. From a recycler's point of view, profit depends on keeping labor costs low, but many electronics contain toxic materials -- batteries and LCDs, for example -- that must first be removed, often by hand.
Consumer electronics contain many potentially toxic substances, from lead and mercury to flame retardants and PCBs. The EPA estimates that e-waste accounts for only one to four percent of municipal waste, but according to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition it makes us 70 percent of the heavy metals in landfills, including 40 percent of all lead. Energy expenditure is another issue. The average desktop computer and monitor require at least 10 times their mass in fuel to manufacture, compared with automobiles or refrigerators, which need only one to two times their weight.
by Martin Mittelstaedt, Toronto Globe and Mail
March 8, 2007
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070308.wxhmercury08/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home
So much mercury has accumulated in fish that there should be a worldwide public warning about eating seafood contaminated by the dangerous heavy metal, says a report summarizing the latest scientific evidence on global mercury pollution. The report, compiled by many of the leading academic experts on mercury pollution at a conference last year, is being published today in Ambio, the journal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Article Summary: Those most at risk from exposure to the metal -- mainly children and women of childbearing age -- should be careful about the quantity and types of fish they eat. Health officials worry about mercury because it is a potent neurotoxin. By interfering with brain development, it can reduce the intelligence levels of children, particularly through exposures during fetal development. One of the researchers who helped compile the report says mercury is such a big problem that international policy makers should do more to reduce emissions to safeguard both public health and the environment, where the metal is causing widespread contamination in wildlife. Mercury is ending up in the food chain because large amounts are being added to the atmosphere as a trace contaminant of burning coal. Humans are also exposed to it through gold-mining byproducts and consumer goods containing it.
Mercury in seafood poses a big dilemma because fish also has major dietary benefits. It is an excellent source of proteins and one of the only dietary sources of health-boosting omega-3 fatty acids. The experts who wrote the new report recommend buying species with high amounts of fatty acids and low mercury levels. The best course for consumers is to limit consumption of many types of freshwater sports fish, which are often badly polluted with mercury, along with such ocean species as shark, swordfish and fresh and frozen tuna. Large, long-lived ocean fish are a worry because they have time to build up high amounts of the contaminant. The better choice would be cold-water species such as salmon, which are generally low in the metal but high in fatty acids. Canned light tuna is a mix of different varieties of the fish that have lower levels of mercury.
from the US Environmental Protection Agency
March 8, 2007
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/news/npl_030707.htm
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is adding five new hazardous waste sites that pose risks to human health and the environment to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites. To date, there have been 1,562 sites listed to the NPL. Of these sites, 317 sites have been deleted, resulting in 1,245 sites currently on the NPL. EPA is also proposing to add five other sites to the list. Contaminants found at these final and proposed sites include arsenic, barium, benzene, butyltins, cadmium, cesium-137, chromium, cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cis-1,2-DCE), copper, dibenzofuran compounds, dioxin, lead, lindane, mercury, pentachlorophenol (PCP), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), silver, tetrachloroethene (PCE), thorium-230, trichloroethene (TCE), zinc, and other metals.
Article Summary: With all Superfund sites, EPA tries to identify and locate the parties potentially responsible for the contamination. For the newly listed sites without viable potentially responsible parties, EPA will investigate the full extent of the contamination before starting significant cleanup at the site. Therefore, it may be several years before significant cleanup funding is required for these sites. Sites to be added are in Terre Haute, Indiana; Flowood, Mississippi; Leon Valley, Texas; Odessa, Texas; and Seattle, Washington. Proposed sites are located in Oxnard, California; Hillsboro, Illinois; Socorro, New Mexico; Douglas County, Oregon; and Woods Cross/Bountiful, Utah.
by Deborah Zabarenko, Reuters
March 7, 2007
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0718073520070307?pageNumber=2
WASHINGTON -- States from Alabama to Wyoming collected such low fees from major polluters that they may have shortchanged efforts to fight air pollution by up to $50 million, an environmental group reported on Wednesday. Those states either charged emissions fees lower than the minimum federal government standard or put a limit on how much each polluter was compelled to pay in those fees, according to the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project.
Article Summary: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires states to pay nearly $40 for each ton of emissions of the most noxious air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and smog-forming volatile organic compounds. Businesses that emit those compounds include power plants, refineries, cement kilns, incinerators and chemical plants. States are responsible for collecting those fees and bear most of the burden of monitoring emissions, inspecting and enforcing the law. The environmental group said at least 18 states collected fees that fell below the federal minimum standard. More than a dozen of the states collected millions less than they might have, the report said. The Environmental Protection Agency's John Millett questioned the report, saying EPA has reviewed all of the 112 emissions programs submitted and found the fees to be adequate.
by Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
March 7, 2007
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07066/767332-115.stm
The tiniest bits of airborne soot from vehicle exhaust, power plants and industries have the potential to affect global climate and take a much bigger toll on human health than previously thought, according to a new study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University. Published last week in the journal Science, their findings show that the microscopic particles, altered by chemical processes in the atmosphere, produce more clouds and are potentially more toxic, and their contributions to unhealthy pollution are larger and spread over a wider area.
Article Summary: Airborne particles or soot pose a serious health risk because they are breathed deep into the lungs. Approximately 20,000 Americans die prematurely each year because of particle exposure -- primarily from heart disease -- and almost 70 million live in areas that violate the federal limits. Each year, soot also causes nearly 300,000 asthma attacks and 2 million lost workdays due to respiratory ailments. Dr. Allen Robinson, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and engineering and public policy said the government's pollution models overestimate direct emissions from diesel trucks, cars and power plants, but fail to accurately account for the more toxic particulates formed aloft. The Carnegie Mellon research shows that the chemical production of particles in the atmosphere also leads to a spreading of pollution over a wider geographic area. The research raises questions about the effectiveness of federal particle regulations that were just tightened in September and concludes that the government needs new ways of measuring and regulating smoke and soot.
by Martin Mittelstaedt, Toronto Globe and Mail
March 7, 2007
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070307.wxchemical07/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home
High levels of bisphenol A, a compound that mimics the hormone estrogen and is used to make many types of plastic products, have been found to be leaching out of tin cans and baby bottles in separate tests conducted by two U.S. environmental groups. The largest amounts were found by the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group in brand-name canned goods purchased at U.S. supermarkets, with the most elevated readings detected in chicken noodle soup and mixed vegetables. The highest U.S. level found was about four times above top readings detected in canned food in Europe. The findings are likely to add to the current controversy over bisphenol A, a chemical that its manufacturers insist is safe, but that has been linked in independent laboratory testing on animals to a raft of hormonally related health effects, including declining sperm counts, earlier onset of puberty, birth defects, breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Article Summary: Bisphenol A is used to make polycarbonate plastic, which is a sturdy, glass-like compound used in many water bottles. It is commonly identified by the plastic industry's triangle symbol containing the number 7. Bisphenol A is also added to the resins used to line the inside of tin cans to prevent foods from picking up a metallic taste. The chemical bonds that hold bisphenol A together in products are unstable, allowing some of it to dissolve off containers into foods and beverages. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency doesn't monitor bisphenol A residues in food, a spokesperson said yesterday. Currently, there are no regulatory limits on the amount of bisphenol A residues allowed in Canadian food. However, bisphenol A is one of the first chemicals slated for review under a policy the Harper government announced late last year to consider thousands of compounds in widespread use that were never given thorough safety assessments. A spokesman for bisphenol A manufacturers says the amounts inadvertently being eaten in food are nothing to worry about. "Human exposures to BPA from these kinds of products is well below a level that would cause concern," said Steven Hentges, executive director of the polycarbonate business unit of the American Plastics Council.