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.
September 13-15, 2006
Sacramento, California
at the Radisson Hotel
If you are not going to be able to attend in person, please consider joining the conference by using the Energy Commission's web conferencing service or through an audiocast over the Internet. The web conferencing service will provide both visual and audio whereas the audiocast will only provide audio. Instructions are posted at http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/events/2006_conference/webex+webcast.html. To view the conference program and agenda for the speaker presentations and starting times each day, please go to http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/events/2006_conference/.
September 15, 2006, in Seattle, Washington
8:30 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.
In order to help US companies prepare for REACH and move beyond the law toward sustainable chemicals management, the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production is organizing a series of one-day training workshops. These workshops will explain the key features of REACH, giving participants a chance to ask experts about how REACH will affect their companies. The LCSP will also provide training in the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling (GHS), the use of sustainable chemicals management, green chemistry, and cleaner production approaches, and how they can help businesses turn REACH around from a challenge to an opportunity. Andrew Fasey, one of the key authors of REACH and the GHS, will be the lead trainer in the workshops, along with LCSP senior staff. The new REACH system will put much more responsibility on companies to collect data on most chemicals on the market, assess the risk of these chemicals, and define safe use down the supply chain. It will also create a new system for dealing with the most hazardous chemicals, in which companies will have to justify continued use of chemicals of very high concern. Any company that exports chemicals or chemical mixtures into the EU, that competes in Europe, the US, or elsewhere with products meeting European standards, or that exports finished products to Europe, will be affected.
Website: http://www.chemicalspolicy.org/registration.shtml
[Editor's note: See the related workshop under the "CHE-WA Events" section above.]
September 22, 2006
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Des Moines, Washington
at Highline Community College
Presented by the Washington State Food and Nutrition Council, this event will feature several speakers: Fred Kirschenmann (agricultural ethicist), David Granatstein (Washington sustainable agriculture leader), Don Stuart (American Farmland Trust) and Linda Stone (Children's Alliance and Western Region Anti-Hunger Coalition). Washington State legislators and representatives from Washington State agricultural organizations will also participate.
Website: http://www.wsfnc.org/conference.htm
Contact: Donna Parsons, 360-725-6222 or dparsons@ospi.wednet.edu
September 23, 2006
Portland, Oregon
at the World Forestry Center
Green Sprouts is a festive and educational one-day event for the whole family that celebrates and promotes the nurturing of life through nature. From pregnancy to early childhood, parents can learn about and explore eco-friendly, community-involved and healthy child rearing options.
Website: http://www.redirectguide.com/baby/
Contact: 503-231-4848 or greensprouts@redirectguide.com
September 24 - October 1, 2006
simultaneous events will take place in the Northeast, the Southeast and the West Coast
The tour theme is "Environmental Justice for All; Reclaiming our Health and Communities Tour '06." The purpose of EJ Tour '06 is to bear witness to the casualties of our failed economic and environmental policies and how our addiction to oil and chemicals is causing Americans -- especially infants and children, workers, indigenous peoples, and communities near industrial facilities -- to bear the heavy burden of chemical contamination. Buses with environmental and health specialists will roll from city to city to work with local communities to highlight their toxic contamination problems. Each visit will include a public event or teach in about local problems and solutions, and will generate public attention and media coverage. The effect of the tour as a whole will be to build stronger links with local environmental justice organizations and raise the profile of environmental justice and health concerns nationally.
Website: http://ej4all.org/
Contact: Virginia Giordano, National Director, 212-598-2181 or vgpnyc@aol.com
October 5, 2006
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT
Presenters at this first of a series of four webcasts will be Howard Frumkin, MD, DrPH, Director, CDC National Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; Angelo Bellomo, Director, LA Unified School District Office of Environmental Health and Safety. A compelling speaker, and editor of the recently published book "Safe and Healthy School Environments," Dr. Frumkin will provide a broad overview of the many issues related to children's environmental health in schools. He will be followed by Angelo Bellomo, who will describe how he successfully manages environmental health issues for the largest public school district in California using a software tool designed by the district. To sign up for one of the Children's Health Month webcasts, send an email (with the date of the webcast in which you would like to participate) to ICF International at the address below.
Contact: ICF International, chm@icfi.com
October 5 - 6, 2006
Edmonds, Washington
at the Edmonds Convention Center
The Puget Sound Partnership meets regularly in its quest to develop an aggressive 15-year plan to solve Puget Sound's most vexing problems. The Partnership is holding a series of general public forums and specific scientific forums throughout the summer and fall.
Website: http://www.pugetsoundpartnership.org/
Contact: Martha Neuman, 206-625-0230 or mneuman@sharedsalmonstrategy.org
October 11, 2006
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT
The presenter at this second of a series of four webcasts will be Deane Evans, Executive Director, Center for Architecture and Building Science Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology. "High performance school" refers to the physical facility, the school building, and its grounds. High performance schools often have features such as energy efficient design and operation, use of environmentally preferable building materials, healthy indoor air quality, and easy maintenance. Good teachers and motivated students can overcome inadequate facilities and perform at a high level almost anywhere, but a well-designed facility can truly enhance performance and make education a more enjoyable and rewarding experience. Creating one is not difficult, but it requires an integrated, "whole building" approach to the design process. Key systems and technologies must be considered together, from the beginning of the design process. To sign up for one of the Children's Health Month webcasts, send an email (with the date of the webcast in which you would like to participate) to ICF International at the address below.
Contact: ICF International, chm@icfi.com
October 13, 2006
8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
San Francisco, California
at the University of California, San Francisco Laurel Heights Auditorium
This one-day national conference is hosted by the Collaborative on Health and the Environment. This second CHE national educational meeting will provide a solid overview of current scientific knowledge regarding environmental contributors to human disease and state-of-the-art efforts to prevent, treat and otherwise improve such impacts. Researchers and health advocates will come from around the country to provide summaries of their knowledge and work. Physician and nurse continuing education credits will be available through the California Academy of Family Physicians.
Website: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/articles/che-events/702
CHE-Washington welcomes these new members:
For a searchable database of organizations with which CHE-WA members are affiliated, please visit http://washington.chenw.org/members.html.
from the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation
September 12, 2006
Washington, DC -- The National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF) is pleased to announce the launch of its new website and environmental health training tools for pediatric health care providers. The site was developed as part of the Children's Environmental Health Faculty Champions Initiative, which aims to build health professional capacity to address children's environmental health issues. The website features PowerPoint Presentations and Resources developed by leading experts in the field of pediatric environmental health education. These materials were originally used to train pediatric faculty members who participated in the Children's Environmental Health Faculty Champions Train-the-Trainer workshop on July 14, 2006. The presentations offer an overview of many of the environmental health topics most frequently encountered by pediatric health care providers, including children's unique vulnerabilities to environmental health risks, environmental history taking, asthma, tobacco smoke, ultraviolet light, pesticides, lead and mercury. The website also includes a comprehensive list of NEETF's environmental health publications for health care providers, as well as selected environmental health resources from a variety of other sources. These tools can be accessed through the Children's Environmental Health Faculty Champions Initiative website: http://www.neetf.org/health/champions.
from Running Grass, EPA Region 10 Environmental Justice Program Manager
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now seeking grant applications for projects to assist low-income and minority communities in assessing and dealing with their specific and sometimes increased environmental and public health risks. Up to $150,000 is available to non-profit organizations through EPA's Office of Environmental Justice. Grants will be awarded through two separate programs: the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement and the Environmental Justice Small Grants Programs. The deadline for grant applications is October 23, 2006.
The intent of these programs is to encourage low-income and minority communities to develop locally-based solutions to their sometimes disproportionate share of environmental and public health issues.
Four Pacific Northwest organizations have received these grants in the past:
Interested potential applicants can participate in three application assistance conference calls scheduled for September 12th and 26th and October 12th.
Conference call participants should send an e-mail to moore.rosa@epa.gov and provide the following information:
Participants may also register by calling the toll-free number: 1-800-962-6215. Once registered, participants will be provided the call-in number and conference code to access the conference call. For more detailed information about these grant programs, visit the following website: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/publications/ej/grants/rfa-cps-grant-6-13-06.pdf.
For additional questions after visiting the websites, please contact Ayako Sato at 202-564-5396 or sato.ayako@epa.gov or Sheila Lewis at 202-564-0152 or lewis.sheila@epa.gov.
by Jan Hefler, Philadelphia Inquirer
September 12, 2006
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/15495853.htm
New regulations, put into place Friday in reaction to the Kiddie Kollege scandal, require day-care centers in New Jersey to ensure there are no contaminated sites within 400 feet of the property before they can obtain a license to open. The mandatory rule, posted without fanfare on the Department of Environmental Protection Web site, caught at least one day-care center off guard, delaying its scheduled opening yesterday.
John Brennan, president of Brennan Environmental Inc. in Summit, Union County, said a client called his firm Friday to say the DEP was requiring him to do an environmental review on the eve of opening a day-care business. Brennan, who does environmental testing and cleanups, declined to divulge the day care's name but said he believes the new regulation is a good one. "It's similar to the 'due diligence' we do for other commercial companies to make sure there is no contamination on a property before it is purchased," said Brennan. " 'Due diligence' is doing a visual inspection, investigating what the past uses were, interviewing neighbors, and finding out if there was any environmental impact to a property," he said. Banks frequently require "due diligence" before granting a loan to buy a commercial property, but many day-care centers have escaped such scrutiny when they open in a house or rent a building.
Tom Bell, spokesman for the state Department of Children and Families, said yesterday that "some day-care centers are receiving letters" informing them of the new environmental review and testing that they must perform before obtaining a license to open. Bell, whose agency oversees day-care centers, said he could not yet provide an exact number affected. The regulation requires a day-care center to contact the DEP so that a record search can be made of a 400-foot radius of the property. If contamination is discovered, the DEP would determine what remediation needed to be done, and a certified environmental company would need to be hired.
In recent weeks, the environmental agency and the DCF have come under fire after DEP inspectors discovered that Kiddie Kollege in Franklinville had opened without their knowledge two years ago in a former mercury thermometer factory. The DEP failed to enforce a cleanup it had ordered at the contaminated factory, and the children and family agency did not check on whether the site was toxic before issuing a license. Health officials said that 20 of the 60 children who attended the now-closed Kiddie Kollege showed elevated levels of mercury exposure, but that the amount should not cause serious long-term effects.
After the closure of Kiddie Kollege in July, two other day-care centers in Franklinville were found to be on or near contaminated sites. According to the DEP, the Through the Years day care, now closed, operated on a former fuel company site contaminated with PCBs, degreasers and fuel oils. And the Franklinville Preschool Academy was found to be near a gas station with leaking underground tanks. The DEP has told the current and former station owners to conduct air and water tests. State inspectors are checking to determine whether any other day-care centers are on or near toxic sites. Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the DEP, said yesterday that she knew of no others.
The state Attorney General's Office is conducting a criminal investigation into how Kiddie Kollege was allowed to operate without cleanup of the mercury, and Gov. Corzine has appointed a team of cabinet members to make recommendations on ways to keep day-care centers off contaminated sites. "As a result of Gov. Corzine's call for stricter regulations, this is the first step to making sure there are no changes or lapses in use of a contaminated site," Makatura said of the new regulation, which can be found at http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/.
by Hannah Duguid, London Independent
September 12, 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article1523035.ece
At 16 weeks pregnant, Isobel Lockwood had an ultrasound and was told she was carrying a baby girl. Soon afterwards, DNA taken from the foetus during an amniocentesis showed it was a boy. The doctor, who'd never made such a mistake before, was astonished but thought nothing further of it. When Isobel eventually gave birth, the reason for the mix-up became clear. Her son's penis was tiny and split down the middle.
The immediate diagnosis was hypospadias -- a birth abnormality where the hole in the penis lies underneath the shaft, or in more severe cases, at the base of the penis or underneath the scrotum. In some cases the penis is very bent and will grow back on itself, in the shape of a doughnut. In severe cases, it is difficult to identify a penis at all. At best the problem is largely cosmetic and can be rectified in a single operation. At worst (and with modern surgery these cases are rare), boys are left infertile and unable to have sex.
Of every 150 to 200 boys born in this country, one will have hypospadias -- and doctors believe that cases have doubled over the past 25 years. It happens during the first three or four months of pregnancy and is a result of incomplete masculinisation. Basically, we all begin life in the womb as female, but with hypospadias something disrupts the hormonal changes a foetus goes through to become male. What that "something" might be turns out to be fairly chilling. Research in Denmark points to a group of chemicals -- phthalates -- found in objects and everyday products all around us. They are in plastic, carpets, fabric, make-up, food packaging, perfume, cosmetics, milk, vegetables, pesticides and sun cream. Known as endocrine disrupters, it is believed they upset the delicate balance of hormones during the early stages of pregnancy.
Related to this is the general crisis in male fertility in the West. One in six boys born today will have a low sperm-count. Hypospadias sufferers are part of a much wider problem which has seen male fertility drastically decline over the past 50 years. Professor Richard Sharpe of the Medical Research Council's Human Reproductive Sciences Unit suggests that there's a link between incidents of hypospadias, undescended testes, low sperm-count and testicular cancers. "We don't yet know the exact cause of these problems, but they are all inter-related. It seems that the increase in these abnormalities is to do with environmental and lifestyle factors. It is something that has only happened recently," Sharpe says.
Aivar Bracka, a consultant genito-urethral plastic surgeon at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, operates on hundreds of cases of hypospadias every year. "I would be surprised if there wasn't an environmental cause for it. It is difficult to explain any other way. In particular, it explains cases of identical twins where one is born with hypospadias and the other isn't. This means that genetics doesn't account for everything." Hereditary factors do, however, play a part in some cases. It is not unusual for more than one male in a family to have hypospadias. If the father and grandfather has it, there is a one in three chance that the next male in line will have it.
But mostly, it happens out of the blue. "I had no idea what hypospadias was," says Sue Phipps, mother of identical twins Henry and Charlie, 11, both born with the condition. "I didn't notice immediately as I had not had boys before. The nurse pointed it out. Both of them had their hole half-way down the underneath of their penis, and both had a hooded foreskin. They had to sit on the toilet to pee, or it went everywhere. "We were told they would need one operation, but after a series of operations their penises were a mess. The pain was so severe they were on morphine. Going to the loo was dreadful for them; Henry urinated from three holes and Charlie from five." A traumatic two years culminated in Sue Phipps threatening to sue the surgeon. One of the problems when local plastic surgeons operate on hypospadias patients is that they are not sufficiently experienced in the delicate technique required and end up making the problem worse -- one-third of cases operated on by Bracka are repair jobs.
Once referred to Russells Hall Hospital, the boys needed just one "salvage" operation to give them a penis that looked normal and worked. Both were able to get erections. But Phipps does not yet know whether her boys will be fertile. There is a small but significant chance that they won't be. Studies have shown that boys with hypospadias tend to have a slightly lower sperm-count. The twins' testicles are normal, though. One in 10 boys with hypospadias is also born with undescended testicles. If one testicle descends there is, again, a small but significant increase of infertility. If both fail to descend, that likelihood shoots up to 80 per cent.
The other reason hypospadias sufferers may struggle to have children is if their abnormality makes it difficult to have sex. A penis with a 270-degree bend can be surgically corrected, but if it is not penetration is almost impossible -- as is normal ejaculation if the hole is at the base of the penis. Ham-fisted surgery leaves the urethra "baggy", causing weak ejaculation where sperm dribbles rather than shoots out.
A penis that doesn't look or behave like everybody else's is upsetting for a boy, too. Their penises tends to be smaller than usual and, apart from embarrassment with potential sexual encounters, there is "locker room syndrome", when boys face the rough judgements of their peers. Peter Cuckow, consultant paediatric urologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Institute of Urology, says: "People are much more critical of their anatomy now, which means operations take place that wouldn't have years ago. I have known families where all the men had hypospadias but the older generations had not had operations because all that was wrong was that their penis looked strange. It still worked, so it wasn't a problem."
Isobel Lockwood says: "I am most worried about how to talk to my son about his penis. I don't want there to be any shame about it, but there's no point pretending nothing's wrong. You want them to be the same. But I do worry about what will happen when he reaches puberty." Sometimes it is fathers who find it difficult to cope. "I suppose it's because they see it as their manhood," says Dionne Smith, 38. "When my boys went into hospital to have their operation, my ex-partner told his friends that the boys were on holiday. I didn't like that. I told him it wasn't a disease -- or anything to be afraid of."
What is important is that for most boys born with hypospadias, one or two operations when they're very young will correct the condition. It is also true that surgeons expect to see more cases in the future -- and unless something changes there is nothing we can really do about it.
by Bruce McDougall and Peter Trute, Sydney Daily Telegraph
September 12, 2006
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20396941-5006784,00.html
SYDNEY'S polluted air is contributing to the deaths of up to 1400 people a year, NSW Health chiefs admitted yesterday. Revealing pollution's deadly toll, they warned the smog was contributing to the deaths of asthmatics and victims of chronic respiratory and cardio-vascular illnesses. Pollution was also a factor in about 3 per cent of all lung cancer deaths in the Sydney basin.
Despite the revelations, environment officials said testing could not be done for ultrafine pollution particles, which penetrate deep into lung tissue and accumulate in the body. Chief health officer Denise Robinson told a public inquiry at Parliament House that between 600 and 1400 deaths every year could be attributed at least partly to Sydney's foul air. Dr Robinson and Environmental Health director Michael Staff could not produce data comparing Sydney's pollution mortality record with other cities. Nor could they provide accurate figures showing if the death rate was declining or how it compared to a decade ago.
Dr Staff said it was difficult to identify smog as a cause of deaths because there were numerous factors involved. He told the inquiry into health impacts of air pollution in the Sydney basin the deaths needed to be considered "in context with other illnesses".
Upper House Democrat Arthur Chesterfield-Evans later accused NSW Health of failing to take the issue seriously. "We can now say how many people die from tobacco-caused cancers and in accidents on the roads," he said. "But no one has yet given us a breakdown on where the pollution comes from -- cars, airports and industrial plants."
Department of Environment and Conservation atmospheric science manager Chris Eiser told the inquiry that no testing could be done for ultrafine pollution particles smaller than 2.5 microns (thousandths of a millimetre). "We don't measure those ultrafine particles -- no one around the world does on a regular basis," Mr Eiser said, adding that the technology was not widely available. Asthma Foundation NSW chief executive Greg Smith said ultrafine particles were a growing concern because new, more efficient car engines were producing smaller and smaller particles. "Particle pollution doesn't just induce an asthma attack, it can kill you," Mr Smith said. "Australian and overseas studies concur that more people die from pollution related illness than in car accidents." Mr Smith said he was concerned ultrafine particles were not being measured. "Given the already massive health and economic implications of pollution we need to know the true extent of pollution in this city as it impacts on a large number of health conditions," he said.
Former US vice-president and global warming campaigner Al Gore -- in Sydney yesterday to promoting his new film An Inconvenient Truth -- said he was not surprised by the alarming figures. "I haven't seen the study but those numbers are not out of keeping with what you would find in large cities," he said. Government figures show the number of vehicles on the roads has increased by 60 per cent in 20 years.
by Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News
September 11, 2006
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/15490808.htm
Is there a connection between toxic chemicals and high rates of breast cancer in the Bay Area? Do pesticides build up in the bodies of Salinas farmworkers? Do people living near oil refineries in Martinez or along freeways in San Jose absorb harmful levels of air pollution? California may be on its way to finding out. A bill that would set up the nation's first statewide program to measure exposure to toxic chemicals by testing thousands of volunteers has overcome industry opposition and reached the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The bill, SB 1379, by state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, and Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, would require the state Department of Health Services to establish a program for residents who agree to have their blood, urine and other body fluids tested for toxic chemicals and other pollutants. The program would be based on an increasingly popular science known as "biomonitoring." It seeks to track hundreds of potentially harmful contaminants -- such as lead, mercury, DDT, PCBs and flame retardants -- and learn more about their health risks by measuring how much, and in whom, they accumulate.
Simply because chemicals can be detected in humans doesn't necessarily mean they are causing harm, scientists note. Virtually every American is exposed to a wide variety of chemical products -- from fumes at gas pumps to nail polish to garden fertilizer -- usually in small amounts with little or no ill effects. But high levels of some toxins have been linked to increased risks for cancer, birth defects, asthma and developmental disabilities. And much remains unknown. "We monitor the air, the water and land for chemical contaminants, but we don't measure the chemical contaminants in people," said Janet Nudelman, director of program and policy for the Breast Cancer Fund, a non-profit San Francisco group that focuses on environmental risks for cancer. "By doing that, we can provide the kind of data we need to better understand links between chemical exposure and rates of disease, and communities that are disproportionately affected."
If Schwarzenegger signs the bill, the new law would set up a nine-member panel of experts appointed by the governor and legislative leaders to design a program.
Voluntary subjects
Nudelman said she expects about 2,000 volunteers representing varying ages, ethnicities and regions would be sought out first for testing to compile statewide baseline information. Afterward, specialized studies could be conducted. Examples include measuring chemical levels in people living near the ports of Oakland or Los Angeles, where ships and trucks emit high levels of soot. Costs would total about $7 million a year, according to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Summaries of the findings -- but not individual test results -- would be made public every two years, starting in 2010.
For much of this year, the farm, oil, chemical and manufacturing industries fought the bill after Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar version in 2005. The governor and industry critics had said it didn't include enough scientific checks and balances, and risked misleading people by overstating health risks from minuscule levels of exposure. But two weeks ago, industry withdrew its opposition. "If we are going to do this, we should do it thoughtfully, professionally and scientifically," said Margaret Bruce, director of environmental programs for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, an industry group in San Jose that dropped its opposition. "The whole program was based around an activist perception of what would be important, rather than a scientist's," she said. "A biomonitoring program will give useful information if it gives comparable, statistically valid data."
Schwarzenegger's staff negotiated changes with Perata and Ortiz. Those improved the bill, Bruce said. One change required that the panel organizing the program be made up of experts with backgrounds in epidemiology, biostatistics, toxicology and other disciplines. Similar efforts failed three years in a row after industry also opposed the funding sources. First, the bill was to be paid for by a cigarette tax, then fees on industry. Now the money would come from the state general fund.
Re-election plays in
Nudelman, however, insisted that the changes were relatively minor. She said the California Farm Bureau Federation, American Chemistry Council, California Chamber of Commerce and others dropped opposition because they realized Schwarzenegger has made environmentalism a key part of his re-election campaign and is likely to sign the bill. The bill is supported by the California Nurses Association, the American Medical Association, large labor unions, and environmental groups such as the Sierra Club.
Since 2000, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has conducted national biomonitoring studies. The last results in 2005 surveyed 2,200 people for 148 chemicals. The CDC found some chemicals such as DDT, a pesticide banned in 1972, or pthalates, used to soften plastic, are widely found in Americans. But it did not measure the health threats. Dr. Richard Jackson, former head of the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health, supports California's bill. He recalled studying pesticides and farmworkers for years. "Over and over again the problem we were dealing with is that we really didn't have any idea what people were exposed to," said Jackson, now an adjunct professor at the University of California-Berkeley. `We had no way of measuring or knowing." He predicted other states will copy California. "Biomonitoring gives you a chance to do a snapshot and look at levels across the state," Jackson said. "Do we have hot spots? Are there people we should be looking at? Do our regulations work? Unless you can measure it, you can't give people decent advice."
from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
September 10, 2006
http://www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-auto/healthnews/envm/534846.html
(HealthDay News) -- For consumers concerned about the environment and their own health, household cleaning products that promise to be "all natural" or "organic" have understandable appeal. They promise to help you polish, buff or scrub without worrying about polluting the earth, having an allergic reaction or breathing in the organic chemicals widely used in conventional cleaning products. The makers of "green" cleaning products say they are made with "earth-friendly" ingredients and plant-derived essential oils, and they are touted as having the same cleaning power as conventional products filled with chemicals.
But how can consumers really be sure when they buy these products whether they are organic or not? Right now, natural cleaning products aren't regulated by the government, said Craig Minowa, a spokesman for the Organic Consumers Association, based in Finland, Minn., which promotes food safety and organic farming. Jackie Dizdul, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission agreed that at the present time, "There are no specific Federal Trade Commission regulations about use of the words 'natural,' 'all-natural' or 'organic' when describing cleaning products. But all claims need to be truthful, non-misleading, substantiated."
Claims for natural products offered by Caldrea and Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, for instance, are substantiated, according to Monica Nassif, founder and president of both companies. "We make claims that they are earth-friendly, biodegradable, have no phosphate, no chloride, no solvents and are plant-derived, and not tested on animals," she said. She said household cleaners made by Caldrea include plant-derived ingredients and essential oils. Prices are higher than conventional cleaning products. Caldrea liquid dish soap, available in high-end specialty stores, costs $8 for 16 ounces, for instance, while Mrs. Meyer's brand, sold in natural food markets, is $4.99 for 16 ounces. A similar-sized bottle of regular dishwashing liquid found in conventional groceries typically sells for $2 or $3, Nassif said. Part of the higher price is due to the cost of the ingredients, which Nassif said cost more than those used in conventional products. "We buy the fragrances in the Caldrea line from sophisticated perfume fragrance houses," she said.
Do they work as well? Green-clean products do have their critics, but Nassif said her companies' cleaners perform just as well as their mainstream competitors. "All our products are sent out to independent laboratories which test [them] for performance," she said. "There are industry standards for performance." The results for her products, she said, "have to be on par or better with the leader in the mass [conventional product] category."
"There's definitely benefit," said Minowa, referring to organic or all-natural cleaning products. "If you find a natural cleaning product, it's way better than conventional," he said. "You don't have the negative health and environmental effect." According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, potentially hazardous chemicals are widely used in conventional household products. Cleaning and disinfection products as well as paints and varnishes all contain chemicals called organic solvents. The compounds can be released into the air during use and even when stored, according to the EPA. Among the potential health effects with exposure are headaches; irritation to the eyes, nose and throat; and central nervous system damage. Some of these compounds have been found to cause cancer in animals, according to the EPA, and some are suspected of raising risks in people, as well.
Environmentally keen and health-conscious consumers are driving the move to "green clean" products. Nassif cited recent statistics that found the U.S. market for "natural" cleaning products now tops $100 million a year. It's still a small part of the overall market, but sales growth has continued to rise by 18 percent to 25 percent each year for the past five years, according to WorldWatch Institute, an environmentally conscious organization.
However, Minowa pointed out that consumers don't always have to choose between mass-market brands and pricey, "green" alternatives. Instead, you can fall back on old-fashioned remedies -- things your grandparents or parents may have used: Vinegar instead of Windex, for example, or baking soda rather than Comet. One more suggestion? "Boil a big pot of water, add baking soda and vinegar," Minowa said. "Clean out the drain [with that] instead of drain cleaner."
by Emily Cook, UK Daily Mail
September 10, 2006
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=404522&in_page_id=1774&in_a_source=
Babies are being exposed to "gender-bending" chemical pesticides before they are even born, disturbing new evidence has showed. Tests on blood taken from the placentas of pregnant women revealed up to fifteen different types of pesticide, the research found. Worryingly, the chemicals were found in every single one of the 308 women tested. The findings will fuel concern about the chemicals, known as hormone disruptors or EDCs -- endocrine-disrupting chemicals. High levels of exposure have been linked to reproductive abnormalities -- so-called gender-bending -- because they upset the hormonal development of the embryo.
The effects are already being seen in nature where some species of fish and animals with deformed sex organs have been found. Scientists blame agricultural pesticides and other hazardous chemicals such as those found in flame retardants which have leaked into the environment. Last year a similar report by WWF-UK and Greenpeace found that babies are being exposed to a whole array of chemicals at the most vulnerable point in their development.
Tests on the blood of 30 newborn babies found the presence of eight different groups of chemicals, ranging from cleaning products to chemicals used to make plastics and non-stick waterproof coatings. A study led by scientists at the University of Rochester in New York also found that common chemicals found in thousands of household products such as soaps and make-up can harm the development of unborn baby boys. The results reinforce calls for pregnant women to be especially careful about their diet and for the reduction of chemicals in food production.
The latest findings were made by the Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine at the University of Granada in Spain. Analysis of the placentas revealed the "presence of seventeen endocrine disruptive organochlorine pesticides" -- the so-called gender benders. Some patients' placentas contained 15 of the 17 pesticides tested for. Maria Jose Lopez Espinosa, who headed the research, feared that the chemicals could cause health problems for children who suffered exposure in the womb. She said: "The results are alarming: 100 per cent of these pregnant women had at least one pesticide in their placenta but the average rate amounts to eight different kinds of chemical substances." She warned, "We do not really know the consequences of exposure to pesticides in children but we can predict that they may have serious effects since this placenta exposure occurs at key moments on the embryo's development."
The modern, chemical-laden environment can be especially harmful to pregnant women. During the gestation period, contaminants which accumulate in fatty tissues, access the unborn child via the blood supply and the placenta. The Spanish research was carried out at San Cecilio University Hospital among 308 women who had given birth between 2000 and 2002. Tests were performed on 668 samples. The study also found a higher presence of pesticides in older mothers and those who had a higher Body Mass Index.
Miss Espinosa believed that a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise, good food and no smoking would help combat the effect of "inadvertent exposure" to the chemicals. She added, "It is possible to control pesticide ingestion by means of a proper diet, which should be healthy and balanced, through consumption of food whose chemical content is low. "Moreover, daily exercise and the avoidance of tobacco, which could also be a source of inadvertent exposure, are very important habits which help to control the presence of pesticides in our bodies".
by Alison Young, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
September 10, 2006
http://www.ajc.com/today/content/epaper/editions/today/news_5430dba4748201210089.html
An exodus of key leaders and scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has raised "great concern" among five of the six former directors who led the agency over the past 40 years. Their concerns, expressed in a rare joint letter to current CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding, come amid growing staff complaints about whether her strategic shifts in the agency's focus are putting public health at risk, according to interviews with current and former CDC officials and documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Critics say the agency is changing to a top-down management style that stifles science and that new layers of bureaucracy are being created, making agency operations more cumbersome. The most visible sign of potential trouble at CDC is the loss of more than a dozen high-profile leaders and scientists since 2004. By the end of this year, all but two of the directors of CDC's eight primary scientific centers will have left the Atlanta-based federal agency. The wave of departures -- which numerous CDC leaders call unprecedented -- also includes the agency's top vaccine expert and world experts in several diseases. Just last week CDC's pandemic flu coordinator said he's leaving.
As the nation's 9-1-1 for public health, CDC is responsible for preventing and tackling outbreaks, bioterrorism and pandemics, along with the more routine, deadly threats of seasonal flu, HIV, rabies, injuries and obesity. The urgency of these missions has current and former CDC scientists deeply concerned that the agency's new strategy of looking at health issues broadly and reorganizing its divisions puts it on a course to potential disaster, causing it to lose its footing, like FEMA did before it faced Hurricane Katrina.
Gerberding and top officials at the Department of Health and Human Services, CDC's parent agency, credit the strategic changes with putting the agency in its best position ever to respond to the threats of a modern world. And they point to a host of accomplishments as evidence of the agency's continued prowess -- from development of a faster test for botulism to groundbreaking genetic research on bird flu to outbreak responses. "I think we have been incredibly high-performing throughout this period of time," Gerberding said in an interview.
Still, Gerberding said she will be hiring a first-ever employee ombudsman for the CDC. It's an attempt to address a crescendo of employee concerns, which in recent months have included criticism of the reorganization's merits, a whistle-blower alleging CDC mismanagement of bioterrorism funds, and lunchtime picketing by minority employees claiming discrimination, CDC officials said.
Gerberding said some low morale is to be expected as the agency enters its third year of her sweeping effort to broaden CDC's approach to health issues, changing its organizational chart from deep silos of expertise on individual diseases to a wider structure meant to encourage more collaboration on broader health issues. It's a process that has plunged much of the agency's leadership into time-consuming meetings and has generated significant angst as long-standing divisions have been shuffled or eliminated. For instance, CDC's old National Center for Infectious Diseases has had its components broken apart and spread across four newly created "national centers." While they all remain under one newly created "coordinating center," disease experts are scattered in a way that some fear will make communication and innovation more difficult.
Assistant Secretary for Health John Agwunobi said change is always difficult and that Gerberding's transformation of the agency is vital to the nation's future. "CDC is delivering on its mission, some would say better than it ever has done," said Agwunobi, whose department oversees CDC. "We have great confidence in Julie Gerberding."
Others are less confident in the direction CDC is headed. "You're seeing a gradual erosion into the scientific base, and that's very worrisome," said Dr. David Sencer, one of five former CDC directors who sent the joint letter of concern to Gerberding in December, then met with her this spring. Statements like this from some of the nation's top scientists are what has caused the Senate Finance Committee to become "deeply concerned," said U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, its chairman. The committee, prompted by a CDC whistleblower, is probing CDC's oversight of a $3.8 billion bioterrorism grant program. It's also examining reports that turmoil in the agency is putting its scientific mission at risk. "The citizens of the United States fully expect that in the event of natural disasters, attacks by bioterrorists, and outbreaks of life-threatening diseases, the agencies of their federal government will quickly and effectively respond to those situations," said Grassley (R-Iowa).
The Journal-Constitution has found it difficult to quantify whether the agency's ability to respond in a crisis has been significantly harmed. Grassley's investigators have experienced similar difficulty. But Grassley said: "The beliefs expressed by those experts cannot be safely ignored or minimized."
Examining the exodus
The CDC is one of the most trusted agencies of the federal government, one that is unique in its mission, its location outside the nation's capital, and its work force of world-class experts and public health professionals driven by a noble and critical purpose. Locally, CDC and its 9,000 employees and 5,000 contractors are part of the fabric of Atlanta -- people proud and protective of their agency.
To Gerberding and her top management team, the current spate of departures and ongoing morale issues are the result of a confluence of many factors. They include budget cuts imposed by Washington, a shift in funding away from traditional diseases toward the more high-profile threats of terrorism and pandemics, and an aging federal work force. Add to all that the stress of the agency reorganization. "I don't know any organization that's gone through significant change where morale hasn't been an issue," Gerberding said. "But I don't like the fact that it is an issue here. And I can assure you that all of us are taking the situation very seriously and listening and trying to understand the things that we can fix and try to improve our ability to cope with the things that we can't fix."
The chorus of strongly voiced concerns coming from inside the agency is what alarmed five former CDC directors and spurred them to send the joint letter to Gerberding on Dec. 22. "We have all gone through periods of change and recognize the difficulties attendant to change. However, we are concerned about the previous and impending losses of highly qualified and motivated staff," wrote former CDC directors Dr. William Foege, Dr. James Mason, Dr. David Satcher, Dr. Jeffrey Koplan and Sencer. Their leadership of the agency spans Republican and Democratic administrations dating back to 1966. "We are concerned that so many of the staff have come to us to express their concerns about the low morale in the agency. We are concerned about the inability of many of the partners to understand the direction in which CDC is headed," they said in the letter. "I think all of us were receiving virtually constant messages from staff expressing concerns about morale and their ability to do their work -- and all of it unsolicited," Koplan said in a recent interview. He preceded Gerberding as CDC director and now is vice president for academic health affairs at Emory University's Woodruff Health Sciences Center.
The CDC staff members who are raising concerns, Koplan said, are not complainers. "In my 34 years of affiliation with the CDC, I've never seen this level of concern," Koplan said. "The rate and number of turnover has been exceptional. And it's not just senior leadership, which would be huge in and of itself." Retirements among one category of scientists last year were up 77 percent over previous years, CDC employment data show.
Foege, Mason and Satcher did not grant interviews. Dr. William Roper, who was CDC director during the administration of President Bush's father, was the lone former director who was not a part of the letter. Roper declined to comment about the letter.
Gerberding said she welcomed the former directors' input. "They brought the ombudsman idea forward. It was something we had already considered, but not quite in the way they had framed it." Two contractors will initially act as ombudsmen as they research what the permanent job will entail. Gerberding said she remains in contact with the former CDC directors. "I think they're like I would be when I'm no longer the director: Concerned, but respectful of the fact that they're not seeing the whole picture either."
Scientists break silence
Until now, many of the agency's current and former scientists have refused to talk publicly about what they see as the agency's problems. Concern has reached critical mass in recent months, prompting even some who are still employed by the agency to fear that staying silent will do more harm to CDC than airing the agency's laundry in public. They say changes at the agency are putting CDC's performance at risk. "The sense I get is a lot of the decision-making and a lot of the resources are getting moved away from the scientific underpinnings of the agency," said Dr. Stephen Ostroff, who was deputy director of CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases until he left the agency last year. Ostroff was a leader of CDC's much praised responses to outbreaks of SARS and monkeypox. "I think there really is the potential for lots of people to take their eye off the ball because they're so heavily engaged in so many of these other things going on in the agency: the reorganization and goals management," Ostroff said.
In a memo to Gerberding last fall, the agency's Division Directors Council warned that her plans to adopt 21 new agency goals simultaneously involved a "risky" diversion of staff time and "will produce even greater confusion and threaten our ability to meet CDC's ongoing commitments." Dr. Harold Margolis, one of several high-profile scientists who has left CDC since 2004, cited the all-consuming reorganization and a shift away from letting science drive programs as some of the reasons for his departure. CDC's historic success, he said, has been driven by good science. "It was generated from a lot of smart people working together from the bottom. The point was it was not dictated from the top," said Margolis, who was chief of CDC's viral hepatitis division for 17 years.
Dr. Stephen Cochi, a senior adviser in CDC's Global Immunization Division, said the agency's staff is proud of its history of successfully tackling public health problems. "The capacity of CDC to do that has been seriously eroded in a very short period of time," Cochi said. "The American people need to be concerned." Cochi, like others, said scientists are less empowered to make decisions, are discouraged from offering alternative approaches to solving problems, and face increased layers of bureaucracy that make it more difficult to do their jobs. Cochi, who has been at CDC for 25 years, is featured in a CDC film about polio eradication played prominently in the agency's new visitors center. Cochi received a disciplinary letter last fall for sending an e-mail to staff -- while he was acting director of CDC's National Immunization Program -- that was critical of the reorganization's potential impact. Cochi was not chosen to be a permanent director. "I believe there is a danger," he wrote, that the National Immunization Program "may become less focused, and have more bureaucratic obstacles imposed on it. I am particularly concerned about budget cuts and redirections of immunization program dollars."
In a Nov. 30 disciplinary letter, Dr. Mitchell Cohen, director of CDC's newly created Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases, told Cochi: "These statements are misleading, inaccurate, or are in contrast to the intent of the proposed reorganization." Cohen's letter said Cochi should be well aware that the intent of the reorganization is to strengthen the agency. "It is important to note that as a part of the senior management team, you are obligated to support the agency's executive leadership decisions."
Declining morale, trust
Various personnel surveys of CDC staff, analyzed by the Journal-Constitution, have documented increasing employee concerns about the agency's direction, trust in its leaders and the adequacy of agency resources. Yet even with the declining morale indicators, about two-thirds of CDC employees say they are satisfied with their individual jobs and would recommend the agency as a good place to work.
Dr. Kevin Fenton, one of the new slate of center directors promoted in the wake of the departures, said many employees embrace Gerberding's vision for the new CDC. "What you have is a real mixture of opinions depending on who you speak to and where they are in their career trajectory," said Fenton, who joined CDC in January 2005. Last November, he was promoted to director of CDC's national center for HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis. "I can see why we need to change," he said, but "that rationale for change may not have been articulated clearly enough or widely enough or repeatedly enough to sink in."
Despite numerous task forces and listening sessions that Gerberding said she held to ensure the reorganization has been inclusive, there is skepticism. Some believe that the efforts were largely for show. And there is a specific distrust of Gerberding herself and the agency's chief operations officer, Bill Gimson, according to interviews with their supporters and detractors. That's coupled with what some say is a climate of fear that discourages honest communication, and an effort to "spin" the official information disseminated to employees. "They don't trust Julie and Bill," said Dr. Dixie Snider, who retired this summer after working in CDC's Office of the Director for 13 years, including since 2004 as Gerberding's chief science officer. "It's a reality that the leadership is aware of. I think everybody is just befuddled about how do you fix that."
Trust issues range from a general lack of confidence that CDC's leadership will "do the right thing" when faced with political pressure from Washington; to questions of whether the reorganization was motivated more by a desire for control and power than designed to fix anything that was broken; to a belief that official staff communications are designed more to burnish a public relations image than give employees the unvarnished truth, according to interviews. Snider, who joined CDC in 1973, thinks the perception is unfair. He said Gerberding has been the most open and collaborative director he's worked with.
Gerberding is the first female CDC director, and is a relative newcomer to the agency, joining in 1998. In July 2002, she was tapped to head the agency following her high-profile role in leading CDC's response to the 2001 anthrax attacks. It was anthrax, Gerberding says, that showed her how CDC needed to be more nimble in working across its divisions.
The lack of trust in CDC's top leadership is publicly reflected in dozens of postings on an independent CDC employee blog that began publishing on the Internet in January, as well as in a governmentwide poll of federal employees. Between 2002 and 2004, CDC employees who said the agency's leaders maintained high standards of honesty and integrity dropped from 51 percent to 45 percent. "There is a disconnect between what is said is happening and what we see or feel is happening," said Bob Keegan, creator of the blog www.cdcchatter.net, which he said gets about 30,000 hits a day. Keegan, deputy director of the CDC's Global Immunization Division, is a recipient of the agency's Watson Medal of Excellence, a top employee award.
Carlos Alonso, a health communication specialist in CDC's National Center for Health Marketing, is a reader of the blog, which he said "furnishes a sobering and welcome counterweight" to official CDC information. "Suffice it to say that when respected employees of any organization decide to take to the streets, or design external blogs to voice frustrations and outrage, the commonly accepted avenues of internal communication have either lost their credibility, or broken down completely," said Alonso, a 23-year CDC employee. Gerberding declined to be interviewed about the trust issues being raised by her staff.
Proof of harm?
A lack of trust, an exodus of leaders and a major reorganization is a potentially dangerous mix, said Donald Kettl, director of the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania. "Can you spell FEMA? It's the same kind of issue that they faced," he said. "If there is a high level of conflict and tension, it makes it hard for people who need to, to work together -- and work well -- because they need trust," Kettl said.
Kettl published an article in December lauding Gerberding's efforts during the anthrax crisis and how she's using those lessons to transform CDC. But he said he didn't examine whether the changes have helped or hurt the agency. "The only proof of this is how an organization responds in a crisis," he said.
Gerberding and others in the agency's senior leadership point to CDC's responses to the deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the monkeypox outbreak, the agency's handling of flu vaccine shortages in 2004 and response to Hurricane Katrina as proof the agency hasn't suffered. But these examples don't appear to provide that proof, critics say. SARS and monkeypox happened in 2003 -- as the reorganization was beginning and before the departure last year of two key leaders who ran those responses. Dr. James Hughes and Ostroff, the director and deputy director of CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases left the agency last year.
CDC has received mixed reviews on its performance leading up to and after the vaccine shortage, according to reports by the Government Accountability Office and the Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit watchdog group. And Hurricane Katrina, while a huge rescue and humanitarian response that tested FEMA, was not a public health crisis for CDC. "We really haven't had an infectious disease emergency since Jim and I have gone," Ostroff said. "I don't think the systems have been recently tested."
by Chris Bowman, Sacramento Bee
September 10, 2006
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/20868.html
Federal food-safety enforcers plan to investigate whether consumers of microwave popcorn are at risk from breathing the same artificial butter chemical that scientists have linked to the devastating "popcorn worker's lung" disease, a top official told The Bee. "We're looking into the questions that might be raised by the exposure," said Michael Cheeseman, associate director of the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Food Additive Safety.
The news surprised public health experts who have pressed the Bush administration to take more aggressive steps in determining consumer risks and preventing further outbreaks of the disease in the food and flavoring industries. "It's a very big deal. They reversed themselves. They were not planning to do anything about it," said David Michaels, a George Washington University professor of public health who has been tracking the government's response to the flavoring chemical hazard.
FDA officials had maintained that consumers are not harmed by the buttery chemical vapors released when they open a bag of fresh-popped kernels. The agency's supporting safety data, however, originate from the flavoring industry and date back to the early 1980s. And the studies addressed only the ingestion of the butter flavoring chemical, not inhaling its vapor, which is what disabled dozens at microwave popcorn plants in the Midwest and killed at least three. More recently, lung doctors have discovered the lung disease in Southern California flavoring factories that use the butter-mimicking chemical, called diacetyl (di-AS-itle).
Cheeseman said the agency decided to examine the consumer safety issue just in the past month after he learned that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was measuring emissions from microwave popcorn. "We are going to look at what data EPA has, yes ... to determine whether it raises a question we need to address," Cheeseman said. He would not elaborate.
Popcorn worker's lung is a form of bronchiolitis obliterans, a potentially fatal disease that literally obliterates the bronchioles -- the lungs' tiniest airways -- resulting in drastically reduced breathing capacity. The rare disease has all but destroyed the lungs of at least two former workers and possibly three others in the Los Angeles area.
Consumers are not at risk of getting the lung disease, health experts said, because the diacetyl exposures from cooking popcorn and other foods containing the manufactured flavoring are minor compared with those the diseased workers experienced. But repeated exposure to vapors from microwave popcorn at home or the office could cause respiratory ailments and reduce lung capacity, said Dr. Allen Parmet, a Kansas City, Mo., occupational health doctor, who has examined workers who experienced a range of diacetyl exposures at popcorn plants in the Midwest. "There's a whole spectrum of symptoms, down to the people who don't think they are sick but their lung functions are declining," Parmet said.
FDA and industry officials said they have not had any reports of respiratory problems among consumers of microwave popcorn. "We're pretty confident that microwave popcorn is safe to manufacture, prepare and consume," said Chris Kircher, a spokesman for ConAgra Foods, which produces ACT II and Orville Redenbacher's microwave popcorn.
Researchers in the EPA study, which is undergoing internal review, identified the type and amount of chemicals emitted from popping microwave popcorn and opening the bag. They tested about 50 bags of different brands and flavors. Further study would be needed to determine any health risks from breathing those chemicals, said William Farland, deputy assistant administrator for science in the EPA's Office of Research and Development. The kinds of things that we are looking at really have their greatest implications for exposure indoors, for individuals in homes," Farland said. "Clearly, there are implications for consumer products."
The EPA expects to submit its findings next month for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The agency will not release the data to the FDA or the public until then, Farland said. EPA researchers decided to pursue the emissions study after one of its researchers heard a presentation on disabled popcorn workers at a medical conference in 2002. A study of the popcorn factories by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found that the injuries were not limited to those who worked alongside the heated tanks of flavored cooking oil. Many quality control workers who cooked and opened dozens of bags daily did not get bronchiolitis obliterans but tested abnormally low on breathing capacity.
Jacky Rosati, the lead scientist in the EPA study, said in a 2003 agency newsletter that the NIOSH data suggested consumers might also be at risk. "It is feasible that recurrent exposure in the home environment may pose similar risks, especially in children and adults with compromised respiratory health," Rosati said.
by Jeffrey M. Tupas, Sun.Star Davao [Phillipines]
September 9, 2006
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2006/08/19/mayor.sets.deadline.for.aerial.pesticide.sprays.html
MAYOR Rodrigo Duterte is willing to put his own life and honor on the line to protect the people against the effects of aerial spraying of pesticides in banana plantations as he backed the demand of various groups to immediately ban the practice. "My life and honor. I will stake my life. I am worried about the young children because everyday they imbibe a certain amount of chemicals. They (companies) cannot fool me that the chemicals are harmless," Duterte said on the television program of his friend Pastor Apollo Quiboloy Wednesday night.
Duterte issued this statement as banana plantation owners contest that the pesticides used in aerial spraying are safe, just as they threaten a massive drop in employment if the ordinance banning aerial spraying were approved. The companies also said they might consider moving out of the city if the City Government really pushes for the banning. But Duterte is not threatened and says the plantations' relocation will be "good riddance".
He then reiterated his earlier challenge for the companies to present scientific data to counter the claim of the people that aerial spraying is harmful. "Instead of threatening the city that they're going to relocate to somewhere else, why don't you just present scientific and empirical data to show that it is not deleterious? If it is safe, then why are there many complaints coming from the communities in the peripherals of the plantations... the damage in coconuts, skin rashes," Duterte said. "I am as interested as anybody else to protect the economic activity of the city because it gives employment to the people, we have no quarrel about that. But I think foremost of my responsibility is to protect the health of the people and it comes first," Duterte added.
Duterte said banana plantation should convince him 100 percent that aerial spraying and the chemicals that they are using are 100 percent safe. "You have to remedy the situation. I am ready to listen. If all you can do is threaten, then go out of Davao City," he said.
by Sherry Noik-Bent, Toronto Globe and Mail
September 9, 2006
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060909.SCENT09/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Ontario/
This week, as he has each fall for the past two years, principal Roger Dale of Kipling Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke had the unenviable task of telling his 720 students that they can't go for the Axe effect or dab on a little of Jessica Simpson's Banana Split Body Frosting. Nor can they bring strawberry-smelling felt pens to class or a fresh copy of the latest issue of Cosmo. At this high school, as signs on the washroom doors read, "No scents is good sense."
While the Toronto District School Board considers whether to turn up their noses at scents in schools, voting last week to form a work group to study the possibility, Kipling Collegiate has already taken matters into its own hands. It went fragrance-free in 2004. "Our policy is that we request students and staff and people coming into the building not to be wearing scented products," Mr. Dale says. He was moved to act after a teacher approached him about severe allergic reactions believed to be triggered by petrochemical-based products, which can include anything from hairspray and lip balm to fabric softeners and bug repellent. He did some investigating. "When you start to talk about it," Mr. Dale says, "you realize . . . it's not that uncommon."
Multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome (MCSS) is thought to affect about four million Canadians, according to the Allergy and Environmental Health Association of Quebec, and accounts for $1-billion in avoidable health-care costs. For people with MCSS, symptoms can include headaches, nausea, respiratory difficulties, muscle pain and any number of other seemingly unrelated problems.
In drawing up the school's Scented Products Management Plan, Mr. Dale says the goal was not to make students feel as though they were being punished, but to educate them. That clever scents/sense sign is one of many permanently affixed to school walls. It further reads: "Scented products contain chemicals which may cause serious problems for many people, especially those with asthma, allergies and environmental illness." That message is repeated in the student handbook, in a reminder with every report card, and during the twice-yearly assemblies. The school provides a two-page list of approved products -- Right Guard shaving cream, Cheer Free laundry detergent, Oxy acne treatment, Dove antiperspirant -- readily available in stores. "It was pretty new ground for all of us," Mr. Dale says. Even the library is fair play: The school librarian disposes of all the scent strips in the magazines on the racks.
The policy gives teachers the option of speaking privately to a student or sending them to Mr. Dale or the vice-principal. If washing off the offending scent in the bathroom isn't possible, he or she could be sent home for a shower. It hasn't come to that yet, but there have been a handful of lapses each year, notably after the holiday gift-giving season, and "especially after gym class, because everybody wants to freshen up," 16-year-old Srishti Prasad says.
Still, among the students, there doesn't seem to be even a whiff of resentment. "It's not a big inconvenience," 16-year-old Christo Lamprakos says. "If I'm going out, like on the weekend, sure I'll put on my cologne, but I don't need that in school," Grade 11 student Michael Turner says.
Mr. Turner says he doesn't have allergies or asthma, but before the ban, the olfactory assault in the hallways had him gagging. For him, it's about more than courtesy to scent-sensitive fellow students; it's an environmental issue. "It's like pollution entering your body," he says. Such eco-consciousness has led Kipling Collegiate to use only eco-friendly, scent-free cleansers for its bathrooms, floors, walls and windows. Harsh chemicals aren't used to shine the glass on trophy cases, either, one of which displays a "certified gold eco school" plaque bestowed on the school by the city.
School boards in Halifax and Calgary have already gone scent-free. And, in advance of a system-wide ban, other schools in Toronto are recognizing the need to act on complaints from staff and students. Bliss Carman Senior Public School in Scarborough has been unofficially scent-free since last year and will be meeting with its parent council this week to move ahead with a policy.
Trustee Josh Matlow, who brought the scent-free motion forward to the TDSB, sees the chemical-sensitivity issue as analogous to the peanut-allergy problem of a few years back. He points out that students, teachers and parents managed to adapt and find substitutes for the staple peanut butter and jam lunch. "As a society, as we become more cognizant of what negatively affects people, and trying to be responsible neighbours, I think that we need to take people seriously," he says. Besides, with all those teenaged pheromones raging, who needs fragrance anyway?
by Asher Price, Austin American-Statesman
September 9, 2006
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/09/09/9tar.html
Driven by an Austin study that led to a local ban of a common street-paving material, two U.S. senators have asked the federal Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a national study on the sealant and to tighten rules on its use. The Austin ban of coal-tar sealants -- the black, shiny surface often applied to pavement -- went into effect Jan. 1 after a study by the city and the United States Geological Survey found that the material made its way into waterways.
In sufficient concentrations and exposure levels, the chemicals that are a main component of coal-tar, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, can cause cancer in people, although city environmental officials said the Austin study focused on the chemicals as a major threat to aquatic life. In a letter sent to the EPA on Wednesday, Sen. Jim Jeffords, a Vermont independent, and Sen. John Warner, a Virginia Republican, both members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, urged that the agency reverse a position taken in 1991 that coal-tar not be classified as a hazardous waste. "We believe that the findings have major implications for the City of Austin and the rest of the country because these sealants are used nationwide," they wrote.
Austin officials pointed to parking lot sealants as a likely source of the chemicals in 2003 as the Austin American-Statesman ran stories about pollution in and around Barton Springs Pool. Sealants are used over asphalt in the construction of roads and parking lots to make them impervious to water and oxygen penetration, said Peter Sebaaly, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Nevada at Reno and the director of its Pavement Coating Technology Center. Asphalt sealants, which have lower concentrations of the chemicals, make up about 90 percent of the market. They are cheaper to produce than coal-tar sealants and are consistent, materialwise, with the underlying asphalt, so they are less likely to develop cracks or separate from the road. But petroleum-based asphalt dissolves oil, so coal-tar sealants (which do not absorb oil) are used in gas stations and parking lots. "If you have a pavement you need to protect from oil spillage, that's where you use coal-tar sealant," Sebaaly said.
A national ban on coal-tar sealants "would mean a lot of converting and a lot of concern about quality of products in northern climates," said John Pippin, a spokesman for Ohio-based Neyra Industries, one of the top manufacturers of sealant in the nation. (Coal-tar, a byproduct of steel production, tends to be found more in the Northeast.) "We're business people, we'll figure out something."
Since 2003, Austin has encouraged the use of asphalt-based sealants. The Austin ban is the first of its kind, officials said. Coal-tar sealants cannot be used in the city or in an area just beyond its limits. More than 600,000 gallons of coal-tar sealants had been spread annually across Austin parking lots in the years leading up to the ban. Violating the ban would be a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by as much as $2,000 per violation. Only one business, an Austin restaurant, has been accused of violating the ban, and it is negotiating with the city to reach a settlement, said Tom Ennis, a manager in the city's watershed protection department. "We're pleased with the attention," Ennis said of the senators' request. "We hope it creates greater awareness in Austin and across the nation."
by Douglas Birch, Baltimore Sun
September 9, 2006
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.lead09sep09,0,4329904.story
The Baltimore health commissioner ordered a ban yesterday on sales in the city of several brands of an eye cosmetic popular in parts of Asia, after two toddlers whose parents applied the product suffered significant lead poisoning. Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein said he asked the owner of one city specialty market to remove from its shelves several types of kohl eye makeup, marketed as Kajal, Al-Kahl and Surma. A citywide ban could go into effect as early as Monday, he said. Violators could be fined up to $1,000 for each offense.
The city health commissioner acted after the state Department of the Environment found that two tubes of one brand sold in Maryland, "Hashmi Surma Special," contained 39 percent and 45 percent lead, respectively. According to state officials, the higher figure is 750 times the current national limit for lead in paint. These levels, Sharfstein said, represent "just a huge amount of lead."
While investigating the lead poisoning of a Baltimore County boy and a girl in Silver Spring, state environmental officials discovered that both were poisoned by kohl products made in Pakistan. Both are between 2 and 4 years of age. One of the families bought the makeup at a Baltimore market, officials said. The other family couldn't recall where they purchased it. Horacio Tablada, waste management director of the state environment agency, said there are probably several markets in the state selling these lead-containing cosmetics, which is also sometimes used as a teething powder for infants.
Jonas A. Jacobson, deputy secretary of the environment, said the matter has been referred to the consumer protection division of the state Attorney General's office for further investigation. Kohl is used as a cosmetic worldwide. But it is particularly popular in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, where it is widely used as a cosmetic by children and men. According to an article in the Aug. 1991 Environmental Health Perspectives. lead levels in foreign-manufactured kohl varied from 0.6 percent to over 50 percent. The label on the Hasmi Surma Special tubes claimed that the powder protects children's eyesight.
At very high doses, lead can cause death from brain swelling. In lower doses, Sharfstein said, it can impair cognitive function, cause hyperactivity and learning disabilities. Both children were found to have blood levels above 20 micrograms per deciliter, the threshold at which cognitive problems may result, state officials said.
Most cases of lead poisoning result when children swallow the lead paint dust or flakes found in some older homes. Tablada said investigators couldn't find any environmental cause of the Baltimore County and Silver Spring cases. An investigator noticed, though, a black substance around the eye of one of the toddlers. That led to the kohl products and the market in northern Baltimore. Sharfstein declined to name the market, saying that the owner had cooperated by immediately removing the products. Similar cases elsewhere have already led the federal Food and Drug Administration to impose a nationwide ban on products containing kohl, Sharfstein said.
by Glen Bolduc, Kennebec Journal
September 9, 2006
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/3105613.shtml
Water is a hungry beast. "It wants to dissolve whatever it comes in contact with," said Jeffrey Twitchell, vice president of Air and Water Quality Inc. in Freeport. Water's corrosive power is determined by how acidic it is. The lower the pH (potential for Hydrogen) level in the water, the easier it is for the water to eat away at the pipes it flows through. But water carries with it what it consumes. Sometimes, that can include harmful deposits of lead.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to lead through drinking water is relatively uncommon. The greatest exposure to lead comes from swallowing or breathing in lead paint chips and dust. But in the world of water contamination, lead, copper and other metals that leak into water from corroded pipes happen all too often. "It's common enough that you see them both frequently," said Tim Bishop, a chemist for the Maine Health Environmental Lab in Augusta, which tests 20,000 to 30,000 water samples annually from private homes and businesses, to public buildings and water districts. "Certainly, there's no cause for alarm," Bishop said, because deposits of lead usually fall below dangerous levels.
But not always. Take Lakehurst Acres, a 25-unit public housing site on Pond Road in Manchester. Late last month, residents of Lakehurst Acres were told by their management agency that they should see a doctor after water tests indicated that lead levels were more than 100 times higher than federal limits. "This is really kind of new territory," said Carlton Gardner, compliance and enforcement team leader for the Maine Drinking Water Program with the Department of Health and Human Services. "We haven't seen these types of levels in any of the other systems that we know of." The program monitors about 800 public drinking supplies in Maine. Nearly 200 of those sites are filled with corroding pipes and, as a result, are supplied with equipment that keeps pH levels in check.
Lead is rarely found in source water -- springs, lakes and rivers -- but enters tap water through the corrosion of plumbing materials. By the 1920s, most pipes installed for water distribution were made of iron, at least in part because lead was known to seriously contaminate drinking-water supplies. But lead solder was used well into the 1980s to seal water pipes. The Lakehurst Acres property was built sometime near 1980.
For Lakehurst, the increased lead levels were detected after the property managers installed a filtration system to help eliminate arsenic, Gardner said. Arsenic flows naturally in the ground water of that area of Pond Road, he said, and Lakehurst's drinking water comes from a well. After the installation of the arsenic control equipment, the water grew more acidic and began to eat away at the water pipes. "Nobody else has ever heard of this," Carlton said of the state and federal environmental agencies he has contacted. Before May, Lakehurst Acres had normal levels of lead, so it is confusing to think that installation of a filter system would cause such a spike. "We just don't know why," Carlton said.
Lead in drinking water should not exceed 15 parts per billion. But water from homes tested in Lakehurst reached into the hundreds and thousands of parts per billion, with one of the highest readings hitting 1,600 parts per billion, prompting the estimated 40 people who live there to get blood tests. In babies and children, excessive exposure to lead can result in delays in physical and mental development, according to the EPA, along with slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. In adults, it can cause increases in blood pressure. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure. In 1978, there were nearly 3 million to 4 million children with elevated blood lead levels in the United States. By 2002, that number had dropped to 310,000 kids, and it continues to decline.
C&C Realty, an Augusta-based firm that manages 19 properties throughout the state, including Lakehurst Acres, said it will continue to provide residents with bottled water until lead levels return to normal. This past week, nurses and volunteers from the Maine Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program were taking blood samples from residents who could not make it to a doctor.
On Friday, pH control equipment was installed by Freeport-based Air and Water Quality Inc. The equipment monitors water flow, and basically injects an acid-lowering lime dust to balance the pH levels. "Most of the time, it solves the problem," said Twitchell, the company's vice president. Lakehurst Acres should see results immediately, Twitchell said, but it may take a few weeks for the levels to balance. "There's a whole host of contaminants out there," said Roger Crouse of the Maine Drinking Water Program. "Lead and copper is definitely one that takes a lot of our time."
And it is an issue that has taken new prominence over the last few years. In 2005, the EPA proposed changes to the nation's Lead and Copper Rule that urged water utilities to conduct stricter testing for lead in drinking water and to provide clearer warnings to the public. The EPA said the changes reflected the lessons learned from the Washington D.C., district, where high levels of lead were detected in the drinking water beginning in 2002. Many residents and city officials did not learn of the extend of the problem until 2004, when The Washington Post reported that the drinking water in thousands of homes had excessive levels of lead. The Post found that Philadelphia, Boston and other cities had thrown out water tests that produced high lead readings or had avoided testing homes most likely to have lead problems.
by Suzanne Gamboa, Associated Press, Washington Post
September 8, 2006
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/08/AR2006090801273.html
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration proposed easing environmental rules Friday to allow oil refineries and other industries to change how they calculate whether they need pollution control equipment. The oil refinery industry says the eased regulation would open the way for production of more oil and other products. But environmental groups say the proposed rules are gimmicks and loopholes allowing industry to emit more pollution, evade pollution controls and save money. "This is a big gift to the refinery industry," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, an environmental watchdog group. "They are saying let's close our eyes and pretend pollution is not happening."
In a news release, the Environmental Protection Agency said the proposed rules will make it easier for owners and operators to determine whether changes to a plant or facility require installing pollution control equipment. The rules largely affect oil refineries and pharmaceutical and chemical plants. U.S. refineries are planning to increase oil refining capacity by 1.4 million barrels a day and will do so under strict environmental standards, said Bob Slaughter, president of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association. "The new EPA proposals will help the industry respond to these official calls for increased refining capacity," Slaughter said.
Federal law sets the pollution levels that have to be reached before pollution controls, such as scrubbers, must be used. When changes are planned for pollution producing plants or facilities, operators must determine whether the changes increase pollution over the federal levels and apply for permits to make the changes. The proposed rules essentially change how industry adds up how much pollution is being produced. For example, one proposed rule change would allow operators to consider pollution levels of equipment separately in determining whether its pollution level has gone up. Under current law, the total level produced by the affected equipment is considered.
The changes "will streamline the permitting process that manufacturers and energy or power producers have to undergo prior to upgrading a facility," said Bryan Brendle, a lobbyist for the National Manufacturers Association. Brendle said current laws are so complex that they are an impediment to companies that want to install more energy-efficient equipment to save energy costs and reduce air emissions.
John Walke, Natural Resources Defense Council's clean air director, said EPA is doing little more than proposing accounting gimmicks that allow industry to evade installing pollution controls by considering smaller pollution amounts, rather than pollution from an entire plant. "It's a way to allow industry to pollute more without cleaning up," Walke said.
EPA must allow 60 days for public comment on its proposed rules before making the rules permanent.
from Living on Earth
September 8, 2006
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=06-P13-00036&segmentID=2
A year after Hurricane Katrina, critics of the EPA say the health hazards in New Orleans are under-researched and under-regulated. Living on Earth talks with Dr. Gina Solomon, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, who is on the ground in New Orleans testing the quality of the air, sediment, and water.
GELLERMAN: Unfortunately, the unprecedented catastrophes of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina have forced the United States to learn many lessons about the health and environmental consequences of disasters. But the lessons can be harsh and difficult. It can take years to investigate the effects on people and the places they live.
In New Orleans, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given the city a clean bill of health and residents the green light to return to their homes. But some say environmental health hazards still plague New Orleans. Gina Solomon is a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. She joins me from New Orleans where she's collecting air and water samples.
Dr. Solomon, welcome to Living On Earth.
SOLOMON: I'm happy to be here.
GELLERMAN: We were just talking about the after-effects of 9/11 in New York City. What happened in New Orleans with Katrina was very different but are there any lessons to be learned? Are there any similarities?
SOLOMON: You know, five years after 9/11, and one year after Hurricane Katrina, it is really interesting to look at the parallels of these two major human health and environmental health disasters. And people in both places are concerned about their environmental safety, about chemical contaminants, and pollutants, and also about the health symptoms that many people are having, certainly in New York among the 9/11 workers, but also down in here in New Orleans.
GELLERMAN: I know that in New York City, there's something, I think it is called World Trade Center cough and you have something called the Katrina cough. Any similarities?
SOLOMON: Yeah, I think there are some similarities and some differences. A lot of the air pollutants were quite different. In New York we were talking about very alkaline particulate matter that was severely irritating to the lungs along with all of the combustion products from everything that was burning. Here in New Orleans it was mostly organic matter, so it was sediments blowing around in the air and also mold spores and also endotoxin from bacteria. All of those kinds of things can irritate the lungs terribly but it's a bit different both in terms of what it does to your lungs and also the kinds of long term health problems that we might think about.
GELLERMAN: Well, I know that the NRDC has been doing studies and sampling the environment down in New Orleans, and so has the EPA. Do your findings jibe?
SOLOMON: EPA has not done all of the same sampling we've done. In fact, we sampled for mold in New Orleans, and for endotoxin, and EPA has not sampled for either of these. So, our results are the only results published so far on mold concentrations in New Orleans in the air. EPA has been testing the sediment, and so have we. And our results, the numbers actually agree very well, but our interpretations are rather different.
GELLERMAN: How so?
SOLOMON: We have been comparing the numbers with the EPA's own clean up standards that they normally use for waste sites or any other facility that might be contaminated. And we've discovered that the arsenic levels, lead levels, diesel fuel levels and levels of other sooty contaminants are all over numbers that would normally trigger clean up, or at least investigation. EPA has dismissed those results saying that the contamination likely was present before the hurricane. Well, first of all I'm not convinced that it's ok just to dismiss results even if the contamination pre-existed the hurricane. And secondly, they don't even have any evidence to say that those levels were high before the hurricane, especially for the arsenic levels, which are quite high in the city.
GELLERMAN: Dr. Solomon, I understand that the EPA has given its approval to start bulldozing in the area that was struck by Katrina. Am I right about that?
SOLOMON: The EPA has announced that it's not going to enforce its normal regulations on asbestos that may be generated from bulldozing places in New Orleans. That means that it's possible that the asbestos levels in the air here could be quite high, especially for people right near where homes are being bulldozed. We're down here to see if there's a problem with asbestos in the air, and to do some independent sampling.
GELLERMAN: What do you find in terms of the people that were victims of the hurricane? Do they have faith in the EPA that their health and well-being is being looked after?
SOLOMON: The talk of the day down in New Orleans right now is about the 9/11 situation. I'm hearing person after person say, "We now know that the EPA wasn't to be trusted in New York after 9/11, so why should we trust the EPA and what they're telling us now after Katrina?" It seems ironic to people that EPA is announcing that the sediment is safe and that there are no toxic contaminants left behind from the flooding right at the same time that there's information revealed that they gave a false all-clear in New York. So, there's a lot of skepticism, a lot of mistrust, and EPA, frankly, has a long way to go to earn back people's trust down here in New Orleans.
GELLERMAN: Dr. Solomon, thank you very much. Appreciate your time.
SOLOMON: Thank you.
GELLERMAN: Gina Solomon is a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, and she joined us from New Orleans.
We contacted the EPA for a response to Dr. Solomon's claims that the agency is not properly monitoring and testing for pollutants. Dale Kemery, a spokesperson for EPA says in fact they are testing for asbestos, mold and other pollutants, but he acknowledges that the agency will not be enforcing normal asbestos regulations in upcoming demolition projects in New Orleans.
KEMERY: EPA has not waved environmental or occupational rules for asbestos materials. What the agency did was to use its discretion for reasons of safety and flexibility. You see, certain residential buildings in Louisiana or Mississippi are unsound or uninhabitable for environmental reasons, so the agency is allowing those buildings to be torn down without inspection or removal of asbestos materials.
GELLERMAN: EPA spokesperson, Dale Kemery.
from Reuters
September 8, 2006
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-09-07T231958Z_01_PAR783926_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-KIDS-LANDFILLS-DC.XML&archived=False
NEW YORK -- Living near a hazardous waste site containing persistent pollutants such as dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides, seems to increase the risk of hospitalization for respiratory infections and asthma in children, a study suggests. Dr. David O. Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment, at the State University of New York at Albany, said these results are consistent with the hypothesis that simply living near a waste site constitutes a risk of exposure to contaminants, presumably by air transport, and that these chemicals can reduce immune system function and lead to more infections.
New York State has nearly 900 identified hazardous waste sites or highly contaminated bodies of water. Carpenter and colleagues examined rates of hospitalization in New York for acute respiratory infections and asthma by area of residence for children ages 0 to 9 years. Carpenter, who reported the study this week in Germany at the annual meeting of the European Respiratory Society, told Reuters Health: "Our major finding is that children living near to waste sites, whether landfills or contaminated bodies of water, are hospitalized more frequently with acute respiratory infections," compared to children living in "clean" areas. "This remains true even after controlling for other known risk factors, such as socioeconomic status, race and sex," he said.
The degree to which exposure to these contaminants suppresses immune system function has been "underestimated," Carpenter added. Unexpectedly, rates of hospitalization for asthma were also increased in children living near a hazardous waste site. "Asthma is a disease due to an overactive immune system, and we had expected that we would see a reduced rate of hospitalization for asthma," Carpenter said. "However, we are looking at asthmatics that are hospitalized for a very severe attack, and on consideration we now suspect that this occurs primarily when an asthmatic also has an infection." His team plans additional studies to test whether this is the case.
Summing up, Carpenter said this study shows that exposure to organic pollutants and other contaminants can harm health and just living near to a contaminated site may cause exposure. "While our specific study focused on air transport of the contaminants, they are also in our food," Carpenter noted, "and the effect of exposure should not be different whether it is via food or air. So we really need to get these chemicals out of our environment to the greatest degree possible."
by Lisa Richwine, Reuters
September 7, 2006
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlebusiness.aspx?type=health&storyID=nN07346058&from=business
GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- A U.S. advisory panel on Thursday said a government report that found no evidence of health problems from silver, mercury-based dental fillings was incomplete and urged more study. The panel of outside experts did not vote specifically if the silver fillings in the mouths of millions of Americans, also called amalgams, were safe. But the panel chairman said members agreed most people would not suffer ill effects. "The key message is for the vast majority of the general population there is good evidence that amalgams are safe," panel chairman Dr. Karl Kieburtz said in an interview.
He said a Food and Drug Administration draft report that the panel reviewed "needed more information about the areas of uncertainty," such as the impact of silver fillings on the developing fetuses of pregnant women. He also said it was unclear if a small percentage of people may be especially sensitive to mercury.
The FDA report analyzed research since 1997, when the U.S. Public Health Service said data did not support claims that silver fillings caused serious health problems. A review of 34 studies found nothing to contradict that, the FDA said. Panelists voted 13-7 that the FDA's conclusions were not "reasonable," saying the authors did not review all available information or note areas where knowledge was lacking. "There are too many things we don't know and too many things we have excluded," said panel member Michael Aschner, professor of pediatrics and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University.
In a separate 13-7 vote, the panel said the agency did not objectively and clearly present the current state of knowledge about patient exposure to mercury from silver fillings and the health effects. Silver fillings used to patch cavities are about half mercury and half a combination of other metals. Makers of include Dentsply International Inc (XRAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Danaher Corp. (DHR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) unit Kerr.
Some patients, consumer groups and lawmakers believe mercury in the fillings is linked to a range of problems such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Certain levels and forms of mercury are known to cause brain and kidney damage, but health officials say the mercury vapors emitted from fillings are too small to be dangerous.
Panel member Dr. Ralph Sacco said patients should not interpret the concerns about the FDA report as a reason to have their silver fillings removed. "I'd hate to see an overreaction and a panic," said Sacco, a neurologist and epidemiologist at Columbia University.
Patients who have been campaigning against silver fillings declared victory, saying they thought the panel vote would raise awareness about their concerns and lead to the end of mercury use in dentistry. "I think this is a turning point," said Freya Koss, founder of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Mercury-Free Dentistry. Koss told the panel she had a sudden onset of double vision seven days after she had a silver filling removed and replaced with a new one. Other serious neurological problems developed but eased after she had her silver fillings removed, she said.
Use of silver fillings has been on the decline as newer materials become available that are closer to tooth color. The American Dental Association said only 30 percent of fillings placed in 2003 were the silver version. The dentists' group said it welcomed the call for additional study but believed the fillings were safe and more durable than alternatives. In some cases, such as filling cavities below the gum line, they are the only effective option, some dentists told the panel.
Dentsply executive William Jellison said the company agreed with the FDA view that no evidence has been found to show the silver fillings are dangerous.
from Reuters
September 7, 2006
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L07921257.htm
OSLO -- Africa is especially vulnerable to a growing and ill-regulated trade in hazardous waste, experts said on Thursday after a toxic dumping scandal in Ivory Coast killed three people and forced the government to quit. Poor political oversight, lack of domestic laws to restrict dumping and companies seeking to avoid clean-up costs all make Africa at risk from dumping of wastes ranging from pesticides to industrial chemicals, environmentalists say. "Africa is generally considered the most vulnerable of the continents," said Michael Williams, spokesman for the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP). "There are any number of cases in Africa where ships dump their cargoes or leave their entire ship and let it rot," he said. He said the United Nations lacked statistics on the numbers of people killed or made sick by waste.
In Ivory Coast, waste from a Panamanian-registered ship, the Probo Koala, that was dumped around the lagoon-side city of Abidjan last month has killed three and made hundreds ill. Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny offered the resignation of his cabinet to President Laurent Gbagbo late on Wednesday. Gbagbo asked Banny to form a new cabinet on Thursday.
Countries that report to the Basel Convention, which monitors hazardous waste, produced around 108 million tonnes of the wastes in 2001, according to U.N. statistics. Uzbekistan was top with 26 percent of the total.
Rising shipments
"The amount of waste on the move is increasing rapidly," a U.N. report said, estimating that "between 1993 and 2001 the amount of waste criss-crossing the globe increased from 2 million tonnes to more than 8.5 million tonnes." But it said that not all countries reported shipments.
Dutch-based Trafigura Beheer BV, one of the world's leading commodity traders, said it had chartered the Probo Koala and that the material was a "mixture of gasoline, water and caustic washings" after the unloading of a cargo of gasoline in Nigeria. It said the slops were handed over to a certified local waste disposal company, Tommy, along with a written request for safe disposal. Ivory Coast has contacted the Secretariat of the U.N.'s Basel Convention asking for help in finding out what went wrong.
By contrast with Africa, some nations in Asia are seeking to capitalise on trade in hazardous wastes, for instance by breaking up ageing ships. This also brings huge health risks. The Indian Express newspaper said this week that a Supreme Court-appointed panel has found that the health of around one in six workers in India's biggest shipbreaking yard was suffering due to exposure to asbestos.
The panel was set up after France halted a plan to scrap the aircraft carrier Clemenceau in India. Environmentalists said the 27,000-tonne carrier was carrying hundreds of tonnes of asbestos. "Anywhere where a country is suffering from political or economic instability there is always room for it to be treated as a dumping ground," said Helen Perivier, an anti-toxics campaigner at the Greenpeace environmental group. "Unfortunately Africa, the poorest continent in the world, has many regions affected by instability," she said.
excerpt from the article by Frank Urquhart and Ian Johnston, Edinburgh Scotsman
September 7, 2006
http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1319162006
HIGH cancer levels found in British estuary fish could indicate a link between pollutants and disease in humans, it was revealed yesterday. Liver tumours in the fish hint at a connection with chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals, according to experts. Tumours were found in up to a quarter of the fish taken from sites in the open sea and some industrial estuaries. The highest levels were in dab from the central and western North Sea.
Dr Grant Stentiford, from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Agriculture Science (CEFAS) in Weymouth, Dorset, said: "There are higher levels of [fish] cancer and other diseases in estuaries with the highest contamination levels." CEFAS researchers are involved in a study of cancer in fish in UK waters, focusing on dab and flounder. The flat fish habitually lie in mud on the sea floor, where pollutants are most likely to accumulate. Scientists found fish from the Irish Sea, around Liverpool and Cardigan Bay, also had elevated cancer rates; however, the prevalence of cancer was decreasing at other sites. "The big question is, is the cancer we're seeing in fish the same as what we see in humans?" Dr Stentiford said at the British Association Festival of Science in Norwich.
In the laboratory, the liver tumours appeared outwardly to be no different from those found in mammals, including humans. It was still not known whether they were the same at the cellular level. The scientists are looking for any links between fish and human cancer that might involve pollutants and are collaborating with experts from the Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies at Birmingham University. "Our ultimate aim is to see if there's a common causality between what is causing fish and human cancers," said Dr Stentiford. Dr Brett Lyons, who is also on the research team, said: "The study of cancer in wild fish provides scientists with an important tool for monitoring the health of the marine environment."
The Food Standards Agency said it believed there was no risk to consumers from the fish but that it would investigate.
Duncan McLaren, the chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said campaigning had led to a fall in sea pollution, and he went on: "However, many of today's pollutants can have detrimental impacts, even at very low levels. So, it is certainly possible that what the scientists are seeing here is the result of pollution. "These findings do underline the need to stop treating the seas around our coast as a dumping ground for human waste and pollution."
by Paul D. Thacker, Environmental Science & Technology
September 6, 2006
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/sep/science/pt_daycare.html
Millions of children get exposed to pesticides while attending daycare, concludes the first nationwide study of insecticide residues in U.S. daycare centers. The study, published today on ES&T's Research ASAP website, found low levels of organophosphate and pyrethroid pesticides. Although the health impacts are unclear, the results raise questions about the risks children face from these chemicals. "We found at least one pesticide in every daycare center," says lead author Nicolle Tulve, a research scientist with the U.S. EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory. Tulve says that the concentrations were quite low. She did not comment on whether these concentrations might be harmful but notes that no health advisories or national standards currently exist for such exposures.
For the study, researchers selected 168 daycare centers across the U.S. At each site, a technician wiped samples from indoor surfaces, such as floors and tables, and collected soil from outdoor play areas. The manager of each facility was also questioned about cleaning and pest-management practices. Researchers tested for 39 pesticides, and 63% of the centers reported applying up to 10 different insecticides. Organophosphate and pyrethroid pesticides cropped up most often, and three of the four centers with the most pesticides detected were in the South, where warm weather brings out the bugs.
This study provides a teaching opportunity in terms of training childcare workers to manage pests in the safest way possible, says Lynn Goldman, who is a professor of applied health at Johns Hopkins University and a former EPA official in charge of the agency's pesticide program. "These chemicals should be avoided around children, and if needed, bait traps, which do not leave residues on the floors and surfaces, are preferable, as long as they are kept out of the reach of children," she says. Goldman says that she was disappointed that the agency did not use the results to characterize how much exposure to pesticides children face. "These data are interesting but [could] be far more meaningful," she says. Paul Lioy, the deputy director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers University, agrees. He says that aggregating the total exposures could help to identify individuals with sensitivity to these chemicals.
In the past decade, more and more states have started regulating pesticides in daycare facilities. In 2000, Massachusetts passed a law requiring all schools to submit integrated pest-management plans to limit children's contact with pesticides. And New York legislators recently introduced a bill to prohibit pesticide applications in daycare centers during business hours. Meanwhile, California is considering a bill to require daycare owners to notify parents when they are treating for pests. However, Lioy also notes that pesticides are not all bad. These chemicals kill roaches, which can cause allergies in some children. Prudence, he says, dictates wise use of insecticides and complete pest-management plans.
by Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News
September 6, 2006
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/15452665.htm
WASHINGTON -- Death rates from cancer are continuing to decline but scientists have uncovered a surprising jump in cases of thyroid cancer. Overall cancer death rates declined 1.6 percent annually for men between 1993 and 2003 and 0.8 percent annually for women from 1992-2003, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer released Wednesday. The report found recent increases in breast cancer appear to have leveled off, but scientists say it's too soon to call that a trend.
And a special look at the Latino population found that for 1999 to 2003, Latinos had lower incidence rates than non-Hispanic whites for most cancers. However, Latino children have higher incidence rates of leukemia, retinoblastoma, osteosarcoma, and germ cell tumors than do non-Latino white children.
For the total population, death rates decreased for 11 of the 15 most common cancers in men and for 10 of the 15 most common cancers in women, the report said. "The bottom line is we are making progress. The effort that we are putting into cancer is paying off, but still to keep this trend downward we have to ... increase effort in cancer prevention, detection and treatment," said Ahmedin Jemal, program director for cancer occurrence at the American Cancer Society. He attributed the decrease in death rates to efforts to reduce exposure to tobacco, earlier cancer detection and more effective treatment.
The annual report was compiled by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the National Cancer Institute, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Cancer Society.
The study found that thyroid cancer inciden