Bulletin Board Dec. 22, 2006
(click on page numbers for links)
Contents
TECHNICAL NOTES:
ENVIRONMENTAL 4
MEDICAL 4
OCCUPATIONAL 4
PUBLIC HEALTH 4
SAFETY 4
ARTHURāS ADVICE LINE
Sections 5
HAZARD ALERT
Diisobutyl Ketone 6
LEGISLATION
ASIA PACIFIC
Maritime Legislation Amendment (Prevention of
Pollution from Ships) Bill 8
Victoria: Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste)
Contact us:
Regulations to be amended 8
Hong Kong drafts law to cut smog-forming
pollutants 8 chemwatch@chemwatch.net
Seoul Bans Sale of US Beef With Bone Fragments 9 tel +61 3 9572 4700
fax +61 3 9572 4777
AMERICA
Pesticide bylaw moving forward 9
Emergency +61 3 9573 3112
Proposed Ontario labelling law would target
carcinogens 10
New law mandates spill news 10 70 Bambra Rd Caulļ¬eld North
Victoria 3161 Australia
NRC Approves Final Rule on National Source
Tracking System for Certain Radioactive Materials 10
*While Chemwatch has taken all efforts
to ensure the accuracy of information in
this publication, it is not intended to be
comprehensive or to render advice.
Websites rendered are subject to change.
1
Bulletin Board
Washington: Final Authorization of State
Contents
Hazardous Waste Management Program
Revisions 11
EUROPE
EU wraps up REACH chemicals safety law 11
MEPs adopt waste position following epic vote 12
EU advised on health-environment research 13
Marine NGO slams Spanish chlor-alkali deal 13
AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST
NEMA to decide on DDT 14
Zero tolerance of waste products 14
JANETāS CORNER - NOT TOO SERIOUSLY!
One Liners - Part 1 16
GOSSIP
Research ļ¬nds soils lacking sulphur increase
carcinogens in crop 17
Backyard boilers pose major health risks 17
Toxin, cancer link may lead to cost spiral 18
Study puts bacon on bad-news list 19
Cancer Link: Gene regulates progesterone effect
on breast cells 20
āA bad memory may be a sign of heart troubleā? 20
Swimming Pools Linked to Hay Fever 21
Chinese pollution a rising health threat 22
Debate bubbling over health impact of
chemicals 23
New fuel āhas no health impactā? 24
Silver in Clothing Keeps Odors Away 24
Gulf War may be linked to Gehrigās disease 25
Health fears raised over M5 tunnel haze ļ¬ush 25
Teļ¬on Is Great for Politicians, but Is It Safe for
Regular People? 26
Agent Orange Exposure Tied to Ills in
Vietnam Vets 27
Children of Bhopal gas victims suffer from
deformity 28
2
Bulletin Board
Nanotubes persist in natural environments 29
Contents
Using mice to study disease 30
Dioxin may decrease testosterone 30
3
Note: Open your Web
Browser and click on
Technical Notes Heading to link to section.
ENVIRONMENTAL
Mercury content in electrum from artisanal mining site of Mongolia
Mercury contamination in ļ¬sh from gold mining areas in Indonesia and human health
risk assessment
Effect of different catalysts on the decomposition of VOCs using ļ¬ow-type plasma-driven
catalysis
MEDICAL
Organophosphorus chemicals: Potent inhibitors of the human metabolism of steroid
hormones and xenobiotics
Comparative evaluation of the Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd content in healthy people and patients
with oncological diseases of the blood
Mass balance study of persistent perļ¬uorinated chemicals in human blood
Abnormal expression of eukaryotic translation factors in malignant transformed human
bronchial epithelial cells induced by crystalline nickel sulļ¬de
Ferric iron increases ROS formation, modulates cell growth and enhances genotoxic
damage by 4-hydroxynonenal in human colon tumor cells
OCCUPATIONAL
Personal exposure of Parisian ofļ¬ce workers to benzene
Biomonitoring of exposure in farm worker studies
Personality traits in miners with past occupational elemental mercury exposure
Studying health outcomes in farm worker populations exposed to pesticides
Short-term respiratory effects of cleaning exposures in female domestic cleaners
PUBLIC HEALTH
Effects of residues of organochlorine pesticides on reproductive endocrine in human
Concentrations of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Indoor Air and Polybrominated Diphenyl
Ethers in Indoor Air and Dust in Birmingham, United Kingdom: Implications for Human
Exposure
Residential mercury spills from gas regulators
A pilot study of childrenās exposure to CCA treated wood from playground equipment
Evaluation of potential human exposures to airborne particulate matter following the
collapse of the World Trade Center towers
SAFETY
Estimation approach for predicting ļ¬re visibility in mine ļ¬res
Development of a methodology for assessing inherent occupational health hazards
4
68
Arthurā? Advice Line
s
Sections
The SECTIONS feature breaks down MSDS information into sections.
This allows users to jump between many different sections of an MSDS.
It is another great time saving tool which enables users to quickly access
relevant information without having to search through an entire MSDS.
The icon at the top of the sections menu opens a help screen that
allows users to learn more about each of the section titles.
Clicking on the topic title in the left bar opens the description.
5
Hazard Alert
Diisobutyl Ketone
Health Effects: [3]
Diisobutyl Ketone is used as a solvent in the leather processing industry
during the coating of leather for shoes, furniture, cars etc. Diisobutyl Ketone Acute Health Effects
is also used as a solvent in formulations of paints, laquers and varnishes.
ā? Contact may irritate the skin
Its use in the solvents for paints is relatively small at approximately 3500 t/a
causing a rash and burning feeling.
out of a total solvents use by the European paints sector of approximately
2x106 t/a. According to Baumann & Muth (1995), Diisobutyl Ketone has a ā? Exposure to Diisobutyl Ketone can
high solvent potential for cellulosenitrate, vinyl resins, waxes, natural and irritate the eyes, nose and throat.
synthetic resins for leather lacquers and rubber lacquers. [1]
ā? Breathing Diisobutyl Ketone
can cause you to become dizzy,
Environmental Fate: [2] lightheaded, and to pass out.
When released into the soil, this material may leach into groundwater. When
released into the soil, this material may evaporate to a moderate extent.
When released into the soil, this material may biodegrade to a moderate Chronic Health Effects
extent. When released into water, this material may evaporate to a
ā? Long-term exposure can cause
moderate extent. When released into water, this material may biodegrade to
drying and cracking of the skin.
a moderate extent. When released into the water, this material is expected
ā? Diisobutyl Ketone may affect the
to have a half-life between 1 and 10 days. This material has an estimated
liver and kidneys.
bioconcentration factor (BCF) of less than 100. This material is not expected
to signiļ¬cantly bioaccumulate. When released into the air, this material is
expected to be readily degraded by reaction with photochemically produced
hydroxyl radicals. When released into the air, this material is expected to
have a half-life of less than 1 day.
Personal Protection: [3]
Clothing
ā? Avoid skin contact with Diisobutyl Ketone. Wear solvent-resistant gloves
and clothing. Safety equipment suppliers/ manufacturers can provide
recommendations on the most protective glove/clothing material for your
operation.
ā? All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) should be clean,
available each day, and put on before work.
ā? ACGIH recommends Polyvinyl Alcohol as a protective material.
Eye Protection
ā? Wear indirect-vent, impact and splash resistant goggles when working
with liquids.
ā? Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with corrosive, highly
irritating or toxic substances.
ā? Contact lenses should not be worn when working with this substance.
Respiratory Protection
ā? Where the potential exists for exposure over 25 ppm, use a MSHA/
NIOSH approved full facepiece respirator with an organic vapor cartridge.
Increased protection is obtained from full facepiece powered-air purifying
respirators.
ā? If while wearing a ļ¬lter or cartridge respirator you can smell, taste, or
otherwise detect Diisobutyl Ketone, or if while wearing particulate ļ¬lters
abnormal resistance to breathing is experienced, or eye irritation occurs
while wearing a full facepiece respirator, leave the area immediately.
Check to make sure the respirator-to-face seal is still good. If it is, replace
the ļ¬lter or cartridge. If the seal is no longer good, you may need a new
respirator.
6
Hazard Alert
ā? Exposure to 500 ppm is immediately dangerous to life and health. If
the possibility of exposure above 500 ppm exists, use a MSHA/NIOSH
approved self-contained breathing apparatus with a full facepiece
operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode.
1. www.chem.unep.ch/irptc/sids/OECDSIDS/108-83-8.pdf
2. http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/d6520.htm
3. www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/rtkweb/0760.pdf
7
Legislation
Asia Paciļ¬c
The new Bill
Maritime Legislation Amendment (Prevention of Pollution
from Ships) Bill
will adopt the
2006-12-01
The Maritime Legislation Amendment (Prevention of Pollution from Ships)
revised texts
Bill was introduced into Parliament in 11 October 2006. The aim of this Bill
is to amend Division 12 of the Navigation Act 1912, and the Protection of
of Annex I
the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 to align Australian
with its obligations under the International Convention for the Prevention of
(prevention of
Pollution from Ships 1973/78 (MARPOL). The new Bill will adopt the revised
texts of Annex I (prevention of pollution by oil) and Annex II (prevention of
pollution by noxious liquid substances) of MARPOL, which were adopted by
pollution by
the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in October 2004 and will enter
into force internationally on 1 January 2007.
oil) and Annex
Enhesa Update, November 2006
II (prevention
Victoria: Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste)
Regulations to be amended
of pollution by
2006-12-01
noxious liquid
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has released a publication
on the Amendment to the Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste)
substances)...
Regulations 1998. The proposed amendments to the Regulations relate to
the deļ¬nitions of prescribed industrial waste in line with the passing of the
Environment Protection (Amendment) Act 2006 to amend the Environment
Protection Act 1970 as of 1 July 2007.
Enhesa Update, November 2006
Hong Kong drafts law to cut smog-forming pollutants
2006-12-01
The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)
has announced new legislation aimed at controlling the emissions of volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), a major category of pollutants responsible for
smog that reduces Hong Kongās visibility. The new legislation, the Air Pollution
Control (Volatile Organic Compounds) Regulation, bans the import and
local manufacture of products whose VOC content exceeds the prescribed
limits. Products that will come under the regulation include architectural
paints, printing inks, and six types of consumer goods, namely, hairsprays,
air fresheners, insecticides, insect repellents, ļ¬oor wax strippers and multi-
purpose lubricants. The regulation also requires emission reduction devices
to be installed on certain printing machines. The HKSAR government and
the Guangdong provincial government had a consensus to reduce VOCs by
55 percent by 2010, on the basis of the emissions in 1997, said a spokesman
for the Environmental Protection Department of the HKSAR government.
The regulation is one of the initiatives pledged in the 2006 Policy Address
by HKSAR Chief Executive Donald Tsang, he said. āWe expect it can reduce
about 8,000 tons of local VOC emissions. It will also bring Hong Kong to the
forefront of VOC control in the world,ā? the spokesman added. It is expected
that the legislation will come into force from April 1, 2007.
English Peopleās Daily News, 25 November 2006
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/
8
Legislation
Seoul Bans Sale of US Beef With Bone Fragments
2006-12-01
The Korean Government has announced that it will not allow the ļ¬rst batch
of beef shipped from the United States to be sold in the country after a bone
fragment was detected in a package. The detection of a bone fragment in the
beef, which arrived at Incheon International Airport last month, is expected
to trigger fresh concerns about the safety of U.S. beef. This contaminated
beef was part of the ļ¬rst shipment to South Korea since a three-year ban on
U.S. beef was lifted, following the reporting of a case of mad cow disease
in the U.S.
The National Veterinary Research & Quarantine Service (NVRQS) said it
has asked the government to destroy the beef or send it back to the U.S.
A senior NVRQS ofļ¬cial said the bone fragment detected is not a speciļ¬ed
risk material (SRM), a main factor for mad cow disease. ``The bone does
not pose any health risks to humans,āā?? he said. But he said that since the
fragment was found, Seoul has decided not to allow the sale of beef in
accordance with the agreement with the U.S. He said the U.S. meat-
processing center that shipped the beef with a bone fragment will be barred
from exporting to South Korea, with the total number of eligible U.S. meat
processing plants being cut to 35 from 36. Seoul has banned bone parts and
speciļ¬ed risk materials such as brains, spinal cord marrow, backbones and
certain internal organs that could spread mad cow disease to humans.
The Korea Times News, 24 November 2006
http://times.hankooki.com
America
Pesticide bylaw moving forward
Of 70
2006-12-04
submissions,
Pesticide control bylaws in Maple Ridge are progressing onto the next stage,
despite some public opposition. The new legislation received unanimous
42 people
council support and was forwarded to a future regular meeting after hearing
a summary of the responses from the public at its committee meeting. Of 70
submissions, 42 people opposed the bylaw that would ban cosmetic use of
opposed the
pesticides on lawns and gardens (without acquiring a $60 permit). Of those
42 - 26 were against it because theyāre currently using a lawn-care company
bylaw that
which uses pesticides and they want to keep doing so. Of the 30 others
who responded, half gave outright support and half backed the bylaw, but
would ban
with a few suggestions. Under the bylaw, homeowners must get a pesticide
permit before hiring a lawn-care company to apply those pesticides. This
cosmetic use
requirement may change to allow licensed applicators to spread the
chemicals. In a report to council, parks director David Boag agreed with the
of pesticides
premise that licensed ļ¬rms use less pesticides than amateurs. Maple Ridge
will also contact the provincial government, which owns land in Maple Ridge,
and ask it observe the bylaw as well. Golf courses, which are exempt, have
on lawns
to report pesticide use to the provincial government. Council also heard from
Kathryn Seely, with the Canadian Cancer Society, who said up to half of all
and gardens
cancers can be prevented by stopping exposure to chemicals. If adopted,
the bylaw would ban cosmetic use of pesticides by March and limit products
(without
that can be applied to lawns and gardens to non-toxic ingredients, such as
horticultural soap, oils, fatty acids or horticultural vinegar for weed control.
acquiring a $60
Borax for controlling ants and ļ¬eas, sulphur and lime for fungus and mite
control and rodenticides would also be allowed. Homeowners who get a
permit).
permit for pesticide use would have to post signs indicating the pesticide
used and date of its application. As well, under the bylaw people couldnāt
9
Legislation
apply pesticides within two metres of a neighbourās property without written
permission. The bylaw says pesticides canāt be applied within 30 metres of
a lake or stream or within 15 metres from a surface water well or within ļ¬ve
metres of a schoolyard, park or bus stop. Those found to violate the bylaw,
will face a ļ¬ne of $250 for each infringement. Failure to put up the right signs
or applying them in a restricted area can result in $100 ļ¬nes.
The News, 22 November 2006
http://www.mapleridgenews.com
Proposed Ontario labelling law would target carcinogens
NDP
2006-12-04
environment
NDP environment critic, Peter Tabuns said he is frustrated that the federal
government is dragging its heels on labelling consumer products to prevent
cancer, saying itās cheaper than treating it. Ontario NDP MPP Peter Tabuns
critic, Peter
wants consumer product labels to list cancer-causing chemicals. To that
end, Tabuns is introducing the community right to know act. The act calls for
Tabuns said
Ontario to follow California, Vermont and Europe, which require the labelling
of carcinogens in products such as laundry detergent, household cleaners
he is frustrated
and hair dye. If the act passes, it would be a ļ¬rst in Canada. The act would
require manufacturers to put a label on any product that contains a chemical
that the federal
known or suspected to cause cancer. It would also set up a website listing
companies that release cancer-causing pollutants into the air or water.
Chemicals requiring labeling would include:
government
ā? Phthalates: a plastic softener used in nail polish, adhesives, caulking
material and paint pigments.
is dragging
ā? Silica: found in household cleansers.
ā? NTA: used in laundry detergent.
its heels on
ā? Formaldehyde: used in nail hardeners.
labelling
Opposition to the proposed legislation is expected from manufacturers.
Ontarioās health minister, George Smitherman, wonāt say whether heāll
support the bill until he sees it, but believes labelling is important. The
consumer
government already has labelling legislation and bureaucracy to enforce
the act, meaning the costs would be negligible, Tabuns said.
products to
Cbc.com News, 23 November 2006
http://www.cbc.ca/story/science
prevent cancer,
New law mandates spill news
saying itās
2006-12-04
cheaper than
Following a delay in publicizing a toxic chemical spill near Binghamton, the
state has reviewed the way state announces hazardous waste releases. The
Department of Environmental Conservation said that the agency will now
treating it.
notify affected communities within 48 hours of investigating most toxic spills.
These changes are the result of legislation signed by the Governor, George
Pataki. It was uncovered in April that the DEC knew of an illegal release of
a refrigerant into the Susquehanna River but never alerted the public. The
new reporting requirements mandate DEC provide affected communities
with timely details on size, location and quantity of materials spilled.
Times Herald-Record News, 16 November 2006
http://www.recordonline.com
NRC Approves Final Rule on National Source Tracking
System for Certain Radioactive Materials
2006-11-27
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced on 25 October, that a ļ¬nal
rule implementing a National Source Tracking System (NSTS) to enhance
10
Legislation
controls for certain radioactive materials used in industry, academia and
medicine had been approved. The tracking system has been developed
through close cooperation with other federal and state agencies as part of
the NRCās efforts to enhance controls over radioactive materials. The ļ¬nal
rule closely follows recommendations of a joint NRC-U.S. Department of
Energy report on radiological dispersion devices (RDDs, or ādirty bombsā?)
published in May 2003. The rule is based upon an interim database of
radiological sources initiated in 2004 and currently in use by the NRC. The
rule also implements provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The ļ¬nal
rule will require licensees to report to the NSTS the manufacture, transfer,
receipt, disassembly and disposal of nationally tracked sources. Basic
information to be collected will include the manufacturer, model number,
serial number, radioactive material, activity and manufacture date of each
source. Information on the facilities involved in any transaction will also be
included.
Environmental Protection News, 2 November 2006
http://www.eponline.com
Washington is
Washington: Final Authorization of State Hazardous
Waste Management Program Revisions
seeking ļ¬nalise
2006-12-04
Washington is seeking ļ¬nalise authorisation from the EPA on the changes
authorisation
to the hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act, as amended, (RCRA). EPA has determined that these
from the
changes satisfy all requirements needed to qualify for Final authorization,
and is authorizing the Stateās changes through this immediate ļ¬nal rule.
EPA on the
EPA is publishing this rule to authorize the changes without a prior proposal
because we believe this action is not controversial and do not expect
changes to
comments that oppose it. It is expected that the ļ¬nal rule will become effective
on December 29, 2006, unless EPA receives adverse written comments on
or before November 29, 2006. If opposing comments are received the EPA
the hazardous
will publish a document in the Federal Register withdrawing this rule before
it takes effect.
waste program
Regulations.gov, 30 October 2006
under the
http://www.regulations.gov
Resource
Europe
Conservation
EU wraps up REACH chemicals safety law
2006-12-04
and Recovery
An agreement has been achieved by negotiators from the Council and
Act...
European Parliament on the REACH reform, ending three-years of
negotiation. The REACH regulation will ensure that some 30,000 chemicals
currently used in everyday products undergo at least basic health and safety
testing. The details of the agreement are to be released by the Parliamentās
chief negotiator and MEP Guido Sacconi on 1 December. One of the key
factors in the agreements was that chemicals of very high concern would be
taken off the market if safer alternatives exist, said Chris Davies, a British
MEP who led the negotiations for the Alliance for Liberal Democrats in
Europe (ALDE). The full house will vote on the compromise on 13 December
and then forwarded to the EU Council of Ministers in what will be only a
formal rubber-stamping exercise. āThe clear message from MEPs is that the
industry must give emphasis to developing safer alternatives to chemicals
of very high concern,ā? Davies said. The deal comes as a major achievement
for Parliament and the Finnish Presidency with Helsinki already designated
11
Legislation
as the host of the future European chemicals agency. The main points of the
new agreements are as follows:
ā? āPersistent, bio-accumulative and toxic chemicals will now have to be
taken off the market if suitable alternatives are available;
ā? āmanufacturers of all (approximately 1,500) chemicals of high concern will
be required to submit a substitution plan when they apply for authorisation if
they identify alternatives that are safer and available at an economic cost;
ā? āmore than 17,000 chemicals produced in very small quantities will not
have to undergo rigorous examination, but hazardous products will be
subjected to greater control than ever before, and;
ā? āMEPs have made the development of non-animal testing methods a
priority, but the price to be paid for REACH, in the short term at least, will be
an increase in animal testing.ā?
āWe have struck a balance between the commercial interests of the chemicals
industry and the need to provide better protection for human health and the
environment from chemicals with unknown long term effects,ā? Davies said.
Euractive News, 1 December 2006
http://www.euractiv.com/en
The European
MEPs adopt waste position following epic vote
2006-12-04
parliament
The European parliament environment committee has voted on a proposal
to revise EU waste laws. During the meeting a number of key changes
environment
were made to the European commissionās proposal. MEPs approved 14
compromise amendments drafted by rapporteur Caroline Jackson (EED
committee
14/11/06). These include an obligation for member states to stabilise overall
waste production by 2012. They also specify a clear ļ¬ve-stage EU waste
has voted on
hierarchy for operators to follow in descending order of priority while only
allowing for member states to depart from the hierarchy in āexceptionalā?
circumstances. The committee opted against calling for a legal deļ¬nition of
a proposal
by-products and asked instead for the commission to propose guidelines
or legislation to determine when by-products fall outside the scope of
to revise EU
EU waste rules. Meanwhile, end-of-waste criteria should be established
through legislative co-decision rather than through the EUās comitology
waste laws.
procedure. However, there were widely diverging interpretations of the
committeeās amendments on the key question of whether waste-to-energy
incinerators should be able to qualify as recovery operations. Before the
vote, the Ms Jackson described the issue as āthe elephant in the roomā?.
Afterwards, the only thing most actors would agree is that the vote has done
little to increase clarity. Ms Jackson said the vote had ābroadly endorsedā?
the idea that incinerators meeting certain efļ¬ciency criteria should be
granted the recovery tag, while those that donāt should be classiļ¬ed as
disposal operations. However, insiders have reported that the committeeās
amendment on the issue as ānot at all helpfulā?. It removes efļ¬ciency criteria
proposed by the European commission from an annex deļ¬ning recovery
operations, and instead inserts slightly weaker criteria into an article in
the main directive on permitting for waste-to-energy plants. According to
the managing director of the European confederation of waste-to-energy
plants, Ella Stengler, this approach does not answer the overriding question
of whether and under what conditions such facilities are recovery verses
disposal operations. Melissa Shinn of green campaign group EEB said she
believed MEPs had in fact delivered a clear message. Rather than simply
denying inefļ¬cient incinerators the status of recovery installations, the new
language on permits would in fact outlaw them, she said.
To support her case, Ms Shinn pointed to an amendment passed on the
deļ¬nition of recovery, which states that only those operations whose
12
Legislation
āprimary purposeā? is the generation of energy can be classiļ¬ed as energy
recovery. This should rule out waste incinerators being classed as recovery
operations, she said.
ENDS Europe Daily News, 28 November 2006
http://www.endseuropedaily.com
EU advised on health-environment research
2006-12-04
The EUās scientiļ¬c committee on health and environmental risks (Scher)
has issued an advisory opinion on research priorities in human health and
the environment. Top of its list is long-term exposure to ultra-ļ¬ne particulate
matter (PM2.5), as well as indoor air quality and nanoparticles. Scher calls for
an EU network to monitor human exposure to pollutants and for high priority
to be given to ānewā? chemical compounds, including degradation products
of high production volume chemicals. The opinion relates to spending over
the next seven-years under the FP7 EU research programme.
The Spanish
ENDS Europe Daily News, 28 November 2006
http://www.endseuropedaily.com
Government
Marine NGO slams Spanish chlor-alkali deal
has been
2006-12-04
The Spanish Government has been critised by Oceana, a marine protection
critised by
campaign group, over a decision to allow the countryās mercury-based
chlorine production plants to remain operational until 2020 despite a
Oceana,
nominal EU requirement to close them by October 2007. This decision is the
ļ¬rst of its kind on the future of Europeās chlor-alkali industry and effectively
a marine
endorses the sectorās voluntary commitment on phasing out mercury-based
technology. It provides one of the ļ¬rst concrete indications of how EU
protection
national authorities will interpret key parts of the EUās integrated pollution
prevention and control (IPPC) directive. Oceana research director Ricardo
Aguilar said an agreement reached between the Spanish government,
campaign
regional authorities and the countryās chlorine sector will mean industry ācan
go on emitting mercury into the atmosphere and the sea for 13 years longer
group, over
than foreseenā?. The group says it is concerned about the impact on ļ¬sh and
the humans that eat them of increasing mercury levels in the sea. The new
a decision
legislation was signed in January and has set tighter limits on chlor-alkali
plants that Spanish industry group ANE claims will lead to a 47 per cent cut in
to allow the
mercury emissions. From 2011 all remaining mercury-based plants will have
to plan for a switch to membrane technology, a cleaner production method
countryās
selected by the European commission as the environmentally ābest available
techniqueā? (BAT) to produce chlorine. Crucially, though, the agreement will
not absolutely require the shift to membrane technology until 2020, the date
mercury-
by which sectoral trade association Euro Chlor has in any case committed
to phasing out all Europeās mercury plants (EED 15/11/06).
based chlorine
Euro Chlor conļ¬rmed that the Spanish governmentās is the ļ¬rst EU
administration to formally accept its deadline. Oceana believes the Spanish
production
deal goes against the 1996 IPPC directive, which says that by October
next year pollution permits in each industrial sector should be tailored to
plants to re-
emission levels consistent with the use of BAT. However, EU policymakers
deliberately implied the directiveās BAT requirement in terms that give
main oper-
national authorities signiļ¬cant latitude to take account of local conditions
and circumstances when setting their pollution permits. This has made
ational until
predictions of the directiveās expected impact on industrial emissions almost
impossible to make. Spainās move - which appears to give the chlor-alkali
sector maximum freedom over the timetable for converting to BAT - could
2020...
be a sign that EU governments will interpret the law with wide ļ¬exibility
13
Legislation
(EED 13/10/00). Spainās environment ministry said that despite Oceanaās
criticisms, environmentalists had āgenerally welcomedā? the agreement
ābecause it brings in progressive reductions in mercury emissionsā?. ANE
described it as a āframework of reference for improving the sectorās
environmental behaviour and sustainabilityā?. The governmentās move is
economically compelling: over 90 per cent of national chlorine production is
based on mercury cells, and the sector accounts for over half the countryās
entire chemical industry.
ENDS Europe Daily News, 27 November 2006
http://www.endseuropedaily.com
Africa & Middle East
NEMA to decide on DDT
A public
2006-12-01
hearing was
According to the executive director of the National environmental
Management Authority (NEMA), Dr. Aryamanya Mugisha, the ļ¬nal verdict
held on the
on whether to reintroduce DDT into Uganda is expected to be handed down
in December. He refuted suggestions by parliamentary social services
committee chairman James kubeket-erya and MP Chris baryomunsi that
environmental
DDT re-introduction be subjected to a referendum. A public hearing was
held on the environmental Impact assessment process for the proposed
Impact
re-introduction of indoor residual spraying of DDT, which was suppose to
assist the NEMA obtain more comments before taking a decision on the
assessment
environment aspects. Ministry ofļ¬cials, scientists, environmental experts,
activists, MPs, exporters, academia, students and development partners
process for the
attended the meeting. The health ministry wants to re-introduce DDT
for indoor spraying as one of the means to ļ¬ght malaria, now killing 320
proposed re-
Ugandans daily. But the decision to use the chemical is delayed pending
NEMA approval as a lead environmental agency. Agricultural exporters are
concerned that Uganda stands to lose a lot of money through the spraying
introduction of
of DDT.
The New Vision, 23 November 2006
indoor residual
http://www.newvision.co.ug/
spraying of
Zero tolerance of waste products
DDT...
2006-12-01
This week, the Institute for Zero Waste in Africa (Izwa) launched its Zero Waste
2010 Coalition campaign. This campaign is a nationwide initiative to avoid
and reduce the potential negative impact of excessive waste and pollution
during the soccer World Cup. The organisation hopes that this campaign will
not only ensure zero waste for 2010 but also for the long term. Muna Lakhani,
Durban-based national co-ordinator of Izwa, said the organisationās mission
was āworking towards a world without waste through public education and
the practical application of zero waste principlesā?. Lakhani said because the
World Cup would see scores of people entering the country, businesses
such as restaurants, accommodation and catering needed to redesign food
packaging. āPaper pulp and cardboard work well with takeaways, and help
to avoid toxic polystyrene. Paper can be hygienically pulped, dewatered and
pressed into burger and hotdog containers, egg trays and ceilings. According
to Lakhani, the key to the success of the campaign lay with businesses and
industry rethinking their production methods. Lakhani encouraged the public
to also get involved by not buying products that were not easily recycled,
like polystyrene and plastic, or could not be reused in another way or form.
He said the government needed to be stricter regarding waste disposal
14
Legislation
and businesses and the public should receive āmeaningful ļ¬nesā? for not
complying. Lakhani is conļ¬dent the campaign will be successful if business,
government and the public follow the zero waste guidelines.
IOL News, 26 November 2006
http://www.iol.co.za
15
Janetās Corner - Not Too Seriously!
One Liners - Part 1
Two blondes were driving to Disney Land. As they approached the park, they
saw a sign saying āDisney Land Left.ā? Disappointed, they turned around and
went home.
Q: What did the Martian say when he went into the library?
A: āTake me to your reader.ā?
Q: What do you call it when you have a pimple on each cheek?
A: Oppozits.
Q: What do diapers and politicians have in common?
A: They both need to be changed regularly... and for the same reason.
Q: Did you hear about the broken hearted tractor salesman?
A: He got a John Deere letter.
Q: Why did the landlord take his unattractive tenant to a local bar?
A: To scotch an ugly roomer.
Q: What did the Fish say when he ran into a rock wall?
A: Dam!
Is it bad luck to be superstitious?
A,E,I,O, and U were found dead on a local street. It was determinied that
they were victims of vowel play.
Q: What do you call a multi-colored snake?
A: A pied viper!
Just between you and me, I think that gardeners are just a bunch of bed-
wetters !
Please note: articles for Janetās Corner are not original, and come from various sources.
Authorās credits are supplied when available.
16
Gossip
According to
Research ļ¬nds soils lacking sulphur increase
carcinogens in crop
new research
2006-12-05
According to new research by British scientists, soils lacking sulphur may
by British
increase carcinogens in crops and not enough sulphur in the wheat can spell
āprobable carcinogenā? in the bun. The study was conducted by researchers
scientists, soils
at the University of Reading, UK, and investigated how acrylamide, a
chemical linked to cancer and other possible ill effects, is produced. The
lacking sulphur
discovered that wheat grown in ļ¬elds deļ¬cient in sulphur have much higher
concentrations of asparagines - an amino acid that, along with sugars, forms
acrylamide during cooking. Lead researcher Donald Mottram, professor of
may increase
food biosciences at the University, said that making sure that crops have
plenty of sulphur might go some way towards reducing acrylamide in foods,
carcinogens in
without changing the ļ¬avor. āThe manufacturers of biscuits and cakes and
breads and crisps - they have modiļ¬ed their processes wherever possible.
crops...
But if we can get the levels of asparagine lower in plants, there wonāt be as
much acrylamide there to start with,ā? Mottram said. During the study, wheat
plants were grown in pots with identical conditions and bar the sulphur
content. The researchers observed that those with a sulphur deļ¬ciency
made wheat that, when milled and cooked, had 4.7 times the amount of
acrylamide as the plants that could gorge on the element. According to the
researchers, wheat in ļ¬eld trials showed an even more dramatic response
and the sulphur-starved wheat made cooked products with 6.3 times as
much acrylamide. Co-lead researcher Nigel Halford, a crop scientist at
Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, UK, hypothesized that this is due to
the production of seed storage proteins decreases when a plant is stressed
by sulphur deprivation. The nitrogen taken up by the plant then accumulates
as asparagine instead. Halford said other stresses on the plant, such as
heat or nitrogen deļ¬ciency, may have a similar effect, which they are keen
to study to ļ¬nd out.
English Peopleās Daily News, 24 November 2006
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/
Backyard boilers pose major health risks
2006-12-05
According to the results of a study conducted by Connecticut researchers,
smoke from increasingly popular backyard wood-burning boilers signiļ¬cantly
increases the risks of cancer, heart attack and heart disease among neighbors
forced to breathe the brew of toxic chemicals and ash. The boilers were
designed to save on fuel oil and natural gas. They look like metal sheds with
stovepipe stacks, and are not equipped with any pollution controls. These
boilers are also not regulated under the U.S. clean air laws. Since burning
is often done at night, neighbors may not be fully aware of the units. Unlike
wood stoves, outdoor boilers are not certiļ¬ed. The Environmental Protection
Agency received a grant from the state Department of Environmental
Protection to study exactly what is emitted from the stacks and in what
amounts. Tracy Babbidge, director of air planning at the state DEP said
that they had not expected the impact of burning wood to be signiļ¬cant.
The study indicated that at normal levels and concentrations, the smoke
increases the risk of lung cancer and of cardiopulmonary disease by 37
percent. Exposure to the smoke for more than two hours increases the risk
of heart attack by 48 percent. More than one day of exposure heightens
the risk by 69 percent. Overall, people breathing the smoke have a lifetime
cancer risk of 1 in 1,000, which is roughly equal to the odds faced by a
cigarette smoker.
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Gossip
David R. Brown the lead author of the study said, āOutdoor wood-burning
boilers were developed in the Midwest in the 1980s and 1990s. They save
money on fossil fuels. Nobody identiļ¬ed how bad they were,ā? Brown said.ā?
The emissions are dirtier than cigarette smoke. Next to this thing, a wood
stove and a roaring ļ¬replace are good,ā? he said. The boilers emit ultra-ļ¬ne
particulates close to breathing level. The accompanying risk represents
at a minimum a seven-fold increase in acceptable cancer risk, Brown and
colleagues concluded, based on computer modeling. A diesel truck emits
around 1 gram of emissions in its wake every hour. A typical outdoor wood-
burning boiler produces 160 grams of ash, benzene, dioxins, polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons and other chemicals in the same period, according
to estimates by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
Homeowners burn wood and other materials to heat water jackets or coils.
Hot water is then pumped through underground pipes into the house, where
it can be used directly or to assist heating systems. When water reaches a
certain temperature, a damper closes, causing the contents of the boiler to
cool and smolder. This leads to incomplete combustion, and creosote and
other chemicals condense on the walls and in the stack.
When the damper re-opens, ļ¬ame burns the deposits and the combustion
products billow out of the stack, Brown said. A Connecticut law enacted in
2005 requires that the outdoor wood furnaces be located at least 200 feet
from the closest neighbor, or set back 200 feet. Some stacks must be no
higher than any roof within 500 feet. However, although Connecticut has
issued about 15 notices of violations, none has resulted in a penalty, removal
of an outdoor wood-burning boiler or a consent order to ļ¬x a problem, the
New England States for Coordinated Air Use Management found in an
assessment of outdoor wood-ļ¬red boilers.ā? The presence of an outdoor
wood boiler near residences and other buildings and other populations
constitutes both a cancer and non-cancer health risk that is substantially in
excess of the risk from the use of indoor wood stoves certiļ¬ed under current
...Federal
EPA guidelines,ā? Brown and colleagues write. āBased on the wood stove
studies, the magnitude of the exposure will induce serious health effects,ā?
Finance
the researchers said.
New Haven Register News, 27 November 2006
Minister Nick
http://www.nhregister.com
Minchin has
Toxin, cancer link may lead to cost spiral
warned of
2006-12-05
Speaking at the launch of a Co-operative Research Centre (CRC) for toxic
spiraling health
clean up in Adelaide, Federal Finance Minister Nick Minchin has warned
of spiraling health costs if the link between toxins in the environment and
costs if the
cancer and chronic illness is ignored. Minchin said a link between toxins
and cancer and chronic illnesses was ācommon senseā? and its impact on the
health budget ākeeps you awake at nightā?. āWe have rising living standards
link between
and general welfare while at the same time we have rises in cancer and
chronic diseases,ā? he said. āExperts are postulating that chemicals in our
toxins in the
environment, chemicals in our soils, the extent to which we have used
fertilisers to grow food and all the rest of it, is associated with the increasing
environment
incidences of cancer and other disease,ā? he said. Health Minister Tony
Abbott has quoted ļ¬gures showing that health spending has doubled to 10
and cancer and
per cent of Australiaās gross domestic product since 1960. And spending
was projected to grow to 15 per cent of GDP by 2040. The health bill to the
chronic illness
taxpayer for dealing with cancer and its consequences is about $2.9 billion
each year - about 5.8 per cent of the $50.1 billion spent on disease and
injury costs overall. A spokeswoman for Abbott said that in return for the
is ignored.
investment the death rate for cancer had dropped 14 per cent in the past 20
18
Gossip
years. But the incidence of cancer has risen to make it the leading cause of
death among Australians aged from 45 to 64, Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare ļ¬gures show.
A spokesman for the Cancer Council Australia said there were about eight
other disease groups that cost the health system more, but none caused
as many fatalities as cancer, unless heart and stroke were combined into
a single cardiovascular category. Minchin said the research at the CRC -
which was partly funded by $30 million from the federal Government - would
help contain future health budgets. āTo the extent that it begins to emerge
that things like toxic contamination are a feature of increasing incidences of
disease and cancer then, as part of a preventative approach to medicine and
health, the work of this CRC and other research can play a big part in helping
us manage the growing cost of health,ā? he said. The CRC for Contamination
Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CARE), was opened at its
headquarters at the University of South Australiaās high technology Mawson
Lakes campus in northern Adelaide. CRC CARE chairman Paul Perkins said
the group would lead the world on toxic contamination research, spinning
off commercial products and expertise that would earn āimmeasurableā?
export revenue for its shareholders, which include petroleum and energy
companies, Australian universities and the federal Government. Among
current research was examining the link between cadmium in food and
diabetes - a chronic illness commonly associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
The Australian News, 25 November 2006
http://www.theaustralian.com.au
Study puts bacon on bad-news list
According to a
2006-12-05
new study, too
According to a new study, too much bacon is bad for you, and taking the
skin off your chicken may not be so good either. A research team headed
Dr Dominique Michaud of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston
much bacon
found that people who ate bacon ļ¬ve times a week or more were more than
60 per cent more likely than non-bacon eaters to develop bladder cancer.
is bad for you,
Those who ate skinless chicken ļ¬ve times a week lifted their bladder cancer
chances by 52 per cent. The study found that some meat products contain
and taking the
nitrosamines, which cause bladder cancer, Dr Michaud and her team says
in their report. However, at this stage the studies into the meat-bladder
skin off your
cancer link have been small and most have not investigated the effects of
different types of meat. In order to better understand this relationship, the
chicken may
researchers analysed the data for 47,422 American men and 88,471 women
whose health had been tracked in two larger studies for up to 22 years.
During the time of the studies, 808 subjects developed bladder cancer. It
not be so good
was observed that those people who ate bacon and other processed meats
often were also more likely to smoke and to have diets heavy in fat and
either.
light in vitamins, the researchers found. These results were not found to be
statistically signiļ¬cant, but those who ate bacon ļ¬ve or more times a week
were 59 per cent more likely to develop bladder cancer than those who
never did. In addition, those people who ate skinless chicken this often were
52 per cent more likely to develop bladder cancer than those who always
left the skin on. Chicken cooked with the skin on contains a smaller amount
of heterocyclic amines - carcinogenic compounds formed when meat
is cooked at high temperatures - than skinless chicken. The researchers
cautioned that further researcher is required to conļ¬rm these results before
any conclusions can be made.
New Zealand Herald News, 29 November 2006
http://www.nzherald.co.nz
19
Gossip
Researchers
Cancer Link: Gene regulates progesterone effect on
breast cells
have struggled
2006-12-05
In 1994, scientist discovered the BRCA1 gene and found that it kept cancer
to understand
at bay. Women carrying a mutation in the gene face an extremely high risk
of breast and ovarian cancer. Researchers have struggled to understand
how the protein
how the protein encoded by a normal BRCA1 gene works. A new study in
mice suggests one possibility: The BRCA1 protein moderates the hormone
encoded by a
progesteroneās effect in breast cells. The protein appears to calm those
cells when progesterone urges them to divide and grow. Previous research
found that BRCA1 protein orchestrates the repair of damaged DNA. But
normal BRCA1
since that process occurs continuously in every cell throughout the body, the
ļ¬nding failed to explain how a mutated BRCA1 would predispose a woman
gene works.
speciļ¬cally to cancers of the breasts or ovaries. During the study, the
researchers genetically engineered mice so that they didnāt make BRCA1
protein. Breast tissue in these animals grew abnormally, creating many
branching mammary ducts of a type usually seen only in pregnant mice,
says Eva Y.-H.P. Lee, a molecular biologist at the University of California,
Irvine. Compared with normal breast cells, the breast cells in the genetically
altered mice were also three times as likely to have progesterone receptors-
proteins on the cell surface that serve as docks for the hormone. When
progesterone binds to the receptor, it sends a signal thatās transferred to the
cell nucleus. Progesterone typically instructs a cell to proliferate. Normally,
after a progesterone receptor transmits a growth signal, the cell destroys the
receptor, Lee says. However, animals lacking BRCA1 failed to complete this
routine cleanup process.
In some cases, other progesterone molecules bind to the already used
receptor, generating more proliferation signals. All the mice in a group that
were BRCA1 protein deļ¬cient, developed tumors within 5 to 9 months, the
researchers found. But when similar mice received the antiprogesterone
drug mifepristone, they showed no cancer during the 12 months of
observation. The study āplaces the progesterone receptor right in the middle
of the physiologyā? of BRCA1-related breast cancers, says physician Steven
Narod of the University of Toronto. However, Narod notes that mice arenāt a
perfect model for the human disease because healthy women with BRCA1
mutations donāt exhibit the abnormal duct branching seen in the animals in
this study. Antiprogesterone drugs might control abnormal signaling, thereby
preventing or treating cancers in some women with the BRCA1 mutation,
says oncologist Eliot M. Rosen of Georgetown University in Washington,
D.C. At present, āthe most effective protection [against breast cancer for
women with a BRCA1 mutation] is drastic surgery to remove the ovaries
and both breasts,ā? he says. An antiprogesterone āmight be a nonsurgical
approach,ā? he adds. Narod cautions that determining the preventive effects
of an antiprogesterone drug would require a massive clinical trial of healthy
women. A test of an antiprogesterone as a treatment for breast cancer might
come ļ¬rst, he says.
Science News, 2 December 2006
http://sciencenews.org/
āA bad memory may be a sign of heart troubleā?
2006-12-05
According to researchers, being forgetful could be bad for your heart. Those
who have poor memories and slower reaction times are more likely to die
from a heart attack, according to a 21-year study. Psychologist Dr Beverly
Shipley, who carried out the research, said the next step was to discover
exactly why there was a link. The researcher suggested that one possible
20
Gossip
explanation was that reaction time is an indicator of a body with better
āsystem integrityā? - how well it is wired together. She also said that one of
the surprising outcomes of the study was that both younger and older adults
exhibited the same link between cognition and heart disease mortality. Even
in the case of young people, memory problems could be used to identify
those not normally thought to be at risk of heart disease for treatment. Dr
Shipley, from Edinburgh Universityās psychology department, studied more
than 6,400 individuals. During the study, Shipley observed that those people
with slower reaction times, poorer memory and poor visual-spatial awareness
had a higher chance of dying from cardiovascular or respiratory disease.
This link remained after allowing for other factors normally associated with
heart disease, such as physical activity, blood pressure, being overweight
and smoking. Those taking part were aged between 18 and 99 and were
ļ¬rst tested in 1984/85. Altogether 1,550 members of the group died from
various causes by the time the study was completed in 2005. Lower levels
of mental agility led to at least a 10 per cent greater chance of developing
heart disease. In addition, the researchers found that a higher death rate
from heart problems among those with poorer mental agility. Dr Shipley,
said explaining the link between cognition and mortality was āthe next step
of my workā?. A further reason for the link may be poor blood ļ¬ow through the
arteries, a symptom of heart disease, which would also affect the ļ¬ow of
oxygen to the brain.
Daily Mirror News, 25 November 2006
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
Swimming Pools Linked to Hay Fever
According to
2006-12-05
a new study
According to a new study by German researchers, children who go to
swimming pools on a regular basis may be at risk for developing hay fever in
by German
adulthood. Dr. Y. Kohlhammer, from the GSF-National Research Center for
Environment and Health in Neuherberg, and colleagues hypothesized that
the chlorination by-products at swimming pools may damage the lining of the
researchers,
lungs, allowing closer contact to allergens and increasing the risk of hay fever.
During the study, the researchers surveyed 2,606 adults between 35 and 74
children who
years of age. Personal interviews and questionnaires were used to gather
detailed information about medical history and swimming pool attendance.
go to swimming
The results indicated that those people who attended a chlorinated swimming
pool 3 to 11 times each year at school age were 74 percent more likely to
pools on a
develop hay fever than those who never attended a pool at school age.
Recent exposure to a chlorinated swimming pool also increased the risk of
regular basis
hay fever. Subjects who reported exposure to a pool more than once a week
for the last 12 months were 32 percent more likely to have hay fever than
non-exposed individuals. In addition, the researchers found that subjects
may be at risk
who reported any lifetime exposure to chlorinated swimming pools were 65
percent more likely to have hay fever than individuals with no exposure. The
for developing
associations with both recent and school-age pool attendance appeared
to be dose-related, the authors point out. The results support the ļ¬ndings
hay fever in
of previous studies that have linked exposure to chlorinated swimming
pools with lung āhyperpermeability,ā? as well as exercise-induced cough and
adulthood.
higher asthma rates, the team notes. āHay fever is a disease with numerous
potential inļ¬uencing aspects, including lifestyle changes, environmental
factors, allergen exposure and immunology. Contact with chlorination by-
products might not be the leading reason for higher frequencies of hay fever,
especially in adults, but might make up an important contribution to this
multifactorial disease,ā? the authors conclude.
ABC News, 24 November 2006
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/dailynews
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Gossip
Chinese pollution a rising health threat
Lack of access
2006-12-05
to safe drinking
Air and water pollution are causing a health crisis in poverty-stricken
Southwest China. Lack of access to safe drinking water and high levels of
air pollution and mercury contamination from excessive coal burning are
water and
causing chronic illness and death, especially in the rural areas of China.
A possible link between mercury content in ļ¬sh consumed in the United
high levels of
States and Chinese coal burning is also being examined. The United States
Agency for International Development is sponsoring the China Environmental
air pollution
Health Project, which involves scientists from Western Kentucky University
and Southwest University of China studying the pollution of underground
and mercury
streams, pollution caused by coal burning and the health effects on the
people. Initial ļ¬ndings has suggested that the water and air pollution has led
contamination
to chronic health problems - gastric disorders, diarrhea, asthma, bronchitis,
conjunctivitis - as well as acute poisoning and death, said Chris Groves,
Western Kentucky University scientist. The people in the areas most
from excessive
affected are living below the poverty level of $85 a year. The area is called a
karst region, meaning it is created by the slow dissolution of bedrock. āKarst
coal burning
is the most vulnerable ground water system to contamination,ā? he said.
Underground springs exist in karst areas, most commonly in limestone.
are causing
These landscapes also occur in the United States in Florida and Kentucky,
but in China approximately one-third of the land is karst region, Groves said.
chronic illness
The karst landscape, along with monsoon seasons alternating with drought,
make accessibility to any water at all difļ¬cult. The water that can be found
and death,
is often contaminated.
In China, rice-ļ¬eld farmers who use fertilizer and pesticides are polluting their
especially in
own water. Toxins from steel mills also contaminate the underground water.
Acid rain has also become an issue; in the village of Fantang the effects
are especially severe. āNo one from the village is healthy enough to join the
the rural areas
army,ā? said Yuan Daoxian, professor at Southwest University of China. There
are also roads that run above the underground water system. āPollution from
of China.
roadsides recharge drinking water tanks,ā? Daoxian said. He added that a
lot of time is spent by people in China, climbing down into caves to retrieve
buckets of water, especially during the dry season. āIf theyāre spending time
carrying water, then theyāre not making money,ā? Daoxian said. People also
dry their food inside during the wet season, and it can be poisoned with
arsenic from the coal-burning ļ¬re emissions, he said. Even though the
technology exists to treat contaminated water making it safe to drink, it is not
available in these poor regions. āTheir treatment means boiling water, and
probably over a coal-ļ¬red stove. They donāt know any better,ā? Groves said.
The high rates of coal burning combined with unpublished reports on exactly
how much particle pollution is getting into the air - are cause for alarm, said
Wei-ping Pan, a Western Kentucky University scientist. Data on emissions
from large coal-consuming regions, like Huainan, are the focus of the coal
portion of the study.
Previous studies conducted by U.S. researchers have shown that when
mercury is ingested it accumulates in the brain and attacks the nervous
system, Pan said. It can also cause symptoms including hair loss, fatigue,
depression, difļ¬culty concentrating and headache. The Environmental
Protection Agency said that tiny particles of mercury travel through
smokestacks into the air and fall onto soil or water. One of the most common
sources of mercury contamination is coal-burning power plants. Up until
now little research has been done to draw connections between the coal
burning in China and illness both in China and on the West Coast of the
United States, Pan said. āItās possible that Huainan mercury ends up in the
ļ¬sh people in California eat,ā? Pan said. Trends of high miscarriage rates
and lower IQ rates have also been appearing, but thereās still a lack of data.
22
Gossip
āJust because thereās no data doesnāt mean thereās not a problem,ā? Groves
said. The answer lies in the sharing of knowledge and technology, Pan said.
By bringing the clean-burning advances from the United States to China, air
pollution could be greatly reduced, hopefully cutting cases of asthma and
bronchitis as well.
United Press International News, 24 November 2006
http://www.upi.com/
Debate bubbling over health impact of chemicals
Industry is
2006-12-05
stepping up
Industry is stepping up research amid scientistsā? concerns that the EUās draft
REACH regulation is not doing enough to protect humans against endocrine
research amid
disrupters and other toxic chemicals. The EUās draft REACH law on chemical
safety enters Parliament for a crucial second reading on 12 December 2006.
It will then need approval by the Council of Ministers before it becomes
scientistsā?
law. REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals)
proposes that manufacturers and importers produce health and safety tests
concerns
for around 30,000 of the 100,000 substances currently on the EU market.
The screening process would be spread over an 11-year period, starting
that the EUās
with the most toxic chemicals as well as those marketed in higher volumes.
A group of 38 scientists signed a letter on 20 November calling for the EU to
draft REACH
tighten scrutiny of hormone disrupting chemicals and other toxic substances
under REACH. The scientists expressed concern that the REACH draft as
regulation is not
supported by the Council of Ministers requires a too-high burden of proof
before hormone-disrupting chemicals can enter the REACH evaluation
process. āAuthorities would have to wait until the damage is done before
doing enough
they can take any action,ā? said conservation group WWF, which publicised
the scientistās call as part of its DetoX campaign. According to the scientists,
to protect
the precautionary action against hormone disrupters is justiļ¬ed because
they ācan act in an additive mannerā? when combined together āeven though,
humans against
in isolation such substances may be judged unlikely to cause serious effects
at current exposure levelsā?.
endocrine
The actual health risk posed by these chemicals remains the topic of ļ¬erce
debate. āThere are still a lot of uncertainties on the direct and indirect link
disrupters and
between chemicals and certain diseases as prestigious scientists still
contradict other prestigious scientists,ā? said the European Chemical Industry
other toxic
Council (CEFIC). In a related move, the European Chemicals Industry
Council (CEFIC) on 15 November opened the third phase of its Long-
Range Research Initiative (LRI) programme to increase the understanding
chemicals.
of the potential impact of chemicals on health and the environment. The
latest LRI initiative focuses on three priority themes facing the chemicals
industry: Tools for effective risk assessment; dealing with environment and
health complexity, and; new science relating to individual susceptibility and
trans-generational effects. Recently, Thomas Jostmann of CEFIC said that
research had proven that āIt doesnāt pose an immediate risk if a substance
is in your bodyā? and that the levels of concentration were āin the magnitude
of background detection rather then having a real serious contamination
proļ¬le which could cause a riskā?. However, Ninja Reineke for the WWF said
that while there may be not be an immediate risk, for some chemicals it is
timing and not amounts that matters. Illnesses such as cancer and infertility
are known to develop over a long period and where chemicals were involved
in low amounts, she said.
Euractive News, 20 November 2006
http://www.euractiv.com/en
23
Gossip
New fuel āhas no health impactā?
According
2006-12-06
to the
According to the Environment Agency, an 18-month trial of a new fuel at Drax
power station near Selby has had no adverse impact on local health. The
plant burned a mixture of coal and up to 15% petroleum coke (petcoke), an
Environment
oil-based fuel that is a by-product of the petroleum industry. Drax said they
would now apply to burn the fuel in all their six boiler units. The Environment
Agency, an
Agency said they were satisļ¬ed with the data, which covered burning the
fuel mixture in one boiler. It has also been reported by the company that
18-month trial
there has been no noticeable effect on the quality of water discharged after
use in the cooling process and treatment of by-products. Dr Nigel Burdett,
of a new fuel
head of environment at Drax, said: āNo operational problems have arisen
when burning a blend of coal and petroleum coke, and monitoring of our
at Drax power
handling, transport and fuel transfer arrangements conļ¬rm this. āOverall the
ļ¬ndings show that burning a coal and petroleum coke blend is similar to
that for a coal-only operation and, therefore, there has been no change in
station near
environmental impact on the local environment as a result of the trial. āThe
trial data reinforce the predictions we made before the trial in 2002 and we
Selby has had
are able to conclude that, in this test, burning a coal and petroleum coke
blend has presented no threat to public health.ā?
no adverse
BBC News, 25 November 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health
impact on local
Silver in Clothing Keeps Odors Away
health.
2006-12-06
New technology by a Scranton-based company believes they have discovered
a way from preventing your clothes from smelling. Noble Biomaterials,
embeds silver in clothing worn by U.S. soldiers, elite athletes and weekend
warriors alike - thus capitalizing on the precious metalās increasing popularity
as a way to keep clothes smelling fresh, even after multiple wears without
a wash. Noble biomaterial is one of a few companies that are producing
the silver-coated textiles for use in high-tech performance clothing. Silver
works by killing the odor-causing bacteria; it also redistributes body heat,
keeping the wearer warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather. āI think
itās a great concept for workout clothes and athletic gear, things you donāt
necessarily wash every single time,ā? said Marlene Bourne, president of
Bourne Research in Scottsdale, Ariz. Bourne studies emerging technologies
- and has worn a pullover threaded with Nobleās silver-coated ļ¬ber, called
X-Static. The technology has been licensed to more than 300 companies,
including Adidas, Umbro, Puma, Polartec and other apparel makers. While
most of Nobleās growth has been concentrated in Europe and Asia, X-Static
is gaining ground domestically. āThe U.S. is always slower to pick up on
technology advancements in the apparel market, but itās really starting to
catch up,ā? said Joel Furey, who heads Nobleās consumer division. U.S.
soldiers and Marines already wear X-Static socks and T-shirts, which provide
āolfactory camouļ¬ageā? as well as a ļ¬rst line of defense against shrapnel
wounds, because any of the silver fabric that becomes embedded in the
wound āactually starts treating the wound,ā? according to Bill McNally, the
company founder.
āYou spend enough time in the jungle like I did, with clothes rotting off you
and all sorts of skin infections, and I knew there had to be a better way,ā? said
McNally, 45, a Marine veteran. Though a pair of X-Static socks contains only
about one-hundredth of an ounce of silver, Noble cajoles wearers to take the
āDouble Dog Dareā?: Put one foot in an X-Static sock and the other in a regular
sock for a week straight without washing - and āsmell the difference.ā? It has
been known for thousands of years that silver has germ-killing properties and
24
Gossip
was previously used to purify water. More recently, silver nitrate was dropped
in newbornsā? eyes to ward off bacterial infections from the mother, but has
largely been replaced with antibiotics. Many manufacturers are now adding
the metal to a wide variety of consumer products. Samsung Electronics Ltd.
has launched a line of washing machines and refrigerators that use silver
to kill germs. Sharper Image Corp. offers food-storage containers lined
with tiny silver particles. Curad sells silver bandages. And Motorola Inc.ās
i870 phone includes an anti-bacterial silver coating. This trend has drawn
concern from environmentalists that silver could be entering the environment
and kill helpful bacteria and aquatic organisms or even harm humans. The
Environmental Protection Agency has announced that they will require all
manufacturers using the metal to provide scientiļ¬c evidence that their use
wonāt harm waterways or public health.
LA Times News, 23 November 2006
http://www.latimes.com
Gulf War may be linked to Gehrigās disease
According
2006-12-06
to a study
According to a study conducted by the Institute of Medicine, military service
may be associated with the development of Lou Gehrigās disease. Currently,
the institute says that the evidence of this link is inconsistent and limited. Lou
conducted by
Gehrigās disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is
a neurodegenerative disease that gradually destroys the ability to control
the Institute
movement. Patients lose their ability to move or speak, but their minds
remain unaffected. Most victims die of respiratory failure within a few years.
of Medicine,
Five indicating a higher rate of ALS among veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf
War. One of the studies found a link to veterans who served prior to that war
military
and one found no link at all. Richard T. Johnson, chair of the committee that
wrote the report said, āThe evidence base to answer the question of whether
service may
military service increases a personās chances of developing ALS later in life
is rather sparse, so we could not reach more deļ¬nitive conclusions at this
time.ā? āBecause ALS occurs so rarely, any individual veteranās chances of
be associated
developing the disease are still low,ā? he added. Johnson is a professor of
neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of medicine in Baltimore.
with the
The latest report releases by the Institute of Medicine was aimed at providing
an overview of what was found in the previous studies for the Department of
development
Veteran Affairs. The Institute of Medicine is an arm of the National Academy
of Sciences, an independent research organization chartered by Congress
of Lou Gehrigās
to provide scientiļ¬c advice to the government. āThe secretary will convene
senior VA medical experts to study this report and make recommendations
disease.
to the department,ā? VA spokeswoman Lisette Mondello said.
Houston Chronicle News, 11 November 2006
http://www.chron.com
Health fears raised over M5 tunnel haze ļ¬ush
2006-12-05
A report released by the NSW Health Department has issued a warning
that a plan by the Government to reduce the pollution in Sydneyās M5
East tunnel will damage the quality of air outside the tunnel and exposure
nearby residents to unhealthy levels of pollution. The authority is planning
to blow exhaust fumes through the M5ās entrances, or portals, as well as
the stack from early morning until evening to reduce haze in the smoggy
tunnel. It is applying for a change in planning laws to do it. But a report
written less than a month ago by NSW Healthās Population Health Division
said venting tunnel emissions through the portals would expose residents
to concentrated pollutants. In the report a CSIRO consultant was quoted,
25
Gossip
who said that blowing emissions through the tunnelās entrances increased
public exposure to pollutants by a factor of up to 50 compared with the stack.
Stacks effectively dispersed emissions so residents were not exposed to
high concentrations, but portals did not. ā[It] would tend to expose residents
around the tunnel portals to high concentrations of pollutants.ā? In addition,
the report cautioned that the improvement in the quality of the in-tunnel air
would come at the expense of external air quality. āWhile in-tunnel exposure
to air pollutants is a health concern, this is considered a lower health risk.ā?
The report said that long-term exposure to increased air pollution was
associated with premature mortality and exacerbation of cardiorespiratory
diseases. āWe are concerned that the proposal will signiļ¬cantly increase
pollution exposure,ā? it said.
Sydney Morning Herald New, 10 November 2006
http://www.smh.com.au/
Last year,
Teļ¬on Is Great for Politicians, but Is It Safe for Regular
People?
lawyers for
2006-12-06
Hanging from the pot rack in our kitchen are a variety of skillets and pans,
consumers
some with nonstick coatings and some the kind you really have to scrub to
get clean. Every once in a while when I reach up to grab a frying pan and
in numerous
my hand touches the nonstick one, I hesitate. Is Teļ¬on coating bad? Should
I not use it? These thoughts go through my mind, and then I usually just
states,
take down the pan that is closest to the size I need. Concerns regarding
the use of Teļ¬on have been around for years. Teļ¬on is a patented product
of DuPont, but most people use the term generically to refer to nonstick
including New
pans. The coating was discovered in 1938 and approved by the Food and
Drug Administration for cookware in 1960. Nonstick pans allow cooking with
York, ļ¬led
less or no fat and make cleanup easier and faster. Last year, lawyers for
consumers in numerous states, including New York, ļ¬led separate class-
separate class-
action lawsuits based on state consumer laws on behalf of millions of Teļ¬on
cookware users. These lawsuits have been merged into one class action,
action lawsuits
which is now pending in Federal District Court in Des Moines. One issue
that can be confusing is the potential environmental and health dangers
based on state
posed by chemicals used in manufacturing versus the risk possibly created
when Teļ¬on cookware is heated and fumes might be emitted. Of particular
concern is perļ¬uorooctanoic acid, PFOA, also known as C-8, which is a
consumer
crucial ingredient in the making of Teļ¬on.
In another class action lawsuit in 2004, DuPont agreed to pay more than
laws on behalf
$100 million to Ohio and West Virginia residents who contended that
releases of PFOA from a plant in West Virginia contaminated supplies of
of millions
drinking water. A similar lawsuit was ļ¬led this year on behalf of additional
West Virginia residents who were not included in the original lawsuit, but
of Teļ¬on
whose drinking water was later found to be contaminated. This year, DuPont
along with the EPA and seven other manufacturers have announced a
cookware
voluntary program, which will see the PFOA eliminated from release into the
environment by 2015. Last years lawsuit focus on the cookware itself rather
users.
than the chemicals from the manufacturing process and claimed that for
decades DuPont failed to warn consumers of hazards from using its nonstick
cookware. The suit contended that the pots and pans, when heated to very
high temperatures, release toxic particles, including PFOA. The goal is to
have DuPont stop making and selling Teļ¬on cookware. A statement from
DuPont said the allegations were without merit, noting that the Food and
Drug Administration had said the cookware was acceptable for conventional
kitchen use. On the DuPont website, they argue that the PFOA is burned
off in the manufacturing process of the Teļ¬on coating and not present in the
ļ¬nished cookware.
26
Gossip
DuPont and the Cookware Manufacturers Association, a trade organization,
maintain that Teļ¬on is completely safe and actually helps people by lowering
the amount of oil needed for cooking and reducing the risk of ļ¬re because
there is less fat that might burst into ļ¬ames. The EPA state on there website
that āroutine useā? of nonstick cookware does not pose a concern and there
is no reason for consumers to stop using it. That means do not leave a
Teļ¬on pan burning empty over high heat - a pretty sensible instruction for a
number of reasons. However, the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.
org) refers to research that shows that Teļ¬on cookware can harm birds and
cause ļ¬u-like symptoms in humans by emitting toxic fumes when heated at
high temperatures. PFOA is found at a very low level in the blood of most
Americans, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and studies
have shown it can cause health problems in laboratory animals. Currently, it
is unknown as to the exact number of people that are exposed to the chemical
or how dangerous it is to the human body. In addition, the Environmental
Working Group is concerned about other ways material containing PFOA is
used and released into the environment: to make clothes and carpets stain-
resistant, for example, or to ensure that food packaging like fast-food bags
or the lining of some microwave popcorn bags is grease-resistant.
Robert L. Wolke, a professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of
Pittsburgh and author of āWhat Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science
Explainedā? (W. W. Norton & Company, 2002), said he did not believe that
nonstick coating posed a hazard, but recommended that in general, it
was a good idea to use a ventilation hood to disperse fumes. It is also
recommended that sharp utensils are never used with Teļ¬on coating, and
throw out the pan if it is peeling. Flaking of the nonstick coating used to
be a problem in the early days of Teļ¬on, said Hugh J. Rushing, executive
vice president of the Cookware Manufacturers Association, but that is now
rare. Improvements in the way the coating is manufactured and applied
improved markedly about 15 years ago, he said, adding years to the life of
a Teļ¬on pan. The Teļ¬on worries have apparently not hurt sales of aluminum
cookware, 90 percent of which is nonstick. Sales of both stainless steel
cookware, which is more expensive, and aluminum cookware dropped in
2004 from the previous year, but rebounded in 2005.
New York Times News, 14 October 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/
Agent Orange,
Agent Orange Exposure Tied to Ills in Vietnam Vets
2006-12-06
a weed killer
A new study has shown that Vietnam veterans who sprayed the herbicides
like Agent Orange decades ago in Vietnam are at an increased risk of
containing
developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic
breathing problems. Agent Orange, a weed killer containing dioxin, was
dioxin, was
widely used during the Vietnam War. Dr. Han K. Kang of the Department of
Veterans Affairs in Washington, DC and colleagues conducted the study. The
researchers found that overall, two thirds of the herbicides used contained
widely used
dioxin. In an effort to understand the long-term health effects caused by
exposure to the chemicals, Kang and his team analysed data from 1,499
during the
members of the US Army Chemical Corps and compared it to 1,428 vets
who had worked in chemical operations jobs but did not serve in Vietnam.
Vietnam War.
The Chemical Corps members had been responsible for spraying herbicide
around base camp perimeters, as well as aerial spraying of the chemicals
from helicopters. Subjects completed a telephone survey in 1999-2000 and
tests of a subset of the study participants, including 795 Vietnam vets and
102 non-Vietnam vets, showed the Vietnam vets had higher levels of dioxin
in their blood. The effects of Vietnam service and herbicide exposure were
separately analysed and the results demonstrated that hepatitis was the
27
Gossip
only health problem linked to serving in Vietnam per se. However, exposure
to herbicides among Vietnam veterans conferred a 50 percent increased
risk of diabetes, a 52 percent greater heart disease risk, a 32 percent
increased risk of hypertension and a 60 percent greater likelihood of having
a chronic respiratory problem such as emphysema or asthma. In addition,
an increased risk of cancer was also observed among the Chemical Corps
members, however this association was not found to be signiļ¬cant. āAlmost
three decades after Vietnam service,ā? the researchers conclude, āUS
Army veterans who were occupationally exposed to phenoxyherbicide in
Vietnam experienced signiļ¬cantly higher risks of diabetes, heart disease,
hypertension, and non-malignant lung diseases than other veterans who
were not exposed to herbicides.ā?
Planet Ark New, 10 November 2006
http://www.planetark.org
Medical
Children of Bhopal gas victims suffer from deformity
2006-12-06
research is
Medical research is desperately needed, especially into the possible genetic
and reproductive after effects, of the lethal gas leak in Bhopal exactly 22
desperately
years ago that killed more than 3,000 people instantly and thousannds more
in subsequent years. Despite the neurological, hormonal and mental health
needed,
problems that the survivors are facing besides the genetic damage to the
children born to survivors, these crucial areas have been severely under-
studied, allege rights activists, who say, āThis has lead to unsystematic
especially into
treatment of gas victims.ā? āLack of research into the possible genetic
and reproductive ramiļ¬cations of gas exposure, and now of exposure to
the possible
contaminated water, have seriously marred efforts to respond to the effects
of poisonous gases on the next generation in those affected by the gas
genetic and
leak,ā? said activist Rashida Bi who is a gas victim herself and associated
with the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB). On the night of
reproductive
December 2, 1984, 40 tonnes of lethal Methyl-Iso-Cyanate gas spewed out
of the Union Carbide Corporationās pesticide plant. Thousands were effected
after effects, of
for life from inhaling the poisonous gas. Women who were pregnant during
or following the disaster had extremely high rates of spontaneous abortion.
A 1985 study by Medico Friends Circle (MFC) found that in addition to
the lethal gas
spontaneous abortion and stillbirths, pregnant women exhibited diminished
foetal movements and menstrual disturbances.
leak in Bhopal
Foetuses that survived the gas disaster suffered from severe malformations.
Birth defects continue to occur among families affected by the gas leak
exactly 22
and contamination of water at a higher-than-average rate even now. Union
Carbide allegedly constructed the factory knowing that the storage and
years ago...
treatment methods for waste were likely to fail and contaminate ground
water. According to local groups monitoring the water quality, contamination
from the factory has now spread to 16 wards and affects an estimated
16,000-20,000 people. A previous study conducted by Sambhavna Trust
Clinic showed that children conceived and born after the disaster to
affected parents were differed signiļ¬cantly from children of the same age
born to unexposed parents. The children were shorter, thinner, lighter, and
had smaller heads, said activist Satinath Sarangi, who runs Sambhavna
Clinic that treats the affected in the gas-hit areas. In addition, children of
exposed parents showed abnormal growth in their upper bodies that were
disproportionately smaller than their lower bodies. The Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR) initiated 18 studies in the aftermath of the Bhopal
disaster. However, despite ļ¬ndings of long-term damage, these studies
were all prematurely ended within 10 years just as conclusive evidence of
damage was beginning to show on the offspring of survivors.
28
Gossip
āMost studies done by ICMR were terminated as early as 1989 and the rest
by 1994 without reviewing the collected data and pleas for continuing the
studies were ignored. The ICMRās full report on Bhopal too has not been
released till date,ā? said Sarangi. āResearch done in the past is insufļ¬cient and
key aspects of the disaster and its aftermath have been ignored in research
projects. Now, new issues have arisen necessitating fresh research. This
includes exposure to water contamination among those living in the vicinity
of the factory site,ā? Sarangi added. The Fact Finding Mission on Bhopal
found high levels of chemicals in the breast milk of women affected by water
contamination. Studies conducted by the Sambhavna Trust Clinic indicated
that about half of the people living in the contaminated area were suffering
from multiple symptoms. ICMR studies, although prematurely terminated,
did show that children of exposed mothers had delayed physical and mental
development and lower values for anthropometric parameters such as height
and mid-arm circumference.
Daily India.com, 2 December 2006
http://www.dailyindia.com/>
Nanotubes persist in natural environments
The explosion
2006-12-06
in the creation
The explosion in the creation of better and more complicated nanomaterials
is moving far ahead of research on such materialsā? environmental safety,
leaving many to wonder about their potential effects on human health and the
of better
environment. A new study highlights that these anthropogenic nanomaterials
readily interact with natural materials. This study is the ļ¬rst to show how
and more
multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) might behave in natural aquatic
environments. Researchers say that because organic material stabilizes the
complicated
nanotubes, their potential for dispersal increases dramatically, but the toxicity
of the new materials in natural environments remains relatively unknown.
nanomaterials
Manufacturers have created many different nanomaterials for use in a broad
range of products. In addition to ābuckyballsā?-the C60 molecules that are
is moving
also called fullerenes-nanotubes can be tiny straw-shaped structures made
with single or multiple layers of carbon atoms. Both the particles and the
tubes tend to clump together, but surfactants and added polymers can keep
far ahead of
them from cohering in laboratory settings. Even so, previous experiments
demonstrate that C60 aggregates in natural settings. In the study, a team
research on
led by Jae-Hong Kim of the Georgia Institute of Technology, examined how
MWNTs interact with Suwannee River natural organic matter suspended
such materialsā?
in a 1% solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate (a surfactant known to keep
nanotubes and nanoparticles discrete).
environmental
Electron microscopy, measurements of opacity and turbidity, and other
analyses were used to determine the behavior of the MWNTs in various
safety...
mixtures left to settle over hours and days. The results demonstrated that in
clean water, the nanotubes settled to the bottom within an hour. In contrast,
the surfactant-only solution kept the tubes suspended for a day or more.
But the water containing organic matter remained cloudy for more than 4
days, and a month later the mixture retained a grayish background color
from suspended nanotubes. Natural organic matter āsuspends [MWNTs] in
water and becomes a vehicle for transport,ā? says a coauthor of the paper,
Joseph Hughes of the Georgia Institute of Technology. The teamās ļ¬nding
āclearly demonstrates the fact that as we produce these anthropogenic
nanomaterials, theyāre going to interact with natural materials,ā? he says.
Using electron microscopy, the researchers found that natural organic matter
not only acts to stabilize individual nanotubes in solution but also sometimes
even creates bridges between two tubes. āThe fact that natural organic
matter stabilized the model carbon nanotube (MWNT) in the aqueous phase
more efļ¬ciently than surfactant was pretty surprising to us,ā? Kim said, āsince
29
Gossip
similar behavior was not observed with another widely investigated carbon
nanomaterial-C60.ā?
Environmental Science & Technology News, 28 November 2006
http://pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag/index.html
Using mice to study disease
2006-12-06
A study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences could
reveal key information about why some people are more susceptible to
environmental contaminants than others. New data from 15 mouse strains
used for biomedical research have been announced by the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences as a novel tool to tease out the
link between genetics and the impacts of environmental contaminants in
disease. In the two-year project to sequence the mouse DNA, 8.3 million
single nucleotide polymorphisms (known as SNPs) were found. These basic
genetic variations could lead to different levels of susceptibility to varying
conditions and diseases in the 15 types of mice studied, which are the
common strains used in biomedical research. The patterns in mice could
lead to breakthroughs in understanding human ācounterpartā? genes and
the varying pathways that make people susceptible to disease agents,
said David Christiani, a professor at Harvard Medical School and School
of Public Health. āThe data will also be a great resource for pharmaceutical
companies that are developing new treatments for disease,ā? he added.
Environmental Science & Technology News, 29 November 2006
http://pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag/index.html
Dioxins are a
Dioxin may decrease testosterone
2006-12-06
toxic byproduct
According to the results from a new study, high blood levels of a certain
dioxin commonly found in the general male population are associated with
of various
decreased testosterone levels and a not necessarily beneļ¬cial inhibition
of prostate growth. Dioxins are a toxic byproduct of various industrial
industrial
processes that are ingested in the fat of meats and dairy products. In the
study, the researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
processes that
measured levels of the dioxin TCDD in 964 U.S. veterans of Operation Ranch
Hand, the Vietnam War project to spray the herbicide Agent Orange. They
compared them over a 20-year period ending in 2002 to 1,259 veterans who
are ingested in
were not involved in the spraying program. āIn the comparison group itās very
clear,ā? said Dr. Amit Gupta, the studyās lead author and a resident in urology
the fat of meats
at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. āEach increase in
dioxin decreases the rate of benign prostate enlargement and decreases
and dairy
serum levels of testosterone.ā? It might seem that a reduction in the risk of
prostate enlargement would be beneļ¬cial, but Gupta warns that this is not
products.
so. āDioxins are toxic chemicals,ā? he said, āand will cause harmful effects in
many other areas of the body.ā?
Another study conducted by New Zealand researchers has found that men
who are circumcised may have a signiļ¬cantly reduced risk of acquiring a
sexually transmitted disease compared with those who are not. This study
involved the analysis of 510 boys born in 1977, who were frequently given
medical examinations until they were 25. The results showed that thirty
percent of them had been circumcised by age 15. A little less than 3 percent
reported a medically diagnosed sexually transmitted disease at age 21,
and an additional 6.6 percent reported one at 25. After allowing for family
education, socioeconomic status, number of partners and self-reported
30
Gossip
unprotected sex, the researchers concluded that the odds of acquiring a
subsequent STD were 3.19 times higher for men who were uncircumcised.
David Fergusson, the lead author of the study and a professor of medical
psychology at Christchurch School of Medicine, warned that the results
were not conclusive.
International Herald Tribune News, 29 November 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/
PLEASE NOTE:
Accompanying technical articles are available from our
public download site. Article headings and links appear
on page 4, or alternatively, click on the link below and
choose the articles of interest:
http://public.planetmirror.com/pub/chemwatch/Bulletin/2006/12/221206/061
222-Technical.pdf
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