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Coordinated nationally by the Institute for Children's Environmental Health |
To join the Partnership for Children's Health and the Environment (PCHE) and receive this bulletin, please complete the form at http://www.partnersforchildren.org/members.html#member.
For more information about these events or to access additional events, please visit our searchable calendar of events at http://www.partnersforchildren.org/conferences.html.
April 26, 2007
1:00 p.m. EDT
Washington, DC
at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center, Kaiser Family Foundation
2007 marks the 10th Anniversary of Executive Order 13045, "Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks." Executive Order 13045 requires each federal agency to identify and evaluate environmental health and safety risks that may hinder children's health. This year provides the children's environmental health community with an opportunity to reflect on the progress to date and to formulate a vision for the future of children's environmental health. A special 10th anniversary event is being planned. Leaders in children's environmental health will share their ideas about how to protect children over the next 10 years. This national seminar is sponsored by EPA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Speakers include Howard Frumkin, MD, DrPH; William H. Sanders III, DrPH; Carol M. Browner; Edward B. Clark, MD; Susan Marmagas; and Peggy M. Shepard. You can join this interactive event via Microsoft Live Meeting. You will be able to listen in via telephone and view presentations. Participation is free, but limited. If you are interested in attending, please respond to cmckallagat@icfi.com and indicate that you would like to be a part of our efforts to mark this important anniversary and also look to the future of children's environmental health efforts. Once you have registered, a subsequent email will be sent that includes log-in and other important instructions on running Microsoft Live Meeting. If you are in the Washington, D.C. area and are able to attend in person, please register by sending an email to Carolyn Hubbard at hubbard.carolyn@epa.gov.
Contact: Christopher McKallagat, cmckallagat@icfi.com
April 28, 2007
12:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Tacoma, Washington
at the Rotunda of the University of Puget Sound, Washington
Working titles for workshops to be offered include (1) A Rights-Based Approach to International Family Planning; (2) Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Livelihoods: Global and Local Projects and the Future of Organics; (3) Environmental Justice and Public Health Concerns in Western Washington; (4) Informed and Cost-Effective Food Choices for Washington Consumers; (5) Feminist Perspectives on Population and the Environment and Changing Policy Paradigms; and (6) Creative Activism through the Arts. Overarching summit questions include (1) How does "sustainability" strengthen the relationships between the environmental, reproductive health, and social justice movements? (2) How can consumer choices impact the success of sustainable solutions here and abroad? (3) How can UPS and the local community work together to advance sustainability goals?
Website: http://events.ups.edu/index.php?view=detail&event_id=15686
Contact: Adrienne Lee, alee@ups.edu
April 30, 2007
Every child in every school community should have an environmentally safe and healthy school that is clean and in good repair. Schools in poor condition on the outside often have indoor environmental problems that affect children's health and learning. Healthy Schools Network, Inc., encourages participation in a local event -- anything from writing a letter to the editor to holding a workshop. See the website below for more information and ideas for events.
Website: http://www.healthyschools.org:80/nhs_day.html
Contact: info@fhealthyschools.org
May 4, 2007
12:00 to 1:30
Berkeley, California
at 150 University Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, at the corner of University and Addison
The European Union (EU) recently enacted a sweeping new chemicals policy initiative known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals). It goes into force June 1st and will require chemical manufacturers or importers of chemicals in the European Union to obtain chemical, toxicity and exposure information on chemicals produced in volumes of one ton or more per year, and to use this information to assess the health and environmental risks associated with their chemicals. The data requirements increase with the volume of chemical produced. The REACH data requirements represent a major effort to obtain data about the potential hazards for industrial chemicals and are far more comprehensive than similar US requirements. This presentation will describe the REACH legislation, its background and scope as well as its data and testing requirements. The strengths and limitations of the European approach to identify chemicals that pose environmental or health hazards will also be discussed.
Contact: Amy D. Kyle, PhD, MPH, 510-642-8847 or adkyle@berkeley.edu
May 5, 2007
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Seattle, Washington
at Antioch University, 2326 6th Avenue (and Bell Street)
Strong Voices is a dynamic national community of breast cancer survivors -- and others touched by the disease -- who speak and act with conviction in support of the Breast Cancer Fund's mission to identify -- and advocate for elimination of -- the environmental and other preventable causes of the disease. We will spend the morning learning about each other, our stories and the work of the Breast Cancer Fund in Washington State and across the country. We'll then explore how we can all use our Strong Voices to advocate for breast cancer prevention. No cost for the event and lunch and snacks will be provided. Wear comfortable, casual clothing.
Contact: Pam Tazioli, 206-524-4405, or Brynn Taylor, 415-346-8223 x16
May 7, 2007
11:00 a.m. Pacific time, 2:00 p.m. Eastern time
Pete Myers, PhD, is founder, CEO, and chief scientist of Environmental Health Sciences, which produces the daily environmental health news source Above the Fold. He is also co-author of Our Stolen Future (1996), which explores the threats posed by man-made chemical contaminants to fetal development and human health, and he is senior advisor to the United Nations Foundation (Washington, DC). From 1990-2002 Myers was director of the W. Alton Jones Foundation, a private foundation supporting efforts to protect the global environment and to prevent nuclear war. He received his doctorate in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley. This call will be moderated by Michael Lerner, PhD, president of Commonweal. To join CHE, please visit http://www.healthandenvironment.org/join/why_join.
Contact: Michelle Moore, thenewschool@commonweal.org
The April issue of San Francisco Medicine is themed "Innovations in Food and Health." It features articles by Ted Schettler on nutrition and food production, Jane Hightower on mercury, a brief sidebar-type item by Heilig and Myers on obesity, a reprint by Phil Lee and Heilig on antibiotics in agriculture, and much more. See http://www.sfms.org/source/members/magazine_archive_list.cfm?theme=April%202007%20Food%20and%20Health§ion=Article_Archives.
by Kalim A. Bhatti, New York Times
April 24, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/college/coll24bees.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fB%2fBarrionuevo%2c%20Alexei&oref=slogin
Article Summary: More than a quarter of the country's 2.4 million bee colonies have been lost -- tens of billions of bees, according to an estimate from the Apiary Inspectors of America, a national group that tracks beekeeping. So far, no one can say what is causing the bees to become disoriented and fail to return to their hives. Large bee losses are not unheard of. They have been reported at several points in the past century. But researchers think they are dealing with something new -- or at least with something previously unidentified. Proposed causes range from genetically modified crops, cellular phone towers and high-voltage transmission lines to a terrorist plot. The most likely suspects are a virus, a fungus or a pesticide. Particular suspicion falls on a pesticide that France banned out of concern that it may have been decimating bee colonies. "There are losses around the world that may or not be linked," said Jeffrey S. Pettis, an entomologist from the United States Department of Agriculture. Genetic testing at Columbia University has revealed the presence of multiple micro-organisms in bees from hives or colonies that are in decline, suggesting that something is weakening their immune system. The researchers have found some fungi in the affected bees that are found in humans whose immune systems have been suppressed by the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or cancer.
Although poor diet has been proposed as a cause, researchers have discounted the possibility that this alone could be responsible for the widespread losses. At the University of Illinois, using knowledge gained from the sequencing of the bee genome, Dr. Gene Robinson's team will try to find which genes in the collapsing colonies are particularly active, perhaps indicating stress from exposure to a toxin or pathogen. Research to date in Florida and France provide some indication that either a virus or a pesticide may be contributing to the collapse.
by Jennifer O'Brien, University of California at San Francisco News Office
23 April 2007
http://pub.ucsf.edu/newsservices/releases/200704187/
Scientists have determined that a specific class of PCB causes significant developmental abnormalities in rat pups whose mothers were exposed to the toxicant in their food during pregnancy and during the early weeks when the pups were nursing. This class of PCB traditionally has not been considered particularly hazardous. The pups were estimated to have levels of the toxicant in their blood that were roughly equivalent to those found in the blood of breast fed babies of mothers exposed to extremely high levels of the toxicant from contaminated fish, soil, water and air in high-risk environments.
Article Summary: The study showed that the toxicant altered the rat pups' auditory cortex, the part of the brain that processes sound. The neural circuitry of this region was disorganized and the nerve cells had a decreased capacity to change, or "learn," in response to sound. The capacity of the brain's cortex to change in response to stimuli contributes to the progressive development of cognitive function. In children with a variety of developmental disorders, including language impairments and autism, the auditory cortex responds abnormally to sound. Some scientists believe this is the basis of the conditions. While the scientists emphasized that their finding did not demonstrate that the toxicant causes developmental disorders, they said that, given its severe impact in the rat pups and the prevalence of this class of PCB in the environment -- known as non-coplanar PCBs -- and related chemicals warrant serious attention. The finding builds on recent cell culture studies by co-author Isaac Pessah, PhD, professor of molecular biosciences at University of California, Davis, showing that non-coplanar PCBs significantly influence chemical and electrical signaling between neurons that affects brain development and learning. While developmental disorders have a strong genetic component, many scientists, including the authors, believe that, in some circumstances the disorders are only expressed when environmental factors act upon inherited mutated genes. Given that the rat pups in the study did not have a genetic susceptibility to a developmental disorder, the scientists suspect that the vulnerability might be greater in genetically susceptible human populations.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), used mostly as coolants and lubricants beginning in the 1930s, were banned in 1977. Early toxicology studies focused mostly on a subset of PCBs known as coplanar PCBs, which were shown in cell culture and animal models to pose a serious health risk. Recent studies, however, have shown that non-coplanar PCBs are particularly stable, are less susceptible to degradation by organisms in the environment, and predominate in environmental and human tissue samples over their counterparts.
by John von Radowitz, London Independent
April 23, 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2474430.ece
Scientists are developing an infant formula designed to be given to babies to prevent them growing up fat, it was revealed today. The controversial research aims to supplement baby milk with a hormone that suppresses hunger. Animal studies suggest early exposure to the hormone leptin can programme the brain to prevent over-eating throughout life. But fears have been raised about the safety of tampering with the brains of babies in such a fundamental way. The infant formula, together with other "child-friendly" leptin preparations, is being developed by Professor Mike Cawthorne, director of metabolic research at the Clore Laboratory, University of Buckingham.
Article Summary: Prof Cawthorne has shown that giving rats leptin supplements early in life provides permanent protection against obesity and diabetes. His study found even adult animals fed a high-fat diet remained slim. Leptin is naturally produced throughout life. But the research suggests that in infancy it "hardwires" the body's energy balance settings. Prof Cawthorne argues he is only giving babies what they would normally get anyway from their mothers' milk, since breast milk contains leptin and infant formulas don't. Other experts remain to be convinced and have expressed concerns about safety, cautioning that extensive clinical trials would be needed to allow the right dose to be chosen and to show that the approach was safe. Professor Jonathan Seckl, a hormone expert at the University of Edinburgh, said: "We need to know whether leptin is acting pre- and postnatally, figure out how it works, and dissect the possible side effects before this becomes a potential approach in humans."
by Patricia L. Short, Chemical & Engineering News
April 23, 2007
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/85/8517cover.html
Article Summary: Water shortages affect 450 million people worldwide, and this number will grow with an ever-expanding human population. Even where there is water, it's often too contaminated to drink without risking serious illness. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 1.2 billion people worldwide lack any access to clean drinking water and that 2 million people a year -- many of them children and elderly -- die because of drinking contaminated water. Companies in the chemical industry have begun developing a wide range of technologies that can help secure safe drinking water for the world's poor. New technologies that filter arsenic, viruses, bacteria and/or parasites; collect rainwater; and disinfect communal tanks are in use. Desalination technologies are also improving. Power supplies and ongoing maintenance of existing systems is also a concern, which a new portable membrane system powered by solar panels and requiring minimal maintenance addresses.
from Planet Ark
April 23, 2007
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/41502/story.htm
WASHINGTON -- Evidence that pesticides can cause Parkinson's disease is stronger than it has ever been after a meeting of experts who have put together links in animals and people, scientists say. One study shows that farm workers who used the common weedkiller paraquat had two to three times the normal risk of Parkinson's, a degenerative brain disease that eventually paralyzes patients. A second study shows that animals exposed to paraquat have a build-up of a protein called alpha-synuclein in their brains. This protein has been linked to Parkinson's in the past. A third piece of the puzzle shows that this buildup of protein kills the same brain cells affected in Parkinson's.
Article Summary: Parkinson's disease, which affects more than 1 million patients in the United States, is marked by the death of brain cells that produce dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or message-carrying chemical, associated with movement. Drugs can delay symptoms for a while but there is no good treatment and no cure. Farm workers are at especially high risk but links to pesticides have been difficult to document because years usually pass between a person's exposure to pesticides and the development of the disease. Dr. Donato Di Monte of the Parkinson's Institute gave paraquat to laboratory animals and found it caused a buildup of alpha-synuclein in the brain that killed the same neurons affected by people with Parkinson's disease. "This increase in alpha-synuclein in the brain could be the missing link between the exposure to this agent and how this agent causes the disease," Di Monte said. Inflammation also could be a factor. Multiple concussions, which can cause inflammation in the brain, raise the risk of Parkinson's. Two other groups of people that have a higher-than-average risk of Parkinson's are health workers and teachers. Both have something in common -- frequent exposure to viruses.
by Douglas Fischer, Oakland Tribune
April 22, 2007
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_5726814
Article Summary: A decade ago, the world's most powerful man ordered the globe's most powerful government to identify environmental health and safety risks affecting children and tailor policies toward reducing them. President Clinton's federal focus on improving children's health spawned a worldwide effort that continues to pay rich dividends halfway into President George W. Bush's second term. On Earth Day 1997, President Clinton signed Executive Order No. 13045, "encouraging" every regulatory agency to view their work through a new lens: children's health. Rules and policies would have to improve the well-being of the youngest Americans, and Clinton called cabinet officials from every corner of government to report on what their agencies planned to do. Heads of the Pentagon, the departments of energy, transportation, and housing and urban development, even the Consumer Products Safety Administration discovered that they needed to change the way some decisions are made. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration replaced the benchmark used to establish tolerable contamination in the nation's food supply. In 1996, when the health standard was a 154-pound adult male, the agency had so-called "tolerances" for 10,000 pesticides. Today, with children's health as the benchmark, it has half that. Many pesticides formerly on the list have been banned or voluntarily withdrawn from the market. But some changes are still needed, such as regarding health standards for chemicals in plastics and cosmetics that contaminate the blood, fat and urine of almost everyone in the United States, and many act like hormones at extremely low levels.
Since Clinton signed the order, this focus on children's health has rippled across the world and influenced state policies. The World Health Organization and the European Union both took off with the idea and have surpassed U.S. efforts in the past few years. California's groundbreaking efforts on asthma and school siting -- making sure schools are not built atop old dumps and that classrooms get adequate daylight, among other details -- can be traced back to the measure. Maryland patterned its Office of Child Health Protection on the federal model. The National Conference of State Legislatures has done considerable research on children's environmental health policies for local lawmakers.
by Rachel La Corte, Associated Press, The Olympian
April 22, 2007
http://www.theolympian.com/130/story/86712.html
Washington state has taken the lead on phasing out a controversial fireproofing chemical that environmentalists say is a harmful toxin accumulating in people and waterways, and officials here hope other states quickly follow suit. This past week, the state was the first in the nation to begin phasing out the use of decaBDE, the chemical used in televisions, computers and upholstered furniture.
Article Summary: Two forms of PBDEs, penta and octa, are no longer produced in this country because the Indiana company that produced the chemicals voluntarily stopped production in 2004 over concerns about the chemicals being detected in people and wildlife. The US Environmental Protection Agency's website states: "There is growing evidence that PBDEs persist in the environment and accumulate in living organisms, as well as toxicological testing that indicates these chemicals may cause liver toxicity, thyroid toxicity, and neurodevelopmental toxicity."
Other states have passed bans on penta and octa, but Washington -- while banning penta and octa as well -- is the first to act on deca. Deca's largest use is in the black plastic casings of TVs. The measure that was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Chris Gregoire prohibits the manufacture, sale or distribution of most items containing polybrominated diphenyl ethers, commonly known as PBDEs, as long as a safer alternative exists. The chemical would be prohibited in residential upholstered furniture and in televisions or computers with electronic enclosures after Jan. 1, 2011, assuming a safer alternative has been found. Under the new law, the Ecology and Health departments would have to review alternatives to deca-PBDE products, consulting with a fire safety committee that would include the state's director of fire protection and the executive director of the Washington Fire Chiefs. There would be several exemptions, including used cars made before Jan. 1, 2008, safety systems required by the Federal Aviation Administration and medical devices. Measures phasing out the chemical are still alive in California, Illinois, Maine and Michigan, according to the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C.
by Carol Lloyd, San Francisco Chronicle
April 22, 2007
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/04/22/BUG0MPC65Q1.DTL&type=business
Article Summary: A growing body of researchers in public health, urban planning, epidemiology and economics cite where we live can contribute to obesity. Ever since two studies linked sprawl and obesity in 2003, study upon study has been published suggesting that our environment -- marked by car-oriented, isolated, unwalkable neighborhoods -- is having a deleterious influence on our health. In other words, sprawl is making us unhealthy, unhappy and fat. One early study of 200,000 people, led by urban planner Reid Ewing, found that residents of sprawling communities tended to weigh more, walk less and have higher blood pressure than those living in more densely populated areas. Another study, by health psychologist James Sallis of San Diego State University, concluded that people living in "high-walkability" neighborhoods walk more and were less likely to be obese than residents of low-walkability neighborhoods. A 2004 study in Atlanta, led by Lawrence Frank, reported that the number of minutes spent in a car could be linked to a risk of obesity. Among the oft-cited conclusions of the study: A typical white male living in an isolated residential-only neighborhood weighs about 10 pounds more than one living in a walkable, mixed-use community. For decades, growth in American suburbs has outpaced that of city centers -- in population and in housing -- with average commutes getting longer and the number of walkers and bikers dropping. Researchers say that studies have focused on obesity because it's both so prevalent and so easy to measure. But they add that a sedentary lifestyle (which may or may not manifest in obesity) contributes to many health problems, including asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure. Suburban environments may be affecting children's health as well: An estimated 20 percent of school-age children are obese. And only 13 percent of children walk to school, compared with 66 percent in 1973. Groups like Active Living Research are helping build an interdisciplinary movement that involves health, planning, environmental science and psychology. Still, institutional hurdles remain. Developers and transportation engineers have a stake in maintaining the status quo.
by Shelley Page, Ottawa Citizen
April 22, 2007
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/arts/story.html?id=2ecd78a7-4d7c-4a9f-b2af-3f049bead136&k=63169
Article Summary: Bisphenol A, a chemical known to act like a female sex hormone, is the main ingredient in polycarbonate, the rigid, translucent, hard plastic used to make some water bottles, many baby bottles and even training and sippy cups. The chemical is also a key ingredient in hard, clear, plastic water jugs used for filtered water and in the food containers in which we store leftovers. It's found in the epoxy resins that act as a protectant inside tin cans and dental sealants. BPA is also used in some contact lenses, helmets, compact discs, adhesives, pipes, thermal fax paper, dashboards, electronic gadgets and many other household goods. BPA is also in all of us -- the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in 2005 that it had detected bisphenol A in 95 per cent of 394 people tested. The health risks thought to be linked to BPA -- but not proven -- include prostate and breast cancer, higher rates of miscarriage, immune system dysfunction, testicular abnormalities in boys and puberty in girls younger than eight years old. Companies that use BPA in products insist it's harmless, and just last month, the FDA reiterated its belief that low-level exposure to BPA poses no dangers. Frederick vom Saal of the University of Missouri reported in 2005 that no studies financed by the chemical industry found problems with BPA. Meanwhile, almost all independent studies -- 90 per cent -- found adverse consequences. Vom Saal looked at 115 published studies concerning low doses of BPA and found that 94 of them reported significant effects in rats and mice, while 21 did not. Vom Saal and other researchers believe BPA doesn't work like a conventional harmful agent, where the more you're exposed to, the more harm done. It's the smallest doses that may cause the greatest harm, by stimulating estrogen receptors to produce more estrogen. High doses may actually shut down estrogen production. This is why vom Saal has said we should be concerned about the trace elements found in consumer products. Canadian government scientists have already classified BPA as "inherently toxic."
[Editor's note: See a related article at http://www.insidebayarea.com/search//ci_5726815.]
by Geoffrey Lean, London Independent
April 22, 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2472140.ece
Article Summary: The Wi-Fi technological explosion is even bigger than the mobile phone explosion that preceded it. And, as with mobiles, it is being followed by fears about its effect on health -- particularly the health of children. Recent research, which suggests that the worst fears about mobiles are proving to be justified, only heightens concern about the electronic soup in which we are increasingly spending our lives. The World Health Organisation estimates that up to three out of every hundred people are "electrosensitive" to some extent, becoming ill in the presence of electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobiles, their masts and Wi-Fi. A recent authoritative Finnish study has found that people who have used mobiles for more than ten years are 40 per cent more likely to get a brain tumor on the same side of the head as they hold their handset; Swedish research suggests that the risk is almost four times as great. And further research from Sweden claims that the radiation kills off brain cells, which could lead to today's younger generation going senile in their forties and fifties. Studies of mobile phone masts reveal symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, nausea, dizziness and memory problems. There is also some suggestion that there may be an increase in cancers and heart disease. Wi-Fi systems essentially take small versions of these masts into the home and classroom -- they emit much the same kind of radiation. There is particular concern about children partly because they are more vulnerable -- as their skulls are thinner and their nervous systems are still developing -- and because they will be exposed to more of the radiation during their lives.
by John Richardson, Portland [Maine] Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram
April 21, 2007
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/070421lead.html
The Portland Tenants Union and other groups will start a door-to-door campaign to warn residents about lead and other hazards in and around their apartments and homes.
Article Summary: Homes built before 1978, when lead paint was banned, can have levels of lead dust that can poison children. Many residents don't know about lead and other hazards in their homes, and many landlords don't know there are grants available to control the hazards, according to advocates. Ed Democracy, treasurer of the tenants union, and others announced the effort on Friday and said volunteers will start going door-to-door next weekend. Volunteers will survey residents and provide information about testing for lead and reducing risks of exposure to lead and other toxins such as pesticides used on lawns and gardens. The groups said they believe chemical exposure contributes to learning disabilities in Maine children and adults.
[Editor's note: See related articles about lead in water in Durham, North Carolina, at http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/565596.html and a program in Cincinnati at http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070418/NEWS0105/704180403/1061/NEWS01.]
by Roger Highfield, London Daily Telegraph
April 21, 2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/21/nleuk21.xml
A leaked Government-commissioned report has raised fresh fears of a link between power lines and cancer. The draft paper urges ministers to consider banning the building of homes and schools close to overhead high voltage power cables to reduce significantly exposure to electromagnetic fields from the electricity grid.
Article Summary: The report was drawn up for the Department of Health by "stakeholders" including scientists, electricity company bosses, the National Grid, government officials and campaigners over two years. It comes after the Health Protection Agency accepted there was a weak statistical "association" between prolonged exposure to power fields and childhood leukemia. Four other health effects -- adult leukemia, adult brain tumors, miscarriages and motor neuron disease -- are also thought to be associated with electromagnetic fields.
by Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
April 21, 2007
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07111/779871-114.stm
Article Summary: Exposure to chemicals in the environment has produced a women's health crisis that federal regulators and some health care professionals have been slow to respond to, according to speakers at the Women's Health & the Environment conference in Pittsburgh yesterday. Conclusive scientific studies have linked exposure to pesticides, herbicides and a wide range of chemical pollutants in the water and air to cancers, miscarriages and a shortening of women's fertile lifespan, but the public isn't getting the message, said conference keynoter Dr. Sandra Steingraber. Exposure to many legally sold and used chemicals can cause cancer, asthma, diabetes and strokes in women, attention deficit disorders, learning disabilities and cancer in fetuses, and the early onset of sexual maturity in young girls, causing an increased risk for breast cancer. Reasons for the lack of public knowledge about the health crisis include that many physicians are not trained in environmental health and that federal regulation of chemical toxins in the environment lags far behind the science.
by Steve Curwood, Living on Earth
April 20, 2007
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=07-P13-00016&segmentID=6
Nature's perfect food, breast milk, helps growing infants develop resilient immune systems. But along with the welcome antibodies are the persistent toxins mother may have ingested in her lifetime, which are stored in her fatty tissue and passed on to her baby.
Article Summary: Persistent toxics found in breast milk include dioxin, PCBs, furans, and others. They enter a woman's body in minute servings as part of the food she eats and accumulate over my lifetime in fatty tissues. The largest doses come in meat, dairy fat and freshwater fish. As a woman ages, levels increase. When nursing a baby, toxics long stored in fat migrate into the fatty breast milk. Breastfed babies are taking in dioxin at a level that is 10 to 100 times more than an adult is getting -- in fact, a breastfed baby takes in 10 to 15% of his entire lifetime dose during that first year. These chemicals are often an antagonist to the male hormone, which may be related to dropping sperm counts in men. The chemicals can decrease sperm production in animals. The chemicals might also increase cancer in hormone target organs, such as breast cancer, testes cancer, prostate cancers. All three of these types of cancer are going up dramatically in America. And we don't know any reason, except for the exposure to these chemicals. Hormonal disruptions are blamed for everything from neurological problems to suppression of the immune system.
Child health advocates worry that information about the potential contaminants in breast milk will drive women like me away from breast feeding, even though none of the scientists studying the effects of persistent toxics believe women should forego nursing. Breast milk provides antibodies that serve as the infant's immune system in the first few months, until the infant's own immune system begins to function. According to lactation consultant Bettina Pearson, babies fed on breast milk spend less time in hospitals and have lower incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Dr. Linda Birnbaum, head of the Experimental Toxicology Division at the EPA, says a study underway in the Netherlands demonstrates that even breast-fed children born to mothers with high levels of contamination are healthier than formula fed infants whose mothers have similar levels of persistent toxics. Infant formulas based on milk also have dioxin contaminants, and soy formulas come from the most heavily sprayed soils in the country -- the Midwest. The good news is that some of the contaminants about which we had the most concern several years ago -- the dioxins, the PCBs -- their levels are decreasing in mother's milk just as they are in all of our bodies due to increased awareness and regulation. Other contaminants, such as PBDEs and fluorinated compounds, are increasing.
[Editor's note: See a related article about new research regarding breast feeding and obesity at http://www.newsday.com/news/health/wire/sns-ap-obesity-breast-feeding,0,4332746.story?coll=sns-ap-health-headlines.]
by Karen Roebuck, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
April 20, 2007
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_503671.html
Article Summary: Federal officials confirmed Thursday they are investigating whether pork products intended for humans are contaminated with the same industrial chemical that prompted a massive pet food recall and sickened cats and dogs nationwide. Researchers also have identified three other contaminants in the urine and kidneys of animals sickened or killed after eating the recalled foods, including cyanuric acid, a chemical commonly used in pool chlorination, three researchers told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Cyanuric acid is what most likely sickened pets, one researcher said. Researchers ruled out aminopterin -- used as rat poison in other countries -- which New York state officials previously announced was in the pet food. Melamine previously was found in the recalled pet food; melamine-contaminated feed was fed to hogs, and the FDA, US Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Food and Agriculture are investigating. Some animals that are believed to have eaten the contaminated food were slaughtered and sold as food before authorities learned their feed had been contaminated, said Nancy Lungren, spokeswoman for the California agriculture department. The state quarantined the farm Wednesday, she said.
by Amy Norton, Reuters
April 19, 2007
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL96686820070419?pageNumber=1
NEW YORK -- A new study has confirmed a relationship between consuming large amounts of dairy products and an increase in the rate of Parkinson's disease in men, but the reason for this relationship remains a puzzle. Researchers found that among more than 130,000 U.S. adults followed for 9 years, those who ate the largest amount of dairy foods had an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a disorder in which movement-regulating cells in the brain die or become impaired. There was a clear pattern seen among men, whose Parkinson's risk increased in tandem with consumption of diary, particularly milk. The results were more ambiguous among women, however.
Article Summary: Men with the highest levels of dairy consumption were 60 percent more likely to develop the disease than those who consumed the least amounts of dairy, the study found. The findings echo those of earlier studies that found a link between dairy consumption and Parkinson's in men, but not women. It's not clear what effect, if any, dairy foods might have on women's risk of the disease. Nor is it known why there is a relationship seen in men, said lead study author Dr. Honglei Chen, a researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Larger studies are needed to find out which dairy products might be responsible, and why, according to Chen. Milk, rather than dairy products like yogurt and cheese, explained most of the association, according to Chen's team. This study and previous ones indicate that calcium, vitamin D and fat are not responsible for the link between dairy foods and Parkinson's disease. However, the researcher added, since the dairy-Parkinson's link has now been seen consistently in different studies, further research is needed to understand why.
by Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times
April 19, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-hrt19apr19,1,4922119.story?track=rss
A sharp decline in U.S. breast cancer deaths in 2003 held steady the following year, providing further evidence that the drop is related to the large number of women who stopped hormone replacement therapy, researchers report today. Between 2001 and 2004, the number of breast cancer cases dropped 8.6% overall -- 11.8% among women older than 50, the primary consumers of the hormones, according to the study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Article Summary: Over the two-year study, 30,000 fewer women developed breast cancer than would have been expected from previous trends, and the incidence reached its lowest rate since 1987. An estimated 200,000 cases are diagnosed each year. In the 1990s, hormone replacement drugs were among the most prescribed medications for women older than 50, with more than 90 million prescriptions written in the U.S. each year for 15 million women. The therapy controlled symptoms of menopause and was thought to reduce the risk of heart disease. That changed abruptly in mid-2002, when a large study known as the Women's Health Initiative showed an increased risk of breast cancer associated with the treatment. Prescriptions for the drugs, generally a combination of estrogen and progestin, plummeted by at least 38% in 2003 and by an additional 20% in 2004. Perhaps the most telling evidence from the new study was that the biggest decline, 14.7%, was in estrogen-receptor-positive tumors -- cancers in which estrogen promotes tumor growth. For estrogen-receptor-negative tumors, the decline was only 1.7%. Critics, such as the International Menopause Society and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, argued that the decline could be explained in part by a 3% reduction in mammography rates during the period and that similar reductions in breast cancer incidence had not been observed in other countries, though hormone use had fallen there as well. Ravdin said the authors were not recommending that all women stop taking the drugs. "The risk of developing breast cancer from use of these hormones is relatively small, and for some women with post-menopausal symptoms, the benefits are well worth the risk," he said. Experts said that women who took them should use the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible time.
Independently, in an online paper in the journal Lancet, British researchers linked hormone replacement therapy to a 20% increase in the risk of ovarian cancer. They calculated that there were an additional 1,300 cases of ovarian cancer and 1,000 deaths in the United Kingdom between 1991 and 2005 resulting from the treatment. Epidemiologist Valerie Beral and her colleagues at the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford found that the excessive risk was directly related to the length of time the women remained on hormone replacement therapy and to the dosage consumed. They found that the risk returned to normal when the therapy was halted.
by Jura Koncius, Washington Post
April 19, 2007
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800561.html
Article Summary: In the cleaning aisle at the neighborhood grocery, small companies that for years have marketed environmentally friendly dish detergents and floor cleaners are being joined by the industry giants. Even Procter & Gamble and Unilever are selling sustainability in smaller bottles that use less plastic. This week, retailing giant Home Depot rolled out Eco Options, a designation for 2,500 products in its stores -- including cleaning supplies such as biodegradable glass cleaners and water-saving washing machines -- to help consumers identify eco-sensitive choices. Cleaning products are among the fastest-growing green categories, according to Ron Jarvis, Home Depot's vice president of environmental innovation. Seventh Generation, which calls itself the nation's largest manufacturer of eco-friendly home and personal care products, has experienced 40 percent growth annually over the past six years, with sales approaching $100 million. Its products have been on shelves in conventional supermarkets for about five years, showing the mainstreaming of what was once a fringe market. Green cleaning services are thriving in many areas.
Consumers should be wary of "green-washing", however. According to Brian Sansoni, vice president of the Soap and Detergent Association, no federal standards govern the use of the term "natural" in relation to cleaning products. There are green guidelines dating to the 1990s, when the Federal Trade Commission issued general principles that marketers should not make misleading claims or overstate environmental benefits. Right now, Sansoni says, full ingredient listings on cleaning products are not required by law. Many companies are looking for ways to educate consumers and help them evaluate green claims. Home Depot has created a labeling system for its Eco Options initiative identifying five performance areas: sustainable forestry, energy efficiency, clean water, clean air, healthy home.
by Joel Lang, Hartford [Connecticut] Courant
April 19, 2007
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctpoisons0419.artapr19,0,5546626.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
Article Summary: A lawn or playing field treated with chemical pesticides poses greater risk to children than to adults, according to Dr. Jerome Silbert, a pathologist turned environmental activist said Wednesday at a news conference intended to build support for legislation that would ban pesticides from school grounds. The increased risk is because children are still growing and because they have lower body weights and higher respiratory rates than adults. Silbert was joined by other medical experts, as well as representatives of environmental groups, the Connecticut Parent Teacher Association, the Connecticut Nurses Association and sponsors of two different pesticide bills. Together the bills would extend an existing pesticide ban -- which now applies only to elementary schools -- to middle schools and high schools. Connecticut is the only state to have such a ban, Silbert said. According to "Risks from Lawn-Care Pesticides," a 2003 report published by nonprofit Environment and Human Health organization, cancers associated with chemical pesticides include childhood leukemia, soft tissue sarcomas, cancers of the brain and testes, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. State Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Guilford, a sponsor of one of the bills, said they are opposed mainly by the pesticide industry and groundskeepers who doubt the effectiveness of organic substitutes.
by Aaron Clark, Associated Press, Portland Oregonian
April 18, 2007
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-19/117694347260630.xml&storylist=orlocal
Article Summary: Health advocates and business groups clashed Wednesday over a bill that would prohibit the sale of toys and other consumer products for children under five that contain phthalates, a chemical used to make plastics more durable and pliable. The Senate committee on Health Policy and Public Affairs heard representatives from both factions as it considered two bills that would ban some products containing phthalates and create a task force to study phthalates in cosmetics. A third piece of legislation urges Congress to re-examine many of the chemicals used in cosmetics, including phthalates. Supporters of the bill said the chemical compound could contribute to rising breast cancer rates in women and physical abnormalities in children. "Phthalates, used in a variety of children's products including soft toys and teethers, have been linked to developmental problems, such as early puberty in girls, male genital defects and reduced sperm quality," said Renee Hackenmiller-Paradis, program director for the Environmental Health Oregon Environmental Council. But a toxicologist and representative from the toy industry said the amount of toxic chemicals and exposure periods for children's toys are so low that they aren't a health hazard. California, Maryland and New York are considering bills that would ban phthalates in certain products, and the compound has been banned in some goods in the European Union, Japan and Argentina.
by Janet Wilson, Los Angeles Times
April 18, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ethanol18apr18,0,7852828.story
Ethanol, widely touted as a greenhouse-gas-cutting fuel, would have serious health effects if heavily used in cars, producing more ground-level ozone than gasoline, particularly in the Los Angeles Basin, according to a Stanford University study out today.
Article Summary: Ozone is a key ingredient in smog, and when inhaled even at low levels it can harm lungs, aggravate asthma and impair immune systems. Mark Z. Jacobson, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and author of the study, said. "Our results show that a high blend of ethanol poses an equal or greater risk to public health than gasoline, which already causes significant health damage." The health effects from ethanol use are the same whether it is made from corn or other plant products, Jacobson found. The study determined that a 9% increase in ozone-related deaths would occur in Greater Los Angeles, and a 4% increase nationally, by 2020 if a form of ethanol called E85, were used instead of gasoline. In the Southeast, by contrast, mortality rates would decrease slightly. His study is the first to combine emissions data with multiple other variables, including climate, population density and current amounts of air pollution, he said. President Bush has made increased use of ethanol and other alternative fuels a centerpiece of his strategy to increase reliance on domestic fuels while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The president's deputy press secretary requested a copy of Jacobson's study Tuesday but had no immediate comment. Jennifer Wood of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, wrote: "While EPA has not fully reviewed the study, the agency's experience and analysis in developing renewable-fuel standards contradicts the underlying assumptions of the study. The increased use of renewable fuels, like E85, will significantly reduce greenhouse gas, benzene and carbon monoxide emissions while strengthening our nation's energy security and supporting American farming communities. The pollutants that contribute to ozone, which may slightly increase as a result of additional ethanol use, can be managed by the suite of effective tools available under the Clean Air Act."
by Erica Werner, Associated Press
April 17, 2007
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MOWERS_SMOG?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
WASHINGTON -- Those polluting engine-powered mowers that are a staple of suburban lawn care would become much cleaner under emission limits proposed Tuesday.
Article Summary: Walk-behind and riding mowers and other garden equipment account for up to 10 percent of summertime smog-forming emissions from mobile sources in some parts of the country. The Environmental Protection Agency's new proposal applies to engines under 25 horsepower, which power nearly all walk-behind and riding lawnmowers as well as small generators and other devices. The rule would cut smog-forming emissions from the engines by 35 percent; the reductions would probably be accomplished by adding catalytic converters that reduce pollution from exhaust. Adding catalytic converters will make mowers more expensive and some in the industry resisted the change. The California Air Resources Board has estimated that walk-behind mowers will cost 18 percent more under the new regulation, while the price of commercial turf care mowers will go up about 3 percent. The rule would take effect in 2011 for riding mowers and 2012 for push mowers and would apply only to new engines. The rule also would put new emission controls on powerboat and outboard engines starting with the 2009 model year that would result in a 70 percent reduction in smog-forming emissions from those engines, EPA said. Public comment is being accepted on the proposed rule until Aug. 3. "The bottom line is these standards are long overdue but they will be absolutely essential in order to help many parts of the country meet public-health standards," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, an environmental advocacy group.
by David Biello, Scientific American
April 17, 2007
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=01DC8631-E7F2-99DF-3D0A925F84E60223&pageNumber=2&catID=1
Many streams, rivers and lakes already bear warning signs that the fish caught within them may contain dangerously high levels of mercury, which can cause brain damage. But, according to a new study, these fish may also be carrying enough chemicals that mimic the female hormone estrogen to cause breast cancer cells to grow.
Article Summary: Conrad Volz, co-director of exposure assessment at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute's Center for Environmental Ecology, and colleagues took samples from 21 catfish and six white bass donated by anglers who caught them in five places in the Pittsburgh area. The researchers created an extract from the skin, flesh and fat of the various fish and applied it to a breast cancer cell line. The cell line has estrogen receptors in it, meaning that if estrogens are present it causes this cell line to proliferate. The highest response came from fish caught in the industrial section of the Monongahela River. But the broadest response came from where the sewer outflows and sewage treatment plants flow into the rivers from Pittsburgh; three of the four catfish caught here caused the breast cancer cells to proliferate. "Sewage might be more responsible for putting estrogenic chemicals in the water than the industries alone," Volz added. "All of the hormone replacement products that women use go down the drain, along with birth control pills, antibacterial soaps, and many of the plastics we use, like Bisphenol A, have such effects." It remains unclear exactly what estrogen-mimicking chemicals were actually present in the fish and what kind of cancer-causing role they might have. But their effects on the fish themselves were clear: the gender of nine of the fish could not be determined.
The estrogen burden is not limited to Pittsburgh but is widespread. Volz noted, "This is happening everywhere in the industrialized world." Follow up study is planned for this summer to determine if it is industrial waste, sewage or agricultural runoff -- or all three -- that is responsible for the problem. In the meantime, cooking the fat out of fish may be the best defense. "If you broil fish and let the fats drip out that will take most of the contaminants out," Volz says, although he is very concerned about the "exposure potential to vast populations that use water from our rivers as their drinking water supply."
from CNNMoney.com
April 17 2007
http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/17/news/necklace_recall.reut/
NEW YORK -- An importer has recalled 900,000 necklaces and charm bracelets because of a lead poisoning hazard, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Baltimore-based Cardinal Distributing has recalled the necklaces and bracelets, which were sold in vending machines in malls, discount, department and grocery stores nationwide for 25 cents. The necklaces have a black cord with sports-themed pendants with blue or green basketballs, yellow stars, "01" and "Perfect 10." Bracelets include green or pink painted heart-shaped charms and silver-colored charms shaped as suns, moons, stars, padlocks, keys, rattles and fish bones. The paint on the jewelry contains high levels of lead. Consumers should immediately take the necklaces and charm bracelets from children and discard them.
