Due to holidays next week, no bulletin will be published. We plan to resume publication on January 3rd.
To join the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) and the LDDI Working Group, please complete the form at http://www.healthandenvironment.org/roles/register?&phase=registerform. Be sure to mark that you want to join the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative Working Group at the bottom of the application.
For information about additional events, please visit our searchable calendar of events at http://www.iceh.org/calendar.html.
January 28 - 30, 2007
early registration has been extended through January 9th
San Francisco, California
at UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center
This groundbreaking conference will further the efforts of researchers, clinicians, policymakers and community health leaders to understand and mitigate the reproductive and developmental health impacts of exposures to environmental contaminants -- including the periconceptional and fetal origins of adult disorders. The Summit will provide overviews by leading researchers of the science on these topics and will also explore translation of this research to clinical care, medical training, and public health policy; to federal regulatory agency and research institute priorities; and to patient advocate and community health concerns, including health disparity issues. Collaborative working groups and partnerships will form to further explore and take action on these environmental health issues.
Website: http://www.ucsf.edu/coe/prhesummit.html
Contact: Mary Wade, Summit Manager, 415-476-2563 or wadem@obgyn.ucsf.edu
by Kari Lydersen, Washington Post
December 19, 2006
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/18/AR2006121800596.html
CHICAGO -- The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that it has withdrawn a proposal to conduct target practice with machine guns in 34 zones in the Great Lakes. Responding to widespread complaints about safety and potential damage to the environment, including criticism from the mayors of 80 Great Lakes cities, the Coast Guard's regional commander called the original plan "unsatisfactory."
Article Summary: The Coast Guard has described live-fire zones as important to a post-9/11 mission of protecting the United States from terrorists infiltrating from Canada and did not rule out making a new proposal. Rear Adm. John E. Crowley Jr. added that he is "committed to pursuing environmentally friendly alternatives to the lead ammunition we currently use." Coast Guard officials have promised that any future proposal for live-fire training would include public input and congressional oversight.
news release from the Environmental Protection Agency
December 18, 2006
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/2F4D80127A2B5BA88525724800687565
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized a Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) rule that encourages reductions in chemical emissions and increases in recycling at facilities nationwide. EPA also announced today its decision to continue requiring TRI data reporting on an annual basis.
Article Summary: Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock said the EPA encourages businesses to make environmental improvements: "Cleaner businesses are more efficient businesses, which is good for the environment, good for the economy and good for the American people." These changes do not affect the specific chemicals or amounts of chemicals facilities are authorized to release to the environment, nor does the final rule exempt any facility from reporting their releases or remove any chemicals from the TRI. The rule does allow facilities that completely eliminate releases of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals (PBTs), and recycle and treat no more than 500 pounds of such chemicals, to use a shorter reporting form. For non-PBT chemicals, the rule allows businesses to use the simpler reporting form if their releases are no more than 2,000 pounds of waste as part of an overall waste management limit of 5,000 pounds. More information about the final rule is posted at http://epa.gov/tri/tridata/modrule/phase2/forma.htm.
by Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times
December 18, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-adhd18dec18,0,7025025.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Article Summary: Between 1990 and 2000, almost 2 million American boys and girls were diagnosed with ADD, an unprecedented growth of a medical condition that, before 1990, had been so rarely recognized that the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not even track it. Today, the children on the leading edge of a wave dubbed by some "the ADD generation" have reached the cusp of adulthood. And as they take on jobs or college, care for themselves away from home, enter into adult relationships and become parents, these newly minted grown-ups are carrying out a massive natural experiment. Many are choosing to do without the drugs that profoundly affected their experience of childhood and school and, in many cases, made it possible for them to learn alongside other kids in mainstream classrooms. Although most mental health professionals believe that about 2 in 3 children with ADD will continue to contend with the condition as adults, the truth is that "we have very few firm numbers," says Dr. Xavier Castellanos, a leading ADD researcher at New York University. This is the first generation of ADD kids for whom effective medication and accommodations for those with learning disabilities have made college a widespread possibility.
Dr. Lawrence Diller, a San Francisco psychiatrist and author of the 1998 book "Running on Ritalin," feels that those diagnosed with ADD should revisit decisions to take Ritalin and other such drugs as children as they meander through their early adult years. The often-reported side effects of the medication include sleep difficulties, appetite suppression and a "not quite me" feeling. In the adult world, young people with ADD have far wider choices, and they should make them with an awareness of their strengths and their weaknesses.
by Molly M. Ginty, Women's eNews
December 18, 2006
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2999
In California, female sea lions are spontaneously aborting their fetuses. In the Great Lakes area, mother gulls are sharing nests and raising eggs together because their male partners have forgotten how to parent. In upstate New York, female frogs have as much testosterone in their bodies as males. Scientists say these aberrations all share a common link: exposure to toxic chemicals called "endocrine disruptors," which pollute the air, soil and water.
Article Summary: Sarah Janssen, a science fellow at the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, has speculated that we will likely have population decreases in many wildlife species, especially amphibians and fish that are more susceptible to toxins because their skin is constantly exposed to these chemicals in an aquatic environment. Years after they were created and put into common use, many synthetic chemicals were found to be endocrine disruptors, which means they interfere with the action of hormones that regulate animals' growth, development and fertility. These chemicals are of particular concern to female animals, since their hormones, like those of human females, fluctuate more than those of males. Synthetic chemicals might affect our nervous system development, immune function, fertility and other health outcomes. Common endocrine disruptors include pesticides, phthalates (which make plastic flexible and make cosmetics adhere to the skin) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, industrial cooling agents banned in the United States in 1979 but still present in the environment). In addition to harming female animals, endocrine disruptors can cause the "feminization" of males. Effects in both males and female animals can be found nationwide. Humans may be at more risk than animals. From Theo Colborn, former director of the Wildlife and Contaminants Program at the Washington-based World Wildlife Fund: "Animals don't use computers, apply makeup or use chemical solvents in their homes every day."
Even very low levels of exposure can disrupt normal functioning. When Tyrone Hayes, an assistant professor of biology at the University of California, Berkeley, studied the endocrine-disrupting properties of atrazine, a common weed killer, he discovered reproductive abnormalities in affected leopard frogs at 0.1 parts per billion parts water, 30 times less than the Environmental Protection Agency's limit for atrazine in drinking water. Some environmental advocates recommend that women avoid consuming fish and meat from the wild to avoid ingesting endocrine disruptors found in these animals' bodies, while others recommend political action: calling for reduced emissions of synthetic chemicals and calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to beef up its study of endocrine disruptors, as mandated by Congress in 1996.
by Mike de Souza, CanWest News Service, Montreal Gazette
December 18, 2006
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=e70c8659-3ee7-4bf2-9e11-c32b7a6195ff
While some experts worry cola isn't the best ingredient in a healthy lifestyle, federal Health Minister Tony Clement is setting his sights on the cans. A few days after tabling the government's $300-million plan for managing chemical substances over four years, Clement says soft-drink manufacturers and many other industries will now be forced to prove their products are not putting the health of Canadians at risk. "The obligation is now with the industry to show that the chemicals can be used safely in a given setting, whether it's an industrial setting or a household setting," Clement said in an interview. Bisphenol A is on a list of about 200 chemicals that must be tested in the coming months. The substance is commonly used to coat plastic bottles and cans. Recent peer-reviewed studies have concluded it may also be a hormone disrupter that could cause cancer.
Article Summary: Bisphenol A can normally be identified in products by the triangular symbol for recycling with a "7" in the middle. Bisphenol A is also widely used in a variety of products, including eyeglasses, appliances and automobile parts. The soft-drink can industry will need to show that bisphenol A does not seep from the can into the liquid that the can is holding. Coca-Cola Canada coats cans with the substance to prolong the shelf life of its products. A difficulty in conducting studies of effects of widespread environmental contaminants is finding people who have not been exposed. The director of policy at Environmental Defence said soft-drink companies should immediately replace Bisphenol A with alternative products that are already available. Coca-Cola Canada has always met safety standards based on the existing scientific evidence, according to their director of public affairs and communications. He added that the company will follow any new Canadian regulations.
by Michelle Cole, Portland Oregonian
December 16, 2006
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1166239541303680.xml&coll=7
Bowing to public pressure, Oregon's Environmental Quality Commission endorsed tough new mercury controls Friday for coal-burning power plants in the state. The rules, stricter than standards set recently by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, will require Portland General Electric to cut 90 percent of the mercury emissions from its coal-burning power plant in Boardman by 2012. PGE's Eastern Oregon plant is the only coal-burning power plant in Oregon, but the rules also would apply to other plants that might be built.
Article Summary: The 90 percent reduction standard will be the toughest for any plant burning coal from the west. The majority of the 2,000 public comments submitted by individuals and environmental organizations argued that the DEQ's rules didn't go far enough to counter a persistent and toxic pollutant. PGE's Boardman plant, averaging about 200 pounds a year, is Oregon's second-largest industrial contributor of mercury in the environment. The state's largest mercury contributor is the Ash Grove Cement Co. in Durkee, which emitted an estimated 1,538 pounds in 2005. The EPA recently concluded that it would be too expensive for cement kilns to control mercury emissions. But Ginsburg said DEQ staff eventually will bring a proposal to the commission to reduce mercury emissions from the Durkee plant as well. In a compromise, Oregon's new rule will allow PGE to earn credits for the first six years for reducing the mercury its plant emits. It could sell those credits until 2018 to dirtier power plants in other states that would then be cleared to continue polluting. Credit trading would not be allowed after that.
by Tom Henry, Toledo Blade
December 15, 2006
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061215/NEWS06/612150354/-1/NEWS
A public right-to-know law that Americans have used since 1984 to track neighborhood pollutants has overwhelming support from the public at large, yet the Bush Administration wants to weaken it, a national watchdog group said yesterday. OMB Watch of Washington urged people yesterday to act on the final version of changes that the Bush-led U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ultimately issues for the agency's Toxic Release Inventory, or TRI. They are to be released by Dec. 31. The TRI is a database of industry's self-reported pollutant releases. Though not audited, it is largely seen as the public's best tool for gauging releases of various chemicals by individual companies, as well as cumulative releases of chemicals on the federal, state, and county levels. The Bush Administration has backed off its original plan of letting companies report only once every two years, as opposed to the annual reporting that has been done the last 22 years.
Article Summary: The administration is expected to modify the reporting threshold from 500 pounds to 5,000 pounds of chemicals in a given year. The administration claims that industry could save money and be more productive if it got a break from the reporting burden. The EPA said in a statement yesterday that the "proposed changes to TRI would create incentives for businesses nationwide to improve environmental performance and reduce the most toxic chemicals at their facilities." OMB Watch's director of information policy fears the upcoming Bush proposal "would damage public access and offer no significant burden release for companies."
by Matthew L. Wald, New York Times
December 15, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/15/us/15rail.html
WASHINGTON -- Seeking to make rail shipments of chlorine and other hazardous chemicals less vulnerable to attack, the Homeland Security Department intends to announce a proposed rule on Friday to require railroads to track continuously tanker cars for "toxic inhalation hazards" and bar them from leaving the cars unattended or parked for long periods. The proposal would also clarify how government workers inspect tank cars and railyards for compliance, establish rules on the chain of custody and handoff of dangerous cargoes and set communications requirements.
Article Summary: Railroads carry 1.7 million shipments of hazardous materials each year, of which 100,000 are toxic chemicals prone to becoming airborne in an accident. Some cities would like to ban shipments through densely populated areas altogether, although a ban in Washington, DC, has been challenged as unduly burdensome to interstate commerce. The domestic security proposal is that carriers would have to establish security zones around affected rail cars parked, loaded or unloaded in urban areas. The plan is to be open for public comment for 60 days.
from United Press International
December 14, 2006
http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20061214-011826-1996r
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Lead chelation therapy reduces lead exposure problems but could create lasting effects for children treated for autism, say New York researchers. Cornell University researchers say their study in young rats has implications for the treatment of autistic children, because when rats with no lead in their systems were treated with the lead-removing chemical, they showed declines in their learning and behavior that were similar to the rats that were exposed to lead. Chelating drugs, which bind to lead and other metals in the blood, are increasingly being used for the treatment of autism in children.
Article Summary: Rats with moderate lead exposure benefited greatly from the lead chelation medication succimer, and rats exposed to higher lead levels showed benefits in the emotional domain. One possibility is that succimer, in the absence of lead, may disrupt the balance of such essential minerals as zinc and iron.
by Marla Cone, Los Angeles Times
December 14, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-chemicals14dec14,1,6782734.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
The European Parliament on Wednesday approved the world's most stringent law aimed at protecting people and the environment from thousands of toxic chemicals -- legislation that will have a far-reaching effect on industries and products worldwide, including in the United States. The new law, which regulates about 30,000 toxic substances, is far more restrictive and comprehensive than U.S. regulations. The most hazardous -- an estimated 1,500 -- could be banned or restricted. Included on that list are some compounds used in electronics, furniture, toys, cosmetics and other everyday items.
Article Summary: The Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) legislation is intended to force industries to register chemicals and submit health and safety data and replace the most hazardous ones with safer alternatives. The law will become effective in June and be phased in over 11 years. Seven years of review and contentious debate preceded the legislation, which was adamantly opposed by U.S. industry and the Bush administration and yet not as strong as some European political parties had sought. Environmental activists in the United States are predicting that the European law will lead to safer products on both sides of the Atlantic. Parliament officials said it is one of the most far-reaching, ambitious and costly pieces of legislations in EU history. The cost to European industry has been estimated by the EU at $2 billion to $6 billion over the 11-year phase-in period. The law applies equally to products made in Europe and products made outside Europe. The most hazardous compounds, those that are carcinogens, reproductive toxins, or that accumulate in the bodies of people and animals, could be used only if authorized by the new agency. A senior director of the American Chemistry Council called it "a poor use of time, energy and resources" since it fails to focus enough on areas where real improvement can be made. The recent discoveries of toxic chemicals -- such as a compound used to make Teflon, brominated flame retardants, bisphenol A and phthalates -- in humans and animals worldwide argue for taking a stronger stand on chemicals. The EU already has banned many chemicals that remain legal in the United States, including phthalates in toys and cosmetics, high formaldehyde levels in wood and lead in electronics.
by Gregory Bonnell, Canadian Press, CBC News
December 13, 2006
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/health/061213/x121325A.html
KITCHENER, Ont. -- Making automakers and steel producers responsible for reclaiming toxic mercury switches from vehicles destined for the smelter proves the Conservative government is serious about environmental protection, Environment Minister Rona Ambrose said Wednesday.
Article Summary: The regulation gives the auto and steel industries six months to present a plan on how they'll reduce, by 90 per cent over four years, the amount of mercury switches that end up in the smelter along with vehicles recycled for new steel products. The switches, used to activate lights in the hoods and trunks of cars, haven't been used by automakers since 2003 -- but millions of vehicles still have them installed. There's enough mercury in a single switch -- a pellet-sized device which takes roughly five minutes to remove -- to make the fish in a 24-hectare lake inedible for one year. Part of the regulation requires steel producers to implement a mercury-free scrap buying strategy, meaning recyclers would have to prove the scrap they have for sale is free of mercury.
Ambrose said that this type of initiative shows Canadians that the government is very committed to showing tangible results on the environment. She has made several verbal blunders regarding environmental issues recently. In response to several misstatements by Ambrose, opposition politicians have expressed concern that she may have provided the committee with inaccurate information in the past.
by Lois M. Collins, Salt Lake Deseret Morning News
December 13, 2006
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650214684,00.html
Plans for the nation's first large-scale, long-term study of children are proceeding along two paths: The first involves getting ready to hit the pavement and start enrolling families by at least 2008; the other would fold up shop. The future of the highly publicized National Children's Study, created by Congress in 2000, is at a crossroads. The president's 2007 budget proposal not only didn't fund the study but actually directed it to be closed down. Congress responded with strong language from both the House and Senate indicating avid support for the study. But Congress hasn't actually committed a penny yet in future funding.
Article Summary: National Children's Study (NCS) director Dr. Peter Scheidt said the agency has responded by preparing to do both. NCS would enroll about 100,000 children from before birth, or even before conception, to age 21 and perhaps beyond. Psychological, social, environmental and genetic factors that can impact well-being would be at the heart of the research, with special attention paid to what happens in pregnancy and to birth defects, asthma, obesity, diabetes, autism and other health issues. The study would include both biological and environmental sampling nationwide. If the study proceeds, funding will rise to about $150 million nationwide. Advocates maintain that's small change if the study can boost understanding and perhaps lead to prevention of common childhood health problems like injury, obesity, diabetes, asthma and neurobiological disorders. Last year, those five health problems alone cost Americans $758 billion.
by Matt Shipman, Environmental NewsStand
December 12, 2006
http://environmentalnewsstand.com/showdoc.asp?docnum=12122006_newmodel
EPA and industry scientists are in the process of developing a landmark model that would "translate" existing human health protection limits, such as reference doses (RfDs), into "biomonitoring equivalents" -- which could allow regulators to more easily incorporate biomonitoring data into its risk assessment activities and prioritize future research, a source tracking the issue says. Biomonitoring measures the concentration of a chemical in blood, urine or breast milk to determine the level of that chemical in a person's body. Biomonitoring data reflect chemical levels found in the body, and are affected by varying absorption rates, how the chemical is distributed throughout the body, how it is metabolized and how much is excreted. In order to determine whether biomonitoring data are cause for concern, researchers currently "back-calculate" to try to determine what level of exposure could have resulted in the biomonitoring concentrations detected, the source says.
Article Summary: EPA and industry are having difficulty incorporating biomonitoring data into existing risk assessments because the data reflect the amount of a chemical in the body when measurements are taken, whereas risk assessments set RfDs and other regulatory levels based on the amount of the chemical that a person is exposed to. EPA is overseeing an industry-funded pilot project that would allow policymakers to "translate" exposure-based RfDs or other regulatory limits into biomonitoring blood or urine concentration levels. The pilot project would use pharmacokinetics -- how chemicals act in the body -- to translate existing RfDs into biomonitoring equivalents. These equivalents could help EPA determine whether biomonitoring data they receive on various chemicals are a health concern. Equivalents would also help prioritize research efforts. EPA is calling on the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to develop a new risk analysis framework to address toxics -- including recommendations on how EPA should address new developments in the fields of biomonitoring, nanotechnology and other potential challenges.
from Forbes.com
December 10, 2006
http://www.forbes.com/prnewswire/feeds/prnewswire/2006/12/10/prnewswire200612100800PR_NEWS_B_MWT_CL_CLSU001.html
submitted to this bulletin by Theresa Sutter
ASHLAND, Ohio -- A professor of chemistry at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, is warning retailers and consumers that many inexpensive jewelry items such as charm bracelets, key chains and necklaces have the potential for high lead content. Recent research completed by Dr. Jeffrey Weidenhamer, professor of chemistry, and Mike Clement, laboratory manager, and their chemistry students at Ashland University has shown that many jewelry items pose a potential danger because of high lead content.
Article Summary: A study of jewelry in the Ashland area was expanded to include 154 jewelry items from 12 different retail chains from stores in north central and southwestern Ohio, Delaware, Florida, Michigan and Washington. Almost half (45 percent) of all items were heavily leaded, exceeding 80 percent lead by weight. The average lead content for all items tested was 46 percent and one or more heavily leaded items were found in samples from 11 of 12 retail stores and each geographic location. Despite previous efforts to remove dangerous jewelry from the marketplace, highly leaded items are still widely available in the U.S. Lead is a highly toxic metal that may cause a range of health effects. Many young children transfer the lead from the jewelry onto their hands and into their food, and some even put the jewelry in their mouths. Lead poisoning from inexpensive jewelry led to a death of a 4 year old earlier this year.