If you would like to join the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) and the LDDI Working Group, please complete the application at http://www.healthandenvironment.org/roles/register?&phase=registerform. Joining CHE means receiving up to four email messages a month from the CHE National listserv. CHE costs nothing to join and the benefit is shared information and opportunities for further engagement, if you choose. Be sure to mark that you want to join the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative Working Group at the bottom of the application.
1) The 38th Autism Society of America National Conference will be held July 11 - 14, 2007, in Scottsdale, Arizona. During this conference, LDDI partner ASA will bring together experts from various disciplines with the creative ideas and energy to address the diverse challenges individuals with autism and their families face. The goal is to provide conference attendees with the opportunity to learn from innovators and access critical information to improve their lives and those of the people they love, treat and inspire. See http://www.autism-society.org/conference for more information.
2) LDDI partners the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, with others, are sponsoring the NADD 24th Annual Conference & Exhibit Show. Scheduled for October 24 - 26, 2007, at the at the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown in Atlanta, Georgia, the conference will include presentations related to promotion of wellness, prevention of illness, common symptomology in physical and psychiatric disorders, environmental health, interdisciplinary collaboration, cross systems collaboration, Autism Spectrum Disorders and family issues, and skill building. The conference theme is "Physical & Mental Wellness: Promising Practices (ID/MH)." For more information, please visit http://www.thenadd.org/pages/conferences/24th/index.shtml or contact Conference Assistant Brenda Reuss, 800-331-5362 or breuss@thenadd.org.
For more information about these events or to access additional events, please visit our searchable calendar of events at http://www.iceh.org/cgi-bin/searchevents.cgi.
June 15 - 16, 2007
Toronto, Ontario Canada
at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, 300 Jarvis
The conference theme is "Building a Community of Acceptance." This is a conference that will explore best practices and approaches for increasing quality of life, opportunities and independence for individuals with ASD and their families.
Contact: Ethel Berry, 416-246-9592 ext. 224
July 19 - 20, 2007
Portland, Oregon
at the Oregon Convention Center's Portland Ballroom 251
The conference will provide a dynamic forum for exploring issues related to community-based research partnerships, methods, funding and project planning, and the dissemination of findings. Effective models of CBPR from the northwest and throughout the country will be showcased. The conference will provide a forum for examining the role of CBPR in improving health and eliminating health disparities -- highlighting the voices of community members, researchers, funders and others working with underserved and underrepresented populations; build upon the knowledge and skills of participants interested in the application of CBPR for social change and improved health; explore the multi-faceted process of CBPR -- including partnerships, methods and ethics -- and to learn from partnerships that have addressed these challenges and opportunities; and explore local, state and national funding sources, including opportunities to hear directly from grant seekers and funders.
Website: http://www.nwhfevents.org/
July 10, 2007
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT
Cynthia F. Bearer, MD, PhD, will speak.
Website: http://www.ehinitiative.org/Projects/tele_con.htm
Contact: Laura Abulafia, Laura@aaidd.org
July 19 - 21, 2007
Charleston, South Carolina
at the Charleston Marriott
Recent events have shed light upon the tragic consequences that a disaster can have on an already inequitable health system. But the truth is that for many Americans, it doesn't take a Hurricane Katrina for disparities in healthcare to impact their day-to-day life. There is a growing chasm between the quality of health for the working poor and those with ready access to America's doctors and hospitals. The National Conference on Health Disparities in Charleston will bring together health care providers, funding agencies, political leaders and public policy makers to tackle this problem's history, then forge new strategies and visionary thinking to help facilitate the reduction and ultimately the elimination of health disparities in the United States. With a focus on the 13 most affected states, the conference will endeavor to understand where we've been and what we've learned from those experiences with an eye on where health disparities can be improved and how to facilitate such change.
Website: http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=203591eb-574d-48dc-a0bf-cf58e7c99167
from Steven G. Gilbert, PhD, DABT
Healthy World Theater reaches to the heart to promote awareness and understanding through the arts to create a more health world so that all creatures may reach, maintain, and enjoy their potential. We are seeking your recommendations or contributions of artistic material that helps create a healthy world and healthy people. Bring your poems, haiku, songs, plays -- almost anything to help us use art to create a healthy world. Become an author -- join us and spread the word.
Visit Healthy World Theater at http://toxipedia.org/conf/display/toxipedia/Healthy+World+Theater.
from Environmental Working Group
http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/
The Environmental Working Group recently released a dramatically expanded and improved version of their popular cosmetics and personal care products database, Skin Deep. The site has been redesigned top to bottom, now with ratings for nearly 10,000 more products. In its fourth year and third major update, the Skin Deep product safety database provides safety ratings for nearly 25,000 personal care products -- almost a quarter of all products on the market -- and the 7,000 ingredients they contain. Due to gaping loopholes in federal law, companies can put virtually any ingredient into personal care products. Even worse, the government does not require pre-market safety tests for any of them. The aim is to fill in where companies and the government left off. Skin Deep is the only tool available to consumers to assess and compare the safety of personal care products. Users will also find it easier to search for products and find answers about how chemicals affect our health.
Environmental Working Group also provides an Action Fund petition to Congress at http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/index.php#petition demanding that manufacturers prove the safety of their products before they are allowed to sell them.
by Gardiner Harris, New York Times
June 12, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/us/12vaccine.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Lawyers began arguments on Monday in the first of several test cases that may help decide whether the government should pay millions of dollars to parents of autistic children. Nearly 5,000 parents claim that vaccinations caused their children to become autistic, and many of their claims have been pending for five years. The hearing was held at the "federal vaccine court," set up by Congress 20 years ago when a series of vaccine scares nearly crippled the industry. Every major study and scientific organization examining this issue has found no link between vaccination and autism, but the parents and their advocates have persisted.
Article Summary: The vaccine court has gone to unusual lengths to convince parents that it will fairly adjudicate their claims, even setting up a conference call where parents can listen in to the hearings, which are expected to run for three weeks. Thimerosal was almost entirely removed from pediatric vaccines in 2001 after some government scientists expressed concern about the amount of mercury that children who got routine vaccinations would be exposed to. Since then, autism rates in the United States have shown no signs of dropping.
by Colin Hickey, Kennebec Journal
June 12, 2007
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/3991537.html
Article summary: The authors of "Body of Evidence: A Study of Pollution in Maine People," a study by the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine, tested thirteen volunteers from across the state for 71 toxic chemicals -- coming from five chemical groups -- found in common products to get a snapshot of just how polluted we might all be. The answer is highly. Testers found that participants on average had 36 toxic chemicals in their body. Phthalates, PBDEs, Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), and Bisphenol A (BPA) are the technical names of four chemical families tested. Metals -- lead, mercury, arsenic -- comprised the fifth family. One of central points of the study is that these chemical families are pervasive and relevant to everybody. The frightening part is these chemicals can harm us, write the authors of the report, a group that includes Rick Donahue, a family physician who currently is a visiting scientist at Harvard School of Public Health. Learning disabilities, autism, cancer and infertility are among the health problems that can result from having such chemicals in the body, they write. But perhaps the most difficult question to answer, the study makes clear, is what level the chemical concentration has to be to have a harmful impact. Toxicology is a challenging topic, says Colby College chemistry professor D. Whitney King. "Just because you can measure a chemical (in the body)," he said, "does not mean it is necessarily harmful." In fact, he said, one of the controversies in scientific literature is the concept of hormesis, the idea that a chemical or activity harmful in high doses can actually be beneficial in low dosages. Where benefits end and harm begins depends on the chemical, but also the age, gender, ethnicity, and physical condition of the individual, among other factors. What also is unclear is the possible synergistic effect of harboring multiple chemicals in your body.
The Body of Evidence authors call for three actions to prevent pollution in Maine people:
by Dr. Richard Stahlhut, MD and Wendy Hessler, Environmental Health News
June 11, 2007
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/newscience/2007/2007-0611meekeretal.html
The first study to examine the connection between human exposure to phthalates and changes in thyroid hormone levels reports that men with higher levels of a phthalate breakdown product called MEHP in their urine had lower levels of two major thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), in their blood. MEHP is a breakdown product (metabolite) of DEHP, one of the most commonly used phthalates. Thyroid hormones influence many body functions in people and wildlife, including energy metabolism, cell growth and brain development in children. Changes in thyroid hormone levels can affect growth, development and metabolism and cause a number of human diseases. The study results are important since most people are exposed to pththalates everyday. However, more studies are needed to confirm the findings and to determine whether the phthalate DEHP, or some other unknown factor, actually causes the reported changes in thyroid hormone levels.
Article Summary: Researchers studied a group of 408 men, ages 18 to 55, attending an infertility clinic in Boston with their partners. One sample of urine was collected for phthalate metabolite measurements, including 6 different metabolites of four parent compounds. Three different metabolites were measured for the plasticizer DEHP. Researchers were testing the idea that a ratio of the three different metabolites might give clues as to how well a person can break down certain phthalates and perhaps indicate who is most sensitive to adverse effects from them. Blood was also taken on the same day the urine was collected. The thyroid hormones free T4, total T3, and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were measured in the blood samples. A statistical technique called multiple linear regression determined links between the phthalate metabolite measurements and the thyroid hormone measurements. The researchers adjusted for age, BMI (obesity), smoking and time of day the samples were collected. Other phthalate metabolites had no effect on thyroid hormone levels. The researchers found that as MEHP concentrations in the urine increased, blood levels of free T4 and total T3 dropped. The relationship, though, was not linear and resembled non-monotonic responses reported for other hormone-like compounds. Other phthalate metabolites had no effect on thyroid hormone levels, and no link was found between MEHP levels and TSH.
from the Associated Press, Canton [Ohio] Repository
Sunday, June 10, 2007
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=359273&Category=13&subCategoryID=
Schools are purging old thermometer supplies. The future of light-up shoes is on the rocks. And states are questioning America's need for blinking jewelry, flashing greeting cards and twinkling Christmas lights, all containing toxic mercury. Amid the consumer products scramble, however, coal-fired power plants responsible for the bulk of the mercury still circulating into the nation's air have been given two deadlines, in 2010 and 2018, to reduce their mercury emissions by 70 percent. Since 1990, as a national crackdown has reduced overall mercury emissions by half, emissions by coal-burning power plants have remained relatively constant, falling from 51 tons in 1990 to 48 tons in 1999 nationwide, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency statistics. In that same period, mercury coming from medical waste incinerators and city-run trash-burning power plants has been almost eliminated through new regulations, and non-utility polluters have reduced the mercury they emit by about 5 tons, data show.
Article Summary: Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that falls into water when released and ends up in the food chain. Pregnant or nursing women who eat mercury-tainted fish can unwittingly cause brain damage in their children. In dozens of states, lawmakers have outlawed an array of consumer products containing mercury, including figurines, practical joke supplies and other toys, games, greeting cards, holiday ornaments and yard statues, candles, and jewelry, footwear and other apparel. Laws around the country also have targeted the schoolhouse mercury thermometers, mercury switches in automobiles, dental fillings, and mercury used in medical implants and vaccines. Button batteries needed for hearing aids, watches and other consumer products have been carved out of state bans because no workable alternative has been invented. However, consumer products are not causing the worst of the nation's mercury problems. Dan Riedinger, a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute, said "A 70 percent reduction [of mercury emissions by coal-fired power plants] by 2018 is about as aggressive as we can get because of the technology issue." Some states have grown impatient with the federal timetables, however. An increasing number -- including New York, Illinois, Colorado and Pennsylvania -- have enacted more stringent compliance calendars for the utilities.
by Geoffrey Lean, London Independent
June 10, 2007
http://environment.independent.co.uk/lifestyle/article2640439.ece
Two official investigations are being opened into alarming leaks of poison into commercial airliners in flight. They follow scientific research showing that fumes have rendered pilots incapable of flying their aircraft safely and have put hundreds of thousands of British passengers at risk.
Article Summary: Air travel has been made possible over the past 60 years by a technique called "bleed air pressurization", which takes hot air out of the engine, cools it down and then feeds it -- without first filtering it -- into the plane's cabin and cockpit. Sometimes, however, this becomes contaminated with engine oils containing many different chemicals, which are wafted into the plane to be inhaled by passengers and crew alike. Campaigners are particularly concerned about a neurotoxin called tricresyl phosphate (TCP). No one knows how frequently an event of this kind takes place because no commercial airliners are fitted with monitors to detect it. Professor Chris van Netten, an expert on the problem at the University of British Columbia, said he found TCP in every aircraft he examined. Sarah Mackenzie Ross, a consultant clinical neuropsychologist and chartered clinical psychologist at University College London, has examined 27 affected pilots for another official investigation. She found that all but one of the pilots suffered "chronic health problems, including fatigue, sleep difficulties, fluctuating gastrointestinal problems, numbness and tingling in fingers and toes, memory loss and word-finding difficulties." Some, she added, reported "alarming cognitive failures", including "being unable to retain, or confusing, numerical data and information provided by air traffic control regarding altitude and speed; completing tasks in the incorrect sequence; setting the wrong cleared level for the aircraft to climb or descend; and being unable to recall important matters such as whether the undercarriage has been raised or lowered."
by Patrick Lynch and John M.R. Bull, Hampton Roads [Virginia] Daily Press
June 10, 2007
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-33441sy0jun10,0,5052969.story?coll=dp-news-local-final
The military has polluted Peninsula creeks and ponds with cancer-causing chemicals and dangerous contaminants such as mercury and arsenic. The water tables under the four major bases are extensively contaminated with fuel and other toxins. At one base, an industrial solvent has been found flowing into the York River at levels almost 4,000 times the federal drinking-water limit. At another, fish skeletons have been deformed by military pollution. And tests show elevated levels of nasty polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in fish, oysters and crabs in public waterways near three of the bases -- particularly around Tabb Creek near Langley Air Force Base.
Article Summary: The Peninsula is a microcosm of a national problem: The military has created more pollution problems than any company or industry in the country. About 18,000 polluted sites have been identified on military bases. The pollution is the legacy of generations of bomb-making, daily living and military activity during an era that had almost no consciousness about the environment or the ramifications of indiscriminate dumping. Not only that the area's military-caused pollution problems are extensive and serious but that they've been known about for years -- decades, in some cases. The agency that could prod the military along is often complicit in stretching out timetables. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is the enforcement arm behind the Superfund cleanup program, which monitors the country's most polluted sites. But the EPA often takes a hands-off attitude with bases, allowing the military to decide what problems to clean up, how extensively to clean them up and how quickly to do it. Almost all the current cleanup sites on the Peninsula date to the mid-1970s and earlier. But the military now has aggressive on-base initiatives to prevent the creation of future environmental problems.
So far, there have been no documented cases of harm to human health from military pollution on the Peninsula. But the worst of the identified chemical contaminants cause cancers that don't show up in humans until years later, so the cause might never be proven conclusively. At least 175 bushels of oysters were sold to consumers last year out of waters contaminated with PCBs, a carcinogen that accumulates up the food chain into humans. PCBs concentrate in fat tissue and damage the reproductive systems of fish and mammals, causing cancer and birth abnormalities.
by Stephen J. Hedges, Chicago Tribune
June 10, 2007
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-060710label-story,1,6159286.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=2&cset=true
Amid concerns about the safety of pet food ingredients and catfish from China, consumers and even a few members of Congress are wondering why there isn't a law that requires merchants to label where food comes from. The short answer: There is. And there has been since 2002.
Article Summary: Country-of-origin labeling was passed in 2002 as part of the farm bill, a massive piece of legislation that comes up for renewal about every five years. It was touted as a way to protect American food producers from cheap imports, much like the "Made in the U.S.A." tags on clothing and other items. But nearly as soon as President Bush signed the farm bill into law, COOL opponents began to work against it. The provision's effective date was delayed until September 2006, then again until 2008. Recent fears over imported foods, however, have given new momentum to reviving the law. If it takes effect, COOL would require country-of-origin labeling on beef, pork, lamb, fruit and peanuts. It would not apply to processed foods or to meals served in restaurants. The labeling requirement has applied to fish and shellfish since 2005. Opponents have become increasingly vocal, arguing that the law will be costly for grocers and food producers because they would have to maintain records on their products for one year. However, other food producers enthusiastically support it, hoping foreign-origin labels will steer American shoppers back toward U.S. goods.
by Scott J. Wilson, Los Angeles Times
June 9, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-organic9jun09,0,1336066.story
Article Summary: A deadline of midnight Friday to come up with a new list of nonorganic ingredients allowed in USDA-certified organic products passed without action from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, leaving uncertain whether some foods currently labeled "USDA organic" would continue to be produced. The agency is considering a list of 38 nonorganic ingredients that will be permitted in organic foods. Because of the broad uses of these ingredients -- as colorings and flavorings, for example -- almost any type of manufactured organic food could be affected, including cereal, sausage, bread and beer. Organic food advocates have fought to block approval of some or all of the proposed ingredients, saying consumers would be misled.
But with big companies entering what was formerly a mom-and-pop organic food industry, new questions have arisen about what exactly goes into organic food. For food to be called organic, it must be grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Animals must be raised without antibiotics and growth hormones and given some access to the outdoors. Many nonorganic ingredients, including hops, are already being used in organic products, thanks to a USDA interpretation of the Organic Foods Protection Act of 1990. In 2005, a federal judge disagreed with how the USDA was applying the law and gave the agency two years to revise its rules. Last month the agency released the proposed list of 38 nonorganic ingredients that can be included and still permit the "organic" label to be used. Under the agency's proposal, as much as 5% of a food product could be made with these ingredients and still get the "USDA organic" seal. The USDA rules come with what appears to be an important consumer protection: Manufacturers can use nonorganic ingredients only if organic versions are not "commercially available." The USDA doesn't enforce the rule directly but depends on its certifying agents to decide for themselves what it means for a product to be available in organic form.
by Alex Breitler, Stockton [California] Record
June 8, 2007
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070608/A_NEWS/706080327/-1/A_NEWS
Pesticides sprayed on Central Valley crops become up to 100 times more toxic than previously thought after the chemicals are absorbed by frogs, biologists said in a new federal study.
Article Summary: Frogs may be most at risk because of their moist, permeable skin, but the chemicals cannot bode well for other species -- including humans, said U.S. Geological Survey biologist Gary Fellers. Fellers' study in conjunction with Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, looks at three of the most widely used pesticides -- chlorpyrifos, malathion and diazinon. These become even more potent when they break down within the livers of frogs or in the environment, where they can last for days. The pesticides attack frogs' nervous systems, causing a loss of muscular control. The frogs cannot jump, swim or eventually breathe. Experiments on tadpoles showed that exposure to the pesticides themselves was not always fatal. The situation became much worse when the chemicals broke down. This is significant, biologists say, because many pesticides are approved after only short-term exposure experiments. The more toxic residues are not considered. As part of a lawsuit settled last year, the Environmental Protection Agency is studying the effects of 66 pesticides, including all three in the USGS study, for up to three years. Use of the pesticides is banned in some frog habitat areas until the studies are complete. State pesticide regulators have praised some farm groups for moving away from toxic chemicals in recent years. The Department of Pesticide Regulation said last year that pesticides such as those in the USGS study have decreased nearly every year since 1995.
by Antonella Artuso, Toronto Sun
June 8, 2007
http://torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2007/06/08/4244251-sun.html
Almost half of 36 Ontario communities tested for lead in drinking water found higher than recommended levels even after five minutes of running the tap. The test findings, released yesterday, prompted the Ontario government to immediately order schools and day cares to beef up water testing and system flushing.
Article Summary: The lead service pipes that bring water from main lines into older homes and apartments are responsible for the problem, said Acting chief medical officer of health Dr. George Pasut. "In those situations, prolonged contact between water and those lead pipes can lead to accumulations of lead in water that are higher than what the province considers safe," he added. Officials assume that residents of homes built before 1950 know to flush out their water for five minutes before consuming it after the pipes have been sitting idle for six hours or more. Environment Minister Laurel Broten announced an "action plan" that includes new regulations for schools and day cares, proposed stricter testing regimes for municipalities, financial assistance for low-income parents of young children and pregnant women where water filters are recommended, and encouraging municipalities to conduct public education campaigns on lead in water. Municipalities will also be nudged to help make lead line replacement, which typically costs $2,000-$10,000, more affordable for homeowners through measures such as on-bill financing.
by Coco Ballantyne, Scientific American
June 7, 2007
http://sciam.com/article.cfm?articleId=024FEAE8-E7F2-99DF-323D8E02C4E48BF6&chanId=sa013&modsrc=most_popular
Tuberculosis, food poisoning, cholera, pneumonia, strep throat and meningitis: these are just a few of the unsavory diseases caused by bacteria. Hygiene -- keeping both home and body clean -- is one of the best ways to curb the spread of bacterial infections, but lately consumers are getting the message that washing with regular soap is insufficient.
Article Summary: Body soaps, household cleaners, sponges, even mattresses and lip glosses are now packing bacteria-killing ingredients, and scientists question what place, if any, these chemicals have in the daily routines of healthy people. Soap works by loosening and lifting dirt, oil and microbes from surfaces so they can be easily rinsed away with water, whereas general cleaners such as alcohol inflict sweeping damage to cells by demolishing key structures, then evaporate. Unlike these traditional cleaners, antibacterial products leave surface residues, creating conditions that may foster the development of resistant bacteria, Levy notes. For example, after spraying and wiping an antibacterial cleaner over a kitchen counter, active chemicals linger behind and continue to kill bacteria, but not necessarily all of them. When a bacterial population is placed under a stressor -- such as an antibacterial chemical -- a small subpopulation armed with special defense mechanisms can develop. These lineages survive and reproduce as their weaker relatives perish. As bacteria develop a tolerance for these compounds there is potential for also developing a tolerance for certain antibiotics. This phenomenon, called cross-resistance, has already been demonstrated in several laboratory studies using triclosan, one of the most common chemicals found in antibacterial hand cleaners, dishwashing liquids and other wash products. These effects have been demonstrated only in the laboratory, not in households and other real-world environments, but Aiello believes that the few household studies may not have been long enough.
Apart from the potential emergence of drug-resistant bacteria in communities, scientists have other concerns about antibacterial compounds. Both triclosan and its close chemical relative triclocarban (also widely used as an antibacterial), are present in 60 percent of America's streams and rivers, says environmental scientist Rolf Halden, co-founder of the Center for Water and Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Both chemicals are efficiently removed from wastewater in treatment plants but end up getting sequestered in the municipal sludge, which is used as fertilizer for crops, thereby opening a potential pathway for contamination of the food we eat, Halden explains. "We have to realize that the concentrations in agricultural soil are very high," and this, "along with the presence of pathogens from sewage, could be a recipe for breeding antimicrobial resistance" in the environment, he says. Triclosan has also been found in human breast milk, although not in concentrations considered dangerous to babies, as well as in human blood plasma. There is no evidence showing that current concentrations of triclosan in the human body are harmful, but recent studies suggest that it acts as an endocrine disrupter in bullfrogs and rats.
by Douglas Fischer, Oakland Tribune
June 7, 2007
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_6086775
A measure banning a broad class of flame retardants from furniture and bedding cleared the Assembly late Wednesday night, while a controversial effort to ban one of the most widely used chemical flame retardants from all consumer products fell short today. Given California's size, either bill would have transformed how everyday products such as TVs and mattresses are made, potentially shifting the industry away from chemical flame retardants and toward design changes such as barriers that accomplish the same goals without the toxic chemistry.
Article Summary: The successful bill prohibits the use of either chlorinated or brominated fire retardants in domestic furniture or bedding such as mattresses, pillows and comforters. It also revises strict California fire safety standards that now require foam inside cushions and mattresses be flame retardant. Instead, manufacturers would be allowed to leave the foam untreated if a flame resistant barrier surrounds it. Chemicals made with bromine or chlorine have repeatedly proven problematic. Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, used in industrial transformers were banned in the 1970s after a series of industrial spills highlighted the compound's potent neurotoxicity. Two types of flame retardants, known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers -- or PBDEs -- and common in foam, were withdrawn from the global market earlier this decade after scientists linked PBDEs to developmental effects and a tendency to linger in humans and wildlife.
The other bill faced tougher sledding. It sought to ban the remaining PBDE on the market, known as "Deca" and used chiefly in plastics and commercial textiles. Deca is a brominated flame retardant cherished by manufacturers for its effectiveness at snuffing fires and its ability to mix easily with plastic. Many researchers suspect it poses similar health risks to chemicals already banned or subject to ban under Leno's bill. But those findings are sharply disputed by industry. Deca is not used in domestic furniture or bedding.
from BBC News
June 7, 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6730713.stm
The level of dioxins -- a group of carcinogenic chemicals -- in soil and vegetation has fallen by about 70% over 20 years, a UK-wide survey suggests. The drop may reflect more stringent environmental regulations for industry -- formerly a key producer of dioxins -- which came into force in the mid-1980s.
Article Summary: In an analysis of soil and grass samples from across the UK, the Environment Agency tested for several chemicals, including dioxins, polychlorinated bi-phenols (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The researchers compared the results of their survey with previous soil studies, including analyses of archived soil samples taken from 1843 at the Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire. The soil archives showed that dioxin levels had increased steadily since the 1850s, in line with industrialization. But the latest test result from the survey revealed that levels had now fallen sharply, by about 70%, since the mid 1980s, coinciding with the implementation of the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. The survey also found both urban and industrial areas were still sources of PCBs, even though PCB production was banned in many countries in the 1970s because of the chemicals' toxicity. Levels of PCBs have fallen 800-fold since the restrictions were introduced, but the fact that they were present in higher concentrations in some areas suggested they were still leaking into the environment. The survey also revealed that PAHs were still persistent in soil, but were in higher concentrations in urban and industrialized sites where road traffic -- now considered to be the main producer of these chemicals -- was heaviest.
by Cathleen F. Crowley, Albany Times Union
June 6, 2007
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=595513&category=REGION&newsdate=6/6/2007
Article Summary: The JustGreen Partnership, a coalition of environmental, civic and school groups, held a news conference at the Capitol on Tuesday to promote several proposed bills that address lead poisoning. The proposed laws would fine stores selling jewelry with lead, require schools to test their drinking water for lead, and create lead prevention programs in neighborhoods where children have elevated levels of lead in their blood. Lead is known to reduce IQ and cause learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired hearing and kidney damage. It is particularly dangerous to children, whose brains and nervous systems are still forming, but it can harm adults as well. Contamination occurs when lead is ingested through the mouth or when dust particles containing lead are breathed in. Jewelry containing lead is a concern because children sometimes suck on their necklaces or handle the jewelry and put their hands in their mouths. The lead paint in New York's old housing stock is a major contributor to lead poisoning. Ward Stone, wildlife pathologist for the state Department of Environmental Conservation, has found lead in products from dollar stores, department stores and vending machines, including jewelry, fishing tackle and bibs. He said many of the products come from China as well as Turkey and Korea. Bobbi Chase Wilding, organizing director of Clean NY, said New York has existing public health laws and business laws that would allow the state Health Department or Attorney General to crack down on lead products.
by Joel Lang, Hartford Courant
June 6, 2007
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-ctpesticides0606.artjun06,0,3918635.story?coll=hc-headlines-politics
After years of effort and a last-minute scare, a coalition of environmental-health advocates is celebrating a legislative victory they say gives Connecticut schoolchildren the greatest protection in the nation from lawn pesticides. The legislation expands a near absolute ban on chemical pesticides from elementary schools to middle school grounds and playing fields. No other state has regulations that remove the pesticides, linked to a variety of cancers, from schoolchildren's lives so completely, said Nancy Alderman, an activist who began pushing for pesticide controls in 1999.
Article Summary: Once it takes effect, the legislation will ban the chemical pesticides from school grounds immediately and allow a two-year period for playing fields to be weaned from pesticides. The only exceptions are for controlling stinging insects and ticks that may spread Lyme disease.
by Naomi Lubick, Environmental Science & Technology
June 6, 2007
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2007/june/science/nl_perchlorate.html
Natural atmospheric perchlorate deposits occur in deep, dry soils across the southwestern U.S., at levels that could rival the amount known to come from military sources and natural fertilizer, according to new research published today. The finding has some concerned about the implications for human exposures. Perchlorate, a potent oxidizer that disrupts thyroid function by inhibiting the uptake of iodide, is best known for its use in rocket fuel but also occurs naturally in the environment. Since the beginning of the last century, Chilean nitrate fertilizers that contained naturally produced perchlorate were applied to U.S. agricultural fields. Today, perchlorate hot spots occur, some of which seem to extend farther than what is predicted from known contamination sources. Researchers have recently turned to isotopic analysis to help pinpoint the origins of perchlorate, because manufactured and atmospherically deposited perchlorate have very different isotope signatures.
Article Summary: Research by Andrew Jackson of Texas Tech University and colleagues suggest that the perchlorate at 11 sites across seven ecosystems in the Southwest was deposited atmospherically and ubiquitously. Aquifers used for irrigation in dry areas may deliver perchlorate to food crops. Also, the potential for contaminating groundwater to levels that can easily exceed the currently recommended safe-dosage level is of considerable concern, according to Sandy Dasgupta of the University of Texas, Arlington. Shannon Cunniff, director of DOD's Emerging Contaminants Office, says the new work is "increasing the body of evidence that perchlorate levels that are relevant to public health can exist naturally. Especially in these arid and semiarid regions, one can no longer assume that DOD activities are the source of perchlorate."
by Tom Pelton, Baltimore Sun
June 6, 2007
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-md.mde06jun06,0,1997991.story
Maryland's environmental agency slapped $497,500 in penalties on 17 landlords yesterday for lead paint violations -- the latest example of how the O'Malley administration is stepping up enforcement of pollution laws. In recent weeks, the Maryland Department of the Environment also hit Constellation Energy with $100,000 in fines for air pollution violations at three coal-fired power plants. The agency sued an Eastern Shore farmer for ripping up wetlands and penalized a builder $60,000 for allowing erosion to foul a protected marsh.
Article Summary: Sixty-three other pollution violation cases that weren't being actively pursued have also been reopened. Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) Secretary Shari T. Wilson said, "It's a matter of public health and environmental protection, and it creates a level playing field for regulated entities." In April, the agency advised Baltimore to close Swann Park because of high levels of arsenic in the soil that had been left by a long-closed pesticide factory next door. The MDE gave Baltimore and New Jersey-based Honeywell International 30 days to come up with a plan to clean up and monitor the park. One of Wilson's first major acts as secretary was to order a study to determine if her agency has enough employees to enforce all the environmental laws and regulations. The MDE has 132 inspectors keeping track of pollution from 198,184 regulated businesses and government entities. According to state figures, a 16 percent reduction in the enforcement staff over the past seven years has coincided with an almost doubling in the number of sites they're supposed to be monitoring. Wilson said the study will help her determine whether MDE needs more money to hire more inspectors, or whether it needs to set new priorities for enforcement.
by Marla Cone, Los Angeles Times
June 6, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-chem6jun06,1,955805.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&track=crosspromo
Five environmental groups and a labor union Tuesday petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to restrict the use of chemicals that are in many household detergents and have been linked to gender changes in fish and other aquatic life. Led by the Sierra Club, the groups are seeking a ban on nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates in consumer and industrial detergents and other cleaning products. About 400 million pounds of the chemicals are produced each year in the United States, and much of it is flushed into sewers that empty into rivers and other waterways. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act enacted 31 years ago, citizens have the authority to petition the EPA to regulate individual substances. However, it is a power that has been rarely invoked.
Article Summary: The new petition is the first involving an endocrine-disrupting chemical, a phenomenon discovered by scientists in the early 1990s in which artificial compounds mimic estrogen or other hormones. The EPA is developing methods to screen chemicals for hormonal activity but currently does not check for such risks when setting environmental standards. Nonylphenol imitates estrogen, and male rainbow trout and other fish exposed to the chemical in laboratories become part male and part female, producing female egg proteins, according to EPA documents and several scientific studies. The human effects are unknown. The petition calls for more research into health effects, particularly on employees of dry cleaners and laundries. Nonylphenol as a weak estrogen that is far less potent than natural estrogens in human sewage, but nonylphenol ethoxylates -- those used in most cleaning products -- are not estrogenic, said Barbara Losey, deputy director of the Alkylphenols & Ethoxylates Research Council.
Nonylphenol compounds also are used in the manufacture of paper, textiles, paints, lube oils, tires and other products. In addition to the ban for detergents, the petition is seeking restrictions on other uses and labels on all products that contain them. Only one of eight other petitions filed in the last dozen years led to a lawsuit and an agreement by the EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to regulate lead in children's jewelry. The EPA denied the other requests. Although use of the chemicals is unrestricted in the United States, some large U.S. companies have voluntarily stopped using them, including Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Wal-Mart last year named nonylphenol ethoxylates as one of three chemicals that it had asked its suppliers to phase out. The European Union is in the process of banning many uses and Canada has set stringent standards.
by Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
June 5, 2007
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501AP_Dredging_Contamination.html
WASHINGTON -- Contaminated sediments in rivers and bays from coast to coast pose an environmental hazard, and while dredging reduces the sediment it doesn't always solve the problem, the National Research Council reported Tuesday. Inevitably dredging leaves some contamination behind, and in some cases further treatment is necessary, such as capping with a layer of clean material, the council said. In addition, the dredging process itself can release some contamination into the environment, said the council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences.
Article Summary: Dredging is the most complex and costly method of cleanup, the report said, but has the potential to permanently remove contaminants from the environment. But some contamination can be left behind, particularly in places with debris such as boulders or cables, or bedrock lying beneath the contaminated sediment. Such controversies can expand with the size of the contaminated site and amount of work needed. The presence or absence of such conditions should be a major consideration in deciding whether to dredge at a site, said the committee. The report also said decisions on dredging should consider the impact of any chemicals that will be released in the process and methods to be used to minimize this release. The study evaluated 26 environmental dredging projects in rivers, harbors, lakes and bays across the country contaminated by industrial, agricultural and mining byproducts.
from TheParliament.com
June 5, 2007
http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200706/60835cfd-0896-444a-8c2b-d3cf30d64a6c.htm
The European parliament was today accused of effectively consigning 350 years of European tradition to history when it approved a ban on mercury. The move follows a decision by the environment committee not to challenge a European commission ban on the use of mercury in barometers. The production of thermometers and barometers containing mercury will be banned after a two-year phase-out period, ostensibly to prevent tons of toxic metal entering the food chain.
Article Summary: The move, already approved by national governments, was hailed by environmental groups but condemned by members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from the UK, Portugal and the Netherlands, who had joined forces in a bid to block the move. Lord Rooker, UK minister for sustainable farming and who decided that "the use of mercury in traditional barometers, which are essentially decorative, cannot be considered an essential use." UK Tory MEP Martin Callanan, an environment committee member whose amendment to the law was rejected, said: "This ban brings to an end the tradition of barometer making which was begun in the mid-1600s. Businesses involved in production of these instruments will now probably close down." MEP Linda McAvan, a UK Socialist member of the committee, voted for the ban because she says there is clear evidence that mercury in barometers is "highly dangerous." About 300 tons of mercury is used by industry in the EU each year but just 0.2 per cent of this is used to make barometers.
news release from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2007/FoodAllergyExpertPanel.htm
Article Summary: On June 5, the National Institutes of Health released the Report of the NIH Expert Panel on Food Allergy Research, declaring that food allergy "has emerged as an important public health problem" and calling for additional NIH-funded research to uncover the causes of food allergy and to develop treatments for the life-threatening disease. The report comes on the heels of a May 21 hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee, when Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) told NIH Director Dr. Anthony Fauci that increases in childhood food allergies are "alarming." Children's hospitals around the country have reported dramatic increases in the number of children developing life-threatening allergies to common foods like milk, eggs and peanuts. See NIH report at http://www3.niaid.nih.gov:80/healthscience/healthtopics/foodAllergy/ReportFoodAllergy.htm.
by Tracy Tullis, The Green Guide
May/June 2007
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/120/play
Article Summary: Twenty years ago, the Health Research Group, a division of Public Citizen, raised an alarm about sand safety after a geologist found play sand contained traces of the fibrous mineral tremolite, a form of the human carcinogen asbestos. But the stone industry insisted the sand was safe, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission declined to take action. Tremolite isn't the only potential hazard. A parent purchasing a bag of play sand may be startled to discover a warning label that the bag contains a substance "known to the State of California to cause cancer." California requires these labels because the primary ingredient in sand, crystalline silica, has been determined a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. However, no reports exist of the disease in children exposed to silica-containing sand. Finally, because the sandbox may indeed attract critters, infections are possible, especially from E. coli bacteria; keep cuts and scrapes well bandaged. Jungle gyms also warrant caution. Many are made of wood preserved with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), the basis of which is arsenic, a carcinogenic chemical that can leach out of CCA-treated wood onto children's hands and into soil and groundwater. Although CCA has been banned in residential uses since 2004, millions of CCA-treated play sets still exist. A newer alternative, ammoniacal copper quaternary, is considered less toxic to children than arsenic compounds, but its effect on the environment is still unknown. The most responsible choice remains naturally rot-resistant woods like cedar or redwood. Look for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood, or choose play sets made from recycled plastics. As a final precaution, avoid older sets with cracked, chipped or peeling paint, which may be lead-based. Lead, a neurotoxin, can cause learning disabilities and behavioral disorders.