This file holds archives of new developments in 2003. Other archives hold material from 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 and 2004. New Developments contains the most recent materials. For a broad overview of the scientific trends since OSF was published, see Broad Trends. And for pointers to a host of important new research results, organized by topic, visit Recent Important Studies.
Infants exposed to herbicides and pesticides are much more likely to develop early persistent asthma. Children with early persistent asthma were 10 times more likely to have been exposed to herbicides during their first year of life than children without asthma. Exposures to pesticides, farm animals and farm dust are also associated with an increased risk of early persistent asthma. In contrast, exposure to several types of smoke as well as cockroaches were linked to early transient wheezing, but neither to early nor late persistent asthma. Several findings of the study contradict predictions made by the "hygiene hypothesis," which suggests that the asthma epidemic underway today is a result of fewer immune system challenges early in life. More... Low doses of nonylphenol have profoundly adverse effects on oysters. A single exposure during larval development to an environmentally-relevant dose of nonylphenol causes disruption of sexual development, and also lowers survival of offspring in the next generation. Exposed larvae are much more likely to develop as hermaphrodites, and the sex ratio is altered, with more females than expected. According to the scientists who conducted the research, exposure "may result in severe consequences, not only for natural populations but also for commercial hatcheries situated in areas where nonylphenol is present in the water. More... Risks of infertility higher in women using herbicides and fungicides. A study comparing infertile and fertile women in Wisconsin finds that women who were infertile were 27 times more likely to have mixed or applied herbicides in the two years prior to attempting conception than women who were fertile. The weight of animal and human evidence now clearly indicates that risks of infertility rise in association with current uses of agricultural chemicals. More... Testicular cancer linked to environmental exposures early in life. Finnish men who immigrate to Sweden are much less likely to develop testicular cancer than Swedish men, no matter how old they were when they emigrated from Finland nor how long they lived in Sweden. These findings implicate exposures in the womb as important determinants of testicular cancer, and are consistent with an emerging theory about the causes of a pattern of testicular maladies, testicular dysgenesis syndrome. More... Los Angeles Times: Researchers link flame retardants to hazards. Reporter Marla Cone examines new research on brominated flame retardants (BDEs) being presented at Dioxin 2003, an annual scientific meeting of toxicologists focused on persistent bioaccumulative contaminants. The new findings, presented in some 100 different scientific papers, broaden concern BDEs far beyond the current focus, on neurological development, to include impacts on male fertility and female ovary development. Data also indicate that a type of BDE used in electronic equipment, heretofore not thought problematic, can be toxic also. Largely unregulated, exposure to BDEs is set to rise substantially over the next decade. Chemical and Engineering News: Fluoride concerns rise once again. Reporter Bette Hileman describes a new effort by the EPA, with help from the National Research Council, to assess the risks and benefits of water fluoridation. New data heard at a public hearing on 12 August indicates that not only may the beneficial effects of fluoridation on teeth hygeine have been overestimated, the practice may harm other organs, particularly the skeletal system. Bone brittleness may increase, raising the chances of broken bones, especially problematic for older Americans. Evidence also suggests that fluoride may have neurotoxic effects. UN POPs protocol enters force 23 October. The United Nations has announced that a POPs protocol established under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution will come into force on 23 October, 2003. The objective of the convention is to eliminate discharges, emissions and losses of 16 persistent organic pollutants. Sixteen nations have ratified the protocol, most recently France. More... Phthalate linked to preterm birth. A study from Italy finds that not only are DEHP and MEHP detectable in most Italian newborns, but that those with higher levels of MEHP are more likely to be born prematurely. This result suggests that at least some of the scientific effort to understand why the incidence of premature birth in the US has increased 23% since the early 1980's should focus on environmental contaminants in the womb, and specifically on phthalates. More... St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Solutia faces bankruptcy over PCBs. "Solutia Inc. said that its pockets may not be deep enough to pay out the hundreds of millions of dollars being asked of it in one liability lawsuit and that it certainly can't accommodate the $3 billion attorneys said they expect in another." The effects may spill over to Monsanto, the company that manufactured the PCBs in the first place, and whose practices contaminated the community of Anniston, Alabama, where the law suits are being heard. 17 August 2003. New South Wales Sunday Telegraph: The healthier you are, the more likely you are to conceive. Reporter Bronwen Gora writes from Australia "in a modern world where toxins, pollutants, nicotine, fast food and sneaky chemicals such as xenoestrogens are everywhere, both men and women should be careful about what we touch, eat and breathe, pre- and post conception." 17 August 2003. Dioxin drove Lake Ontario lake trout to extinction, not overfishing or lampreys. Lake trout became extinct in Lake Ontario by the 1960s. Their decline has been attributed largely to excessive commercial fishing and predation by the sea lamprey. New analyses reviewing decades of data on fish numbers, contamination levels and larval sensitivity to dioxin-like contaminants indicate that lake trout's extinction was driven by massive larval mortality caused by dioxin. Now with dioxin levels dropping, lake trout are once again reproducing successfully in Lake Ontario. 13 August 2003. More... PBDE levels high in breast milk of Texas women. The first study of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) contamination burdens in US breast milk finds levels 10 - 100 times higher than typical for Europe, and consistent with data on other tissues in Americans. Recent rapid increases in American PBDE levels are raising public health concerns because of the ability of this family of contaminants to interfere with thyroid control of brain development. More... Calculations suggest high adverse impacts of DDT use on infant mortality. Writing in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a publication of the US Centers for Disease Control, two scientists from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences conclude that DDT may cause an increase in infant mortality comparable to the number of infant lives that are saved when DDT is used to control malaria in Africa. They base their calculations on research that has shown associations between DDE in mothers' blood and increased risks of preterm birth and decreased length of time spent breastfeeding, both of which cause increases in infant mortality. While far from definitive, their research opens a new chapter in the international debate about whether, when and where to use DDT. More... SF Chronicle: Editorial criticizes industry groups that hide allegiences. "We have no problem with any corporation making its best case for its products, in whatever forum. But it pollutes the arena of discourse when charitable organizations they create or support obscure their sources of funding while posing as objective sources of information." The Chronicle cites several examples of organizations that obscure their links to industry but promote industry causes with their financial backing, including the American Council on Fitness and Nutrition, the Center for Consumer Freedom and the American Council on Science and Health. According to the Chronicle, these organizations "are actually funded wholly or in part by corporate interests to defeat threatening legislation or discredit potentially damaging research." New York Times: California bans flame retardant chemicals. California became the first state in the country to ban two forms of brominated flame retardants, with Gov Davis signing AB 32 on 9 August. The ban was championed by Assembly Majority Leader Wilma Chan and supported by the California EPA, on the basis of scientific evidence showing both dramatic increases in PBDE levels in Americans and indications that PBDE exposure may have serious health implications, particularly for fetal development and infants. Hindustan Times: Pesticides in Coke and Pepsi in India. An analysis of 12 different types of soft drinks for sale in India, conducted by the Center for Science and Environment, finds that Coke and Pepsi products contain pesticides at levels 30 or more times higher than public health standards in Europe. The contamination appears to be a result of pesticides in the water used to make the softdrinks. The report has provoked widespread outrage in India, including bans on Pepsi and Coke in the Indian parliament and in some school systems. It is disputed by Pepsi and Coke. The Indian government commenced independent tests to confirm or refute the CSE report. New York Times: Op-ed calls for using DDT against West Nile Virus. Ignoring current research on human impacts of DDT, and rejecting data from wildlife as 'dubious,' a commentator from the conservative Hoover Institution calls for using DDT in the US against West Nile Virus. 7 August 2003 High dioxin levels reported in some food items from Vietnam. 30 years after Agent Orange spraying ended in Vietnam, a team of research scientists reports that some food being eaten by Vietnamese today remains heavily contaminated by dioxin and related chemicals. Their results help understand why high levels of dioxin continue to be found in Vietnamese, decades after the initial exposures. The results also warn that Vietnamese children today, even though never directly exposed to spraying, are at risk to the health effects of dioxin because of the food they eat. 7 August 2003. More... Green tea extracts interfere with one way that dioxin increases cancer risk. Research into the molecular activity of plant compounds in green tea shows they suppress the ability of dioxin and related compounds to turn genes on that are involved in the development of cancer. This new result provides insight into earlier work with people and with animals suggesting that green tea has beneficial health impacts. 6 August 2003. More... BBC: Nonylphenol causes hermaphroditism in oysters. The BBC reports on research in England demonstrating that low levels of exposure to nonylphenol causes oysters to become hermaphroditic and infertile. Scientists raise concerns that other marine life may be similarly affected. Nonylphenol, a breakdown product of chemicals used in spermicides, cosmetics and detergents, is discharged through the sewerage system and is widespread in the aquatic environment. 21 July 2003. Brain growth patterns in autistic children differ from normal beginning in the womb. A study of growth rates of autistic children's heads reveals striking differences in how their heads and brains develop compared to normal children, beginning prior to birth. These results indicate that the causation of autism begins long before overt signs of autistic behavior are evident, suggesting that exposure to mercury in vaccines delivered at age 3-4 may not be the cause of autism. A role for such exposures, however, cannot be eliminated on the basis of these observations. More... Cadmium provokes estrogenic responses at extremely low levels of exposure. Research published in Nature Medicine reveals that cadmium provokes estrogenic responses in rats at levels much less than 1% of those traditionally used in toxicological studies. The effects include alterations in the uterus and mammary gland, increases in estrogen-controlled gene expression, and, following exposure in the womb, increases in adult weight and the speed of reaching sexual maturity. The authors call for more research on links between breast cancer and cadmium exposure. 15 July 2003. More... Research links herbicides used on wheat to birth defects in the Great Plains. A scientist from the US EPA finds that birth defects of several types are more common in babies born in wheat growing counties in the Great Plains, compared to rural counties in the same region where wheat is less common. Taken together with a wealth of data from others studies of people and experiments with rodents, this work strengthens the theory that chlorophenoxy herbicides like 2,4-D cause birth defects in people. 14 July 2003 More... Washington Post: Cadmium acts as estrogen mimic. In experiments with rats, researchers discovered that cadmium at low levels can mimic the effect of estrogen, altering the pattern of reproductive development and speeding progress toward puberty. The scientists commented that what they discovered "suggests a direct link between low dose cadmium exposure and increased risk of breast cancer ." 14 July 2003. San Jose Mercury News: PBDEs building up in SF bay area fish. A comparison of current levels of brominated flame retardants in fish from San Francisco Bay with levels measured in 1997 reveals that concentrations are increasing rapidly. Levels have doubled in halibut and tripled in striped bass, two favorites of San Francisco anglers. The study may bolster the ongoing effort in the California Assembly to ban PBDE use in California. 11 July 2003. San Jose Mercury News: California considers ban on flame redardant chemicals. Writing for the Associated Press in the San Jose Mercury News, reporter Don Thompson examines a process underway in California that would ban certain polybrominated diphenyl ethers from use as flame retardants. The compounds have been shown to interfere with thyroid action, raising concerns about their ability to alter normal brain development. Cal EPA head Winston Hickox expressed frustration at the lack of federal leadership. Quoted in the article, Hickox said that in the face of federal inaction, the state should ban chemicals that raise serious public health questions. In the legislature, Assemblywoman Wilma Chan said she hopes her proposed California ban ""will spark the rest of the nation to take action." Washington Post. Theory says disease tendencies begin in womb . Reporter Rob Stein describes an emerging scientific theory that points to events during fetal development as crucial to to causation of a range of adult diseases. The article quotes one of the leading world experts in the field of "fetal origins of adult diseases," Dr. David Barker of the University of Southampton in England: "When living things develop, and human beings are no exception, they are very sensitive to the environment. And that includes the environment inside the womb." 7 July 2003 Fetal exposures to persistent organic pollutants decline in eastern Canadian arctic. Analysis by Canadian health researchers documents sharp drops in umbilical cord blood levels of several persistent organic pollutants, including PCBs, DDT and HCB. Lead and mercury also declined. The researchers conclude the decreases are likely due both to long-term efforts around the world to reduce environmental releases (and thus contamination of the food chain) as well as to changes in the Inuit diet that shift away from contaminated native foods. 7 July 2003. More... Chemical and Engineering News: Daubert ruling challenges US courts. Better or worse for science and justice? A ruling by the Supreme Court in 1993 established guidelines for evaluating what scientific evidence would be admissible in court. This decision has had profound effects in the intervening years, dramatically tightening the standards and leading to exclusion of many experts and their data and interpretations. Critics assert that the application of "Daubert" has gone too far, preventing juries from hearing pertinent science, and that the process adds strong bias against cases in which plaintiffs are using scientific evidence to establish harm. 7 July 2003 Phthalate levels much higher than expected in people living in a southern German city. Twelve percent of the people studied studied by a team of scientists in Erlangen had exposures to the phthalate DEHP above levels considered safe by the European Union. Almost one-third exceeded US EPA standards. None of the people had been exposed occupationally to the reproductive toxicant. According to the scientists, their results "unequivocally prove that the general German population is exposed to DEHP to a much higher extent than previously believed." The prevalence of exposures above safety thresholds strongly indicates that current regulatory approaches to limiting DEHP exposures are insufficient to prevent harm. 6 July 2003. More... Study in Harlem: IPM a cost effective intervention for cockroach control, without dangerous pesticides. A study in east Harlem NY shows that over a six month period IPM can cut cockroach infestations dramatically, as or more cheaply than conventional chemical pesticide treatments. 6 July 2003 More... Falling rate of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Sweden and US may be due to decreased chemical exposures. Two Swedish scientific experts on the epidemiology of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) propose that recent declines in the incidence of this cancer may be a result of bans and restrictions on certain chemicals that began to take effect in the 1970s. Their theory rests on research consistently finding links between these chemicals and NHL, and reductions in exposures to the chemicals that now are clearly evident in body burden measurements. If true, this is one cancer on which we are starting to win the war for prevention. 4 July 2003. More... New York Times: US Institute of Medicine recommends reducing dioxin exposures. According to a report issued by the IOM, the government should encourage women and girls to reduce the amount of meat, whole milk and other fatty foods they eat as a way of protecting themselves and their offspring from dioxins. 2 July 2003. Chemical & Engineering News: German chancellor's words sweet music to chemical industry. In a speech in Hamburg, Chancellor Schröder strongly criticized the proposed new EU chemical policies that will require far more intensive testing of chemicals to obtain permission for their use in the EU market. According to Schröder "the current proposal poses too much of a burden on the industry." Knight Ridder: Birth control chemical bends gender of exposed wild fish. Working in a remote set of Ontario lakes, Canadian scientists have proven experimentally that a synthetic estrogen used in birth control pills can have massive effects on sexual development in exposed males. All male fish in the lake were at least partially feminized. The population of one abundant species crashed to near zero. The levels of contamination created in the experiment were comparable to those measured in urban waterways downstream from sewage treatment plants. Posted 30 June 2003. Women exposed in the womb to DDT have more difficulty becoming pregnant. Research published in the Lancet reports a strong association between levels of DDT in a mother's blood at the time she gave birth to a daughter, and 'time to pregnancy' in the daughter, 30 years later. The longer the 'time to pregnancy,' the more likely a women is to experience impaired fertility. The study took advantage of serum samples stored in freezers since drawn, 1960-1963, linking them to information about the daughters' reproductive health. This is the first scientific report of a link between DDT and reproductive outcome in women exposed to the contaminant in the womb. Curiously, higher DDE levels were associated with a modest reduction in the effect. Posted 27 June 2003. More... Florence Daily Times: Scandal envelopes EPA over Monsanto, Anniston PCBs. A former EPA lawyer, Janet MacGillivray, has revealed she was discouraged by high level EPA officials from testifying about her concerns that the legal agreements to settle Monsanto's liability over PCBs were too lenient. She felt "intimidated" after calls from the lead Dept of Justice attorney working the case. According to MacGillivray, "a high-ranking EPA official told her Anniston didn't make a list of national cleanup priorities because Monsanto, one of the companies found liable, didn't want it listed." BBC: Royal commission declares current chemical regulation "unacceptable." England's Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has released a new report condeming current regulatory approaches for synthetic chemicals in products. Sir Tom Blundell, chair of the commission and head of the department of biochemistry at the University of Cambridge observed to the BBC that "given our understanding of the way chemicals interact with the environment, you could say we are running a gigantic experiment with humans and all other living things as the subject." The report itself concludes that "continuing use of large numbers of synthetic chemicals will lead to serious effects..." NJ Star Ledger: EU chemical policies draw opposition from US, companies. Under current law, chemical manufacturers "get the benefit of the scientific doubt." If science is uncertain, government doesn't act to restrict exposures. Proposed changes in Europe that will require far more extensive testing on chemical safety are drawing the ire of the US government and chemical companies, because of the anticipated costs of the plan. Called "the most aggressive application yet of the Precautionary Principle," the changes will apply not only to manufacturing in Europe, but to products imported to Europe. Hence companies wanting to market in the EU will need to adhere. In response to criticism from the Bush administration, an EU spokesperson said: "If there is a scientific uncertainty as to the nature of a risk, we say to those in public office charged with protecting public health that they have a duty to respond and not wait until their fears are realized, until the worst is happening." San Jose Mercury News: Removed from market for toxic concerns, Scotchgard returns. Is it safer? The San Jose Mercury News reports on the toxics issues that forced Scotchgard off the market, and 3M's efforts to bring a reformulated version back. Studies had revealed a key Scotchgard chemical, C8 or perfluorooctane sulfonate, to be extraordinarily persistent, bioaccumulative, and to cause adverse effects in animals. The new version of Scotchgard uses a chemical relative of C8 which 3M claims is safe. As yet they have been unwilling to share safety data with the public. Orange County Weekly: Editor apologies for being duped by petrochemical industry. He had believed, and publicly repeated, industry claims that it should be shielded from MTBE liability because EPA had forced it to use the additive in gasoline. Detailed internal documents made available through lawsuits, however, make it clear industry knew that MTBE was a problem but that nonetheless it lobbied for MTBE use over EPA's preferred alternative, ethanol. Wall Street Journal: Pentagon backs off from testing water for perchlorate. According to reporter Peter Waldman, the Department of Defense is retreating from plans to test groundwater for perchlorate contamination at all military bases in the country. It now intends to restrict its inquiries to bases where records indicate it has been used and where it is a known problem. This represents a reversal of the trend which appeared to have the EPA gaining the upper hand on perchlorate policy, with a draft plan that would have required far more ambitious testing. The military objected because of costs. DOD also has argued for a perchlorate standard far weaker than EPA's. In the meantime, local water districts (for example, in Fontana, CA) are struggling with millions of dollars in new costs because of the need to improve filtering techniques to remove perchlorate. Los Angeles Times: Chemicals migrating to the Arctic threaten polar bears. Writing "Column One," Marla Cone explores the impact of persistent bioaccumulative toxins, carried by atmospheric currents to regions in the Arctic. In the Arctic food chain, these contaminants reach their highest levels in top predators, especially polar bears, undermining the health of cubs born to contaminated mothers. "Even before they leave the safety of their dens, the cubs carry more pollutants than most other creatures on Earth, having ingested industrial chemicals from their mother's milk." The contaminants include not only well-known compounds like PCBs and other organochlorines, but also newer substances like polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Cone describes new research indicating that the pollutants are weakening mothers and also disrupting cub development, perhaps enough to decrease the bear population. New York Times: EPA scientists conclude atrazine may cause frog hermaphrodites. Hearing from scientists at a 4-day long hearing on atrazine's reproductive effects, EPA scientists confirm they have concluded that research by Dr. Tyrone Hayes is not invalidated by the inability of industry scientists to replicate his work. Shortly after it was published, Hayes's work had been challenged by the "Eco-risk" consortium funded by atrazine's producer, Syngenta, with press releases reporting that Hayes's work could not be repeated. For example, one of the authors, Ronald Kendall (Texas Tech) stated to the press (21 June 2002, ENS): "As research on this issue continues, one thing is certain. No conclusions can be drawn at this time on atrazine and its purported effect on frogs." Coincidentally, this happened to be a time when EPA was amassing data on atrazine's effects, headed toward a decision in August 2002 about reauthorizing its use. Creating doubts about Hayes's work would provide EPA's decision-making process with a reason to ignore them. Not only did Hayes's study identify a new endpoint for atrazine effects, it also observed impacts at atrazine exposure levels thousands of times beneath previous studies. Some [most?] might also be troubled by the fact that Kendall presented comments to the EPA Science Advisory Panel this week on behalf of Syngenta, only a year after he chaired the SAP. While chairing the SAP he was also involved with the Syngenta-funded "Eco-risk" panel, both when it commissioned Hayes's work, then after it started to challenge Hayes's findings. When the Syngenta/Eco-risk paper that purportedly justified Kendall's statement was finally made public, however, it turned out that most of the tadpoles in the experiment had died, and many of the remaining animals were starved. The industry-funded scientists on the paper, however, continued to assert that its findings were valid. They submitted them for publication to the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (of which Kendall is an editor), where it appeared in print. Indeed one author, Glen van der Kraak, testified to that effect at the hearings described in the NY Times story. The Times report also cites a letter from another of the authors, USGS scientist Tim Gross, appearing to pressure Hayes not to release his results. According to this NY Times article, EPA has concluded that the industry paper was too flawed to use in the atrazine assessment. This whole story— pressure not to release results, using press releases to promote flawed results and thereby introduce uncertainty, against a backdrop of striking conflicts of interest linking industry to agency to publication— would appear to be a quintessential example of vested interests corrupting scientific results. It should raise questions about subsequent papers published by its authors, as well as about the industry-funded panel on which they served. It would also be helpful to learn whether this process was coordinated behind the scenes with the "junk science" flack, Steve Milloy, who has been relentless and vituperative in his criticism of Hayes's work, including a column last week (13 June 2003) claiming that EPA had decided that Hayes was wrong. Given these findings, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry should evaluate whether or not the paper should be withdrawn, and also assess its peer-review process, as the the flaws of the paper were widely known before the paper was finally published. Because of the prominence of industry-funded scientists in the society that publishes the journal, that self-assessment may be unlikely to occur. 19 June 2003. Strong link established between pesticide exposure and reduced sperm quality in mid-West men. Research in the US mid-West has discovered that men with elevated exposures to alachlor, diazinon and atrazine are dramatically more likely to have reduced sperm quality. The study is the first to show such a link for common, current-use pesticides, and its findings are particularly troubling because the most likely route of exposure is through drinking water. The three pesticides implicated by the research are widespread contaminants in mid-West water systems. More... Press coverage: American Academy of Pediatrics: more research needed to establish safety of phthalates. In a review of existing scientific literature about health risks of phthalates, a committee of the AAP concludes that too little information exists to ensure the safety of phthalates, especially for vulnerable stages of development. Animal research clearly shows they harm fetal development, particularly of the male reproductive tract. And human data document widespread exposure. While cautious in its conclusions, the report clearly undermines industry assertions that decades of use of phthalates demonstrates their safety. More... Washington Post: Pressure on arsenic-treated wood. Pressure-treated wood containing arsenic has come under increasing attack over the past two years, because of health risks. While the wood treatment industry has agreed to a voluntary phase out of domestic manufacturing, sales continue at stores like Lowes and Home Depot. Questions are being raised about the wisdom of leaving existing playground and deck structures in place. Two DC-based advocacy organizations conclude that routine exposure to pressure treated wood elevates lifetime risks of cancer significantly. 14 June 2003. [editor's note: These calculations which establish these risks are based upon old scientific information about arsenic; they do not yet incorporate new data showing arsenic suppression of genes important to tumor suppression at much lower levels of exposure. Hence the health risks are likely to be significantly greater.] Bisphenol A as powerful as estradiol at stimulating gene expression pathway. A team of Spanish scientists has found that bisphenol A stimulates a key gene expression pathway by binding with a cell membrane estrogen receptor. Receptor binding leads to conversion of a gene transcription factor, CREB, into the form required to activate genes. The contaminant is effective at provoking the response at under 1 part per billion, the same concentration at which estradiol was effective. These results should end skepticism of the potential for adverse effects by bisphenol A, a so-called "weak estrogen." Genes under the control of CREB are involved in a host of developmental and physiological systems, including long-term memory formation, brain development and weight control. More... Reuters Health: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) calls for more research on phthalate risks. After reviewing available evidence, the AAP's Committee on Environmental Health recommends that new research be launched to determine whether or not these common addititves to plastics are safe. Studies with animals show they can cause birth defects, and data from the Centers for Disease Control document widespread human exposure. The AAP's review, published in Pediatrics, finds that "no studies have been performed to evaluate human toxicity from exposure to these compounds." posted 7 June 2003. St. Louis Business Journal: Solutia sues to recover PCB cleanup costs. Burdened with lawsuits and settlements resulting from the legacy of Monsanto's decades of PCB contamination in Alabama, chemical producer Solutia is suing 19 other companies to recover its cleanup costs. More than 3,500 residents of Anniston, AL, have sued Solutia and Monsanto, which spun the chemical specialty company off when it began to focus on biotech. 6 June 2003. Los Angeles Times: Court orders EPA to consider data from human pesticide tests. "A federal appeals court Tuesday directed the government to resume considering the results of tests on human subjects as it determines acceptable exposure levels to toxic pesticides." EPA had halted use of human testing because of ethical questions and also because data from adults would not resolve questions about children's vulnerability. Hence the tests would not be useful in adjusting safety standards derived from animal studies so that they would better reflect human sensitivities. Industry argued that EPA had violated process in implementing the ban without proper consultation with interested parties. 5 June 2003 Wall Street Journal: Study links early puberty to higher breast cancer risk. Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that women who reach puberty earlier are more likely to develop breast cancer. The study, conducted by scientists from UCLA, examined breast cancer rates in twins, comparing the risk in the first twin to reach sexual maturity against her sibling. "One thing stood out: For identical twins with cancer, the first twin to reach puberty was five times as likely to get the disease first. The link was even stronger when menstruation began early, before the age of 12." These data are consistent with previous studies showing that lifetime exposure to estrogen has an influence on breast cancer risk. And given that studies with laboratory animals show that environmental estrogens can speed sexual development in animals, they re-emphasize important questions about the role of contamination in breast cancer. 5 June 2003. Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Birth control drugs in sewage may harm salmon reproduction. An article in the Seattle PI describes research results from the Batelle Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sequiem, WA, revealing that a synthetic hormone widely used in birth control pills can impair fertility in adult male salmon. The compound, ethynil estradiol, is excreted in the urine of women taking birth control pills and reaches rivers after treated waste water is released from sewage treatment plants. The treatment process does not remove many pharmaceutical drugs or hormonally-active pesticides. Research by the lab was carried out with captive trout, close relatives of salmon. Batelle's scientists found that the lowest level they used, less than 1/80th the level found commonly in rivers, were sufficient to impair fertility. Bangor Daily News. Legislature bans arsenic treated wood in Maine. Despite fierce opposition from industry, the Maine legislature passed the first bill in the US to ban sale of CCA pressure treated wood for residential use. The governor is expected to sign the bill, which will take effect on 1 April 2004. The bill closes a loophole in current US EPA regulation of arsenic treated wood, which bans production of the product but not its sale, and hence encourages stockpiling of supplies that can be sold later. 4 June 2004. Guardian: Man-made chemicals causing serious problems for wildlife. Describing a new report from WWF-UK, Alok Jha writes in the Guardian: "It reads like the line-up for some grotesque travelling circus show: female, pseudo-hermaphrodite polar bears with penis-like stumps; panthers with atrophied testicles; male trout and roach with eggs growing in their testes. But all these abnormalities are cropping up in wild animal populations, and opinion as to why is converging: our awesome appetite for artificial chemicals is slowly poisoning the planet." 29 May 2003. Scientists petition for reduction in exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. In a declaration organized by the World Wildlife Fund-UK, 60 scientists conclude: "For endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), where there is good evidence that they can cause changes to the normal physiology of organisms, we suggest that it would be prudent to try to eliminate, or at least minimise, exposure. Recognising the uncertainty regarding the extent of the adverse effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals, and the fact that some of these chemicals can act in an additive manner, we suggest that exposure reduction is warranted. This exposure reduction should proceed even when there is a lack of evidence that predicted or actual exposure levels of the individual EDC causes population level effects in wildlife species, or harm to human health." To read and sign the declaration. LA Times: California Assembly passes bill to ban brominated flame retardants. Acting on scientific data demonstrating exponential increases in Californian's exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) along with clear evidence from laboratory experiments showing that in laboratory animals PBDEs interfere with brain development, the California Assembly passed a bill that will ban certain PBDEs in 2 years. The bill's sponsor, Assemblywoman Wilma Chan "chided conservative members of the Assembly for supporting protection of fetuses in the form of anti-abortion legislation but not backing protection from industrial contaminants." PBDE use is currently unregulated in the US, although two PBDE compounds have been banned in Europe. 28 May 2003. NY Times: EPA system for tracking water pollution deeply flawed, facilitating abuses. New report by EPA Inspector General concludes the computer system is "obsolete, full of faulty data and does not take into account thousands of significant pollution sources." Water scientist Dr Peter Gleick, quoted by the Times, argues "The problem is more than just a failure to collect and manage information on polluters, or to enforce compliance with pollution permits that have been issued. It is a failure of the administration to stop the thousands of polluters without permits." 27 May 2003. Reuters: Norwegian whale meat exports to Japan face public health hurdle. After Norwegian scientists questioned the safety of whale blubber, Japanese public health officials are raising issues about meat from the same whales. A Ministry of Fisheries official: ""The fact that they can't sell the blubber raises questions about the rest of the meat." The Japanese Consumers Union is opposing the meat imports because of PCB and mercury contamination fears. An earlier report in the Japan Times, published in April, had revealed that Japanese whales also have high mercury levels. Each of the 83 slices of whale meat tested from Japanese waters between Hokkaido and Okinawa exceeded safety limits. One whale caught near Okinawa exceeded limits by over 50x. Methyl mercury limits were exceeded by a factor of 35 in one individual. Posted 26 May 2003. Statesman Journal: Alaskan Senators meddle in organic labeling criteria, pushing to include wild fish even though it may be contaminated. They hope to help the Alaskan wild fisheries compete more effectively against farmed salmon. "A major retailer of organic foods, Whole Foods Market, considers the idea of organic wild fish 'totally ludicrous.'" There's no way to tell what waters wild salmon have swum through, and hence whether or not they would carry contaminants that would violate the spirit of organic labeling laws. 26 May 2003 Los Angeles Times: Fish to eat, fish to avoid, to minimize mercury risks. Because nutrition experts recommend fish be a regular part of the diet, many adults and children may be unwittingly overdosing on mercury. These risks can be avoided by selecting species unlikely to carry excessive amounts of the neurotoxicant. 26 May 2003. Associated Press: Autism cases increase sharply in Virginia. "According to the Autism Program of Virginia, the number of autism cases in the United States jumped 173 percent over the past decade. In Virginia, the number of cases has climbed by about 78 percent over the past three years, and now 2,702 children have autism in the state." New studies link environmental factors to impaired semen quality in men. Research in Denmark reveals a strong link between maternal smoking and a son's sperm concentration. Studies in Boston find higher phthalate and PCB levels in men with reduced sperm quality. A report from India also shows PCB and phthalate links. While none of these studies achieve scientific certainty about causation, they add to the weight of evidence that environmental factors are contributing to human infertility. Two invited commentaries published simultaneously in the scientific journal, Epidemiology,—one about phthalates, one about sperm count— place these new research results in a broader context. 25 May 2003. Boston Globe: Chemical in rocket fuel spurs public health debate. At least 25 states have perchlorate in surface water and groundwater. Millions may also be exposed via irrigated produce. The debate is over how much is safe. The Department of Defense, citing its own studies, wants a threshold set at 200 parts per billion. EPA is targeting 1 parts per billion. 25 May 2003. Toronto Star: Toronto bans cosmetic use of pesticides. Ban will phase in through 2005. Lawn care applicators expressed outrage. During the heated debate at city council, security guards removed several lawn operators amid cries of "fascist" and "it's a screw job." The bill passed by a wide margin, almost 26-16, despite aggressive lobbying by pesticide applicators. 23 May 2003. Wall Street Journal: Chemical manufacturers elude efforts to reduce terrorism risks. After 9/11, analysis revealed that if attacked by terrorists any one of 111 different chemical plants around the US could release chemicals that would kill over 1 million people. Efforts commenced to force manufacturers to shift toward different chemical processes that would be inherently safer. In 2002 the Senate passed strong legislation. But manufacturers mounted fierce resistance. Joined by conservative Republicans who resist government regulations of industry, the chemical industry has stymied further movement toward safer processes and reduced terrorism risks. posted 22 May 2003. The Guardian. Otters stage comeback in British rivers. In the opening chapter of Our Stolen Future, we described widespread declines in British otters, which were attributed in part (Chapter 9) to reproductive failures caused by PCB contamination. Now several decades later, wildlife biologists in Britain are heralding the comeback of the species, citing habitat improvements and declines in organochlorine contaminants as two drivers of the recovery. posted 21 May 2003. Science: European Union ups investment in endocrine disruptor research. The European Commission has launched a "massive" new research effort on the health effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals, involving 64 labs from countries around Europe. Called the "Cluster of Research on Endocrine Disruption in Europe (CREDO), it commits $23M US for 4 years to complement work already underway. Key points of focus will be androgens (and anti-androgens), brominated flame retardants, and interactions of multiple chemicals. Andreas Kortenkamp (Univ. London School of Pharmacy) will coordinate the new program. posted 21 May 2003. Study questions low level effects of methyl mercury. A study of children in the Seychelles Islands indicates a mother's consumption of ocean fish with low levels of methyl mercury does not harm fetal brain development. This work conflicts with earlier research on the psychomotor impacts of methyl mercury. 21 May 2003. More... USA Today: Overheated Teflon causes bird deaths. A petition to the Consumer Product Safety Council by the Environmental Working Group is seeking more effective warnings on Teflon products because of dangers to birds and people that result from modest overheating of the pans. Exposed birds die ("It's almost like a bomb blast."). People get "polymer fume fever, a short illness that mimics the flu with fever, chills, shivering, chest discomfort, cough and sore throat." Pesticide applicators at greater risk to prostate cancer. A large study of pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina reveals a small but significant increase in prostate cancer risk compared to the general population. The results are consistent with previous findings of elevated prostate cancer risk in farmers. Use of methyl bromide and of chlorinated pesticides showed the clearest association with higher prostate cancer risk. 20 May 2003. More... New York Times: Precaution is for Europeans. Reporter Sam Loewenberg interviews OMB head John Graham, arch foe of the Precautionary Principle, about Bush administration concerns over Europe's willingness to employ the Precautionary Principle in regulations. Loewenberg's essay, in Week in Review, ends by highlighting the fact that the logic Bush used to justify invasion of Iraq was quintessential precaution. 18 May 2003. Living on Earth: The Secret Life of Lead. In an hour-long special, NPR's Living On Earth host Steve Curwood interviews Cincinnati-based scientists Dr. Kim Deitrich and Dr. Bruce Lanphear, exploring their research on the impacts of low level lead exposures on neurological development. Curwood also visits some of the participants in the study whose lives have been profoundly altered by lead poisoning. One, now 22 and in the study since infancy, has had frequent problems with the law, a recurring pattern among youth exposed during development to low level lead. 14 May 2003. Los Angeles Times: Autism cases almost double in California in four years. A new report finds that the number of autism cases in California has almost doubled in the last 4 years. The report focused only on cases of severe autism, making it unlikely that the change is due to changes in detection procedures. No cause has been identified. According to the report, the rate of increase is accelerating. 13 May 2003. Reuters Health: Scientists warn pregnant women to avoid whale meat. A panel of Norwegian scientists is warning pregnant and nursing women not to eat whale meat. Their analysis concludes that the meat contains sufficient contaminants like mercury and PCBs to harm fetal development, especially brain development.12 May 2003. Asahi Shimbun: Paper food containers can contain high levels of bisphenol A. Japanese researches have detected significant contamination by bisphenol A of some paper containers made for food, according to a story in the Asahi Shimbun. The estrogenic contaminant was found in products made from recycled as well as virgin pulp, which included cups, napkins, tea bags and coffee filters, sandwich holders and fried chicken packaging. Levels found in the products ranged up to 26,000 parts per billion. The researchers did not address what level of contamination that might produce within food contained by the products. According to the article, these paper food containers had been considered safe and therefore were unregulated. 8 May 2003. Columbus Dispatch: Judge rules Teflon toxic. A judge has ruled that DuPont's Teflon chemical C-8 is toxic to humans and that DuPont destroyed toxicological data relevant to a class action suit against the company. The ruling also requires DuPont to pay for testing blood levels of C-8, also known as ammonium perfluorooctanoate, in people living in Ohio and West Virginia along the Ohio River near the plant. DuPont acknowledged that its chief toxicologist destroyed data, but indicates it will appeal the decision. 8 May 2003. New York Times:New European chemical policy threatens US chemical exporters. Elizabeth Becker and Jennifer 8 Lee explore the implications of the European Union's proposed new plan for chemical regulation, particularly how it wilil affect US companies wanting to export to Europe. The new plan, called REACH, will shift the burden of proof of chemical use from government to companies, and dramatically strengthen the standards that must be met to permit chemicals (and products containing them) into the European market. "European officials said today that their proposed testing was aimed at improving public health and the environment at a time when health problems like allergies and male infertility are rising. The costs of cleaning up damage from chemicals like asbestos is already in the billions of dollars." The Times quotes US Assistant Secretary of Commerce William Lash: "This is a big game; it will dwarf the G.M.O. dispute." The US is considering challenging the new policies before the World Trade Organization as an illegal constraint on trade. The EU's new approach contrasts starkly with the main legislative tool used in the US to regulate chemicals, the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, which critics cited by the Times characterize as weak and too deferential to industry. 8 May 2003. Sacramento Bee: Pesticide drift heightens health risks for Californians. The Bee reports on charges from Californians for Pesticide Reform, a coalition of organizations working to reduce pesticide exposures, that pesticide drift in California is threatening the health of hundreds of thousands of the state's residents. The charges are summarized in a report from the coalition called "Secondhand Pesticides." 7 May 2003. Reuters: Contamination halts export of whale blubber. A planned shipment of whale blubber from Norway to Japan has been halted by public health authorities because of PCB contamination. Norwegian scientists prevented the export of roughly 500 tons of blubber because it was "too toxic for human consumption." Norway had resumed hunting for Minke whales in 1993, viewing the Japanese market for blubber as an important commercial target. Norwegians eat only the meat, which contains much lower contaminant levels because PCBs accumulate in fatty tissues. Blubber in Japan can sell for $20 per kilo.7 May 2003. Reuters: Tough new chemical policies in European Union. According to the EU: "The principal aims of the new system will be to provide sufficient information on the chemicals we use and to phase out those that pose unmanageable and unacceptable risks to our health or the environment." The new law will require chemical firms to register and test for safety 30,000 chemicals at an estimated cost of almost $8 billion over the first 10 years. "The onus would be on any firm that makes, imports or uses chemicals to prove its products are safe or stop using them." Because the law will cover chemical products imported from abroad as well as those made in Europe, the EU laws will almost certainly affect chemical practices in the US.7 May 2003. Charlotte Observer: Pesticide exposure linked to prostate cancer. Research on a large sample of farmers in North Carolina has linked exposure to pesticides to a heightened risk of prostate cancer. The study, conducted by the the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Environmental Protection Agency, looked at the health records of more than 55,000 men in North Carolina and Iowa, and found 14% elevation in risk of prostate cancer associated with pesticide application. Out of 45 pesticides evaluated, the biggest risk was seen with methyl bromide. Methyl bromide has been scheduled to be phased out of use because it depletes stratospheric ozone. According to the Observer, "the United States -- prodded in part by N.C. strawberry, tobacco and pepper growers -- has asked the United Nations for exemptions that would allow continued use of the chemical on a smaller scale." 6 May 2003. New York Times: Criminal charges considered on vinyl chloride contamination. Vinyl chloride in the well water of a trailer park community in Louisiana is forcing people to leave their homes. Criminal charges may be sought. State health officials knew about the contamination in 1997 but failed to tell residents. "Women who live here say that as many as 13 pregnancies ended in miscarriage in just the last few years, and say that their children burned and itched from bath water and wading pools." People living in Myrtle Grove Trailer Park, near Placquemine, believe the contamination comes from a nearby Dow Chemical facility nearby where vinyl chloride is manufactured. Dow disclaims responsibility. 5 May 2003. Sacramento Bee: California legislature considering biomonitoring bill. Reporter Ed Fletcher describes a proposal by State Senator Deborah Ortiz to develop a biomonitoring program patterned after the CDC's national body burden survey. The program would give health and environmental officials in California information about contamination levels within residents of the state. Sponsors of the bill include Commonweal and The Breast Cancer Fund. The bill was approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee last week, and moves on now for consideration by other committees. 5 May 2003. St. Louis Post Dispatch: University of Missouri professor calls for ban on bisphenol A. Dr. Fred vom Saal will call for a ban on bisphenol A at a Toxicology and Risk Assessment meeting in Dayton, Ohio, this week. The scientist's recommendation stems from a series of results that have been published over the last several years, culminating with a demonstration that bisphenol A induces aneuploidy in mice, even at low levels. According to vom Saal's colleague from Univ Missouri, Dr. Wade Welshons, "the danger is apparent to almost anyone." Not to the plastics industry, however: they continue to issue press releases stonewalling the implications of these new results.30 April 2003. Los Angeles Times: Don't let the military off the hook yet. An editorial picks up on the perchlorate report described in the next item, below. It describes paltry efforts by the military to investigate the health risks of rocket fuels, and interference by the Office of Management and Budget. It then recommends at a minimum that the march to absolve the military from clean-up responsibilities and costs be slowed. 29 April 2003 Los Angeles Times: Perchlorate contamination in lettuce. A survey of contamination in lettuce that finds almost one in five samples studied contain the rocket fuel perchlorate. The survey, by the Environmental Working Group (a health/environment advocacy organization), measured perchlorate levels in 22 different types of lettuce purchased in grocery stores in northern California. The rocket fuel was found in four, and in each of the contaminated batches perchlorate levels were far above levels considered safe by the state of California. "One, a packaged variety of organic mixed baby greens, had a level of perchlorate contamination at least 20 times as high as the amount California considers safe for drinking water." The group acknowledges that their sample of lettuce is very small, and argues that their results should increase pressure for more extensive surveys. EWG "estimates that by eating lettuce, 1.6 million American women of childbearing age are exposed daily during the winter months to more perchlorate than the EPA’s recommended safe dose." Perchlorate is likely to be reaching lettuce through irrigation water, as the source of irrigation water for agriculture in many lettuce growing areas in California, the Colorado River, is known to be contaminated with perchlorate. State and federal environmental agencies have set relatively low safety thresholds for perchlorate because of animal data showing perchlorate interferes with the action of thyroid hormone. The US Air Force, whose long-term rocket fuel manufacturing and testing operations have contributed substantially to widespread perchlorate contamination, disputes concerns about low-level contamination. Costs of clean-up if more stringent standards prevail will run in the tens to hundreds of milliions of dollars, possible over a billion. The Republican-controlled US Congress is currently considering a bill that would exempt the military from clean-up costs of contamination on and from military bases, including perchlorate. 28 April 2003 Wall Street Journal: Gulf War Syndrome linked to pesticides. "Tens of thousands of soldiers in the first Gulf War may have been overexposed to pesticides and that may have contributed to some veterans' unexplained illnesses." Sources of exposure included a mixture of pest strips, sprayed pesticides and fly baits. 25 April 2003. USA Today: Are we paying a price for convenience? reporter Elizabeth Weise describes new scientific findings that suggest we may be paying a health cost for the convenience of certain chemicals that are widely used in consumer products. In the article she covers the broiling controversies over the perfluorinated chemicals used in Teflon, Gore-Tex and related products, the health impacts of bisphenol A leaching from polycarbonate plastic, and the emerging data on health risks associated with brominated flame retardants. Collectively these data indicate that we allowed these chemicals to move into global production far too rapidly, and that people now are paying the price in a variety of disabilities and diseases. So what's the solution? Weise explores the controversy over using the Precautionary Principle to guide decisions about what products should be allowed into the marketplace, and when. 23 April 2003. Los Angeles Times: Growing concerns about flame retardants. Reporter Marla Cone examines new scientific evidence driving growing concerns about brominated flame retardants (PBDEs) in the environment. Experiments with animals show that PBDEs disrupt brain development, most likely because of their ability to interfere with thyroid hormone. Data from a diversity of sources show that PBDE levels are building very rapidly in North America, including in people. American body burdens of PBDEs are much higher than European, because Europe has banned two bioaccumulative types of PBDEs whereas the US has not. 20 April 2003. Science Magazine and the New York Times : EU set on course to strengthen chemical policies. Reporter Samuel Loewenberg writes in Science and the NYT about efforts underway in the European Union to strengthen policies on chemical health risks. The Science article focuses on changes in EU approaches to chemical regulation, based on the Precautionary Principle. New standards will require much more stringent testing of some 30,000 chemicals on the market today, and in addition will restrict use of 1,500 chemicals for which data now raise sufficient concerns about health effects. The New York Times article looks more broadly at EU business regulation, including chemical policies. In the Times, Loewenberg quotes U.C. Berkeley business professor David Vogel: "In this new generation of environmental issues the E.U. is moving quite aggressively, while U.S. policy is stalemated." The EU measures are designed to avoid harm before it occurs, whereas in the US, lobbying by corporations has created circumstances where policies only advance during crises. While many (if not most) industry representatives are predicting economic catastrophes as a result of these new policies, some expect the new policies to encourage innovation by forcing companies to find new chemicals that are less hazardous than those currently in use. 20 April 2003. Wilmington News Journal: DuPont confronted on safety of Teflon chemical. Reporter Fred Biddle explores challenges to DuPont over the safety of a key chemical component of Teflon. The EPA has announced that it will be undertaking aggressive steps to resolve safety issues that have been raised by scientific studies of the compound, known as ammonium perfluorooctanoate, or C-8. In 2000, 3M began phasing out the chemical because of environmental concerns. And as early as 1981, DuPont removed women from manufacturing positions at a plant in West Virginia because of concerns about exposure to C-8. Two of seven children born to mothers in a small study had birth defects. Concerns about environmental pollution of C-8 in the Ohio River, where DuPont manufactures the chemical, have led DuPont to ship waste water from West Virginia to New Jersey by rail, where the waste water is dumped into the Delaware River. 13 April 2003. Environmental Science and Technology: PBDE levels much higher in Americans. Reporter Kellyn Betts summarizes several recent published and unpublished analyses of brominated flame retardant levels in people from Europe and North America. The data indicate that US PBDE body burdens are far higher than those in continental Europe, and that English appears intermediate. Two of these studies are accessible via pages in this website (Indiana and California). A third, looking at PBDE levels in Texas, was summarized at the March 2003 meeting of the Society for Toxicology. Led by Dr. Arnold Schecter, the Texas study concluded that US levels are "strikingly high" compared to Europe, ranging from 6 to over 400 parts per billion. According to Betts, one route of exposure to PBDEs that is known to differ between the US, UK and continental Europe is much greater use of brominated flame retardants in the polyurethane foam used in furniture. Another source, not considered by Betts, is use of PBDEs in carpet backing, a common practice in the US but not Europe. Both would lead to household dust laden with PBDEs. 12 April 2003. Reuters Health: 22-yr DuPont cover-up? A petition has been submitted to the US EPA requesting the agency investigate an alleged cover-up by DuPont of the potential health effects of a chemical used to make Teflon, perfluorooctanoic acid, or C8. The petition, submitted by the DC-based health advocacy organization, the Environmental Working Group, asserts that DuPont has withheld health information about C8 from the EPA for 22 years. The withheld data link C8 to birth defects in DuPont employees. [Link to EWG site] 11 April 2003.
According to Pelly, Guillette's data are consistent with lab findings by Nirmal Panesar, a steroid endocrinologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, showing that experimental administration of nitrate suppresses testosterone in rats. The suspected metabolic pathway involves conversion of nitrate by mitochondria to nitric acid, which can inhibit hormone synthesis in the testis or cause vasodilation. Many surface waters in the US have nitrate at levels far in excess of those Guillette's data indicate cause harm. 4 April 2003. Mobile Register: FDA changing its tune on mercury? A story by reporter Ben Raines gives the first public indication that the US Food and Drug Administration is changing its approach to evaluating mercury hazards in fish. If implemented, this change will dramatically lower the level of mercury contamination that warrants fish advisories, and make the FDA's warnings consistent with those of the EPA. Now, for example, the FDA recommends that women and children can eat as much as two cans of tuna each week without running a health risk. The new standard will acknowledge that as little as half a can per week will push a child over the acceptable limit. The limit for a 130-pound woman will be one can per week. Scientists familiar with past FDA policies describe the new approach as "a sea change." 4 April 2003. New York Times:NY to sue Dow over false advertising. NY State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer has announced he will sue Dow Agro-Sciences for falsely advertising that one of its products, Dursban, is safe. Spitzer contends that Dow has violated a 1994 agreement that prohibited Dow from such a claim. The Times quotes Spitzer: "Consumers must not be lulled into a false sense of security by misleading safety claims," he said. "They should be urged to use pesticides only with the utmost caution." 3 April 2003.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Pristine" lakes polluted. Despite outward appearances, high altitude lakes in the Pacific Northwest of the US and Canada are anything but pristine. In the article, Reporter Robert McClure describes scientific data presented by Environment Canada scientist Pat Shaw at a scientific meeting on the environmental health of Puget Sound (US) and Georgia Strait (Canada). "When Shaw went looking for pollutants in the fish of British Columbia, one of the sites he chose was so far up in remote mountainous country that he had to fly in the measuring equipment. Yet glacier-fed Garibaldi Lake showed some of the highest contamination levels." The contaminants detected including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and toxaphene. Dr. Staci Simonich (Oregon State University) predicted that global warming will exacerbate pollution in these regions because it will re-liberate molecules currently bound in ice, snow and cold soils. 1 April 2003. Los Angeles Times: Plastic causes chromosome damage. Reporter Marla Cone describes research carried out by scientists at Case Western Reserve that confirms, for the first time, an environmental contaminant causes a genetic error that in humans leads to spontaneous miscarriages and birth defects, including Down Syndrome. As Cone describes, the contaminant bisphenol A has its effect in mice at levels that occur today in people. "Toxicologists say the chemical leaches from plastic food and drink containers, including baby bottles and cookware, as they age, especially when they are microwaved or cleaned with harsh detergents. BPA also has been found at low levels in water supplies." The article quotes reproductive toxicologist Dr. Frederick vom Saal: "It looks like someone shot the chromosomes with a shotgun. They are totally disorganized. If you disorganize the chromosomes, it is a death sentence for an embryo. This is a stunning form of damage. It disrupts development of the cell that becomes your baby." Helen Pearson also writes about the study in Nature. According to Pearson: "Hunt, vom Saal and others would like to see BPA regulations tightened. Some regulatory bodies are already reviewing the allowable levels: a European Commission's food-safety committee, for example, last year slashed its upper limit for daily intake fivefold." George Pauli, a representative of the US Food and Drug Administration, however, said "We don't have any reason to believe there's any effect." For a detailed description of the study, see the item below from 31 March 2003, and links there from. 1 April 2003. BBC: Persistent compounds accumulating in people in Greenland. Researchers from Greenland report unacceptable levels of persistent bioaccumulative toxins in people living there and eating native foods, according to the . The BBC report cites data indicating that in some areas, 100% of Greenlanders have body burdens in excess of levels judged safe. Describing what he called "the Arctic dilemma," Doctor Jens C Hansen from the Centre for Arctic Environmental Medicine told BBC "While we need to give dietary advice to avoid the over-consumption of environmental toxins, we must also avoid people abandoning their traditional diet for a Western one." 1 April 2003. BPA is the plastic monomer used to make polycarbonate plastic (the sort of rigid plastic from which baby bottles can be made, and a variety of water bottles, including one very popular among hikers and another being sold in health food stores and advertised as "Odorless, no leaching of plastic taste." BPA is widely used to make a resin that lines food cans. Experiments show that BPA readily leaches out of polycarbonate into water and out of the resin into the food within food cans. These results open a new window into understanding the cause of human birth defects, and significantly heighten pressure to reduce human exposures to bisphenol A. 31 March 2003. 29 March 2003. The Guardian (UK) reports on persistent effects of Agent Orange use in Vietnam by US armed forces during the war. The article reports there are some 650,000 victims suffering from an array of baffling chronic conditions. Another 500,000 have already died. The thread that weaves through all their case histories is defoliants deployed by the US military during the war. According to the Guardian, this episode represents the largest use of chemical weapons in the history of warfare. It quotes a letter from a military scientist: "When we initiated the herbicide programme in the 1960s, we were aware of the potential for damage due to dioxin contamination in the herbicide. We were even aware that the military formulation had a higher dioxin concentration than the civilian version, due to the lower cost and speed of manufacture. However, because the material was to be used on the enemy, none of us were overly concerned." 29 March 2003. A report in the NY Times by Jennifer 8 Lee draws attention to an EPA review of a chemical of a chemical, called ammonium perfluorooctanoate, which is used to make Teflon and which is released by Teflon during normal use. The chemical is highly persistent and according to the EPA review, poses surprisingly high risks for younger women and girls. A similar chemical, previously used to manufacturer Scotchgard, was pulled off the market by 3M under EPA pressure in 2000. Consistent with NY Times coverage of environmental health stories, Lee's coverage of the story actually soft-pedals the strength of EPA's draft conclusions about the compound, also known as PFOA or C8 (in Dupont's files, its manufacturer). Studies reviewed by the EPA link PFOA to deaths (in newborn rats), prostate cancer, birth defects and adverse effects on internal organ weights. The fact that PFOA literally does not break down in the environment adds significantly to health concerns. The Environmental Working Group has played a key role in drawing attention to health problems of PFOA and related compounds. Much more information is available on their website. Recent reporting in the Columbus Dispatch revealed that DuPont has covered up its own health concerns about this compound for decades. 25 March 2003. In the NY Times, Jane Brody explores the arguments about vaccines and autism. She argues that if the mercury-based additive to vaccines, thimerosal, has been causing autism, then its removal from common childhood vaccines should lead very quickly to a decrease in autism rates. Her own conclusion is that thimerosal represents an insubstantial threat to the developing brain, based on several recent studies. 25
March 2003. Carol
Kaseuk Yoon reports in the New York Times about a study by
scientists at the University of Washington showing that children
lower their exposures to pesticides by eating organic instead
of conventional produce. "The
study's data showed that an organic diet could, under some circumstances,
decrease a child's pesticide exposure — as measured from
byproducts in the urine — from above the amounts considered
to be of negligible risk by the Environmental Protection Agency
to levels below."
Yoon goes on to quote Yale Professor John Wargo: "This
justifies the importance of an organic diet, that organic foods
lower a child's exposure. Industry people are saying show me the
dead bodies. I don't want people gambling
with my kids that way." 25 March 2003. Did PCBs save the striped bass run in the Hudson River? Writing in the New York Times, James Gorman explores this fish(y) story. He concludes that current fish advisories limiting fish consumption probably lessen fishing pressure on the bass by both commercial and sports fishing, but that PCBs are likely to have had their own negative impact on striped bass populations. While no research has been done specifically on PCB impacts on striped bass, they clearly affect reproduction and health in other fish species. Given that PCBs have now been around for many striped bass generations, it is likely that the bass have developed evolutionary adaptations to the contaminant's presence in their environment. 24 March 2003. Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, reporter Gail Bensinger examines the third generation of Agent Orange's victims Agent Orange. "At the residential treatment center where Phuong [one victim] shares a sunny, aqua- painted room with three other youngsters, Agent Orange is a daily reality. All of the 30 boarders and nearly half of the 100 day students are suffering from its effects: twisted or stunted limbs, bodies covered with tumors, some blind or deaf children, others with faces in perpetual pain." According to Chuck Searcy, the Hanoi representative of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, "the U.S. government is really in denial about Agent Orange. The official policy is not even to discuss it." 17
March 2003. According to Reuters
Health, a coalition of consumer and health organizations has
called for an immediate ban on playsets made of arsenic-treated
wood. The request, made to the Consumer Product Safety Commission,
also asks that thousands of playsets already in backyards and
school grounds across America be recalled. The recommendation
is based on evidence showing that children playing on the structures
run an increased risk of cancer, because arsenic continues to
leach out of the wood long after it is installed. Evidence cited
in testimony before the CPSC by Jane Houlihan, Vice President
for Research from the Environmental Working Group, indicates
that typical exposures for children may
exceed EPA safety standards by a factor of 2000. 15 March 2003. According to a story in the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio state health authorities are encouraging passage of a bill in the state legislature that would dramatically curtail public access to information about emerging health problems. The bill is being described as a measure that would strengthen efforts against terrorism, but the restrictions on public health strike a far broader swath, including information about cancer clusters and other disease investigations totally unrelated to terrorism. The article presents several examples of cases where the new law would have made it far more difficult for the public to learn about environmental health problems. 11 March 2003. Scientists from the University of Missouri have published an analysis indicating that regulatory testing for endocrine-active substances must be changed radically if there is any hope to detect developmental disruption at low contamination levels. They conclude that current methods are physically incapable of revealing low level impacts mediated by hormone receptors, because at the high levels used, the receptor systems will be saturated (swamped) and incapable of showing any response to changes in contaminant dose. Under these circumstances, it is literally impossible to extrapolate from commonly-used high level experiments to the risks created by low level exposures. The researchers also suggest that background contamination of experiments by hormonally-active substances is likely to be widespread and to have further undermined regulatory testing, by making it highly likely that this background contamination prevented toxicologists from detecting low level impacts. Instead of finding a real effect, the experiment would have been interpreted erroneously as having demonstrated no effect. The net result is that the standards currently used may need strengthening by a factor of 10,000 or greater. More... 11 March 2003. Two studies published simultaneously in Environmental Health Perspectives indicate sharp rises in the US body burden of brominated flame retardants. This is of concern because these compounds are highly persistent and bioaccumulative, and they are implicated in thyroid disruption and thus likely to interfere with brain development. The first, conducted in Indiana, finds PBDEs in maternal serum and fetal cord blood at levels far exceeding those that already motivated Sweden to institute a ban. The second, from California, examined one PBDE congener, BDE-47, in some serum and some breast fat tissues, and reports similar results. 11 March 2003. According to the New York Times, the EPA has once again delayed the start of the cleanup of PCBs in the upper Hudson River. This means that removal of contaminated sediments won't begin before 2006 and the earliest completion date is in 2012. PCB contamination in the Hudson was the result of decades of waste disposal by GE, resulting in over 1 million pounds of PCBs being dumped in the Hudson River watershed. GE evaded responsibility for cleanup until the summer of 2001, when the EPA |
