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Coallition against BAYER-dangers: Investigators are now looking into alleged conspiracies to fix prices of several chemicals used in plastics, rubber and synthetic materials in Europe, the U.S., Canada and Japan, the paper said. At least four grand-jury investigations are under way in San Francisco, and markets under scrutiny include urethane, a widely used plastic, and neoprene, a synthetic rubber, according to the Journal. Hewitt Pate, the Justice Department's antitrust chief, said in an interview with the paper that the Crompton plea ``is the first of more to come,'' mainly as a result of the amnesty program, which ``encourages violators to turn on each other.'' In the neoprene inquiry, Bayer won the race for amnesty from the Justice Department, but in a parallel civil suit, Dow and DuPont beat Bayer to it, reaching agreements with lawyers for companies that were overcharged, the Journal said. Coalition against BAYER-dangers, www.CBGnetwork.org CBGnetwork@aol.com *** From Friends of the Earth: Do you have a few seconds? We're writing to let you know that when you use shampoo, deodorant, nail polish, aftershave and other products on your body, you are exposing yourself to an array of untested chemicals, some of which have been linked to cancer, birth defects and a variety of other health problems. A groundbreaking new study of ingredients in more than 7,500 cosmetics and personal care products, just released by the Environmental Working Group, found that a variety of these products contain chemicals that are known or suspected carcinogens or reproductive toxins -- chemicals that are getting into our bodies and our breast milk. On any given day, each of us uses as many as 25 different cosmetic products containing more than 200 different chemical compounds. Unfortunately, the US government lets cosmetic companies put unlimited amounts of chemicals into personal care products with no required testing, no monitoring of health effects and inadequate labels. We must act now to demand safer products. Because We're Worth It! The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is calling on all cosmetics companies to protect our health by phasing out the use of chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects. Cosmetics and personal care companies are already phasing these chemicals out of products they sell in Europe, due to more protective public health laws. Don't we deserve the same? Take Action! Click the following link (or paste it into your browser) and join our campaign by signing the petition calling on companies to remove chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects from products NOW. http://action.safecosmetics.org/petition/ The EWG report reveals that: - An astonishing one-third of all personal care products contain one or more ingredients classified as possible human carcinogens. - 89% of the more than 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety. - The Food and Drug Administration does not require companies to do safety testing of their cosmetic products. - Nail care products contain numerous reproductive toxins, including dibutyl phthalate, toluene, lead acetate and ethoxyethanol acetate. Click or paste the link below into your browser to find out what's in your products and find safer options! http://www.safecosmetics.org//facts/skindeep.cfm Take Action! Chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects do not belong in products we use on our bodies! Help us give the cosmetics industry a makeover. For more information and to get involved visit our website: www.SafeCosmetics.org. Or contact: Lisa Archer, Safe Cosmetics Campaign, Friends of the Earth cosmetics@foe.org 202-222-0712 We have a right to safe and healthy products! Please forward far and wide. Because We're Worth It! The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a coalition of public health, educational, religious, labor, women's, environmental and consumer groups. The mission of the Because We're Worth It Campaign is to protect the health of consumers and workers by requiring the cosmetics industry to phase out the use of chemicals that are known or suspected to cause cancer, genetic mutation or reproductive harm. FOUNDING ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERS OF THE CAMPAIGN INCLUDE: The Breast Cancer Fund, Commonweal, Clean Water Action, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, Health Care Without Harm, Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, National Black Environmental Justice Network, National Environmental Trust and Women's Voices for the Earth. Lisa Archer, Campaigns Coordinator, Health and Environment Program Friends of the Earth -- U.S.larcher@foe.org , www.foe.org, www.krafty.org www.SafeCosmetics.org See also under CHEMICALS in FRAGRANCES ================================================= CHEMICALS – ACRYLAMIDE ================================================= CHEMICALS – ARSENIC (2): p. 67. Abstract: Although epidemiologic studies carried out in Taiwan, Bangladesh, and Sweden have demonstrated a diabetogenic effect of arsenic, the mechanisms remain unclear and require further investigation. This paper reviewed the potential biological mechanisms of arsenic-induced diabetes mellitus based on the current knowledge of the biochemical properties of arsenic. Arsenate can substitute phosphate in the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and other phosphate intermediates involved in glucose metabolism, which could theoretically slow down the normal metabolism of glucose, interrupt the production of energy, and … http://highwire.stanford.edu/cgi/medline/pmid;15163543 *** KM McCarty, DB Senn, ML Kile, Q Quamruzzaman, M Rahman, G Mahiuddin, and DC Christiani. Antimony: An Unlikely Confounder in the Relationship between Well Water Arsenic and Health Outcomes in Bangladesh. Environ Health Perspect 1 Jun 2004 112(8): p. 809. Abstract: Recent in vitro studies have suggested a potential role for antimony as a confounder in human health studies related to arsenic in drinking water. We measured tube-well water concentrations of antimony and arsenic in the Pabna region of Bangladesh, where arsenic concentrations are known to be elevated and the concentrations of antimony have not yet been thoroughly documented. Two hundred forty-five tube-well water samples were collected from various regions in Pabna, Bangladesh, as part of an ongoing case-control study. Water samples were analyzed for arsenic and antimony concentrations by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency method … http://highwire.stanford.edu/cgi/medline/pmid;15175164 *** R Ohtsuka, N Sudo, M Sekiyama, C Watanabe, T Inaoka, and T Kadono. Gender difference in daily time and space use among Bangladeshi villagers under arsenic hazard: application of the compact spot- check method. J Biosoc Sci 1 May 2004 36(3): p. 317. Abstract: The compact spot-check method was applied to elucidate the daily time and space use patterns of 121 adults from a Bangladeshi village in which the authors had previously found more skin manifestations due to arsenic poisoning in males than females. The analysis of 2178 spot-check data, which were obtained over a net period of 2 days, highlighted that farming and cash-earning activities were almost exclusively conducted by males. This is probably due to the Muslim Bangladeshi norm for females to be 'sedentary' in or around their own dwellings. Discussion focuses on the advantages of the compact spot-check method and the possibility that males' larger energy expenditure and longer exposure to sunlight are responsible for their severer skin manifestations. … http://highwire.stanford.edu/cgi/medline/pmid;15164939 *** SN Lu, NH Chow, WC Wu, TT Chang, WS Huang, SC Chen, CH Lin, and BI Carr. Characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma in a high arsenicism area in Taiwan: a case-control study. J Occup Environ Med 1 May 2004 46(5): p. 437. Abstract: Arsenic contamination of drinking water is noticeably linked to the occurrence of skin, bladder, lung cancers, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Blackfoot disease (BFD) caused by arsenicosis is endemic in southwestern Taiwan, where artesian well water contains high concentrations of arsenic, and mortality from HCC shows a dose-response increase by concentration of arsenic in the well water. This case-control study was conducted to examine the … http://highwire.stanford.edu/cgi/medline/pmid;15167390 ================================================= CHEMICALS – dimethoxybenzidine Chemicals Listed Effective June 11, 2004 as Known to the State of California to Cause Cancer: 3,3'-dimethoxybenzidine-based dyes metabolized to 3,3'-dimethoxybenzidine, 3,3'-dimethylbenzidine-based dyes metabolized to 3,3'-dimethylbenzidine, ethylbenzene, propylene glycol mono-t-butyl ether, and thiouracil http://www.oehha.ca.gov/index.html ================================================= CHEMICALS – FORMALDEHYDE International Agency for Research on Cancer WHO 15 June 2004 IARC CLASSIFIES FORMALDEHYDE AS CARCINOGENIC TO HUMANS "Twenty-six scientists from 10 countries evaluated the available evidence on the carcinogenicity of formaldehyde, a widely used chemical", reports Dr Peter Boyle, Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization. The working group, convened by the IARC Monographs Programme, concluded that formaldehyde is carcinogenic to humans. Previous evaluations, based on the smaller number of studies available at that time, had concluded that formaldehyde was probably carcinogenic to humans, but new information from studies of persons exposed to formaldehyde has increased the overall weight of the evidence. World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150, cours Albert-Thomas 69372 Lyon Cedex 08 (France) Telephone: 33 472 738 485 Facsimile: 33 472 738 311 http://www.iarc.fr http://www.iarc.fr/pageroot/PRELEASES/pr153a.html ================================================= CHEMICALS in FRAGRANCES acetone, ethylbenzene, styrene, toluene-derivates, xylenes...........used as fragrance chemicals, and also Common Name: MIBK EINECS No.: 203-550-1 CAS Registry No: 108-10-1 Chem. Name: 4-Methylpentan-2-one. Perfume and aromatic raw materials Adopted by the SCCNFP during the plenary session of 24 October 2000 http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_risk/committees/sccp/sccp_opinions_en.htm Opinion concerning the 1st update of the inventory of ingredients employed in cosmetic products section II : perfume and aromatic raw materials (adopted by the SCCNFP during the plenary session of 24 October 2000)(934KB) http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_risk/committees/sccp/documents/out131_en.pdf hexane: http://www.perfumersworld.com/chems/material.htm The raw materials of perfumery An overview of the main material groups used in perfumery Few environmental exposure goals are established for other VOCs. The NHMRC goal of 250 µg/m3 for any compound was exceeded for many VOCs in Cars 2 and 3. Toxic effects of some of these VOCs and ambient air goals (µg/m3 at 0oC/101kPa) based on these effects (Calabrese & Kenyon 1991) are: · acetone - mucosal irritation (8-hour goal, 39,000); · cyclohexanone - possible human carcinogen (annual goal, 180); · ethylbenzene - systemic toxin (24-hour goal, 140); · MIBK - systemic toxin (8-hour goal, 540); · n-hexane - neurotoxin (24-hour goal, 540); · styrene - probable human carcinogen (annual goal, 29); · toluene - central nervous system dysfunction (8-hour goal, 1600); and · xylene isomers - foetal development toxins (24-hour goals: o-xylene 310, m-xylene 3100, p-xylene 62). It is seen that several of these goals may have been exceeded in the cars for several weeks after manufacture TVOC concentrations also occurred at levels that may affect occupants (see Section 1.2) for weeks to months after car purchase, although not for years. The effects that could be caused by this TVOC exposure include eye irritation, and performance and memory factors, all of which may be important car safety issues, as well as occupant health and comfort issues. Full article at: http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/New-Car-Interior-VOCs30nov00.htm Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in New Car Interiors Presented at the 15th International Clean Air & Environment Conference Sydney CASANZ 464-8 26-30nov00 Stephen K. Brown and Min Cheng CSIRO Building, Construction and Engineering, Graham Road, Highett 3190, Australia Summary. The types of VOCs and their concentrations have been determined in new cars from three different manufacturers, from their purchase on the Australian market to approximately two years later, using a specific test protocol. Total VOC (TVOC) concentrations were initially very high (up to 64,000 µg/m3) in two locally made cars which reached the market one to two months after manufacture. Such TVOC levels have been associated with sensory irritation and impairment of performance and memory in controlled exposure studies. These levels decreased approximately seven-fold in the first month, but still exceeded the NHMRC indoor air goal. The VOCs consisted mostly of substituted benzene compounds and alkanes, as well as some polar compounds. The third car was imported (reaching the market four months after manufacture) and the initial TVOC concentration was 2000 µg/m3. Decays of car VOC concentrations occurred by an exponential process, with TVOC concentrations decreasing by approximately 20% per week after manufacture. Keywords: Volatile organic compound (VOC), total VOC (TVOC), car, benzene, interior materials. ============================================== CHEMICALS – PERCHLORATE June 22, 2004 THE STATE Too Much Perchlorate in Milk, Report Says An environmental group says Southland children are being exposed to more than the EPA recommended level. By Marla Cone Times Staff Writer Milk sold in Southern California supermarkets contains a toxic ingredient of rocket fuel that exposes many children to amounts exceeding a federal health recommendation, according to a report by an environmental organization released Monday. Out of 33 samples of well-known brands of milk purchased in Los Angeles and Orange counties, the Environmental Working Group found the chemical perchlorate in all but one. Children from 1 to 5 years old who drink between one and two cups of milk a day are getting daily amounts higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends. Perchlorate, the explosive component of rocket fuel, has leaked from aerospace companies and military bases and contaminated water supplies in 29 states, including the lower Colorado River, which supplies much of Southern California's drinking water and irrigates over a million acres of farmland in California and Arizona. Infants and fetuses are especially vulnerable to the effects of perchlorate. Animal tests indicate that small amounts can disrupt thyroid hormones that regulate brain development. "Our findings are not a call for California mothers to stop drinking milk or stop giving it to their children," said Bill Walker, vice president of Environmental Working Group. "They do show that the state must set a drinking water standard that fully protects public health. Mothers should not be forced to wonder if milk is affecting their child's growth and development."...... ....Fetuses are the most vulnerable to chemicals that alter thyroid hormones. About 7% of women of childbearing age drink enough milk to get daily amounts of perchlorate that exceed the EPA's recommended level, according to the tests.http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-milkjun22,1,175929.story?coll=la-headlines-california ================================================= CHEMICALS – PESTICIDES From P A N U P S Pesticide Action Network Updates Service Resource Pointer #368 (China's Economy and the Environment) June 16, 2004 Resource Pointer #367 (Local Food Systems). June 9, 2004 Two New Warnings on Pesticides & Chemicals. June 15, 2004 Pesticides Affect Child Development in India June 22, 2004 Shareholders and Public Interest Groups Knock Pesticide Companies June 7, 20004 Email: panna@panna.org Web: http://www.panna.org ================================================= CHEMICALS – VOCs Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in New Car Interiors Presented at the 15th International Clean Air & Environment Conference Sydney CASANZ 464-8 26-30nov00 Keywords: Volatile organic compound (VOC), total VOC (TVOC), car, benzene, interior materials. for more, go to the page. http://www.perfumersworld.com/chems/material.htm ================================================= FOOD – GMO - GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS Russian babies fall victims to bio experiments Baby food manufacturers conduct cynical experiments on Russian newborns. Scientists tested samples of the most popular brands of baby foods sold in Russian supermarkets. Results turned out to be absolutely shocking: 70% of samples contained genetically modified organisms (GMO). Some of the dairy and vegetable mixes were fully made of GMO! Almost every package contains the phrase "Contains no artificial preservatives." Ecologists however decided to test several most popular baby foods of Russian and foreign manufacturers in order to see whether they contained any percentage of genetically modified organisms. It turned out they all did…. Read the original in Russian: http://news.pravda.ru/health/2004/06/05/63834.html (Translated by: Anna Ossipova) http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/ivaningrilli/ ================================================= GUIDELINES New Association of Reproductive Health Professional (ARHP) Guidelines on Fish Consumption Physicians for Social Responsbility June 18, 2004 Contact: Elizabeth Rose – 202/478-6119 (w) - 301/329-1167 (c) Physician Groups Release 1st Guides to Safe Fish Consumption Written by Doctors Free Guide is Available to Public Online at www.MercuryAction.org/fish Washington, DC – Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and the Association of Reproductive Health Professional (ARHP) today released Fish Consumption to Promote Good Health and Minimize Contaminants: A Quick Reference Guide for Clinicians and Healthy Fish, Healthy Families. These are the first safe fish consumption guides written by physicians and health professionals for physicians and consumers, respectively. The guides urge women of child-bearing age and children to avoid fish that are highest in mercury and PCBs. They provide more cautious, comprehensive recommendations than the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recently announced guidelines. PSR and ARHP will distribute thousands of the guides to health care providers and their patients, and both guides are available at www.mercuryaction.org/fish. Healthy Fish, Healthy Families is a valuable consumer resource that provides specific guidelines for parents to help them choose what kind of and how much fish they and their young children can most safely eat. A pocket guide is also available at www.mercuryaction.org/fish. "Millions of American women and their children are at risk from mercury and PCB contamination from fish and other sources," said Katherine M. Shea, M.D., M.P.H., an author of the new guides….. Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is a leading public policy organization with nearly 30,000 members representing the medical and public health professions and concerned citizens, working together for nuclear disarmament, a healthy environment, and an end to the epidemic of gun violence. ARHP is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization that has been educating front-line health care providers and their patients since 1963. The organization fosters research and advocacy to improve reproductive health. www.arhp.orghttp://www.arhp.org/healthcareproviders/onlinepublications/QRGfishandhealth.cfm , OR www.MercuryAction.org/fish ================================================= LAW – MEDICATION TO CHILDREN from PEN weekly NewsBlast: Some parents just say “WHOA” to school-required medications To date, according to activists who track the issue, seven states have laws prohibiting school personnel from recommending psychotropic drugs for children. Over the past few years, 46 bills in 28 states have either passed or are awaiting action, reports Kelly Hearn. Currently, one federal bill, the Child Safety Medication Act, prohibits schools from making medication a requirement of attendance and calls on the Government Accounting Office to track how often schools pressure parents to seek ADHD diagnoses. It passed the House in 2003 but is currently stalled in the Senate. Yet even as courts and legislatures muddle through the question of offering protection to parents who choose not to medicate their children, controversy deepens over the use of stimulants like methylphenidate -- the generic name for Ritalin -- by children. Teachers and school administrators interviewed for this story generally agreed that for some students diagnosed with ADHD, stimulants make a remarkable difference, calming internal storms and bringing normalcy to scattered young lives. But several also noted worrisome trends in diagnosis, noting, for example, that teachers in crowded, cash-strapped classrooms are more likely to steer a disruptive child toward medication. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0614/p12s01-legn.html ================================================= POLICY - CHEMICALS – EU EU Chemicals Policy http://www.eeb.org/activities/chemicals/main.htm Tens of thousands of industrial chemicals are currently on the market and used in our daily products without having been checked for potential effects on human health and on the environment! Existing European chemicals legislation does not deliver the goods. It does not provide sufficient knowledge of, or public information about, the chemicals in use, and it is ineffective in controlling dangerous substances. Regulatory action on even highly hazardous chemicals, like Asbestos or PCB, comes too late to prevent huge health and environmental damages (see EEA report: "Late lessons from early warnings: the precautionary principle 1996-2000" Following pressure from Governments, the EU Commission and many environmental organisations, the EU is now entering into a major debate on the reform of a flawed system. Now it is up to the policy makers to address the insufficient - and irresponsible - level of attention which has been given to chemicals. We cannot continue to conduct an "in vivo experiment with human health and nature", while observing that chemicals-related diseases are increasing. Hazardous chemicals continuously accumulate in our bodies, contaminate human breast milk and pollute even remote regions of the world! The European Commission produced an evaluation report on the three main Directives and one Regulation of the chemicals legislation (November 1998), which confirmed the failure of the present system. It concluded that work should begin on the development of an integrated and coherent approach to a new EU Chemicals Policy; one that adequately reflects the precautionary principle and the principle of sustainability. In June 1999, the Environment Council acknowledged that a fundamental review of EU Chemicals Policy was needed and gave a clear mandate to the Commission to take the appropriate measures. As a result, the Commission, in February 2001, adopted a White Paper on the strategy for a future Chemicals Policy (EEB comments). It introduced the REACH (Registration Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) designed to ensure a "high level of protection of human health and the environment" following the Precautionary Principle. The Council and European Parliament gave their opinion in June and November (Council conclusions, EP resolution and EEB comments). During the winter 2001/2002 the EEB participated at the Commission's stakeholder working groups discussing the main issues of the new chemicals management system REACH, as proposed by the White Paper. Up to now (beginning 2003) the Commission has failed to propose legislation implementing REACH. Meanwhile powerful chemical industry lobby has been scaremongering with flawed figures about loss of competitiveness and jobs. The EEB believes on the contrary that besides the overwhelming environmental and health benefits - a precautionary REACH should bring - even business would enjoy numerous opportunities (see EEB/WWF report: "A new chemicals policy in Europe - new opportunities for industry." ) A Chemicals campaign was started in the EEB in June 1998, to contribute to this debate. An EEB Chemicals Working Group was set up with around 40 experts from most European countries with the aim of following the developments, and participating actively to ensure a high level of protection for the environment and human health under the future EU Chemicals Policy. The EEB, together with the European Consumers Organisation (BEUC), Friends of the Earth, WWF and many other environment and consumer NGOs, support five key demands which they would like to see reflected in the new EU Chemicals Policy. These are the following: 1. A full right to know, including which chemicals are present in products. 2. A deadline by which all chemicals on the market must have their safety assessed by independent experts. All uses of a chemical should be approved and should be demonstrated to be safe beyond reasonable doubt. 3. A phase-out of persistent or bio-accumulative chemicals. 4. A requirement to substitute less safe chemicals with safer alternatives. 5. A commitment to stop all releases to the environment of hazardous substances by 2020. In addition, the EEB, together with the European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) and three Danish NGOs, presented and published the policy discussion document "Chemicals under the spotlight: From Awareness to Action " within the framework of the Chemical Awareness campaign launched by the same organisations in November 1999. The five demands were also presented and signed as the Copenhagen Chemicals Charter, by the organisers during the International Conference "Chemicals under the Spotlight", Copenhagen 27-28 October in the presence of the Commissioner for the Environment, Margot Wallström. The EEB is also involved in the work done on Endocrine Disrupting Substances (Commission report, EEB comments), and Pesticides (Commission report, EEB/PAN comments). Aims: * EU agreement on an ambitious chemicals policy during 2003, so that it can be implemented by 2004, as the Goteborg Summit requires. * Resistance to the pressure from the chemical industry to dilute the proposals of the Commission as presented in the White Paper on Chemicals (2001). * Ensure that new chemical policy establishes a paradigm shift, which puts the precautionary pronciple into practice, reverses the burden of proof, applies the "no data - no market" principle and makes to substitution principle mandatory. * Phase out of hazardous chemicals by 2020. * Phase out use of PVC. Activities: * Active involvement in the discussions on the draft legislation in "Brussels", especially mobilising citizens' movements to react to the Internet Conclusion on the draft of the new chemicals legislation. * A publication responding to the Commission's proposal. * Mobilisation of allies for a strict EU chemicals legislation, also outside the environmental movement, in particular among consumers, public health protectors. * Organise one major conference. * Organise workshops of the EEB Working Group; maintain regular contact via its list-server. * Active involvement in the discussion on a White Paper on PVC. Pesticides Pesticides substances are also chemicals, but they are addressed in a separate Directive (91/414/EEC) the Pesticides Authorisation Directive. This authorisation scheme is subject to various critiques. It lacks transparency, an evaluation of toxicity, an assessment of the combined effects of various chemicals, and a promotion of reduced pesticides use. After 10 years, according to the Directive, products are re-evaluated for further market availability, but due to procedural weaknesses, the deadlines for such re-evaluation are presently unreachable (60 substances out of 600 planned for 2003) and risks are not minimised. Facing these problems, a revision of this Directive is in process. The EEB and the Pesticides Action Network are asking for a paradigm shift in the Pesticides Authorisation process. This requires putting the burden of proof upon pesticides producers, implementing the precautionary principle by banning hazardous pesticides ingredients and guaranteeing an open and transparent pesticides assessment procedure. For more information please contact: Stefan SCHEUER at EEB office E-mail: stefan.scheuer@eeb.org *** Forwarded from the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (http://www.cheforhealth.org/) Excerpt: “The WHO report warns Europe's ministers that child-specific legislation is needed if children are to be protected from environmental risks. It claims the fact that "children are not just 'little adults'" has previously been ignored by policy makers.” Follow-up: WHO Europe office, tel: +45 39 17 17 17, a press release and Budapest conference information. WHO talks up scale of environment-health risks Environment Daily 1691, 21/06/04 One-third of all child deaths in Europe are caused by the environment, the World health organisation (WHO) claimed on Friday. The statement represents a final bid to grab media attention before ministerial talks on environment and health in Budapest this week, the centrepiece of which will be adoption of a children's health and environment action plan for Europe (Cehape). According to the new research, between 1.8% and 6.4% of all deaths among European children up to 4 is caused by outdoor air pollution by fine particulates. Some 4.6% of deaths in the same group is attributed to indoor air pollution by smoke from solid fuel burning. A further 5.3% of deaths in children up to 14 is attributed to dirty water or sanitation. Using a parallel measure of disability-adjusted life years (dalys), the report estimates lower relative importance for indoor air pollution and dirty water and sanitation at 3.1% and 3.5% of all childhood deaths respectively. However, it attributes 1.4% of all dalys in the 0-4 age group to poisoning by the heavy metal lead. Combined, these environmental risk factors add up to between 12% and 16% of all child deaths. The researchers arrive at their overall estimate of 34% of deaths "due to environment" by including injuries of all kinds, ranging from traffic accidents to falls and drowning, suicide to violence. All such injuries are estimated to be responsible for 22.6% of deaths in children up to 19, and 19% of dalys. "This is the biggest study ever done on the link between child health and the environment," a WHO spokesperson told Environment Daily. In a statement, the UN agency described the results as "devastating" and "ominous". It is unclear whether there is general agreement that estimates of "environmental" health risks should properly include injuries, as the WHO study does. The EU environment and health strategy Scale launched last year does not. In proposals for a Scale action plan earlier this month, the Commission referred to the WHO study as showing that one-sixth rather than one-third of child deaths are due to environmental factors (ED 10/06/04). The WHO report warns Europe's ministers that child-specific legislation is needed if children are to be protected from environmental risks. It claims the fact that "children are not just 'little adults'" has previously been ignored by policy makers. However, the study also stresses the difficulty of establishing exact figures for environment-linked child deaths. Challenges faced include differing absolute numbers of children in the regions surveyed, and a reliance on available data. Follow-up: WHO Europe office, tel: +45 39 17 17 17, a press release and Budapest conference information ================================================= POLICY – USA – SMOKEFREE LAW From Joe Cherner: 25. 08. 2004 Rhode Island becomes nation's 7th smokefree workplace state http://www.smokefree.net ================================================= SCIENCE From the Wall St. Journal HEALTH JOURNAL By TARA PARKER-POPE , April 6, 2004; Page D1 Memory Loss in Chemotherapy Patients Becomes New Area of Focus for Doctors For years chemotherapy patients who complained of memory problems -- or so-called "chemo brain" -- were told it was all in their head. But new research shows that chemo brain is real. While cognitive complaints following chemotherapy have often been written off to depression, anxiety and even menopause, doctors now know that chemotherapy can trigger real -- and sometimes lasting -- changes in a patient's brain. Last week, researchers from University of California-Los Angeles presented imaging studies at a scientific meeting in Orlando, Fla., showing marked differences in the brains of breast-cancer patients who had undergone chemotherapy compared to patients who had undergone surgery alone. Studies are just beginning on whether certain drugs or cognitive therapy can help prevent or offset that side effect. Some patients are given the stimulant Ritalin, which can help improve concentration. Not every patient develops cognitive problems after chemotherapy, but enough people do that more and more doctors are beginning to warn patients about the potential side effect, says Eric Winer, director for breast oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Most of the problems typically relate to focus, fast thinking, organization skills and an inability to multitask. The problem has been most studied in breast-cancer patients, in part because many of those patients are relatively young and highly educated and have high survival rates. That makes cognitive declines more noticeable compared with declines in older or retired patients. But cognitive problems have also been noted in other cancers, including lymphoma and lung cancer. http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/PJ-AB770_HEALTH04052004200624.jpg "[health] The blue-green color in the top of the brain of the chemotherapy patient (left) shows abnormally low metabolic activity compared with yellow hues indicating normal metabolism in the untreated brain (right). Much more research is needed to say conclusively how widespread the problem is. Studies of breast-cancer patients show that nearly two-thirds of women treated with chemo develop some level of cognitive problems, though most recover on their own in the weeks or months after treatment stops. Still, as many as 20% to 25% of patients may develop lasting problems, says Tim A. Ahles, program director of the center of psycho-oncology research at Dartmouth Medical School, which has led much of the research on the subject. … http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108119690243674607,00.html *** Environmental Toxin Linked to Parkinson's MONDAY, June 21 (HealthDayNews) -- Environmental toxins called proteasome inhibitors cause a Parkinson's disease like movement disorder in rats, according to new research. The findings suggest that these natural toxins may contribute to the development of Parkinson's in humans. Proteasome inhibitors are produced by bacteria and fungi. Human-made proteasome inhibitors also find their way into the environment. "These results suggest that we should determine how widespread these toxins are in the environment, how humans are exposed to them, and how such exposures correlate with the incidence of Parkinson's disease," study lead author Kevin St. P. McNaught, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said in a prepared statement. The study appears in the online edition of the journal Annals of Neurology. In humans and other animals, proteasomes act like a garbage disposal system by eliminating abnormal proteins from cells. There's growing evidence that people with Parkinson's have defective proteasomes. In this study, McNaught and his colleagues used both man-made and naturally occurring proteasome inhibitors to interfere with proteasomes in laboratory rats. Imaging of the rats' brains showed types of changes identical to that seen in Parkinson's disease. They began to display Parkinson's-like symptoms such as slowness of movement, tremors, and rigidity. "These symptoms gradually worsened over a period of months, and could be reversed with drugs that are used to treat Parkinson's patients," McNaught said. At autopsy, the rats' brains showed a reduction in levels of the brain chemical dopamine, which undergoes a similar decline in Parkinson's patients. Autopsy also revealed a pattern of nerve cell loss that closely resembled Parkinson's. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=97&ncid=751&e=10&u=/hsn/20040621/hl_hsn/environmentaltoxinlinkedtoparkinsons More information Learn more about the disorder from the National Parkinson Foundation., Elisa Larkin, Executive Director, Mold Relief, Inc.,www.moldrelief.org *** EHP Toxicogenomics 112-9 May 2004 is now online! The June 2004 EHP Annual Review issue is now your location and time.The timing of particular exposures occurring seasonally or during development in utero can have profound effects later on humans, wildlife, and ecosystems. We are also realizing that alterations in ecosystems can significantly affect human exposures. Read about important current issues for environmental health and how new global information can be applied to improve exposure and hazard assessments http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2004/112-9/toc.html *** June 30/2004 Children’s lungs and brains at greatest risk from toxics: new report released today For more information: Kathleen Cooper, Senior Researcher, 416-960-2284 ext. 221 or 705-324-1608 On-line: http://62.44.8.131/newsevents/detail.shtml?x=1913 June 30/04 Media Release: Children’s lung and brain development most at risk from toxic substances, report finds http://62.44.8.131/newsevents/detail.shtml?x=1912 Backgrounder http://62.44.8.131/newsevents/detail.shtml?x=1912 to June 30/04 Media Release: Toxic chemicals affecting children’s lungs, brain development. Air, food and consumer goods appear to be key exposure sources. <http://62.44.8.131/publications/cardfile.shtml?x=1910>Full Report: Toxic Substances – Focus on Children (200 pp, PDF format) <http://62.44.8.131/publications/cardfile.shtml?x=1908>Executive Summary (14 pp, PDF format) ================================================= VACCINES Study Finds Genetic Link Between Autism, Vaccines. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-sci-autism9jun09,1,3977422.story?coll=la-news-a_section Thimerosal Content in Vaccines -- as of 4/22/04 http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm June 8, 2004. Row over autism link to vaccines Vaccinations contain preservatives Scientists have raised fears that a mercury-based preservative used in vaccines may cause symptoms of autism. US researchers at Columbia University found autism-like damage in the brains of mice exposed to thimerosal. In the UK it is used in the DTP jab for diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough and some flu jabs. The study, in Molecular Psychiatry, has been challenged by various expert groups, who say there is no evidence that the preservative poses any risk. A major review carried out by the US Institute of Medicine published last month found no evidence that thimerosal was linked to autism..... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3788443.stm ================================================= end of newsletter/E/30 |
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