Contaminants
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Contaminants
General Information
NEWS:
Citizen Vigilance Leads to Toy Recalls "This week, the center released a list of 10 children’s products, like ceramic tea sets and bat and ball sets, that the center says have hazardous levels of lead. Two of the products had lead paint, and eight contained lead in vinyl material, the center said. The product commission says it is investigating these products and others found in the last week by several consumer advocacy groups."
Doctors warned to look out for lead poisoning "The CDC has never set a threshold for what defines lead poisoning. But it created a standard of sorts in 1991 when it said a lead level of 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood should prompt a doctor to assess the child's environment and take other protective steps. "You can have toxicity at levels all the way down to zero," said Dr. Morri Markowitz, director of the pediatric environmental sciences clinic at New York City's Montefiore Medical Center. "
Folic Acid Lowers Blood Arsenic Levels in Bangladesh "A new study conducted in Bangladesh finds that folic acid supplements can dramatically lower blood arsenic levels in individuals chronically exposed to arsenic-contaminated drinking water. Arsenic is a toxic element that is naturally present in some soils and water. Arsenic-contaminated drinking water is currently a significant public health problem in at least 70 countries, including several developing countries and also parts of the United States. Chronic arsenic exposure is associated with increased risk for skin, liver and bladder cancers, skin lesions, cardiovascular disease, and other adverse health outcomes."
Health Group Takes Action to Get the Lead Out of Toys
Just one night in smoky bar can be toxic "Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke in bars and restaurants can result in measurable levels of a toxin in workers’ bodies that is known to cause lung cancer, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. They found nonsmoking workers in Oregon who worked a single shift in a bar or restaurant that allowed smoking were more likely to have a detectable level of NNK — a carcinogen linked with lung cancer — in their bodies than those who worked in nonsmoking establishments."
Kmart Removes 'Lead-Free' Jewelry: Tests find high levels of lead in many samples "Why? Well, because many of the supposedly lead-free pieces tested turned out to have high concentrations of lead. One charm reportedly was 52 percent lead."
Lipsticks contain lead, consumer group says "Lipsticks tested by a U.S. consumer rights group found that more than half contained lead and some popular brands including Cover Girl, L'Oreal and Christian Dior had more lead than others, the group said on Thursday. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said tests on 33 brand-name red lipsticks by the Bodycote Testing Group in Santa Fe Spring, California, found that 61 percent had detectable lead levels of 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million (ppm). Lipstick, like candy, is ingested."
Low Lead Exposures Can Hurt Kidneys "Even low levels of lead exposure accelerated chronic kidney disease in rats by raising their blood pressure and hastening certain kinds of cellular damage, U.S. researchers report. Previous studies in workers have found an association between lead exposure and high blood pressure, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), kidney disease and gout."
Magazine Finds Lead in Maxi Toy Blocks
New Study: Over 60% of PVC Packaging Violates Laws in 19 States Across the Country
Plastic Chemical Safety Weighed
Plastics Chemical of 'Some Concern' for Fetal, Child Health "Bisphenol A, a chemical found in many plastics and resins, may present some risk to a developing fetus and children, a U.S. government panel concluded Wednesday. Experts convened by the U.S. Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR), part of the National Toxicology Program, unanimously concluded that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) presents some risk to human development and reproduction. BPA is chemical used in the production of polycarbonate plastic and several types of resins. It is found in products used everyday such as compact discs, DVDs, baby bottles and other food and drink packaging. It is also commonly found in cars, sports safety equipment and water pipes … The committee's report is not without its critics. 'If I were a committee member, I wouldn't sign off on this broken report,' said Jennifer Sass, senior scientist for the Health and Environment Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an advocacy group. "Harmful effects in laboratory animals exposed to even the low levels of BPA that are commonly found in the blood and urine of Americans include an increase in prostate and breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, reproductive abnormalities, reduced semen quality, recurrent miscarriage, obesity, and neurobehavioral problems similar to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder," she said in a prepared statement.' "
Polycarbonate bottles raise questions
'Safe' Lead Level Too High, Expert Says: Advocate Recommends Cutting Government Standard for Safe Lead Level in Half "The CDC considers lead levels in the blood above 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood to be a concern in children. But some studies have shown harmful effects in children with lead levels measured at or near the current standard."
The Safety of PET Bottles "Most health concerns about chemicals in plastic bottles relate to bisphenol A. That hormone-mimicking chemical, which can disturb the body's endocrine system, has been found to leach from polycarbonate plastic, which is used to make certain sturdy, reusable water bottles (such as those that hikers often carry), baby bottles, and water coolers. But PET bottles don't contain bisphenol A … If anything, it's the reuse of PET bottles by some consumers that may pose a problem, since the bottles' narrow necks can make them difficult to wash. … Not everyone buys that line, however. William Shotyk, a geochemistry professor at the University of Heidelberg, has published two studies (here and here) that show that antimony, a potentially toxic trace element, leaches from PET bottles over time."
Trial Set in Banana Pesticide Case "The pesticide was designed to kill worms infesting the roots of banana trees on Latin American plantations. But at least 5,000 agricultural workers from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama have filed five lawsuits in this country claiming they were left sterile after being exposed in the 1970s to the pesticide known as DBCP. "
ARTICLES:
CDC: Antiques Can Pose Mercury Hazard
Tainted Chinese toothpaste had wider reach "Thousands of tubes of contaminated Chinese-made toothpaste were shipped to state prisons and mental hospitals in Georgia, officials said Thursday, a sign that U.S. distribution of the tainted products was wider than initially thought."
Do the same houses poison many children? An investigation of lead poisoning in Rochester, New York, 1993-2004. (Public Health Rep. 2007)
The Toxic Origins of Disease "Researchers say endocrine-disrupting chemicals can permanently harm the developing organism and may even promote obesity. But the chemical industry doesn't want you to believe them."
JOURNAL ARTICLES:
A review of Thimerosal (Merthiolate) and its ethylmercury breakdown product: specific historical considerations regarding safety and effectiveness. (J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev. 2007)
Blood lead levels and specific attention effects in young children. (Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2007) "Importantly, the present study documents a significant negative impact of blood lead levels on attention, but not impulsivity, in early elementary age children, further delineating the specific aspects of attention related to blood lead concentrations. Analyses were also conducted to identify a "safe" blood lead level threshold. Visual inspection of non-parametric regression plots suggested a gradual linear dose-response relationship for each endpoint. None of the neurobehavioral outcomes assessed showed evidence of a threshold under which lead levels appear to "safe"."
Chronic lead poisoning: A "forgotten" cause of renal disease. (Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl. 2007)
Chronic Lead Exposure may be Associated with Erectile Dysfunction. (J Sex Med. 2007)
Cumulative community-level lead exposure and pulse pressure: the normative aging study. (Environ Health Perspect. 2007) “CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that lead exposure may contribute to the observed increase in pulse pressure that occurs with aging in industrialized societies. Lead accumulation may contribute to arterial aging, perhaps providing mechanistic insight into the observed association of low-level lead exposure with cardiovascular mortality.”
[Development of a system for the early diagnosis and prevention of children's health changes caused by exposure to heavy metals] (Gig Sanit. 2007) “Epidemiological surveys of 5-7-year-old children from 3 towns of Russia have revealed that 8.3-24.5% of the children have moderate excesses of the allowable levels of lead in blood; 4.6-12.8% have excess hair magnesium levels, and 5.9-33.8% have excess hair copper levels. The real damage to the children's neuropsychic health manifests as a significant reduction in the memory and academic achievement indices, the parameters of fine and gross motor coordination, speech expressiveness, and in the rate of minor successive movements. The prevalence of environment-dependent neuropsychic malformations is 3-7%, as calculated with reference to all the children examined.”
Effects of lead on the adult brain: A 15-year exploration. (Am J Ind Med. 2007) " CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that a significant proportion of what is considered to be "normal" age-related cognitive decline may, in fact, be due to past exposure to neurotoxicants such as lead."
Evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of lead poisoning in a patient with occupational lead exposure: a case presentation. (J Occup Med Toxicol. 2007) "We report the case of a 22 year old man working in an unorganized lead acid battery manufacturing unit, complaining about a longer history of general body ache, lethargy, fatigue, shoulder joint pain, shaking of hands and wrist drop. Patient had blue line at gingivodental junction."
High serum PCBs are associated with elevation of serum lipids and cardiovascular disease in a Native American population. (Environ Res. 2007) "Moreover, the results of this study are consistent with the conclusion that PCBs, acting through P450 enzymes, are directly responsible for increased synthesis of cholesterol and triglycerides, substances known to be major risk factors for cardiovascular disease."
Indoor- and outdoor-derived contaminants in urban and rural homes in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2007)
Inorganic: the other mercury. (J Environ Health. 2007)
Lead and mercury exposures: interpretation and action (CMAJ 2007)
Lead exposure and periodontitis in US adults. (J Periodontal Res. 2007) "Conclusion: The lead blood level was positively and statistically associated with periodontitis for both men and women. Considering the public health importance of periodontitis and lead exposure, further studies are necessary to confirm this association."
Lead poisoning and recurrent abdominal pain. (Ind Health. 2007)
Mercury Intoxication : Lack of Correlation Between Symptoms and Levels. (Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2007)
Metabolism of phthalates in humans. (Mol Nutr Food Res. 2007) "Phthalates are synthetic compounds widely used as plasticisers, solvents and additives in many consumer products. Several animal studies have shown that some phthalates possess endocrine disrupting effects. Some of the effects of phthalates seen in rats are due to testosterone lowering effects on the foetal testis and they are similar to those seen in humans with testicular dysgenesis syndrome. Therefore, exposure of the human foetus and infants to phthalates via maternal exposure is a matter of concern."
[Methylmercury causes diffuse damage to the somatosensory cortex: how to diagnose Minamata disease] (Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi. 2007)
OCCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF 210Pb AND 210Po IN SELECTED CALIFORNIA GROUNDWATER WELLS. (Health Phys. 2007)
Poisoned Toothpaste in Panama Is Believed to Be From China "Diethylene glycol, a poisonous ingredient in some antifreeze, has been found in 6,000 tubes of toothpaste in Panama, and customs officials there said yesterday that the product appeared to have originated in China. … Some of the toothpaste, which arrived several months ago in the free trade zone next to the Panama Canal, was re-exported to the Dominican Republic in seven shipments, customs officials said. A newspaper in Australia reported yesterday that one brand of the toothpaste had been found on supermarket shelves there and had been recalled. Diethylene glycol is the same poison that the Panamanian government inadvertently mixed into cold medicine last year, killing at least 100 people. Records show that in that episode the poison, falsely labeled as glycerin, a harmless syrup, also originated in China."
Recommendations for medical management of adult lead exposure. (Environ Health Perspect. 2007)
Somatosensory disturbance by methylmercury exposure. (Environ Res. 2007)
The politics of lead toxicology and the devastating consequences for children. (Am J Ind Med. 2007) "Throughout the past century tremendous pressure by the lead industry itself was brought to bear to quiet, even intimidate, researchers and clinicians who reported on or identified lead as a hazard. This article will draw on our previous work and add new documentation of the trajectory of industry attempts to keep out of the public view the tremendous threat of lead poisoning to children."
The Relationship between Early Childhood Blood Lead Levels and Performance on End-of-Grade Tests (EHP 2007) "Our results suggest that the relationship between blood lead levels and cognitive outcomes are robust across outcome measures and at low levels of lead exposure."
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