A New Project is Underway to Draw the Connections between Toxins and Children’s Health
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?5172
Protecting Children’s Health
A New Project is Underway to Draw the Connections between Toxins and Children’s Health
By Brita Belli
The relationship between children’s health and environmental toxins is finally getting the long-term look it deserves. A recent fundraiser at the Greenwich Country Club in Connecticut featured Dr. Philip Landrigan of the Mt. Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center, who despite the celebrities in attendance (including Laurie David and Mary Richardson Kennedy) took to the podium with all the fanfare of a rock star. In health circles, he is. By connecting lead exposure with lowered IQ in children, Landrigan’s work helped end lead components in gasoline and paint—and resulted in an 88% drop in lead levels in American kids by 2005. Now Landrigan is behind The Autism and Learning Disabilities Discovery and Prevention Project just launched at Mt. Sinai which will take a comprehensive look at how environmental toxins affect children’s health up to adulthood. “If there are a few chemicals we can prove cause autism,” said Landrigan, “it opens the possibility that there are others.”
He listed some of the known chemical causes of autism—including Thalidomide (used during the ‘50s and ‘60s to combat morning sickness), Misoprostol (used to induce labor) and Valproic acid (an anticonvulsant, mood-stabilizing drug). As part of their new project, the Mt. Sinai team will be building a “biobank,” so that babies’ cord blood—collected with permission at the hospital—will be analyzed for some 200 chemicals of concern, and will undergo genetic and epigenetic analyses.
The project is a perfect complement to the National Children’s Study already underway across the U.S. That study—with a consortium of partners that includes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—was launched in January 2010 and has set out to enroll 100,000 pregnant women in 105 counties and track the babies’ development until age 21. They’re collecting hair, blood and urine samples from pregnant women, testing household dust, water and carpeting and analyzing the samples for chemicals, for genetic makeup and for infections.
It’s a mammoth undertaking, but one that researchers hope can begin to answer questions about multiple chemical impacts happening across a lifetime of exposure, rather than examining—and banning—such chemicals one by one.
“Banning chemicals can work,” Dr. Landrigan told the well-heeled attendees at the fundraiser (which netted $300,000 for his center), “but after they’re already in widespread use…it’s hugely disruptive.” What would work better, he said, was a complete overhaul—mandated testing of all old and new chemicals as has been proposed in New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg’s bill, The Kid-Safe Chemical Act. It’s a bill, that, according to Sen. Lautenberg’s website: “would ensure for the first time that all the chemicals used in baby bottles, children’s toys and other products are proven to be safe before they are put on the market.” Added Dr. Landrigan: “New science is needed, too.”
RESOURCES: Mt. Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center
Research links pesticides with ADHD in children
May 17, 12:02 AM EDT
Research links pesticides with ADHD in children
By CARLA K. JOHNSON
AP Medical Writer
CHICAGO (AP) — A new analysis of U.S. health data links children’s attention-deficit disorder with exposure to common pesticides used on fruits and vegetables.
While the study couldn’t prove that pesticides used in agriculture contribute to childhood learning problems, experts said the research is persuasive.
“I would take it quite seriously,” said Virginia Rauh of Columbia University, who has studied prenatal exposure to pesticides and wasn’t involved in the new study.
More research will be needed to confirm the tie, she said.
Children may be especially prone to the health risks of pesticides because they’re still growing and they may consume more pesticide residue than adults relative to their body weight.
In the body, pesticides break down into compounds that can be measured in urine. Almost universally, the study found detectable levels: The compounds turned up in the urine of 94 percent of the children.
The kids with higher levels had increased chances of having ADHD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a common problem that causes students to have trouble in school. The findings were published Monday in Pediatrics.
The children may have eaten food treated with pesticides, breathed it in the air or swallowed it in their drinking water. The study didn’t determine how they were exposed. Experts said it’s likely children who don’t live near farms are exposed through what they eat.
“Exposure is practically ubiquitous. We’re all exposed,” said lead author Maryse Bouchard of the University of Montreal.
She said people can limit their exposure by eating organic produce. Frozen blueberries, strawberries and celery had more pesticide residue than other foods in one government report.
A 2008 Emory University study found that in children who switched to organically grown fruits and vegetables, urine levels of pesticide compounds dropped to undetectable or close to undetectable levels.
Because of known dangers of pesticides in humans, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits how much residue can stay on food. But the new study shows it’s possible even tiny, allowable amounts of pesticide may affect brain chemistry, Rauh said.
The exact causes behind the children’s reported ADHD though are unclear. Any number of factors could have caused the symptoms and the link with pesticides could be by chance.
The new findings are based on one-time urine samples in 1,139 children and interviews with their parents to determine which children had ADHD. The children, ages 8 to 15, took part in a government health survey in 2000-2004.
As reported by their parents, about 150 children in the study either showed the severe inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity characteristic of ADHD, or were taking drugs to treat it.
The study dealt with one common type of pesticide called organophosphates. Levels of six pesticide compounds were measured. For the most frequent compound detected, 20 percent of the children with above-average levels had ADHD. In children with no detectable amount in their urine, 10 percent had ADHD.
“This is a well conducted study,” said Dr. Lynn Goldman of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a former EPA administrator.
Relying on one urine sample for each child, instead of multiple samples over time, wasn’t ideal, Goldman said.
The study provides more evidence that the government should encourage farmers to switch to organic methods, said Margaret Reeves, senior scientist with the Pesticide Action Network, an advocacy group that’s been working to end the use of many pesticides.
“It’s unpardonable to allow this exposure to continue,” Reeves said.
On the Net:
Pediatrics: http://www.aap.org/
EPA: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food
Tracking the Oil Spill
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/01/us/20100501-oil-spill-tracker.html?ref=us
Published: May 1, 2010
Tracking the Oil Spill
The map sequence shows how the oil spill has been spreading in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. Coast Guard
“BE AIR AWARE”
Air Quality Awareness Week
May 3rd thru May 7th, 2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service urge Americans to “Be Air Aware” during Air Quality Awareness Week, May 3-7, 2010
Join the EPA and NOAA next week as they examine the following topics:
* Monday: Ozone and particle pollution
* Tuesday: What causes poor air quality?
* Wednesday: Keeping your lungs and heart safe
* Thursday: What are air quality forecasts.
* Friday: What can you do to help make the air cleaner?
To find out more visit: Air Quality Awareness Week
http://www.airquality.noaa.gov/
Drinking water clinic highlights drilled wells, cisterns and springs
http://live.psu.edu/story/46304/nw69
Friday, April 23, 2010
University Park, Pa. — Ben Franklin wrote, “when the well is dry, we know the worth of water.” But even when the well is pumping steadily, it’s still worthwhile to regularly test private water supplies.
Public water systems are required by law to protect customers and regularly test for impurities. But in Pennsylvania, 3.5 million residents are served by private water systems, such as wells, springs and cisterns, and they have no such legal oversight.
“If you own your own private supply, it’s all your own responsibility to provide clean water to yourself, the people in your family and the people who come to visit,” said Peter Wulfhorst, educator with Penn State Cooperative Extension in Pike County.
Wulfhorst will be the featured speaker in the next Penn State Extension Water Webinar, titled “Safe Drinking Water Clinic,” which will air at noon and again at 7 p.m. on April 28.
He said two types of water standards concern homeowners: primary standards pertaining to health, and secondary standards that pertain to the water’s aesthetics — its taste or smell, its appearance, or whether it stains plumbing fixtures or laundry. He said the webinar will cover both of these subjects, as well as how to protect a water supply from contaminants, which contaminants to test for and what treatments to use if contaminants are present. Read more
Ground Water Awareness Week Slated for March 7-13
http://www.fb.org/index.php?fuseaction=newsroom.newsfocus&year=2010&file=nr0217b.html
Ground Water Awareness Week Slated for March 7-13
WASHINGTON, D.C, February 17, 2010 – The American Farm Bureau Federation is urging Farm Bureau members to schedule an annual water well checkup during National Ground Water Awareness Week, March 7-13.
Ground Water Awareness Week is sponsored annually by the National Ground Water Association. NGWA is urging every household well owner to check his or her well cap to make sure it is in good condition to protect the water supply from contamination.
“A damaged or unsecured well cap can allow the entry of bacteria or other contaminants into the well. It is one of the easiest things to check, and a well owner can do it,” said John Pitz, CPI, a member of NGWA’s national board of directors.
“While well owners can spot a damaged or unsecured well cap, they should always use a qualified water well systems contractor who knows applicable well construction codes,” Pitz said. “If the well cap is damaged or unsecured, the water well contractor may also need to test the water and disinfect the well.”
Having your well tested is the surest way to determine that the water is safe. Even if your well cap fits tightly on your well and your water tastes fine, the water well system should be given a checkup by a contractor every year, according to NGWA.
Farm Bureau supports National Ground Water Awareness Week because of the vital importance of ground water to farms and ranches for irrigation and because 96 percent of rural Americans depend on ground water for their water supply, according to AFBF President Bob Stallman.
“Irrigation accounts for the largest use of ground water in the United States. Some 58 billion gallons of ground water are used daily for agricultural irrigation from more than 374,082 wells,” Stallman said. “America’s farmers and ranchers take their roles as environmental stewards very seriously. We are committed to ensuring that America’s ground water supply is safe, clean and pure.”
To learn more about proper well location and construction, well maintenance, water testing and treatment, and groundwater protection, visit NGWA’s Web site, www.wellowner.org.
Contacts
Tracy Taylor Grondine
(202) 406-3642
tracyg@fb.org
John Hart
(202) 406-3659
johnh@fb.org
Safe water, ponds and septic systems in 2010 water-quality webinars
Safe water, ponds and septic systems in 2010 water-quality webinars
Water quality and water conservation will be the focus of five Web-based
seminars produced by Penn State Cooperative Extension this spring. Topics will
include water testing, septic systems, managing ponds and lakes, and safe
drinking water. The first webinar will cover strategies to monitor water
wells, springs and streams that are near gas-drilling sites. That presentation
will air at noon and again at 7 p.m. on Jan. 27.
Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/44081/nw69
Heightened Concern Over BPA
Swimmers in state parks beware of E. coli
E.coli, found in the gastrointestinal tract, can come from sewage, animal waste, water run-off after rainfall, and swimmers, said Dan Miller II, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Parks test three samples from their lakes twice a week and recreational areas will close swimming areas when 235 colonies or higher are found per 1,000 milliliters of water. At that level, swimmers have an increased risk of getting sick, said Miller.
“By the time you get the results, the damage is already done. People have been swimming in the water for awhile,” said Jeffrey Butia, chief of the public drinking water and waste management program of the Allegheny County Health Department.
A person can catch a recreational water illness from swallowing the water, breathing it in, or having contact with contaminated water. Problems can include gastrointestinal, skin, ear, respiratory, eye, neurological and wound infections. The most commonly reported sickness is diarrhea.
More than swimmers are affected by contaminated water. Fishermen should practice good personal hygiene and wash their hands before handling or preparing food or after handling fish to prevent illness.
Due to the multiple causes of gastrointestinal illness, many cases of E. coli contamination go undetected, Miller said. Young children are highly sensitive, as well as people who have open cuts, weakened immune systems, the elderly, and people with HIV and organ transplants, said Carl Batt, a professor of food science at Cornell University.
Unlike other states, Pennsylvania only tests for fecal coliform and not for other potentially toxic bacteria.