Indoor air escaping from homes and buildings is a significant source of the PCBs found in outside air, a new study reports. Its findings support a growing body of evidence indicating that indoor air contributes more to outdoor PCB pollution than other known sources, such as soil. The findings indicate that removing remaining indoor sources of PCBs will be important for lowering PCB body burdens. 26 April 2007. More... [related stories]

Scientists studying residents living in a 1970s era housing development built atop a retired oil field waste pit found an extraordinarily high incidence of lupus, an autoimmune disease. Researchers calculated that the rate was 30 to 99 times higher in people living in this six-block area of Hobbs, NM, than what would be expected in the general population. The disease was significantly associated with higher than normal exposure to the environmental contaminants mercury and pristane, a hydrocarbon found in petroleum. 10 April 2007. More... [related stories]

People living closer to hazardous waste sites containing persistent organic pollutants are more likely to be hospitalized for diabetes. The results are consistent with other epidemiological research showing association between exposure to POPs and diabetes. The risk was higher in a subset of sites along the Hudson River, where there was higher income, less smoking, better diet and more exercise. 6 January 2007. More... [related stories]

Alaskan Native women living in villages with open dumpsites were more likely to have adverse birth outcomes. Low birth weight and intrauterine growth retardation were approximately 2 and 4 times, respectively, more likely in 'high hazard villages.' American Journal of Epidemiology. 14 July 2006. More...

Science Byte: People who develop primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), a liver disease, are more likely to live near Superfund sites. The discovery was made in an analysis examining the prevalence of PBC in different zip codes around New York City. In the study area, the majority of patients requiring liver transplants because of PBC live near Superfund sites. Hepatology. 5 March 2006. More...

Science Byte: Anglers who eat fish caught in the lower Hudson River had blood mercury levels almost twice as high as those who never ate local fish. People eating local fish more than once a week had higher levels than those who ate them less frequently. Environmental Research. 5 November 2005. More... [related stories]

Scientists from Johns Hopkins University review the state of science on environmental interactions with pregnancy outcomes. Communities of color and poverty are exposed more often and more intensively to such environmental hazards as lead, air pollution, agrochemicals, incinerator emissions, and releases from hazardous waste sites. Thus, exposures to these toxicants may explain part of the socioeconomic disparity that is observed in terms of risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Although genetics greatly influences reproduction and development outcomes, the genetic-environmental interaction is what determines a healthy or adverse outcome. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 1 May 2005. More... [related story]

Science Byte: New York state residents living near a hazardous waste site that contains persistent organic pollutants are more likely to suffer from coronary heart disease and heart attacks, as indicated by hospital discharge rates. The elevation in risk is more evident within zip codes where people smoke less, have a better diet and get more exercise. While the study design prevents reaching conclusions about causation, the findings suggest that living near a site contaminated by persistent organic pollutants like PCBs results in higher exposures and these increase the risk of heart disease. EHP. 16 March 2005. More...

Canadian scientists review the the difficulties involved in linking exposure to putative hazardous substances in environmental and occupational settings to adverse reproductive outcomes, especially success of IVF procedures. Although reproductive effects of occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals have been well documented in the literature, the potential effects of chemical contaminants at levels representative of contemporary exposures in the general population are much less certain. Evidence for adverse effects of exposure to environmental contaminants is more conclusive among the lower animals than for humans where considerable controversy remains. In addition to potential reproductive hazards of exposure to environmental contaminants, there is also evidence for adverse reproductive effects of the physical and psychosocial environments. Human Reproduction Update 31 January 2005. More...

Akwesasne Mohawk Nation girls living near a Superfund site contaminated with multiple chemicals, have an altered age of puberty. Although the study analyzed multiple chemicals including PCBs, DDT, HCB, mirex, lead and mercury, only PCBs and lead were associated with altered puberty onset. In girls with high lead levels, puberty was delayed whereas girls with high levels of estrogenic-PCBs reached puberty at an earlier age. These findings are consistent with previous studies. Pediatrics 14 January 2005. More... [related story]

Nearly half of all pregnancies in the US today result in the loss of the baby or a child born with a birth defect or chronic health problem. Genetic, nutritional, infectious, and other environmental factors, such as radiation, pharmaceuticals, and toxic chemicals, contribute to the total incidence of birth defects, but the percentage attributable to each is not known. 10 June 2004. More... [related stories]

Living in areas with known environmental contamination is associated with endocrine abnormalities. Endometriosis and thyroid disorders were significantly elevated in women living in polluted areas of New York State. Environmental Health Perspectives 1 December 2001. More...

Commoner et al. trace the pathway of dioxin falling on arctic Canada back to its sources; Most comes from the US. The research team, led by Dr. Barry Commoner, employed state-of-the-art computer modeling tools to identify the dioxin sources. 1 September 2000. More... [related stories]

Alligators from contaminated lakes in Florida have altered hormone profiles and abnormal gonads. In this classic study published in 1994, female alligators were found to have blood estrogen concentrations two times greater than normal and abnormal ovaries. Male alligators had low levels of testosterone, abnormal testes, and small phalli. Laboratory studies indicate these effects are permanent and normal sexual maturation is not likely. Environmental Health Perspectives 4 August 2000. More... [related story]