|
||||||
|
While all links worked when entries were posted to the database, different publishers
have different policies about retaining articles and providing access to archived material.
Thus some of the links, particularly older ones, may no longer be functional.
For links no longer working, you may be able to gain paid access to text via the publisher's site.
Common air pollutants can react with one another to form highly reactive and toxic chlorine gasses, reports a study published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In areas where both NOx and HCl concentrations are generally high, these chemical reactions can also increase ozone pollution. 7 October 2009. More...
New research in Virginia reports that levels of hormones key for growth and controlling stress were skewed in tree swallow nestlings contaminated with mercury.
The study finds some of the highest mercury levels ever measured in wild songbird nestlings. The researchers point to the birds' insect food as the source of contamination. 10 September 2009. More...
Sperm counts are lower in mice whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy to a mixture of particles found in diesel exhaust.
The results add to a small but growing series of studies that suggest exposure to diesel exhaust can disrupt the proper development of the testis in rats and mice and perhaps affect reproduction. 14 August 2009. More...
A new study conducted in New York City concludes that prenatal exposure to the common air pollutants – polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – can lower children’s IQ at kindergarten age.
While this is the first study to show that prenatal exposure to PAH can lower children’s IQ, PAHs are known to affect neurodevelopment, reproduction and growth, and to cause cancer. 13 August 2009. More...
A study of young children in India has found that higher blood lead levels are associated with a suite of behavioral and thinking problems that can alter attention, abstract thinking and appropriate behavior.
This study is one of the first to pinpoint specific childhood behaviors and cognitive skills affected by lead exposure, most notably anxiety, social problems and overall executive function (planning, problem solving, behavior control). The study found no "safe" level. 4 August 2009. More...
Developmental exposure to PCBs can permanently damage hearing but co-exposure with methyl mercury reduces the effects.
The mercury doses were selected to achieve a ratio of PCBs to methyl mercury similar to that found in walleye caught by fisherman in Wisconsin, but the doses were higher than those typically encountered by people. 25 June 2009. More...
Air pollution in a remote Arctic community in Norway approaches levels seen in larger European towns due to the springtime use of snowmobiles.
The pollution is 100 times higher during the spring snowmobile season than during the summer when only cars and large coal trucks are used in the remote area. Older snowmobiles with outdated, 2-stroke engines contribute the most to the excessive levels in the spring. 24 June 2009. More...
Nine years after China banned lead in gasoline, lead levels in children's blood is decreasing.
A new study reports that by 2007, boys' blood lead levels had dropped to 79.3 µg/L from 96.4 µg/L in 2004. 4 June 2009. More...
A new study adds to the growing literature suggesting that chemical exposure may affect male fertility.
Men exposed to higher levels of contaminants produced by burning a range of substances, including coal, oil, gas and wood had an increased risk of infertility, according to results from a study conducted in China. 29 May 2009. More...
Preschoolers who lived in homes using gas appliances scored lower on cognitive tests and had a higher likelihood of exhibiting inattention behaviors than those in homes without gas appliances, finds a recent study.
The effects on memory, verbal skills and the coordination of complex behaviors were greater when more gas appliances were used in the homes. They were also more pronounced in children with a certain gene type involved with the detoxification of toxic exposures. 22 May 2009. More...
Both long and short summer ice thaws in Arctic waters are associated with higher mercury levels in seals.
As global climate change progresses, and the sea ice melts for longer periods each year, the seals' mercury levels could consistently increase over time. Mercury levels are predicted to increase in fish as coal power plants continue to spew the metal. Mercury is a neurotoxin that has known effects on reproduction, behavior and immune responses. 5 May 2009. More...
A genetic trigger in the cell, long studied for its role in responding to some of the most toxic compounds known, appears to have newly discovered important functions in directing development.
The findings show that a receptor long-known to be responsive to dioxins can trigger different genes in the presence of pollutants than it does when no pollutants are around. The results point toward mechanisms that could help explain dioxin's impacts on fetal development. 29 April 2009. More...
Atlantic salmon exposed to short springtime bursts of acidic runoff water are less able to migrate to the ocean because of important changes in their ability to balance salt.
This is the first study to show that health effects occur in streams with only brief periods of acidification. The decline in water quality occurs when the salmon are at a critical period in their development and may contribute to the continued decline of this endangered species. 6 April 2009. More...
Weather changes due to global climate change could substantially increase people's exposure to many pathogens and toxic agricultural contaminants, predicts a study from the United Kingdom.
The full health implications are uncertain. Managing the risks will require research as well as policy changes. 26 February 2009. More...
Memory and concentration ability were lower in adults living near an abandoned Taiwanese factory where mercury was used many years ago.
This is one of the first studies to document methylmercury's effects on human brain function in Taiwan. Other studies find similar outcomes in people from Japan, the US, New Zealand and Canada. 24 February 2009. More...
Parking lots treated with coal-tar-based sealcoats are a major source of cancer-causing contaminants that can pollute air, soil, water and wildlife, posing a significant health risk to humans who may breathe, drink or eat them in fish and other food.
Levels in eastern and central parking lots were as much as a thousand-fold higher than western lots, reflecting differences in the types of sealants used. 22 January 2009. More...
Crude oil disrupts the first heart beats of a developing fish, say scientists, who note that the heart may be the most sensitive target of harmful chemicals from oil spills.
In this laboratory study, government scientists exposed fish (Pacific herring) embryos to various levels of weathered crude oils. They found that as the dose of the crude oil increased, the fish's heart function decreased. The changes in heart rate and heart rhythm started as soon as the fish established a regular heart beat, about 5 days after fertilization. 23 December 2008. More...
A modern day 'canary in a coal mine' unfolds as thousands of birds “dropping from the sky” alert authorities to lead-tainted drinking water and people.
Residents of a seaside community in Australia had unusually high concentrations of a unique and toxic form of lead that was discovered after thousands of local birds died. 1 December 2008. More...
A new study from China indicates that reducing air pollution from coal-burning power plants may improve children's ability to learn.
Children living near a recently closed coal-burning power plant performed better in a neurological development test compared to children living in the area three years prior when the plant was still in operation. 25 September 2008. More...
In a new study, scientists report that ground level mercury levels are increased by more than 30% in environments where the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is also increased.
The cause is unexpected: Higher CO2 levels change soil chemistry in ways that increase its ability to retain or store mercury. 12 September 2008. More...
Exposure to lead at concentrations below the US safe standard level decreases childhood intelligence, according to a study of children living in Rochester, New York.
The findings show a significant decline of 5 intelligence quotient (IQ) points in children with blood lead levels between 5 and 9.9 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL), which is lower than the Centers for Disease Control's safe limit of 10 mcg/dL. 27 February 2008. More...
Three years after a year-long education effort to promote a healthy diet and discourage consumption of carbonated drinks, researchers found no effect on how many children were overweight.
The number of overweight children had increased in both the control and experimental groups. British Medical Journal. 10 October 2007. More...
Could lead poisoning contribute to asthma and other allergic diseases?
Experiments with cells in the immune system of mice--which are hypersensitized by lead-- provide support for this hypothesis. 25 June 2007. More...
Researchers comparing pollution levels between urban and rural Thai schoolboys found that those attending school in Bangkok had more chemicals in the bodies and more damage to key cell systems than their country-dwelling counterparts.
The boys attending schools in the highly populated, traffic-congested city had higher levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) breakdown products in their urine, more DNA damage and less ability to repair the DNA than rural dwellers. Air samples revealed PAH levels 30 times higher in front of urban schools. 24 May 2007. More...
A systematic review of epidemiological studies examining links between exposures to chemicals and breast cancer risk finds that many of the compounds identified in animal studies as mammary gland carcinogens have not been studied in people.
Evidence to date generally supports an association between breast cancer and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as with PCBs in conjunction with certain genetic polymorphisms. Substantial research progress in the last 5 years suggests that the investigation of environmental pollutants will lead to strategies to reduce breast cancer risk. Cancer. 14 May 2007. More...
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...
Genes involved in estrogen signaling and the making of steroid hormones were reprogrammed in developing mice exposed to arsenic through their mothers.
The altered gene patterns increased the risk of liver cancer in adult male mice. The finding highlights the need to reduce pregnant women's arsenic exposure through skin, food, drink and air. 19 April 2007. More...
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...
Traditional covert influence of industry on occupational and environmental health policies has turned brazenly overt in the last several years.
More than ever before the OEH community is witnessing the perverse influence and increasing control by industry interests. Government has failed to support independent, public health-oriented practitioners and their organizations, instead joining many corporate endeavors to discourage efforts to protect the health of workers and the community. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health [PDF]. 2 March 2007. More...
Very limited information is available on the toxicity of biodiesel exhaust.
Yet this fuel is poised to become a part of the US energy infrastructure, with production capacity in the US increasing 300% in 2005, to 75 million gallons. Current capacity is 300 million gallons a year and new plants could double that within a few years. Environmental Health Perspectives. 5 January 2007. More...
|
||||||
![[delete]](/images/x.gif)