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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.
Minute silver nanoparticles-- widely used in consumer products as antimicrobial agents-- can cause sperm cells to stop growing, according to a new study.
The nanoparticles interrupt key cell signaling within the sperm cells as they develop. The biggest effects were caused by the smallest-sized nanoparticles tested. 1 September 2010. More...
A new technology for removing toxic sulfur compounds from diesel fuel could provide a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to the currently used method, according to research published in the journal Green Chemistry.
Finding an innovative way to remove the sulfer is important because clean, low-sulfur diesel is becoming more widely used in Europe and the United States. Diesel cars have 20 - 40 percent better fuel economy and also produce 10 - 20 percent less greenhouse emissions per mile than their gasoline rivals. 13 August 2010. More...
Egyptian women living in cities are three to four times more likely to develop breast cancer than women living in rural areas, a difference that may be due to exposures and/or lifestyle.
These from Egypt parallel previous reports of urban-rural differences in breast cancer incidence from China and India. In those countries, urban living increased breast cancer rates by the same margins of three to four times when compared to rural environments. 10 August 2010. More...
Chemists in Germany have figured out a way to extract energy from just water and oxygen. The discovery uses existing fuel cell technology and minimal additional chemicals, providing a safer way to generate electricity for low-power applications.
Remarkably, the fuel cell setup can be used to generate electricity from water and air, producing just water and oxygen as byproducts. 9 August 2010. More...
Leftover residues of a compound made from bisphenol A (BPA) for use in food can linings reacts with sugars, proteins and other parts of food to form new molecules, researchers report.
The findings show how critical it is to understand the extent of chemical migration from resin linings into the can's contents and what happens to the compounds once they interact with the food and beverage. 19 July 2010. More...
German researchers report more evidence of another risk factor for developing type II diabetes: traffic related air pollution. After following a group of middle-aged women for 16 years, the authors find that exposure to high levels of air pollution is associated with an increased risk of type II diabetes in later years.
Women with high serum levels of a protein by-product associated with low-level inflammation or infection, were particularly prone to developing diabetes in response to pollutants. 15 July 2010. More...
Lead levels in both soil and children declined dramatically after hurricanes twice flooded New Orleans in 2005. The researchers who report the results propose that the flooding altered the soil lead conditions, thereby lowering children's exposure to the neurotoxin.
In almost all of the neighborhoods tested, soil lead levels fell by almost 50 percent to well below federal safety standards. At the same time, children's blood lead levels decreased more than 30 percent. 8 July 2010. More...
Children who breathe traffic-related air pollution at school are more likely to develop asthma, even after taking into account levels of air pollution at their homes, report researchers in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
This study adds to the small, but growing, body of research implicating traffic-related air pollution in the development of asthma. In addition, this study suggests that places away from home where children spend time play an important role in their health. 7 July 2010. More...
A first attempt at measuring flame retardants and PCBs in dust from daycare centers and classrooms in the United Kingdom shows these facilities to be an important source of exposure for toddlers and young children, with a small group of them experiencing very high exposures.
Researchers may be underestimating the impact from these facilities, as levels of certain chemical types were higher than those from house dust or car dust. 6 July 2010. More...
New chemicals - with unknown toxic properties - are present after heating commercial polypropylene plastics during manufacturing.
The contaminants form when synthetic antioxidant additives break down when exposed to high temperatures typical of the manufacturing process. The discovery of the new chemicals is of concern since they may occur in commercial products where they could migrate out of the plastic and potentially into humans. 25 June 2010. More...
Intellectual delays in kindergarten-aged kids may result from prebirth exposures to common air pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, according to a study of Polish children.
The researchers report that 5-year-old children whose mothers had higher exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons when they were pregnant performed worse on tests that measured cognitive abilities, lowering their IQ by more than three points. 14 June 2010. More...
Some children who breathe air pollution from cars and trucks may develop asthma and its related symptoms, finds a unique long-term study that followed the children for eight years.
Prior studies have shown that children who have asthma and are exposed to air pollution are at increased risk for asthma symptoms and attacks. The study was not able to determine which air pollutant was responsible for the observed effects. 19 April 2010. More...
A new study suggests that hundreds of chemicals used commercially could persist and bioaccumulate, yet next to nothing is known about their actions and levels in the environment.
Predicting exposures and if and how chemicals may pose a health threat is incredibly difficult. Now, researchers propose a unique way to screen and identify chemicals that may need further evaluation and monitoring. 2 April 2010. More...
Swedish scientists have discovered a remarkable increase in the incidence of leukemia in people living close to an oil refinery.
Lysekil is one of the largest and most modern oil refineries in Europe. Yet, during the past 10 years, communities downwind of the refinery had twice as many cases of leukemia as would be expected based on the refinery's low emissions. 5 March 2010. More...
Men who are exposed to benzene at levels close to the U.S. permissible limit are more likely to have an abnormal number of chromosomes in their sperm, according to new research.
Having the wrong number of chromosomes in sperm or eggs is the largest known source of miscarriage in people. 16 February 2010. More...
A new study in rats shows that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) – at levels found in farmed Atlantic salmon – cause insulin resistance and associated obesity and liver disease in the animals. The study is the first to show this experimentally.
Insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes, which is becoming a global epidemic. The association between high levels of POPs in people and increased chance of developing diabetes has been known since 2006. Until now, scientists could not positively conclude that POPs influenced the onset of diabetes. 14 January 2010. More...
People who ate enough contaminated fish to raise methyl mercury levels in their bodies to levels still considered "safe" had subtle changes to their heart rhythm that may affect their long-term health.
The fish also contain high levels of fish oils – including omega 3 fatty acids – that are generally considered to be protective for the heart. But, in this study, eating more fish oil in tandem with the methylmercury did not prevent the heart anomalies. 24 December 2009. More...
Ice core samples from Mount Everest that represent 800 years of atmospheric history contain much higher levels of certain metals in the last three decades than in the previous seven centuries.
Data from a recent study that examined the cores from the Himalayan Mountains are the first to show that levels of arsenic, molybdenum, tin and antimony in the ice samples have sharply increased during the last 30 years. Until recently, the levels had been relatively stable for centuries. 21 December 2009. More...
Boys exposed to phthalates during pregnancy are less likely to choose “boy typical” toys such as trucks, suggesting that phthalates can alter brain development and gender-specific behaviors.
This is the first study to suggest a link between prenatal phthalate exposure and male behavior. The results indicate that phthalates can interfere with testosterone during development leading to a less masculinized brain. 16 November 2009. More...
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...
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...
In a study of men and women 55 to 67 years old, higher lead levels were associated with poorer performance on tasks used to assess memory deficits.
Although other studies have found associations between lead exposure and cognitive deficits in older adults, this is the first study to link lead exposure with specific measures of memory impairment that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s Disease. 26 June 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...
A detailed analysis of all the available studies comparing work-related, parental pesticide exposure and childhood leukemia finds that the mother’s exposure during pregnancy can double her child’s risk of the disease. The father’s exposure before pregnancy does not.
The study emphasizes the significant contribution of prenatal exposure in developing childhood disease and shows a need for more in-depth studies of the effects of prenatal exposures to environmental factors. 17 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...
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