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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.
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People who live in houses with higher levels of flame retardant chemicals in the dust have themselves higher levels of the chemicals in their blood, a finding that implicates dust as a major exposure source for the compounds.
Prior studies point to dust and food as major sources of exposure to PBDE chemicals. While some foods do harbor PBDEs, eating and breathing dust appears to be the main source of exposure in the United States. 23 July 2010. More...
Researchers at Yale University have developed a custom membrane that can clean and purify water from oceans, salty ground water or sewage water with far less energy input than currently is required to do a similar job.
The membrane may be a big step forward in reaching the goal of reliable and affordable sources of fresh water. Finding sustainable sources of clean drinking water is a major global challenge, especially in most of the developing world. 21 July 2010. More...
Pregnant women who live in areas close to electronic waste dismantling sites have higher exposures to persistent organic pollutants and depressed thyroid hormone levels than those who live farther away from the facilities, finds a study that compares women in two regions of China.
Even without direct interactions with the e-waste facility, recycling affected women living adjacent to the sites. This study raises concerns about e-waste practices and health effects on both the mothers and the developing fetuses. 20 July 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...
Infants with higher exposures to three contaminants – perchlorate, nitrate or thiocyanate – found in water, food and tobacco smoke had increased levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), a sign that the thyroid gland may not be working properly.
The results are important because infants with poor thyroid function are at risk for stunted growth and mental impairment. 13 July 2010. More...
Arsenic carried to rice fields by contaminated irrigation water tends to accumulate in top soil layers where the rice takes it up, contaminating the grain, lowering its nutritional value and exposing large populations who depend on it for food.
Rice is one of the largest sources of arsenic exposure for people in Bangladesh and India, representing about half the total intake 12 July 2010. More...
Researchers at the University of Iowa have discovered that PCBs are present in many more kinds of paint pigment than previously known. While the US EPA knew about some of the contamination, the extent of the problem is a surprise.
The researchers suggest that the contaminated pigments used in a variety of paints, inks, cosmetics, plastics and other consumer goods are probably a source of ongoing exposures in humans. 9 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...
Brief exposure to low levels of bisphenol A during pregnancy may contribute to diabetic symptoms in the mother and her sons - but not daughters - finds a study with mice.
BPA, which acts like estrogen and can interfere with normal hormone activity, caused changes in the mothers that resembled gestational diabetes. This study adds to a growing body of research evidence that, when taken together, suggests BPA causes health problems in animals and quite possibly in humans. 1 July 2010. More...
Bacteria living in human intestines can change arsenic's chemistry, in some cases producing a more toxic form that is linked to cancer.
This is the first report of arsenic becoming more harmful as it passes through the human digestive track. The results parallel those found in animal studies and suggest that regulators may need to take into account the way exposures occur when determining the health risks associated with arsenic. 30 June 2010. More...
Eating vegetables rich in nitrogen in the same meal with fish increases risks for liver cancer, finds a laboratory study.
The increased risk – though marginal – occurs when substances in the fish and the vegetables form a cancer-causing agent in the acidic environment of the stomach. The chemical is called N-nitrosodimethylamine or NMDA. NMDA is a strong cancer-causing agent in animals and is listed as a probable human carcinogen. 30 June 2010. More...
Long-term exposure to nitrates through food and water may increase a woman's risk of thyroid disease, finds a study of older women in Iowa.
This is the first study to show a link between nitrates and thyroid cancer in people, although nitrates have been shown to cause thyroid tumors in animal studies. Thyroid cancer is the eighth most common cancer among women. In the United States, the incidence of thyroid cancer has increased steadily since 1980. 29 June 2010. More...
Chemical byproducts produced by a fungus effectively killed almost three-quarters of adult mosquitoes tested from three disease-carrying species, showing there are viable alternatives to conventional insecticides.
Mosquito control is a vital public health tool, especially in tropical regions where malaria is endemic. This particular fungus' metabolite could be a promising alternative to some of the synthetic pesticides used to control mosquito populations. 29 June 2010. More...
Reproductive problems leading to infertility were seen in female fish exposed to pthalates at levels generally found in the environment.
The results are some of the first to show the plasticizers can affect females as well as males, report researchers in the online journal PLoSOne. This preliminary evidence of the effects of DEHP on the female reproductive system suggests that further study on females is warranted in other species, including humans. 28 June 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...
Researchers have determined that exposure to low levels of mercury can encourage clotting of red blood cells, a dangerous condition called thrombosis that contributes to cardiovascular disease.
The research shows that red blood cells, when dying after exposure to mercury, release proteins that encourage blood cells and platelets to clot and clump together inside vessels. The increased clots can worsen existing cardiovascular disease and raise its risk in others. 23 June 2010. More...
A new method for removing fluorines from fluorinated chemicals offers a promising method to detoxify some types of organohalogen pollutants, such as CFCs.
The method could be more broadly applied to other organofluorines, including perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) such as PFOA and PFOS. PFOA is a chemical used in nonstick cookware and PFOS was used in anti-stain fabrics and water resistant coatings. 17 June 2010. More...
Rats exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) early in life develop symptoms resembling polycystic ovarian syndrome, a leading cause of infertility in women.
This animal study is among the first to show that early exposure to BPA can cause symptoms similar to PCOS in adulthood. The levels of BPA used in the experiments were high compared to current estimates of human exposure. 15 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...
A simple chemical test that can measure the level of toxicity of dust particles shows that dust generated by road traffic can augment air pollution's already dangerous health effects, mainly heart disease, cancer and respiratory conditions such as asthma and allergies.
The tests could be used to pinpoit the areas with the most dangerous air pollution so efforts can be made to reduce exposures. 8 June 2010. More...
Two new studies - one human and one rat - show that active BPA and its inactive metabolite freely cross the placenta from a pregnant mother to the fetus.
Even more important are the chemical transformations that occur in the fetus: the active form of BPA remains active while the inactive form can be converted to the active form. Together, these studies provide evidence that prebirth exposures occur in people and may pose a bigger risk to the developing fetus than previously thought. 7 June 2010. More...
The first study to look at chronic impacts of being a child around the Libby MT asbestos mine when it was still active find respiratory health effects in adulthood.
The chronic respiratory effects include coughing, shortness of breath and bloody phlegm. 4 June 2010. More...
PBDEs -- chemicals widely used to prevent fires in household products like furniture and electronics -- may contribute to fertility problems by lengthening the time it takes for a woman to get pregnant, according to a study of low-income, mostly Mexican-American women living in California.
The study is one of the first to examine if PBDEs can affect human fertility. Animal studies show that PBDEs can alter behavior, delay the onset of puberty and impact sex hormones and thyroid hormones. These, in turn, may influence ovulation, menstrual cycle regularity and fertility. 3 June 2010. More...
Newborn mice fed genistein-enriched soy formula during the first five days of life developed abnormalities of the ovary, uterus and thymus gland that were estrogen related and persisted into adulthood.
As adults, the mice had fewer reproductive cycles in a month than the untreated mice. The findings show that eating genistein right after birth causes short and long-term changes and raises concerns for health effects on human infants fed soy-based formula during their early months. 2 June 2010. More...
Chemists have made progress in finding environmentally friendly ways to capture and reuse carbon dioxide. New advances have been made in the ability to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and incorporate it into new raw materials – including benign alternatives to BPA-based plastics.
Researchers report they were able to form polycarbonates that do not contain bisphenol A. 1 June 2010. More...
A family of common environmental contaminants, PCBs, can damage and break the important protein links between cells that line the intestine and form a protective barrier into the body.
The breaks allow the chemicals to move through the outer buffer cells and "leak" into surrounding tissues where they may cause the systemic toxic health effects associated with the compounds. 19 May 2010. More...
Chronic stress coupled with breathing traffic-related particulate air pollution leads to severe respiratory problems in rats.
The animal study found that higher exposures to traffic-related air pollution were associated with a rapid, shallow breathing pattern only among chronically stressed rats. The results are consistent with human studies that report stronger health effects of air pollution among those who experience higher levels of social stressors, such as exposure to violence. 18 May 2010. More...
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