Newest additions to www.ProtectingOurHealth.org

Women exposed in the womb to DDT have more difficulty becoming pregnant. Research published in the Lancet reports a strong association between levels of DDT in a mother's blood at the time she gave birth to a daughter, and 'time to pregnancy' in the daughter, 30 years later. The longer the 'time to pregnancy,' the more likely a women is to experience impaired fertility. The study took advantage of serum samples stored in freezers since drawn, 1960-1963, linking them to information about the daughters' reproductive health. This is the first scientific report of a link between DDT and reproductive outcome in women exposed to the contaminant in the womb. Curiously, higher DDE levels were associated with a modest reduction in the effect. More...

Florence Daily Times: Scandal envelopes EPA over Monsanto, Anniston PCBs. A former EPA lawyer, Janet MacGillivray, has revealed she was discouraged by high level EPA officials from testifying about her concerns that the legal agreements to settle Monsanto's liability over PCBs were too lenient. She felt "intimidated" after calls from the lead Dept of Justice attorney working the case. According to MacGillivray, "a high-ranking EPA official told her Anniston didn't make a list of national cleanup priorities because Monsanto, one of the companies found liable, didn't want it listed."

BBC: Royal commission declares current chemical regulation "unacceptable." England's Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has released a new report condeming current regulatory approaches for synthetic chemicals in products. Sir Tom Blundell, chair of the commission and head of the department of biochemistry at the University of Cambridge observed to the BBC that "given our understanding of the way chemicals interact with the environment, you could say we are running a gigantic experiment with humans and all other living things as the subject." The report itself concludes that "continuing use of large numbers of synthetic chemicals will lead to serious effects..."

Microwave radiation from cell phones damages rat brains at levels experienced commonly by users of mobile phones. A team of Swedish researchers has published research documenting significant damage in rat brains following one-time exposures to cell phone radiation. The damage involved decreases in the effectivness in the blood brain barrier and increases in neuron deformities. The scientists reporting this work expressed concern about possible human impacts, and the journal publishing the paper recommends that users use headsets. Posted 23 June 2003. More...

EU chemical policies draw opposition from US, companies. An article in the New Jersey Star Ledger examines the debate about Europe's proposed changes to chemical regulation. Under current law, chemical manufacturers "get the benefit of the scientific doubt." If science is uncertain, government doesn't act to restrict exposures. Proposed changes in Europe that will require far more extensive testing on chemical safety are drawing the ire of the US government and chemical companies, because of the anticipated costs of the plan. Called "the most aggressive application yet of the Precautionary Principle," the changes will apply not only to manufacturing in Europe, but to products imported to Europe. Hence companies wanting to market in the EU will need to adhere. In response to criticism from the Bush administration, an EU spokesperson said: "If there is a scientific uncertainty as to the nature of a risk, we say to those in public office charged with protecting public health that they have a duty to respond and not wait until their fears are realized, until the worst is happening." Posted 22 June. More...

Removed from market for toxic concerns, Scotchgard returns. Is it safer? The San Jose Mercury News reports on the toxics issues that forced Scotchgard off the market, and 3Ms efforts to bring a reformulated version back. Studies had revealed a key Scotchgard chemical, C8 or perfluorooctane sulfonate, to be extraordinarily persistent, bioaccumulative, and to cause adverse effects in animals. The new version of Scotchgard uses a chemical relative of C8 which 3M claims is safe. As yet they have been unwilling to share safety data with the public. More...

Nitrogen dioxide beneath current regulatory thresholds exacerbates asthma symptoms. A study in England reveals that children ill with a respiratory virus will have more severe asthma symptoms if they experience higher levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a common air pollutant. Lung function in higher NO2 exposed children dropped by more than twice that of lesser exposed children. Adverse effects occurred at exposure levels one-third of current WHO standards for NO2, indicating they should be strengthened. Posted 21 June. More…

Newsday: One in four children in Harlem have asthma. Preliminary finding reported last month as "buckled the knees of asthma research around the world." Asthma is now the leading cause of missing a school day in Harlem. Data indicate that from 1988 to 1997, asthma hospitalization rates rose 60% in children living in low-income housing in New York City. 15 June. 2003. [editor's note: these statistics are inconsistent with recent theories suggesting that the increase in asthma is due to (1) exposure to chlorine from indoor pools or (2) better infant health care, which has been suggested may expose the developing immune system to fewer challenges and thus lead it to hypersensitivity in childhood. These two theories are distractions.]

Washington Post: Pressure on arsenic-treated wood. Pressure-treated wood containing arsenic has come under increasing attack over the past two years, because of health risks. While the wood treatment industry has agreed to a voluntary phase out of domestic manufacturing, sales continue at stores like Lowes and Home Depot. Questions are being raised about the wisdom of leaving existing playground and deck structures in place. Two DC-based advocacy organizations conclude that routine exposure to pressure treated wood elevates lifetime risks of cancer significantly. [editor's note: these calculations are based upon old scientific information about arsenic; they do not yet incorporate new data showing arsenic suppression of genes important to tumor suppression at much lower levels of exposure]. 14 June 2003.

New York Times: 1 in 3 children in Brooklyn with dangerous lead levels. A study by the Pratt Area Community Council of 59 families in Bedford-Stuyvesant reports that "more than a third of the buildings tested were found to have at least one apartment with a hazardous amount of lead, and 32 percent of the individual apartments tested had dangerous lead levels ranging from 5 to 100 times the federal threshold. The Times interviewed an epidemiologist at the CDC, who said the results were not surprising. A study in Chicago last year found similar levels of lead hazards.

Reuters Health. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) calls for more research on phthalate risks. After reviewing available evidence, the AAP's Committee on Environmental Health recommends that new research be launched to determine whether or not these common addititves to plastics are safe. Studies with animals show they can cause birth defects, and data from the Centers for Disease Control document widespread human exposure. The AAP's review, published in Pediatrics, finds that "no studies have been performed to evaluate human toxicity from exposure to these compounds." posted 7 June 2003.

an introduction to phthalates

Washington Post: EPA report reveals that few are fined for polluting water. According to an internal EPA study, "About a quarter of the nation's largest industrial plants and water treatment facilities are in serious violation of pollution standards at any one time, yet only a fraction of them face formal enforcement actions." In the face of trivial fines, some companies and municipalities have illegally discharged toxic chemicals or biological waste into waterways for years without government sanctions. 6 June 2003.

Los Angeles Times: Court orders EPA to consider data from human pesticide tests. "A federal appeals court Tuesday directed the government to resume considering the results of tests on human subjects as it determines acceptable exposure levels to toxic pesticides." EPA had halted use of human testing because of ethical questions and also because data from adults would not resolve questions about children's vulnerability. Hence the tests would not be useful in adjusting safety standards derived from animal studies so that they would better reflect human sensitivities. Industry argued that EPA had violated process in implementing the ban without proper consultation with interested parties. 5 June 2003

Wall Street Journal: Study links early puberty to higher breast cancer risk. Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that women who reach puberty earlier are more likely to develop breast cancer. The study, conducted by scientists from UCLA, examined breast cancer rates in twins, comparing the risk in the first twin to reach sexual maturity against her sibling. "One thing stood out: For identical twins with cancer, the first twin to reach puberty was five times as likely to get the disease first. The link was even stronger when menstruation began early, before the age of 12." These data are consistent with previous studies showing that lifetime exposure to estrogen has an influence on breast cancer risk. And given that studies with laboratory animals show that environmental estrogens can speed sexual development in animals, they re-emphasize important questions about the role of contamination in breast cancer. 5 June 2003.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Birth control drugs in sewage may harm salmon reproduction. An article in the Seattle PI describes research results from the Batelle Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sequiem, WA, revealing that a synthetic hormone widely used in birth control pills can impair fertility in adult male salmon. The compound, ethynil estradiol, is excreted in the urine of women taking birth control pills and reaches rivers after treated waste water is released from sewage treatment plants. The treatment process does not remove many pharmaceutical drugs or hormonally-active pesticides. Research by the lab was carried out with captive trout, close relatives of salmon. Batelle's scientists found that the lowest level they used, less than 1/80th the level found commonly in rivers, were sufficient to impair fertility. 4 June 2003.

Bangor Daily News. Legislature bans arsenic treated wood in Maine. Despite fierce opposition from industry, the Maine legislature passed the first bill in the US to ban sale of CCA pressure treated wood for residential use. The governor is expected to sign the bill, which will take effect on 1 April 2004. The bill closes a loophole in current US EPA regulation of arsenic treated wood, which bans production of the product but not its sale, and hence encourages stockpiling of supplies that can be sold later. 4 June 2004.

Los Angeles Times: Metal soot in air pollution aggravates allergies and asthma. Researchers working in East Germany have discovered that mice that breathe air laden with metal particles from industrial emissions are prone to more severe allergies and lung inflammations. The research suggests that tiny particles of zinc, cadmium, tin and copper—typical metals in smoke from factories and coal burning electricity plants—cause inflammation that leads to restrictions of air passages in the lungs. The findings offer important insights into why mortality rates increase on days when particle pollution increases. The research, on mice exposed to air from two East German cities, does not address what causes the sensitivity to the allergens in the first place. Hence while it can help understand why asthma becomes more severe in some places and people than others, it does not reveal why asthma has become so much more common over the past three decades. 30 May 2003.

NY Times: EPA system for tracking water pollution deeply flawed, facilitating abuses. New report by EPA Inspector General concludes the computer system is "obsolete, full of faulty data and does not take into account thousands of significant pollution sources." Water scientist Dr Peter Gleick, quoted by the Times, argues "The problem is more than just a failure to collect and manage information on polluters, or to enforce compliance with pollution permits that have been issued. It is a failure of the administration to stop the thousands of polluters without permits." 27 May 2003.

Atlanta Journa-Constitution: Atlanta air pollution rating going from "serious" to "severe." Only Los Angeles is worse. The reclassification has been forced by deterioration in air quality that has resulted from explosive growth in the region. The new rating will trigger fines for big polluters and more paperwork for small businesses. Air pollution in the region has already discouraged new businesses from relocating to Atlanta. 26 May 2003.

Statesman Journal: Alaskan Senators meddle in organic labeling criteria, pushing to include wild fish even though it may be contaminated. They hope to help the Alaskan wild fisheries compete more effectively against farmed salmon. "A major retailer of organic foods, Whole Foods Market, considers the idea of organic wild fish 'totally ludicrous.'" There's no way to tell what waters wild salmon have swum through, and hence whether or not they would carry contaminants that would violate the spirit of organic labeling laws. 26 May 2003

Los Angeles Times: Eat a lot of fish, but not with mercury. Because nutrition experts recommend fish be a regular part of the diet, many adults and children may be unwittingly overdosing on mercury. These risks can be avoided by selecting species unlikely to carry excessive amounts of the neurotoxicant. 26 May 2003.

Associated Press: Autism cases increase sharply in Virginia."According to the Autism Program of Virginia, the number of autism cases in the United States jumped 173 percent over the past decade. In Virginia, the number of cases has climbed by about 78 percent over the past three years, and now 2,702 children have autism in the state." 26 May 2003.

New studies link environmental factors to impaired semen quality in men. Research in Denmark reveals a strong link between maternal smoking and a son's sperm concentration. Studies in Boston find higher phthalate and PCB levels in men with reduced sperm quality. A report from India also shows PCB and phthalate links. While none of these studies achieve scientific certainty about causation, they add to the weight of evidence that environmental factors are contributing to human infertility. Two invited commentaries published simultaneously in the scientific journal, Epidemiology,—one about phthalates, one about sperm count— place these new research results in a broader context. 25 May 2003.

Cinncinatti Enquirer: Contamination forces builder to buy back homes in a new, upscale development. Homeowners in the development had launched suits against the developer after discovering that their backyards were contaminated by lead and arsenic and an investigation by the EPA led it to be declared a Superfund site. The development had been built on an old skeet range. "I thought I was buying a house we were going to live in for the rest of our lives," a homeowner interviewed by the Enquirer said. "When we signed the agreement to build our dream home, I didn't realize we were going to be living a nightmare." 23 May 2003.

Toronto Star: Toronto bans cosmetic use of pesticides. Ban will phase in through 2005. Lawn care applicators expressed outrage. During the heated debate at city council, security guards removed several lawn operators amid cries of "fascist" and "it's a screw job." The bill passed by a wide margin, almost 26-16, despite aggressive lobbying by pesticide applicators. 23 May 2003.

Wall Street Journal: Chemical manufacturers elude efforts to reduce terrorism risks. After 9/11, analysis revealed that if attacked by terrorists any one of 111 different chemical plants around the US could release chemicals that would kill over 1 million people. Efforts commenced to force manufacturers to shift toward different chemical processes that would be inherently safer. In 2002 the Senate passed strong legislation. But manufacturers mounted fierce resistance. Joined by conservative Republicans who resist government regulations of industry, the chemical industry has stymied further movement toward safer processes and reduced terrorism risks. posted 22 May 2003.

A study of children in the Seychelles Islands indicates a mother's consumption of ocean fish with low levels of methyl mercury does not harm fetal brain development. This work conflicts with earlier research on the psychomotor impacts of methyl mercury. 20 May 2003. More...

USA Today: Overheated Teflon causes bird deaths, sickens people. A petition to the Consumer Product Safety Council by the Environmental Working Group is seeking more effective warnings on Teflon products because of dangers to birds and people that result from modest overheating of the pans. Exposed birds die ("It's almost like a bomb blast."). People get "polymer fume fever, a short illness that mimics the flu with fever, chills, shivering, chest discomfort, cough and sore throat." 20 May 2003

Psychology Today. Parkinson's linked to pesticide exposure. "A daily diet that includes at lots of fruit or fruit juice has been linked to Parkinson’s disease, a disorder of movement characterized by rigid muscles and tremors in the limbs. Pesticides or some other toxin in fruit may be the culprit." 20 May 2003.

Pesticide applicators at greater risk to prostate cancer. A large study of pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina reveals a small but significant increase in prostate cancer risk compared to the general population. The results are consistent with previous findings of elevated prostate cancer risk in farmers. Use of methyl bromide and of chlorinated pesticides showed the clearest association with higher prostate cancer risk. 20 May 2003. More...

New York Times: Precaution is for Europeans. Reporter Sam Loewenberg interviews OMB head John Graham, arch foe of the Precautionary Principle, about Bush administration concerns over Europe's willingness to employ the Precautionary Principle in regulations. Loewenberg's essay, in Week in Review, ends by highlighting the fact that the logic Bush used to justify invasion of Iraq was quintessential precaution. 18 May 2003.

Boston Globe: High asthma rates in New England. A new report from the CDC reveals that New England states have highest average rates of asthma in the nation. 16 May 2003.

Living on Earth: "The secret life of lead." In an hour-long special, LOE's host Steve Curwood examines the human and social implications of emerging research on the impacts of lead poisoning. Curwood interviews Cincinnati-based scientists Dr. Kim Deitrich and Dr. Bruce Lanphear and also visits some of the participants in the study whose lives have been profoundly altered by lead poisoning. One, now 22 and in the study since infancy, has had frequent problems with the law, a recurring pattern among youth exposed during development to low level lead. 14 May 2003.

New York Times: California autism cases rise sharply. One out of 323 children in the state is now autistic, compared to one out of 2,500 in 1970. According to a state psychologist who oversaw the report, the new data rule out changes in diagnosis or increases in California's population as causes. 14 May 2003.

Los Angeles Times: Autism in California almost doubles over past 4 years. A report from the California Department of Developmental Services documents the rapid growth of the neurological disability. The report focused only on cases of severe autism, making it unlikely that the change is due to changes in detection procedures. According to the report, the rate of increase is accelerating. 13 May 2003.

Providence Journal: Lead paint warnings "an empty gesture." According to the Providence Journal, Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynchwarnings to be posted about lead paint dangers "an empty gesture," "too little, too late." The warnings are part of an agreement between the lead paint industry and 45 state attorneys general, which will require paint manufacturers to place warnings on paint cans sold to consumers about the dangers of lead paint. Along with Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Missouri and South Carolina have not signed onto the agreement. Rhode Island is renewing a suit against the industry for damages. According to Lynch, industry is attempting to poison the judgment of potential jurors in the state's retrial of the lead-paint case." 13 May 2003.

Reuters Health: Scientists warn against eating whale meat. A panel of Norwegian scientists is warning pregnant and nursing women not to eat whale meat, according to a story published by . Their analysis concludes that the meat contains sufficient contaminants like mercury and PCBs to harm fetal development, especially of the brain. 12 May 2003.

Louisville Courier-Journal: Chemicals exceed levels seen as safe. Analysis of air quality data shows that residents living in and around Louisville KT are exposed to a range of air pollutants at levels dramatically above those considered safe. For example, at one elementary school butadiene levels in the air were up to 125 times above safe levels; at a middle school 540 times higher. Emissions from rubber manufacturing facilities in nearby "Rubbertown" are one source of the problem. This industrial complex began manufacturing synthetic rubber in WWII and now includes 11 different plants. 12 May 2003.

New York Times,: Neighbors of vast hog farms say foul air endangers their health. Reporter Jennifer 8. Lee writes that "A growing number of scientists and public health officials around the country say they have traced a variety of health problems faced by neighbors of huge industrial farms to vast amounts of concentrated animal waste." Effects include neurological damage judged to be a result of hydrogen sulfide poisoning from industrial farms." Symptoms range from seizures to fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches, poor memory, dizziness and other health problems." Bush Administration officials and hog industry representatives assert more science is needed to establish the links. 11 May 2003.

5 May 2003. The New York Times covers a story from Louisiana about vinyl chloride in the well water of a trailer park community that is forcing people from their homes. Criminal charges may be sought. State health officials knew about the contamination in 1997 but failed to tell residents. "Women who live here say that as many as 13 pregnancies ended in miscarriage in just the last few years, and say that their children burned and itched from bath water and wading pools." People living in Myrtle Grove Trailer Park, near Placquemine, believe the contamination comes from a nearby Dow Chemical facility nearby where vinyl chloride is manufactured. Dow disclaims responsibility.

5 May 2003. Writing in the Sacramento Bee, reporter Ed Fletcher describes a proposal by State Senator Deborah Ortiz to develop a biomonitoring program patterned after the CDC's national body burden survey. The program would give health and environmental officials in California information about contamination levels within residents of the state. Sponsors of the bill include CHE members Commonweal and The Breast Cancer Fund. The bill was approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee last week, and moves on now for consideration by other committees.

4 May 2003. Marla Cone writes in the Los Angeles Times about a debate over new warnings issued to prevent people from consuming too much mercury-contaminated fish. After California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer sued seven grocery chains to force them to post mercury warnings next to fish known to contain mercury above safety threshold levels, signs went up beside some fresh and frozen fish, but not beside canned tuna, which can also contain excessive mercury. "The signs give no specific advice about canned tuna, saying only, in smaller type, that "mercury levels in canned tuna vary, but on average are lower than levels in many other fish." No signs are posted in aisles where canned fish is sold." The tuna industry and the California Restaurant Association oppose putting up detailed signs.

1 May 2003. Reuters Health reports on research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, which finds a link between pesticide use by farmers and their risk of prostate cancer. Previous work has identified farming as the occupation with the most consistent association with prostate cancer risk.

27 April 2003. New research in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that current standards for lead poisoning do not protect children adequately from intellectual impairment. The article reveals a significant association between IQ point loss and blood lead level, even beneath the CDC's current level of concern. More...

23 April 2003. Writing in USA Today, reporter Elizabeth Weise describes new scientific findings that suggest we may be paying a health cost for the convenience of certain chemicals that are widely used in consumer products. In the article she covers the broiling controversies over the perfluorinated chemicals used in Teflon, Gore-Tex and related products, the health impacts of bisphenol A leaching from polycarbonate plastic, and the emerging data on health risks associated with brominated flame retardants. Collectively these data indicate that we allowed these chemicals to move into global production far too rapidly, and that people now are paying the price in a variety of disabilities and diseases. So what's the solution? Weise explores the controversy over using the Precautionary Principle to guide decisions about what products should be allowed into the marketplace, and when.

20 April 2003. Marla Cone examines scientific findings that are driving growing concerns about brominated flame retardants (PBDEs) in the environment, in a front page story in the Los Angeles Times. Experiments with animals show that PBDEs disrupt brain development, most likely because of their ability to interfere with thyroid hormone. Data from a diversity of sources show that PBDE levels are building very rapidly in North America, including in people. American body burdens of PBDEs are much higher than European, because Europe has banned two bioaccumulative types of PBDEs whereas the US has not. More on PBDEs...

20 April 2003. Articles in Science magazine and the New York Times (both by Madrid-based reporter Samuel Loewenberg) describe efforts underway in the European Union to strengthen policies on chemical health risks. The Science article focuses on changes in EU approaches to chemical regulation, based on the Precautionary Principle. New standards will require much more stringent testing of some 30,000 chemicals on the market today, and in addition will restrict use of 1,500 chemicals for which data now raise sufficient concerns about health effects. The New York Times article looks more broadly at EU business regulation, including chemical policies. In the Times, Loewenberg quotes U.C. Berkeley business professor David Vogel: "In this new generation of environmental issues the E.U. is moving quite aggressively, while U.S. policy is stalemated." The EU measures are designed to avoid harm before it occurs, whereas in the US, lobbying by corporations has created circumstances where policies only advance during crises.

While many (if not most) industry representatives are predicting economic catastrophes as a result of these new policies, some expect the new policies to encourage innovation by forcing companies to find new chemicals that are less hazardous than those currently in use.

19 April 2003. A story in the New York Times describes the discovery of extraordinarily high asthma rates in children in Harlem. Approximately one in every four children living in central Harlem has this respiratory disorder. Data indicate that the incidence rate of asthma has doubled since 1980, but the cause is unknown.

Not mentioned by the NY Times: The high prevalence of asthma in economically distressed urban areas in NY indicates that one of the hypotheses suggested for asthma's increase--that better early child care has reduced challenges to the immune system and led to susceptibility to asthma--is wrong. Something else is going on.

18 April 2003. The Guardian (UK) reports that a scientific study of over 15,000 people working at the Rocky Flats weapons plant outside Denver, Colorado, reveals a significant link between exposure to plutonium and the risk of lung and brain cancer.

7 April 2003. A scientific team from several federal agencies has concluded that roughly 8% of women of child-bearing age in the United States have mercury levels sufficient to raise concerns about impacts on neurocognitive development of their babies. The results, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, provide a more detailed analysis of recent survey data from the Centers for Disease Control about body burdens of people living in the US. More important than the details, however, is the implication in the paper that the US Food and Drug Administration is strengthening its standards on mercury exposure. More...

7 April 2003. Julie Wakefield writes in Environmental Health Perspectives about the children's environmental health summit convened by the National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences at NIH headquarters in Bethesda, MD, in late February. Several central themes were explored during the session, including the importance and opportunities for prevention through exposure reduction.

The article quotes WHO scientist Terri Damstra: "Prevention of exposure is the single most effective means of protection against environmental threats." The importance of timing of exposure and acute sensitivity during fetal development was emphasized repeatedly. CHE chair Dr. Philip Lee stressed the need for more research focused on specific impacts on children, and also that new research has already identified opportunities for prevention that, as yet, have gone unfulfilled. And CHE scientist Pete Myers pointed out that despite revolutionary advances in scientific understanding of links between environment and health, the regulatory structure in place today is mired in the Jurassic.

4 April 2003. A story in the Mobile Register by Ben Raines gives the first public indication that the US Food and Drug Administration is changing its approach to evaluating mercury hazards in fish. This change will dramatically lower the level of mercury contamination that warrants fish advisories, and make the FDA's warnings consistent with those of the EPA. Now, for example, the FDA recommends that women and children can eat as much as two cans of tuna each week without running a health risk. The new standard will acknowledge that as little as half a can per week will push a child over the acceptable limit. The limit for a 130-pound woman will be one can per week. Scientists familiar with past FDA policies describe the new approach as "a sea change."

1 April 2003. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, reporter Marla Cone describes research carried out by scientists at Case Western Reserve that confirms, for the first time, an environmental contaminant causes a genetic error that in humans leads to spontaneous miscarriages and birth defects, including Down Syndrome. As Cone describes, the contaminant bisphenol A has its effect in mice at levels that occur today in people. "Toxicologists say the chemical leaches from plastic food and drink containers, including baby bottles and cookware, as they age, especially when they are microwaved or cleaned with harsh detergents. BPA also has been found at low levels in water supplies." The article quotes reproductive toxicologist Dr. Frederick vom Saal: "It looks like someone shot the chromosomes with a shotgun. They are totally disorganized. If you disorganize the chromosomes, it is a death sentence for an embryo. This is a stunning form of damage. It disrupts development of the cell that becomes your baby."

For a detailed description of the study, see below and links there from

1 April 2003. According to an article in New Scientist Magazine, scientists are reporting that a smoking ban in Helena, Montana, has cut heart attack rates by more than half. Scientists summarized their findings at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology's Chicago. They believe the effect is due to elimination of second-hand smoke, and theorize that second hand smoke increases heart attacks by increasing the likelihood of formation of inappropriate blood clots in susceptible people.

31 March 2003. Many spontaneous miscarriages and birth defects in people, including Down Syndrome, are caused by an error in cell division called aneuploidy. After an accident in two of the world's leading laboratories investigating aneuploidy caused a dramatic increase in this chromosomal error in the labs' mice, careful study revealed that it had been caused by inadvertent contamination by the plastic molecule bisphenol A (BPA). Subsequent work, published today as the cover story in Current Biology, then demonstrated that even very low levels of bisphenol A interfered with cell division.

BPA is the plastic monomer used to make polycarbonate plastic (the sort of rigid plastic from which baby bottles can be made, and large (not small) water bottles, including one variety being sold wholesale to health food stores because "it doesn't leach plasticizers." BPA is widely used to make a resin that lines food cans. Experiments show that BPA readily leaches out of this resin into the food within the cans.

These results open a new window into understanding the cause of human birth defects, and significantly heighten pressure to reduce human exposures to bisphenol A. More...

29 March 2003. A report in the NY Times by Jennifer 8 Lee draws attention to an EPA review of a chemical, called ammonium perfluorooctanoate, which is used to make Teflon and which is released by Teflon during normal use. The chemical is highly persistent and according to the EPA review, poses surprisingly high risks for younger women and girls. A similar chemical, previously used to manufacturer Scotchgard, was pulled off the market by 3M under EPA pressure in 2000. Consistent with NY Times coverage of environmental health stories, Lee's coverage of the story actually soft-pedals the strength of EPA's draft conclusions about the compound, also known as PFOA or C8 (in Dupont's files, its manufacturer). Studies reviewed by the EPA link PFOA to deaths (in newborn rats), prostate cancer, birth defects and adverse effects on internal organ weights. The fact that PFOA literally does not break down in the environment adds significantly to health concerns. The Environmental Working Group has played a key role in drawing attention to health problems of PFOA and related compounds. Much more information is available on their website.

25 March 2003. In the NY Times, Jane Brody explores the arguments about vaccines and autism. She argues that if the mercury-based additive to vaccines, thimerosal, has been causing autism, then its removal from common childhood vaccines should lead very quickly to a decrease in autism rates. Her own conclusion is that thimerosal represents an insubstantial threat to the developing brain, based on several recent studies.

25 March 2003. Carol Kaseuk Yoon reports in the New York Times about a study by scientists at the University of Washington showing that children lower their exposures to pesticides by eating organic instead of conventional produce. "The study's data showed that an organic diet could, under some circumstances, decrease a child's pesticide exposure — as measured from byproducts in the urine — from above the amounts considered to be of negligible risk by the Environmental Protection Agency to levels below." Yoon goes on to quote Yale Professor John Wargo: "This justifies the importance of an organic diet, that organic foods lower a child's exposure. Industry people are saying show me the dead bodies. I don't want people gambling with my kids that way."
More on the study...

24 March 2003. Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, reporter Gail Bensinger examines the third generation of Agent Orange's victims Agent Orange. "At the residential treatment center where Phuong [one victim] shares a sunny, aqua- painted room with three other youngsters, Agent Orange is a daily reality. All of the 30 boarders and nearly half of the 100 day students are suffering from its effects: twisted or stunted limbs, bodies covered with tumors, some blind or deaf children, others with faces in perpetual pain." According to Chuck Searcy, the Hanoi representative of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, "the U.S. government is really in denial about Agent Orange. The official policy is not even to discuss it."

17 March 2003. According to Reuters Health, a coalition of consumer and health organizations has called for an immediate ban on playsets made of arsenic-treated wood. The request, made to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, also asks that thousands of playsets already in backyards and school grounds across America be recalled. The recommendation is based on evidence showing that children playing on the structures run an increased risk of cancer, because arsenic continues to leach out of the wood long after it is installed. Evidence cited in testimony before the CPSC by Jane Houlihan, Vice President for Research from the Environmental Working Group, indicates that typical exposures for children may exceed EPA safety standards by a factor of 2000.
More on the recommendation...

11 March 2003. Scientists from the University of Missouri have published an analysis indicating that regulatory testing for endocrine-active substances must be changed radically if there is any hope to detect developmental disruption at low contamination levels. They conclude that current methods are physically incapable of revealing low level impacts mediated by hormone receptors, because at the high levels used, the receptor systems will be saturated (swamped) and incapable of showing any response to changes in contaminant dose. Under these circumstances, it is literally impossible to extrapolate from commonly-used high level experiments to the risks created by low level exposures.

The researchers also suggest that background contamination of experiments by hormonally-active substances is likely to be widespread and to have further undermined regulatory testing, by making it highly likely that this background contamination prevented toxicologists from detecting low level impacts. Instead of finding a real effect, the experiment would have been interpreted erroneously as having demonstrated no effect.

The net result is that the standards currently used may need strengthening by a factor of 10,000 or greater. More...

10 March 2003. In its issue dated 17 March 2003, US News and World Report examines two stories that touch on the neurological impacts of mercury in children. The first, "Heavy Metal Fish," describes new steps being taken to encourage children and women of child-bearing age to limit mercury-laden fish consumption, including tuna, at a time when the Bush Administration appears to be set on a course that will lead to more mercury reaching the environment. The second is about vaccines, and includes comments about the possibility that mercury in vaccines may be causing neurological damage in children. It cites several recent studies suggesting that current formulations of vaccines are not involved in autism.

6 March 2003. A story in the Washington Post offers suggestions to home-owners about practical steps they can take to make the home environment healthier. Many of the recommendations involve avoiding use of materials from which volatilie organic compounds (VOC's) will evaporate. According to the article, growing consumer interest in products with these benefits are attracting manufacturers and lowering costs.

5 March 2003. A study of water supplies in New Jersey discovers many chemicals present in trace amounts, according to a story in the North Jersey News. The findings "startled researchers with the variety of drugs, consumer products, and industrial compounds detected." None of the contaminants appeared present at levels sufficient to raise questions about traditional toxicological concerns. But no studies have ever--not once--examined the health impacts of mixtures as complicated as these, nor even the consequences of low level exposures of many of the detected compounds on fetal development in people.
More on mixtures...

5 March 2003. According to the Toronto Star, a study by researchers from Laval University have documented subtle neurodevelopmental effects of exposure in the womb to mercury and PCBs in Inuit children living in far northern Canada. The results parallel earlier findings in studies of children living in the Great Lakes region of the US and they create a dilemma for people and health officials in the region. Exposure comes from eating traditional foods, like fish and seal, which become contaminated by bioaccumulation of chemicals to the top of the food chain. For the most part, however, "the health status of aboriginals who follow a traditional diet is spectacularly better than of those who have taken up the southern lifestyle." While PCB levels appear to be declining, mercury levels are rising. At what point do the health benefits of traditional foods no longer outweigh the neurodevelopmental risks? The dilemma is worsened by the fact that almost all the pollution comes from sources far to the south, carried by atmospheric currents. Hence no local steps can be taken to prevent contaminating the food chain.

4 March 2003. David Kohn writes in Newsday about health safety questions raised by laboratory data on phthalates, ubiquitous additives to many different consumer products, from plastic baby toys to cosmetics to vinyl flooring. They are even "the new car smell in new cars." A growing body of experiments with laboratory animals demonstrate that phthalates can cause developmental errors, but industrial users of phthalates assert there is no evidence phthalates cause harm in people. The problem with then concluding that phthalates are safe, according to Mike Shelby, director of the Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction at the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, is no one has done the needed studies: "Industry says there is no human evidence, and that's true," says Shelby. "But the absence of evidence doesn't mean there's no effect. In this case, it means that no one's studied it." More on phthalates...

4 March 2003. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal report that the EPA has concluded that children run a much greater risk than adults of developing cancer after being exposed to mutagenic contaminants. For a child under 2, the risk is increased 10-fold compared to adults, while for children aged 2- 15 it is increased 2-5 times. This finding is part of a draft report the EPA has prepared for public comment, analyzing children's risks to cancer-causing agents. While details of the mechanism of carcinogenesis vary from mutagen to mutagen, the key to children's greater risk is the fact that, while still growing, their cells are dividing more frequently than adults and are therefore more vulnerable to DNA damage. According to the Times, "to be sure, there are many categories of carcinogens, and children are not at increased increased cancer risk from all of them. Because mutagens damage DNA, children are more at risk because as they grow, their cells divide more frequently than those of adults, perpetuating that damage." The guidelines are available on the EPA website

24 February 2003. According to Reuters Health, scientists call for more research into links between environmental exposures and children's health at a meeting sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. "Children are especially vulnerable to pollutants because they breathe in more air and take in more food and liquid, proportional to their size, than adults, said Phil Lee, a senior scholar at the University of California, San Francisco, and former assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services" and CHE chairman.

24 February 2003. The Guardian (London) reports that scientific advisors to the British Department of Health are urging research into factors affecting human fertility. The scientists, members of the Committee on Toxicity of chemicals in food, consumer products and the environment (Cot), are recommending an expert review of the evidence showing how chemicals, working environments, and lifestyles may be affecting the sexual development of boys and their fertility as men

22 February 2003. In an op-ed in the New York Times, science writer/editor Rebecca Skloot asks the "big elephant in the room" question that has been ignored for literally decades of work on fertility treatments. Should these experiments be allowed without federal scrutiny and regulation? Growing scientific evidence indicates that increased risks of birth defects and disease accompany the use of common infertility treatments like in vitro fertilization. Writes Skloot: "If the far-off prospect of cloning can arouse such heated debate, surely the safety of current infertility treatments can do the same. It took scientists decades to figure out that diethylstilbestrol, or DES, a widely used fertility drug of the 50's and 60's, caused cancer and infertility in children exposed to it in their mothers' wombs. Let's not make that mistake again.

20 February 2003. Stories in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times report on a suppressed EPA report on children's health and the environment. According to the Journal: "A partial draft, titled "America's Children and the Environment," notes that states increasingly are issuing warnings about dangerous mercury levels in fish. It says there is mounting evidence that mercury is collecting in the blood of women of child-bearing age. The evidence is also increasing, warns the EPA report, that high doses of mercury can cause mental retardation and other neurological disorders in infants." The Journal story examines utility and coal industry pressure on the Administration to not implement stronger mercury standards.

Not covered by either story: While the WSJ story describes a battle within the Bush Administration about mercury, it fails to report that a key source of political pressure to stall on the report's release as been the Office of Management and Budget's John Graham. In principle, OMB has no role to play in this report because it is a scientific finding without regulatory impact. In fact, according to EPA sources, Graham's office insisted on reviewing the document.

And finally, a note abour press wars. When the Administration learned that the Journal had obtained a full copy of the report and was preparing to run a story, it leaked selective portions of it to the New York Times. Hence the Times coverage provides a far rosier interpretation.

11 February 2003. The LA Times reports that the EPA is proposing to relax industrial toxic emission measures, responding to business complaints that standards are too costly. Affected industries include petrochemical plants, pulp mills, automobile manufacturers and steel mills. "The emissions at issue are not hazardous because of smog-forming potential, but because they can lead to cancer or damage the brain or a developing fetus."

10 February 2003. The New York Times reports that delegates attending a U.N. conference in Nairobi " endorsed a global crackdown on pollution caused by mercury, although the United States blocked efforts for binding restrictions on its use." The story cites CDC data from its recent body burden report, to the effect that one in twelve pregnant women in the US have unsafe mercury levels, threatening neurological development in more than 300,000 babies in the US. Exposures are likely to be much worse elsewhere, as national and state programs in the US to alert consumers to mercury exposures are far more aggressive than in other countries.

9 February 2003. A large study by Maryland public health scientists finds that blood lead levels beneath the current OSHA "action level" for industrial workers is associated with a 46% increase in mortality of exposed people. The increases are observed in circulatory diseases and cancer. More...

8 February 2003. Writing in the New York Times, Jennifer Lee reports that scientists at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have concluded that exposure to arsenic in playground structures made out of chromated copper arsenate-treated wood increases the risk of bladder and lung cancer in children. "This pesticide contains arsenic, a known carcinogen, which bleeds from the wood. Young children can ingest the arsenic when they put their hands to their mouths or when they touch food or toys which are then placed in their mouths. The study projects that between 2 to 100 children out of one million will get bladder and lung cancer from their exposure to the arsenic."

The CPSC report concluded that "hand-to-mouth behavior is the primary source of exposure to arsenic from CCA-treated wood playsets. Young children who routinely put their hands in their mouths (generally children under 6 years of age) can then ingest the arsenic directly from their hands or indirectly when they touch food or toys, which are then placed in their mouths." It recommends hand-washing with soap immediately after play on a playset made from CCA wood. If a decision is made to remove the structure, it should not be burned as this will liberate arsenic into the air. It also recommends that children should not eat while on CCA-made structures. It does not mention, however, that picnic tables around the country are made with CCA wood.

It is also important to note that this CPSC finding is based exclusively on the carcinogenic toxicity of arsenic, not other health endpoints. CPSC based this approach on the assumption that this is likely to be the most sensitive endpoint. This assumption is likely to be invalid, based upon recent findings that arsenic interferes with gene expression under the control of a hormone called glucocorticoid, at extremely low levels. Hence CPSC's assessment is likely to underestimate the risks of CCA-treated wood.

4 February 2003. Martin Mittelstaedt reports in the Toronto Globe and Mail on a new analysis by the United Nations Environment Programme which concludes that the world's environment is increasingly contaminated by mercury, a developmental neurotoxin. "According to the report, millions of children may already be suffering ailments -- ranging from learning difficulties to impaired nervous systems-- due to dietary mercury. The report concludes that "The available data indicate that mercury is present all over the globe, especially in fish, in concentrations that adversely affect human beings and wildlife." Mercury contamination enters the environment via multiple pathways, with burning of coal for electricity production and waste incineration accounting for 70% of global emissions. Emissions are growing most rapidly in Asia. Atmospheric transport carries mercury pollution literally around the globe.

2 February 2003. A story in the Los Angeles Times written by Miguel Bustillo reports that the US Environmental Protection Agency and the California EPA are concerned about health implications of perchlorate contamination in the Colorado River, a source of drinking water for more than 15 million people in the US southwest. Even at low levels, perchlorate interferes with thyroid action and may thus disrupt developmental processes under thyroid control, including brain development. The principal source of contamination is an old rocket fuel production site in Nevada. Health authorities are also questioning whether the use of this water for irrigation of lettuce crops may extend the risks to a much wider array of Americans who purchase produce grown in southern California. The Department of Defense disputes the possibility that the low level exposures could be a health risk.

31 January 2003. Two studies released this week provide new insights into the levels of contaminants experienced by the American public. One, conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control, measured the levels of 116 compounds, including an array of heavy metals like arsenic and mercury, traces of second-hand smoke, organochlorines, and organophosphate pesticides. Almost 8,000 people age 1 and older were included in the survey, with specific sample sizes varying from compound to compound. The second study, by CHE partners the Environmental Working Group, Commonweal and the Mt Sinai School of Medicine, looked more intensely at a much smaller group, measuring 210 chemicals in 9 people. Of the 210 sampled, 167 were found, an average of 91 compounds per person.

The results of the two studies combined contained messages of hope and of concern. The good news is that when protective measures are put in place, for example, with lead and DDT, over time contamination levels fall. It is also good news that compound-by-compound, most Americans have relatively low levels.

The bad news is that we all contain many contaminants, most of which are poorly understood even one-by-one, and none of which are known to be safe in the mixtures in which they always occur. The other half of the bad news is that many of these chemicals, even at low levels, are biologically active, and that an increasing body of scientific evidence indicates plausible links between the low level exposures and biochemical changes associated with health problems that appear to be increasing in people.

More on the CDC study...
More on the CHE partner study...

30 January 2003. The Attack of the Flack: A PR flack funded by the tobacco and chemical industries takes a vitriolic swipe at CHE and its members.

28 January 2003. Rescue workers at Ground Zero continue with health problems, according to a study by Mount Sinai's Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine. As reported by the Washington Post, the study involved a random sample of workers screened last July and August. "Seventy-eight percent of them had suffered lung ailments and that 88 percent had experienced ear, nose and throat problems during the months immediately following the attack. About one-fifth of the patients showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and more than half received referrals for psychiatric care."

25 January 2003. Supporting recommendations in a report issued by a consortium of environmental, health, labor and human rights organizations, an editorial in the New York Times calls for domestic legislation that would require US companies to make public information about activities overseas that would be prohibited or require disclosure by US domestic law. Citing the success of the US EPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) in reducing industrial emissions by 50% during the first decade following the TRI's implementation, the Times argues that "The idea of an international right to know is a creative and, for the companies, a not particularly burdensome new approach. American companies could still behave badly if they chose to do so. The law does not prevent irresponsible mining companies in Peru from spilling mercury on local roads, or toy makers in China from employing children. But they would have to tell the public about these practices, and let the market, and public opinion, go to work."

24 January 2003. In an editorial, the Los Angeles Times reminds readers that the source of funding for scientific research can taint the process, especially when there are economic interests at stake. The editorial focuses on medical research and biases introduced by companies seeking to gain competitive advantage for their products. It fails to note, however, that the situation it describes in medical research on disease treatment is actually far more prevalent in research examining the health impacts of chemical exposures. Federal and independent funding of medical research may not be sufficient to counterbalance the biases of research underwritten by private interests, but it is vastly greater in amount than independent funding available to examine health risks associated with chemical exposures. Here, research by chemical interests with an economic stake in the outcome dramatically outweighs independent investigations. As a result, scientific literature on chemical exposures is littered with false assurances about safety.

24 January 2003. A story in the Wall Street Journal describes a new report by US PIRG on industrial releases of toxic contaminants in the United States. The report, based on a zip-code by zip-code analysis of the US EPA's Toxic Release Inventory, documents a long-term trend that has led to a big increase in emissions in the South relative to the Northeast US. "Thirteen Southern states, stretching from North Carolina to New Mexico, were responsible for producing nearly half of all toxic releases known to cause cancer." The report allows on-line readers to look state-by-state for sources of toxic emissions, and provides separate analyses for cancer-causing contaminants vs. those that induce neurological, developmental, reproductive and other types of health damage. The story in the Journal cites medical concerns that evidence increasingly links exposure to a range of health conditions, including multiple sclerosis, lupus, breast cancer and asthma.

24 January 2003. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Rosie Mestel describes indications emerging from a series of studies of birth outcomes that the risk of several rare birth defects/diseases are increased in children conceived through in vitro fertilization. Release of a new Dutch study in The Lancet is the latest indication. Their research reveals a a four- to seven-fold increase in the rate of retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eye. Earlier studies published within the past two years had linked in vitro fertilization to heightened risk of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome and Angelman syndrome. Because the normal rates of these diseases are extremely rare, the increase in risk indicated by these studies does not translate to a high risk for in vitro births, but according to the LA Times "a growing number of scientists and doctors think the reports are a cause for unease."

Prevention of infertility should become the first line of defense.

23 January 2003. In a comprehensive investigation, the Detroit Free Press reveals that lead contamination in soil--the legacy of industrial lead smelting and also the use of lead in gasoline--continues to poison children in the Detroit area. According to the newspaper's research "thousands of children in America's older, industrial cities grow up playing in toxic dirt in their backyards and neighborhoods." Ten percent of soil samples analyzed by an independent scientist had lead contamination above EPA's level of concern for children's play areas.

23 January 2003. The Institute of Medicine of the US National Academies has issued a report concluding that the links between chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Agent Orange are strong enough to justify paying health benefits to veterans exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. This reverses the IOM's prior position which had been based upon examining all types of leukemia together. Because of CLL's similarity to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which the IOM had already concluded was linked to these exposures, in this new analysis the IOM considered CLL separately. This new approach solidified the link.

According to IOM: "In addition to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and now CLL, there is sufficient evidence of a link between exposure to chemical defoliants or their contaminants and the development of soft-tissue sarcoma and chloracne in veterans. Also, scientific studies continue to offer limited or suggestive evidence of an association with other diseases in veterans -- including Type 2 diabetes, respiratory cancers, prostate cancer, and multiple myeloma -- as well as the congenital birth defect spina bifida in veterans' children." The contaminant considered most likely to be involved in these health effects is dioxin.

Coverage in the New York Times on 24 January.

18 January 2003. A study of criminally-delinquent teenagers in Pittsburgh reports a highly significant association between delinquency and bone-lead levels. These results indicate that the loss of impulse control (or increased dropout rate) caused by lead poisoning create circumstances where lead-poisoned teenagers are more to commit serious criminal offenses than teenagers without elevated lead levels. More...

18 January 2003. Writing in the Boston Globe, reporter Anne Barnard describes the wide gap between what men with prostate cancer are told about the impact of surgery on sexual performance, and what actually happens most of the time. Surgeons will promise that sex without devices is possible in up to 80% of cases, but the reality is just the opposite. "One large-scale study of prostate cancer survivors found that, 18 months after treatment, 60 percent could not get an erection firm enough for intercourse."

Yes, medical advances in treating malignancies like prostate cancer have achieved dramatic improvement in survivorship. But the cancer itself still extracts an important toll on life. In this case, it's impotence. Children suffering from brain tumors have life-long legacies of the disease and the treatment, even though they are cured of the cancer itself. Women after surgical treatment for breast cancer struggle with the psychological and physical impact of mastectomy. These examples, and many more, emphasize the need to focus on prevention, on reducing the incidence of cancer, not just decreasing the mortality rate once cancer develops. A exclusive focus on "cure" misses entirely how best to advance public health protections, and any individual or organization that uses cancer mortality data to buttress an argument that we are winning the war against cancer should be suspected of abetting interests that place a secondary value on public health.

17 January 2003. The New York Times reports on research in two neighborhoods in New York City, Dominican Heights and Harlem, that finds an association between exposure to environmental contaminants and low birth weight and small head circumference. Dr. Frederica Perera, the lead author of the study, told the Times that the results were particularly troubling because these birth outcomes are predictors of "poor health and mental problems later in life." More on the study...

13 January 2003. Results from work on the common organochlorine contaminant hexachlorobenzene raise questions about its possible involvement in diseases of the male reproductive tract, including prostate cancer. These studies, conducted in cell cultures and in mice, show that low levels of HCB enhance prostate responsiveness to androgens, while high levels suppress it. More...

9 January 2003. Do scientists with strong findings who conclude that more research is necessary without making precautionary recommendations simply serve the status quo? Peter Montague, editor of Rachel's News, challenges the CHE community to think about this provocative question.

1 January 2003. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that the rate of autism in metropolitan Atlanta is ten-fold higher than would be expected on the basis of prevalence rates observed in prior decades, and consistent with recent findings. While this new research does not resolve whether the change is due to real increases in prevalence or to changes in diagnostic criteria or reporting incentives, it provides an important benchmark for future work. More...

28 December 2002. In an article published in Toxicological Sciences, Sherry Rier and Warren Foster review a series of studies that strongly link endometriosis to dioxin, through the contaminant's ability to interfere with hormone and immune system action. They also summarize data on human exposures, showing that people are exposed to dioxins at levels significantly above those inducing endometriosis in monkeys. While existing studies stop short of proving causation with certainty, what they reveal suggests it should no surprise that endometriosis forces more than 100,000 hysterectomies each year in the US alone, and has annual health care costs in excess of $1 billion. More...

27 December 2002. In a remarkable investigative article for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, reporter Andrew Schneider reveals an outrageous intervention by John Graham (White House Office of Management and Budget) to prevent EPA from warning home owners around the country about significant health risks arising from the use of asbestos-contaminated insulation. The contamination is traceable to a vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana, owned and operated by W.R. Grace.

"In that town near the Canadian border, ore from a vermiculite mine was contaminated with an extremely lethal asbestos fiber called tremolite that has killed or sickened thousands of miners and their families. Ore from the Libby mine was shipped across the nation and around the world, ending up in insulation called Zonolite that was used in millions of homes, businesses and schools across America." The EPA was prepared to issue a warning in April 2002, until Graham intervened. His nomination to head that office had been challenged by health and environment groups because of his past association with an industry-tainted research center.

27 December 2002. In his second major story on perchlorate in the Wall Street Journal in December, reporter Peter Waldman explores the disruptive impacts that perchlorate contamination is having on drinking water supplies. "Several of the nation's fastest-growing areas -- including Las Vegas, Texas and Southern California -- could face debilitating water shortages because of groundwater contamination by perchlorate, the main ingredient of solid rocket fuel." ... "Dozens of perchlorate-tainted wells have been shuttered nationwide, casting a pall on growth plans in several parched areas." According to Waldman, the chief concern about perchlorate arises from the fact it is an endocrine disrupter. More... (see below for first story)

26 December 2002. Research in Sweden reveals a link between organochlorine levels in a mother's blood and the risk that her son will develop testicular cancer, decades after birth. The son's own contamination levels, measured at the time of cancer diagnosis, provide few insights into risk. What matters is what the developing fetus experienced in the womb. These data are consistent with the proposal that testicular cancer in adulthood results from errors in fetal testicular development caused by hormone disruption. More...

16 December 2002. In a front page story in the Wall Street Journal, staff reporter Peter Waldman explores a controversy involving widespread drinking water contamination by perchlorate resulting from its use as a rocket fuel. The debate is about the possible possible health consequences of the toxin that could result from perchlorate's ability to disrupt thyroid function. At issue is whether low levels of perchlorate, present in the drinking water of millions of Americans, heighten risk to disorders like thyroid cancers and neurodevelopmental problems such as autism. Relying on old data, the Pentagon claims perchlorate is dangerous only at very high levels. In contrast, EPA is focused on perchlorate's low level effects. A sidebar in the WSJ describes perchlorate as "one of a newly recognized group of toxins called endocrine disrupters." More...

12 December 2002. A study of men living in the Boston area suggests that adult exposure to phthalates can damage the DNA of human sperm. The damage was detected at phthalate exposure levels common within the American public. It is unknown whether the amount of DNA damage involved would lead to infertility or genetic problems in offspring. More...

10 December 2002. San Francisco Medicine, a publication of the San Francisco Medical Society, has published a series of essays by scientists associated with CHE. In the lead essay, Philip Lee and Steve Helig introduce the series: "Human health is now also undeniably an environmental issue. Scientific evidence increasingly indicates linkages between chemical pollution and many important human diseases. While no one argues that chemicals are the only reason for the increase in these diseases, some very solid science is warning us that some of the tens of thousands of chemicals registered for use in the past 50 years might be a factor."

7 December 2002. In a detailed essay adapted for CHE from an article in the 2002 book, Life Support: The Environment and Human Health, Ted Schettler, Katherine Barrett, Carolyn Raffensperger examine the precautionary principle and its value for protecting public health and the environment: what it is, why it is necessary, and how to apply it. "A precautionary approach asks how much harm can be avoided rather than asking how much is acceptable. The precautionary principle acknowledges that the world is comprised of complex, interrelated systems, vulnerable to harm from human activities, and resistant to full understanding. Precaution gives priority to protection of these vulnerable systems." More...