States to sample bodily fluids for chemicals

Kansas City Infozine - September 20, 2004

Doctors don't know exactly what causes many of the chronic diseases that account for seven of 10 deaths in the United States, but environmental factors such as pesticides and air pollution are increasingly being suspected of contributing to such illnesses.  Efforts are under way in a handful states and the federal government to develop bio-monitoring programs to measure the level of environmental chemicals in our bodies to help discover whether exposure to these substances causes diseases such as asthma, leukemia and Alzheimer's. FULL ARTICLE >>

What's really in the air

The Sacramento Bee - September 19, 2004

The air quality index most widely publicized in Sacramento and other smoggy California cities gives an incomplete picture of the witch's brew of pollutants harmful to human health, The Bee has found.  The public, especially in Sacramento, frequently is alerted to ozone levels but rarely hears about culprits such as particulates, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, which can be equally hazardous... A landmark study published this month put the issue in sharp focus: Chronic exposure to particulates, nitrogen dioxide, diesel exhaust and other lesser known pollutants - not ozone - permanently diminished lung function in schoolchildren, researchers at the University of Southern California found... The reasons that secondary pollutants get less attention are rooted in bureaucracy, funding limits and a lack of data. FULL ARTICLE >>

Dirty air's young victims: Landmark study finds pollution's effects cumulative, long-lasting

Los Angeles Daily News - September 8, 2004

Children who grow up in smoggy Southern California neighborhoods have underdeveloped lungs, which puts them at risk of illness and premature death as adults, a landmark study published today says. Researchers at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine spent eight years tracking how exposure to air pollution affected the respiratory health of 1,759 children from 12 Southern California communities... "This is one of the strongest bodies of evidence that I've ever seen showing the harm to our children's health," said Sam Atwood, spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. FULL ARTICLE >>

PCB survey hits a snag: schools told not to release data on students' disabilities

The Berkshire Eagle - July 16, 2004

PITTSFIELD -- Efforts to examine whether there is a link between PCB pollution in Berkshire County and developmental disabilities in children has hit a major roadblock as the federal government has informed local school districts that they should not release students' information to state health authorities.  The state Department of Public Health is trying to identify children in Berkshire County with disabilities like attention deficit disorder, dyslexia and autism. It will then compare where the children live to the geographic distribution of PCB pollution in the city and the county. It is the first wholesale effort to look for a possible relationship between the contamination long known to exist here and problems in the people who live near it. FULL ARTICLE >>

Toxins getting closer scrutiny

Oakland Tribune - July 6, 2004

California could be headed for a paradigm shift in what the public knows about toxic chemicals in our bodies and how regulators control what manufacturers place in their products.  A number of bills percolating in the Legislature would rewrite state chemical and health policies. Though few will make it out of committee this year, some are bound to in the next year or two or three. And the change, advocates say, will be profound. FULL ARTICLE >>

Study: Pennsylvania leads nation in deaths from power plant emissions

The Mercury - June 10, 2004

On a per-capita basis, Pennsylvania ranks fifth nationally, trailing neighboring states West Virginia (first) and Ohio (fourth)...  Nationally, power plant pollution results in 23,600 premature deaths each year, including 2,800 from lung cancer, according to the study. Those who died from complications brought on by soot from power plants lost an average of 14 years.  It is the first study to quantify how many heart attacks and lung cancer deaths are caused by power plant emissions, said Angela Ledford, director of Clean The Air. FULL ARTICLE >>

Causes of death in the USA

Medical News Today - April 2, 2004

In 2000, the most common actual causes of death in the United States were tobacco (435,000), poor diet and physical inactivity (400,000), alcohol consumption (85,000), microbial agents (e.g., influenza and pneumonia, 75,000), toxic agents (e.g., pollutants and asbestos, 55,000), motor vehicle accidents (43,000), firearms (29,000), sexual behavior (20,000) and illicit use of drugs (17,000).... CDC has also funded projects in nine states and New York City that will link environmental exposure and health effects data.... FULL ARTICLE >>

11 water violations in Iowa City

The Daily Iowan - April 2, 2004

A report released this week by the Iowa Public Interest Research Group showed that in a period of just 18 months, 71 percent of Iowa's industrial and city facilities exceeded their Clean Water Act permits - including 11 such violations in Iowa City... I-PIRG field organizer Rose Garr defended the report's claims, calling them the "best available data." The information was obtained from Natural Resources reports submitted by the largest industrial and municipal facilities through a Freedom of Information Act request... Garr said insufficient environmental-health tracking renders determining the public-health effects of violations difficult... FULL ARTICLE >>

Toxic America: tracking the hazardous chemicals that seep stealthily into our bodies

San Francisco Chronicle - March 28, 2004

With more Americans trying to eat smart, live clean and stay healthy, the news of the past year has been rather disconcerting if not downright alarming: Researchers reported finding toxic substances lurking in farm-raised salmon, drinking water, even breast milk... FULL ARTICLE >>

Quicken pace of cleanups

The Olympian - March 14, 2004

Imagine buying a new home only to discover later that the property is contaminated with toxic waste and you might be stuck with the cleanup bill... State and county officials must have a better system for tracking hazardous waste sites and potential sites. Additionally, better mapping of sites and coordination between planning and environmental health is warranted... FULL ARTICLE >>

State urged to track diseases, environmental links

Contra Costa Times - February 24, 2004

A group of scientific experts urged state officials Monday to set up a statewide surveillance system to track diseases and possible links with environmental hazards.  Such a system could save lives by enabling better understanding of ways to prevent asthma, cancer, autism, diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, lead poisoning and chronic fatigue syndrome, group members said... FULL ARTICLE >>

Tracking disease could save lives, money, UC study says

San Francisco Chronicle - February 23, 2004

A University of California study Monday said the state could save lives as well as millions of dollars each year by creating a first-in-the-nation system to track chronic illnesses and environmental hazards.  It costs Californians $10 billion annually to fight nine diseases like cancer, lead poisoning and childhood asthma for which economic data is available, according to the university system's California Policy Research Center.  If tracking those diseases cut environmentally related illnesses by 1 percent, the state would save $100 million annually, the study projected... FULL ARTICLE >>