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Current query:Type: Scientific Studies
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While all links worked when entries were posted to the database, different publishers
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Thus some of the links, particularly older ones, may no longer be functional.
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For the first time, research shows that nanoparticles called fullerenes are filtered out of water by oysters and taken up by their liver cells.
Fullerenes may cause long-term health problems in oysters and reduced survival and reproduction. 16 November 2009. More...
People who eat wild game shot by hunters have significantly higher levels of lead circulating in their blood than those who do not, report researchers from the CDC.
The results agree with a handful of other studies that have found the lead from the bullets used to kill game such as deer and elk can leach into the meat and then into the people who eat it. 28 September 2009. More...
Management measures that keep unwanted pests out of buildings and apartments can control cockroaches and their associated allergens better than traditional pesticide sprayings.
This is the first study to show how a one-time, low cost visit by professionals can effectively reduce the insects' populations for up to six months. Sealing cracks and using bait traps--rather than periodic pesticide applications--to control the pests lowers people's indoor exposures to unhealthy toxic chemicals and allergens that can lead to asthma. 22 June 2009. More...
A new study with rats shows that long-term exposure to the common agricultural pesticide atrazine causes weight gain in animals fed normal diets and obesity in those fed high fat diets.
The new results suggest a mechanism for prior studies that found an association between areas of the United States with heavy atrazine use and high obesity prevalence. 23 April 2009. More...
Lead poisoning may be the reason a globally threatened species of vulture is frequently found dead in the wild.
Researchers examined 20 dead birds found in the the demilitarized zone in Korea and found very high levels of lead. The authors suggest that the birds may pick up the poisonous lead during their migration by feeding on animals that are contaminated with the heavy metal. 4 March 2009. More...
As babies grow into toddlers, their ability to alter arsenic into less harmful forms changes, leaving them less able to get rid of the cancer-causing metal and perhaps, more susceptible to its effects.
According to this new research from Bangladesh, children exposed to arsenic face a double whammy: they are less able to detoxify the poison at a time when their exposure through food and water is most likely increasing. 6 February 2009. More...
A reanalysis of decades-old data finds that neurologic problems caused by eating mercury-contaminated fish plagued Japanese residents 10 years after the poisoning and at lower doses than originally measured.
Fish are an important part of a healthy diet, and many people around the world rely on fish as their major source of protein. But fish can be contaminated, by mercury and other toxicants. How you weight the trade-off depends upon what you understand about the benefits and the costs. This new result indicates the costs of mercury exposure are higher than assumed. 7 January 2009. More...
Crude oil disrupts the first heart beats of a developing fish, say scientists, who note that the heart may be the most sensitive target of harmful chemicals from oil spills.
In this laboratory study, government scientists exposed fish (Pacific herring) embryos to various levels of weathered crude oils. They found that as the dose of the crude oil increased, the fish's heart function decreased. The changes in heart rate and heart rhythm started as soon as the fish established a regular heart beat, about 5 days after fertilization. 23 December 2008. More...
A study of new, oil-based paints sold in Chinese retail stores finds that more than half have lead levels above the government's standards.
55% of paints tested in this study exceeded the Chinese standard of 90 parts per million (ppm) of soluble lead. Fifty percent of paints also exceeded the US standard of 600 ppm of total lead, with 24% of samples containing more than 5,000 ppm of total lead. 17 December 2008. More...
Some people are much more sensitive to arsenic poisoning than others. In this new study, researchers used fruit flies to discover the gene that may be responsible for these differences.
The gene they discovered produces an enzyme called glutathione synthetase which is important for detoxifying arsenic. 23 September 2008. More...
Phthalate exposure is widespread in infants and use of baby care products appears to be contributing, according to an analysis of babies' urine.
Greater use of lotions, powders and shampoos were associated with higher phthalate levels. The associations were strongest in younger infants. Parents wanting to decrease phthalate exposures for their infants should reduce the use of baby products unless needed for medical purposes. 4 February 2008. More...
New research exposing mice to a chemical used to make polyurethane foam and paints provides the first experimental confirmation that the compound causes respiratory tract disease.
The findings corroborate epidemiological studies showing links between on-the-job exposure to toluene diisocyanate and both nasal inflammations, diseases that affect at least half the industrial workers in the US. The results help understand how breathing even small amounts of a chemical can lead to debilitating respiratory diseases. 20 July 2007. More...
The first study to examine the connection between human exposure to phthalates and changes in thyroid hormone levels reports that men with higher levels of the phthalate breakdown product MEHP in their urine had lower levels of two major thyroid hormones, T4 and T3 in their blood.
Changes in thyroid hormone levels can affect growth, development and metabolism and cause a number of human diseases. More research is needed to establish whether MEHP is causing the thyroid declines. 12 June 2007. More...
Indoor air escaping from homes and buildings is a significant source of the PCBs found in outside air, a new study reports.
Its findings support a growing body of evidence indicating that indoor air contributes more to outdoor PCB pollution than other known sources, such as soil. The findings indicate that removing remaining indoor sources of PCBs will be important for lowering PCB body burdens. 26 April 2007. More...
The risk of thyroid cancer increases strongly with dose in people in Ukraine exposed to radioactive iodine by the Chernobyl accident in 1986.
Of over 13,000 people screened, 45 cases of thyroid cancer were confirmed. This is four-fold higher than would be expected. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 7 July 2006. More...
A study of Chinese women finds no association between serum DDE levels and menstrual cycle characteristics.
High DDE concentrations were associated with a non-statistically significant lengthening of the menstrual cycle. This conflicts with previous studies in Laotian women who were found to have decreased menstrual cycle length with increased levels of DDT and DDE. These conflicting results may be due to differences in study design or the study population. Environmental Research 1 November 2005. More...
Science Byte: Although occupational and environmental diseases are often viewed as isolated and unique failures, they are in fact an outcome of a pervasive system of corporate priority setting, decision making, and influence.
This system produces disease because political, economic, regulatory and ideological norms prioritize values of wealth and profit over human health and environmental well-being. There is a substantial tradition of manipulation of evidence, data, and analysis. IJOEH 23 October 2005. More...
Prenatal exposure to PCBs/PCDFs in girls from Taiwan is associated with altered menstrual cycles and abnormal hormone profiles.
Exposed girls had a menstrual cycle on average one day shorter than non-exposed and a 40% higher rate of irregular menstrual cycles. Serum levels of estradiol and the pituitary hormone, FSH, were also higher in exposed girls. Chemosphere 1 October 2005. More...
The sex ratio in a First Nation community near Sarnia, Ontario has dropped to fewer than 35% boys, significantly below normal.
Prior to 1993, the sex ratio appeared to be normal and stable. Since that time, it has declined significantly, with the strongest decline in the last 5 years. The community lives in close proximity to a large petrochemical complex. Researchers propose that chemical exposures may be contributing to the decline. This would be consistent with some but not all related studies. 21 August 2005. More...
Scientific research links cardiovascular disease to a number of environmental exposures, including air pollution, metals and solvents.
Recent research on air pollution indicates that the annual health impacts in the US from particulate air pollution attributable just to diesel exhaust from cars, trucks, and construction equipment includes 21,000 premature deaths and 27,000 non-fatal myocardial infarctions, plus a range of other impacts. 25 June 2005. More...
Science Byte: A study in Michigan reports that follow-up testing for lead levels is less likely for children living in high-risk compared to low risk areas.
At least half of the children whose lead levels were abnormally high miss follow-up tests. Missed check-ups were more likely for Hispanic and nonwhite children, and for children in urban vs rural areas. These differences in care are likely to increase the burden of cognitive impairment among at-risk children. JAMA. 11 May 2005. More...
The consequences of exposure to many other chemicals or mixtures of chemicals, such as insecticides—chemicals oftentimes specifically designed to be toxic—are largely unknown.
Many of these chemicals or their metabolites are routinely found in the blood and body fluids of pregnant women and children. Exposures to environmental toxins have been linked with higher rates of mental retardation, intellectual impairment, and behavioral problems, as well as preterm birth, low birth weight and spontaneous abortion. PLOS Medicine. 29 March 2005. More...
Canadian scientists review the the difficulties involved in linking exposure to putative hazardous substances in environmental and occupational settings to adverse reproductive outcomes, especially success of IVF procedures.
Although reproductive effects of occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals have been well documented in the literature, the potential effects of chemical contaminants at levels representative of contemporary exposures in the general population are much less certain. Evidence for adverse effects of exposure to environmental contaminants is more conclusive among the lower animals than for humans where considerable controversy remains. In addition to potential reproductive hazards of exposure to environmental contaminants, there is also evidence for adverse reproductive effects of the physical and psychosocial environments. Human Reproduction Update 31 January 2005. More...
Epidemiological data link two persistent organic pollutants to an increased risk of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
People with higher levels of both heptachlor epoxide and dieldrin are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with NHL. And with widespread bans of these and related organochlorine contaminants now yielding decreases in contamination levels in people, rates of NHL have slowed or stopped increasing, at least in some countries. 30 August 2004. More...
Women exposed to high levels of methylmercury in Minamata, Japan had an increased rate of abnormal pregnancies.
Women who reached reproductive age during the period of severe contamination between 1956-1968 had significantly more stillbirths and spontaneous abortions than women of similar ages who were not exposed. Furthermore, when compared to the pregnancy loss rates prior to the contamination the incidence was over 2.5 times greater. Environmental sciences 1 February 2004. More...
Researchers report that exposure to persistent organic pollutants in the womb has declined in the eastern Canadian arctic.
Researchers document sharp drops in umbilical cord blood levels of several persistent organic pollutants, including PCBs, DDT and HCB. Lead and mercury also declined. The researchers conclude the decreases are likely due both to long-term efforts around the world to reduce environmental releases (and thus contamination of the food chain) as well as to changes in the Inuit diet that shift away from contaminated native foods. 2 July 2003. More...
Taiwanese men exposed to cooking oil contaminated with PCBs and PCDFs have abnormal sperm 20 years after exposure.
Males exposed as adults to high levels of PCBs and PCDFs have a higher percentage of oligospermia and abnormal morphology than unexposed men. Sperm from exposed men were 50% less likely to fertilize an egg. Sperm findings in this study were similar to the second-generation young men prenatally exposed to PCBs/PCDFs. Journal of the American Medical Assoication. 11 June 2003. More...
Discovered to be a synthetic estrogen in the 1930's, bisphenol A is now used widely in consumer products.
Experiments with animals and cells now link it to a wide array of human health conditions. Epidemiological studies with people have barely begun, although exposure is virtually ubiquitous. 11 April 2003. More...
Aneuploidy in mice linked to exposure to bisphenol a in the womb.
This research links a common contaminant, bisphenol A, to an error in cell division called aneuploidy that causes spontaneous miscarriages and birth defects in people, including Down Syndrome, and is also associated with a series of cancers. Hunt et al. report that in mice, bisphenol A causes aneuploidy even at extremely low doses. 1 April 2003. More...
Researchers say regulatory testing of endocrine-active substances is insufficient for the detection of 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. 11 March 2003. More...
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