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Tue, Mar 15, 2011
from Science News:
Better by Design
...Many of today's chemicals -- in packaging, cleaning products, furniture and elsewhere -- go where they should not go and do more than they were designed to do. Bisphenol A, a common ingredient in polycarbonate plastics, has made headlines for getting into the body and interfering with tissue development and function (SN: 7/18/09, p. 5). Flame retardants new and old persist in the environment, contaminating soil, waterways and wildlife (SN: 4/24/10, p. 12). And a new analysis, reported online January 14 in Environmental Health Perspectives, finds that the blood and urine of 99 percent of pregnant American women tested contain a laundry list of chemical interlopers, including various PCBs, pesticides, PFCs, PBDEs, phthalates and the rocket-fuel ingredient perchlorate.
Unless there is a fundamental shift in the way that chemicals are created from the outset, the next generation of compounds will probably be just as meddlesome... Currently more than 30 million metric tons of chemicals are produced in or imported to the United States each day, a quantity that would fill a line of tanker trucks 10,000 miles long. And industrial chemical production is expected to double in the next quarter century, outpacing population growth. ...
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This is why my wife and I are gonna buy an android child!
ApocaDoc
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Fri, Feb 4, 2011
from Bloomberg:
EPA Sets First Standard for Perchlorate in Water, Reversing Bush Decision
The Obama administration will set the first U.S. standard for perchlorate in drinking water, reversing a Bush-era decision against regulating the chemical that may impair the human thyroid.
The Environmental Protection Agency will propose a rule for perchlorate, a toxic rocket-fuel ingredient used to make fireworks and explosive devices, the EPA said today in an e- mailed statement.
The EPA also said it will craft a rule to protect people from as many as 16 chemicals found in drinking water that may cause cancer. The agency under President Barack Obama set aside about one-third, or $3.3 billion, of its proposed fiscal 2011 budget for drinking and wastewater projects, almost double the total approved in the final year of the Bush administration. Bush's EPA declined to establish rules for perchlorate.... More than 4 percent of public U.S. water systems have detected perchlorate and 5 million to 17 million people may drink water containing the chemical, according to the EPA, citing monitoring data. The agency said its has received almost 39,000 comments about regulating perchlorate. ...
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They monitor chemicals they don't even regulate? That's gotta change.
ApocaDoc
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Fri, Jan 14, 2011
from San Francisco Chronicle:
Toxics found in virtually all pregnant U.S. women tested in UCSF study
Multiple chemicals, including some banned since the 1970s and others used in items such as nonstick cookware, furniture, processed foods and beauty products, were found in the blood and urine of pregnant U.S. women, according to a UCSF study being released today.... Of the 163 chemicals studied, 43 of them were found in virtually all 268 pregnant women in the study. They included polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs, a prohibited chemical linked to cancer and other health problems; organochlorine pesticides; polybrominated diphenyl ethers, banned compounds used as flame retardants; and phthalates, which are shown to cause hormone disruption.
Some of these chemicals were banned before many of the women were even born.... The chemicals found in 99 percent to 100 percent of the women included certain PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, perfluorinated compounds, phenols, PBDEs, phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and perchlorate.
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Just think of it as vaccinating fetuses against future toxic buildup.
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Sun, Oct 3, 2010
from Huffington Post:
EPA Seeks To Regulate Toxic Chemical, Perchlorate, Under Safe Drinking Water Act, Reversing Bush Administration Decision
The Environmental Protection Agency wants to regulate a toxic chemical used in rocket fuel that has contaminated drinking water supplies, reversing a decision made under the Bush administration.
A government official briefed by the EPA told The Associated Press on Thursday night that the agency has proposed that the chemical, perchlorate, be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The official, who did not want to be named because a final decision has not been made, said the plan is now under interagency review.
Perchlorate has been found in drinking water in at least 35 states at levels high enough to interfere with thyroid function and pose developmental problems in humans, particularly for babies and fetuses.
The Defense Department used perchlorate for decades in testing rockets and missiles, and most perchlorate contamination stems from defense and aerospace activities.
In 2008, under President George W. Bush, the EPA decided against regulating the chemical, saying that setting a federal standard would do little to reduce risks to public health. That decision angered environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers. ...
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If we remove all the drinking water contaminants, what will motivate us to sustain the bottled-water economy?
ApocaDoc
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Wed, Feb 24, 2010
from Haaretz:
Bomb plant seepage creating Israel's worst-ever water pollution
Rocket fuel and remains of explosives that seeped into the aquifer from the Israel Military Industries Ramat Hasharon plant are continuing to spread, according to data presented yesterday for the first time by the Water Authority and obtained by Haaretz.
The materials, which are now present in a 16 square-kilometer area, were detected at levels thousands of times greater than allowable U.S. standards, constituting the worst instance of water pollution in Israel's history. Ten water wells have been closed so far as a result... One toxic material discovered in the ground water is an explosive known as RDX, detected at 1,300 times recommended safe levels for drinking water in the United States.
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That is one furry aquifer.
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Mon, Jan 4, 2010
from Washington Post:
Use of potentially harmful chemicals kept secret under law
Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States -- from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners -- nearly 20 percent are secret, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, their names and physical properties guarded from consumers and virtually all public officials under a little-known federal provision.
The policy was designed 33 years ago to protect trade secrets in a highly competitive industry. But critics -- including the Obama administration -- say the secrecy has grown out of control, making it impossible for regulators to control potential dangers or for consumers to know which toxic substances they might be exposed to. ...
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A little mystery so goes a long way.
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Wed, Dec 30, 2009
from Associated Press:
Scientists begin testing mussels for pollutants
SAN FRANCISCO -- California scientists hope studying 180 black mussels pried from algae-covered rocks in San Francisco Bay will provide clues into how many drugs and chemicals are polluting waters across the nation.
Mussels filter water and store contaminants in their tissue, providing a record of pollution in the environment. The creatures are being culled from 80 sites in California as part of a pilot study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to see how pervasive the substances have become.
"We haven't measured mussels for these compounds, so there's not a lot of data," Dominic Gregorio, a senior environmental scientist with the State Water Resources Control Board, said. "So this is really a first step to be proactive and get ahead of the curve on this." ...
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What, pray tell, HAVE you scientists been doing???
ApocaDoc
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Thu, Dec 3, 2009
from San Francisco Chronicle:
Study: Chemicals, pollutants found in newborns
Chemicals from cosmetics, perfumes and other fragrances were detected along with dozens of other industrial compounds in the umbilical cords of African American, Asian and Latino infants in the United States, according to a national study released Wednesday. Laboratory tests paid for by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group and Rachel's Network found 232 chemicals and pollutants in the umbilical cords of the 10 babies tested in five states between December 2007 and June 2008...Seven of the 10 babies had in their umbilical cord blood synthetic musks known as Galaxolide and Tonalide, which are toxic to aquatic life and have been shown in preliminary studies to cause hormonal changes.
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The sooner they get used to it, the better.
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Tue, Dec 1, 2009
from Environmental Health News:
Mixture more imposing on brain messenger than lone chemicals
Scientists demonstrate that the effects of different environmental contaminants can add together to have a greater effect on an important signaling chemical in the brain.
A mixture of different environmental contaminants can add up to a have a bigger effect on an important brain chemical called glutamate than any one of them alone. ...
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Coldcocktailed!
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Wed, Jul 8, 2009
from Washington Bureau:
The Pentagon's War on America: The Office of the Secretary of Defense
...the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has spent years debating whether to set an enforceable regulatory standard for perchlorate...
When asked why he challenged EPA's health research on perchlorate during his tenure -- initiating a lengthy review process that continues to this day -- Ray DuBois, the Bush-era Pentagon's top environmental official for more than three years, said he depended on the advice of his chemical policy expert, Shannon Cunniff. In his telling, her analysis of "conflicting science" led him to reject a draft EPA assessment showing that health and environmental limits for perchlorate might need to be tightened. During an extensive interview with DCBureau.org, he often highlighted her role in the process, emphasizing that no one else on his staff had a chemical policy background.
The problem with this account is that Cunniff says none of it is true. Indeed, as the timeline shows, DuBois only hired her after the decision to challenge the studies was already made. ...
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Sounds like Cunniff was his invisible fwend!
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Sat, May 2, 2009
from Los Angeles KABC:
Tests of women leaders show how toxins turn up in Americans' blood
We hear every day about dangerous chemicals in household products that are linked to cancer, infertility, autism and other diseases -- yet many Americans may not realize just how many of these harmful substances they've actually ingested in the course of everyday living.
The answer? About 48. That's according [to] a study by the Environmental Working Group and Rachel's Network, in which five leading minority women environmentalists from different parts of the country volunteered to have their blood tested for toxins. The results, say EWG experts, show that regulation of chemicals in the U.S. is weak and "antiquated" and needs a major overhaul.... It found, in the aggregate, traces of 48 chemicals in the women, notably flame retardants (used to treat some furniture and clothing), synthetic fragrances (from body care products and perfumes), the plastics ingredient Bisphenol A (found in bottles, canned food liners and other products) and the rocket fuel perchlorate (which has been found in some drinking water). ...
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Sounds like these gals contain a charming elixir!
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Sat, Apr 4, 2009
from ProPublica:
CDC Study Finds Rocket Fuel Chemical in Baby Formula
Perchlorate, a hazardous chemical in rocket fuel, has been found at potentially dangerous levels in powdered infant formula, according to a study [1] by a group of Centers for Disease Control scientists. The study, published last month by The Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, has intensified the years-long debate about whether or how the federal government should regulate perchlorate in the nation’s drinking water.
According to the CDC, perchlorate exposure can damage the thyroid, which can hinder brain development among infants. For nearly a decade, Democratic members of Congress, the Department of Defense, the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency have been fighting about how much perchlorate in water is too much. ...
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That'll put hair on those babies' chests!
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Wed, Jan 14, 2009
from ProPublica:
Jackson to Be Asked About Regulating Perchlorate in Drinking Water
In the latest volley of a years-long battle involving the Environmental Protection Agency, the military and the White House, the EPA announced last week that it will delay its decision [1] on whether to set a drinking water standard for perchlorate, a chemical in rocket fuel that has been found at harmful levels in drinking water across the country. The announcement that the EPA won't act until it receives advice from the National Academy of Sciences puts the contentious decision onto the already-heavy regulatory agenda awaiting Lisa Jackson, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to head the EPA. ...
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I still fail to see what's wrong with a little rocket fuel in my drink!
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Want more context?
Try reading our book FREE online:
Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies!
More fun than a barrel of jellyfish!
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Thu, Dec 4, 2008
from Environmental Science and Technology:
EPA perchlorate decision flawed, say advisers
The U.S. EPA’s preliminary decision not to regulate perchlorate in drinking water has elicited an outpouring of critical comments, including a plea from the agency’s own Science Advisory Board (SAB) for more scientific transparency and a stinging critique from the agency’s Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee (CHPAC). The committee faulted EPA for failing to take advantage of the best new science and for using a biological model that has not been peer-reviewed.
The furor marks the latest episode in an almost decadelong controversy surrounding the potential health effects of long-term, low-level exposure to perchlorate. The latest round pits many state and federal environmental protection risk assessors, environmental groups, and thyroid patient advocates against U.S. Department of Defense risk assessors, assessment consultants, and many respected thyroid specialists.
Perchlorate, a major component of rocket fuel, contaminates groundwater at many Department of Defense and NASA sites and those of their contractors. The chemical has also entered groundwater and the food chain in large quantities, in part through the past use of Chilean nitrate fertilizer. ...
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I like perchlorate because it's my personal rocket fuel!
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Thu, Feb 14, 2008
from Environmental Science and Technology:
Perchlorate in food
"Food is the primary source of perchlorate for most Americans, and U.S. toddlers on average are being exposed to more than half of the U.S. EPA's safe dose from food alone, according to a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) diet survey designed to provide perchlorate and iodine intake averages from food for the entire U.S. Even though the new study is silent on intake by highly exposed populations, several lawmakers and environmental advocates renew their calls for a national perchlorate drinking-water standard, EPA is not divulging its plans. The agency, which has been waiting for the results from the FDA study to help it decide whether to set a national drinking-water standard for perchlorate, intends to issue a preliminary determination on whether to regulate the substance soon, according to Benjamin Grumbles, assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Water." ...
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If a guy named Benjamin Grumbles is making the announcement you can guess it ain't gonna be good news.
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Sat, Dec 8, 2007
from Health Day News:
Environmental Toxin Collects in Breast Milk
"Scientists have discovered the mechanism by which a chemical known as perchlorate can collect in breast milk and cause cognitive and motor deficits in newborns." ...
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Major score for Nestle's Baby Formula!
more on Perchlorate
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