The Weekly Toxic Times

From the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health

News highlights from July 14 - July 22, 2008

A recap of the top stories on toxins in Michigan, National, and International news.

 

Michigan News

Dow Chemical Co. to clean homes along the Tittabawassee River

The Saginaw News, Wednesday, July 16, 2008

"Young's property on Riverside Drive, a private road adjoining the Tittabawassee River on the city's southwest side, is among 11 homes Midland's Dow Chemical Co. has targeted for cleanup after tests revealed 'uncharacteristically high levels' of dioxin contamination."
www.mlive.com/saginawnews/news/index.ssf/2008/07/dow_chemical_co_to_
clean_homes.html

 

New coal plants in Michigan draw fire

Detroit Free Press, Monday, July 21, 2008

"Michigan electric companies say the voracious appetite for energy-sucking gadgets... are pushing them to build the first new coal plants in the state in 20 years to satisfy the demand. Environmental groups say the sudden rush to build coal plants calls on a 19th-Century technology to solve 21st-Century problems."
www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080721/NEWS05/807210329/
1007/NEWS05

National News

PCB-exposed women may have fewer boys

Environmental Health News, Monday, July 21, 2008

"A new study by Irva Hertz-Picciotto of the University of California, Davis found that among women from the San Francisco Bay Area, those exposed to higher levels of PCBs during the 1950s and 1960s, were 33 percent less likely to give birth to male children than the women least exposed. The researchers note that while PCBs were banned in the 1970s, PBDEs still in use share many of the biochemical and toxicologic properties of PCBs."
Summary:
environmentalhealthnews.org/newscience/2008/2008-0717hertz-picciottoetal.html
Article: www.ehjournal.net/content/7/1/37/abstract

 

Chemical companies, health groups spar on consumer safety

The Hill, Thursday, July 17, 2008

"Chemical companies and health groups are battling over a provision in a consumer safety bill that would ban the use of plastic-softening chemicals found in many everyday products such as clothing, shoes and furniture."
thehill.com/leading-the-news/chemical-companies-health-groups-spar-on-
consumer-safety-2008-07-14.html

 

The greening of chemistry

Chemical Heritage, Vol. 26, No. 2, Summer 2008

"A philosophy only recently introduced to the chemicals industry, green chemistry promotes the careful design of chemicals manufacturing processes to reduce the use of toxic components and minimize waste and energy use."
www.chemheritage.org/pubs/magazine/feature_greening_p1.html

 

Medicine gears up for a code green

Washington Post [Registration Required], Tuesday, July 22, 2008

"It is ironic that the U.S. medical industry--an industry trusted to protect health--is releasing substances that may be tied to cancer, diabetes and other illnesses. But recently, some health-care professionals are thinking greener."
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/18/AR2008071802
755.html

 

Landlord Cited in Lead Probe

The Republican Newsroom, Tuesday, July 15, 2008

"In what authorities described as one of the largest cases of its kind, the government has cited an apartment building owner for more than 800 violations of failing to disclose whether or not lead paint is located there, including units in Holyoke, Springfield, and Westfield."
www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/landlord_cited_in_lead_probe.html

 

Life after Tar Creek

Tulsa World, Oklahoma, Sunday, July 20, 2008

"Marlus Kimbrough and her children have a new life far away from Picher, a former mining town polluted by towering piles of gravel and abandoned lead mines."
www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080720_11_A1_hLEAV
I477027

 

Cosmic markdown: EPA says life is worth less

Washington Post [Registration Required], Saturday, July 19, 2008

"This value is routinely calculated by putting a dollar figure on the worth of life -- not any particular person's life, just that of a generic American. The figure is then used to judge whether potentially lifesaving policy measures are really worth the cost."
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/18/AR2008071803
235.html

 

Environment becomes heredity

Miller-McCune, Monday, July 14, 2008

"Advances in the field of epigenetics show that environmental contaminants can turn genes 'on' and 'off,' triggering serious diseases that are handed down through generations. But the same diseases may be treatable by simple changes in nourishment and lifestyle."
www.miller-mccune.com/article/489

 

Alaska newborns at higher risk for defects

Anchorage Daily News, Thursday, July 17, 2008

"Alaska infants are twice as likely to be born with major birth defects as infants in the U.S. as a whole, according to a new study by the state Department of Health and Social Services -- and officials are at a loss to explain why."
www.adn.com/life/health/story/466924.html

 

Sunscreen safety is called into question

New York Times [Registration Required], Tuesday, July 22, 2008

"For years, dermatologists have told us sunscreen protects skin. Now, many people are questioning that advice after an environmental group challenged the safety of many popular brands."
www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/health/22well.html?ref=science
For list of safe sunscreens:
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/sunscreens2008/index.php

 

Color Me Concern: Activists ask FDA to ban artificial food dyes after research supports possible link to ADHD

The Baltimore Sun, Thursday, July 17, 2008

"New research indicates the chemicals [synthetic dyes] can disrupt some children's behavior, and activists and consumer groups are asking for bans or limits on the dyes. A prestigious British medical journal recommended that doctors use dye-free diets as a first-line treatment for some behavior disorders; British regulators are pressuring companies to stop using the dyes, and some are complying."
www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-to.hs.additive17jul17,0,6973489.story

 

NTP brief on BPA receives mixed peer reviews

ACS Publications, Thursday, July 17, 2008

"Less than 2 months after the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) released its much-awaited draft brief on the human-health risks of bisphenol A (BPA), the agency's board of scientific advisers gave the report a somewhat mixed review."
pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/esthag/asap/html/es801811y.html

 

Wal-mart: the new FDA

Fortune, Wednesday, July 16, 2008

"A chemical used in plastic baby bottles is being driven off retailers' shelves not by regulators, but by advocacy groups, politicians and giant retailers."
money.cnn.com/2008/07/15/magazines/fortune/gunther_bpa.fortune/

International News

Pay system to target worst contaminants

Toronto Globe and Mail, Ontario, Saturday, July 19, 2008

"Vancouver-area polluters will be paying more to pick their poison if a proposed raft of bylaws passes next week."
www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080719.BCEMISSIONS19/
TPStory/National

 

Children, coal don't mix, China study shows: Sharp drop in developmental problems after power plant was closed

Associated Press, Monday, July 14, 2008

"Children born after the closure of a coal-burning plant in China had 60 percent fewer developmental problems, a study released Monday suggests, giving ammunition to those who argue the country should embrace cleaner sources of energy."
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25677038/

 

Dial Back Cellphone Use, City Officials Tell Parents

The Toronto Star, Saturday, July 12, 2008

"In what is believed to be the first policy of its kind in Canada, the agency is advising children and teens to limit the time they spend on cellphones until more is known about potential health effects."
healthzone.ca/health/article/459099

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Articles were researched and compiled by Beth Kerwin and Marci Baranski, MNCEH Interns.

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