Homesick: The Film

Homesick: The Film
http://www.indiegogo.com/Homesick-2

"Help Susan Abod complete the soundtrack and post-production for her powerful new film on environmental illness."

In Manhattan, Children Still Battle 9/11-Related Illnesses

In Manhattan, Children Still Battle 9/11-Related Illnesses
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/09/in-manhattan-children-still-battle-9-11-related-illnesses/244877/

"The day the Twin Towers crumbled, more than 25,000 kids inhaled toxic substances. Ten years later, many of them are suffering from health problems that still haven't gone away."

9/11 illness, memories haunt Broward man

9/11 illness, memories haunt Broward man
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/09/2400365/911-illness-memories-haunt-broward.html

"A Broward County man who helped counsel firefighters and police officers during 9/11 suffers with a lung disease.
Howard Rudolph struggles to breathe."

Report says substitution and dissemination failings undermine sixth environmental action programme

Report says substitution and dissemination failings undermine sixth environmental action programme
http://chemicalwatch.com/8282/eu-commission-report-finds-reach-falls-short-of-6eap-aims

"The EU's sixth environmental action programme (6EAP) provided "a useful stock-taking exercise" of existing commitments and actions in the field of environment and health, but the programme failed to promote "a coherent approach towards an integrated policy agenda" in this field, according to a review of the 6EAP published by the European Commission."

Greenwich High students, neighbors have varying concerns about toxic soil

Greenwich High students, neighbors have varying concerns about toxic soil
http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Greenwich-High-students-neighbors-have-varying-2164369.php

"After Meghan Spezzano and her teammates on Greenwich High School's varsity field hockey team learned that the discovery of contaminated soil had closed the school's athletic fields, some students worried whether the ground where they had played and practiced each fall could harm them."

VIDEO: CNN's Dr Sanjay Gupta on the Effects of 9/11 Toxic Dust Exposure

http://thetruthaboutmcs.blogspot.com/2011/09/video-cnns-dr-sanjay-gupta-on-effects.html



Key Words: multiple chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivities, MCS, EI, environmental illness, sick building syndrome, idiopathic environmental intolerance, fibromyalgia, chronic fatiuge, FM, CFS, mold illness, clinical ecology, alternative medicine, environmental medicine, neuropathy, encephalopathy, toxic, chemical

It's raining chemicals

[COMMENT:  A well-written commentary describing aerial spraying over a neighbor's farm.]

 

It's raining chemicals
http://www.grist.org/food/2011-09-09-its-raining-chemicals

"Planes spraying fungicides have interrupted several quiet weekends on our small farm this summer. They're hard to ignore -- the buzz of their loud propellers is deafening, especially when they fly above our house to turn around. Over the corn fields they soar, sometimes only a few feet about the tips of the tassels, with white mist trailing nefariously behind. Depending on the direction of the breeze, I can often smell the chemicals from inside the house."

Time for new policy on environmental risk

Time for new policy on environmental risk
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/08/15/edsa0815.htm

"The attention surrounding problems associated with bisphenol A is but an indication that more needs to be done to assess the risk of chemicals in the environment."

Woman sickened by fumes at Ga. McDonald's dies; 9 hospitalized after inhaling toxic fumes in a McDonalds

Woman sickened by fumes at Ga. McDonald's dies
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/08/national/main20103308.shtml

9 hospitalized after inhaling toxic fumes in a McDonalds
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/09/08/9-hospitalized-after-inhaling-toxic-fumes-in-a-McDonalds/UPI-78151315504600/

Trends in occupational airway diseases in German hairdressers: frequency and causes.

Trends in occupational airway diseases in German hairdressers: frequency and causes.

Dulon M, Peters C, Wendeler D, Nienhaus A.

Am J Ind Med. 2011 Jun;54(6):486-93. doi: 10.1002/ajim.20947. Epub 2011 Feb 28.

Source
BGW (Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services), Hamburg, Germany. madeleine.dulon@bgw-online.de

Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Hairdressers are exposed to several allergens and irritants known to cause obstructive airway diseases (OAD). In the early 1990s, high incidence rates of OAD were observed in German hairdressers. It was expected that modification of formulations would resolve the problem of high OAD rates in hairdressers.

METHODS:
The numbers of confirmed cases are reported of allergen-, latex- and irritant-induced OAD in German hairdressers, as registered by the responsible compensation board during 1998 and 2007. Hairdressing components reported as causative for OAD in hairdressers were analyzed. The incidence rates of OAD in hairdressers were compared with rates in healthcare professionals, as both occupations had high rates of OAD in the 1990s.

RESULTS:
From 1998 until 2003, the total number of confirmed cases of allergen-, latex- and irritant-induced OAD stayed at a plateau of 60 cases annually in hairdressers, after which a downward trend was apparent. The number of irritant-induced OAD cases did not fall during this overall downward trend. Hair dyes and acid perms were most often identified as the substances causing OAD in hairdressers. In healthcare professionals, the downward trend in OAD is more pronounced than in hairdressers, mainly due to a decrease in latex-induced cases.

CONCLUSIONS:
The number of allergen- and irritant-induced cases of OAD in German hairdressers is still high. Exposure to known airway irritants is still occurring in spite of modification of the formulations. Continuous medical surveillance of hairdressers is recommended, in order to detect individual susceptibility, especially in apprentices.

PMID:  21360727  [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Immunoexcitotoxicity as a central mechanism in chronic traumatic encephalopathy-A unifying hypothesis.

Immunoexcitotoxicity as a central mechanism in chronic traumatic encephalopathy-A unifying hypothesis.
http://www.surgicalneurologyint.com/temp/SurgNeurolInt21107-6129243_170132.pdf

 

Blaylock RL, Maroon J.  Surg Neurol Int. 2011;2:107. Epub 2011 Jul 30.

Source
Theoretical Neurosciences, LLC Visiting Professor of Biology, Belhaven University, Jackson, MS 315 Rolling Meadows Rd, Ridgeland, MS 39157, USA.

Abstract
Some individuals suffering from mild traumatic brain injuries, especially repetitive mild concussions, are thought to develop a slowly progressive encephalopathy characterized by a number of the neuropathological elements shared with various neurodegenerative diseases. A central pathological mechanism explaining the development of progressive neurodegeneration in this subset of individuals has not been elucidated. Yet, a large number of studies indicate that a process called immunoexcitotoxicity may be playing a central role in many neurodegenerative diseases including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The term immunoexcitotoxicity was first coined by the lead author to explain the evolving pathological and neurodevelopmental changes in autism and the Gulf War Syndrome, but it can be applied to a number of neurodegenerative disorders. The interaction between immune receptors within the central nervous system (CNS) and excitatory glutamate receptors trigger a series of events, such as extensive reactive oxygen species/reactive nitrogen species generation, accumulation of lipid peroxidation products, and prostaglandin activation, which then leads to dendritic retraction, synaptic injury, damage to microtubules, and mitochondrial suppression. In this paper, we discuss the mechanism of immunoexcitotoxicity and its link to each of the pathophysiological and neurochemical events previously described with CTE, with special emphasis on the observed accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau.

PMID:  21886880  [PubMed - in process]

Directly comparing Fukushima to Chernobyl - September 07, 2011

Directly comparing Fukushima to Chernobyl - September 07, 2011
http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/09/directly_comparing_fukushima_t.html

"This Sunday (11 September) marks the six-month anniversary of the triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. The accident has slipped from the headlines, but new data is coming out all the time. Some of the most recent findings are allowing the best comparison yet of Fukushima with Chernobyl."

What Was in the World Trade Center Plume? [Interactive]

What Was in the World Trade Center Plume? [Interactive]
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-was-in-the-world-trade-center-plume

"Ten years later, what exactly residents and rescue workers were exposed to remains at least a partial mystery"

An Etiological Model for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

An Etiological Model for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Jason LA, Sorenson M, Porter N, Belkairous N.  Neurosci Med. 2011 Mar 1;2(1):14-27.

Source
DePaul University, Center for Community Research. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, USA.

Abstract
Kindling might represent a heuristic model for understanding the etiology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Kindling occurs when an organism is exposed repeatedly to an initially sub-threshold stimulus resulting in hypersensitivity and spontaneous seizure-like activity. Among patients with ME/CFS, chronically repeated low-intensity stimulation due to an infectious illness might cause kindling of the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Kindling might also occur by high-intensity stimulation (e.g., brain trauma) of the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Once this system is charged or kindled, it can sustain a high level of arousal with little or no external stimulus and eventually this could lead to hypocortisolism. Seizure activity may spread to adjacent structures of the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary axis in the brain, which might be responsible for the varied symptoms that occur among patients with ME/CFS. In addition, kindling may also be responsible for high levels of oxidative stress, which has been found in patients with ME/CFS.

PMID:  21892413  [PubMed]

State regulators ignored experts, catered to pesticide industry

State regulators ignored experts, catered to pesticide industry
http://caivn.org/article/2011/09/07/state-regulators-ignored-experts-catered-pesticide-industry

"California's former top pesticide regulator Mary-Ann Warmerdam, whose office was responsible for approving methyl iodide for agricultural use during the last days of the Schwarzenegger administration, ignored warnings by her own staff scientists that farm workers should not be exposed to more than trace amounts of the controversial fumigant. The suggested restrictions of the pesticide's use were "unacceptable, due to economic viability" concerns of the pesticide manufacturer. This according to documents obtained via a Public Records Act request by a coalition of farm worker and environmental groups suing the state."

UV blocker curtails male hormone made in human cells, mice.

UV blocker curtails male hormone made in human cells, mice.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/2011/08/2011-0906-uvblocker-reduces-testosterone/

"A UV-blocking chemical added to stabilize personal care products works as an endocrine disruptor and reduces the production of male reproductive hormones."

CHE & ICEH Online Calendar

Online Calendar. These and more upcoming events, including requests for proposals and abstracts, are listed in a searchable calendar: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/cgi-bin/searchevents.cgi

Toxic After-Effects Still Haunt 9/11 Responders

Toxic After-Effects Still Haunt 9/11 Responders
http://www.doctorslounge.com/index.php/news/hd/22902

"Cancer links are seen among the many ills that have surfaced since the Twin Towers fell."

Effects of pesticides dangerous at any level

Effects of pesticides dangerous at any level
http://www.bclocalnews.com/opinion/letters/129329658.html

"A reduction in pesticide use does not mean a reduction of pesticide neurotoxic load."

9/11 Tied to Increase in Acid Reflux Disease

9/11 Tied to Increase in Acid Reflux Disease
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_116173.html

"NYC health registry shows those in vicinity of Twin Towers more likely to develop GERD"