Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Chemical Sensitivity and Injury: Interview with Dr. Grace Ziem (VIDEO)
Chemical Sensitivity and Injury: Interview with Dr. Grace Ziem - Pt. 2
Chemical Sensitivity and Injury: Interview with Dr. Grace Ziem - Pt. 3
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Environmentalists baffled by Obama's strategy
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-enviro21-2009jun21,0,5994988.story
"The administration is defending in court environmental measures that the president once vowed to roll back. Officials say they have a plan, but some fear backpedaling."
Fallout from 'the worst toxic exposure recorded in the U.S.'
http://www.examiner.com/x-12720-DC-Environmental-Policy-Examiner~y2009m6d20-The-worst-case-of-industrial-poisoning-of-a-community-in-US-history-says-EPA
"Residents of the small town of Libby, Mont., where asbestos contamination has been blamed for 274 deaths, got the long-overdue attention they needed. The Obama administration's announcement on Wednesday of a public health emergency in the Rocky Mountain community marks the start of an extensive, home-by-home cleanup and better health protections for those with asbestos-related illnesses."
Earth 2100: Is this the Final Century of Our Civilizatin?
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Earth2100/
Health notes: Bid to beat the electric blues
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1193453/Health-notes-Bid-beat-electric-blues.html
Food, Inc Are you hungry for Change?
"We believe that federally funded nutrition programs should provide all children with the healthy food they deserve. This includes low fat and safe dairy, fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. Schools should be soda and junk-food-free zones and serve food that complements and furthers parents' efforts to feed their children healthfully."
Sign the Petition
http://www.foodincmovie.com/sign-the-petition.php
Friday, June 19, 2009
Relationship between sick building syndrome and indoor environmental factors in newly built Japanese dwellings.
Relationship between sick building syndrome and indoor environmental factors in newly built Japanese dwellings.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2009 Apr;82(5):583-93. Epub 2009 Feb 10.
Department of Public Health Science, Graduated School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, N15, W7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan.
OBJECTIVES: Indoor air contaminants and dampness in dwellings have become important environmental health issues. The aim of this study is to clarify which factors are related to sick building syndrome (SBS) in newly built dwellings at Hokkaido, Japan, through a comprehensive evaluation of the indoor environment and validated sick building symptom questionnaires. METHODS: The symptoms of 343 residents in 104 detached houses were surveyed by standardized questionnaires, and the concentrations of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), airborne fungi, and dust mite allergen in their living rooms were measured. By summing the presence or absence of the five dampness indicators (condensations, mold growth, moldy odor, high air humidity of the bathroom, water leakage), a dampness index was calculated. RESULTS: SBS symptoms were found in 21.6% of surveyed individuals. In a fully adjusted multivariate logistic regression analysis, the dampness index [odds ratio (OR) = 1.50; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-1.11], log formaldehyde (OR = 23.79, 95% CI: 2.49-277.65), and log alpha-pinene (OR = 2.87, 95% CI: 1.36-6.03) had significantly higher ORs for SBS symptoms. However, other VOCs, airborne fungi, and dust mite allergen did not have significantly higher ORs. CONCLUSION: Dampness, formaldehyde, and alpha-pinene were significantly related to SBS symptoms in newly built dwellings. We should, therefore, take measures to reduce the chemicals and dampness in dwellings.
PMID: 19205722 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Factors influencing relationships between personal and ambient concentrations of gaseous and particulate pollutants.
Factors influencing relationships between personal and ambient concentrations of gaseous and particulate pollutants.
Sci Total Environ. 2009 Jun 1;407(12):3754-65. Epub 2009 Mar 13
Exposure, Epidemiology and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. kbrown@hsph.harvard.edu
Previous exposure studies have shown considerable inter-subject variability in personal-ambient associations. This paper investigates exposure factors that may be responsible for inter-subject variability in these personal-ambient associations. The personal and ambient data used in this paper were collected as part of a personal exposure study conducted in Boston, MA, during 1999-2000. This study was one of a group of personal exposure panel studies funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Exposure Research Laboratory to address areas of exposure assessment warranting further study, particularly associations between personal exposures and ambient concentrations of particulate matter and gaseous co-pollutants. Twenty-four-hour integrated personal, home indoor, home outdoor and ambient sulfate, elemental carbon (EC), PM(2.5), ozone (O(3)), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) and sulfur dioxide were measured simultaneously each day. Fifteen homes in the Boston area were measured for 7 days during winter and summer. A previous paper explored the associations between personal-indoor, personal-outdoor, personal-ambient, indoor-outdoor, indoor-ambient and outdoor-ambient PM(2.5), sulfate and EC concentrations. For the current paper, factors that may affect personal exposures were investigated, while controlling for ambient concentrations. The data were analyzed using mixed effects regression models. Overall personal-ambient associations were strong for sulfate during winter (p<0.0001) and summer (p<0.0001) and PM(2.5) during summer (p<0.0001). The personal-ambient mixed model slope for PM(2.5) during winter but was not significant at p=0.10. Personal exposures to most pollutants, with the exception of NO(2), increased with ventilation and time spent outdoors. An opposite pattern was found for NO(2) likely due to gas stoves. Personal exposures to PM(2.5) and to traffic-related pollutants, EC and NO(2), were higher for those individuals living close to a major road. Both personal and indoor sulfate and PM(2.5) concentrations were higher for homes using humidifiers. The impact of outdoor sources on personal and indoor concentrations increased with ventilation, whereas an opposite effect was observed for the impact of indoor sources.
PMID: 19285709 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Related articles
Strong perfume spurs Hazmat response
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/breaking/Strong-perfume-spurs-Hazmat-response-48630357.html
"Calgon, take me away — in an ambulance."
Film warns we will pay high cost for cheap food: Health consequences are hidden, director says
http://www.healthzone.ca/health/article/652503
We may not be paying a lot for food nowadays, but we'll be paying later. That's the message from the producer of the new documentary Food, Inc.
"We buy this inexpensive food, but it's a false price we are paying," says Robert Kenner, who also directed the film.
"The parallel with tobacco is such a strong one – powerful corporations, connected to government, keeping the health consequences of their product away from you," he adds. "They're designing these foods with massive amounts of sugars and salts and fats that we are genetically predisposed to eat. Put it all in a glass and you'd be shocked to see how much you are eating. It's going to bankrupt health care systems, and ultimately our Earth."
The Monsanto Genetic Conspiracy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joweZ6uM5iY&feature=related
The Genetic Conspiracy (2/3) - about Monsanto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHobGDHtq4E&feature=related
The Genetic Conspiracy (3/3) - about Monsanto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SBH88lvlos&feature=related
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
New diesel trucks and buses cut soot and smog more than 90%
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/cleaner-trucks-and-buses
"For decades, diesel trucks and buses have spewed large amounts of soot,
smog-causing gases and carcinogens into the air. But new diesel engines are
more than 90 percent cleaner than a few years ago, far exceeding the
emission reductions required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
according to a new independent study released Thursday. Data show new diesel
technologies are working even better than expected."
Reading labels can help us avoid toxic ingredients in cosmetics, advocate says
http://www.tampabay.com/features/fashion/article1011333.ece#
"Lee has launched the "Labels for Life" campaign at bestinbeauty.com to teach consumers to read the labels on beauty products and pressure manufacturers to disclose what's in the products we put on, or into, our bodies."
Industry is critical of Michelle Obama's organic garden
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23838.html
Comment: It would seem that there is money to be made in natural fertilizers and books about crop mixing to reduce pests. It would be nice to see these agribusiness companies recognize what the public wants and stop handing out lies on a plate to scare people into using their unnecessarily toxic products. They claimed that organic gardening will cause obesity and starvation. What an oxymoron! And they said that organic gardening is expensive. Yet, once irrigation is in place, all that is required for abundant crops are very inexpensive seeds which can later be collected for free from bolted plants and a bit of organic fertilizer.
EWG Launches Interactive News and Commentary Site on Toxic Chemicals Policy Reform
http://www.ewg.org/news-release/kid-safe-blog
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Environmental Working Group (EWG) today launched an interactive online site featuring news and commentary, as well as a forum for a thought-provoking exchange of ideas on reforming the nation's federal toxic chemicals policies. http://www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog
It's bad being ill, but worse when nobody believes you
http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/features/4442382.print/
IT is bad enough to be ill in the first place but when people refuse to believe you're sick, it must be infuriating. But blunt, unsympathetic scepticism is typical of the more unpleasant reactions to myalgic encephalomyelitis more commonly known by its initials, ME, although there is far less ignorance about it now than there was.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Winning a Social Security disability case based on "hidden disabilities".
http://www.examiner.com/x-13746-Tampa-Social-Security-Disability-Examiner~y2009m6d18-Winning-a-Social-Security-disability-case-based-on-hidden-disabilities
Many claimants suffer from medical conditions that cause disabling symptoms
but are difficult to diagnose and/or document. These conditions are known as
"hidden disabilities". Medical conditions such as Fibromyalgia, Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome and Lyme disease are some examples of these medical
conditions. These cases must be presented with emphasis on different factors
than cases that lend themselves to clear "medically acceptable objective,
laboratory and clinical diagnostic techniques".