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22 May 2018
Toxics
Widely used PVC plastic chemical spurs obesity, prediabetes: Study
Mice exposed in the womb to a chemical used in PVC plastic, door and window frames, blinds, water pipes, and medical devices were more likely to suffer from prediabetes and obesity, according to a study released this week.
<p>The chemical also increased fat accumulation in human stem cells. </p><p>The research suggests that the widely used chemical— organotin dibutyltin (DBT)—could be spurring obesity and diabetes and scientists say we should monitor people's exposure since we know so little about the compound. </p><p>"We don't really know how exposed we are [to DBT]," lead author of the new study, Raquel Chamorro-García told EHN. García is a postdoctoral researcher at University of California Irvine's Department of Developmental and Cell Biology. </p><p>"But it's in so many materials in our houses and we believe most people are exposed and the chemical could be impacting our current diabetes problem," she added. </p><p>There have been dramatic increases in both obesity and diabetes rates over the past few decades. About 38 percent of adults in the US—and about 17 percent of children—are now considered obese. More than 30 million people in the US now suffer from diabetes—if you include prediabetes that number jumps to more than 100 million people. </p><h3><em>Related: </em><a href="http://www.ehn.org/dieting-and-exercise-arent-enough-chemicals-are-making-us-fat-2550463702.html" target="_blank"><em>Why are we so fat despite our best efforts?</em></a></h3><p>And, while poor diets and not enough physical activity remain the leading causes, scientists increasingly say this problem goes beyond these obvious culprits. The new study —<a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/ehp3030/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ehp3030" target="_blank">published this week in Environmental Health Perspectives</a>—is the latest evidence that chemicals in our environment may contribute to these problems—by activating certain receptors, triggering oxidative stress or promoting tissue dysfunction. </p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzcxODMwNy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNjIxNjczMH0.75X2geC5Z0OzzqEwVw5gQuxX5J5u7S5Qs1iUBamY0uc/img.png?width=980" id="91b8e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d9274f216958da70d0ee9f5b88253e95" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>Researchers have previously linked certain flame retardant chemicals, BPA, some pesticides, PCBs, and tributyltin (another chemical used in PVC piping) to obesity. DBT, which was tested in the new study, is formed when tributyltin degrades, and it also used on its own in manufacturing.</p><p>Scientists at the University of California, Irvine exposed pregnant female mice to DBT. The exposure led to more fat and decreased glucose tolerance in male mice. It's not clear why the link was so profound in male mice but "males and females are metabolically different, we speculate that differences in fat storage might become evident at older ages in females," the authors wrote.</p><p>They also examined what effect the chemical had on human stem cells and found increased fat accumulation in exposed cells.</p><p>While scientists haven't tested humans for DBT, previous studies found the chemical in house dust and seafood. In addition, a 2009 study estimated humans are exposed to DBT via leaching from PVC water pipes as well.</p><p>"The concentrations we used in this study are in the realm of what we'd expect people to be exposed to," García said. </p>
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02 May 2018
Originals
E-waste linked to decreased fertility hormones in Nigerian men
Nigerian men who work with electronic waste have much lower levels of crucial fertility hormones than men unexposed to the waste, according to a new study.
<p>The research, conducted in Benin City in southern Nigeria, suggests toxic metals and other contaminants in e-waste are reducing levels of key hormones in men in developing countries and could contribute to reduced sperm levels, and cause damage to the sperm's DNA, stability and ability to fertilize eggs. </p><p>"Three key hormones controlling [production of mature sperm] were significantly lowered in the exposed studied group, the decrease in the hormones ... may result in low sperm count and infertility," the authors wrote in the study published this month in the <a href="https://www.univmed.org/ejurnal/index.php/medicina/article/view/570" target="_blank">peer-reviewed journal Universa Medicina</a>. </p><p>The researchers tested 63 e-waste workers and 41 men who did not work with e-waste. The e-waste workers had high levels of multiple toxic heavy metals, including arsenic, mercury, lead and cadmium. These metals are all endocrine disruptors—meaning they interfere with the proper functioning of hormones. </p><p>The waste workers also had lower levels of multiple hormones: luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormones, testosterone, progesterone, prolactin and estrogen. </p><p>E-waste—which covers a wide variety of products including medical devices, refrigerators, cell phones, computers, batteries—is a growing problem. <a href="http://www.ehn.org/how-much-e-waste-is-on-the-planet-2516616770.html" target="_blank">Last year the United Nations reported</a> there was about 49 million tons of e-waste generated, which was an 8 percent increase from 2014. The same report estimated e-waste would increase another 17 percent by 2021. </p><p>Only 20 percent of annual e-waste is safely recycled—and most is sent to developing countries, like Nigeria, which are starving for economic activity. </p><h3><em>Related: </em><a href="http://www.ehn.org/how-much-e-waste-is-shipped-to-nigeria-2561214315.html" target="_blank"><em>The world is sending tons of illegal, electronic waste to Nigeria</em></a></h3><p>A <a href="http://www.ehn.org/how-much-e-waste-is-shipped-to-nigeria-2561214315.html" target="_blank">report this month</a> from United Nations University and the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for Africa found more than 66,000 tons of used electronics was sent to Nigeria in 2015 and 2016; about a quarter was illegal e-waste. </p><p>These discarded, often broken-down, products are full of contaminants. Approximately 1,000 different chemicals have been reported in e-waste. </p><p>The e-waste workers in the new study either purchased, dismantled, repaired or resold e-waste. </p><p>The study was limited in that it was small sample size. However the authors said the association between the waste and decreased hormones was "remarkable" and said these findings underscored the need for "extensive studies on the toxicology of e-waste in the growing exposed human population in Nigeria." </p>
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01 May 2018
Originals
Fracking chemicals “imbalance” the immune system
Chemicals commonly found in groundwater near fracked oil and gas wells appear to impair the proper functioning of the immune system, according to a lab study released today.
<p>
The study, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/toxsci/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/toxsci/kfy066/4985895?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank">published today in the journal Toxicological Sciences</a>, is the first to find a link between fracking chemicals and immune system problems and suggests that baby girls born to mothers near fracking wells may not fight diseases later in life as well as they could have with a pollution-free pregnancy.</p><p>"This is a really important study, especially since the work started with the idea of identifying what's out there in the environment, how much people are exposed to," Andrea Gore, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin, told EHN. </p><p>"So it's all based on this model that has been determined by a real world situation," said Gore, who was not involved in the study. </p><p><span></span>The implications are far-reaching: More than 17 million people in the U.S live within a mile of an oil or gas well. Hydraulic fractured wells now account for about half of U.S. oil and two-thirds of the nation's natural gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.</p><h3><em>Related: </em><a href="http://www.ehn.org/do-fracking-chemicals-cause-cancer-2532123436.html" target="_blank"><em>Fracking chemical mix causes disturbing changes in breast tissue</em></a></h3><p>
Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a method of drilling where millions of gallons of water and chemicals are pumped underground at high pressures to fracture shale or coal bed layers to release otherwise unreachable oil and gas deposits. The chemicals used in the process remain proprietary, however, industry has reported more than 1,000 chemicals are used in fracked oil and gas wells—and researchers have found more than 200 of these compounds in wastewater near extraction.
</p><p>The researchers tested 23 chemicals commonly found in groundwater near fracking operations. The chemicals chosen were <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27560547" target="_blank">recently associated with reproductive and development impacts</a> on mice.
</p><p>
The researchers exposed mostly female mice in their mothers' womb to the chemical mixture at levels commonly found near fracking sites. Exposed mice had "abnormal responses" to diseases when they were older—specifically an allergic disease, a certain type of flu, and a disease similar to multiple sclerosis.
</p><p>"The mice whose moms drank water containing the mixture had faster disease onset and more severe disease," lead author Paige Lawrence told EHN in a phone interview. Lawrence is a researcher and chair of Environmental Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center.</p><p>Some of the observed changes were subtle — "such as alterations in the number or percentage of certain cell types, whereas other changes were more manifest, such as advancement in the onset and severity of disease," the authors wrote.
</p><p>
Lawrence said human and mice immune systems are "more similar than they are different."
</p><p>
"This provides information as to what to look for in people," she said.
</p><p>
It's not entirely clear how the mixture altered the mouse immune system, but Lawrence said the chemicals may be altering pathways that control the immune cells that would fight off diseases. Some of the compounds in the mixture—benzene and styrene—are considered toxic to mammals' immune system. </p><h3><em>Related: </em><a href="http://www.ehn.org/fracking-chemicals-and-kids-brains-dont-mix-study-2500840614.html" target="_blank"><em>Fracking chemicals and kids' brains don't mix</em></a></h3><p>
Susan Nagel, a researcher and associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at the University of Missouri School of Medicine and study co-author, said the 23 chemicals they use are known endocrine disruptors, meaning they interfere with the proper functioning of hormones. </p><p>Properly functioning hormones are crucial for immune system development.<br></p><p>There's probably "some overlap of chemicals that perturb the endocrine system, some that perturb the immune system and probably some that do both," Gore said.</p><p>Female mice had more severe changes to their immune systems and abilities to fight off disease. "Immune responses of males and females are inherently different, and ... sex affects the timing, magnitude or penetrance of many diseases," the authors wrote, but cautioned that this study alone doesn't conclude that females are more sensitive to fracking chemicals than males. </p><p><span></span>The study is just the latest concern for people near fracking sites. Previous studies have found associations between living near fracking sites and birth defects, prostate and breast cancer, asthma, and acute lymphocytic leukemia.</p><p>
Over the past decade the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified dozens of chemicals used in fracking as health hazards, according to a <a href="http://www.pfpi.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PFPI_ToxicSecrets_4-7-2016.pdf" target="_blank">report from the Partnership for Policy Integrity and Earthworks</a>. However the report found the agency allowed the chemicals to be made and used, and hasn't disclosed the chemicals to the public.
</p><p>
The EPA would not comment on the new study — a spokesperson said the agency is reviewing it. </p>
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Kurt Bauschardt/flickr
04 April 2018
Originals
Good News: Toxic flame retardants declining in NYC kids’ blood
The levels of harmful flame retardants in children's blood are dropping every year, according to a new study of kids from New York City.
<p>The flame retardants—polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)— were used for decades in furniture, electronics and clothing in an effort to slow the spread of flames if they catch fire. The chemicals were voluntarily phased out starting in 2004 because they build up in the environment and people—PBDEs are found in the air (in and outside our homes), some food, and in people all around the world. </p><p>People are mostly exposed by breathing in contaminated dust. The chemicals are linked to a host of health problems, including impaired brain development, altered thyroid hormones, lower IQs in exposed children and some birth defects. </p><p>The new study in NYC, which followed 334 mothers and their children from 1998 to 2013, is the first to show a decline in PBDEs in kids' blood and shows that, despite the chemicals' persistence, bans or phase-outs can reduce children's exposure. </p><p>"These findings reinforce the decision to phase-out PBDEs from consumer products," said co author Julie Herbstman, an associate professor and researcher at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, in a statement. </p><p>The initial phase-out of PBDEs in 2004 was voluntary. Since then some states have banned PBDEs and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and chemical companies agreed to a phase-out of almost all PBDEs by 2014. </p><p>Herbstman and colleagues tested the mothers' umbilical cord blood, and the kids' blood at ages 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9. The most common PBDE chemical—BDE-47—decreased in the blood about 5 percent every year. When they only looked at the blood after birth, the levels dropped about 13 percent every year. </p><p style="">This isn't the first time phase-outs have been linked to sharp decreases in PBDE exposure: in 2016, <a href="https://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2016/03/ten-years-after-state-s-ban-big-drop-fire-retardants-california-breast-milk#.WsKLINPwbCQ" target="_blank">researchers reported</a> that levels of the chemicals in Bay Area women's breast milk dropped nearly 40 percent about a decade after California banned the compounds in 2006. </p><p>However, lead author Whitney Cowell, a pediatric environmental health research fellow at Mt. Sinai, cautioned about being overly optimistic: The chemicals "continue to be detected in the blood of young children nearly 10 years following their removal from U.S. commerce," she said in a statement. </p><p>They found PBDEs in 80 percent of the cord blood samples and every single sample of kids tested from 2 to 9 years old. She also pointed out that since the PBDE phase-out began, scientists have been finding replacement chemicals in children's blood. </p><p style="">As PBDEs are replaced by other chemicals, Cowell and colleague wrote that increasingly PBDE-contaminated products will end up in landfills, so the chemicals may more frequently leach into water supplies—which could "trigger a transition in human exposure pathways from dust to dietary sources," they wrote. </p>
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20 March 2018
Originals
Q&A: Using a "sailor's mouth" to help moms avoid toxics
When Leah Segedie, one of the most influential "mommy bloggers" on the Internet, was approached about writing a book on dangerous chemicals, her publisher told her to be herself.
"Does that mean I can use the F-word?" she asked.
<p>
"I didn't want to write a book that would make my eyes bleed," she said. "And you can quote that."
</p><p style="">
Segedie received the go ahead and did write the book, F-words and all. Released today from Rodale Books, "<a href="https://www.rodalebooks.com/green-enough/" target="_blank">Green Enough: Eat Better, Live Cleaner, Be Happier (All Without Driving Your Family Crazy!)</a>" is a salty, no-holds-barred manual for mothers too busy to wade into the science on which chemicals in the home could be harming their children.
</p><p>
"My goal was to democratize the info for women who are really busy," she said. "It's written like you're having a glass of wine with your girlfriend."
</p><p style="">
The self described "influencer" and mom blogger (she's a mother of three) runs a healthy living website called <a href="https://www.mamavation.com/" target="_blank">Mamavation</a>. The web research company Cision ranks Segedie in <a href="https://www.cision.com/us/2014/05/top-50-u-s-mom-bloggers/" target="_blank">the top 10 of the most-influential mom bloggers</a> in the United States, and she's been <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/judy-shapiro/what-do-carly-fiorini-lad_b_669925.html" target="_blank">compared to Lady Gaga</a> by Huffington Post. Segedie isn't a scientist herself, but she consulted experts in the field—including EHN founder and chief scientist Pete Myers—to accurately distill the science in an accessible way.</p><p style="">
EHN senior editor Brian Bienkowski reached Segedie last week. They discussed the book, talked about how to make toxics talk entertaining, and underscored the need to chill out.</p><p style="">
<em>(Interview has been lightly edited for brevity). </em>
</p><h3 style="">Why write this book?</h3><p style="">
I sift through information all the time to keep readers updated, so that they can make really good decisions when they go to grocery stores. I noticed a lack of colloquial language when discussing things that are really difficult. The language of science isn't available to everyday people, especially moms bringing up their families, and women who have so many things going on. The modern woman can barely breathe from all the things being thrown at her.<br>
</p><p style="">
Women are becoming more and more aware of endocrine disrupting chemicals and the hormonal impacts on our health, but [they] don't always know what that means. If you want to impact lives you have to bring it down to them in a way they understand. If there's something complicated you want to get out to the masses and you're not using entertainment or something eye-catching, you're going to lose them, because people are so overwhelmed by information nowadays.
</p><p style="">
Take bisphenols, like BPA and BPS. Consumers see these letters and they shut down. I've personalized these chemicals. I call bisphenols, "BPA and her bitch sisters." The "mean girls" in the chemical world.
</p><h3 style="">What was the most interesting thing you learned?<em></em></h3><p style="">
How degraded male sperm have become. I have three young boys—12, 9 and 5—adorable little red heads. Ginger babies. When I learned about how degraded sperm quality has become from the 1970s to today it really hit me – this is now whether or not I'll have grandchildren. I want that future.
</p><p>
Sperm quality is something that women and men care about, even if men don't care about health, they want to be virile. And for women—women see their children and can imagine them 10, 20 years from now.
</p><p><em>(See Segedie's "Save the Swimmers" campaign video below) </em></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8914a6178ce729084cbbc1c688598c43"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RNI6fbzB1cQ?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
</p><h3 style=""> As the book mentions, we're bombarded with information about new toxics and hazards daily. What would be your elevator speech for worried moms or dads? </h3><p style="">
There's an assumption that everything's tested, and if it's on the shelf it should be OK, but that assumption is absolutely not true.
</p><p style="">
We want to go about our lives and not be stressed out, but we need to pair that with an education that there are things in your life that you do need to be aware of. We throw these chemicals into commerce without knowing what they'll do to our bodies. One of the most important parts of of parenting is learning the basics.
</p><h3> You mention it's important for people to chill out. What are some tips for people who want to be diligent about health and safety, but also don't want to feel guilty or worried all the time? </h3><p style="">
Every single person doesn't have to be 'deep green,' and we need to be educated and also concerned about emotional health. I do as much as I can in my home, but once my family leaves the home I have zero control of what's happening. I would say to be concerned about bigger things—pesticides, flame retardants, heavy metals, phthalates, and try to get those out of your home.
</p><p style="">Here's an example: out of all the meals in a week I try to cook 80 percent—I know the ingredients, cook it, create it. And the other percent is in the 'chill out' category. I live in a house full of boys – if you make one change at a time, it's not as hard a sell, but if you try to make 100 changes, it's going to overwhelm them.</p><p style="">
I have a saying: "This house is green enough to be healthy and chill enough to be happy."</p><p style=""><em>"Green Enough: Eat Better, Live Cleaner, Be Happier (All Without Driving Your Family Crazy!)</em><em>", published by Rodale Books, is out today and can be purchased at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Green-Enough-Cleaner-Happier-Without/dp/1623367603/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=mamavation0c-20&linkId=d5a4849a24cb3452d3340315fad38919" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/green-enough-leah-segedie/1126245587?ean=9781623367602&st=AFF&SID=www.barnesandnoble.com&2sid=Rodale%2C+Inc._8077338_NA&sourceId=AFFRodale%2C+Inc." target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781623367602" target="_blank">Indiebound</a> and Books-a-million, among other outles. </em><br> </p>
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