Posts for 'Environmental Toxicity' Category

The number of suspected salmonella cases linked to an outbreak in this southern Colorado town topped 200 Sunday.

Of 216 reported cases so far, 68 have been confirmed by lab results, public information officer Jim Shires said. Nine people have been hospitalized, but only one was believed to still be in the hospital, Shires said.

Shires is part of a nine-person incident management team from Jefferson County that arrived to help Alamosa officials respond to the outbreak, which health officials said may be caused by the municipal water system.

Officials planned to flush the water system with a chlorine solution in stages beginning Tuesday morning.

Health officials told residents to stop drinking and cooking with tap water last Wednesday, after tap water samples tested positive for bacterial contamination. Since then, city officials have worked to coordinate distribution of bottled water.

Gov. Bill Ritter declared a public health emergency Friday, freeing up $300,000 in aid and activating the Colorado National Guard to help distribute safe water.

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      I do not think anyone is aware of the fact that indoor plants do really help in reducing environmental toxicity to a great extent which is why you should choose to put indoor plants in your homes and offices so that the place is free from environmental toxicity to a great extent. Common indoor plants may provide a valuable weapon in the fight against rising levels of indoor air pollution. Those plants in your office or home are not only decorative, but nasa scientists are finding them to be surprisingly useful in absorbing potentially harmful gases and cleaning the air inside modern buildings.nasa and the associated landscape contractors of america (alca) have announced the findings of a 2-year study that suggest a sophisticated pollution-absorbing device: the common indoor plant may provide a natural way of helping combat "sick building syndrome". Research into the use of biological processes as a means of solving environmental problems, both on earth and in space habitats, has been carried out for many years by dr. Bill wolverton, formerly a senior research scientist at nasa's john c. Stennis space center, bay st. Louis, miss. Based on preliminary evaluations of the use of common indoor plants for indoor air purification and revitalization, alca joined nasa to fund a study using about a dozen popular varieties of ornamental plants to determine their effectiveness in removing several key pollutants associated with indoor air pollution.$home$ nasa research on indoor plants has found that living plants are so efficient at absorbing contaminants in the air that some will be launched into space as part of the biological life support system aboard future orbiting space stations. While more research is needed, wolverton says the study has shown that common indoor landscaping plants can remove certain pollutants from the indoor environment. "we feel that future results will provide an even stronger argument that common indoor landscaping plants can be a very effective part of a system used to provide pollution free homes and work places, " he concludes. Each plant type was placed in sealed, plexiglas chambers in which chemicals were injected. Philodendron, spider plant and the golden pothos were labeled the most effective in removing formaldehyde molecules. Flowering plants such as gerbera daisy and chrysanthemums were rated superior in removing benzene from the chamber atmosphere. Other good performers are dracaena massangeana, spathiphyllum, and golden pothos. "plants take substances out of the air through the tiny openings in their leaves," wolverton said. "but research in our laboratories has determined that plant leaves, roots and soil bacteria are all important in removing trace levels of toxic vapors". "combining nature with technology can increase the effectiveness of plants in removing air pollutants," he said. "a living air cleaner is created by combining activated carbon and a fan with a potted plant. The roots of the plant grow right in the carbon and slowly degrade the chemicals absorbed there," wolverton explains. Nasa research has consistently shown that living, green and flowering plants can remove several toxic chemicals from the air in building interiors. You can use plants in your home or office to improve the quality of the air to make it a more pleasant place to live and work - where people feel better, perform better, any enjoy life more.

At ordinary temperatures and pressures, it is a liquid metal. More importantly, it is a reactive element. Since it was first isolated, mankind has developed and increasingly vast array of uses for mercury. Over time we have slowly become aware of the dangers of occupational mercury poisoning, but only recently have we deduced some of the actual mechanisms involved. The advances in mercury toxicology have led us full circle: we now know that the real danger for the general public lies in naturally occurring mercury compounds that accumulate in the food chain. This danger presents itself as a chronic, low-level intake of mercury compounds. However, most of our knowledge of mercury poisoning comes from studies of cases of acute poisoning. There is very little known about chronic exposure.

What Forms Does Mercury Exist In? Most people are familiar with mercury in its elemental, liquid state. Liquid mercury can be found right in your home, either in the house's thermostat, or in a thermometer. Amalgams of mercury have been used for metallurgical purposes, and more recently for dental fillings. In fact, you probably have mercury amalgam fillings right in your mouth! Mercury also exists in many forms in nature, both as mercury vapor and in many compounds and minerals. Mercury also exists as monomethylmercury (MeHg). This form of mercury is particularly toxic, as is participates directly in biochemical reactions. MeHg is created both by humans and by the environment. Industry uses MeHg, and in the past there have been poisonings due to industrial discharge. MeHg is also created through biomethylation processes in the environment, and this MeHg bioaccumulates primarily in fish. The greatest source of MeHg is natural biomethylation, and fish consumption is the principal source of MeHg intake for most people.

How do mercury compounds enter the human body? Mercury compounds vapor can enter the body through various pathways, including inhalation of vapor, ingestion, and skin contact. Most of our exposure to elemental mercury comes from inhalation of mercury vapor, while most of our exposure to MeHg comes from ingestion. If we keep in mind that mercury vapor is a nonpolar, monatomic gas, and therefore lipid-soluble, it is easier to follow its journey through the body and to the brain. For example, let's follow the path of inhaled mercury vapor. From the lungs it dissolves in blood plasma, and from there it has access to diffuse into any cell in the body. Once inside a cell, mercury vapor, itself unreactive, is oxidized to the highly toxic mercury (+2) ion. This is also known as divalent mercury. This oxidation process is mediated by the enzyme catalase. Catalase normally functions in a two-step process to remove hydrogen peroxide from cells. However, in the second step of this process, mercury vapor can be oxidized to divalent mercury. Although this seems to be an unfortunate reaction, it helps to protect the brain from mercury exposure. This is because a lot of the mercury vapor we inhale is oxidized by, and trapped in, red blood cells. This keeps most inhaled mercury vapor from ever reaching the brain. However, some elemental mercury vapor does reach the brain, and there it is also oxidized to divalent mercury. This divalent mercury in the brain leads to strange symptoms, including erethism (mad hatterís disease). However, the process by which this happens is still not known. It is believed that divalent mercury attaches to receptors in the brain, but this is only a piece in the puzzle linking mercury in the brain to behavioral symptoms.

What does MeHg do in the human brain? Monomethylmercury (MeHg) is an estimated 100 to 1000 times more toxic (than elemental mercury) to humans. In fact, MeHg seems to specifically target the advanced Central Nervous System (CNS). Until recently, this was a mystery, as the CNS enjoys the protection of the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). The BBB consists of tightly packed endothelial cells that line the walls of the blood capillaries in the CNS. The key to understanding why MeHg is so toxic is to see that structural similarities in biochemical reactions can lead to active transport of toxins. In the case organisms with a highly advanced CNS, like humans, this active transport can lead a brain accumulation of MeHg. As mentioned before, most of our exposure to MeHg comes from bioaccumulations in fish. When we eat contaminated fish, this ingested MeHg easily passes through the intestines and into the bloodstream. The pathway of MeHg from the bloodstream to the brain is complicated, and we think it is easiest to understand the pathway through a list of the various processes involved: 

 MeHg in blood plasma can combine with cysteine, forming a compound that is structurally similar to the amino acid methionine

 This MeHg-cysteine compound is actively transported into the endothelial cells in the BBB, on the methionine carrier.

 A high level of reduced glutathione is maintained in the endothelial cells, and the MeHg switches from a cysteine carrier to a glutathione carrier.

 MeHg-glutathione is actively transported out of the endothelial cells and into the brain.

 In the brain, the hydrolysis of MeHg-glutathione generates MeHg-cysteine.

This MeHg-cysteine can now enter nerve cells in the brain, where it accumulates. The reason why it accumulates is unknown, but it is known that reduced glutathione levels are low in some neurons. It is thought that this low level of reduced glutathione might allow MeHg-cysteine to remain in the cells, unlike in the endothelial cells. Furthermore, since MeHg-cysteine is structurally similar to the amino acid methionine, it may interfere with protein synthesis in nerve cells. This is especially likely, since methionine is always the first amino acid involved with protein synthesis. However, the exact process is not yet fully understood. The toxicity of MeHg in the developing brain is even more complicated. MeHg has been shown to affect proteins that are involved in the assembly of microtubules in the nerve cell's cytoskeleton. By noting that microtubules are essential for nerve cell division and migration, we see how MeHg can affect brain growth and development. This is why the fetal brain is particularly sensitive to MeHg. Also, the BBB of the fetal brain is about three times more active in amino acid transport, which only makes the MeHg brain concentration rate higher. MeHg also produces subtle changes in the production and secretion of neurotransmitters in the developing brain, which alters brain development in subtle ways. For example, MeHg has been shown to accumulate in astrocyte cells in the developing brain. One role of astrocytes is to regulate levels of the amino acid glutamate in the developing brain. It happens that glutamate is toxic to the developing brain. Since an inhibition of astrocyte cell function will enchance glutamate levels, we can see an indirect path for mercury poisoning in the brain. This is a very complex subject, and very little is known about the exact developmental changes that are expected from MeHg contamination.

How can we detect mercury in the body? The standard methods for determining the concentration of mercury compounds in the body involve urine, blood, and hair samples. The problem with these methods is that they only show a recent history of mercury exposure, whereas mercury is a cumulative toxin. Since these tests cannot account for past exposures, they are only valid indicators of recent, acute exposure. This is part of the reason that there is so little known about chronic, low-level MeHg contamination.

Can we treat mercury poisoning? Unfortunately, by the time symptoms appear, usually the damage is already done. This is complicated by the fact that mercury poisoning is difficult to diagnose. However, when mercury contamination is diagnosed and there is still a concentration of mercury in the body, chelation therapy may help. Chelation therapy involves the formation of a complex of mercury with a chelate ligand. EDTA is such a chelating ligand, and it has been used in the treatment of mercury poisoning. Doses of chelating agents increase the blood and urine concentrations of mercury, and thus help eliminate it from the body.

 While talking about environmental toxicity the first thing that comes in ones mind is Air Pollution which is around us whether we are indoors or out doors, for the air pollution control some Scientific Dust Collectors have been made to manufacture a full line of fabric and cartridge style dust collectors to help control pollution. The model SPJ Scientific Dust Collector is a heavy duty reverse pulse-jet dust collector that operates continuously without requiring the process to be shut down for cleaning.  It is automatically self-cleaning while removing dry dust from an airstream.  It is a versatile unit that can handle almost any type of dust.  With our patented cleaning system Scientific Dust Collectors operate at very high efficiencies and, for most applications, can operate very reliably with much less filter media than any other commercially available collector in its class.  Cylindrical fabric filter bags with bottom discs are manufactured from felted cloths and are supported on the outside of cylindrical wire cages.  The dust collects on the outside surface of the cloth. Dust laden air enters the unit through a high inlet designed to reduce upward internal velocities which are prevalent in bottom entry collectors.  Scientific Dust Collectors designs have improved the high inlet by incorporating a dropout section and perforated baffle plate causing velocities to be lowered at the entry to the collector. This feature allows heavier mass dust particles to drop out into the hopper and reduces the amount of dust carried to the filter media.  Controlling velocities and direction of air movement within a dust collector are very important to the efficiency of the unit as they reduce re-entrainment of dust. Scientific Dust Collectors patented cleaning mechanism generates a short powerful burst of induced air flow into the top of the bag.  These bursts reverse the air flow momentarily flexing the fabric bags to knock off excess dust agglomerated on the top layer of the filter cake while maintaining a functional filter cake.  The purge tube with patented high velocity nozzles is positioned directly over the openings at the top of the bags.  Each purge tube is connected to a large fast-acting diaphragm valve on the outside of the collector.  These diaphragm valves are pneumatically operated and actuated by direct acting solenoid pilot valves, controlled by an adjustable electronic timing panel. The patented high velocity nozzle allows Scientific Dust Collectors to eliminate the venturies used in most generic pulse-jet collectors.  Venturies can restrict filtering velocity, impede cleaning, and cause puffing and abrasion around the top of the bags.  With the patented high velocity nozzle, our cleaning system is able to use higher air-to-cloth ratios and less compressed air while inducing more air per cubic foot of compressed air than plain orifices, conventional converging nozzles, or straight nozzles.

Britain said on Thursday the foot and mouth virus may have leaked at the same laboratory at the centre of an outbreak earlier this year, although scientists believed it had not escaped into the wider environment. Environment Minister Hilary Benn said officials at the Merial facility at Pirbright in Surrey, south-east England, believed there had been a probable unintended release of live foot and mouth (FMD) virus into a contained drainage system. It was first discovered on Nov. 19 and operations at Merial stopped immediately, he added. Government inspectors visited the site on Wednesday. "The inspection team judge that while it is possible that live FMD virus had entered the contained drainage system, from their discussions and the evidence gathered they are assured that live virus has not been released to the environment," Benn said. Benn said Merial had initially discovered a shortfall in the quantity of foot and mouth (FMD) virus recovered from production batches from the previous week and then identified technical problems with a valve.

After releasing new figures showing that the global AIDS epidemic is smaller than it previously reported, the United Nations’ AIDS-fighting agency denied yesterday that it had inflated estimates for years in an alarmist effort to raise funds.
Skip to next paragraph. Officials at the agency, Unaids, were asked about the accusation — a not uncommon grumble in the heavily politicized war on AIDS — at a news conference about the revised estimates. Dr. Paul De Lay, Unaids’s director of monitoring and policy, replied that the idea that earlier estimates were deliberately inflated was “absurd.” The revision, disclosed in the news media on Monday night ahead of yesterday’s official announcement by the AIDS agency and the World Health Organization, puts the number of people infected with H.I.V. at 33.2 million, down from 39.5 million. The lower figure is based on newer, more accurate surveys in India and several African countries. The costly, time-consuming household surveys made it clear that previous estimates, gleaned mainly from tests on women in urban clinics, were too high. Dr. De Lay said that Unaids’s job was to give advice and monitor trends, and that its budget did not come from the money that has poured into the field recently to buy drugs and hunt for vaccines. Also, he argued, “cooking this data would be almost impossible” because it is gathered by health ministries in each country and overseen by several agencies. Dr. Kevin M. De Cock, director of H.I.V./AIDS for the World Health Organization, added that it was not clear before late 2003 that the estimates were probably too high. And the biggest drop in the global figures came from revising the figure for India downward, which was done in July. A little-noted aspect of the revised estimate is that Unaids now assumes that someone infected with the virus and getting no antiretroviral drugs will live an average of 11 years, not 9. The old estimate, explained Dr. Peter Ghys, chief of epidemiology for Unaids, had been based on a single study done in southern Uganda in the 1990s.

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Alcohol and drug treatment has changed a lot over the years. The first forms of such treatments were quite brutal; in the dark ages it was thought that addictions were caused by demonic possession, which had many different prescribed ‘cures’ ranging from blood letting to being burned at the stake. In the 19th and early 20th century, these treatments had improved but little; addictions were then considered forms of insanity and the treatments of choice involved straight jackets, padded rooms, and electric shocks.What we consider today as modern alcohol and drug treatment didn’t really start until the second half of the 20th century. No doubt spurred onward by the favorable results demonstrated by the rapidly growing ’12 step’ program designed by Alcoholics Anonymous, medical professionals began to realize that reasonable and effective alcohol or drug treatment was in fact a possibility. Some of the first forms of these treatment centers formed in this time were not much more than centers where the 12 step program could be taught.Even well into the 1980’s handing someone a ‘big book’ (the Alcoholics Anonymous guide) and telling them to go to 90 meetings in 90 days was a common and acceptable form of alcohol and drug treatment. Since then there has been some improvement of our understanding of the disease of addiction, and alcohol and drug treatment has become both more complex and more effective.

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According to a State Health Index, a new project launched by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Colorado, the state ranks 9th when it comes to the healthiest in America. At the other end of the spectrum, Indiana ranked 43 out of 50 states. Data used to rank the states was acquired from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. A total of 23 health status measures were analyzed in order to provide accurate data, including rates of low birth-weight babies, the number of adults who received flu vaccines, and the prevalence of smoking. “Whether the issue is childhood obesity, low birth-weight babies or the state’s high smoking rate, Anthem has been a willing partner,” Dr. Judy Monroe, the Indiana state health commissioner, said in a statement. “We’ll have the greatest impact on public health when the private, public and non-profit sectors work together.”

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    The doctors have now come to the conclusion that the increase in infertility rate is 100% linked to the environmental toxicity but which can be resolved by a few medical suggestions. One in five couples trying to have children in the United States today is struggling with infertility challenges, yet a large number of them can find no clear medical cause. This number has skyrocketed over the last three decades; with one measure of fertility, average male sperm count, dropping more than 50% during that time. For those experiencing infertility, the pain and longing for a child can be an awful day and night reality. Many studies now point to one or more of the triple factors of environmental toxicity, lifestyle, and emotional health that appear to be precursors to the problem. Now, however, infertile couples and health professionals can learn about non-medical and complementary strategies for offsetting this outbreak of lowered fertility. "I began to research the large amount of literature on the non-medical causes for infertility during my own fertility challenge several years ago," says Karin Clark Edmiston, a Northern California author of the recently published Get Pregnant Naturally: The Workbook. "In regard to environmental toxicity, there are many non-medical techniques that infertile couples can use to reduce exposure to chemicals with known effects on fertility and thereby greatly increase their likelihood of conceiving." Clark Edmiston points out that current studies specifically show the need for people trying to conceive to avoid exposure to coffee, smoking, the food additives MSG and BHA, alcohol 24 hours before conception, alcohol and marijuana in combination, exposure to solvents, PVC plastic and the pesticides chlordane and Dursban. While the exact mechanism that decreases fertility is still unclear with many food based and environmental chemicals, others such as chlordane, Dursban, BHA, and PVC plastic have been found to reduce fertility by confusing the body's estrogen receptors, and are often referred to as "environmental estrogens."

                        The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently recognizes more than four million chemical compounds. More than 60,000 of these are produced commercially, with three new compounds introduced each day. In 1992, the EPA published the results of a study in which the urine of 7,000 randomly sampled Americans was tested for toxic chemical residues.  Chemicals like pentachlorophenol, a wood preservative, and others were found in 71 percent of individuals tested. There were not people working at chemical factories or industrial waste incinerators. This study looked at the average citizen – you and me. It is disconcerting to find such a high percentage of individuals with chemical residue in their urine. These are all chemicals not even in existence 100 years ago.  Many doctors who work with chronically fatigued patients and those who work in the field of environmental medicine, agree that chemical exposure is a major contributor to fatigue and low vitality. For example, if you review the symptoms of formaldehyde exposure, you will find fatigue, depression, and poor concentration right at the top. The symptoms of exposure to trichloroethylene (found in floor polish, copy machines, carpet cleaner, etc.) include fatigue, poor concentration, and drowsiness, among others. Exposure to toluene, the most common indoor air pollutant, triggers symptoms of fatigue, poor concentration, drowsiness, and headache.  Methylene chloride is found in paint thinner, hair spray, adhesives, solvents, paint, flame retardants, and many other common products. The aerosol propellants found in hair sprays, antiperspirants, air fresheners, and spray paint, may contain up to 5o% methylene chloride. Once inhaled, methylene chloride goes directly to the brain, fat cells, and liver. Common symptoms include fatigue, lethargy, headaches, and chest pain.  In an article entitled “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Chemical Overload,” Dr. R. A. Buist explained that there are many pieces of evidence suggesting that chronic fatigue may be a result of toxin exposure. He goes on to point out that toxins can disrupt muscle metabolism, accounting for the pain and fatigability of muscles experienced by many fatigued people. Buist also notes that in many chronic fatigue patients, use of recreational drugs or environmental exposure preceded the onset of their fatigue.  In an address to the Well Mind Association in Seattle, Washington, David S. Bushcer, M.D., made the following remarks: “My personal theory on chronic fatigue is that the increased load of pollutants in our environment, such as pesticides, is causing people to have a breakdown of their immune systems…I would say that 70% of my patients with chronic fatigue had a chemical trigger; they moved into a new home, there was remodeling at the office, or a pesticide application, and now they have chronic fatigue. I think the mechanism is some kind of cellular poisoning from these chemicals. The affected person’s detoxification system is clogged up or destroyed, they get a backlog of chemicals, and their immune system goes down.”  In 1992, the neurobehavioral effects of various chemicals were reviewed in Environmental Neurotoxicity, published by the National Research Council. The following symptoms commonly associated with fatigue and the number of chemicals that may cause these symptoms are significant.

Symptom: Number of Chemicals:

Fatigue: 87

Listlessness: 30

Depression: 40

Sleep disturbances: 119

Weakness: 179

An important fact about chemical exposure is the role that cumulative exposure plays in causing illness. Exposure to trace amounts of one chemical may produce few ill effects. However, when five, ten, or even fifty different compounds are encountered in trace amounts, which is not unusual, the additive effects can be serious. To put this in perspective, consider that in one Washington, D.C., home for the elderly, 350 different volatile chemicals were found in the indoor air. Another study conducted by the EPA found anywhere from 40 to 120 different organic compound circulating in the air of every home tested, regardless of whether the home was in urban Chicago or rural North Dakota.

Treatment

Toxicity is a very complicated phenomenon that requires the guidance of a doctor trained in environmental medicine and nutritional biochemistry. Toxic mineral exposure is treated differently than exposure to organic chemical compounds. Specific nutrients are necessary to enhance biochemical detoxification pathways of the body. Any recommendations made in this book [see book details at end of this article] could only be considered superficial and general.

When dealing with toxicity problems, the following areas must be addressed:

Reduce the total toxic load be removing toxins from your environment and by removing offending foods and additives from your diet.

Identify functional nutrient deficiencies related to detoxification and general metabolism.

Restore your body’s pH to its normal balance so that cellular systems being to function normally.

Begin a supervised detoxification program aimed at removing toxins stored in body tissues.

Nutrients important in detoxification include:

L-glutathione, vitamin E, vitamin C, N-acetylcysteine, selenium, beta-carotene, coenzyme Q10, taurine, zinc, copper, magnesium, molybdenum, bioflavonoids.

5. Utilize a low temperature sauna. Some doctors who treat patients with toxic exposure recommend that patients sit in a low temperature sauna for several hours each day. The low temperature encourages a “fat sweat” to eliminate toxins that are stored in the body’s fat.

6. Support the endocrine, immune, and hepatic (liver) system.

7. Begin a program of behavioral therapy and stress management.

8. Restore gastrointestinal function.