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PubMedDate not supplied

Predicting children's blood lead levels from exposure to school drinking water in Seattle, Washington, USA.

OBJECTIVE: Lead exposure through drinking water is of increasing interest with little known about its potential childhood health impact. In 2004, school testing in Seattle, Washington, found lead concentrations in drinking water that exceeded national guidelines (>20 ppb). On the basis of these data, we estimated potential blood lead levels (BLLs) in elementary school children to better understand the potential health risks posed by these exposures. METHODS: We used the US Environmental Protection Agency Integrated Uptake Biokinetic Model for Lead in Children to predict geometric mean BLLs. We modeled typical-case and worst-case scenarios for children in 71 elementary schools on the basis of drinking water lead concentrations results from 2004. RESULTS: The estimated geometric mean BLLs under a typical scenario for each school ranged from 1.6 to 2.5 microg/dL. The worst-case scenario predicted geometric mean BLLs ranging from 1.7 to 5.0 microg/dL. All modeling yielded predicted BLLs well below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's public health goal of <10 microg/dL. CONCLUSIONS: Our modeling suggests drinking water exposures up to 10-15 times the Environmental Protection Agency guideline are unlikely to result in BLLs exceeding the current guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the absence of other significant exposure sources. In Seattle, elevated school drinking water lead concentrations are not a significant source of lead exposure in school-age children. Further characterization of drinking water impacts are merited only if younger-age children are consuming water or if water lead concentrations are higher than those in this study.

Child↗
PubMed2000

Fluoride and bacterial content of bottled water vs tap water.

CONTEXT: Bottled water has become a status symbol and is frequently used in place of tap water. While both waters are considered safe to drink, is either more beneficial in preventing tooth decay and is there a difference in purity? OBJECTIVE: To determine the fluoride level and bacterial content of commercially bottled waters municipal tap water and to compare the results. DESIGN: Comparative study. SETTING: Cleveland, Ohio. SAMPLE: Fifty-seven samples of 5 categories of bottled waters were purchased from local stores. Samples of tap water were collected in sterile containers from the 4 local water processing plants. Fluoride levels were determined by an ion-selective electrode method. Water was cultured quantitatively and levels of bacteria were calculated as colony-forming units (CFUs) per milliliter. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Fluoride levels and bacterial counts. RESULTS: Fluoride levels within the range recommended for drinking water by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, 0.80 to 1.30 mg/L, were found in only 3 samples of bottled water tested. The fluoride levels of tap water samples were within 0.04 mg/L of the optimal fluoride level of 1.00 mg/L. The bacterial counts in the bottled water samples ranged from less than 0.01 CFU/mL to 4900 CFUs/mL, including 6 samples with levels substantially above 1000 CFUs/mL. In contrast, bacterial counts in samples of tap water ranged from 0.2 to 2.7 CFUs/mL. CONCLUSIONS: Five percent of the bottled water purchased in Cleveland fell within the required fluoride range recommended by the state, compared with 100% of the tap water samples, all of which were also within 0.04 mg/L of the optimal fluoride level of 1.00 mg/L. Use of bottled water based on the assumption of purity can be misguided. Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, published a final ruling that requires community water systems to regularly report to the public on the quality of local tap water; there are no similar proposals to determine the quality of bottled water through labeling.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1990

Mercury exposure from interior latex paint.

BACKGROUND: Many paint companies have used phenylmercuric acetate as a preservative to prolong the shelf life of interior latex paint. In August 1989, acrodynia, a form of mercury poisoning, occurred in a child exposed to paint fumes in a home recently painted with a brand containing 4.7 mmol of mercury per liter (at that time the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended limit was 1.5 mmol or less per liter). METHODS: To determine whether the recent use of that brand of paint containing phenylmercuric acetate was associated with elevated indoor-air and urinary mercury concentrations, we studied 74 "exposed" persons living in 19 homes recently painted with the brand and 28 "unexposed" persons living in 10 homes not recently painted with paint containing mercury. RESULTS: The paint samples from the homes of exposed persons contained a median of 3.8 mmol of mercury per liter, and air samples from the homes had a median mercury content of 10.0 nmol per cubic meter (range, less than 0.5 to 49.9). No mercury was detected in paint or air samples from the homes of unexposed persons. The median urinary mercury concentration was higher in the exposed persons (4.7 nmol of mercury per millimole of creatinine; range, 1.4 to 66.5) than in the unexposed persons (1.1 nmol per millimole; range, 0.02 to 3.9; P less than 0.001). Urinary mercury concentrations within the range that we found in exposed persons have been associated with symptomatic mercury poisoning. CONCLUSIONS: We found that potentially hazardous exposure to mercury had occurred among persons whose homes were painted with a brand of paint containing mercury at concentrations approximately 2 1/2 times the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended limit.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The rationale for a ban on detergent phosphate in the Great Lakes Basin.

Immediate reduction of phosphorus loadings to the Great Lakes is essential to slow accelerated eutrophication. The Great Lakes National Program Office of the US Environmental Protection Agency now advocates adoption of bans on detergent phosphates as the most practical and feasible means of immediately reducing the phosphorus loadings to the Great Lakes. This change in policy from previous reliance on removal by sewage treatment has been adopted for the following reasons: (1) Bans on phosphates will reduce capital and operating costs of treatment and, were adopted, have met with consumer acceptance. (2) In practice, treatment plants have not met design expectations for phosphate removal. (3) Neither nitrilotriacetic acid nor other substitutes for phosphates have proved to be a public health problem. (4) Reduction of phosphorus loadings to treatment plants avoids increasing levels of chlorides and total dissolved solids in effluents. (5) Water quality has improved in small lakes with phosphorus reduction. In summary, detergent phosphate bans alone will not reduce phosphorus loadings to the Great Lakes sufficiently for the long term but the Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that such action is necessary in addition to continued efforts to control non-point sources.

Detergents↗
PubMed1977

Metals in municipal landfill leachate and their health effects.

The leachate from five municipal landfills (containing no industrial waste or sewage sludge) was studied in 1975 by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Copper was not present in concentrations above EPA standards. Zinc concentrations decreased with age of the site and were below standards. The amounts of cadmium and chromium appear to vary greatly from site to site. Lead, selenium, iron, and mercury were present at each site in concentrations above standards, regardless of site age. Although raw leachate contains concentrations of heavy metals in excess of the drinking water standards, it is not clear how likely it would be for these recorded levels to be found in drinking water supplies or for contamination to reach the human body. Before leachate reaches an aquifer, it is subject to the attenuating effect of the unsaturated zone. If municipal solid waste is placed directly into ground water, or if leachate is allowed to drain directly into surface water, severe damage to water quality can result. Further study of the environmental effects of leachate are being undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Humans↗
PubMed1982

[The role of the Federal Agency for Environmental Protection in the field of noise control].

The public efforts in noise abatement are shared among federal, cantonal, and local authorities. Since the acceptance of a new article in the Federal Constitution concerning the protection of the environment, the federal authorities have primarily the task to prepare and issue regulations, whilst the cantonal and local authorities have to enforce them. The Federal Office for Environmental Protection has to coordinate the activities at the federal level. The main present tasks are the preparation of new regulations, to act as an advisory board for other authorities, to analyse and evaluate the noise impact of installations and facilities, to inform the public, and to prepare the future education and training of the executive officials.

Environment↗
PubMed1999

Chemical wastes, children's health, and the Superfund Basic Research Program.

Three to 4 million children and adolescents in the United States live within 1 mile of a federally designated Superfund hazardous waste disposal site and are at risk of exposure to chemical toxicants released from these sites into air, groundwater, surface water, and surrounding communities. Because of their patterns of exposure and their biological vulnerability, children are uniquely susceptible to health injury resulting from exposures to chemical toxicants in the environment. The Superfund Basic Research Program, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and directed by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, is extremely well positioned to organize multidisciplinary research that will assess patterns of children's exposures to hazardous chemicals from hazardous waste disposal sites; quantify children's vulnerability to environmental toxicants; assess causal associations between environmental exposures and pediatric disease; and elucidate the mechanisms of environmental disease in children at the cellular and molecular level.

Child↗
PubMed1988

Perspectives of comparing risks of environmental carcinogens.

In 1987, investigators (Ames et al.) concluded that the risks of man-made industrial carcinogens and pesticides (outside of the workplace) are trivial compared with the risks of naturally occurring carcinogens found mostly in the diet. They used a ranking system based on human exposure and rodent potency (HERP) data to arrive at this conclusion. As a result, they recommend that regulatory agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, base their priorities in this area on their HERP system. We analyzed the assumptions and data set upon which the HERPs were based, concluding that such a simplified approach to set public health policy is inappropriate given the underlying uncertainties. However, we note that when comparisons are consistently based on estimates of average daily exposure to common carcinogens, the HERP scores of many man-made pollutants are comparable to those of naturally occurring carcinogens in the diet.

Carcinogens, Environmental↗
PubMed2006

Influence of sampling depth on Escherichia coli concentrations in beach monitoring.

While the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act requires coastal and Great Lakes' states to implement plans for monitoring bacterial contamination of recreational beach water, exactly how this monitoring should occur has not been regulated. This study examined differences in concentration of Escherichia coli in water collected from different depths and from different horizontal locations across the beach. E. coli concentrations were significantly different (p<0.05), when water from different depths was compared. Sampling water at depths of 30, 60, and 120 cm resulted in significantly lower E. coli concentrations as depth increased. Had the State of Wisconsin chosen to collect beach water monitoring samples at a shallower or deeper depth, numbers of beach closures and the potential risk to public health would have changed substantially. These data imply that a revised and standardized protocol for monitoring beach water should be adopted by all states of a monitoring region to better compare microbial contamination of beaches and protect public health.

Bathing Beaches↗
PubMedDate not supplied

State pesticide regulatory programs: themes and variations.

State pesticide regulation varies with region, with the amount and type of agriculture, with pesticide use, and with political conditions that are sometimes volatile and unpredictable. Dr. Arne offers an overview of state regulatory programs and their connections to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Chemical Industry↗
PubMed2005

Use of genetic toxicology information for risk assessment.

Genetic toxicology data are used worldwide in regulatory decision-making. On the 25th anniversary of Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, we think it is important to provide a brief overview of the currently available genetic toxicity tests and to outline a framework for conducting weight-of-the-evidence (WOE) evaluations that optimize the utility of genetic toxicology information for risk assessment. There are two major types of regulatory decisions made by agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): (1) the approval and registration of pesticides, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and medical-use products, and (2) the setting of standards for acceptable exposure levels in air, water, and food. Genetic toxicology data are utilized for both of these regulatory decisions. The current default assumption for regulatory decisions is that chemicals that are shown to be genotoxic in standard tests are, in fact, capable of causing mutations in humans (in somatic and/or germ cells) and that they contribute to adverse health outcomes via a "genotoxic/mutagenic" mode of action (MOA). The new EPA Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment [Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment, USEPA, 2005, EPA Publication No. EPA/630/P-03/001F] emphasize the use of MOA information in risk assessment and provide a framework to help identify a possible mutagenic and/or nonmutagenic MOA for potential adverse effects. An analysis of the available genetic toxicity data is now, more than ever, a key component to consider in the derivation of an MOA for characterizing observed adverse health outcomes such as cancer. We provide our perspective and a two-step strategy for evaluating genotoxicity data for optimal use in regulatory decision-making. The strategy includes integration of all available information and provides, first, for a WOE analysis as to whether a chemical is a mutagen, and second, whether an adverse health outcome is mediated via a mutagenic MOA.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Inconsistency between workplace and spousal studies of environmental tobacco smoke and lung cancer.

In a risk assessment released at the end of 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded that environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is a known human lung carcinogen. The Agency reached that conclusion primarily on the basis of epidemiologic studies of self-reported never-smoking women, in which the exposure index was marriage to a smoker. However, the use of the spousal smoking exposure surrogate introduces many potential confounding factors. Such confounding and bias due to denial of active smoking are likely explanations for weak and inconsistent reported ETS-lung cancer associations. This contention is supported by the results of 14 worldwide studies of lung cancer and ETS exposure in the workplace, which in combination indicated no risk elevation. Workplace ETS-lung cancer studies are not subject to the bias and confounding introduced by the spousal smoking exposure surrogate. The EPA ignored the workplace studies in its risk assessment and extrapolated the results of spousal smoking studies to workplace and other sources of ETS exposure. In its estimate of ETS-attributable lung cancer deaths in the United States, the EPA ascribed over 70% of the deaths to nonspousal ETS exposure, primarily workplace exposure. Considered in their entirety, the ETS-lung cancer epidemiologic data do not support a causal inference or provide a scientific basis for government regulation of smoking in the workplace.

Bias↗
PubMed2004

Use of ecological regions in aquatic assessments of ecological condition.

Ecological regions are areas of similar climate, landform, soil, potential natural vegetation, hydrology, or other ecologically relevant variables. The makeup of aquatic biological assemblages (e.g., fish, macroinvertebrates, algae, riparian birds, etc.) varies dramatically over the landscape, as do the environmental stresses that affect the condition of those assemblages. Ecoregions delineate areas where similar assemblages are likely to occur and, therefore, where similar expectations can be established. For this reason, ecological regions have proven to be an important tool for use in the process of ecological assessment. This article describes four examples of the use of ecological regions in important aspects of environmental monitoring and assessment: (1) design of monitoring networks; (2) estimating expected conditions (criteria development); (3) reporting of results; (4) setting priorities for future monitoring and restoration. By delineating geographic areas with similar characteristics, ecological regions provide a framework for developing relevant indicators, setting expectations through the use of regional reference sites, establishing ecoregion-specific criteria and/or standards, presenting results, focusing models based on relationships between landscape and surface water metrics, and setting regional priorities for management and restoration. The Environmental Protection Agency and many state environmental departments currently use ecoregions to aid the development of environmental criteria, to illustrate current environmental condition, and to guide efforts to maintain and restore physical, chemical and biological integrity in lakes, streams, and rivers.

Ecology↗
PubMed1997

Environmental pollution, pesticides, and the prevention of cancer: misconceptions.

The major causes of cancer are: 1) smoking, which accounts for about a third of U.S. cancer and 90% of lung cancer; 2) dietary imbalances: lack of sufficient amounts of dietary fruits and vegetables. The quarter of the population eating the fewest fruits and vegetables has double the cancer rate for most types of cancer than the quarter eating the most; 3) chronic infections, mostly in developing countries; and 4) hormonal factors, influenced primarily by lifestyle. There is no cancer epidemic except for cancer of the lung due to smoking. Cancer mortality rates have declined by 16% since 1950 (excluding lung cancer). Regulatory policy that focuses on traces of synthetic chemicals is based on misconceptions about animal cancer tests. Recent research indicates that rodent carcinogens are not rare. Half of all chemicals tested in standard high-dose animal cancer tests, whether occurring naturally or produced synthetically, are "carcinogens"; there are high-dose effects in rodent cancer tests that are not relevant to low-dose human exposures and which contribute to the high proportion of chemicals that test positive. The focus of regulatory policy is on synthetic chemicals, although 99.9% of the chemicals humans ingest are natural. More than 1000 chemicals have been described in coffee: 28 have been tested and 19 are rodent carcinogens. Plants in the human diet contain thousands of natural "pesticides" produced by plants to protect themselves from insects and other predators: 63 have been tested and 35 are rodent carcinogens. There is no convincing evidence that synthetic chemical pollutants are important as a cause of human cancer. Regulations targeted to eliminate minuscule levels of synthetic chemicals are enormously expensive: the Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that environmental regulations cost society $140 billion/year. Others have estimated that the median toxic control program costs 146 times more per hypothetical life-year saved than the median medical intervention. Attempting to reduce tiny hypothetical risks has other costs as well: if reducing synthetic pesticides makes fruits and vegetables more expensive, thereby decreasing consumption, then the cancer rate will increase, especially for the poor. The prevention of cancer will come from knowledge obtained from biomedical research, education of the public, and lifestyle changes made by individuals. A reexamination of priorities in cancer prevention, both public and private, seems called for.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Radio frequency radiation exposure standards: considerations for harmonization.

Radio frequency radiation exposure standards vary in origin, development process, legal status, and in the actual exposure limits. To identify the sources of differences in limits, we evaluated technical aspects of eight standards that included supporting information on the scientific data and rationale. Comparisons were made among the standards by examining the scope of the underlying database, the rationales for safety factors and other issues underlying exposure limits in the energy-deposition range (0.1 MHz to 10.0 GHz) and in the surface-heating range (about 10 or 15 GHz to 300 GHz). The framework for this assessment was based on the methods recommended by the scientific and regulatory organizations for developing health-based exposure limits. General guidelines for performing risk assessments for threshold acting agents have been developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Health Canada's Environmental Health Directorate, and the International Program on Chemical Safety of the World Health Organization. This general methodology was applied to radiofrequency radiation for this assessment. Because these methods strive to identify scientific issues and separate them from risk management or policy, they provide a basis for evaluation of standards in this paper. This distinction can provide a foundation for the longer-term goal of global harmonization of radio frequency radiation standards. Each of the standards evaluated in the energy-deposition range was found to use the same basic restriction, based on biological data and a 10-fold safety factor, yet explanations reflect different interpretations of the underlying biological data. Rationales differ for the magnitude of the safety factor, for the circumstances of exposure, for the nature of sensitive populations, and for the presumed health status of the individuals for whom the basic restriction is applicable. In the surface-heating range, broad variability in exposure limits are seen in the limit itself, as well as in the approach to time averaging and frequency dependence. Averaging times differ among standards, as do tissue geometries for defining partial-body exposures. The differences in approaches to develop the standards do not completely explain differences among the exposure limits, and methods for computing exposure limits from basic restrictions are not always defined. This analysis suggests harmonization of standards will require more detailed review and coordination of biological and engineering data and of policy options.

Canada↗
PubMed1997

The prevalence of shedding of Cryptosporidium and Giardia spp. based on a single fecal sample collection from each of 91 horses used for backcountry recreation.

Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia duodenalis are now recognized as primary enteric pathogens in animals and humans. Regulatory agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency are under increasing pressure to reduce the concentration of these protozoa in surface waters. Given the popularity of recreational riding of horses on public land in California backcountry, concerns have been raised by various regulatory agencies as to whether horses used for backcountry recreation are a significant source of C. parvum and G. duodenalis for the environment. The prevalence of fecal shedding of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in horses with a history of being ridden in California backcountry during 1993 and 1994 was estimated. Using both direct fluorescent antibody and levitation centrifugation tests, none of 91 single-collection fecal samples from throughout California had Cryptosporidium oocysts or Giardia cysts. Horses ranged from 4 to 24 years of age. Because none of the 91 samples, collected 1 time from each horse, were positive and assuming that the sensitivity and specificity of the test methods employed were 100%, the highest probable prevalence of shedding for either protozoal pathogen was < 3.2% for the cohort of horses studied.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2000

Breathtaking research.

Although the air we breathe is necessary for life, certain factors may make this same air detrimental to our health. For instance, a seemingly endless list of compounds can be toxic at certain concentrations, and inhaling such compounds may lead to damage in different parts of the body. To investigate the particular effects of inhaled toxicants, the NIEHS developed the Respiratory Toxicology Group. The group, which consists of toxicologist Dan Morgan, biologist Cassandra Shines, and engineer Michael Moorman, has been conducting experiments for about a decade at the NIEHS inhalation facility. Morgan says the group typically conducts studies of chemicals that have been nominated to the National Toxicology Program for investigation into their carcinogenic potential and other end points. "We provide research support and conduct special studies on these chemicals," he says. "We also do collaborative studies with other NIEHS investigators, other [federal] agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, universities, and industry."

Air Pollution↗
PubMed2003

Federal government regulation of occupational skin exposure in the USA.

There are at least 14 federal regulations and three agencies that are involved in the regulation of occupational skin exposures in the USA. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires the reporting of health effects information on chemicals, and such information is used to assess the risks of human and environmental exposure. The health effects information and any resulting risk assessments are generally available to the public. A fair amount of this information relates to skin irritation, sensitization, and dermal absorption. The EPA can require the submission of new data necessary for it to carry out its risk assessments, and has the authority to ban hazardous chemicals for certain uses. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the correct labeling of cosmetics and requires safety and efficacy data on new products that are claimed to have preventive or health benefits. Commercial distribution of topical skin-care and protection products, therefore, can be potentially scrutinized by the FDA, which can control the use of hazardous chemicals in such products. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has the most direct contact with workplaces through its field inspection compliance activity, which is directed at the reduction of workplace injuries and illnesses. Our analysis suggests that although considerable amounts of health effects information is generated and available, such information may not always be adequately conveyed to the end users of chemical products. In addition, the most effective and practical means of preventing exposure is often not apparent or generally known. Current regulations may have created a reliance on use of chemical protective equipment that may not always be the best approach to protecting workers. Lack of performance criteria that are measurable has hampered industry from objectively assessing skin exposures. This lack of performance criteria or guidance has also hindered the implementation of prevention strategies and a critical assessment of their effectiveness. Better guidance from regulatory agencies directed at performance-based control of occupational skin hazards is presently needed.

Dermatitis, Occupational↗