[Activities of the People's Commissariat of Public Health of the RSFSR in organizing environmental health protection (1918-1927)].
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Environmental Health↗
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From sanitation to cellphones: participants and principles involved in environmental health protection.
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Air Pollutants↗
National and regional distributions of airborne radon concentrations in U.S. homes.
The National Residential Radon Survey was conducted during 1989 and 1990 to provide data on the frequency distribution of annual average radon concentrations in U.S. residences nationwide, in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defined Regions, and in subgroups of the housing stock. The National Residential Radon Survey also provided housing and demographic data and a preliminary assessment of the relationship of housing and geographical characteristics to residential radon concentrations. This paper focuses solely on the national and regional estimates of annual average radon concentrations. A stratified, three-stage sampling procedure was used to select housing units for the survey. Data were collected through personal interviews with residents and placement of alpha track detectors in each level of the residences for 12 mo. The survey found an arithmetic annual average radon concentration in U.S. homes of 46.3 +/- 4.4 Bq m-3 (1.25 +/- 0.12 pCi L-1). About 6.0 +/- 1.4% of homes (5.8 million) had radon levels greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's action level for mitigation of 148 Bq m-3 (4 pCi L-1). Concentrations varied significantly across Environmental Protection Agency Regions. A lognormal distribution was found to closely approximate the major distributions of radon concentrations.
Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗
Effects of ionising radiation exposure on plants, fish and mammals: relevant data for environmental radiation protection.
In order to develop a framework for the assessment of the environmental impact of radiation, it is necessary to establish the relationship between exposure (dose rate, accumulated dose) and the effects that may be induced in plants and animals. With this purpose in mind, the data available on effects induced by ionising radiation in various wildlife groups have been reviewed as part of the FASSET project. This paper has highlighted that the available information on the effects of low dose rate, continuous irradiation (< 10(3) microGy h(-1)) is reasonable for plants, fish and mammals, but is scarce or non-existent for other wildlife groups. Thus, the effects induced in plants, fish and mammals after chronic exposure to radiation are presented in this paper. The fragmentary nature of the available, relevant information has made it very difficult to characterise the desired dose rate-response relationships in any detail. However, it can be broadly concluded that, although minor effects may be seen at lower dose rates in the most sensitive species and systems, the threshold for statistically significant effects in most studies is about 10(2) microGy h(-1). The responses then increase progressively with increasing dose rate and usually become very clear at dose rates > 10(3) microGy h(-1) sustained for a large fraction of the lifespan.
Animals↗
Water quality guidance for protection of freshwater mussels (Unionidae) from ammonia exposure.
Ammonia toxicity data for freshwater mussels (Unionidae), a significantly imperiled taxa, were used to derive estimates of concentrations that would not likely be harmful in acute and chronic exposures and to assess the protectiveness of current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) water quality criteria to this family of organisms. Thirty acute (24-96-h) median lethal concentrations (LC50s), covering 10 species in eight unionid genera, were used to calculate genus mean acute values (GMAVs) ranging from 2.56 to 8.97 mg/L total ammonia as N at pH 8. Freshwater mussels are at the sensitive end of the range when added to the GMAVs from the database used to derive the U.S. EPA criteria maximum concentration (CMC). We derived two estimates of acute exposure water quality guidance for the protection of freshwater mussels (CMC(FM)) by a recalculation of the CMC after adding freshwater mussel GMAVs to the U.S. EPA data set. The CMC(FM)s of 1.75 and 2.50 mg/L total ammonia as N at pH 8 average 60% less than the U.S. EPA CMC of 5.62 mg/L total ammonia as N at pH 8 for application when salmonids are present. These values average about 75% less than the CMC for application when salmonids are absent. No chronic ammonia exposure data existed for unionids. Thus, we applied a range of estimated acute:chronic ratios to the acute toxicity data set, expanded with the freshwater mussel GMAVs. to estimate continuous ammonia concentrations that may be protective of freshwater mussels. These estimates ranged from 0.3 to 1.0 mg/L total ammonia as N at pH 8, about 20 to 75% less than the U.S. EPA criteria continuous concentration (CCC) of 1.24 mg/L total ammonia as N at pH 8 and 25 degrees C. The current numeric criteria for ammonia may not be protective of mussels, more than half of whose nearly 300 species are in decline in North America. While the CMC(FM) and CCC(FM) are not equivalent to revised U.S. EPA criteria, they are offered as interim guidance for the protection of freshwater mussels.
Ammonia↗
Implementation of the Healthy Cities' principles and strategies: an evaluation of the Israel Healthy Cities network.
The Israel network of Healthy Cities has been operating since 1990, and the first evaluation of its performance was carried out in 2004. The objectives were to evaluate the level of implementation of the 'Healthy Cities' principles and strategies in each network city and to assess the contribution of the network to its member cities. Coordinators of 18 active healthy cities participated in the study by completing a questionnaire with the aid of key informants in the municipality. The survey covered six dimensions of Healthy Cities' principles and strategies, and each was analyzed as a sum of scores of separate components and measures, converted to a 0-10 scale. Cities were found to differ in their performances. The dimension of intersectoral collaboration received the highest mean score (8.0 +/- 1.6), while the environmental protection dimension received the lowest one (4.5 +/- 2.2). Time investment by the coordinator of > 20 h a week is significantly associated with a higher score on the management dimension (7.8 versus 4.4 where the coordinator invests 20 h a week or less, P < 0.001). Previous work experience in either public health or community work was associated with higher scores of the community participation and intersectoral partnership dimensions (6.9 versus 5.2 and 8.5 versus 6.8, respectively, P < 0.05). Political support was associated with the city equity policy dimension (8.1 versus 4.8 in cities with high versus low political support, P < 0.01). Coordinator's participation in the network's activities is associated with better scores on all the dimensions except for environmental protection. It appears that political commitment and support is a significant enabling condition, which, together with the capacity building of the coordinator, may lead to better implementation of Healthy Cities' policy. Environmental issues should be incorporated into training sessions to enhance the environmental protection dimension.
Adult↗
A discussion of the U.S. EPA methodology for determining Water Quality Standards (WQS).
Based on material published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) in the Federal Register for 19 November 1991, many state environmental agencies have proposed and/or adopted revisions to their State Water Quality Standards (WQS) for organic and inorganic chemicals in fresh and marine waters (see, for example, State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Management, (1992), memorandum to Interested Parties concerning the Water Quality Standards Hearing Report). Generally, many states simply republish the U.S. EPA's proposed Water Quality Criteria (WQC) as the State's proposed WQS. Many of the state WQS and federal WQC values--especially those for organic compounds regulated as human or animal carcinogens--are much more stringent than the values now in effect because the U.S. EPA's new methodology (i) for estimating exposure point concentrations, exposure doses, carcinogenic potency, and incremental lifetime cancer risk and (ii) for setting the target acceptable risk combine a series of conservative assumptions into an equally conservative set of results. In the Federal Register proposal, the U.S. EPA failed to honor its standard risk assessment methodology in that (i) it failed to perform a quantitative or even qualitative uncertainty analysis and (ii) it failed to analyze the overall degree of conservatism in the results. The U.S. EPA suggested that the analysis is suitably conservative for the average exposed adult, but it failed to consider various phenomena that make the proposed WQC far more conservative than acknowledged or intended. To focus on a central problem of manageable size, this article dissects the method by which the U.S. EPA calculates proposed WQC for organic chemicals regulated as human or animal carcinogens. Because the results for most such chemicals are driven by the pathway for the human ingestion of fish which have bioconcentrated the chemicals from the water column (as opposed to the pathway for direct ingestion of water by humans), this article focuses exclusively on the fish-to-human pathway. These considerations form the basis of general quality assurance criteria and standards.
Animals↗
Heavy metal toxicity to microbe-mediated ecologic processes: a review and potential application to regulatory policies.
Microorganisms are sensitive to heavy metal pollution as are other components of the biota. However, most studies on the interactions between microbes and heavy metals have been conducted in synthetic media or in altered (e.g., sterilized) environmental samples and usually have used only single species. Few studies have evaluated the effects of heavy metals on the activities of natural heterogeneous microbial populations, both autotrophic and heterotrophic, in terrestrial and aquatic environments. These latter studies have shown that heavy metals inhibit primary productivity, nitrogen fixation, the mineralization of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, litter decomposition, and enzyme synthesis and activity in soils, sediments, and surface waters. The potential adverse effects of heavy metals on such microbe-mediated ecologic processes need to be incorporated into the methodologies used by regulatory agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to prepare environmental risk assessments which, in turn, are used to formulate environmental criteria, such as the Water Quality Criteria, and to evaluate the safety to the environment of exposure to "new chemical substances," as mandated by the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. To provide appropriate data that can be assimilated into regulatory policy, it is essential that microbial ecotoxicity tests be standardized, are neither costly nor difficult to train personnel to conduct, and produce data that can be quantitated.
Bacteria↗
Obtaining information about susceptibility from the epidemiological literature.
Whether people become ill after encountering environmental pollutants depends on the magnitude of their exposure and their capacity to respond. Exposure and intrinsic response capabilities vary within the population. Those that become ill when the general population remains largely unaffected are considered to be highly susceptible. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), responsible for protecting the public from environmental pollutants, has developed risk assessment procedures to assist in evaluating the likelihood of health effects. However, the Agency's ability to evaluate the risk faced by highly susceptible populations is often hindered by the paucity of adequate health effects data. Response variability can be assessed with animal models and human epidemiological studies. Although animal models are useful when evaluating the effect of gender and developmental stage on susceptibility, inbred rodent strains underestimate the genetic and lifestyle-induced variability in susceptibility found in human populations. Epidemiological approaches are the preferred source of information on variability. This paper reviews the epidemiological literature from the perspective of a risk assessor seeking data suitable for estimating the risk to highly susceptible populations. Epidemiological approaches do not measure the full range of population response variability. Rather, "susceptibility factors" are evaluated either as risk factors or by focusing on the susceptible population, e.g. children. Susceptibility factors due to genetics, developmental stage, gender, ethnicity, disease state and lifestyle are most frequently encountered. Often, the information describing the health impact of the susceptibility factor is incomplete due to, (1) a failure to consider factors modifying susceptibility; (2) inadequate exposure data; (3) a failure to evaluate the health impact of the susceptibility factor. In addition, for a given exposure agent, several susceptibility factors may be relevant. While incomplete data describing susceptibility factors limits the opportunity for quantitative estimations of risk, available information can supplement qualitative evaluations and risk management.
Animals↗
[Regulation requirements for new investments to protect the environment against electromagnetic fields].
The date of 28 July 2005, when the amendments to the Environmental Protection Act and related acts entered into force, is crucial for the future installations of the majority of electromagnetic fields emitters. Since the amendments let the environmental protection assessment procedures be more "independent", set the decision on environmental conditions for development consent and transposed the rules of managing and protection of Natura 2000 sites, they are considered as a revolution in the environmental impact assessment system. According to new rules, the decision on environmental conditions for development consent is granted for the project that may have a significant impact on the environment listed in the regulation issued by the Council of Ministers on 9 November 2004 on the types of projects that may have significant impact on the environment and detailed criteria for screening of the projects for which the environmental impact report may be required or for other projects that may have significant impact on Natura 2000 sites.
Electromagnetic Fields↗
Environmental radiation protection: philosophy, monitoring and standards.
The Euratom Treaty confers important powers to the European Commission with regard to monitoring and assessment of levels of radioactivity in the environment and discharges with effluents (Articles 35-37 of the Euratom Treaty). Current developments in the area relate to harmonised reporting of environmental data and to harmonisation of effluent monitoring data. Both developments relate to the requirement under the new Basic Safety Standards (BSS) for a realistic assessment of population exposure. Guidance to this effect is being prepared by the Article 31 Group of Experts. In the context of Article 36 intercomparison exercises for radionuclides measurements in environmental samples are organised. New challenges for environmental monitoring result from the requirement under the BSS to regulate also industries processing NORM materials. Also the international move towards extending the scope of environmental radioactivity to the protection of biota opens new perspectives.
Environmental Exposure↗
Pollution and self-cleansing of an urban river in a developing country: a case study in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Pollution and self-purification trends of an urban river namely, Msimbazi River, in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania, were investigated. Site investigations and water quality analyses were done. The river is polluted in terms of high organic and nutrient concentrations, low dissolved oxygen, and high counts of indicator organisms. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) concentrations were 27-340 mg/L. Dissolved oxygen was found to be as low as 0.9 mg O2/L. Bacteriological pollution increased with distance downstream of the river, a trend attributable to an increase in the catchment of pollution sources, which are on-site sanitation systems. Although the river has an appreciable self-purification capacity, the capacity is strained by persistent pollution overloads. The pollution plight of the river is attributable to its being flanked by expanding human habitats and vibrant industrial, institutional, and socio-economic activities. Provision for pretreatment of discharges into the river is put forward as a remedial measure for the observed pollution. Matching non-technical and techno-social remedial measures are also recommended. These include sensitization of polluters on merits of environmental protection practices such as cleaner production and strict enforcement of environmental protection laws.
Animals↗
Risk assessment in environmental policy-making.
Environmental policy-making has become more dependent on formal, quantitative risk assessment because of increasing attention to the prevention of human health damage from toxic chemicals. Risk assessment helps set priorities for regulation of the very large numbers of chemicals that are of potential concern and helps direct limited social and government resources against the most significant risks. Although the scientific basis for risk assessment is often uncertain and the public and its representatives have often been confused by its use in regulatory decisions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently uses a variety of risk assessment techniques to set priorities, tailor regulations, and make decisions at particular sites. The Environmental Protection Agency also attempts to make the practice of risk assessment more consistent throughout the agency and to improve public understanding of the meaning of risk assessment and risk management.
Environmental Exposure↗
[Public health relevant levels of pollutants in soil. Considerations for preventive, environmental health protection].
A working document on nation-wide applicable health-related guiding levels of environmental pollutants in soil has been prepared. These levels are intended to be the base for the administrative regulation of soil contaminations in connection with the German "Bundesbodenschutzgesetz" (Federal law on the protection of soil). Legislation demands these base levels to be intensely related to protection against serious health effects (i.e. health hazards). Looking more closely at the toxicological deduction of these values and at some values extracted from that process some uncertainties become obvious with regard to a clearcut limit between dangerous and noxious levels in soil. Indeed there are some arguments which suggest a more conservative approach. Health-care based recommendations should be introduced also at lower contaminant levels in soil. Therefore, development of an internal administrative manual on basic noxious values of soil pollutants (e.g. values below the threshold of danger) is suggested which may be useful for health authorities to cope with special problems in individual cases.
Adult↗
Persistent toxic chemicals: more than Stockholm persistent organic pollutants.
Schafer and Kegley bring up the important issue of excessive chemicals exposure of children. However, they do not consider in depth the "cumulative and simultaneous exposures faced by children, (.) moving beyond the chemical-by-chemical approach of the past", as quoted from the US Environmental Protection Agency national agenda to protect children from environmental health threats. Existing evidence for contamination by many substances beyond those dealt with in the article calls for additional protective measures. These could include an extra margin of exposure by a factor of 10 to cover cumulation of chemicals, for adults and children alike.
Child↗
Dust emissions in cattle feedlots.
Dust emissions were measured at three Texas cattle feedlots on 15 occasions in 1987 to determine concentrations of total suspended particulate matter (TSP) and dust with 10 microns or less aerodynamic particle size (PM-10). Net feedlot dust concentrations (downwind minus upwind) ranged from 15.7 to 1,700.1 micrograms per m3 and averaged 412.4 +/- 271.2 micrograms per m3, which is about 37 per cent less than was determined in feedlot dust research in California approximately 17 years earlier. Upwind concentrations averaged 22 per cent of the downwind concentrations. Feedlot dust concentrations were generally highest in early evening and lowest in early morning. Using the Wedding and Andersen-321A PM-10 samplers, the PM-10 dust concentrations were 19 and 40 per cent, respectively, of mean TSP concentrations in direct comparisons. There was good correlation between PM-10 and TSP concentrations. Although dust concentrations decreased with increasing moisture, the correlation coefficients were relatively low. Odor intensity appeared to increase with decreasing net dust concentrations, perhaps due to moisture influences. Mean particle sizes of feedlot dust were 8.5 to 12.2 microns on a particle volume basis and 2.5 to 3.4 microns on a population basis. Respirable dust (below 2 microns) represented only 2.0 to 4.4 per cent of total dust on a particle volume basis. Under conditions of these experiments, the feedlots often exceeded both state and federal (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) standards for TSP concentrations and for PM-10 concentrations measured using the Andersen-321A sampler. However, feedlots were below the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards when the Wedding PM-10 sampler was used for measuring dust emissions.
Animals↗
Dose-response implications of the University of Alabama study of lymphohematopoietic cancer among workers exposed to 1,3-butadiene and styrene in the synthetic rubber industry.
New quantitative cancer risk estimates for exposure to 1,3-butadiene are presented. These estimates are based on the most recent human epidemiologic data developed by Drs Delzell and Macaluso and their colleagues at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The implications of Poisson regression analyses of the relative rate for leukemia are explored using their updated dose estimates and lymphohematopoietic cancer data. The Poisson regression model in these analyses has the same form as in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s draft risk assessment of 1,3-butadiene [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Health Risk Assessment of 1,3-Butadiene - External Review Draft, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, 63 Fed. Reg. 7167 (February 12, 1998) Publication NCEA-W-0267, Washington, 1998]. Consistent with the proposed cancer risk assessment guidelines of the EPA and the EPA's draft risk assessment, the exploration includes the maximum likelihood estimate of the 'effective concentration' (EC(01)) corresponding to an extra risk of leukemia of 0.01 (1%) from a lifetime continuous exposure to 1,3-butadiene based on a linear dose-response model and the cumulative 1,3-butadiene dose metric (ppm-years). The incorporation of the most recent exposure estimates results in a 2.5-fold decrease in the estimates of leukemia risks computed by EPA. In addition, three changes proposed by the American Chemistry Council (formerly the Chemical Manufacturers Association) to the EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) for EPA's draft risk assessment of 1,3-butadiene are incorporated into the calculation. This results in approximately an additional fivefold decrease in the risk estimates of leukemia. The leukemia cancer risk estimates in the EPA's draft risk assessment of 1,3-butadiene decrease by approximately a factor of 13-fold when the updated epidemiologic data and the alternative numbers proposed by industry to the SAB are both incorporated. Specifically, the maximum likelihood estimate of the EC(01) increases from EPA's 1.2 ppm to 2.8 ppm on the basis of the updated epidemiologic data and increases further to 15.1 ppm when the CMA's proposed changes are also incorporated.
Alabama↗
Acid adaptation induces cross-protection against environmental stresses in Salmonella typhimurium.
The relationship of acid adaptation to tolerance of other environmental stresses was examined in Salmonella typhimurium. S. typhimurium was adapted to acid by exposing the cells to mildly acidic conditions (pH 5.8) for one to two cell doublings. Acid-adapted cells were found to have increased tolerance towards various stresses including heat, salt, an activated lactoperoxidase system, and the surface-active agents crystal violet and polymyxin B. Acid adaptation increased cell surface hydrophobicity. Specific outer membrane proteins were induced by acid adaptation, but the lipopolysaccharide component appeared to be unaltered. These results show that acid adaptation alters cellular resistance to a variety of environmental stresses. The mechanism of acid-induced cross-protection involved changes in cell surface properties in addition to the known enhancement of intracellular pH homeostasis.
Adaptation, Physiological↗