Pollution, Poverty, People of Color: Warnings about contaminated fish fail to reach people most at risk — Environmental Health News

Pollution, Poverty, People of Color: Warnings about contaminated fish fail to reach people most at risk — Environmental Health News

People of color eat a lot of locally-caught fish for economic and cultural reasons. And yet they are the least likely to be warned because state efforts fail to reach minority and low-income populations. “We believe that fish consumption is an environmental justice issue that stems from inadequate risk communication,” said researchers from University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment.  Read more http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2012/fish-advisories-and-environmental-justice

Abandoned factory packed with toxic chemicals a few blocks from 3 schools

Abandoned factory packed with toxic chemicals:

Slinger - Dozens of drums and barrels containing thousands of pounds of hazardous and toxic chemicals are stacked inside an abandoned metal plating factory on Oak St. in the heart of the village - surrounded by homes and only a few blocks from three schools.

• Should federal and state environmental agencies be required to notify neighborhood residents, schools, recreation and youth organization about toxic products nearby?  

• Who should initiate legislation to protect residents, especially children from contamination by storage and use of harmful chemicals in their neighborhoods?

Whisky waste offers water purification for 137M people

Whisky waste offers water of life - Features - Scotsman.com:

IT’S a project worth toasting. Scottish scientists have discovered that an innocuous by-product of whisky can to be used to strip pollutants from contaminated water supplies in a process which could save millions of lives in developing countries.

Common synthetic chemical tied to higher heart disease - Chicago Tribune

Common synthetic "non-stick" chemical tied to higher heart disease - Chicago Tribune:

"Unlike a lot of other environment contaminants, these chemicals were considered to be inert," Shankar said.
 Mukherjee, who wrote a commentary on the new study. . . s said people can check labels to make sure household products don't contain PFOA or toxic fluorocarbons in general.
. . .all Americans have some level of PFOA in their blood.

I no longer cook in non-stick pans.  Will this research change your consumption or use of non-stick products?

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/Uprco6 Archives of Internal Medicine, online September 3, 2012.

Featured Articles

Durban toxic water scare - People who swallow large amounts have died

Durban toxic sea water scare -

Durban’s sea water has the highest level of some toxic chemicals in the world according to data released by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research yesterday. . .

In humans, breathing toxic amounts of the compound can cause blood disorders, dizziness, headaches and changes in the levels of sex hormones and people who have swallowed large amounts have had seizures and others have died.

Click on underlined title to read more

Environmental Health Risks and Pregnancy a pdf booklet

EnviroPreg.pdf (application/pdf Object)

There are many factors in your physical
environment that could harm not only your
health, but also the health of your unborn baby.
The good news is you can take simple steps to
reduce these risks.
This brochure describes the most common
household, outdoor, and workplace hazards and
tells what you can do to make things safer for
you and your developing baby.

NIH Common Fund researchers link genetic variants and gene regulation in many common diseases | Pharmaceutical Processing

NIH Common Fund researchers link genetic variants and gene regulation in many common diseases | Pharmaceutical Processing:

Researchers supported by the NIH Common Fund have discovered that genetic differences linked to a wide variety of diseases, including many adult-onset diseases, influence how genes are turned on, or activated, during fetal development. These findings may help to explain why some environmental exposures in utero or during early childhood are known to increase risk of diseases that produce symptoms years or even decades later. In addition, researchers were able to pinpoint which cell types are affected by different diseases. These results provide new insight into disease mechanisms, and suggest novel targets for therapeutics development and disease prevention strategies.