Search

Environmental exposures in utero may alter the epigenome, thus impacting chromosomal stability and gene expression. We hypothesized that in utero exposures to maternal smoking and perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) are associated with global DNA hypomethylation in umbilical cord serum. Our objective was to determine if global DNA methylation could be used as a biomarker of in utero exposures to maternal smoking and PFCs. Using an ELISA-based method, global DNA methylation was quantified in umbilical cord serum from 30 newborns with high (>10 ng/ml, mean 123.8 ng/ml), low (range 1–10 ng/ml, mean 1.6 ng/ml) and very low (

This paper provides an overview of U.S. government pesticide risk management efforts over time and in recent years, relevant to chronic health risks of pesticides. Pesticides are in widespread usage in the U.S. With hundreds of active ingredients and thousands of products on the market, management of pesticide risks has been a daunting challenge. The first legislation providing federal authority for regulating pesticides was enacted in 1910. With the establishment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 and amendments to the pesticide law in 1972, the federal government was for the first time given the authority to regulate health and environmental risks of pesticides. However, older pesticide risks were not addressed until legislation was enacted in 1988, requiring "reregistration" and 1996, requiring that pesticide food standards are safe for children. In result, the U.S. has seen an expansion of development of pesticide products that are registered as "reduced risk" or are biologicals. Additionally a large number of older pesticides have been cancelled or reduced from the market and/or from individual food uses. Through biomonitoring data, the U.S. may now be seeing trends in reduction of exposure to certain pesticides, the organophosphate insecticides. However, pesticide sales data through 2001 do not provide evidence for such trends.

A total of 20 commercial cigarette and 16 commercial smokeless tobacco products were assayed for 96 25 compounds listed as harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) by the US Food and Drug 26 Administration. For each product, a single lot was used for all testing. Both International Organization 27 for Standardization and Health Canada smoking regimens were used for cigarette testing. For those 28 HPHCs detected, measured levels were consistent with levels reported in the literature, however substan29 tial assay variability (measured as average relative standard deviation) was found for most results. Using 30 an abbreviated list of HPHCs, statistically significant differences for most of these HPHCs occurred when

The risk assessment process as spelled out in the National Research Council's (NRC's) report Risk Assessment in the Federal Government: Managing the Process, called the “Red Book,” has created a framework for incorporation of toxicology into environmental decision-making that has withstood the test of time. However, the time has come for a reassessment of this framework. Risk assessment is often unsuccessful as a public health tool when data are limited and it does not, in itself, provide an incentive for the generation of new data. The risk assessment framework did not envision the need to develop formal methods for the incorporation of precautionary approaches into the formal regulatory/analytical process. This needs to be addressed, as we see a widening gulf in approaches between the U.S. and Europe. Likewise, the process has not provided a clear road map for the utilization of epidemiology and health tracking information to guide environmental regulation. Finally, the concept of separating the intelle...

A follow-up survey of current residents who live near the McColl waste disposal site was conducted to assess community knowledge of an environmental health survey that occurred in the same neighborhood 7 y earlier. Of the 193 eligible adults who participated in an interview (response rate = 73.4%), 35.8% reported having heard of the 1981 health survey; 48% of these (n = 33) reported hearing or seeing the results of the survey. Knowledge of the earlier survey was reported by 34.6%, 40.6%, and 35.7% of respondents in the high-exposure, low-exposure, and comparison areas, respectively. Recall was significantly associated with age (i.e., greater than 55 y), college education, and residence prior to 1981. Our findings suggest that both long-term and recent residents in the study areas know about the McColl waste-disposal site, but the majority of current residents in this sample do not know that the health of the community was assessed in 1981 and that no serious health effects associated with the site were identified. Future efforts to communicate findings of similar health studies should focus on individuals who have less education and on communication with residents who move into an area after a study has been conducted. Creative public participation and media relations should be developed to assure that the results of such studies reach the public.

Aldicarb, a carbamate pesticide, is the most potent pesticide in the market and has a LD50 of 1 mg/kg. In the United States it is illegal to use aldicarb on certain crops, e.g., watermelons, because it is incorporated into the flesh of the fruit. Once an accidental or illegal use of such a potent pesticide occurs, there is no easy way for the agricultural or public health system to protect the populace. This paper describes the impact of one such event upon the health of individuals and the institutions of California. On July 4, 1985, California and other western states experienced the largest known outbreak of food-borne pesticide illness ever to occur in North America. This was attributed to watermelons contaminated through the illegal or accidental use of aldicarb by a few farmers in one part of the state. Within California, a total of 1,376 illnesses resulting from consumption of watermelons was reported to the California Department of Health Services (CDHS). Of the 1,376 illnesses, 77% were classified as being probable or possible carbamate illnesses. Many of the case reports involved multiple illnesses associated with the same melon among unrelated individuals. Seventeen individuals required hospitalization. There were 47 reports of illness involving pregnant women, two of whom reported having subsequent stillbirths. Thirty-five of the remaining pregnant women were followed-up 9 mo after the epidemic; no additional stillbirths were found.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)