PROTECTING ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION

RTKnet: Biomonitoring

Biomonitoring is the direct measurement of people's exposure to toxic substances in the environment by measuring the substances or their metabolites in human specimens, such as blood or urine. Biomonitoring measurements are the most health-relevant assessments of exposure because they indicate the amount of the chemical that actually gets into people from all environmental sources (e.g., air, soil, water, dust, food) combined, rather than the amount that may get into them.

CDC Releases National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (CDC)

The CDC released the Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, a comprehensive assessment of the exposure of the U.S. population to 212 chemicals, 75 of which have never been measured previously in the blood and urine of the U.S. population. The blood and urine samples were collected from participants in the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which samples the U.S. population every two years.

(02 Aug 2010)

Disputed Chemical Bisphenol-A Found in Paper Receipts (The Washington Post)

The EWG reported that researchers found Bisphenol-A on 40 percent of receipts collected from automated teller machines, supermarkets, gas stations, and chain stores, which could explain why the chemical can be detected in approximately 93 percent of Americans' urine. According to the EWG, "We've come across potentially major sources of BPA in our daily lives...you could be getting all kinds of exposure and not realize it."

(27 Jul 2010)

Urban Air Pollutants May Damage Unborn Babies' IQs (Environmental Health News)

Recent studies of over 400 women in New York City and Krakow have found that 5 year olds exposed in the womb to above-average levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are created from the burning of fossil fuels, score lower on IQ tests. A pregnant woman involved in the New York City study asserted, "It’s scary and alarming that we can live in a society where these things are happening and they go unnoticed."

(26 Jul 2010)

C8 Exposure Linked to ADHD in Children (The Charleston Gazette)

Researchers recently found that "for every additional 1 part per billion of C8 in the blood, children faced a 12 percent increased risk of ADHD." C8, or perfluorooactonoic acid (PFOA), is widely used in nonstick coatings, food package coatings, and stain-resistant fabrics. Past studies have found a link between C8 exposure and liver damage, immune problems, developmental abnormalities, birth defects, and high cholesterol, among other health problems.

(17 Jun 2010)

Government-Approved Pesticide Levels Are Linked to Health Problems (CNN)

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently published "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Clean Fifteen," lists of produce with the highest and lowest pesticide concentrations, after reviewing 100,000 pesticide reports from the USDA and the FDA. Studies have found associations between pesticides and health problems even when consumed in low amounts approved by the FDA and EPA. According to EWG's Amy Rosenthal, "It's critical people know what they are consuming."

(04 Jun 2010)

Research Links Pesticide Ingestion to ADHD in Children (Los Angeles Times)

Researches recently reported that children with high levels of the pesticide malathion in their urine are at greater risk of contracting Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. Epidemiologist Marc G. Weisskopf of Harvard University's School of Public Health and his colleagues studied data on 1,139 children from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey over a four-year period. Weisskopf suggests that similar studies "'should raise eyebrows and get people concerned enough to want to follow up intensively.'"

(04 Jun 2010)

Toxic Chemicals Finding Their Way Into The Womb (CNN)

"A growing number of studies are finding hundreds of toxic chemicals in mothers' and, subsequently, their babies' bodies when they are born."

(04 Jun 2010)

CNN Investigates Toxic Town (Center for Health, Environment & Justice)

"On June 2nd, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be airing an hour-long investigative story into the environmental health and justice problems plaguing the community of Mossville, Louisiana. Nestled amidst an alarming cluster of chemical plants, Mossville is home to more PVC chemical plants than anywhere else in the entire country, and has been dubbed the Vinyl Manufacturing Capital of America."

(27 May 2010)

Cancer Panel: 'Grievous Harm' Posed By Unchecked Chemicals In U.S. (Washington Post)

According to the President's Cancer Panel, Americans are facing "grievous harm" from chemicals in the air, food and water that have largely gone unregulated and ignored. "With the growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer, the public is becoming increasingly aware of the unacceptable burden of cancer resulting from environmental and occupational exposures that could have been prevented through appropriate national action."

(06 May 2010)

Slow Death by Rubber Duck (Washington Post)

"Provocative and groundbreaking, Slow Death by Rubber Duck reveals how the living of daily life creates a toxic soup inside each of us."

(02 Mar 2010)