Chemical updates (Monsanto Roundup pesticide in our children)

[Guest guest]

Chemicals Update Precautionary Principle Spring 2005 In other times we called it “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine,” or “An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure.” Shouldn’t it be basic to prevent problems rather than hunt for a cure? Unfortunately, our regulatory system sometimes sets impractical standards, such as “acceptable risk,” while polluters go free or pay minimum fines. A standard applies to one chemical, but in reality we are exposed to multiple chemicals or stresses — indoor air pollution, pesticides, second-hand smoke (which at last got the attention of the Georgia Assembly). Often a danger is known by a producer but is hidden from the public. For example, some paint companies knew enough about lead to advertise that their paints were NOT made with toxic lead. But from 1897 to 1976 risk assessment was used to justify the use of lead in paint — first at 60 micrograms in a tenth of a liter, then 40, then 20. Today 10 micrograms is called “safe,” but many scientists and doctors know this is not true. We should be asking not “How much harm is acceptable?” but “How much harm can we avoid?” A meeting in Atlanta on April 2 brought together experts concerned with these problems. It set the goal of using quantitative risk assessment, a new approach that could help in making good decisions. Risk/benefit assessment can be slanted to favor the polluter, as we have seen from how permits are given for asphalt plants. The permits ignore how many people live in the area and how close they live to the emissions. The strategic forum was led by the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN), supported by Eco-Action in Atlanta, in what could be the beginning of a critical approach to the grassroots toxics problem. Joanne Steele and Adele Kushner attended the session.Save Your HealthWinter 2004/05 The Ontario College of Family Physicians published a report that reviews published studies of pesticides’ health effects on people: cancer, effects on reproduction, effects on the immune system, genetic damage, effects on skin, and effects on the nervous system. The principle findings are powerful: *Positive associations exist between pesticide exposure and brain, prostate, kidney, pancreatic cancers. *Certain pesticides are associated with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and leukemia... Based on these [and other] findings, the College recommends avoiding exposure to pesticides whenever and wherever possible. The College specifically advocates “researching and implementing alternative organic methods of lawn and garden care and indoor pest control.” — Caroline Cox, Journal of Pesticide Reform, Summer 2004, http://www.pesticide.org/Kids Hunt BugsFall 2004 Shaw Middle School in West Philadelphia is reducing pesticide use while teaching fifth graders how to recognize, manage and prevent pests and pesticide related health risks by using IPM (Integrated Pest Management). “It’s been great to see the kids learning through hands-on activities. We’ve had the children caulking holes and crevices to close off potential entryways for pests. Often inner-city kids have the same pest problems at home, so now they know how to deal with it,” explains Joe Bondiskey, pest control foreman for the Philadelphia School District. “Our ultimate goal is that the students will transfer the IPM message to their homes and community through community outreach.” “When I first started, we had to spray chemicals daily to control pest populations,” Bondiskey says. Things started to change in the early 90s as people became more aware of the risks of pesticide use, so the pest control operation began adding IPM tools and emphasizing prevention over spraying. “It went from 100% chemicals to maybe 5% chemicals now. The IPM program is more effective and easier to use.” — School Pesticide Monitor, Beyond Pesticides, May/June 2004, www.beyondpesticides.org, 202-543-5450.Save Your PetsFall 2004 Keep your dog away from lawns and gardens that have been treated with pesticides. Veterinarians from Purdue University looked at the causes of a specific kind of bladder cancer in Scottish terriers. This cancer, called transitional cell carcinoma, is the most common urinary tract cancer in dogs and is about six times more common now than it was forty years ago. The results of the Purdue study point to a link between pesticide exposure and the risk of cancer in terriers. Over half of the terriers with transitional cell carcinoma had been exposed to herbicides in their home, although less than 20% of the dogs without cancer had this kind of exposure. More dogs were exposed to phenoxy herbicides, 2,4-D and its chemical relatives, than any other class of pesticides. In the final statistical model used in this study, this exposure to phenoxy herbicides was associated with a fourfold increase in the risk of a terrier developing transitional cell carcinoma. The veterinarians suggest that certain so-called inert ingredients in pesticides, particularly solvents that are likely to be stored in body fat, might be responsible for the association between obesity and this cancer. — “Lawn Care Pesticides Aren’t Good for Pets,” Journal of Pesticide Reform, Summer 2004, www.pesticide.org. RoundUp Ready in ChildrenFall 2004 A recent study published in the March 2004 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives detected levels of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the commonly used herbicide RoundUp, in children’s urine samples. “Glyphosate Biomonitoring for Farmers and Their Families: Results from the Farm Family Exposure Study,” found that 12% of the children’s samples contained the chemical. Symptoms following exposure to glyphosate include swollen eyes, face and joints; facial numbness; burning and/or itching skin; blisters; rapid heart rate; elevated blood pressure; chest pains, congestion; coughing; headache; and nausea. A 1999 study, A Case-Control Study of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and Exposure to Pesticides, American Cancer Society, 1999, found that people exposed to glyphosate are 2.7 times more likely to contract non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. The surfactant polyethoxylated tallowamine used in RoundUp, is more acutely toxic than glyphosate itself. According to the California Dept. of Pesticide Regulation, glyphosate ranks first among herbicides as the cause of pesticide-related illness in people in California. In addition to glyphosate, a host of other pesticides may be used in schools. Research regarding the synergistic effects of exposure to such a cocktail is currently inadequate. To avoid the problem, take steps to create a healthy lawn that does not require use of pesticides. A naturally healthy lawn should have adequate topsoil on the lawn (about 5 to 6 inches), and well-adapted, pest resistant varieties of grass. Additionally, aeration, de-thatching, monitoring pest activity in order to localize problems, maintaining proper pH, using organic fertilizers, and proper watering and mowing all help create a naturally pest resistant lawn. Corn gluten provides an excellent pre-emergent weed control, and products containing fatty acid soaps or vinegar are great for least-toxic post-emergent weed control. For more information, contact Beyond Pesticides or see www.beyondpesticides.org. — School Pesticide Monitor, Beyond Pesticides, www.beyondpesticides.org, 202-543-5450. Safe Schools?Fall 2004 According to the EPA, nearly half of America’s 53 million students hae returned to schools where they will be exposed to hazardous levels of toxic chemicals, including pesticides, lead, and asbestos — not to mention the worst school cafeteria food in any industrialized nation. “Schools need help implementing legislation and recommendations at the local level,” stated Janelle Sorensen of BE SFE, a coalition of groups working to clean up schools. The Organic Consumers Association’s Appetite for a Change Campaign provides a variety of links to groups like BE SAFE, as well as related organizations, news articles, and tools for helping make your local schools safe from pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals. “The power for positive change is in the hands of the parents.” — “Organic Bytes,” Organic Consumers Association Hair Raising Test Summer 2004 Greenpeace is sponsoring a National Hair Sampling Study for Mercury Exposure — and it wants your hair, and the hair of 10,000 other Americans. The testing program will notify individuals who have dangerous mercury levels in their bodies, and what steps they can take to lower them safely. The study should raise public awareness, and yield valuable scientific data on mercury exposure. If you volunteer to submit a small hair sample, you will receive an information kit and instructions, background documents about mercury, and a consent form. Individual results will be kept strictly confidential. But there is a cost for the lab fee, $25. To order the test kit, go to https://usa.greenpeace.org/mercury/index.php?from=tm. — alertsDangerous Pesticides Summer 2004 Organophosphate pesticides (OPs), which include the widely used insecticide malathion, are chemically related to nerve gases developed during World War II. For decades, scientists have been debating whether such pesticides cause birth defects, cancers, and other health problems. Studies have shown links between regular exposure to malathion and various human maladies, including non-Hodgkins lymphoma, childhood leukemia, anemia, chromosome damage, and weakened immune systems. Meanwhile, aerial sprayings have been known to cause allergic reactions or flulike symptoms for people inadvertently exposed. Children are especially vulnerable to neurotoxins. When OPs are used to control crop-damaging insects, they kill beneficial bugs as well. OPs are found in hardware stores under names like Dursban, Diazinon, Sevin Dust and Baygon. Kert Davies, pesticide specialist for the Environmental Working Group, said “We recommend avoiding the use of any organophosphates in the home or garden.” Instead, he recommends the least-toxic methods, pulling weeds the old-fashioned way, by hand, washing off bugs with soap and water and eating organic food as much as possible. Several groups offer help. Beyond Pesticides maintains an online searchable database, “Safety Source for Pest Management,” and the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides has informative fact sheets on pesticide-free solutions. Beyond Pesticides also offers their “Safer Schools” report with online case studies of school that have controlled pests successfully without exposing students to pesticides. — E/The Environmental Magazine, www.ewg.org, www.panna.org.Hold the MercurySummer 2004 Mercury levels in the Florida Everglades have fallen sharply since authorities curtailed waste incinerators and battery manufacturers reduced their use of the heavy metal. Researchers from the University of Florida said they had proved that dangerously high levels of mercury found in the wetlands in the early 1990s had been caused by local waste incineration. The introduction of new regulations demanding that waste incinerators install pollution-cutting scrubbers on their smoke stacks made a great difference. “This is a triumph of regulation, which is something you don’t hear about very often,” said Peter Frederick, an associate professor of wildlife ecology. Mercury is a toxin that causes reproductive and behavioral problems in birds, and is also toxic to humans. The study said populations of wading birds in the Everglades dropped by 90% between the 1950s and 1980s, and high mercury levels played a part. The numbers of breeding pairs in the marsh in the last five years were higher than they had been in the previous thirty years. — www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml ?type=domesticNews & storyid=5684523Chemicals vs. KidsWinter/Spring 2004 Children's brain development is being impaired by some of the more than 70,000 human-made chemicals on the market, says a new report from the World Wildlife Fund. The report, which surveyed current research in the field, charges chemicals with such neurological effects as poor memory, reduced visual recognition and motor skills, and lower IQ, and cites U.S. research that ties 10 percent of all neurobehavioral disorders to chemical exposure. While it singles out some chemicals by name ­ particularly brominated flame retardants, PCBs, and dioxins ­ the report laments that there is little to no safety information available on most chemicals floating about in the environment and in households. “In effect, we are all living in a global chemical experiment of which we don’t know the outcome,” said WWF’s Helen McDade. The European Union is working on legislation to regulate industrial chemicals, but enviros say it has been weakened by pressure from chemical-industry groups and the U.S. government. straight to the source: The Scotsman, James Reynolds, 02 Jun 2004 http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2546No CarcinogensWinter/Spring 2004 Dr. Edward Fujimoto, manager of the Wellness Program at Castle Hospital, warns us that dioxin, a carcinogen, can cause cancer. He says not to freeze water in plastic water bottles because this releases the dioxin in the plastic. We should also not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. The combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead he recommends using glass, Corning Ware, or ceramic containers for heating food. TV dinners, instant ramen and soups should be removed from their plastic containers and heated in glass or Corning Ware. Paper isn’t bad but you don't know what’s in the paper. Fast food restaurants moved away from foam containers because of the dioxin problem. Saran wrap placed over foods as they are nuked, with high heat, actually drips poisonous toxins into the food. Please pass this on to your family and friends. — Lakeeta Chambers, lchambers; school nurse, Habersham County Schools.Homemade CleansersWinter/Spring 2004 This is more like cooking soup than baking a cake — no exact recipe needed. White vinegar is an acid with mild germicidal properties. It can be used to get rid of mold and mildew, cut grease and clean glass. Put 1/4 cup in a spray bottle and fill with water. The smell dissipates quickly. Lemon works much like vinegar but you have to squeeze it! Use the water-vinegar mixture with old newspaper to clean your windows and mirrors. It doesn’t leave streaks. Baking soda is a mild abrasive. It doesn’t scratch surfaces (which creates more places for dirt to get stuck in) as rougher scouring powders do. Baking soda also deodorizes. You can use vinegar in place of water, as the combination cleans more effectively. Olive oil can add shine to wood furniture. Use a half teaspoon in a quarter cup of vinegar or lemon juice. But if you only want to dust, just use a damp cloth. Salt cleans copper pots and pans. Use with an equal amount of vinegar, then rinse. It’s also great for silver. Put a teaspoon in a pot with around 3 inches of water and a sheet of aluminum foil. Boil silverware in it for a couple of minutes; wipe off the tarnish with a clean cloth. Remember to buy new containers for leftover cleaners. There could be residues in the old containers that wouldn’t mix well with the new ingredients. The use of antibacterial agents in cleaning products may contribute to antibacterial resistance, which could render antibiotics ineffective. Wash your sponges often in the dishwasher to keep the germs out. Hot soapy water kills food-borne germs! Use it to wash your hands, cutting boards, knives and any surfaces that come in contact with raw meat or eggs. Wash for at least 20 seconds. For tougher jobs use washing soda in place of baking soda but be sure to wear gloves. You can also use pure castile soap, non-chlorine scouring powders, and a variety of ready-made non-toxic cleaners made by ecologically minded companies. — Sheryl Eisenberg, NRDC, www.nrdcaction.org Subscribe to her This Green Life through www.nrdcaction.org/join/tgl.asp Clean EnoughWinter/Spring 2004 Most unnatural things can come to seem natural and even necessary if you live with them long enough. Take household cleaners. In the 19th century, people cleaned with a few everyday materials, such as foods, like vinegar.Then the cleaner industry developed, so now there are separate products for virtually everything in the house — floors, ovens, toilets, windows, clothes, silver, and furniture. Now we feel we can’t clean without them. It gets stranger, almost all these cleaners (except the ones made specifically for the green consumer) are made of dangerous chemicals. The more innocuous ones can irritate your skin, make you dizzy, or cause temporary breathing problems. The really scary ones can burn you, blind you, damage your organs or combust, if used improperly. Some may expose you to a greater risk of cancer and reproductive problems. I first realized the danger some years ago, when I tried out a tub and shower cleanser and was nearly asphyxiated by the fumes. The label's warning was to use only in “well-ventilated places.” (Could it have escaped the manufacture’s notice that tubs and showers are among the least well-ventilated places in the home?) As for other cleaners, every one, without exception, bore a warning, ranging from mild to dire. Oddly, many also boasted that the product contained no phosphates, as if that were the green seal of approval, making everything else OK. Still, I continued in my old ways for quite a while — mainly because I was scared the germs would hurt my kids. Eventually, though, I came to see that I was substituting one danger for another. The cleanser that killed the salmonella on our counter left a chemical residue that could harm our health in a different way, maybe not by itself, but in combination with the other chemicals in our environment and, increasingly, in our bloodstream. Synthetic chemicals — of which there are more than 75,000 in use today — have infiltrated every corner of our lives. They are in our carpets, clothes, cosmetics, baby bottles, toys, food packaging and vegetables. Some are endocrine disruptors, like DDT and PCBs. What the rest may be, nobody knows. Less than 10 percent have been tested for safety. I can’t control my exposure to these chemicals in most areas of life, but I can when it comes to cleansers. So I steer clear of them, except for special needs. Instead, I use mainly baking soda and vinegar. The baking soda acts as the abrasive, and the vinegar as the antimicrobial agent. Vinegar may not be as good a killer as the chemical stuff, but isn’t that the point? There is a danger posed by germs in homes where people have weakened immune systems. But for a normally healthy family in 21st century America, household chemicals pose just as great a threat as bacteria. When it comes to policy, we should use the “precautionary principle.” In common language, it’s known as better safe than sorry. — Sheryl Eisenberg, NRDC Healthy Produce Winter/Spring 2004If you are looking for produce without pesticides, a handy Shopper’s Guide lists the 12 popular fresh fruits and vegetables that are consistently the most contaminated with pesticides, and the 12 least contaminated. If organic is not an option, this guide can help. Small doses of pesticides can affect people, especially during critical periods of fetal development and childhood While washing and peeling may help, pesticide residues can remain, and valuable nutrients can go down the drain with the peel. Organic is recommended. Here is the list of produce most contaminated with pesticides: apples, bell peppers, peaches, pears, celery, potatoes, cherries, red raspberries, grapes (imported), spinach, nectarines, strawberries. For a copy of the one-page notice send $1 and a self-addressed envelope to ACE. — Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce, Environmental Working Group, www.ewg.org, and stonyfield.com.Teen Wins AwardWinter/Spring 2004 Rebecca Steele of Nacoochee Valley was one of 75 high school students from 31 states chosen to participate in a field research expedition, thanks to the annual Student Challenge Awards Program of Earthwatch Institute. The expeditions range in discipline from astrophysics to microbiology and span North America and the Caribbean. This summer, teams of 6 to 8 award winners will spend up to three weeks on one of ten research projects, which will expose students to scientific questions and methodologies. Rebecca will travel to St. John in the US Virgin Islands to study the behavior and ecology of Caribbean termites and coral reef fish. The expedition will extend from June 26 through July 13. The program is intended to help students heighten self-confidence and interpersonal skills, to enhance scientific knowledge and to increase interest in new career paths. Most importantly, the program demystifies science and reflects the role of creativity and imagination in research. Rebecca would like to thank Jim Bradley, Caroline Crittenden and Roberta Crittenden, without whom she would never have been able to have this enlightening experience. — Rebecca Steele What’s for Lunch?Winter/Spring 2004 We’ve all heard of education initiatives that seek to reorder curricula around, say, reading or around the arts. But most of us will probably pause at news of efforts to configure the school curriculum around the lunchroom. The lunchroom? How can the most mundane, ordinary part of a school day — the rushed 20 minutes in the cafeteria — be a center around which student learning takes place? Well, a growing number of educators and activists are seeking to do just that and are poised to launch a Delicious Revolution in education. On a typical school day, children are exposed to several minutes of commercials through piped-in television news programs, many of them advertising junk food and soda. Add this to hallways lined with junk-filled vending machines and fast-food restaurants taking residence on school grounds, and we’ve got a real sorry situation on our hands. Childhood obesity and diabetes are rampant, and kids have no idea where their food comes from. That’s the bad news. The good news is that a wonderful opportunity exists to join efforts not only to improve the nutritional quality of the food school children are given but also to help kids make a connection between the food they nourish themselves with and the nourishment of the land. Some schools in California are well on their way to accomplishing these goals. Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School, a public school in Berkeley with a diverse student body of about 1000 kids, has turned an abandoned asphalt parking lot into a one-acre organic garden called the “edible schoolyard.” In the garden, students participate in all aspects of planning and cultivating, and in an adjacent kitchen-classroom, they prepare and eat the food they have grown. Alice Waters, slow food advocate and co-creator of the edible schoolyard, believes the lunchroom is an extension of the classroom and that by centering a school curriculum around the school lunch program, we an teach children how to grow and cook food and how to nourish themselves sustainably, all while taking care of the land. Other schools are participating in farm-to-school programs in which produce for school meals is taken both from on-site gardens and from local farms. Waters maintains that a food program can be readily integrated into the curriculum at every level of education — from kindergarten to the university — because of its interconnectedness with ecology, anthropology, history, physiology, and art.Imagine the difference that such programs could have on not only students’ understanding of the way food is grown (a process that unfortunately almost all of them are totally alienated from) but on agriculture as a whole. Schools surely outnumber any other public institution. If school systems (and the parents and teachers who have the greatest stake in them) supported local food consumption, agriculture would be completely revolutionized. And wouldn’t that be Delicious? — Kristin CostleyTreescapingWinter 2002/03 The White County Chamber of Commerce received a new grant to help preserve and restore tree cover in White County. The aim of the grant is to let people know that they can have development without destroying trees, and to provide workshops on tree-friendly building techniques. That’s the job of the “Good Treescaping” Committee, a group of local volunteers. Joanne Steele is a member of the committee. This is a long-term project that should make the county a more attractive place for tourism and business. Other impacts could be enhancing water quality and increasing water supply. Tree cover cools the environment on hot, humid summer days and improves air quality. Trees are essential for a clean environment — and there are figures to prove it. One 25-foot tree reduces annual energy cost for a typical residence by 8 to 12%, producing an average $10 gain per month. Proper tree plantings around buildings can slow winter winds and reduce annual heating cost by 4 to 22%. One tree saves annually: Air conditioning $75 Wildlife shelter $75 Air pollution reduction $50 Total: $200 times 50 years of tree life = $10,000. Trees help maintain watersheds. One 32-foot tree is estimated to intercept rainfall, reducing runoff by 327 gallons. Without trees, heavy rains can wash soil into streams and rivers, killing fish and aquatic life. Two healthy 32 foot trees produce enough oxygen to supply one person’s oxygen needs each year. And they absorb carbon dioxide. Committee members attended a seminar, “Building with Trees,” conducted by the National Arbor Day Foundation. Others attending were the past president of the regional Homebuilders’ Association, the White County Planner, and a member of the Planning Commission, who learned methods of landscape architecture, pruning and protecting tree roots, and development design. The Committee relies heavily on research by the University of Georgia’s School of Forestry and the Georgia Forestry Commission’s Urban and Community Forestry Program. The local representative of the Georgia Forestry Commission, Gary White, shares his specialized knowledge, as will Michael Harris, UGA Cooperative Extension Service representative. The Committee will work with developer Barry Blalock, managing partner of Blue Creek Partners, to create model lots in the upcoming Laceola development near Yonah Mountain. An urban forester has been hired to work with the Committee and the developer to map existing tree cover and create a plan to show how the area can be developed to conserve forest cover. The plan will include provisions for maintaining newly planted trees as well as scientific techniques for protecting existing trees. So far the 300 site plan on 1000 acres leaves 150 foot or more buffers on mountain creeks. Building a lake on Blue Creek is also in the development plan. The Committee works with the cities of Cleveland and Helen to help them become recognized “Tree Cities” by the National Arbor Day Foundation. Tree city status requires the cities to develop and maintain tree boards and tree ordinances. Helen has been established as a “Tree City.” Check out the new website which has practical ways to protect trees during construction, how to select construction-tolerant trees, and how to plant and care for trees: www.snca.org/ecc/trees/index.html.To learn more about the Good Tree-Scaping Committee, call Ted Doll at 878-2526 or Sam Barton at 865-0988.Green Cleaning Winter 2002/03 Mixing your own cleaners is not only cheaper, you won’t get the toxic ingredients often found in commercial products. Window Cleaner: 1 teaspoon liquid detergent, 3 tablespoons vinegar, 2 cups water. Mix in a spray bottle. Use just like the commercial product. Oven Cleaner: 1 cup or more baking soda, water, a squirt or two of liquid detergent. Sprinkle water generously over the bottom of the oven, then cover the grime with enough baking soda that the surface is totally white. Sprinkle some more water over the top. Let the mixture set overnight. Next morning the grime will have loosened. When you have wiped up the worst of it, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge and wash the remains from the oven.Vinegar Spray: Straight vinegar reportedly kills 82% of mold. Pour white distilled vinegar straight into a spray bottle, spray on the moldy area, and let set without rinsing if you can stand the smell. it will dissipate in a few hours. Spray straight white distilled vinegar onto your cutting board at night, let it sit overnight. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Spray it on and wipe it off.Viable Green BuildingWinter 2002/03 I’d like to thank ACE for sending me to the Greenprints Sustainable Communities and Green Building conference and tradeshow Feb. 13-15 in Atlanta. While much of the conference focused on urban planning and huge project design, there were resources and principles worth incorporating into any building project, from renovations to new homes, schools or businesses. “Green” construction is a term that is only beginning to enter our vocabularies in North Georgia. It means sustainable construction and high performance design. Green buildings are energy efficient, built with earth-friendly materials, and designed to help the occupants feel comfortable and perform tasks easily and efficiently.Green buildings and developments are also cost effective. Water and electricity demands continue to rise exponentially with population growth. Efficient use of resources is the only option as our finite resources are used up. Green building begins with a plan which calls on everyone involved in the construction process from beginning to end. In some cases, the maintenance staff is even called in to help in the design stage so that the end project will operate efficiently. Forward planning also helps keep costs lower. Materials come from suppliers that should be conscious of the impact that their product has on the earth, such as decking made from recycled plastic, instead of wood that is clear-cut out of forests and pressure treated with arsenic. Many products are harmful in some way, but a successful green project aims to minimize the use of harmful materials such as pressure treated wood and extruded polystyrene panels. A green project would use a rot-resistant wood such as cedar or locust harvested with sustainable forest practices, and use expanded polystyrene panels. Methods are as important as materials. Considering the lay of the land, disturbing as few trees as possible, and controlling storm water run-off are essential. If demolition. is needed for a remodeling job, deconstruction and construction wastes are recycled. Using 2x6 studs on outside walls to allow for ample insulation, air-tight construction, water conserving plumbing, building design that allows for passive solar heating in winter, with proper awnings or other shading for minimizing heat in summer, windows allowing natural lighting, and compact fluorescent light (cfl) fixtures, are a few characteristics of green building. All of these effects can be accomplished with standard supplies. Using cfl rather than incandescent light bulbs reduces 2.1 oz. of soot, 3.15 lbs. of sulfur dioxide, 1.71 lbs. of nitrogen oxide, and 463.5 lbs. of carbon dioxide from coal fired electric power plants for just one bulb in one year! Savings per bulb can be up to $78.00 in energy bills. Owners can go as far as they want in choosing energy star appliances, water conserving washing machines and dishwashers. Solar hot water heaters, solar panels and roofing, on-demand hot water heaters — every little bit helps. In rural areas sustainable products and methods are not yet in high demand, and local builder supply businesses carry what their clients ask for most often. The easiest way to convince someone to fund a green project is to inform them of the financial benefits. Lowered utility bills can pay for increases in the cost of the initial construction. Solar power and extra insulation pay for themselves rapidly and continue to provide healthy returns for the owner. The environmental benefits of conserving energy help air quality, water quality, and quality of life for fellow humans and all life. Reducing acid rain, protecting the ozone layer, slowing global warming, protecting biodiversity and water quality are all benefits of green building. Builders and developers have a moral obligation to take these things into account. Technology and resources exist to help us stretch out valuable water and energy resources, and provide pleasant dwellings and work environments for all of us. Using this technology is a golden opportunity for builders and developers to differentiate themselves from their competitors by being the first to offer the green option. State and federal agencies are already beginning to foster green building concepts. For more information about green products and building methods, contact Southface Institute at 404-872-3549 or at their website, www.southface.org. — Jesse Steele, fiveholesteele Go to top of pageRoundup and HealthWinter/Spring 2004 Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, in a recent test was found in 12% of the urine of children sampled on farms. Symptoms following exposure to glyphosate include swollen eyes, face and joints; facial numbness; burning and/or itching skin; blisters; rapid heart rate; elevated blood pressure; chest pains, congestion; coughing; headache; and nausea. People exposed to glyphosate are 2.7 times more likely to contract non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. The wetting agent polyethoxylated tallowamine used in Roundup is more acutely toxic than glyphosate itself. According to the California Dept. of Pesticide Regulation, glyphosate ranks first among herbicides as the cause of pesticide-related illness in people in California. For a copy of the 2-page notice, which includes suggestions for alternatives, send $1 to ACE with a self-addressed envelope. — School Pesticide Monitor May/June 2004, National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, 202-543-5450, www.beyondpesticides.org. Fish FoodWinter/Spring 2004 Fish, mercury, power plants ­ what kind of connection could they have? Last December the EPA and the FDA went public warning against eating too much seafood with high mercury levels. Eating more than three servings of fish per week could harm even women who “might” become pregnant, said EPA. But it was EPA Director Mike Leavitt who, earlier in December, announced new rules that would allow three times as much mercury to enter the air compared with the Clean Air Act. Why weaken the clean air protection that would reduce mercury pollution? Not only was the permitted amount of mercury in the air increased, from 5 tons per year in 2008, but the time frame was also extended, to 15 tons per year in 2018. Where does all this mercury come from? Right out of the smokestacks of our coal-fired power plants — coal is the main source. Power plants are the source of much more: abundant campaign contributions during every campaign season. And our own Southern Company is right up there with the rest, dragging their collective feet about upgrading the equipment that would reduce the amount of mercury released into the air. The upgrades were required by the Clean Air Act but there are ways of dodging the rules. You could tell your congressmen to make Southern Company do the right thing: by phone 202-224-3121, or by mail U.S. Senate, Washington DC 20510 or U.S. House of Representatives, Washington DC 20515. Even a postcard can make a difference. Some safer seafood is recommended by the Seafood Choices Alliance at http://www.thefishlist.org, or info. — Sierraclub.org/cleanair and sierraclub.org/planet/200402/industry.aspWhat is Organic?Fall 2003 Wendell Berry, in his fascinating little book, “The Gift of Good Land,” says an organic farm is “a farm whose structure is formed in imitation of the natural system.” He talks about the thin mantle of soil that covers our planet. This breathing, life-giving mantle feeds and nurtures us in a symbiotic relationship which, in past decades, has largely been ignored. We now have “factory farming” ­ soil used as an industrial by-product. Soil is a living organism. In one handful of well balanced soil there are more active life forms than there are people on this earth. These microscopic bacteria, fungi, algae, and micro-fauna are interdependent, actively participating in the cycle of nutrients essential to plant growth. Bacteria transform nitrogen formed by decomposition into the nitrates that plants can use. They also absorb elemental nitrogen from the atmosphere. Molds, a variety of fungi, are extremely important in creating humus; they convert insoluble nutrients into biological units. Manure is rich in actinomycetes and essential for healthy soil. One of the largest life forms in the soil is earth worms, universally considered a sign of good soil health. Charles Darwin called them “the intestines of the soil.” Wastes from animals and people return to the soil to feed the organisms, which feeds the plants, which then feeds us all. This is the “benign dependence” Berry speaks of. An organic farmer aims at assisting earth-life to form nutrient rich soil in which to grow a healthy crop. Modern factory or industrial farming uses a chemical system which may help plants to grow, but actually kills off the soil life. Then toxic chemical sprays must be used to fight off the insect invasion which occurs in unhealthy soil. Plants absorb from the soil vitamins, proteins, hormones, antibiotics, herbicides and pesticides. Then we eat plants, eating whatever they have eaten. Ask yourself before buying and eating: How fresh is it? How pure and free from chemicals? How much did it cost to package it ­ to advertise it ­ to transport it? How has processing affected its nutritional value? Its price? Factory farming is an industry like any other. Industry uses whatever means necessary to increase production at the least possible cost and for the most possible profit. Organic farmers want to maintain a healthy soil life and still make a living. We are all participants in agriculture. We can be industrial consumers and support the industrial farming that depletes the soil, or we can choose locally grown, organically grown food which supports our own health as well as supporting a healthy web of life. — Elizabeth Patsis Atrazine AllowedFall 2003The Bush administration announced on Oct. 31 that it would not impose new restrictions on the commonly used herbicide atrazine, which has been associated with low sperm counts and prostate cancer in men and sex-organ deformities in frogs. The European Union recently decided to ban atrazine, but the US EPA said it saw no grounds for restricting the chemical’s use. The agency did announce a new plan for testing a handful of waterways for atrazine but that testing will be done by the primary manufacturer of the chemical, Syngenta, a large agribusiness company. “Instead of requiring a polluter to stop polluting, EPA is cutting a deal with the corporation to let them off the hook,” said Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council. — Los Angeles Times, Emily Green, 01 Nov 2003, www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1680.Media LiesSpring/Summer 2003 Now it’s legal to tell lies on commercial TV, said the Second District Court of Appeals in Lakeland, Florida, in February. The court overturned a jury award of $425,000 for wrongful dismissal of two journalists who refused to report false information about growth hormones in milk. The reason? The Federal Communication Commission’s news-distortion policy isn’t a real regulation, said the court. Therefore there was no legal protection for the two against pressure from their employer, Fox, and they were not actually whistleblowers. The journalists must now pay Fox’s legal fees, which may exceed $1 million.Fox broadcasts on the public airwaves, with a free license, and the Communications Act of 1934 requires it to broadcast in “the public interest, convenience and necessity.” In 1987 the FCC eliminated the Fairness Doctrine which required broadcasters to air contrasting viewpoints on controversial issues of public importance. Relicensing requires a postcard notification for the next 8 years.Where is the public interest? — Karen Chairman, “News You Can’t Trust,” Extra!, July/Aug 2003. Burning Weapons in AnnistonSpring/Summer 2003 In case you wondered where the weapons of mass destruction had gone, try Anniston, Alabama. That is the long-term location of chemical weapons storage and now, the operation of a chemical weapons facility. The US Army began operating it August 9 after a federal judge rejected claims that residents would be endangered. The facility, 50 miles east of Birmingham and less than 100 miles west of Atlanta, would be the nation’s first in a populated area. The Army says 2,254 tons of nerve agents and mustard gas will be burned over seven years. Since ACE was formed to fight a garbage incinerator at Alto and a medical waste incinerator at Gainesville, we are amazed that VX, Sarin and mustard gas have been stored and burned so close to a populated area. The fumes will be emitted right around where people live. The Army stopped test burning at the Umatilla Depot, Oregon, on October 2, 2002, when mini-burns exceeded allowable emissions for lead and chromium. Other burns in August 2002 were stopped after emissions of lead, arsenic, antimony, chromium and nickel exceeded regulatory standards. The Oregon Toxics Alliance calls incineration an outdated and unreliable technology that can result in human health and environmental tragedy. According to the Chemical Weapons Working Group, problems at other Army incinerators have led to 18 accidental chemical agent releases. The two most recent resulted in the release of VX nerve gas from an incinerator on a Pacific atoll in August, and the July shut down of an incinerator in Utah where workers were exposed to nerve gas. It’s not as if there were no alternative to incineration. Under President Clinton, Congress passed public laws 104-208, 105-261 and others to establish the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) program, which charged the Dept. of Defense with identifying and demonstrating alternative technologies. The states of Kentucky and Colorado are successfully substituting a process called neutralization, a much safer method for both humans and the environment. This process treats the chemical agents at a low temperature and low pressure, eliminates toxic air emissions, such as dioxins, reduces water consumption by a factor of twelve, and increases recycling capabilities. Then the question is, why is neutralization not considered for Anniston and the other weapons depots? Just as a guess, it could be government’s need to cover up. Anniston is also the home of a Monsanto factory that produces PCBs. On January 1, the Washington Post published an article detailing the decades-long cover-up of PCB poisoning in Anniston, based on an archive of internal company documents. People can search these documents at www.ewg.org and decide whether there is a connection. The documents are said to reveal Monsanto’s growing anxiety over the years about keeping knowledge of the toxic effects and environmental impacts of PCBs away from the media and the public. The Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) program can be explored at www.pmacwa.org, as well as www.cwwg.org, the Chemical Weapons Working Group, Elizabeth Crowe, 859-986-0868. Danger at HomeFall 2002October was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For 17 years the campaign has stressed early detection and treatment, and the drug tamoxifen. None of the official materials ever mention causes, the daily dose we all get from pesticides, cleaners and plastics in and around our own homes. In May 2000, the 3M Corporation stunned the rest of the chemical industry with an announcement ‹ It would stop producing a family of compounds used In Scotchguard, Teflon and other products. It had just “discovered” that these perfluorochemicals (PFOs) were known to persist in human blood and wildlife. How new was the discovery? 3M knew as far back as the late 1970s. Rhesus monkeys fed the compounds suffered diarrhea and discoloration of the liver. Every monkey exposed to the chemical died.In 1981 both 3M and Dupont were aware of birth defects among children born to mothers exposed to the chemicals. Both companies transferred female workers out of the related plants but eventually decided to allow the women back to work. Studies in the 1990s showed perfluorochemicals in eagles, mink and polar bears, among others. Rick Purdy, an ecotoxicologist for 19 years at 3M headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., says he warned company officials in 1998 that PFO levels were high enough to kill wildlife. “There was no response.” In 1999 researchers analyzed blood samples from 600 adults and 600 children. All the samples, obtained randomly from blood banks and universities, contained traces of PFOs. The data kept piling up. 3M told EPA that an unusually high number of workers in their Decatur, Alabama, plant had died of bladder cancer. In the 1990s both companies searched for a substitute for the PFOs, but found those chemicals “between 32 and 53 times less bioaccumulative” in animal livers. “We may have a product stewardship issue if we have a [Teflon] finish that contains a suspect carcinogen,” said a 1994 letter. Dupont tried to silence its critics with legal restraining orders. Thanks to such movies as Erin Brockovich and A Civil Action, the judge in Parkersburg, W.VA. refused to issue the order. Now EPA is finally forced to take a closer look at what may be a huge new class of toxics. Jane Houlihan of the Environmental Working Group says “Twenty five years ago 3M and Dupont understood the unique persistence and toxicity of these chemicals. Now, in an act of ‘corporate citizenship,’ 3M is withdrawing some of them from production. For this we should thank them?” — Jim Morris, “Coming Clean,” Mother Jones, Sept/Oct. 2001 Spray or Mow?Fall 2002 Do you know what’s in the herbicide sprayed by Georgia Power and EMC’s under their power lines? In our Banks County neighborhood it is “Arsenal,” which the EPD says is appropriate. However, an independent source, the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, says otherwise. The active ingredient is Imazapyr, a broad spectrum herbicide used for general vegetation control. This chemical is corrosive to eyes and can cause irreversible damage, and is irritating to both eyes and skin. Another organization, Environmental Defense, gives it a toxicity code 1, which corresponds to toxic category “Danger.” Imazapyr moves readily in soil and has contaminated surface and groundwater following aerial and ground forestry applications. It can persist in soil for over a year, and even at low concentrations, residues damage crop plants and rare plants. It could wash down into streams over a long period of time and affect fish. After chronic exposure, laboratory animals showed fluid accumulation in the lungs of female mice, kidney cysts in male mice, abnormal blood formation in the spleens of female rats and problems with tumors. It seems obvious that this material should not be sprayed near people, crops, animals of any kind, or decorative shrubs. You can tell Georgia Power and your EMC that you don’t want your land sprayed, but prefer cutting and mowing. Call the Georgia Power number in the phone book and ask for the Land Dept. Perhaps your legislator could work on getting a rule passed that would require anyone who sprays herbicide on or near your land to first give notice. That seems a minimum requirement. — J. of Pesticide Reform, vol. 16 no. 3, Fall 1996; www.panna.igc.org/resources; www.scorecard.org/chemical-profiles. No Funds for CleanupFall 2002 It always seems to come down to money. Granite City, Illinois, a gritty place of steel mills and industrial plants, learned it has one of the 33 Superfund cleanup sites in 18 states whose funding has been cut off by the Bush Administration. “I think it’s a shame these things don’t get taken care of for so many years,” said Mayor Ron Selph of the cleanup where a railroad tie-treating facility operated until 1989. “But we have to live with it.” In New Jersey the response was angrier. One site, in Edison, was where the herbicide Agent Orange was produced. What has state Sen. Bob Smith particularly upset is that the federal EPA is headed by one of New Jersey’s own, former Gov. Christie Whitman. “When Mrs. Whitman went to Washington, people hoped New Jersey would have an advocate,” he said. The Bush Administration’s decision means the 20-acre Jennison-Wright Corp. site will remain polluted indefinitely. The site is literally a stone’s throw from nearby homes. — http://enn.com/extras/printer-friendly.asp?storyid=47730.Mushrooms to the RescueFall 2001 The humble mushroom could help clean up everything from oil spills to pesticides, thanks to a new technology called mycoremediation. Mushroom expert Paul Stamets pioneered the technology against the bacteria e.coli and then partnered with scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Labs to try it against environmental toxins. The technology uses the natural ability of fungi to break down dead plants and animals to accelerate decomposition of petroleum products. In a field study, fungi appeared to be remarkably successful at cleansing soil contaminated with oil and other petroleum products. Fungi could help clean up the 24,000 oil spills that occur in the US every year. The scientists are also optimistic that the process could help limit environmental damage caused by agricultural runoff. — San Francisco Chronicle, Leslie R. Guttman, 25 Nov 2001 Eating PesticidesFall 2001 In the Clinton era, pesticide companies were prohibited from using information obtained by using human subjects. The Bush administration has promised to overturn that policy. Under the new policy, which hasn’t yet been officially announced, the EPA would be able to set limits based on data from tests in which paid volunteers ingest small amounts of pesticides, despite ethical and safety concerns raised by environmentalists and physicians. The about-face would also defy recommendations made to the EPA by a scientific panel in 1998. Two panel members called for an absolute ban on human testing of pesticides, while the sixteen other members said such tests should be very limited. The industry claims that animal testing doesn’t provide an accurate enough picture of how safe pesticides are for humans and results in overly strict restrictions to pesticide use. — Los Angeles Times, Elizabeth Shogren, 27 Nov. 2001Back to the ACE Home PageRaccoons in the HenhouseSummer 2001 More bizarre appointments by the Bush administration. It’s not so much a matter of setting the fox to guard the chicken coop as it is letting the raccoons loose in the henhouse, says Molly Ivins. In Texas, the most spectacular example is the state’s equivalent of an environmental protection agency, to which then-Gov. Bush appointed three commissioners who literally represent major groups of polluters. Texas is, of course, Number One in toxic pollution. The pattern continues in Washington. Bush has nominated B. John Williams, a corporate tax attorney, as chief counsel to the Internal Revenue Service. According to The Wall Street Journal, Williams won a case that could jeopardize the government’s attempts to crack down on corporate tax havens. The decision allows two companies to post the same loss when one sells a money-losing unit to the other. Sure, that’s fair, just the way you get to double your deductions, right? If the decision stands, it is expected to cost the IRS $10 billion in annual revenue. In another case, also reported in the Journal, B. John Williams (beware the man who parts his initials on the wrong side) tried to justify disputed tax credits taken by his client, Shell Oil Co. He did so by hiring a private investigator, who provided false information to destroy the credibility of the government’s expert witnesses. One witness later sued for defamation, a case that was settled out of court, the settlement paid for by Shell. The curious case of John Graham, the “regulatory czar,” who can block any new regulation from his position inside the Office of Management and Budget, has attracted some attention because of Graham’s unusual public record. While serving on an EPA subcommittee on dioxin, Graham said reducing dioxin levels too far might “do more harm than good.” He argued that dioxin might prevent cancer in some cases, an argument so outlandish it produced more amusement than outrage. He also claims the problem of pesticides on foods is “trivial,” that the public has “paranoia” about toxic chemicals (it is to be hoped), that safe housing codes kill people and all manner of other dandy theories. Graham was director of the Center for Risk Analysis at Harvard, which tries to apply cost-benefit exams to health, safety and other environmental protection. This curious idea, of assigning a dollar value to human life, illness and harm to eco-systems and then seeing if that outweighs the cost of regulation, is like some chilling mad-scientist fantasy. You say it will only cost three lives per million dollars spent and so it’s not worth it? Fine, then let one of them be your wife and the others your son and daughter. As Arthur Miller once wrote, “Attention must be paid.” — Molly Ivins, in Facing South Aug. 24, 2001, facingsouthChemicals on TVWinter 2000/1 Bill Moyers, a respected journalist, will report on the toxic chemicals getting into our environment. “Trade Secrets” reveals how public health and safety have been put at risk and why powerful forces don’t want the truth to be known. Watch it on Monday, March 26, on Channel 8 at 9 pm; it will repeat on Wednesday, March 28 at 11:30 pm.Ban Dursban Spring 2000 Twelve prominent scientists are asking EPA administrator Carol Browner for tighter restrictions on chlorpyrifos, sold as Dursban. This is the nation¹s most widely used pesticide, found in 800 products from flea collars, lawn and garden insecticides, school and residential pesticides, to agricultural spray. Use of chlorpyrifos has been linked to memory loss, nervous system problems, and many other health concerns. Its use is so widespread that it was found in the urine of more than 80% of 1,082 Americans tested. ­ Our Toxic Times, May 2000. Dursban is only one of many registered pesticides found to harm people and pets. The Spring issue, Vol. 20, of the Journal of Pesticide Reform noted that over half the children of parents who are pesticide applicators have already been exposed to levels of poisons above EPA¹s reference dose, the amount that EPA believes has no adverse effect over a lifetime of exposure. Even the pesticide industry admits that chlorpyrifos is problematic. At a conference sponsored by Dow AgroSciences (primary manufacturer of chlorpyrifos) an analyst said that poison control centers recorded over 10,000 cases of people suffering ill health effects from chlorpyrifos over a ten year period. ­ Seattle Times, Hal Bernton, 5/4/00, and San Francisco Examiner, Jane May, 5/3/00. http://www.bandursban.org/ Fortunately, alternatives exist, such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM). One organization promoting IPM is LEAF, Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation. In their publication, Community Action to Manage Pesticide Use in Schools (CAMPUS), they show a step-by-step way to work with parents, teachers, school personnel and students to protect children from exposure to pesticides in schools. Glynn County was the first in Georgia to set up a pilot project using the CAMPUS program. Schools that have adopted least toxic IPM programs not only report a reduction in their use of pesticides, but a significant improvement in their level of pest control. ACE has one copy of LEAF¹s Georgia Guide, or contact LEAF at 850-681-2591, asmith, 1114 Thomasville Road Suite E, Tallahassee FL 32303-6288.Hormones and CancerSummer 2001 Breast cancer kills 46,000 women in the US each year, with each woman’s life cut short by twenty years. Until the miracle of a miracle cure, no one mentions, or funds, primary prevention, the basis of public health. A new book by physician and chemist Janette D. Sherman, “Life’s Delicate Balance,” has this challenge: “If cancers are not caused by chemicals, endocrine-disrupting chemicals and ionizing radiation, how else can one explain the doubling, since 1940, of breast cancer, prostate and childhood cancers?” These exposures can be prevented. When we learn from the Smithsonian Institute that sharks get cancer from swimming in waters contaminated with industrial chemicals, we should learn something useful about our own vulnerability to exotic chemicals. Dr. Sherman lists the known “risk factors” for breast cancer: early menstruation, late childbirth, few or no children, no experience breast-feeding, obesity, high-fat diet, being tall, having cancer of the ovaries or uterus, use of oral contraceptives, excessive use of alcohol. “What is the message through these risks?” asks Dr. Sherman. “Hormones, hormones, hormones of the wrong kind, hormones too soon in a girl’s life, hormones for too many years in a woman’s life, too many chemicals with hormonal action.” There is one fully established cause of cancer: ionizing radiation from x-rays, from nuclear plant emissions and the fallout from A-bomb tests. When Asian women move from their homelands to the US, their breast cancer rate soars. There is something in the western environment causing an epidemic of this hormone-related disease. Canadian researchers have demonstrated enhanced cancer growth in mice given daily hormone-equivalent doses of three commonly used antihistamines, Claritin, Histamil and Atarax. Breast cancer is also promoted in rodents fed clinically relevant doses of antidepressant drugs, Elavil and Prozac. At least five million women in the US are currently taking Premarin, a form of estrogen routinely prescribed. Hormones are big business. Despite evidence that synthetic hormones caused cancer in rodents and rabbits, American drug companies began selling synthetic hormones in 1934 in cosmetics, drugs such as DES, food additives and animal feed. Two different studies, in 1938 and 1941, showed that DES caused breast cancer in rodents. That year the Food and Drug Administration approved DES for commercial use in women. It can be made for pennies a day. Some researchers found they could make chickens, cows and pigs grow faster if they fed them hormones, and a huge new market opened up. As early as 1947, a hormonal effect was reported among women who ate chicken treated with growth hormones. In 1973 DES was banned from meat, so other growth hormones were substituted. More recently the FDA has allowed the US milk supply to be modified to increase the levels of a growth hormone, called IGF-1, known to stimulate growth of breast cells in women. There are dozens of household chemicals and industrial byproducts that are hormonally active: pesticides, cleansers, solvents, dyes, cosmetics, PCBs, dioxins, etc., that interfere with, or mimic, naturally occurring hormones. As for radioactivity, in 1984 a study of Mormon families in Utah downwind from the nuclear tests in Nevada reported elevated numbers of breast cancer. Dr. John Gofman has reviewed 22 separate studies confirming unequivocally that exposure to ionizing radiation causes breast cancer (see Rachel #693). Women living near nuclear plants suffer from elevated numbers of breast cancer. His conclusion: we are no longer people who become sick. We have become markets. — Rachel’s Environment & Health News #723, 4/26/01, erf, Environmental Research Foundation, PO Box 5036, Annapolis MD 21403-7036, fax 410-263-8944. www.lifesdelicatebalance.com Stop POPSSpring 2001 Delegates from 127 countries formally moved to adopt a treaty to ban or reduce the use of 12 persistent organic pollutants (POPs), chemicals such as PCBs and pesticides that have been linked to cancer, birth defects, and genetic abnormalities in humans and wildlife. The treaty was signed by delegates in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 23, but it still must be ratified by at least 50 governments to take effect, a process that could take several years. Canada became the first country to ratify the treaty. The gathering in Stockholm hasn’t been as cheery as one might expect, as European Union officials have continued to criticize the U.S. for backing out of the Kyoto treaty on climate change and for pursuing an energy plan that promotes increased use of coal and oil. -- USA Today, Associated Press, 22 May 2001.Dioxin SecretsSpring 2000 On May 17 the Washington Post reported on a leaked draft chapter of EPA’s dioxin reassessment, “Integrated Summary and Risk Characterization.” Key findings:-The cancer risk from dioxin exposure to the general population is now as high as one in 100. That estimate places the risk ten times higher than EPA’s previous projections. - Air deposition onto plants consumed by domestic meat and dairy animals is the principle route for contamination of commercial food supply. - It is likely that part of the general population is at, or near, exposure levels whose adverse effects can be anticipated. This also includes developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity, endometriosis and diabetes. - Children’s dioxin intake is proportionally much higher than adults’ because of the presence of the chemical in dairy products and breast milk. The National Toxicology Program, which is part of the Dept. of Health and Human Services, is in litigation for asserting that TCDD (one form of dioxin) is a human carcinogen. In an unusual turn of events, a business coalition called the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE) went to court in January to block the NTP from classifying TCDD as a human carcinogen. The CRE claims that restaurants will be forced to change their menus to forego high revenue dishes. The lead on the front page Post article was, “The Clinton Administration is preparing to dramatically raise its estimates of human threats from dioxin, citing new evidence of cancer risk.’ Where does dioxin come from? Burning mixed waste in incinerators and back yards, and bleaching pulp for paper production. The chief villains are chlorine compounds such as PVC. The leaked documents are available at http://www.chej.org. — Waste Not #460, May 2000. Dioxin CampaignFall 1999 Dioxin is that dangerous stuff produced by incinerators, paper bleaching, production and disposal of chlorinated pesticides and chlorinated materials such as PVC pipe -- any process that involves chlorine. It affects all of us through our food supply. ACE helped drive off one incinerator proposed for Alto and another proposed for Gainesville. But all of us suffer from dioxin, particularly those living along the coast from Savannah to Brunswick. New incinerator proposals keep popping up, like the plasma torch which has so far not found a home. ACE has joined the campaign for a dioxin public hearing in Atlanta on Monday, Nov. 22, in the Legislative Office Building, across the street from the Capitol. Scientists at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute have shown how dioxin is toxic to immune cells and are planning to extend this research to find better ways to diagnose, treat and prevent dioxin toxicity. Every American man, woman and child's body already contains dioxin in an amount approaching levels known to damage our health. Dioxin's effects include cancer, weakened immune systems, birth defects, learning disabilities, and endometriosis. Alternative ways of managing wastes, producing plastic, and bleaching paper without chlorine exist and can be used today without huge economic hardship. But corporations will not switch to these processes without being forced to by law. Elected officials need to enact -- and enforce -- health protections for all Georgians. Many local and state-wide organizations have joined the campaign. The public hearing on Nov. 22 will be an opportunity for public officials and the public to hear citizens speak on the need to see that public health policies are enforced. Champion Buy-OutFall 1999 Residents of Canton, NC, had to breathe sulfur and nitrogen dioxides from the Champion paper mill for close to 100 years. Enough wastewater poured into the Pigeon River to inspire years of protests and lawsuits. Now the largest union-led employee buy-out in the history of the Southeast should clear the air. Backed by a New York investment firm, workers bought the mill and six other plants from Champion for $200 million last May. The purchase resulted from an unlikely collaboration between workers, private investors, environmentalists, state government and the seller. The green light came only after assurances that the new ownership would not only pursue more eco-friendly products, but would also spend over $160 million on capital improvements to meet stringent air and water quality standards. State Commerce Secretary Rick Carlisle applied the law that gives the industry access to incentives previously reserved for luring out-of-state corporations. The Southern Appalachian Center for Cooperative Ownership, which gave strategic advice to the union, called the new state policy a landmark development.— "Workers Champion Employee Ownership in Western North Carolina," Southern Exposure, Summer 1999. FluoridationFall 1999 A growing number of dentists are admitting they were wrong about fluoridation. One is Dr. John Colquhoun, the former Principle Dental Officer for the city of Auckland, New Zealand. In the 1970s, he had been appalled at the level of tooth decay in children and adults, and became a "keen and earnest advocate for water fluoridation." Then in 1980 he was asked to collect evidence for its beneficial results. Over a period of four months he traveled in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. He could not find the evidence. In New Zealand every child has teeth examined between the ages of 12 and 13. This whole population study confirmed the worldwide picture. There was no significant difference in the teeth of children living in fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities. Then his staff began to report an increased occurrence of dental fluorosis (mottling and erosion of enamel) among children in the flu- oridated communities. That's when he decided to go public. He cited several peer-reviewed and published studies indicating an increase in hip fractures among the elderly in fluoridated communities and an increase in osteosarcoma in animal studies and young male teenagers in the U.S. Still, the quality of children's teeth has been improving in industrialized countries since the 1930s, regardless of fluoridation. Dr. Colquhoun attributes this to several factors: better diet including fresh fruits and vegetables and cheese, better dental education, and an improved standard of living. A New York study, reported in 1998, found little difference in the quality of children's teeth in Newburgh (fluoridated) and Kingston (non-fluoridated). But the children in Newburgh have about twice the rate of dental fluorosis. Newburgh was the demonstration city that launched fluoridation in the U.S. in 1945. Dr. Colquhoun earned a Ph.D. after his retirement in 1983. His thesis showed how scientists have promoted fluoridation despite the evidence against its efficacy and its potential dangers; and how scientists can get trapped in their "beliefs" like anyone else. Now the tide is turning. In 1997, EPA scientists set a precedent by cosponsoring a California citizens' initiative to stop a state-wide fluoridation mandate. The citizens group was founded by Dr. David Kennedy, DDS, former president of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. — Waste Not, #445-451, March-June 1999.Note: Full documentation is available for $18.50 from Waste Not, 315-379-9200, 82 Judson, Canton NY 13617, wastenot. Note: Fluoridation (rank 18) and Chemical Corporations that Profit off Breast Cancer (rank 2) were two of the 25 Most Censored Stories of 1998. Project Censored 707-664-2500, or wastenot