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During heavy rainfall, disease-causing microbes usually relegated to sewage water can enter surface or ground water used for drinking and drive up emergency room visits for gastrointestinal problems, say researchers who compared children's hospital visits and rainfall for five years in Wisconsin.
In the United States, each year, there are approximately 19 million cases of gastrointestinal illness that are potentially related to contamination of public drinking water systems. Because global climate change is expected to cause heavier precipitation in some areas, it is important to understand the link between more rain and increased incidence of waterborne disease. 17 August 2010. More...
Chemists in Germany have figured out a way to extract energy from just water and oxygen. The discovery uses existing fuel cell technology and minimal additional chemicals, providing a safer way to generate electricity for low-power applications.
Remarkably, the fuel cell setup can be used to generate electricity from water and air, producing just water and oxygen as byproducts. 9 August 2010. More...
A new method for removing fluorines from fluorinated chemicals offers a promising method to detoxify some types of organohalogen pollutants, such as CFCs.
The method could be more broadly applied to other organofluorines, including perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) such as PFOA and PFOS. PFOA is a chemical used in nonstick cookware and PFOS was used in anti-stain fabrics and water resistant coatings. 17 June 2010. More...
A new study finds that fewer older people are hospitalized due to heart problems associated with air pollution if they live in places that have more homes with central air conditioning.
But, a vicious cycle of energy demand, air conditioning use and air pollution can develop, the researchers explain. More air conditioning use requires more energy. Generating energy leads to air pollution and contributes to global warming, possibly spurring higher use of air conditioning. 4 September 2009. More...
Hudson Bay's polar bears are more contaminated with some pollutants now than in the past due to warmer temperatures that are melting ice sooner in the spring and forcing the bears to eat different food.
The bears now eat more harbor and harp seals and fewer bearded seals than before. This shift in diet resulted in higher levels of PCBs and flame retardants in their tissues. 27 July 2009. More...
Both long and short summer ice thaws in Arctic waters are associated with higher mercury levels in seals.
As global climate change progresses, and the sea ice melts for longer periods each year, the seals' mercury levels could consistently increase over time. Mercury levels are predicted to increase in fish as coal power plants continue to spew the metal. Mercury is a neurotoxin that has known effects on reproduction, behavior and immune responses. 5 May 2009. More...
Weather changes due to global climate change could substantially increase people's exposure to many pathogens and toxic agricultural contaminants, predicts a study from the United Kingdom.
The full health implications are uncertain. Managing the risks will require research as well as policy changes. 26 February 2009. More...
In a new study, scientists report that ground level mercury levels are increased by more than 30% in environments where the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is also increased.
The cause is unexpected: Higher CO2 levels change soil chemistry in ways that increase its ability to retain or store mercury. 12 September 2008. More...
Traditional covert influence of industry on occupational and environmental health policies has turned brazenly overt in the last several years.
More than ever before the OEH community is witnessing the perverse influence and increasing control by industry interests. Government has failed to support independent, public health-oriented practitioners and their organizations, instead joining many corporate endeavors to discourage efforts to protect the health of workers and the community. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health [PDF]. 2 March 2007. More...
Science Byte: The combination of climate change and widespread contamination by endocrine-disrupting contaminants may be the 'worst-case' for Arctic wildlife.
Climate change is forcing Arctic wildlife to adapt to rapid changes in ecological circumstances. EDCs, how at high levels in many Arctic wildlife, compromise immune, reproductive and neurological systems of animals, and may undermine the ability of wildlife to adapt to increased environmental stress. EHP. 3 November 2005. More...
Chemicals used as alternatives to ozone-depleting solvents found to have reproductive toxicity.
2-bromopropane (2-BP) was found to cause mutations and is toxic to sperm and eggs. 1-bromopropane, introduced as an alternative to 2-BP inhibits the release of sperm and has neurological toxicity. This serves as another example of how replacing one halogenated chemical with another often results in another type of toxicity. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health 1 March 2005. More...
Endocrine disrupting compounds interfere with nitrogen fixation in legumes.
Scientists from Tulane University report in Nature that several EDCs can interfere with the chemical signaling from plant to bacteria that initiates the symbiotic relationship crucial for nitrogen fixation, an ecological process vital to life on earth. By binding with a bacterial receptor that normally receives the plant signals, these contaminants prevent activation of the bacterial gene that initiates formation of the nodules where nitrogen fixation takes place. 15 September 2001. More...
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