Introduction

Air quality Chemical exposure Climate change Cosmetics (toxic chemicals; nanoparticles) Disasters (natural; man-made) Environmental contaminants Food availability / safety (pesticides;     fungicides; toxins; additives;     packaging; over-fishing)

Hazardous materials management Nanoparticles Noise pollution Occupational health / Industrial hygiene Pathogens, parasites Radiation Toxicology Waste management Water quality

(Discussion of Selected) Environmental Health Issues

Air Quality

• Particulate matter of natural and anthropogenic ("man-made") origin, including volcanic ash, biomass fuel and coal burned for cooking and heating, automobile exhaust / smog, and tobacco smoke (Belpomme et al., 2007)

• Chemical pollutants in the atmosphere, including:
  • Carbon monoxide, from automobile exhaust

  • Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide released, from factory emissions

  • Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including methane (mostly from natural gas distribution) (Belpomme et al., 2007)

  • Benzene, from vehicle exhaust (Belpomme et al., 2007)

  • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), natural and man-made. Natural sources of PAHs include eruption of volcanoes, forests, and grassland combustion. Anthropogenic PAH emissions - regarded as the primary sources of PAHs in the environment - are mostly from incomplete combustion or pyrolysis of organic material such as oil, petroleum gas, coal, and wood as well as tobacco smoke (Belpomme et al., 2007), vehicles emissions, domestic cooking, and industry emissions.

  • 1,3-Butadiene (from the manufacture of synthetic rubbers, automobiles and cigarette smoke) (Belpomme et al., 2007)

  • Tropospheric ("ground-level") ozone, due to automobile exhaust and smog (Ebi & McGregor, 2009).

Climate Change; Water Quality

Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants and either does not support a human use, like serving as drinking water, and/or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic communities, such as fish (Wikipedia: Water Pollution). Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of water.

Water pollution is a major problem in the global context. It has been suggested that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily (Wikipedia: Water Pollution). An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and 1,000 Indian children die of diarrheal sickness every day. Some 90% of China's cities suffer from some degree of water pollution, and nearly 500 million people lack access to safe drinking water. In addition to the acute problems of water pollution in developing countries, industrialized countries continue to struggle with pollution problems as well. In the most recent national report on water quality in the United States, 45 percent of assessed stream miles, 47 percent of assessed lake acres, and 32 percent of assessed bay and estuarine square miles were classified as polluted.

Many communities lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and thus the risk of waterborne disease in many regions is high (Patz et al, 2008; Luber & Prudent, 2009; Wikipedia: Waterborne Diseases).

Vulnerable Populations: Pregnant Women; Children; the Elderly

[The following material is excerpted from "Case Studies in Environmental Medicine - Pediatric Environmental Health: The Child as Susceptible Host: A Developmental Approach to Pediatric Environmental Medicine," from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta, GA]:

Childhood is a time of rapid growth and development, accompanied by changes in organ system functioning, metabolic capabilities, physical size, and behavior that can dramatically modify the potential effects and illness caused by exposure to a toxicant. A child relies on adults for protection from environmental tobacco smoke, excessive exposure to sunlight, pesticides in the home, take-home occupational exposure, and other environmental exposures including noise. Children's own behaviors, physical characteristics, and diet peculiar to each developmental phase [below] can put them at greater risk for exposure to environmental hazards. Opportunities for exposure change as a child grows from total dependence on his or her parents or other caregivers to adolescent independence. Economic circumstances, environmental regulations, and legislation can restrict or reinforce pediatric exposures.

Multiple factors that enhance a child's opportunity for exposure include the following:

• Children breathe more air, drink more water, and eat more food per kilogram of body weight than adults do.

• An infant's respiratory rate is more than twice an adult's rate.

• In the first 6 months of life, children drink seven times as much water per kilogram of weight than an adult does.

• From 1 to 5 years old, children consume three to four times more food per kilogram of weight than an adult does.

• Restricted food choices in the dietary patterns of infants and toddlers lead to greater exposures to contaminants unique to certain foods that often dominate their diets. For example, because children consume about 15 times more apples and apple products per unit of body weight than adults do, risk assessments based on a typical adult diet might underestimate a child's risk of exposure to pesticide residues on apples.

• Deficiencies of dietary iron and calcium can increase lead absorption.

• Some toxicants more readily penetrate children's skin, especially in the newborn period when the skin is highly permeable (e.g., dermal exposure to lindane and hexachlorophene, with subsequent development of neurotoxicity).

Environmental and chemical risks to pregnant and nursing mothers include exposures to alcohol and tobacco; lead (paint; drinking water); methylmercury; toxic ingredients in cosmetics and fragrances; solvents and cleaning supplies; air pollution (carbon monoxide; radon); endocrine disruptors (phthalates; bisphenyl A); brominated flame retardants, found in furniture, carpet padding, electronics and other consumer products; radiation (radon); pharmaceuticals; diet (quantity and nutritional quality, e.g. high fructose corn syrup; folic acid; pesticides; contaminants from food packaging); pesticide exposure (e.g. residential pesticides; migrant farm workers); polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs: tobacco smoke; biofuels burned for cooking and heating); polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs: lipophilic industrial compounds that are present in residue levels in human tissue, wildlife, and freshwater sediment); radiation (sunlight).

Endocrine Disruptors; (Transgenerational) Epigenetic Effects

Nanoparticles

Issues of concern regarding the development and manufacture of nanoparticle products include sources and routes of exposure, levels of exposure, numbers of persons exposed, knowledge gaps and future trends (R274, 2004). Nanoparticle production processes potentially result in exposures by inhalation, dermal or ingestion routes, and little is known about current levels of exposure. Control approaches are available which should be effective for exposure by inhalation but this has not been demonstrated. [For two recent articles regarding nanoparticle-induced pulmonary toxicity, and nanoparticles as a potential cause of pleural and interstitial lung disease, refer to Li et al., 2010 and Bonner 2010, respectively.] Control approaches for dermal and ingestion exposure may not be as effective as they are for larger particles. There is little evidence to suggest that the exposure of workers arising from the production of nanoparticles has been adequately assessed, and current knowledge is insufficient for risk assessment purposes.

The following description is excerpted from "Are Nanoparticles Safe? What Are The Risks?, by Theresa Phillips, About.com Guide:

Nanoparticle technology is applied in various industries, where they are used as fuel additives, in manufacture of stain-resistant fabrics, strengthening additions to sports equipment, as semiconductors, and in household and other chemicals. Another useful application is soil and groundwater remediation, where nanoparticles which, for example, contain zero-valent iron, can be used to deliver the catalyst into contaminated groundwater and facilitate treatment. Most recently the marriage of nanotechnology and stem cell research has lead to improved methods for the tracking, delivery and control of stem cells.

In biotechnology, different types of nanoparticles have found extensive use in the cosmetics industry and medicine. In biomedicine, they are used as tools such as imaging agents and drug carriers. For example, liposomes are commonly applied nanoparticles used for delivery of therapeutic drugs, vaccines or other molecules. Another fast developing trend in biomedicine, therapeutic use of siRNA, has been combined with nanotechnology for treatment of cancer. Use of a nanoparticle/ siRNA delivery system prevents the RNA molecules from being destroyed by the body before reaching their target. For example, a delivery system in which nanoparticles are used to transport siRNA into cells has been reported for treatment of Ewing’s Sarcoma. The siRNA molecules target growth-promoting genes in sarcoma tumors and use of this delivery system was shown to reduce cell replication in mice grafted with human tumors, by up to 80%.

Because of their ultra-small size, nanoparticles can penetrate cell membranes and integrate themselves into larger molecules. They can resist cellular defense systems but are large enough to interfere with cell processes. Despite widespread use in public consumables such as makeup and creams, and the knowledge that very traits that make them useful might also render them toxic, thorough testing on the safety of nanoparticles, once absorbed through the skin, has not been done. When used for remediation, their release in the environment is also risky due to possible exposure to humans and other animal species.

In a press release on April 17, 2007, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) reported research presented at the 2007 annual meeting that suggests nanoparticles could cause cancer and should be thoroughly investigated and used with caution.

Cited References

• Belpomme, D. et al. (2007) "The multitude and diversity of environmental carcinogens." Environmental Research. 105:414-429. [PMID: 17692309]

• Boffetta, P. (2006) "Human cancer from environmental pollutants: The epidemiological evidence." Mutation Research. 608:157-162. [PMID: 16843042]

• Bonner, J.C. (2010) "Nanoparticles as a potential cause of pleural and interstitial lung disease." Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society. 7:138-141. [PMID: 20427587]

• Buka I. et al. (2006) "The effects of air pollution on the health of children." Paediatrics and Child Health. 11:513-516. [PMID: 19030320]

• Ebi K. and McGregor, G. (2009) "Climate change, tropospheric ozone and particulate matter, and health impacts." Ciê ncia & Saúde Coletiva. 14:2281-2293. [PMID: 20069198]

• Investigative Fund, 2010: EPA: On Nanoparticle Safety, We Know Nothing [Feb. 2010]

• Li, J.J. (2010) "Nanoparticle-induced pulmonary toxicity." Experimental Biology and Medicine. 235:1025-1033. [PMID: 20719818]

• Luber, G. and Prudent, N.. (2009) "Climate change and human health." Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association. 120:113-117. [PMID: 19768168]

• Madl, A.K. and Pinkerton, K.E. (2009) "Health effects of inhaled engineered and incidental nanoparticles." Critical Reviews in Toxicology. 39:629-658. [PMID: 19743943]

• Patz, J.A. et al. (2008) "Climate change and waterborne disease risk in the Great Lakes region of the U.S." American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 35:451-458. [PMID: 18929971]

• RR274: Nanoparticles: An occupational hygiene review (2004). Research Report 274, prepared by the Institute of Occupational Medicine for the Health and Safety Executive. [Click here for a PDF copy of the complete report.]

• Sheffield, P.E. and Landrigan, P.J. (2010) Global Climate Change and Children's Health: Threats and Strategies for Prevention. Environmental Health Perspectives. [PMID: 20947468]

• Stern, S.T. and McNeil, S.E. (2008) "Nanotechnology safety concerns revisited." Toxicological Sciences. 101:4-21. [PMID: 17602205].

• Tsuda, H. et al. (2009) "Toxicology of engineered nanomaterials - a review of carcinogenic potential." Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. 10:975-980. [PMID: 20192569]

• Wikipedia: Waterborne Diseases

• Wikipedia: Water Pollution

Additional Sources of Information

• Environmental Health [Wikipedia]

• Environmental Health News

• Air Pollution [Wikipedia; see also Pollution]

• [History of] Pollution Issues

• List of environmental health hazards

• [PDF file:] Cancer and the Environment [2003, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: The National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences]

• Environmental Working Group

• Case Studies in Environmental Medicine - Pediatric Environmental Health: The Child as Susceptible Host: A Developmental Approach to Pediatric Environmental Medicine [from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta, GA]

• March of Dimes Foundation: Environmental Risks and Pregnancy

• Cosmetic safety:
  • Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Group's cosmetic safety database.

  • The Breast Cancer Fund's The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

  • Toxic cosmetic products [David Suzuki Foundation} - includes survey results, recommendations, and a list of the "Dirty Dozen" cosmetic chemicals to avoid.

  • Steinemann, A.C. et al (2010) "Fragranced Consumer Products: Chemicals Emitted, Ingredients Unlisted." Environmental Impact Assessment Review [DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2010.08.002; in press: a PDF copy available here]

• Nanotoxicology [Wikipedia]

• Speed Installation of System to Monitor Vital Signs of Global Ocean, Scientists Urge [Oct. 2010]

• POGO: Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans

• Census of Marine Life. See also First Census of Marine Life Shows Ocean Life Is Richer, More Connected, More Altered Than Expected [Oct. 2010]; Marine census finds stunning diversity [Oct. 2010]

• ICoMM: International Census of Marine Microbes. See also World Ocean Microbe Census Findings Revealed [Oct. 2010]