Showing posts with label Specific Chemical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Specific Chemical. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Friday, August 6, 2010
15 Point Hit List (Neurotoxins and ADHD)
ADHD and Neurotoxins . . . . Connecting the Dots
My friend Marie used to rouse her three teenage children on Saturday mornings and begin the day by requiring everyone to help clean the house. I was envious of her chutzpa to consistently teach this responsibility to her kids. Because Marie was so consistent I found that a curious pattern emerged. Every Saturday afternoon, without fail, Marie's son exhibited hyperactive, "out of control" behavior after his cleaning chores.
Looking at the cause and effect of the son's behavior through my lens of awareness of how neurotoxic many cleaning chemicals are, I could see it would make sense that the son's central nervous system and brain could be reacting to these chemicals. Symptoms of neurotoxicity include lack of concentration, personality changes, depression, hyperactivity and the mimicking of psychiatric disorders.
Not being particularly "green," the cleaning products Sally bought for her kids to use were the standard store-bought fare readily available in supermarkets.
This brings to mind a couple of sad, but true, facts:
- Just because it is on the store shelf does not mean that it is safe.
products that kill 50% of lab animals through ingestion or inhalation can still receive the federal regulatory designation "non-toxic".
To name a few examples of neurotoxins found in such products:
- VOCs (furniture polish can contain VOCs)
- neurotoxic disinfectants
- petroleum distillates
- fragrances (scented products are notoriously neurotoxic)
- and waxes (VOCs again in the solvents)
"Each 10-fold increase in urinary concentration of organophosphate metabolites was associated with a 55 percent to 72 percent increase in the odds of ADHD," study author Maryse F. Bouchard, PhD, of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Montreal, told Medscape Psychiatry.
Another example of subtle neurotoxic exposure children suffer through that most adults miss is to the solvents in markers in art class. When my daughter was in school, one year the math class was the period after art class, and she said that the kids were always "off the walls" in math class. What a tragedy, and one that could so easily be avoided if schools stopped allowing neurotoxic art materials to be used. How many kids thought they were bad at math when the culprit was the colored markers?
I've often wondered why the dots haven't been connected by most people between neurotoxic chemicals and ADHD-type behavior. After all, if a neurotoxic chemical is known to cause depression, for example, and that chemical is being used, why do so few people (and almost no psychiatrists) say, oh my gosh, let's remove the neurotoxin?
At least one thing parents can do is to remove neurotoxins from the home. Here is the 15 Point Hit List. These are quick and easy solutions:
- Yes to "green" dry cleaning using C02, no to dry cleaning with perchlorethelene (and NO hanging clothes in bedroom closets until they have first aired out -sans plastic dry cleaner bags- in another less "lived in" room. We use the garage unless it is boiling hot and in the summer we use the well ventilated mud room)
- Yes to vegetable-based Free and Clear detergents and cleaning products, no to cleaning products containing volatile organic chemicals (Melaleuca is a great choice here).
- Yes to natural furniture polishes like those made by Melaleuca - or simple jojoba oil (a natural wax), no to furniture polish made of volatile organic chemicals.
- Yes to organic produce, no to highly processed foods.
- Yes to safe integrated pest management, no to synthetic pesticides (SolUMel and Tough and Tender are great bug killers and deterrents).
- Yes to water-based markers, no to solvent-based markers.
- Yes to food with natural food coloring, no to food with FD&C dyes
- Yes to cedar and herbs for moths, no to moth balls.
- Yes to natural essential oils for fragrance, no to synthetic perfumes and fragrances (Again Melaleuca hits a home run in this category!)
- Yes to efficient heating systems, no to kerosene, open gas, or other systems that could leak carbon monoxide.
- Yes to educating yourself about lead paint and other sources of lead, no to "hoping for the best" if you live in a house built before 1978.
- Take your shoes off in the house.
- Filter your water - Brita works well (Also, have your tap water tested and do not be fooled into thinking bottled water is better).
- Do not smoke and stay away from second hand smoke.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
What Do Deet & Deadly Nerve Gas Have In Common?
"These findings question the safety of deet, particularly in combination with other chemicals," said researcher Vincent Corbel of Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement in Montpellier.
The chemical known as deet (for N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) is found in nearly every commonly used mosquito repellent in the world, and eight billion doses have been applied since its introduction to the consumer market in 1957. The chemical was originally developed as an insect repellent by the U.S. Army in 1946, following experience with jungle warfare in World War II.
Deet's popularity comes largely from its effectiveness in repelling a variety of medically significant insects over longer periods of time than more natural repellents (such as certain vegetable-based oils), and the fact that it can be incorporated into sprays, liquids or lotions.
Yet although researchers have long insisted that the chemical is safe, they still recommend that consumers use the minimum amount of repellent necessary to cover exposed skin or clothing, and that deet repellents not be applied directly to any irritated or injured skin. While the United States allows the sale of 100 percent deet repellents, many other countries limit maximum concentrations of the chemical to 30 or 50 percent.
In spite of the chemical's long use, researchers are unsure exactly how deet functions to repel mosquitoes. It has long been believed to affect mosquito behavior without harming the insects, probably by interfering with their sense of smell and their ability to find human prey.
"We've found that deet is not simply a behavior-modifying chemical but also inhibits the activity of a key central nervous system enzyme, acetylcholinesterase, in both insects and mammals," the researchers said.
In experiments performed in cockroaches and rats, the researchers found that deet blocked the action of the neurological enzyme acetylcholinesterase. This is the same mechanism that causes the toxic effects of popular carbamate and organophosphate pesticides, as well as chemical weapons such as sarin and VX nerve gas. This may mean that deet repellants are actually insecticides and could damage the human nervous system.
Organophosphates are among the pesticides most commonly implicated in pesticide poisoning worldwide, and are also a commonly used suicide method in agricultural areas. Like nerve gases, organophosphates irreversibly inactivate acetylcholinesterase, leading to excessive salivation and eye watering at low doses, and muscle spasms or death at higher doses. Although carbamates are not as toxic as organophosphates, their effects can be just as severe at high enough doses.
Strong evidence also links these pesticides to dangerous health effects caused by long-term exposure even at low doses.
Previous studies have implicated deet in causing seizures in children, but the current study is the first to uncover how the chemical acts directly on the nervous system.
The researchers also found that the effects of deet were enhanced when it was used in combination with organophosphates or carbamates, as in mixed repellent-insecticide products.
Bahie Abou-Donia of the Duke University Medical Center said that the new findings are consistent with previous research into the risks of deet.
"Deet is a good chemical for protection against insects," Abou-Donia said. "But prolonged exposure results in neurological damage, and this is enhanced by other chemicals and medications."
The researchers in the new study suggested that pregnant women and children under the age of six avoid using deet-containing mosquito repellents. Abou-Donia went farther, calling for such products to carry warning labels about deet's potential to cause neurological harm.
The Environmental Protection Agency has a review of deet's safety planned for 2012.
Sources for this story include:
Natural News
news.bbc.co.uk
www.sciencedaily.com
www.usnews.com
www.dailymail.co.uk
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Weed Killer Castrates Male Frogs
Atrazine
March 1, 2010 10:06 p.m. EST
Recent studies have raised concerns about the potential health risks of atrazine, a herbicide widely used on farms.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Study finds that a common herbicide can emasculate male frogs and turn some into females
- Atrazine is weed killer widely used in Midwestern U.S. and other areas of the world
- Some scientists are concerned the herbicide may pose risks to reproductive health
- Manufacturer: "Residues of atrazine ... in water do not pose a health risk for consumers"
RELATED SOURCES:
- ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
- Atrazine website (you will find all positive information about the chemical here - calling it safe)
LINKS TO DOCUMENTARIES:
LINKS TO VIDEOS:
RELATED TOPICS:
New research suggests the herbicide may be a cause of amphibian declines around the globe, said biologists at the University of California-Berkeley, who conducted the study. The findings are being published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers found that long-term exposure to low levels of atrazine -- 2.5 parts per billion of water -- emasculated three-quarters of laboratory frogs and turned one in 10 into females. Scientists believe the pesticide interferes with endocrine hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone.
"The effects of atrazine in the long term have been shown to demasculinize or chemically castrate [frogs], combined with complete feminization of some animals," said lead researcher Tyrone B. Hayes, a biologist and herpetologist at the University of Berkeley.
"We need to reconfigure how we evaluate chemicals in the environment and the impact on environmental health and public health," he said.
Hayes found that 10 percent of the exposed genetic male frogs developed into functional females who copulated with unexposed males and produced viable eggs. The other 90 percent of the exposed male frogs expressed decreased libido, reduced sperm count and decreased fertility, among other findings.
Syngenta, a Swiss company that is the largest manufacturer of atrazine, has challenged the validity of Hayes' study.
"We haven't seen these kinds of responses that Dr. Hayes reports," said Keith Solomon, an environmental toxicologist at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, who has served as a consultant to Syngenta. "Some of these studies are poorly conducted and are entirely inconsistent."
The new study's implications for atrazine's effect on humans is unclear. But some scientists are concerned the herbicide may pose risks to reproductive health.
One of these copulating frogs, both genetically male, has been feminized by exposure to atrazine, says a new study.
The European Union banned atrazine in 2004 because it was consistently showing up in levels higher than 0.1 ppb -- its threshold for harmful chemicals -- in drinking water.
Farmers in the United States continue to use atrazine on crops.
The herbicide has been a long-standing favorite among corn, sorghum and sugarcane farmers because it is affordable and can eliminate the need for tilling the soil. Tens of millions of pounds of atrazine are used each year in the United States. Syngenta estimates that 60 million pounds were used during 2008, most of it on corn.
A 2006 study by the U.S. Geological Survey found atrazine in approximately 75 percent of stream water and about 40 percent of all groundwater samples from agricultural areas tested between 1992 and 2001.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, an advocacy organization, released a report in August 2009 that documented spikes of atrazine in the water supplies of Midwestern and Southern agricultural areas where the pesticide is primarily applied.
Home or municipal carbon filters can remove atrazine from water but some water filtration systems in small towns are not equipped to filter out atrazine. Water systems in a handful of states have sued atrazine's manufacturers in an effort to force them to pay for removing the pesticide from drinking water.
Tim Pastoor, principal scientist for Syngenta, told CNN that the EPA's current levels for atrazine are safe and that "there is political pressure to get atrazine re-examined."
"Residues of atrazine and all our crop protection products in water do not pose a health risk for consumers," Syngenta says on its Web site.
The company also says "ongoing laboratory and field research by university scientists shows that atrazine has no effect on the survival, growth or limb deformities of frogs."
But Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist with the NRDC's health and environment program, believes the research by Hayes and the other University of California, Berkeley, biologists is valid.
Sass also is skeptical of Syngenta's claims.
"Their tactic is to flood the scientific literature with negative data to negate the other studies," she said. "It's only their studies that show that atrazine is not an endocrine disrupter."
CNN.com's Brandon Griggs contributed to this story.
More VERY helpful links found at AtrazineLovers.com.
The website was created and is maintained by Dr. Tyrone B. Hayes, PhD, is dedicated to informing the scientific community, the activist community, and the public at large about the dangers of the herbicide atrazine. Dr Tyone B. Hayes is the lead researcher mentioned in the article.
We (the public) must play an active role in this regulatory decision.
http://teaching.berkeley.edu/dta02/hayes.html
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/18/g912/hayes1.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/frogs/researcher/index.html
http://www.jyi.org/volumes/volume10/issue1/features/lee.html
http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/2002/Tyrone-Hayes-Curiosity4nov02.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/emerging/tyroneHayes.html
http://students.berkeley.edu/myberkeley/parents.asp?todo=manyfaces7
http://www.pan-uk.org/RCML2005.htm
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/02/04_bensonl_atrazineupdate/
http://www.mncenter.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=24&Profile_ID=436
http://sfweekly.com/issues/2004-06-02/feature.html
http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200407/profile.asp
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/chancellor/bim/may_05.shtml
http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/natrazine.asp
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/wildlife/frogs/2003/2003-1023hayesetal.htm
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