Feature Channels: Environmental Health

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A newly developed method can detect even low-dose human exposure to microcystins and nodularin in human urine. During harmful algal blooms (HABs), species of cyanobacteria release toxic peptides, including microcystins and nodularin into waterways, impacting wildlife and humans living in these marine environments. These findings are the first to report microcystin concentrations directly from exposed residents impacted by cyanobacteria in Florida, and is a critical step in developing and interpreting clinical diagnostic tests for HABs exposure worldwide.

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A highly sensitive wearable gas sensor for environmental and human health monitoring may soon become commercially available, according to researchers at Penn State and Northeastern University.

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People who live in more built up areas and spend less free-time in nature are also less likely to take actions that benefit the environment, such as recycling, buying eco-friendly products, and environmental volunteering.

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The Endocrine Society praised the European Parliament resolution in response to the European Union’s “Green Deal”— a plan to invest more than €1 trillion in environmental initiatives, including important provisions to protect people from exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

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Adverse outcomes from childhood exposures to lead and mercury are on the decline in the United States, likely due to decades of restrictions on the use of heavy metals, a new study finds.

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Responders who worked at the World Trade Center site after the attacks on September 11, 2001, have an increased overall cancer incidence compared to the general population, particularly in thyroid cancer, prostate cancer, and, for the first time ever reported, leukemia, according to a Mount Sinai study published in JNCI Cancer Spectrum in January.

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In a study using brain scans from nearly 10 thousand adolescents across the country, investigators at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles show that risk of lead exposure is associated with altered brain anatomy and cognitive deficits in children from low income families.

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The University of Surrey has revealed results from a new, comprehensive study that suggests that activities such as construction and vehicle traffic contribute significantly to the Delhi National Capital Region's high concentrations of harmful air pollutants and gases.

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At a glance: Experiments in worms reveal the molecular damage caused by DEHP, a chemical commonly used to make plastics flexible DEHP interferes with proper cell division during egg formation, leads to excessive DNA breakage, alters chromosome appearance Abnormalities help explain known link between DEHP and human birth defects, male infertility If replicated in further research, the insights can help inform regulatory changes, consumer choice b

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Thirty-three cases of the asbestos-related lung cancer mesothelioma draw attention to talcum powder as a non-occupational source of exposure to asbestos, according to a study in the January Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

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A team of Penn State engineering faculty and students is working with small-to-medium-sized foundries across Pennsylvania to aid in the transition away from using harmful silica sands in the metal casting process and to reduce costs through 3D printing.

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Most meat eaters support veganism as 'ethical' and good for the environment

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Today a team of researchers from the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production of the Federico II University of Naples, in collaboration with the Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO), at Temple University in Philadelphia, and the Department of Biotechnology at the University of Siena, Itay, has discovered the effectiveness of a new extract, of natural origin, able to prevent nephrotoxicity induced by the mycotoxin Ochratoxin A (OTA), and has published this research in the international Journal of Cellular Physiology.

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A small wildfire in San Diego County in 2017 resulted in a big uptick in children visiting the emergency room for breathing problems, according to new research published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

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Evaporation ponds, commonly used in many industries to manage wastewater, can occupy a large footprint and often pose risks to birds and other wildlife, yet they’re an economical way to deal with contaminated water. Now researchers at Berkeley Lab have demonstrated a way to double the rate of evaporation by using solar energy and taking advantage of water’s inherent properties, potentially reducing their environmental impact. The study is reported in the journal Nature Sustainability.

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A new data analysis from the University of Iowa finds that people who have high levels of exposure to pyrethroid insecticides are three times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than people with little or no exposure.

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SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, is a type of depression that is related to changes in seasons. There are methods, like light therapy, that can help.

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Over many years, exposure to the levels of ozone and other forms of pollution found in most U.S. cities and some rural communities can take a toll on a person’s health. Two studies led by Johns Hopkins researchers describe the impact of pollution on lung disease, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in the U.S.

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A new analysis suggests that the increasing average body size of people on Earth, in addition to the growing world population may further challenge attempts to reduce man-made carbon dioxide emissions, according to a paper published online in Obesity, the flagship journal of The Obesity Society.

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A multidisciplinary team of University of Utah Health scientists has received a five-year, $3 million grant from the National Institutes of variations in pollutant-sensing genes in the lungs could influence air pollution’s effects on children who have asthma. Health to investigate how variations in pollutant-sensing genes in the lungs could influence air pollution’s effects on children who have asthma.

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People living in the southern Peruvian Amazon are being exposed to potentially dangerous levels of mercury due to a combination of their diet and artisanal and small-scale gold mining occurring in their communities.

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Our domesticated animals - both pets and livestock - hold the key to the spread of viruses among humans and wildlife according to new research involving Swansea University.

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Researchers spent a year examining 15 cities in the global south, and found that 62% of sewage and fecal sludge is unsafely managed. Their findings are detailed in a report from the World Resources Institute/Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.

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A new report from the National Toxicology Program (NTP) suggests that traffic-related air pollution increases a pregnant woman’s risk for dangerous increases in blood pressure, known as hypertension.

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Case Western Reserve University will soon offer free energy-efficiency assessments to qualifying manufacturing companies and water treatment plants in an industrial belt spanning parts of three states—including Northeast Ohio, some of the lower peninsula of Michigan and Western Pennsylvania. The energy assessments could save up to 15-20% on energy costs at the average industrial plant, said Chris Yuan, director of the new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Assessment Center at Case Western Reserve. More information about the center, including details on how to apply for a free assessment, can be found through its online portal.

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Joel Kaufman, M.D., M.P.H., has been named the new Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), a journal published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health. Kaufman will assume the new role on Feb. 1, 2020, upon retirement of the current editor, Sally Darney, Ph.D.

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A study of pregnant women in coastal Florida found that hair mercury concentration was associated with consumption of locally caught seafood and all seafood, a higher level of education, and first pregnancy. The highest concentrations were in women over 33 with the highest levels in Asian women. Pregnant women who ate seafood three times a week had the highest concentration – almost four times as high as those who did not consume any seafood.

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Toxic environmental agents, to which anyone is involuntarily exposed, represent non-negligible risk for human health and, therefore, environmental contamination has become a theme of primary importance worldwide.

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The number of people newly infected each year and the number of people living with nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease appears to be increasing, especially among women and those 65 and older, according to new research published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

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The Society of Toxicology (SOT) is pleased to announce the 2020 SOT award recipients. This year’s honorees come from a variety of backgrounds, educational experiences, and career paths and are recognized for their immense contributions to toxicology.

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In the effort to mitigate destructive wildfires, wildland managers often fight those uncontrolled fires with prescribed fire — carefully controlled burns to safely eliminate the vegetation that piles up on forest floors and adds to potential fuel. A $2.2 million Department of Defense grant will fund an FSU investigation into the dynamics of smoke from prescribed burns, giving land managers a better understanding of when and how to best use the technique.

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Air pollution exposure threatens human health both outdoors and when polluted air infiltrates homes, offices, schools and vehicles. Exposure to certain particulate matter can cause respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous system issues, especially in vulnerable populations. Several presentations at the 2019 Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) Annual Meeting will explore new ways to measure and track air pollutants to reduce public health risk.

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In London air pollution contributes to thousands of premature deaths a year, with many others suffering the adverse health effects of air pollution exposure.

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As wildfires become deadlier, larger and more expensive, there is strong interest in better risk governance. Managing future wildfire risk requires an interface between human decision processes and knowledge about climate trends related to fire, as well as humans’ abilities to anticipate wildfire potential and mitigation approaches are critical. Several presentations at the 2019 Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) Annual Meeting will explore analyses of past fire seasons, projections for the future and approaches for decision making aimed at mitigating risk.

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Dec. 6, 2019 – Reductions in air pollution yielded fast and dramatic impacts on health-outcomes, as well as decreases in all-cause morbidity, according to findings in “Health Benefits of Air Pollution Reduction,” new research published in the American Thoracic Society’s journal, Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

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A new article in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology shows a significant association between multiple prenatal and early life exposures to indoor pollutants and the degree of allergic sensitivity in 2-year-olds.

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A team of Florida State University researchers studying new methods to remove toxic heavy metals from biosolids — the solid waste left over after sewage treatment — found the key is a brief spin through a microwave. The method removed three times the amount of lead from biosolids compared to conventional means and could reduce the total cost of processing by more than 60 percent, making it a possible engineering solution to help produce fertilizer and allow more people to live with clean soil and water.

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Long-term exposure to hydrocarbons in the air may be a risk factor for ischemic stroke development, according to a study published December 4, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Han-Wei Zhang of China Medical University, Taiwan, and colleagues.

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Hundreds of environmental health professionals across the nation report challenges and research needs in six areas — drinking water quality, wastewater management, healthy homes, food safety, public health pests and emerging issues such as disaster risk reduction and new facility types for body art and cannabis-infused products — in research from Baylor University and national health partners.

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The health impacts of radio-frequency radiation (RFR) are still inconclusive, but the data to date warrants more caution in placing cell towers. An engineering team from Michigan Tech considers the current understanding of health impacts and possible solutions, which indicate a 500 meters (one third of a mile) buffer around schools and hospitals may help reduce risk for vulnerable populations.

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A new experiment by the University of Washington has found that some corals are more likely to eat microplastics when they are consuming other food, yet microplastics alone are undesirable.