Healthy Children Project Monthly e-News

Feel free to let your friends, family and colleagues know about this valuable new resource. Instructions to subscribe or unsubscribe are at the end of this e-newsletter. MI Healthy Children's e-newsletter is part of a collaborative effort with the Learning Disabilities Association of America's Healthy Children Project and the Institute for Children's Environmental Health with support from the Beldon Fund. 

A Case for Revisiting the Safety of Pesticides: A Closer Look at Neurodevelopment (PDF)

http://www.iceh.org/pdfs/LDDI/RevisitingSafetyOfPesticides.pdf

This article, published in the January 2006 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, can be downloaded by clicking on the link above (8 pages, 131 KB).

Institute of Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders Website

http://www.asmalldoseof.org/

A website containing resources relating to toxicology. Also available on the website are multimedia resources, including audio clips, PowerPoint presentations and other references.

Your Car Could Be Making You Sick; Study: Chemicals, Heat Pose Risks
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060112/NEWS06/601120488/1008/NEWS
Chemicals that settled as dust and film on floors and windows of cars and trucks, especially in hot weather, are found at levels that could pose health problems, according to a study released Wednesday. Samples from randomly selected 2000-2005 model year cars and trucks made by 11 manufacturers had levels of the chemicals up to five times higher than is typical in homes and offices, according to the report by the Ecology Center, based in Ann Arbor. It urged car companies to use less-toxic alternatives -- noting that several already are.
 

Editorial: Don't Dilute Pollution Law
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-01-10-our-view_x.htm?POE=click-refer
Smell something funny? It might be poisonous emissions wafting from a nearby manufacturing plant. Or it might be the odor surrounding a plan being pushed in Washington that would make it harder for neighbors and local officials in hundreds of communities to know what potentially deadly pollution risks they're being exposed to.

A New Flame Retardant in the Air
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/jan/science/kb_dechlorane.html
Did a persistent, bioaccumulative, and potentially toxic chemical that has been in use for more than 40 years slip under the U.S. EPA's radar? Scientists operating an atmospheric monitoring network in the U.S. Great Lakes have detected significant quantities of a chlorinated organic chemical that has been on the market for more than 40 years, according to research recently published. Despite the long commercial history of this compound, which is sold under the name Dechlorane Plus, this is the first report of its presence in the environment. The limited data available for Dechlorane Plus indicates that it is persistent, bioaccumulative, and potentially toxic.

Household Insecticides Could Double Child Leukemia Risk
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1988878,00.html
Children frequently exposed to household insecticides used on plants, lawns and in head lice shampoos appear to run double the risk of developing childhood leukemia, research suggests. A study by French doctors, published today in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, supports concerns raised in recent years about the use of toxic insecticides around the home and garden -- including plant sprays, medication shampoos and mosquito repellents -- and a possible correlation with increased rates of acute leukemia in children.

The Vallombrosa Consensus Statement on Environmental Contaminants and Human Fertility Compromise (PDF)

http://www.healthandenvironment.org/?module=uploads&func=download&fileId=64

In late February 2005, The Collaborative on Health and the Environment’s Fertility/Early Pregnancy Compromise Work Group partnered with CHE Partner Linda C. Giudice, M.D., Ph.D. (currently Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California, San Francisco) and Stanford University School of Medicine’s Women’s Health @ Stanford Program (for which Dr. Giudice served as Director at the time) to convene a small multidisciplinary group of experts at the Vallombrosa Retreat Center in Menlo Park, California, to assess what the science tells us about the contribution of environmental contaminants, specifically synthetic compounds and heavy metals, to human infertility and associated health conditions. Workshop organizers chose this focus because critical recent discoveries in the field have raised many new, intriguing scientific questions and heightened interest in environmental risk factors within patient organizations and reproductive medicine/science professional societies. This unusual meeting, titled Understanding Environmental Contaminants and Human Fertility Compromise: Science and Strategy, was the first time researchers in reproductive epidemiology, biology, toxicology and clinical medicine gathered with representatives of relevant professional societies as well as infertility support, women’s health and reproductive advocacy organizations from the United States to review the state of environmental health science as it pertains to human infertility.

Chemical-Data Plan Catalyzes Opposition
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/02/AR2006010201730.html
Opposition is growing to a Bush administration plan to change the reporting requirements of a highly successful public information program that collects data annually on releases of toxic chemicals.

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No "Safe" Lead Level Seen for Fetal Brain
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-01-19T161559Z_01_COL958529_RTRUKOC_0_US-LEAD-FETAL.xml&archived=False
Exposure to even small amounts of lead through a mother's blood may harm the brain development of unborn babies, a new study suggests. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently considers 10 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL) the "level of concern" for lead in the bloodstream, but researchers in Mexico found that maternal blood lead levels well below 10 mcg/dL appeared to have a lasting impact on their children's IQ, at least up to the age of 10.

Lead Resource Online
A document titled, "Lead: Summary of Epidemiologic Evidence" is available from the McLaughlin Centre in Canada. This is an excellent overview and resource regarding the health impacts lead exposure may have. You can find a link to the document at http://www.iceh.org/resources.html under "General Documents."
 

The Age of Autism: CDC Probes Vaccines
http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20051222-105616-5876r
The CDC is continuing to investigate whether a mercury preservative in childhood immunizations has caused cases of autism -- despite the fact a report it paid for said such research should end. The agency wants to determine whether exposure to the vaccine preservative, called thimerosal, can be linked to autism spectrum disorders, Glen Nowak, director of media relations at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Age of Autism on Friday. The study includes 300 children with ASDs, 200 of whom have full-syndrome autism, as well as a comparison group of children who do not have the disorders.

New Mercury Brochure (PDF)
http://www.iceh.org/pdfs/LDDI/MercuryNewsRelease.pdf
The Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA), the National Education Association (NEA), and The Arc of the United States recently released a brochure that identifies mercury pollution as one of the greatest threats facing developing fetuses, infants and young children. This publication also shows parents how exposure to this potent neurotoxicant can adversely affect their child's learning potential. You can read the news release by following the link above.

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EPA Launches New SEAT Tool; EPA HealthySEAT Software Now Available
The Healthy School Environments Assessment Tool (HealthySEAT V.1.0) is now available for download at http://www.epa.gov/schools/healthyseat/.  HealthySEAT brings together all of EPA's regulatory and voluntary programs for schools into a single, free software tool that public, private, and tribal school systems can use, if they wish, to establish and manage comprehensive school facility assessment programs. HealthySEAT is designed to be customized by states and school systems to reflect their own priorities and needs. The software will make it easier for school systems to access and implement EPA programs as well as track the status of facility conditions across all of their schools. EPA has scheduled webcasts (Feb. 15, Mar. 2) to help acquaint states, school systems, and others with the capabilities and features of HealthySEAT. To sign up for one of the free webcasts, visit the HealthySEAT website at http://www.epa.gov/schools/healthyseat/.

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CHE Toxicant and Disease Database
http://database.healthandenvironment.org/
The new CHE Toxicant and Disease Database is a searchable database that summarizes links between chemical contaminants and approximately 180 human diseases or conditions.

Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) Website
http://www.tera.org/
TERA is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation organized for scientific and educational purposes. Our mission is to protect public health by developing and communicating risk assessment information, sponsoring peer reviews and consultations, improving risk methods through research, and educating the public on risk assessment issues. TERA provides sponsors and the public with independent and objective opinions.

Conference Call Notice
February 28, 2006

Small Matter or Big Risk: Nanotechnology and Environmental Public Health
The February CHE National Partnership Call has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 28th at 9:00 a.m. Pacific / 12:00 p.m. Eastern. In order to join this call and receive dial-in information, please RSVP to Julia Varshavsky, CHE Program Associate, at Julia@HealthandEnvironment.org.

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The Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan is pleased to offer grants to 501(C) 3 non-profit organizations located in Michigan for educational programs/events/materials which will help inform key stakeholders of the existing and emerging science linking certain chemical exposures to learning, behavioral, and developmental disabilities. Priority will be given projects which target families and disability groups and/or promote action towards creating a healthier environment for all children. Grantees will be responsible for submitting a final project report, documentation of all expenditures, and copies of materials produced. Maximum award $400. Click here to download an application (PDF).

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For more information on The Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan's Healthy Children Project visit http://www.ldaofmichigan.org/healthychild.htm.

 
For more information on The Healthy Children Project visit http://www.healthychildrenproject.org/index.html.

 
For more information on the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative, coordinated by the Institute for Children’s Environmental Health visit http://www.iceh.org/LDDI.html.

 
For more information on The Beldon Fund visit http://www.beldon.org/.

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