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. 

Report: Toxic Nation on Parliament Hill: A Report on the Pollution in Four Canadian Politicians (2007)

http://www.environmentaldefence.ca/toxicnation/resources/publications.htm#3
For the latest round of Toxic Nation body burden testing in Canada, four politicians volunteered to be tested for over 100 different chemicals. The report revealed that the politicians are polluted, just like the rest of us. The group was tested for a slew of toxic chemicals, including pesticides, heavy metals and chemicals used to make flame retardants and stain repellents. For many of the chemicals tested, the politicians had the highest levels detected so far in the Toxic Nation studies.
 

Flame Retardant Study Raises Red Flags for Health Risk
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/070129dust.html
Maine may become one of the first states to crack down on a common flame retardant chemical that is found in household dust and, according to researchers and state officials, may be affecting how children's brains develop. The chemical, known as deca-BDE, is the last of a group of brominated flame retardants that were added to TV sets, computers, furniture and other consumer goods starting in the 1970s. Two others, penta-BDE and octa-BDE, were banned by the Legislature in 2004 and have since been taken off the market because of potential toxic effects. Maine's Department of Environmental Protection issued a report to the Legislature last week calling for a phaseout of deca in residential products such as the plastic casings on many televisions. A handful of other states also are considering bans or phase outs.
 

Study: Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure and Neurodevelopment in Young Mexican-American Children (PDF)
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2007/9828/9828.pdf
Organophosphate (OP) pesticides are widely used in agriculture and homes. Animal studies suggest that even moderate doses are neurodevelopmental toxicants, but there are few studies in humans. The study investigated the relationship of prenatal and child OP urinary metabolite levels with children’s neurodevelopment. The study concluded that adverse associations of prenatal dialkylphosphate (DAPs) with mental development and pervasive developmental problems at 24 months. Results should be interpreted with caution given the observed positive relationship with postnatal DAPs.

Chemicals in Your Cosmetics: What You Should Know
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/promos/shopping/shopsmart/winter-2007/what-you-should-know-about-chemicals-in-your-cosmetics/overview/0701_cosmetics_ov.htm
You slather, spray, and paint them on and rub them in. Cosmetics are so much a part of your daily regimen that you probably never think twice about them. If they're on store shelves, it seems reasonable to figure that they're safe to use, despite those unpronounceable ingredient lists. Getting your nails done or spritzing on your favorite perfume obviously isn't going to kill you. But the health effects of regular long-term exposure, even to small amounts, are still unknown.
 

Study: Human Exposure to PBDEs: Associations of PBDE Body Burdens with Food Consumption and House Dust Concentrations (PDF)
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/asap.cgi/esthag/asap/pdf/es0620282.pdf
This study was designed to determine the body burden of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) among first-time mothers in the Greater Boston, Massachusetts area and to explore key routes of exposure. Breast milk and dust samples were analyzed for PBDEs using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. PBDE concentrations were log-normally distributed in breast milk and dust. The study found statistically significant, positive associations between PBDE concentrations in breast milk and house dust, as well as with reported dietary habits, particularly the consumption of dairy products and meat.

Replace Bisphenol A or a Child's Health?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/01/23/EDGC7N75IE1.DTL
When parents first hear that some plastics may be a threat to their children's health, their initial reaction is often disbelief. "Surely the government tests these materials thoroughly for safety." No, it doesn't.

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City of Lansing, Michigan Gets Grant to Eliminate Lead Poisoning Problems
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=5920842&nav=0RbQ
The city of Lansing is getting some help in protecting kids from lead poisoning. That's because the city won a 1.3 million dollar lead hazard reduction grant. In regards to lead poisoning, Barbara Kimmel, Rehabilitation Construction Specialist said "Lead dust on the floor, the chipping and peeling of pant on the walls is the culprit. Elevated blood levels in kids do cause learning disabilities and behavioral problems that could effect them for the rest of their lives."
 

The Weight of Lead: Effects Add Up in Adults
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2007/115-1/focus.html
Lead toxicity is not a new problem, nor is it exclusive to children. In fact, lead continues to pose a serious threat to the health of many U.S. adults.
 

Continual Rise of Autism is a Riddle the Experts Can't Crack
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=154472007
By any measure, the rise in autism rates in the past 20 years has been astronomical. Pre-1990 estimates put the number at about four or five cases per 10,000 people. But a study published last year in the medical journal the Lancet suggested that the condition now affects one person in every hundred. Such a huge surge has inevitably led to much speculation about the cause, but there has not been a definitive answer.

Children's Jewelry: Getting the Lead Out in Baltimore
http://www.examiner.com/a-514948~Getting_the_lead_out_in_Baltimore.html
A Baltimore City regulation prohibiting the sale of lead-laced children’s jewelry will take effect this September. The Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning applauded a Baltimore City Health Department regulation that bans children’s jewelry containing more than 600 ppm of lead.

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Two Michigan School Districts Seek to Cut Bus Diesel Exhaust
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1169826392194290.xml&coll=2
Students in two local school districts are being exposed to less diesel exhaust from school buses.
The EPA says that when installed, diesel oxidation catalysts can reduce particulate matter pollution from 20 percent to 90 percent per bus.

LDDI's Practice Prevention Columns
With an emphasis on the effects of neurotoxicants and environmental hazards on the developing human brain, these columns summarize recent scientific research for a nonscientific audience. Two new columns were made available this month:
Overview of Neurotoxicants and Children's Greater Susceptibility
http://www.iceh.org/pdfs/LDDI/PracPrevention/CEH.pdf
Baby Care Products
http://www.iceh.org/pdfs/LDDI/PracPrevention/BabyCareProducts.pdf

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CHE Partnership Call: Environmental Health and the New Congress Now Available Online

http://www.healthandenvironment.org/articles/partnership_calls/851

A recording of the January 17, 2007 Collaborative on Health and the Environment Partnership Call -- Environmental Health and the New Congress is now available online. In addition to background information, call resources and the CHE blog are also available.

Multimedia Resources Listed on the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative's (LDDI) Website

The Institute of Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders provides a website with resources relating to toxicology at www.asmalldoseof.org. Multimedia resources include audio clips and PowerPoint presentations and other references.

Mark Your Calendars: CHE Partnership Call: Climate Change & Human Health

Date/Time: Thursday, February 8, 2007 at 12:00 (noon) EST

Description: This call will be moderated by Charlotte Brody, RN, Executive Director of Commonweal, along with David Wallinga, MD, Director of the Food and Health Program at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, with a featured presentation from special guest Dr. Cindy Parker, MD, MPH, of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

For More Information or to RSVP: Send an email to Julia@HealthandEnvironment.org or visit http://www.healthandenvironment.org for information about future calls or for details on how to become a CHE Partner.

Mark Your Calendars: LDDI National Conference 2007 "Priming for Prevention: An Ecological Approach to Research, Education and Policy"

Dates/Location: May 10-11, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia

Description: The theme of this second national conference of the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative is "Priming for Prevention: An Ecological Approach to Research, Education and Policy." Dr. David Satcher, former Surgeon General is our invited keynote speaker, and many other leading researchers, health professionals and advocates will be presenting their cutting-edge work on environmental factors and neurological development.

For More Information: Contact Elise Miller at emiller@iceh.org or download the PDF conference brochure at http://www.iceh.org/pdfs/LDDI/LDDIFlyer2007.pdf.

Michigan's Executive Directive No. 2006-6
http://www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168-36898-153806--,00.html
This directive, signed by Governor Granholm on October 17, 2006, promotes green chemistry for sustainable economic development and protection of public health in Michigan. See related article: http://www.ecocenter.org/releases/20061018_greenchem.shtml

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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. To join the the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI), please complete the form at http://www.iceh.org/LDDImembers.html.

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

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