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. 

Study: In Utero Exposure to Background Levels of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Cognitive Functioning among School-age Children
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/162/1/17
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous, persistent environmental pollutants. Early life exposure, within the range reported in developed countries, has been associated with cognitive deficits among children (1). Moreover, exposure to PCBs in utero has been implicated as neurotoxic more often than has subsequent exposure (2–4), even though smaller amounts of PCBs are transferred transplacentally than through breastfeeding. In this study, the authors evaluated prenatal PCB exposure in relation to cognitive test (intelligence quotient (IQ)) scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children at age 7 years.

North America Acts to Reduce Risk of Exposure to Lindane
http://www.cec.org/news/details/index.cfm?varlan=english&ID=2739
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) recently announced the signing of the North American Regional Action Plan (NARAP) on Lindane and Other Hexachlorocyclohexane Isomers to reduce the risk of exposure to the toxic pesticide and waste isomer byproducts.

Study Links Pesticide to Learning Disorder
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/

12/25/m1a_pesticides_1225.html
A study by Columbia University scientists has established a link between learning disorders in children and a pesticide that has been used extensively on sweet corn, one of Palm Beach County's major crops. But local and state agricultural officials say the insecticide, chlorpyrifos, does not pose a threat to consumers because it does not leave dangerous levels of residue on the corn. The principal danger may be to families living and working around where the corn is grown who could be affected when the insecticide is applied or the corn picked.

Big Rapids, Michigan: Chemical Defies Water Treatment
A common food industry preservative found in the wastewater from the maker of Ice Mountain bottled water causes problems with the treatment of municipal wastewater discharged into the Muskegon River, according to the Big Rapids city engineer. The preservative, potassium sorbate, comes from the Ice Mountain facility in Stanwood, the engineer said. Engineer Don Grenier said the chemical interferes with the plant's ultraviolet disinfection system, bouncing the UV light back toward the lamps and limiting its ability to pass through the water to kill bacteria before being discharged, the Pioneer newspaper of Big Rapids reported. Potassium sorbate is an ingredient in the Splash line of flavored waters from Nestle Waters North America, a branch of Switzerland-based Nestle SA, said Ice Mountain spokeswoman Deb Muchmore. She said the company was working with Big Rapids officials to find a solution. The problem was discovered in October, when the wastewater plant had a one-week violation of the maximum amount of fecal coliform bacteria released into the river. [Source: Detroit Free Press, 12/31/06]

Saving Michigan's Great Lakes: Torch Lake Recovery Signals Hope
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006612300321
Walleye flourish in U.P. waterway after Superfund cleanup project. David Jukuri halts his SUV on an unpaved road in the middle of a sprawling meadow, barren except for acres of grasses and the occasional scrubby bush. "This used to be a lake," said Jukuri, chairman of the Torch Lake Public Advisory Council. "Almost hard to believe, eh?" Torch Lake still exists, but now the water's edge is a good quarter-mile away. [Source: Lansing State Journal, 12/30/06]

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Consumer Product Safety Agency Moves to Ban Lead in Kids' Jewelry
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LEAD_IN_JEWELRY?SITE=NDBIS&SECTION

=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-12-28-14-31-33
A government regulatory agency has taken steps toward banning children's jewelry containing small amounts of lead, which was responsible for more than a dozen product recalls in the past two years. The Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously to move forward in a process that could ultimately lead to a ban on children's jewelry containing more than .06 percent lead by weight.
 

Lead Poisoning: Focus Turns to Prevention
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Lead+Poison+Part+II%3A+Focus+

turns+to+prevention&articleId=53bd51ea-84e7-4b28-a455-6b60433702b3
The lead poisoning that threatened Arbay Osman's health, and possibly her life, might have been caught months before the poisoning reached critical levels. That it wasn't is a failure her family's attorney blames on toothless New Hampshire laws, which sometimes keep the state from intervening until it's too late.
 

Too Much Fish Risky For Fetuses, Taiwan Study Finds
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-12-28T083617Z_01_HKG167502_RTRUKOC_0_US-PREGNANCY-FISH.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C3-healthNews-2
Pregnant women who eat fish more than three times a week could be putting their baby at risk because of higher mercury levels in their blood, according to a study by Taiwanese researchers.
 

Concerns of Chelation Therapy for Autism
http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20061214-011826-1996r
Lead chelation therapy reduces lead exposure problems but could create lasting effects for children treated for autism, say New York researchers. Cornell University researchers say their study in young rats has implications for the treatment of autistic children, because when rats with no lead in their systems were treated with the lead-removing chemical, they showed declines in their learning and behavior that were similar to the rats that were exposed to lead. Chelating drugs, which bind to lead and other metals in the blood, are increasingly being used for the treatment of autism in children.
 

Listen to the Recent CHE Call "Rethinking Autism: Towards a Whole Body Paradigm" Online
http://www.healthandenvironment.org/articles/partnership_calls/788

In addition to background information, call resources and CHE blog, an MP3 recording of this teleconference is now available.

Michigan Legislature Passes Mercury Products Bills
The Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health, along with our allies at MEC, advocated for the passage of these bills and is delighted our state is taking additional steps to prevent children from being exposed to this potent, persistent neurotoxin. Lead sponsors of the bills were Senators Liz Brater (SB123), Patricia L. Birkholz (SB124), and Ron Jelinek (SB186).

Senate Bill 123 prohibits a person from selling, offering for sale, or offering for promotional purposes or for use in this state, a blood pressure recording, measuring, or monitoring device that contained mercury or a mercury compound intentionally added to the device, beginning January 1, 2008. The bill would prohibit the use of such devices beginning January 1, 2009.

Senate Bill 124 prohibits a person from selling or distributing a thermostat for use in regulating room temperature if the thermostat contained mercury or a mercury compound, beginning January 1, 2009. The bill would not prohibit a thermostat if the thermostat is a replacement for an existing thermostat containing mercury or a mercury compound that is a component of an appliance.

Senate Bill 186 prohibits a person from selling, offering for sale, or distributing in this state an esophageal dilator, bougie tube, or gastrointestinal tube if mercury or a mercury compound was added to the product during its manufacture, beginning January 1, 2009. The ban would not apply to the following:

• A product the use of which is required by a federal statute or regulation.
• A product whose only mercury-containing component is a button cell battery.

Many thanks to Genevieve Howe of the Ecology Center for sharing this information with us.

Study: Cumulative Lead Dose and Cognitive Function in Adults: a Review of Studies that Measured Both Blood Lead and Bone Lead
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/9786/9786.pdf
The objective of this study was to review empirical evidence for the relations of recent and cumulative lead dose with cognitive function in adults. The study concluded that there is moderate evidence for an association between psychiatric symptoms and lead dose, but only at high levels of current occupational lead exposure, or with cumulative dose in environmentally-exposed adults.

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"The Pill" May Raise Odds of Having Allergic Kids
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2006/12/29/eline/links/20061229elin026.html
Mothers who have previously used oral contraceptive pills seem more likely to have children with nasal allergies, Finnish researchers report.
 

High-dose Fertility Drugs Put Mothers and Babies At Risk
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1973985,00.html
Thousands of infertile women who undergo IVF treatment are risking themselves and their embryos because they are receiving too many strong hormonal drugs, new research reveals.

Fish Oil Pills for Mom May Boost Offspring’s Co-ordination
http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?n=72969-fish-oil-pills
The infants of mothers who received fish oil supplements during pregnancy had improved hand-eye coordination, says a new study. Researchers from the University of Western Australia based their findings on 98 pregnant women, who were either given daily supplements of fish oil or olive oil from 20 weeks of pregnancy until the birth of their babies. “Given the scarcity of data to support the efficacy of fish oil supplementation during pregnancy, our data have potentially important role in informing on the effects of fish oil supplementation on early postnatal infant development,” wrote the researchers, led by Susan Prescott, in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Listen to the Recent CHE Call "Endocrine Disruption and Cancer" Online
http://www.healthandenvironment.org/articles/partnership_calls/845
CHE Cancer, CHE Fertility, and new CHE Women's Environmental Health working groups recently co-hosted a joint call featuring a discussion about the the link between cancer and environmental contaminants known to interfere with the endocrine system.

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Pediatricians Fight to Keep the National Children's Study Alive
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-0612250095dec25,1,4828842.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
In private conversations across the country this holiday break, pediatricians are buttonholing their congressmen and making a heartfelt plea: Save the National Children's Study. This is the latest attempt to rescue the most important study of children's health and the environment in the United States.
 

Health Statistics: Iodine Levels in the U.S.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/iodine.htm
Iodine deficiency is one of the four major deficiency diseases in the world, yet it is the easiest to control.1 In the United States, iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) such as goiter, cretinism, stillbirth, spontaneous abortion, and retarded physical and intellectual development have been virtually eliminated through the iodization of salt. Recent surveys, however, have indicated that the proportion of the U.S. population with low urinary iodine levels is increasing.
 

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
 

Mark Your Calendars: Collaborative on Health and the Environment Partnership Call Announcement "Environmental Health and the New Congress"
Date: January 17, 2006 at Noon EST
Description: As the new Congress begins it session in January, CHE will take an opportunity to discuss upcoming health and environment issues in Washington, D.C. The next partnership call will include briefings from three leading policy experts in D.C. to discuss toxics/chemicals policy, climate change and environmental policy, and public health.
Contact: In order to join this call and receive dial-in information, please RSVP to Julia Varshavsky, CHE Program Associate, at: Julia@HealthandEnvironment.org.

Mark Your Calendars: CHE Summit on Environmental Challenges to Reproductive Health and Fertility
Dates/Location: January 28-30, 2007 in San Francisco, California
Description: Join fellow research, health care, community and advocacy leaders at the University of California, San Francisco’s new Mission Bay Conference Center for a pioneering national conference that will explore the critical relevance of environmental health science to reproductive and developmental health.
Contact: For more information visit http://www.ucsf.edu/coe/prhesummit.html.

Mark Your Calendars: 7th National Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment
Dates/Location: February 1-2, 2007 in Washington, DC
Description: The conference theme is "Integrating Environment and Human Health." Over 850 scientists, policymakers, businesspeople, and civil society representatives will explore the linkages between the environment and human health. The conference will address the many essential roles the environment plays on our well-being as well as the multi-dimensional relationships between human health and environmental components, which may have far-reaching consequences for society. Over 120 experts will speak in plenary sessions, symposia, and topical breakout sessions.
Contact: For more information, visit http://www.NCSEonline.org/2007conference/ or contact conference2007@ncseonline.org.

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: More information coming soon. Former US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher, among other distinguished speakers, will be presenting at this conference.

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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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Call toll free at 888-597-7809 or 517-485-8160
 

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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.

 
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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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