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. 

Choosing Household Products That Won't Harm Your Kids
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1928890&page=1
Justine Guarda has made a lot of changes since her daughter Eva came along, but some have nothing to do with her sleep schedule or daily routine. She's one of a number of parents who are changing their household products out of concern that the chemicals will lead to future health problems for their children.
 

Should I Be Concerned About Plastics? (PDF)
http://www.iceh.org/pdfs/LDDI/PracPrevention/plastics.pdf
The chemicals and processes used to create certain plastics can be highly toxic, affecting not only our groundwater and the air we breathe, but also leaching (slowly dissolving or migrating) into packaged foods, bottled water, and even our skin upon handling them. This column focuses on the health effects of three toxicants in plastic: phthalates (pronounced “THA-lates”), dioxins, and bisphenol-A (pronounced “BIS-fe-noll A”).

Information about Michigan-specific Legislation Relating to Neurotoxicants
http://www.iceh.org/LDDIlegislation.html
Pending legislation, both state and federal, relating to known or suspected neurotoxicants is listed in a searchable database. For Michigan-specific legislation, choose "Michigan" from the box on the left and either "all toxicants" or select an individual toxicant from the box on the right.
 

Study Examines Molecule Workings
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20060525-9999-6m25neuro.html
San Diego scientists have identified a link between certain molecules and the symptoms seen in brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The researchers are the first to describe how these molecules, called free radicals, wreak havoc on proteins inside cells. Free radicals are molecules with unstable nitrogen or oxygen atoms. They are natural byproducts of metabolism, but they are also found in environmental toxins such as cigarette smoke and air pollution. Many people attempt to fight them by eating food rich in antioxidant nutrients and taking vitamin supplements.
 

EPA Scientists Protest Pending Pesticide Approvals (PDF)
http://www.peer.org/docs/epa/06_25_5_union_ltr.pdf
In an unprecedented action, representatives for thousands of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientists are publicly objecting to imminent agency approval for a score of powerful, controversial pesticides, according to a letter released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The scientists cite "compelling evidence" which EPA leadership is choosing to ignore that these "pesticides damage the developing nervous systems of fetuses, infants and children."

Perchlorate Found in Produce from Around the World

http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/apr/science/rr_produce.html
After filling his shopping bags with foods from around the world, Houssain El Aribi took them back to the lab and started to look for perchlorate. Just one serving of some fruits can contain enough perchlorate to exceed the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) safe daily dose by more than 25%. The findings are further evidence that risk models for what is turning out to be a widespread contaminant need to be revised.

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For the Kids: Disease Clusters
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=oid:82339
Since government agencies often ignore or dismiss disease clusters, parents and scientists are taking matters into their own hands.

Heavy Metals May be Implicated in Autism

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19025535.400-heavy-metals-may-be-implicated-in-autism.html
Urine samples from hundreds of French children have yielded evidence for a link between autism and exposure to heavy metals.

The Age of Autism: Question of the Year
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20051214-17420400-bc-ageofautism.xml#
This was the year Big Media pitted parents against experts over whether vaccines cause autism -- and decided the experts are right. But they may have forgotten to ask an embarrassingly obvious question. In its new issue on medicine in 2005, Time weighs in: "The idea that childhood vaccinations might lead to autism has gained currency among some concerned parents, fueled by unsubstantiated reports on the Internet. ... Most scientists are convinced that the shots are safe."

The Obfuscation of The Iatrogenic Autism Epidemic
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/eletters/117/4/1028

UW-Madison researcher Paul Shattuck concludes that special International Hyperbaric education figures being used are "faulty and do not substantiate such a claim" (that there is an autism epidemic). Paul Shattuck seems to be saying that all the reported autistic children have always been here, they were just called something else.

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Children's Health Study Fights for Funding
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060515/NEWS11/

605150333/1027/NEWS11
Lead-free paint. Lead-free gasoline. Pesticide levels lowered tenfold. Credit Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, a pediatrician whose work helped to bring about all three. He has been trying to protect children from environmental threats for more than 30 years -- whether by documenting the dangers of lead and pesticides or these days advocating for the National Children's Study, an ambitious $2.7 billion project that had its funding scrapped by the Bush administration.
 

Upcoming CHE Partnership Call: Green Economy, June 19, 2006

In order to join this call and receive dial-in information, please RSVP to Julia Varshavsky, CHE Program Associate, at Julia@HealthandEnvironment.org.
 

Conference: Brain Tumors and the Environment: What's the Connection?
When: Saturday, June 24, 2006 from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Where: San Francisco, California -- UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center, 1675 Owens Street
For more information, visit http://www.braintumor.org.

Conference: International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant
When: August 6 - 11, 2006

Where: Madison, Wisconsin
This is an international forum for formal presentation and discussion of scientific advances concerning environmental mercury pollution. For more information, visit http://www.mercury2006.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1435

Previous CHE Partnership Calls: Transcripts, Background & Resources, and Audio Files

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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
 

Email us at info@ldaofmichigan.org
 

Write to us at 200 Museum Dr. Ste. 101, Lansing, Michigan 48933

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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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