Category: Environment

EMF Pollution Studies May Indicate Ill Effects

cell phone EMF radiation pollutionCan electromagnetic (EMF) pollution represent any harm to the human body? These three research studies may indicate ill effects of EMF pollution on the brain and body. The first studied cell phones’ impact on brain chemistry; the second looked at the impact on the brain of radiation from wireless devices; and the third revealed that the brain may be very sensitive to even very weak electromagnetic fields.

A study published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that during a 50-minute cell phone call, the area of the brain near the antenna had increased brain glucose metabolism. Glucose metabolism is an indicator of brain activity. The problem is that if cell phone radiation effects the levels of glucose in the brain, it might also be changing neurotransmitters and neurochemical activities. The researchers, including the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health, have preliminary indications of long-term effects. More research is needed to understand the impact of this finding on human health. Continue reading “EMF Pollution Studies May Indicate Ill Effects”

Computer Vision Syndrome: Electronics Take Their Toll on Eye Health

Computer eye syndromeDo your eyes spend more than 4 hours a day looking at the screen of an electronic device? If so, you are at risk for computer vision syndrome. Computer vision syndrome symptoms include eye strain, fatigue, dry eyes and headaches from staring at a screen too long.

Are You at Risk?

To find out if you are at risk, keep a journal for a week of how long you spend watching TV, gazing at a smartphone, surfing the Internet, working on the computer, playing video games, and reading on a tablet device. The typical American youth is getting 7.5 hours of “screen time” a day – and since many adults use computers at work, they may get much more time.

Continue reading “Computer Vision Syndrome: Electronics Take Their Toll on Eye Health”

The Effect of Pesticides on Child Development: New Study

crop dusting
Photo by Ken Hammond (USDA)

Researchers are studying the relationship between the gene paraoxonase 1 (PON1) and the effect of pesticides on the body.  They have already established that a increased level of organophosphate (OP) pesticides in the body are related to poorer mental development in two year olds whose mothers were exposed to the chemical. This study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives is aimed at determining whether scientists can use PON1 as a marker to measure whether child development has been hindered by pesticide exposure.  Additional research is necessary to determine whether this gene is related to the way that pesticides affect pregnant mothers and whether babies are affected in utero.

Pesticides are known to have an especially strong impact on children.  According to the Children’s Environmental Health Centers (part of the EPA): “Research has shown that children are not ‘little adults’  – they have different exposures, different susceptibilities and sensitivities, and different outcomes when exposed to substances in the environment.  Because children are still developing, the timing of an exposure to chemicals such as pesticides in terms of life stage can be critical in determining the effects.  Children also are exposed differently than adults – they are closer to the ground, young children are crawlers and toddlers and tend to pick things up and put them in their mouths.  In addition, children also have a higher surface to volume ratio than adults, so any exposure may affect them proportionately more.

Cell Phones, Airport Scanners & Radiation Exposure

People who use cell phones for at least half an hour every day over many years (ie, 10 years) have more than 33% chance of developing malignant tumors in the brain, according to a landmark 2010 study from the World Health Organization. (reported by the New York Times)

Researchers  examined the amount of radio frequency (RF) exposure cell phone users undergo in various scenarios. The findings, published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, show that older analog technology produced the highest RF levels.  Of the various digital communications networks used by cell phones CDMA networks had the lowest RF (major carriers include Sprint PCS, Verizon and Virgin Mobile) while with GSM (AT&T and T-Mobile) and TDMA  (major US carriers have left this system)  showing similar intermediate levels. Generally users are exposed to higher RF power output in rural areas.

Source: http://www.nature.com

Radiofrequency is a form of electromagnetic radiation.  The National Cancer Institute states that there is no known links between cancer risk and RF, but research is still ongoing.

Source: http://www.cancer.gov

While the debate continues, the Environmental Working Group, based in Washington, says it makes sense to chose a cellphone or wireless device with low radiation. They published a report on Cell Phones and Radiation Exposure and recommends specific makes and models.

Radiation and Airport Security Scanners

Researchers have determined that the airport security full-body scans with machines made by Rapiscan Inc. do expose the body to high levels of radiation that may contribute to cancer and other health conditions.

The travelers who are the most vulnerable are the elderly, pregnant women, and those with weak immune systems.

It should be noted that the amount of radiation exposure is no more than that received by two minutes flying at cruising altitude.  Nonetheless, those who don’t want to be screened may request a full body pat-down instead.

Researchers: University of California, San Francisco

 

Common Food Additive Bromide Endangers Thyroid Function

Bromide is a common food additive and pesticide that is known to be an endocrine disruptor (exogenous substances that act like hormones in the endocrine system and disrupt the physiologic function of endogenous hormones).  It is also a halide, meaning that it competes for the same receptors that the thyroid gland uses to capture the iodine that is essential for the production of vital thyroid hormones and thus contribute to hypothyroidism. Bromide is most commonly found in the form of methyl bromide, a common pesticide used on strawberries; as brominated vegetable oil which is often added to citrus drinks and asthma inhalers; as a fire retardant in fabrics and mattresses; and as potassium bromate, a dough conditioner found in commercial bakery products and some flours.

Source: NaturalTthyroid Choices

Pesticide Use Linked to Retinal Degeneration

Scientists have found an association between fungicide use and retinal degeneration in the wives of farmers who are pesticide applicators. Researchers had already found an association with retinal degeneration among the farmers themselves in the Agricultural Health Study, a large study of farm families from Iowa and North Carolina.

Researchers reviewed data from questionnaires given to 31,173 women from 1993 to 1997 to determine whether wives of these farmer pesticide applicators were at increased risk of retinal degeneration. This information was evaluation to determine associations of specific pesticides and groups of pesticides based on function (fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and fumigants) or chemical structure (organophosphates, organochlorines, and carbamates) with eye disorders.

Their findings suggest that exposure to some fungicides and other pesticides may increase the risk of retinal degeneration; specific fungicides that appeared to drive this association were maneb or mancozeb and ziram.

Study authors noted that although these findings for retinal degeneration are based solely on self-reported disease, they are consistent with those reported for farmer pesticide applicators.

Learn more about macular degeneration at the Natural Eye Care website

SOURCE: Retinal Degeneration and Other Eye Disorders in Wives of Farmer Pesticide Applicators Enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study, Kirrane, et al, American Journal of Epidemiology 2005 161(11):1020-1029; doi:10.1093/aje/kwi140

Are the fruits and vegetables you eat contaminated with pesticides?

Individuals can lower their pesticide exposure by almost 80% by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated instead.

Consumption of the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to about 10 pesticides per day, on average, compared with less than 2 pesticides per day in the least contaminated.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit organization, has published The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides, which ranks pesticide contamination for 47 popular fruits and vegetables based on an analysis of 87,000 tests for pesticides on these foods, conducted from 2000 to 2007 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.

The twelve most contaminated, starting with the highest pesticide load:
1. peaches
2. apple
3. sweet bell pepper
4. celery
5. nectarine
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. kale
9. lettuce
10. grapes – imported
11. carrot
12. pear

The twelve least contaminated, starting with the lowest pesticide load:
1. onion
2. avocado
3. sweet corn – frozen
4. pineapple
5. mango
6. asparagus
7. sweet pea – frozen
8. kiwi
9. cabbage
10. eggplant
11. papaya
12. watermelon

The EWG used six measures of contamination, and crops were ranked based on a composite score from all categories. These measures were:

• Percent of the samples tested with detectable pesticides
• Percent of the samples with two or more pesticides
• Average number of pesticides found on a sample
• Average amount (level in parts per million) of all pesticides found
• Maximum number of pesticides found on a single sample
• Number of pesticides found on the commodity in total

Pesticides have adverse effects on the nervous system and hormones. They have been shown to have carcinogenic effects, and to cause skin, eye and lung irritation. The Guide does not present a complex assessment of pesticide risks, but instead simply reflects the overall load of pesticides found on commonly eaten fruits and vegetables.

How can you avoid consumption of pesticides? Choose to purchase produce low in pesticides and buy organically-raised fruits and vegetables as frequently as possible.

SOURCE: Environmental Working Group, Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides,
http://www.foodnews.org/methodology.php