Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 07/25/2008
This is the weekly bulletin of the TURI Library, reporting a selection of recently published titles we have acquired. Our pledge is to keep the bulletin relevant to your work and brief -- no more than 10 titles. You are welcome to send a message to jan@turi.org if you would like more information on any of the articles listed here.
Titles here, abstracts below:
- Late lessons from early warnings for nanotechnology
- EFSA updates advice on bisphenol
- Microbes alter estrogenic power of surfactant breakdown products
- French revolution
- Fresh scent may hide toxic secret
- U.S. rushes to change workplace toxin rules
- Midwest's postflood risk: toxic basements
1. Late lessons from early warnings for nanotechnology
Author: Hansen, Steffen Foss; Maynard, Andrew; Baun, Anders; Tickner, Joel A.
Source: Nature Nanotechnology, Advanced online publication, July 20, 2008
Abstract: Nanotechnology is the latest in a long series of technologies that have been heralded as ushering in a new era or even the next industrial revolution. Since 2001, nanotechnology has grown from little more than a gleam in the eyes of researchers to a technology projected to be worth $2.6 trillion in manufactured goods in 2014.
So as new nanomaterials move from the lab to the marketplace, have we learnt the lessons of past technologies, or are we destined to repeat the mistakes made with previous technologies? In 2001 an expert panel commissioned by the European Environment Agency (EEA) published a report, Late Lessons from Early Warnings: The Precautionary Principle 1896–2000, which explored 14 case studies, all of which demonstrated how not heeding early warnings had led to a failure to protect human health and the environment.
Covering topics as diverse as asbestos, chlorofluorocarbons, non-ionizing radiation and 'mad cow disease', the EEA report examined the delay between the emergence of scientific evidence of harm and action being taken to reduce risks in each case. The expert group identified 12 "late lessons" on how to avoid past mistakes as new technologies are developed. These lessons bear an uncanny resemblance to many of the concerns now being raised about various forms of nanotechnology.
A comparison between the EEA recommendations and where we are with nanotechnology shows we are doing some things right, but we are still in danger of repeating old, and potentially costly, mistakes. This commentary explores these 12 lessons in the context of nanotechnology.
http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nnano.2008.198.html
2. EFSA updates advice on bisphenol
Source: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), July 23, 2008
Abstract: The European Food Safety Authority’s AFC Panel has issued a further scientific opinion on a specific aspect of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), concerning its elimination from the body and how that relates to the risk assessment of BPA for humans. The aim was to take into account recent data and consider any implications for the existing EFSA advice on BPA set out in its 2006 opinion, which concluded that exposure to BPA is well below the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI). People are exposed to BPA which may be present in food through its use in certain food contact materials such as baby bottles and cans.
The conclusions of the Panel are that after exposure to BPA the human body rapidly metabolises and eliminates the substance. This represents an important metabolic difference compared with rats. EFSA will continue to monitor closely scientific findings regarding BPA and any related health effects.
The AFC Panel, in its final session, took into account both the previous and the most recent information and data available on the way that BPA and related substances are handled in the human body. The Panel concluded that the exposure of the human foetus to BPA would be negligible because the mother rapidly metabolises and eliminates BPA from her body. The scientists also concluded that newborns are similarly able to metabolise and eliminate BPA at doses below 1 milligram per kilogram of body weight per day. This implies that newborns could effectively clear BPA at levels far in excess of the TDI of 0.05 mg/kg bw set by the Panel and therefore its 2006 risk assessment remains valid.
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1211902017373.htm
3. Microbes alter estrogenic power of surfactant breakdown products
Author: Pelley, Janet
Source: Environmental Science & Technology, ASAP article, Online July 23, 2008
Abstract: The challenge of tracking a common detergent breakdown product in the environment may have just gotten a lot more complicated. New research published in ES&T indicates a substantial risk that bacteria can selectively degrade the hundreds of isomers in nonylphenol into a more estrogenic brew. Current regulations do not take this complexity into account, according to many scientists.
“This study clarifies the structure-activity relationship for the estrogenic potency of nonylphenol isomers on the one hand and gives a full picture of the importance of isomeric-specific analysis for environmental monitoring and risk assessment on the other hand,” says Thomas Preuss, an ecotoxicologist at RWTH Aachen University (Germany).
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/esthag/asap/abs/es801976u.html
4. French revolution
Author: Talbert, Rodger
Source: Products Finishing, April 2008
Abstract: Solyap is a powder coater located in the Rhone Alps region near Lyon, France. The company launched its first powder coating operation in 2004 with the idea that it could provide fast, flexible service and high quality finishing of new products built and used locally. From the beginning, Solyap managers looked for work that reflected an urban setting with an eye on the twin pressures of overseas competition and clean environmental technology. Powder coating was an obvious choice for environmentally conscious clients, but the company also wanted to look for business that would fit the needs of the day and meet various French and European standards while remaining competitive.
A product that fell perfectly into Solyap’s business plan is rental bicycles. Vélib (shortened from the French “vélo liberté”—in English, “bicycle freedom”) is a public bike rental program launched in Lyon in 2005. Following initial success in Lyon, the program was transplanted to Paris in a big way in 2007.
In order for the Vélib concept to work, the rental stations and bicycles had to be built in a short time frame and installed quickly so there would be enough hire points to make the system work. The bicycle manufacturing program turned into a high-priority rush. Some parts were built in Hungary and Portugal. Other components came from China, Italy and France, but all of the parts were coated in Europe, providing a great opportunity for Solyap. Intended for commuting, trips to the market and other such daily tasks, the gray Vélib bikes are built for durability.
The company was in a good position to take on this work, having opened its first powder line just before the bicycle program began in Lyon. The city wanted a finish in keeping with the environment goals of the bicycle program, making powder coating a natural choice.
Solyap had its first powder line, and was able to provide the additional capacity required for fast turnaround times by adding people and opening up additional shifts. This in turn enabled the bicycle manufacturers to get the bikes built quickly and on schedule.
http://www.pfonline.com/articles/040801.html
5. Fresh scent may hide toxic secret
Author: Stiffler, Lisa
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 23, 2008
Abstract: The scented fabric sheet makes your shirts and socks smell flowery fresh and clean. That plug-in air freshener fills your home with inviting fragrances of apple and cinnamon or a country garden.
But those common household items are potentially exposing your family and friends to dangerous chemicals, a University of Washington study has found.
Trouble is, you have no way of knowing it. Manufacturers of detergents, laundry sheets and air fresheners aren't required to list all of their ingredients on their labels -- or anywhere else. Laws protecting people from indoor air pollution from consumer products are limited.
When UW engineering professor Anne Steinemann analyzed of some of these popular items, she found 100 different volatile organic compounds measuring 300 parts per billion or more -- some of which can be cancerous or cause harm to respiratory, reproductive, neurological and other organ systems.
Some of the chemicals are categorized as hazardous or toxic by federal regulatory agencies. But the labels tell a different story, naming only innocuous-sounding "perfume" or "biodegradable" contents.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/371779_toxicfragrance23.html
6. U.S. rushes to change workplace toxin rules
Author: Leonnig, Carol D.
Source: The Washington Post, July 23, 2008
Abstract: Political appointees at the Department of Labor are moving with unusual speed to push through in the final months of the Bush administration a rule making it tougher to regulate workers' on-the-job exposure to chemicals and toxins.
The agency did not disclose the proposal, as required, in public notices of regulatory plans that it filed in December and May. Instead, Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao's intention to push for the rule first surfaced on July 7, when the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) posted on its Web site that it was reviewing the proposal, identified only by its nine-word title.
The text of the proposed rule has not been made public, but according to sources briefed on the change and to an early draft obtained by The Washington Post, it would call for reexamining the methods used to measure risks posed by workplace exposure to toxins. The change would address long-standing complaints from businesses that the government overestimates the risk posed by job exposure to chemicals.
The rule would also require the agency to take an extra step before setting new limits on chemicals in the workplace by allowing an additional round of challenges to agency risk assessments.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/22/
AR2008072202838.html
7. Midwest's postflood risk: toxic basements
Author: Spotts, Peter N.
Source: Christian Science Monitor, June 30, 2008
Abstract: The oil, gasoline, fertilizers, and herbicides swept away by floodwaters in June pose an environmental challenge to the rain-soaked Midwest.
But some of the most serious pollution problems may not lie outdoors. Instead, they could well lurk indoors in waterlogged basements and first floors of homes and businesses, where everything from cleaning agents to toxic metals accumulate in silt and mold.
These concerns about indoor toxins, which sprang up in the aftermath of the New Orleans flood in 2005, have led researchers to begin working on tools that could give emergency crews and homeowners a better idea of the risks they face when they step through the front door once floodwaters recede.
Indoor muck following a flood is a common problem, says Nicholas Ashley, a researcher at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge involved in the work. But, he adds, “to the best of our knowledge no one had looked at the effect of interior sediment deposits” on pollution levels until he and his PhD adviser, Louis Thibodeaux, began to tackle the issue after hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans.
The problem is that flood victims get an OK to return and begin the cleanup based on contaminant levels measured outdoors. But those measurements may significantly underestimate what awaits when people walk inside, he says.
http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2008/06/30/
midwest%E2%80%99s-postflood-risk-toxic-basements/
You are welcome to send a message to jan@turi.org if you would like more information on any of these resources. Also, please tell us what topics you are particularly interested in monitoring, and who else should see Greenlist. An online search of the TURI Library catalog can be done at http://library.turi.org for greater topic coverage.
This page updated Thursday July 24 2008