Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 08/12/2005
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 them:
- Acute Illnesses Associated with Pesticide Exposure at
Schools. July 2005
- Non-lead PVC Stabilizers for
- Impact of technological development, market and
environmental regulations on the past and future performance of chemical
processes. July 2005
- New trends in pest control: the search for greener
insecticides. June 2005
- Impact of Occupational Exposure on Lead Levels in Women. April 2005
1. Acute Illnesses Associated with Pesticide Exposure at
Schools
AUTHOR Alarcon, William A.; Calver, Geoffrey M.;
Blondell, Jerome M.; et al.
DATE 2005
SOURCE Journal of the American Medical Association
(JAMA), v294 n4,
ABSTRACT Pesticides continue to be used on school
property, and some schools are at risk of pesticide drift exposure from
neighboring farms, which leads to pesticide exposure among students and school
employees. However, information on the magnitude of illnesses and risk factors
associated with these pesticide exposures is not available. The goal of this
study was to estimate the magnitude of and associated risk factors for
pesticide-related illnesses at schools. It involved analysis of surveillance
data from 1998 to 2002 of 2593 persons with acute pesticide-related illnesses
associated with exposure at schools. Nationwide information on
pesticide-related illnesses is routinely collected by 3 national pesticide surveillance
systems: the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Sentinel
Event Notification System for Occupational Risks pesticides program, the
California Department of Pesticide Regulation, and the Toxic Exposure
Surveillance System.
Incidence rates for 1998-2002 were 7.4 cases per million children and 27.3 cases per million school employee full-time equivalents. The incidence rates among children increased significantly from 1998 to 2002. Illness of high severity was found in 3 cases (0.1%), moderate severity in 275 cases (11%), and low severity in 2315 cases (89%). Most illnesses were associated with insecticides (n = 895, 35%), disinfectants (n = 830, 32%), repellents (n = 335, 13%), or herbicides (n = 279, 11%). Among 406 cases with detailed information on the source of pesticide exposure, 281 (69%) were associated with pesticides used at schools and 125 (31%) were associated with pesticide drift exposure from farmland. The investigators concluded that pesticide exposure at schools produces acute illnesses among school employees and students. To prevent pesticide-related illnesses at schools, implementation of integrated pest management programs in schools, practices to reduce pesticide drift, and adoption of pesticide spray buffer zones around schools are recommended.
2. Non-lead PVC Stabilizers for
AUTHOR Kroushl, Paul
DATE 2005
SOURCE Wire Journal International, v36 n8, August 2005,
pp77-80
ABSTRACT :Lead stabilizers based on tribasic lead sulfate
(TBLS) and dibasic lead phthalate are used in the majority of wire and cable
applications in the
3. Impact of technological development, market and
environmental regulations on the past and future performance of chemical
processes
AUTHOR Mendivil, Ramon; Fischer, Ulrich; Hungerbuhler,
Konrad
DATE 2005
SOURCE Journal of Cleaner Production, v13 n9, July 2005,
pp869-880
ABSTRACT This work presents a systematic approach to
introduce the evolution of technology, market and environmental regulations
into process design, more specifically into the generation of retrofit
alternatives. For this purpose the information on development of technology,
economic and environmental performances is obtained. Firstly, the evolution of
the technology for the production of a chemical and its precursors is analyzed.
Afterwards, the development of the market situation regarding prices and demand
together with the progress of the environmental regulations is studied. This
allows for the assessment of the economic and environmental performance of the
process over time. Finally, the economic and environmental assessment is used
for the identification of process alternatives that can further improve the
process performance in the future. This methodology is demonstrated using the
production of hydrogen cyanide as a case study.
4. New trends in pest control: the search for greener
insecticides
AUTHOR Lopez, Oscar; Fernandez-Bolanos, Jose G.; Gil,
Maria Victoria
DATE 2005
SOURCE Green Chemistry, v7 n6, June 2005, pp431-442
ABSTRACT Insecticides have a pivotal role in our lives,
not only for crop protection in agriculture, but also to avoid the spreading of
harmful pests causing human diseases such as malaria. Due to economic and
medical reasons, the design of effective agents that control these pests is
quite an important task in agrochemical science and in the industrial sector.
Nevertheless, the non-restricted use of highly toxic insecticides for several
decades has provoked negative effects in the environment and the poisoning of
non-targeted species. For these reasons, the development of selective and
harmless insecticides is needed. A short overview of some of the recent
advances in the chemistry of insecticides is presented, with a highlight of
their greenness compared with classical insecticides. Synthesis, mode of action
and environmental profile of pyrethroids, neonicotinoids, and insect growth
regulators will be described. Furthermore, the use of biological insecticides
such as spinosyns, azadirachtin, and Bacillus thuringiensis as green
alternatives for synthetic insecticides will also be reviewed.
5. Impact of Occupational Exposure on Lead Levels in Women
AUTHOR Popovic, Marija; McNeill, Fiona E.; Chettle, David R.; et al.
DATE 2005
SOURCE Environmental Health Perspectives, v113 n4, April
2005, pp478-484
ABSTRACT In 1994, 207 women participated in a study
designed to examine the effects of occupational exposure and various lifestyle
factors on bone and blood lead levels. In vivo measurements of Pb
concentrations in tibia were performed by X-ray fluorescence. All 108 former
smelter employees and 99 referents provided blood samples and answered a
questionnaire on lifestyle characteristics and the relevant medical history.
Lead concentrations in tibia and blood were significantly higher in the exposed
group. The difference in mean bone Pb concentrations of the two groups is
markedly greater than the difference in the mean blood Pb concentrations,
supporting the view that bone Pb measurements are a more reliable determinant
of Pb body burden. Chronic exposure did not result in any statistically
significant differences in adverse pregnancy outcomes. A significantly lower
age at the onset of menopause in occupationally exposed women may suggest that
Pb causes adverse changes in the pattern of estrus and menses. The exposed
women had lower bone Pb concentrations than those found in most studies on
predominantly male workers. Blood Pb concentrations remain increased in women
long after the cessation of occupational exposure, reflecting the importance of
the endogenous exposure. The endogenous exposure relation found for
postmenopausal exposed women is consistent with data on male smelter workers,
whereas the relation found for premenopausal women is significantly lower. This
suggests that sex plays an important role in the metabolism of lead, and
current models of exposure extrapolated from male data may be inappropriate for
use on women.
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