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Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 12/31/04

Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 12/31/04

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. (usually)

Titles here, abstracts below them:

1. Incorporating Environmental Health into Pediatric Medical and Nursing Education, December 2004
2. The Chemical Industry and International Cooperation to Manage Chemical Risks: Facts and Figures, April-September 2004
3. Guide to Specifying Concrete Repair Materials, November 2004
4. Nanotechnology Faces Scrutiny Over Environment and Toxicity, November 2004
5. ISO Reports 34% Increase in ISO 14001 Uptake Over 2002, October 2004
6. Konarka Buys Voltaics Unit, September 2004
7. Flame Retardants in U.S. Groceries, September 2004
8. Self-Healing Fuel Tank, September 2004
9. IPC Solder Products Value Council Releases Data on Lead Free Alloy Comparison, December 2004
10. Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in the Environment and in People: A Meta-Analysis of Concentrations, February 2004

 

1. TITLE Incorporating Environmental Health into Pediatric Medical and Nursing Education
AUTHOR McCurdy, Leyla Erk; Roberts, James; Rogers, Bonnie; Love, Rebecca; Etzel, Ruth; Paulson, Jerome; Witherspoon, Nsedu Obot; Dearry, Allen
SOURCE Environmental Health Perspectives, December 2004, vol. 112, no. 17, pp. 1755-1760
ABSTRACT Pediatric medical and nursing education currently lacks the environmental health content necessary to appropriately prepare pediatric health care professionals to prevent, recognize, manage, and treat environmental exposure-related disease. Leading health institutions have recognized the need for improvements in health professionals' environmental health education. Parents are seeking answers about the impact of environmental toxicants on their children. Given the biologic, psychological, and social differences between children and adults, there is a need for environmental health education specific to children. The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, in partnership with the Children's Environmental Health Network, created two working groups, one with expertise in medical education and one with expertise in nursing education. The working groups reviewed the transition from undergraduate student to professional to assess where in those processes pediatric environmental health could be emphasized. The medical education working group recommended increasing education about children's environmental health in the medical school curricula, in residency training, and in continuing medical education. The group also recommended the expansion of fellowship training in children's environmental health. Similarly, the nursing working group recommended increasing children's environmental health content at the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing nursing education levels. Working groups also identified the key medical and nursing organizations that would be important in leveraging these changes. A concerted effort to prioritize pediatric environmental health by governmental organizations and foundations is essential in providing the resources and expertise to set policy and provide the tools for teaching pediatric environmental health to health care providers.

2. TITLE The Chemical Industry and International Cooperation to Manage Chemical Risks: Facts and Figures
SOURCE Industry and Environment, April - September 2004, vol. 27, no. 2-3, 2004, pp. 4-6
ABSTRACT The conservation organization WWF recently cited chemical pollution as one of the two great environmental threats to the planet, along with global warming. WWF is especially concerned about "persistent and accumulative" industrial chemicals and hormone-disrupting substances. We are continuously reminded that much remains to be done in order to understand and control chemicals. Cancer, birth defects, neurological disorders and other diseases are associated with exposure to certain chemicals. Poisoning is one of the most frequent causes of mortality in hospital patients in some developing countries. Despite significant safety improvements at plants and warehouses, and during transport, accidents involving chemical continue to occur. It has long been evident that health and environmental problems cannot be adequately addressed without a thorough knowledge of the behavior of the chemicals involved. Today vast amounts of information about chemicals are available, much of it online. However, there are tens of thousands of chemicals on the market about which available data are inadequate for even rough estimates of their potential adverse effects to be made. Many of these chemicals were placed on the market before modern chemical notification systems were established and are therefore referred to as "existing" chemicals. Efforts are under way in countries and internationally to investigate, on a priority basis, those existing chemicals which are being manufactured in the largest volumes.

3. TITLE Guide to Specifying Concrete Repair Materials
AUTHOR Goldie, Brian
SOURCE Journal of Protective Coatings & Linings, Vol. 21, No. 11, November, 2004, pp. 18-31
ABSTRACT Concrete is the most widely used engineering construction material in the world. It is versatile, economical and easily formed into a variety of shapes. However, unlike other construction materials, concrete is a chemical system - a mixture of aggregates in a hydrated calcium silicate matrix - that cures to form a strong product. If the product is correctly designed and poured, it should be immune to most of the environmental factors to which it is exposed. However, if it is poured using unsound construction processes, or if it is incorrectly specified, the concrete will deteriorate prematurely and can break down. Surface coatings or treatments can provide protection against an aggressive environment and extend the life of a concrete structure, however, these materials have limited service lives, and there will come a time when the concrete structure must be repaired. This article aims to give a guide to methods and materials for repairing a concrete structure.

4. TITLE Nanotechnology Faces Scrutiny Over Environment and Toxicity
AUTHOR Toensmeier, Patrick A.
SOURCE Plastics Engineering, November 2004, vol. 60, no. 11, pp. 14-17
ABSTRACT Nanotechnology is a fast-growing field of materials development. In plastics especially, nanocomposites, i.e., resins with 2% to 5% loadings of nanoclays or carbon nanotubes, are an important new means of upgrading physical properties. Key benefits include barrier improvements in packaging, higher stiffness and dimensional stability in molded parts, flame retardance, and electrical conductivity. Many industries are aggressively pursuing the technology with a new generation of higher-performing products. But the growth of nanocomposites in plastics and other applications is not without controversy. There are concerns about the toxicity of nanomaterials and the environmental impact they may have throughout their life cycle and that of the products incorporating these materials. Research is under way in government, academia, and industry to assess the safety of nanomaterials, and some environmental groups are calling for a moratorium on further commercialization of the technology until more data are available.

5. TITLE ISO Reports 34% Increase in ISO 14001 Uptake Over 2002
SOURCE Business and the Environment, October 2004, vol. XV, no. 10, pp. 13-14
ABSTRACT The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has released "ISO Survey of ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 Certificates," which documents the usage of the ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) standard as of December 2003. The increased uptake of the ISO 14001 EMS standard in 2003 was the largest so far recorded in the nine surveys in which ISO 14001 has been included.

6. TITLE Konarka Buys Voltaics Unit
SOURCE Chemical & Engineering News, Vol. 82, No. 37, September 13, 2004, p. 11
ABSTRACT Konarka Technologies has purchased Siemens' organic photovoltaic research activities. Konarka says the acquisition will combine two leading efforts to develop cheap and versatile photovoltaics. The research team at Siemens, headed by Cristoph Brabec, developed the first polymer cells with efficiencies of above 5%. Brabec will become Konarka's director of polymer photovoltaic research. Alan Heeger, a 2000 Nobel Laureate in chemistry for his work in conductive polymers and a founding scientist of Konarka, notes that the deal will unite him; Brabec; and Serdar Sariciftci, a Knoarka scientific adviser who studied with Heeger at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "This puts three of the most recognized pioneers in conductive polymers all on the same team," Heeger says.

7. TITLE Flame Retardants in U.S. Groceries
SOURCE Chemical & Engineering News, Vol. 82, No. 37, September 13, 2004, p. 24
ABSTRACT Almost every US food of animal origin is contaminated with polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), according to the first survey of PBDEs in US groceries. PBDE flame retardants are used extensively in textiles, plastics, and electronics. Researchers have reported their presence in US and European sediments and in human blood and breast milk. The human toxicology is not known, says Arnold Schecter, professor of environmental sciences at the University of Texas, but animal studies indicate PBDEs may be neurotoxic or carcinogenic in large doses. Schecter and coworkers hypothesized that lipid-soluble PBDEs may enter the body through ingestion of animal fats. The groups sampled fish, meat, and dairy products from three national supermarket chains in Texas. PBDE levels varied considerably by food type, but fish showed the highest levels, followed by meat and dairy. The results were published online in Environmental Science and Technology, Sept. 1, 2004.

8. TITLE Self-Healing Fuel Tank
SOURCE Chemical & Engineering News, Vol. 82, No. 37, September 13, 2004, p. 29
ABSTRACT Flying the unfriendly skies could become a little safer for US military pilots, thanks to scientists at Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD. Materials engineer Christopher S. Coughlin and technician Robert F. Boswell are trying to develop a self-healing polymer that would quickly close around bullet holes. The material is highly coveted for fuel tanks in military planes and helicopters, which currently use several layers of heavy rubber for protection. The researchers work with various grades of Surlyn, DuPont's ethylenemethacrylic acid copolymer that strengthens golf balls and hockey helmets. When shot at, Surlyn seals over holes, but it degrades around jet fuel. By studying Surlyn's healing mechanism, Coughlin and Boswell hope that they can either modify the material of make other polymers that are both self-healing and fuel resistant. Coughlin says the key to Surlyn's healing powers seems to lie in the polymer's rheology, melt strength, and elasticity. A speeding bullet heats the material just enough to make the polymer snap back into place.

9. TITLE IPC Solder Products Value Council Releases Data on Lead Free Alloy Comparison
SOURCE IPC Review, December 2004, vol. 45, no. 10, p. 4
ABSTRACT IPC Solder Products Value Council (SPVC) announces the release of a white paper summarizing phase 2 of a 3-phase, million-dollar research and testing program on tin/silver/copper (SAC) lead free alloys. In its ongoing efforts to reduce confusion regarding alloy choice and achieve a worldwide consensus on a standard alloy for the electronics industry, the IPC SPVC lead free technical subcommittee recently completed a down-select process of solder pastes and subsequent results of printed circuit board (PCB) assembly using lead free alloys. As a result of the down-select process, one solder was chosen based on rank order of performance. Then, the test PCBs were assembled. Based on the statistical analysis of the assembly data, no significant difference in assembly performance was found between the lead free solders. The third and final phase of the program will include a summary of all tests completed to date as well as the results and analysis of long-term and thermal shock reliability testing. The current 16-page white paper can be downloaded for free by IPC members at www.ipc.org/MembersOnly or by clicking "IPC Members Only" at www. ipc.org. For more information on SPVC's reliability testing program, contact Tony Hilvers, IPC vice president of industry programs, at AnthonyHilvers@ipc.org or 847-597-2837

10. TITLE Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in the Environment and in People: A Meta-Analysis of Concentrations
AUTHOR Hites, Ronald
SOURCE Environmental Science & Technology, February 15, 2004, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 945-956
ABSTRACT Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as flame retardants in many types of consumer products. Perhaps as a result of their widespread use and their lipophilicity, these compounds have become ubiquitous in the environment and in people. This review summarizes PBDE concentrations measured in several environmental media and analyzes these data in terms of relative concentrations, concentration trends, and congener profiles. In human blood, milk, and tissues, total PBDE levels have increased exponentially by a factor of ~100 during the last 30 yr; this is a doubling time of ~5 yr. The current PBDE concentrations in people from Europe are ~2 ng/g lipid, but the concentrations in people from the United States are much higher at ~35 ng/g lipid. Current PBDE concentrations in marine mammals from the Canadian Arctic are very low at ~5 ng/g lipid, but they have increased exponentially with a doubling time of ~7 yr. Marine mammals from the rest of the world have current PBDE levels of ~1000 ng/g lipid, and these concentrations have also increased exponentially with a doubling time of ~5 yr. Some birds' eggs from Sweden are also highly contaminated (at ~2000 ng/g lipid) and show PBDE doubling times of ~6 yr. Herring gull eggs from the Great Lakes region now have PBDE concentrations of ~7000 ng/g lipid, and these levels have doubled every ~3 yr. Fish from Europe have ~10 times lower PBDE concentrations than fish from North America. From these and other data, it is clear that the environment and people from North America are very much more contaminated with PBDEs as compared to Europe and that these PBDE levels have doubled every 4-6 yr. Analyses of the relative distributions of the most abundant PBDE congeners (using category averages and principal component analysis) indicated that these
patterns cannot yet be used to assign sources to these pollutants.

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