Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 03/03/2006
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.
- Epigenetics: The Science of Change
- OSHA Issues Final Standard on Hexavalent Chromium
- Selected Science: An Industry Campaign to Undermine an OSHA Hexavalent Chromium Standard
- A Two Step Chemo-biotechnological Conversion of Polystyrene to a Biodegradable Thermoplastic
- Inside
- DHS Is Taking Steps to Enhance Security at Chemical Facilities, but Additional Authority Is Needed
- Putting Coal Ash Back Into Mines a Viable Option for Disposal, But Risks Must Be Addressed
- Managing the Effects of Nanotechnology
- Identifying the Opportunities in Alternative Energy
1. Epigenetics: The Science of Change
AUTHOR Weinhold, Bob
SOURCE Environmental Health Perspectives, v114 n3, March 2006, ppA160-167
ABSTRACT The term “epigenetic” refers to any process that
alters gene activity without changing the DNA sequence, and leads to
modifications that can be transmitted to daughter cells. So far, the most
compelling evidence linking epigenetic processes with disease has been found
for cancer, but many other illnesses also have some level of evidence tying
them to epigenetic mechanisms. Investment in epigenetics research has
traditionally lagged behind that for traditional genetics research, but new
initiatives, including large-scale research projects and a new professional
society, are seeking to reverse this.
2. OSHA Issues Final Standard on Hexavalent Chromium
SOURCE United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), www.osha.gov, February 28, 2006
ABSTRACT The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) published a final standard for occupational exposure to
hexavalent chromium in the Feb. 28, 2006, Federal Register. The standard covers
occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in general industry,
construction and shipyards. The new standard lowers OSHA's permissible exposure
limit (PEL) for hexavalent chromium, and for all Cr(VI) compounds, from 52 to 5
micrograms of Cr(VI) per cubic meter of air as an 8-hour time- weighted
average. The standard also includes provisions relating to preferred methods
for controlling exposure, respiratory protection, protective work clothing and
equipment, hygiene areas and practices, medical surveillance, hazard
communication and recordkeeping.
3. Selected Science: An Industry Campaign to Undermine an OSHA Hexavalent Chromium Standard
AUTHOR Michaels, David; Monforton, Celeste; Lurie, Peter
SOURCE Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source, 2006, 5:5
ABSTRACT While exposure to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI))
has been associated with increased lung cancer risk for more than 50 years, the
chemical is not currently regulated by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) on the basis of its carcinogenicity. The agency was
petitioned in 1993 and sued in 1997 and 2002 to lower the workplace Cr(VI)
exposure limit, resulting in a court order to issue a final standard by
February 2006. Faced with the threat of stronger regulation, the chromium
industry initiated an effort to challenge the scientific evidence supporting a
more protective standard. This effort included the use of "product
defense" consultants to conduct post hoc analyses of a publicly-funded
study to challenge results viewed unfavorably by the industry. The industry
also commissioned a study of the mortality experience of workers at four
low-exposure chromium plants, but did not make the results available to OSHA in
a timely manner, despite multiple agency requests for precisely these sorts of
data. The commissioned study found a statistically significant elevation in
lung cancer risk among Cr(VI)-exposed workers at levels far below the current
standard. This finding changed when the multi-plant cohort was divided into two
statistically underpowered components and then published separately. The
findings of the first paper published have been used by the chromium industry
to attempt to slow OSHA's standard setting process. The second paper was
withheld from OSHA until it was accepted for publication in a scientific
journal, after the rulemaking record had closed. Studies funded by private
sponsors that seek to influence public regulatory proceedings should be subject
to the same access and reporting provisions as those applied to publicly funded
science. Parties in regulatory proceedings should be required to disclose
whether the studies were performed by researchers who had the right to present
their findings without the sponsor's consent or influence, and to certify that
all relevant data have been submitted to the public record, whether published
or not.
4. New England Gained 164 Plants in 2005
SOURCE Reliable Plant, www.reliableplant.com, February 23, 2006
ABSTRACT New England gained 164 plants over the past 12
months according to recent data collected by Manufacturers' News Inc, (MNI)
publisher of manufacturing directories for each of the
5. A Two Step Chemo-biotechnological Conversion of Polystyrene to a Biodegradable Thermoplastic
AUTHOR Ward, Patricia G; Goff, Miriam; Donner, Matthias; Kaminsky, Walter; O'Connor, Kevin E.
SOURCE Environmental Science & Technology Research ASAP, February 15, 2006
ABSTRACT A novel approach to the recycling of polystyrene
is reported here; polystyrene is converted to a biodegradable plastic, namely
polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). This unique combinatorial approach involves the
pyrolysis of polystyrene to styrene oil, followed by the bacterial conversion
of the styrene oil to PHA by Pseudomonas putida CA-3 (NCIMB 41162). The
pyrolysis (520 C) of polystyrene in a fluidized bed reactor (Quartz sand
(0.3-0.5 mm)) resulted in the generation of an oil composed of styrene (82.8%
w/w) and low levels of other aromatic compounds. This styrene oil, when
supplied as the sole source of carbon and energy allowed for the growth of P.
putida CA-3 and PHA accumulation in shake flask experiments. Styrene oil (1 g)
was converted to 62.5 mg of PHA and 250 mg of bacterial biomass in shake
flasks. A 1.6-fold improvement in the yield of PHA from styrene oil was
achieved by growing P. putida CA-3 in a 7.5 liter stirred tank reactor. The
medium chain length PHA accumulated was comprised of monomers 6, 8, and 10
carbons in length in a molar ratio of 0.046:0.436:1.126, respectively. A single
pyrolysis run and four fermentation runs resulted in the conversion of 64 g of
polystyrene to 6.4 g of PHA.
6. Inside
AUTHOR Mogg, Richard
SOURCE ECOS, Issue 128, December-January 2006, pp12-15
ABSTRACT An innovative rice-growing technique, known as
the ‘System of Rice Intensification’(SRI), is being steadily taken up by
farmers across
7. DHS Is Taking Steps to Enhance Security at Chemical Facilities, but Additional Authority Is Needed
SOURCE
ABSTRACT Terrorist attacks on
8. Putting Coal Ash Back Into Mines a Viable Option for Disposal, But Risks Must Be Addressed
SOURCE The National Academies News, www.nationalacademies.org, March 1, 2006
ABSTRACT Filling mines with the residues of coal
combustion is a viable way to dispose of these materials, provided they are
placed so as to avoid adverse health and environmental effects, says a new
congressionally mandated report from the National Academies' National Research
Council. The residues left after coal is burned to generate power – often
referred to as coal ash – consist of noncombustible coal matter and material
trapped by pollution control devices. Enforceable federal standards are needed
to guide the placement of coal ash in mines to minimize health and environmental
risks, the report says. Coal combustion in the
9. Managing the Effects of Nanotechnology
AUTHOR Davies, J. Clarence
ABSTRACT Nanotechnology (NT) is the production and use of
materials at the smallest possible scale— 100 nanometers or less. One hundred
nanometers is approximately 1/800th the width of a human hair and 1/70th the
diameter of a red blood cell. Materials at the nanoscale often exhibit very
different physical, chemical, and biological properties than their normal size
counterparts. While we know little about possible adverse effects of
nanotechnology, we know enough to recognize that there needs to be some type of
governmental oversight to ensure that public health and safety are not
adversely affected.This paper reviews the options currently available to
provide oversight, looking at the entire suite of federal government
regulations, and concludes that: Nanotechnology is difficult to address using
existing regulations; a new law may be required to manage potential risks of
nanotechnology; and new mechanisms and institutional capabilities are needed.
10. Identifying the Opportunities in Alternative Energy
SOURCE Wells
ABSTRACT The price of oil has risen dramatically over the past couple of years, as has that of natural gas. The market has been stoked by increasing global demand, but also by fear of disruption due to geopolitical and weather-related concerns. Not surprisingly, energy has been the best performing sector of the large-cap benchmark S&P 500® Index this year. With such a sharp run-up in the price of both crude oil and natural gas, as well as in the prices of the stock of companies involved in oil and gas production and servicing, do the potential opportunities in the energy sector instead lie with companies that are investing in alternative energy sources? In this report, we look at the different types of alternative sources to determine which are the most viable over the longer-term and, as a result, have the greatest growth potential.
Compiled by the TURI Library, University of Massachusetts Lowell
This page updated Friday March 10 2006