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Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 04/21/2006

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.

Titles here, abstracts below them:

Induction of Asthma and the Environment: What We Know and Need to Know
Titania Nanotube Arrays Harness Solar Energy
Effects of a Complex Mixture of Therapeutic Drugs at Environmental Levels on Human Embryonic Cells
The Nanotechnology-Biology Interface: Exploring Models for Oversight
U.S. Organic Farm Sector Continues to Expand
Toxin-free Treated Wood
Greening the Tax Code
US Security Chief Hits "Safer" Technology
Index of Leading Environmental Indicators 2006: The Nature and Sources of Ecological Progress in the U.S. and the World
Lethal Risk to Birds From Insecticide Use in the United States -- A Spatial and Temporal Analysis

1. Induction of Asthma and the Environment: What We Know and Need to Know

AUTHOR Selgrade, MaryJane K.; Lemanske, Robert F. Jr.; Gilmour, M. Ian; et al.

SOURCE Environmental Health Perspectives, v114 n4, April 2006, pp615-619

ABSTRACT The prevalence of asthma has increased dramatically over the last 25 years in the United States and in other nations as a result of ill-defined changes in living conditions in modern society. On 18 and 19 October 2004 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences sponsored the workshop "Environmental Influences on the Induction and Incidence of Asthma" to review current scientific evidence with respect to factors that may contribute to the induction of asthma. Participants addressed two broad questions: a) What does the science suggest that regulatory and public health agencies could do now to reduce the incidence of asthma? and b) What research is needed to improve our understanding of the factors that contribute to the induction of asthma and our ability to manage this problem? In this article (one of four articles resulting from the workshop), we briefly characterize asthma and its public health and economic impacts, and intervention strategies that have been successfully used to prevent induction of asthma in the workplace. We conclude with the findings of seven working groups that focus on ambient air, indoor pollutants (biologics), occupational exposures, early life stages, older adults, intrinsic susceptibility, and lifestyle. These groups found strong scientific support for public health efforts to limit in utero and postnatal exposure to cigarette smoke. However, with respect to other potential types of interventions, participants noted many scientific questions, which are summarized in this article. Research to address these questions could have a significant public health and economic impact that would be well worth the investment.

2. Titania Nanotube Arrays Harness Solar Energy

SOURCE The Pennsylvania State University Materials Research Institute, posted February 14, 2006, http://www.mri.psu.edu/articles/craiggrimes_resspotlight/

ABSTRACT Creating a renewable energy resource to supplement and ultimately replace dwindling petroleum reserves is one of the pressing needs our nation faces within our own and our children’s lifetimes. But gasoline, an almost perfect fuel, with a tremendous amount of power contained in a small cupful, is not easy to replace. One of the most likely prospects for an efficient renewable resource is solar energy, either to produce hydrogen, the third most abundant element on the earth’s surface, or to power solar cells. At Penn State University, researchers are finding new ways to harness the power of the sun using highly-ordered arrays of titania nanotubes for hydrogen production and increased solar cell efficiency. "This is an amazing material architecture for water photolysis," says Craig Grimes, professor of electrical engineering and materials science and engineering. "Basically we are talking about taking sunlight and putting water on top of this material, and the sunlight turns the water into hydrogen and oxygen. With the highly-ordered titanium nanotube arrays, under UV illumination you have a photoconversion efficiency of 13.1%. Which means, in a nutshell, you get a lot of hydrogen out of the system per photon you put in. If we could successfully shift its bandgap into the visible spectrum we would have a commercially practical means of generating hydrogen by solar energy. It beats fighting wars over middle-eastern oil."

3. Effects of a Complex Mixture of Therapeutic Drugs at Environmental Levels on Human Embryonic Cells

AUTHOR Pomati, Francesco; Castiglioni, Sara; Zuccato, Ettore; Fanelli, Roberto; Vigetti, Davide; Rossetti, Carlo; Calamari, Davide

SOURCE Environmental Science & Technology, v40 n7, pp2442-2447, Web release March 1, 2006

ABSTRACT The potential risk associated with the presence of low levels of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments is currently under debate. In this study we investigated the effects of 13 drugs merged to mimic both the association and low concentration (ng/L) profiles detected in the environment. The mixture comprised atenolol, bezafibrate, carbamazepine, cyclophosphamide, ciprofloxacin, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, ibuprofen, lincomycin, ofloxacin, ranitidine, salbutamol, and sulfamethoxazole. At environmental exposure levels, the drug mix inhibited the growth of human embryonic cells HEK293, with the highest effect observed as a 30% decrease in cell proliferation compared to controls. Pharmaceuticals activated stress-response signaling protein kinases (ERK1/2), and induced overexpression of glutathione-S-transferase P1 gene. No evidence was found for apoptosis or necrosis in HEK293 cells, although morphological changes were observed. The drug mixture effectively stimulated the expression of cell-cycle progression-mediating genes p16 and p21, with a slight accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase of the cell-cycle. Our results suggest that a mixture of drugs at ng/L levels can inhibit cells proliferation by affecting their physiology and morphology. This also suggests that water-borne pharmaceuticals can be potential effectors on aquatic life.

4. The Nanotechnology-Biology Interface: Exploring Models for Oversight

AUTHOR Kuzma, Jennifer (ed.)

DATE 2005

SOURCE Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota

ABSTRACT Nanotechnology, or really any technology, does not exist in a vacuum. It is derived from human efforts and affected by social, cultural, and political climates. Yet, few technologies emerge with the societal consequences in mind. Social and economic issues often gain most attention after technologies enter the marketplace and are widely used. Within the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), resources have been directed towards the investigation of the societal issues that might accompany the applications of nanotechnology on their road to development and use. Approximately 4% of NNI funding has been used to study the social, educational, and ethical implications of nanotechnology. Many experts in this area have cited negative experiences with past technologies, such as stem cell research and genetic engineering, as the impetus for dealing with the contextual issues for nanotechnology early and often. Society drives and regulates technology, attempting to minimize the downsides and maximize the benefits. Appropriate oversight of new technologies is important for ensuring the health and environmental safety of products and instilling public confidence. Most people agree that ultimately the success of any technology is dependent on proper governance within a societal context. Mishaps or accidents can preclude future use and development, and there is a delicate balance between allowing technology to flourish and putting regulatory or non-regulatory oversight systems in place. Discussions of oversight frameworks for nanotechnology have largely focused on occupational health issues associated with engineered nanoparticles, such as buckyballs and carbon nanotubes. Less attention has been paid to widespread applications in medicine, food and agriculture, and the environment, for which consumers, patients, ecosystems, farmers, or the general public may bear the risks and benefits. Several of these “nano-bio” applications are already entering the marketplace, while others are emerging in development and clinical trial phases. However, there have not been many focused public conversations on appropriate oversight frameworks for them. It is in this context, that the Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy hosted the workshop “The Nanotechnology-Biology Interface: Exploring Models for Oversight” on September 15, 2005.

5. U.S. Organic Farm Sector Continues to Expand

AUTHOR Greene, Catherine

SOURCE Amber Waves, April 2006

ABSTRACT Most segments of the U.S. organic farm sector have expanded since USDA set uniform organic standards in 2000. About 50 organic certification programs—State and private—are currently accredited by USDA to certify U.S. farmers, ranchers, and processors, about the same as before USDA made certification mandatory. USDA’s organic rules also streamlined organic import procedures, and over 40 foreign programs are now accredited to U.S. standards. Certified organic crop acreage increased 11 percent between 2001 and 2003, with large increases for fruits and vegetables and for hay crops used in dairy. Overall, certified organic acreage declined slightly in 2002 from the previous year, as USDA implemented national organic rules, but rebounded in 2003. Farmers in 49 States dedicated 2.2 million acres of cropland and pasture to organic production systems in 2003. Nearly 1.5 million acres were used for growing crops. California, North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Iowa had the most organic cropland, and Texas, Alaska, and California had the largest amount of organic pasture and rangeland. Certified organic cropland accounted for 0.1 percent of U.S. pasture and 0.4 percent of U.S. cropland, although the share is much higher in some crops, such as vegetables at nearly 4 percent and fruit at about 2 percent.

6. Toxin-free Treated Wood

AUTHOR Flynn, Mary Kathleen

SOURCE Environmental Science & Technology Online News, April 19, 2006

ABSTRACT Wood treated by an innovative and environmentally friendly process called TimberSil will soon be available to builders and consumers for decks, docks, fences, and children’s playground equipment. TimberSil, based on a sodium silicate formula, protects wood in a radically different way than competing products by eliminating the toxic and corrosive side effects associated with conventional arsenic- and copper-based treatments. The new product promises to be gentler to the environment than products based on pesticides.

7. Greening the Tax Code

AUTHOR Hanson, Craig; Sandalow, David

DATE 2006

SOURCE The Brookings Institution; World Resources Institute

ABSTRACT In recent years several Republican and Democratic governors have imposed new pollution taxes, often winning bipartisan acclaim. A growing number of commentators have supported such measures at the federal level. Analysis indicates that taxes on air and water pollution could generate substantial revenue for the U.S. Treasury while improving environmental quality, stimulating technological innovation and enhancing energy security. Reducing tax expenditures with adverse impacts on natural resources could do the same. As lawmakers explore ways to reduce federal budget deficits and reform the tax code, they should consider measures that shift more of the tax burden onto activities—such as pollution—that make the economy unproductive or reduce quality of life. This policy brief examines fiscal instruments that both raise revenue and help improve environmental quality. The paper analyzes several different types of pollution taxes, considers current tax expenditures with adverse environmental impacts, discusses ways of integrating these instruments into tax reform packages and suggests directions for further research.

8. US Security Chief Hits "Safer" Technology

AUTHOR Kamalick, Joe

SOURCE Chemical Market Reporter, v269 n12, 27 March - 2 April 2006, p8

ABSTRACT PRESIDENT GEORGE W. Bush’s top security official has come out strongly against a federal mandate for inherently safer technology (IST) as part of a national chemical plant site security law, suggesting the White House will work to keep IST out of any bill emerging from Congress. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff told a chemicals security forum that while a federal site security law is necessary, crafting an effective and beneficial statute will be tricky. A comprehensive chemical plant site security bill now pending before the Senate Homeland Security Committee does not specifically call for mandated use of IST in site security enforcement. But many in the US chemical industry warn that the bill provides an IST mandate in everything but name and could give the federal government a role in making process and product choices for chemicals manufacturers. Congress, said Chertoff, must be careful to avoid burdening industry with security requirements that would impede business.

9. Index of Leading Environmental Indicators 2006: The Nature and Sources of Ecological Progress in the U.S. and the World

AUTHOR Hayward, Steven F.

DATE 2006

SOURCE Pacific Research Institute; American Enterprise Institute

ABSTRACT Though 2005 offered a full plate of environmental episodes that riveted the world’s attention, including environmental calamities in China, Hurricane Katrina, and the U.N. conference on climate change, the march of environmental progress continues, according to the 2006 Index of Leading Environmental Indicators, released by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The eleventh edition of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators (available at www.pacificresearch.org) highlights the positive trends occurring in key areas including climate change, air quality, water quality, toxic chemicals, and biodiversity in the U.S.

10. Lethal Risk to Birds From Insecticide Use in the United States -- A Spatial and Temporal Analysis

AUTHOR Mineau, Pierre; Whiteside, Melanie

SOURCE Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, v25 n5, pp1214-1222, 2006

ABSTRACT We used pesticide use data and previously published models to estimate the lethal risk to birds from insecticides used in U.S. agriculture. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS, Washington, D.C.) were used to assess how the lethal risk to birds has changed over the period 1991 to 2003 and to compare risk among crop types according to the most recently available surveys. Because the NASS data coverage is incomplete, both with respect to crop and state, we also used a database assembled by the National Center for Food and Agriculture Policy (NCFAP, Washington, D.C.) for the 1997 reference year, to which we added state-specific average application rates for crop/insecticide combinations. For each state/crop/ insecticide combination (.6,000 entries), we assessed the proportion of crop area on which avian mortality was deemed probable, as well as the extended number of hectares this represented. The crops responsible for most potential bird mortality in the United States were corn and cotton, followed more distantly by alfalfa, wheat, potato, peanut, sugar beet, sorghum, tobacco, and citrus. Other crops represented a higher risk to birds on a per hectare basis. The southeast United States generally had the highest proportion of farmland with a lethal risk to birds. On a positive note, the lethal risk to birds has generally declined over the last decade in most crops, although there are exceptions such as small fruit crops. The reasons for this improvement vary from crop to crop, but usually entail the replacement of older more hazardous products with newer ones with lower acute toxicity to birds.

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://greenlist.turi.org/ for greater topic coverage.

Compiled by the TURI Library, University of Massachusetts Lowell

This page updated Friday April 28 2006

TURI - Toxics Use Reduction Institute

Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 04/21/2006