Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 04/28/2006
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.
- 2006 Roberts Environmental Center Pacific Sustainability Index Scores: Electronics, Semiconductor, and Peripherals Sectors
- Occupational pesticide intoxications among farmers in
- Nanomaterials in the Workplace: Policy and Planning Workshop on Occupational Safety and Health
- Studies Evaluate Health Effects of Dental Amalgam Fillings in Children
- Low Dose Mercury Toxicity and Human Health
- Drinking Water: EPA Should Strengthen Ongoing Efforts to Ensure That Consumers Are Protected from Lead Contamination
- Water Saving in the Garden
- Interaction of Fine Particles and Nanoparticles with Red Blood Cells Visualized with Advanced Microscopic Techniques
- The path to biorefineries: More than making chemicals from crops, the effort today is on making chemicals from biomass
- Harnessing Daylight For Energy Savings: Designing buildings properly and controlling glare and solar heat gain can cut energy bills by more than half
1. 2006 Roberts Environmental Center Pacific Sustainability Index Scores: Electronics, Semiconductor, and Peripherals Sectors
DATE 2006
SOURCE Roberts Environmental Center,
ABSTRACT During the past decade, large corporations have
begun to report voluntarily on the environmental issues affecting their
companies and on how they deal with them. The addition of social issues to these
reports has resulted in some firms designating them sustainability reports.
Some firms produce these reports yearly, others only occasionally, and some not
at all. We obtain these reports and any additional information exclusively from
corporate web sites. This report covers the largest 30 companies in the
Electronics, Semiconductor, and Peripherals sectors of the 2005 Fortune Global
500 and the Fortune 1000 lists, whether or not they produced formal
environmental or sustainability reports. It is based on all environmental and
social information available on their web sites during the period of our
analysis. After we finished analyzing the companies' reports, we provided a
draft sector report online to allow companies to review their score and provide
comments. The quality of the environmental and social reporting was
characterized by students at the Claremont Colleges using the
http://www.roberts.mckenna.edu/PSI/PDF/Electronics2006.pdf
2. Occupational pesticide intoxications among farmers in
AUTHOR Jors, Erik; Morant, Rafael C.; Aguilar, Guido C.; Huici, Omar; Lander, Fleming; Baelum, Jesper; Konradsen, Flemming
SOURCE Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source, v5 n10, 2006
ABSTRACT Pesticide use and its consequences are of
concern in
http://www.ehjournal.net/content/5/1/10
3. Nanomaterials in the Workplace: Policy and Planning Workshop on Occupational Safety and Health
AUTHOR Bartis, James T.; Landree, Eric
DATE 2006
SOURCE Rand Corporation
ABSTRACT What are the challenges the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and related federal agencies face when allocating limited resources so that worker health and safety go hand in hand with innovation and technical progress? This was the central issue addressed at a workshop on nanotechnology and occupational safety and health hosted by the RAND Corporation on October 17, 2005. The workshop focused on policy and planning issues (as opposed to scientific issues) that are key to understanding the options available to NIOSH in formulating and implementing its strategic objectives to protect the safety and health of workers exposed to nanoscale materials. This document of the conference proceedings draws on discussions during the workshop and places the discussions within a policy framework for further consideration by NIOSH.
http://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/CF227/
4. Studies Evaluate Health Effects of Dental Amalgam Fillings in Children
SOURCE National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institutes of Health (NIH), April 18, 2006
ABSTRACT Scientists supported by the National Institute
of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of
Health, report in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association the
results of the first-ever randomized clinical trials to evaluate the safety of
placing amalgam fillings, which contain mercury, in the teeth of children. Both
studies—one conducted in Europe, the other in the
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/NewsAndReports/NewsReleases/NewRelease04182006
5. Low Dose Mercury Toxicity and Human Health
AUTHOR Zahir, Farhana; Rizwi, Shamin J.; Haq, Soghra K.; Khan, Rizwan H.
SOURCE Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, v20 (2005) pp351-360
ABSTRACT Post Minamata incident there has been awareness
about mercury toxicity even among the general public. Previous researches
contributed a vast amount of data regarding acute mercury exposure, but
gradually information about the low dose of mercury toxicity has been trickling
in. With mercury contaminating rain-, ground- and sea-water no one is safe.
Polluted water leads to mercury laced fish, meat and vegetable. In aquatic
environments, inorganic mercury is microbiologically transformed into
lipophilic organic compound ‘methylmercury’. This transformation makes mercury
more prone to biomagnification in food chains. Consequently, populations with
traditionally high dietary intake of food originating from fresh or marine
environment have highest dietary exposure to mercury. Extensive research done
on locals across the globe have already established this, persons who routinely
consume fish or a particular species of fish are at an increased risk of
methylmercury poisoning. The easy access of the toxicant to man through
multiple pathways air, water, food, cosmetic products and even vaccines
increase the exposure. Foetus and children are more susceptible towards mercury
toxicity. Mothers consuming diet containing mercury pass the toxicant to foetus
and to infants through breast milk. Decreased performance in areas of motor
function and memory has been reported among children exposed to presumably safe
mercury levels. Similarly, disruption of attention, fine motor function and
verbal memory was also found in adults on exposure to low mercury levels. It is
an occupational hazard for dental staff, chloralkali factory workers and
goldminers, etc. Mercury has been found to be a causative agent of various
sorts of disorders, including neurological, nephrological, immunological,
cardiac, motor, reproductive and even genetic. Recently heavy metal mediated
toxicity has been linked to diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Autism,
Lupus, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, etc. Besides this, it poses danger to
wildlife. Therefore, it becomes imperative to spread the information regarding
the threat of mercury exposure amongst the scientists and masses.
6. Drinking Water: EPA Should Strengthen Ongoing Efforts to Ensure That Consumers Are Protected from Lead Contamination
DATE 2006
SOURCE
ABSTRACT EPA’s data suggest that the number of drinking water systems with elevated lead levels has dropped significantly since testing began in the early 1990s. However, EPA’s database does not contain recent test results for over 30 percent of large and medium-sized community water systems and lacks data on the status of water systems’ efforts to implement the lead rule for over 70 percent of all community systems, apparently because states have not met reporting requirements. In addition, EPA’s data on water systems’ violations of testing and treatment requirements are questionable because some states have reported few or no violations. As a result, EPA does not have sufficient data to gauge the rule’s effectiveness. Implementation experiences to date have revealed weaknesses in the regulatory framework for the lead rule. For example, most states do not require their water systems to notify homeowners that volunteer for periodic lead monitoring of the test results. In addition, corrosion control can be impaired by changes to other treatment processes, and controls that would help avoid such impacts may not be adequate. Finally, because testing indicates that some “lead-free” products leach high levels of lead into drinking water, existing standards for plumbing materials may not be sufficiently protective. According to EPA officials, the agency is considering some changes to the lead rule. On the basis of the limited data available, it appears that few schools and child care facilities have tested their water for lead, either in response to the Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988 or as part of their current operating practices. In addition, no focal point exists at either the national or state level to collect and analyze test results. Thus, the pervasiveness of lead contamination in the drinking water at schools and child care facilities—and the need for more concerted action—is unclear.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06148.pdf
7. Water Saving in the Garden
ABSTRACT Catching and saving rainwater is nothing new. Generations ago, families saved water in barrels, ponds or cisterns for use in watering plants, washing clothes and even drinking. Such water-saving is still common in many parts of the world. Using native and other drought-tolerant plants can reduce your garden’s water consumption. Limiting the amount of space devoted to thirsty lawn grass can also reduce water demand. But saving rainwater is also a great way to reduce your need for municipal water supplies. Cisterns, often made of concrete, store large amounts of water, but can be expensive and time-consuming to construct. A simpler alternative is the old-fashioned rain barrel. There are manufactured rain barrels on the market, or you can construct your own with large plastic drums or even garbage cans. One of the simplest systems is made up of several barrels connected with pipe; a spigot is attached low on each barrel and an overflow drain on the last barrel in line directs any extra water to a safe location.
http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/PI/pdf/cistern-water-saving.pdf
8. Interaction of Fine Particles and Nanoparticles with Red Blood Cells Visualized with Advanced Microscopic Techniques
AUTHOR Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara M.; Schurch, Samuel; Haenni, Beat; Kapp, Nadine; Gehr, Peter
SOURCE Environmental Science & Technology Research ASAP, April 5, 2006
ABSTRACT So far, little is known about the interaction of nanoparticles with lung cells, the entering of nanoparticles, and their transport through the blood stream to other organs. The entering and localization of different nanoparticles consisting of differing materials and of different charges were studied in human red blood cells. As these cells do not have any phagocytic receptors on their surface, and no actin-myosin system, we chose them as a model for nonphagocytic cells to study how nanoparticles penetrate cell membranes. We combined different microscopic techniques to visualize fine and nanoparticles in red blood cells: (I) fluorescent particles were analyzed by laser scanning microscopy combined with digital image restoration, (II) gold particles were analyzed by conventional transmission electron microscopy and energy filtering transmission electron microscopy, and (III) titanium dioxide particles were analyzed by energy filtering transmission electron microscopy. By using these differing microscopic techniques we were able to visualize and detect particles 0.2 m and nanoparticles in red blood cells. We found that the surface charge and the material of the particles did not influence their entering. These results suggest that particles may penetrate the red blood cell membrane by a still unknown mechanism different from phagocytosis and endocytosis.
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/esthag/asap/abs/es0522635.html
9. The path to biorefineries: More than making chemicals from crops, the effort today is on making chemicals from biomass
AUTHOR Ondrey, Gerald
SOURCE Chemical Engineering, v113 n4, April 2006, pp27-30
ABSTRACT The concept of a biorefinery is more than just a
plant to produce a single fuel as in, say, a plant to make biodiesel from
rapeseed oil (which is on the increase in Europe) or one to make bioethanol
from corn (which is growing in the U.S. and was touted as the answer to U.S.
addiction to foreign oil by President George W. Bush in his February 2006
state-of the-union address). A true biorefinery, like its petroleum
counterpart, is an integrated complex that makes a number of products from a
variety of feedstocks. That means extracting as many useful chemicals from all
the biomass — not just the grains (which can also be used for food), but also
the husks and other agricultural residues. There’s been lots of progress in
creating the building blocks for a biorefinery — plants that make existing or
completely new products from biologically derived feedstocks. The classic
example of this might be the production of the biodegradable plastic,
polylactic acid (PLA). Although important in their own right, such plants are
not biorefineries in the purest sense of the word. Also, to survive
economically, a biorefinery cannot rely on a single feedstock, because of the
danger of unforeseen price increases. Take sugar as an example; making ethanol
by the fermentation of sugar makes sense for Brazil — a major producer of cheap
sugar — but it wouldn’t make sense in Europe or the U.S., where the price of
sugar has basically tracked oil and gas prices, says Stefan Nordhoff, a
coordinator at Degussa. That’s why a lot of effort is going into finding ways
to make chemicals, especially ethanol, from agricultural residues. A major step
in this direction was taken in April 2004, when Iogen Corp. (
10. Harnessing Daylight For Energy Savings: Designing buildings properly and controlling glare and solar heat gain can cut energy bills by more than half
AUTHOR Kozlowski, David
ABSTRACT Before the electric light was invented, and for a good while after that too, designing buildings so that daylight could enter interior spaces was a necessity. Yet despite a long history of using daylighting as a design strategy, building owners, architects, engineers and lighting designers are only just beginning to understand how to use it effectively. The problem is the incredible amount of energy in sunlight. On a clear day, the sun provides 8,000 to 10,000 foot-candles of light. Even through the glass, it provides 5,000 foot-candles on a clear day and 1,000 foot-candles on a cloudy day. Most people need a mere 35 foot-candles to read. Compounding the problem is sunlight is as much heat as visible light. The sunlight that pours through a typical 4-by-8-foot window section in an afternoon can heat 15 to 30 gallons of water to a temperature hot enough to take a shower. But why would a building owner even want to take on the challenge of using daylight to light a building? In a word, money. A good daylighting design can save up to 75 percent of the energy used for electric lighting in a building. The amount of daylight available, the occupancy pattern, and the control strategy can all affect energy savings. In addition, because significant daylight is often available during utility peak demand hours, a good daylighting design can reduce demand charges. Electric lights also generate significant heat in a building and by turning off or dimming the lights when not needed, 10 to 20 percent of the energy used to cool a building can be saved. On top of that, so-called soft savings attributable to increases in productivity and health of the building occupants can add to the hard savings, researchers say. Using daylight correctly takes a multidisciplinary approach to design and an understanding of the strategies and technologies available to control the sun.
http://www.facilitiesnet.com/bom/article.asp?id=4267
Compiled by the TURI Library, University of Massachusetts Lowell
This page updated Friday May 05 2006