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Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 11/10/2006

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:

Are There Other Persistent Organic Pollutants? A Challenge for Environmental Chemists
Iowa State researchers improving plastics made from corn and soy proteins
Going Green Ain't Easy: Chemical Firms Gauge Payback
The Lousebuster Kills
Eco-advocate puts Martha to shame
Sequestered Science: The Consequences of Undisclosed Knowledge [theme issue]
Carpets in workplace linked to adult asthma risk
A Silent Pandemic: Industrial Chemicals Are Impairing the Brain
Dried Plums Act as Antioxidant in Some Meats
Inferring Past Pesticide Exposures: A Matrix of Individual Active Ingredients in Home and Garden Pesticides Used in Past Decades

1. Are There Other Persistent Organic Pollutants? A Challenge for Environmental Chemists

AUTHOR Muir, Derek C.G.; Howard, Philip H.

SOURCE Environmental Science & Technology Research ASAP, Online November 2, 2006

ABSTRACT The past 5 years have seen some major successes in terms of global measurement and regulation of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PB&T) chemicals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The Stockholm Convention, a global agreement on POPs, came into force in 2004. There has been a major expansion of measurements and risk assessments of new chemical contaminants in the global environment, particularly brominated diphenyl ethers and perfluorinated alkyl acids. However, the list of chemicals measured represents only a small fraction of the approximately 30,000 chemicals widely used in commerce (>1 t/y). The vast majority of existing and new chemical substances in commerce are not monitored in environmental media. Assessment and screening of thousands of existing chemicals in commerce in the United States, Europe, and Canada have yielded lists of potentially persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals. Here we review recent screening and categorization studies of chemicals in commerce and address the question of whether there is now sufficient information to permit a broader array of chemicals to be determined in environmental matrices. For example, Environment Canada’s recent categorization of the Domestic (existing) Substances list, using a wide array of quantitative structure activity relationships for PB&T characteristics, has identified about 5.5% of 11,317 substances as meeting P & B criteria. Using data from the Environment Canada categorization, we have listed, for discussion purposes, 30 chemicals with high predicted bioconcentration and low rate of biodegradation and 28 with long range atmospheric transport potential based on predicted atmospheric oxidation half-lives >2 days and log airwater partition coefficients g5 and e1. These chemicals are a diverse group including halogenated organics, cyclic siloxanes, and substituted aromatics. Some of these chemicals and their transformation products may be candidates for future environmental monitoring. However, to improve these predictions data on emissions from end use are needed to refine environmental fate predictions, and analytical methods may need to be developed.

'WEB LINK' http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/asap.cgi/esthag/asap/pdf/es061677a.pdf

2. Iowa State researchers improving plastics made from corn and soy proteins

SOURCE Iowa State University News Service, October 27, 2006

ABSTRACT David Grewell picked up the little plastic model of a molecule he keeps in his office. He scrunched the model's folding pieces into a ball. That's about the shape of a soy or corn protein, said Grewell, an Iowa State University assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering. Then he unfolded the model into a long, straight loop. That's what happens when researchers add some glycerin -- a byproduct of biodiesel production -- and some water to the molecule. And that's how biorenewable, biodegradable plastics can be made from the proteins in Iowa crops. But those aren't the strongest plastics. So Grewell is working with a team of Iowa State researchers to reinforce the plastics with nanoclays, pieces of clay that are just 10 to 20 billionths of a meter thick. It's not easy to work with those tiny pieces of clay. They tend to stick together in clumps because of electrostatic forces, said Michael Kessler, an Iowa State assistant professor of materials science and engineering who's also working on the project. Those clay platelets need to be separated and mixed evenly throughout the plastic to be much good as a reinforcing agent. The researchers are turning to high-powered ultrasonics -- high-frequency sound waves too high for human hearing -- to separate and disperse the platelets. It's a technology Grewell knows a lot about: he worked 12 years in research and development for the Branson Ultrasonics Corp. of Danbury, Conn. He has used ultrasonics to freeze strawberries, process rice and handle many other applications. The researchers are also using microcellular foaming technology from Trexel Inc. of Woburn, Mass., to mold and extrude the plastics. The processing technology is expected to enhance the biodegradable plastics while allowing the researchers to use less plant material to make the plastics. Grewell said the potential applications for plastics from crop proteins include disposable wraps for hay bales, pots for plants and packaging for the food industry.

'WEB LINK' http://www.iastate.edu/~nscentral//news/2006/oct/bioplastics.shtml

3. Going Green Ain't Easy: Chemical Firms Gauge Payback

AUTHOR Bryner, Michelle; Scott, Alex

SOURCE Chemical Week, v168 n35, October 25, 2006, pp29-31

ABSTRACT Chemical companies say they are investing cautiously as consumer and regulatory demand increases for “green” products, or those that make only a minimal impact on the environment and human health. While many companies have green product R&D budgets and are launching new products, they say that they will only invest in environmentally friendly technologies when doing so makes good business sense. The industry’s work in green chemistry so far includes: developing new products, such as bioplastics and biofuels; implementing technologies to reduce pollution and waste for existing products; and replacing hazardous chemicals with nontoxic substitutes. Dow Chemical is growing its green chemistry business, but says its renewable feedstocks program must compete on financial terms with existing processes or product attributes that customers will pay for. “There’s no automatic payback for being green,” says corporate v.p. and chief technology officer, William F. Banholzer. The company recently approved a new epichlorhydrin plant that uses a glycerin-based process “not because it’s green, but because it’s the cheapest.” The company is also developing soy-based polyols for polyurethane foam. “Here, the cost advantage is neutral, but we can get some better product properties. That means sound financials, and improved functionality for customers,” Banholzer says. Dow says it dropped out of a joint venture with Cargill to produce polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable plastic produced from corn, because it was more expensive than existing materials and had no improved properties.

4. The Lousebuster Kills

SOURCE University of Utah News, November 6, 2006

ABSTRACT University of Utah biologists invented a chemical-free, hairdryer-like device – the LouseBuster – and conducted a study showing it eradicates head lice infestations on children by exterminating the eggs or "nits" and killing enough lice to prevent them from reproducing. The study – published in the November 2006 issue of the journal Pediatrics – "shows our invention has considerable promise for curing head lice," says Dale Clayton, a University of Utah biology professor who led the research and co-invented the machine. "It is particularly effective because it kills louse eggs, which chemical treatments have never done very well," he says. "It also kills hatched lice well enough to eliminate entire infestations. It works in one 30-minute treatment. The chemical treatments require multiple applications one to two weeks apart." The LouseBuster now is in early stages of commercial development by a University of Utah spinoff company, Larada Sciences, for which Clayton is chief scientific officer. Patents are pending on the LouseBuster technology, which Clayton hopes will be on the market within two years for use in schools and clinics. "Each year, millions of children are infested with head lice, a condition known as pediculosis, which is responsible for tens of millions of lost school days," the study's authors write. "Head lice have evolved resistance to many of the currently used pediculicides [insecticide shampoos]. … Hot air is an effective, safe treatment and one to which lice are unlikely to evolve resistance." The device blows warm air through a flexible hose, which has a rake-like hand piece on the end. It apparently kills lice and nits by drying them out, not by heating them. Clayton urges parents not to use hair dryers to try to kill head lice. "We don't want kids getting burned by parents who think it's the heat" that kills lice, he says. "This thing is actually cooler than a hair dryer, but requires twice as much air flow, and the special hand piece is critical because, unless you expose the roots of the hair, it doesn't work. And it's difficult to do that with a regular comb."

'WEB LINK' http://www.unews.utah.edu/p/?r=101906-9

5. Eco-advocate puts Martha to shame

AUTHOR Wynn, Christopher

SOURCE Arizona Daily Star, November 5, 2006

ABSTRACT Whitney "Anna" Walker repaints rooms as casually as some women swap out handbags. "Miyoga Ginger" is the blue-purple shade du jour coating the walls of her Dallas living room on this particular afternoon. Just days earlier, her mood was a bit more "Hyssop," with the space steeped in a deep, earthy green and the nearby dining room washed in bright "Pistachio." By the time you're reading this, the rooms inside Walker's storybook Tudor will no doubt be on their way toward their next hue, perhaps a chocolatey "Vosges Truffle." If the paint colors sound good enough to eat, they nearly are. Walker uses the food-grade Healthy Wall Finish developed by her Dallas-based company, Anna Sova Luxury Organics. The paints have no plastic volatile organic compounds and are made primarily from milk products. Walker says a fresh coat smells vaguely like a vanilla milkshake. "As Americans, we consume more than 60 percent of the world's resources," says Walker, a yoga enthusiast who was raised on a Texas horse farm. "If we choose eco-responsible products, we can change the world."

'WEB LINK' http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/154131.php

6. Sequestered Science: The Consequences of Undisclosed Knowledge [theme issue]

AUTHOR Michaels, David; Vidmar, Neil (eds.)

SOURCE Duke Law, Law and Contemporary Problems, v69 n3, Summer 2006

ABSTRACT Data sequestration serves many functions, including protecting national security, investment value, and individual confidentiality. But it comes with societal costs, particularly around protecting the public health and environment, and excessive secrecy may damage the scientific enterprise itself. The symposium papers in this issue tell us that, most basically, openness needs to be seen not as a simple characteristic of the scientific process, but as a dynamic process, in and of itself. Institutional structures and procedures must be built into a range of legal and regulatory activities so that all users of the results of scientific investigations -- scientists and corporations, regulators and jurists, legislators and reporters -- would be regularly required to ask and be asked if their actions sequestering data are truly necessary. Further, these users would have to consider whether the benefits that accrued from hiding the data outweighed those associated with openness -- while also considering the fairness and impact of the ways in which those benefits are distributed. The tension between openness and sequestration in science is not new, although we are at a point at which this conflict feels particularly acute, and the stakes seem particularly high. Secrecy is often the easier road, and transparency is not now, and perhaps never has been, the default position. We have learned from the debate reflected in these pages that it is exceedingly difficult to categorize in the abstract what types of data should be kept confidential and what should be released, and to whom. Sheila Jasanoff's words from this issue bear repeating: "[T]he degree of openness is context-specific and needs to be traded off against other important social values. The problem for contemporary law and policy is to develop principled approaches to maintaining the desired balance." The articles in this issue should contribute significantly to the continued pursuit of that balance.

'WEB LINK' http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/lcp/

7. Carpets in workplace linked to adult asthma risk

SOURCE Reuters, November 6, 2006

ABSTRACT Being exposed to certain types of surface materials at work appears to increase adults' risk of developing asthma, a new study shows. "These findings underline the need to consider the health aspects of materials used in floor, wall, and other indoor surfaces," Dr. Jouni J. K. Jaakkola of the University of Helsinki in Finland and colleagues conclude in the American Journal of Epidemiology. A number of materials used in furnishing indoor environments may emit pollutants with the capacity to irritate the airways, the researchers note. While studies have linked certain materials, pollutants and even renovations to asthma in children, they add, there have been no reports on how such exposure might affect adults' asthma risk. To investigate, the researchers compared 521 adults newly diagnosed with asthma over a 2.5-year period and a control group of 932 adults without asthma. They were surveyed about the materials they were exposed to at home and at work as well as whether they had renovated their homes over the past year. Exposure to plastic wall coverings on the job increased asthma risk 2.43-fold, the researchers found, while people who worked in offices with wall-to-wall carpeting were 1.73 times more likely to have developed asthma. When mold problems were present at a person's workplace, and there was wall-to-wall carpeting there, the risk of developing asthma more than quadrupled. Also, while home renovation in itself had no association with asthma risk, the researchers found that people living in homes where plaster had been used to level floors were at an 80 percent increased risk of asthma. "Our study provides new evidence that both plastic and textile surface materials in workplace indoor environments may play a role in the causation of asthma in adulthood," the researchers conclude.

8. A Silent Pandemic: Industrial Chemicals Are Impairing the Brain

Development of Children Worldwide

SOURCE Harvard School of Public Health, November 7, 2006

ABSTRACT Fetal and early childhood exposures to industrial chemicals in the environment can damage the developing brain and can lead to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs)—autism, attention deficit disorder (ADHD), and mental retardation. Still, there has been insufficient research done to identify the individual chemicals that can cause injury to the developing brains of children. In a new review study, published online in The Lancet on November 8, 2006, and in an upcoming print issue of The Lancet, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine systematically examined publicly available data on chemical toxicity in order to identify the industrial chemicals that are the most likely to damage the developing brain. The researchers found that 202 industrial chemicals have the capacity to damage the human brain, and they conclude that chemical pollution may have harmed the brains of millions of children worldwide. The authors conclude further that the toxic effects of industrial chemicals on children have generally been overlooked. To protect children against industrial chemicals that can injure the developing brain, the researchers urge a precautionary approach for chemical testing and control. Such an approach is beginning to be applied in the European Union. It puts in place strong regulations, which could later be relaxed, if the hazard were less than anticipated, instead of current regulations that require a high level of proof. At present in the U.S., requirements for toxicity testing of chemicals are minimal. “The human brain is a precious and vulnerable organ. And because optimal brain function depends on the integrity of the organ, even limited damage may have serious consequences,” says Philippe Grandjean , adjunct professor at Harvard School of Public Health and the study’s lead author.

'WEB LINK' http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2006-releases/press11072006.html

9. Dried Plums Act as Antioxidant in Some Meats

AUTHOR Chenault, Edith

SOURCE Texas A & M AgNews, November 1, 2006

ABSTRACT To help satisfy consumer demand for more natural food products, researchers at Texas A&M University are investigating dried plums as a meat preservative. "We found that dried plums, when pureed, actually have a very good antioxidant capacity," said Dr. Jimmy Keeton, professor of animal science and leader of the research at Texas A&M. "We've been experimenting with dried plums and plum juice in different types of products such as pre-cooked pork sausages, roast beef and ham to see which of those products will respond most effectively as antioxidants," he said. "We found that pre-cooked and uncured products like sausages and roast beef actually respond the best." Antioxidants retard oxidation of fatty acids that make up fat, he said. "If these are unsaturated fatty acids, they can oxidize more and produce off-flavors and cause shelf life problems," he said. Synthetic products called BHA (butylated hydroxyl anisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxyl toluene) have long been used as antioxidants. The natural product, extract of rosemary, is also used. Dried plums can enhance the flavor of some products, frankfurters in particular, Keeton said. "We've actually had consumers tell us they prefer the flavor of products with the dried plum ingredient," he said. Because dried plums are better known as prunes, some concerns about the laxative effects have been raised. Keeton said the dried plum puree is added in such small amounts that it should not be a concern to most people. Researchers added dried plum pate to sausages and similar ground products while dried plum juice was found to be most effective in beef roasts. Meats with the dried plum additives are at present a specialty. "Companies will have to look at the market and decide if this ingredient will work for them," Keeton said. "It's not expensive, but it must be listed as an ingredient added to the product." Researchers also want to test adding the dried plum puree to lean meat products, he said. "Unsaturated fatty acids are found in lean tissue membranes, and therefore it can be a benefit because it prevents the oxidation of them in the membranes," he said. The research was funded by the California Dried Plum Board.

'WEB LINK' http://agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/ANSC/Nov0106a.htm

10. Inferring Past Pesticide Exposures: A Matrix of Individual Active Ingredients in Home and Garden Pesticides Used in Past Decades

AUTHOR Colt, Joanne S.; Cyr, Mancer J.; Zahm, Sheila H.; Tobias, Geoffrey S.; Hartge, Patricia

SOURCE Environmental Health Perspectives, EHP-in-Press, Online 7 November 2006

ABSTRACT Background: In retrospective studies of the health effects of home and garden pesticides, selfreported information typically forms the basis for exposure assessment. Study participants generally find it easier to remember the types of pests treated than the specific pesticides used. However, if the goal of the study is to assess disease risk from specific chemicals, the investigator must be able to link the pest type treated with specific chemicals or products. Objectives: Our goal was to develop a “pesticide-exposure matrix” that would list active ingredients on the market for treating different types of pests in past years, and provide an estimate of the probability that each active ingredient was used. Methods: We used several different methods for deriving the active ingredient lists and estimating the probabilities. These methods are described in this paper, along with a sample calculation and data sources for each. Results: The pesticide-exposure matrix lists active ingredients and their probabilities of use for 96 distinct scenarios defined by year (1976, 1980, 1990, 2000), applicator type (consumer, professional), and pest type (12 categories). Calculations and data sources for all 96 scenarios are provided on-line. Conclusions: While we are confident that the active ingredient lists are reasonably accurate for most scenarios, we acknowledge possible sources of error in the probability estimates. Despite the noted limitations, the pesticide-exposure matrix should provide valuable information to researchers interested in the chronic health effects of residential pesticide exposure.

'WEB LINK' http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/9538/9538.pdf

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, 2006

This page updated Friday November 16 2007

TURI - Toxics Use Reduction Institute

Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 11/10/2006