tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/environmental-health-307/articlesEnvironmental health – The Conversation2024-03-18T19:21:57Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2253542024-03-18T19:21:57Z2024-03-18T19:21:57ZStudy links microplastics with human health problems – but there’s still a lot we don’t know<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582403/original/file-20240317-28-ha8xio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=62%2C0%2C7008%2C4668&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/microplastics-hand-air-pollution-aquatic-food-2164471827">Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2309822">recent study</a> published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health.</p>
<p>The study involved patients in Italy who had a condition called carotid artery plaque, where plaque builds up in arteries, potentially blocking blood flow. The researchers analysed plaque specimens from these patients. </p>
<p>They found those with carotid artery plaque who had microplastics and nanoplastics in their plaque had a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, or death (compared with carotid artery plaque patients who didn’t have any micro- or nanoplastics detected in their plaque specimens). </p>
<p>Importantly, the researchers didn’t find the micro- and nanoplastics <em>caused</em> the higher risk, only that it was correlated with it. </p>
<p>So, what are we to make of the new findings? And how does it fit with the broader evidence about microplastics in our <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aax1157">environment</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022001258">our bodies</a>?</p>
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<h2>What are microplastics?</h2>
<p>Microplastics are plastic particles less than five millimetres across. Nanoplastics are less than one micron in size (1,000 microns is equal to one millimetre). The precise size classifications <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.01.024">are still a matter of debate</a>. </p>
<p>Microplastics and nanoplastics are created when everyday products – including clothes, food and beverage packaging, home furnishings, plastic bags, toys and toiletries – degrade. Many personal care products contain microsplastics in the form of microbeads.</p>
<p>Plastic is also used widely in agriculture, and can degrade over time into microplastics and nanoplastics.</p>
<p>These particles are made up of common polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride. The constituent chemical of polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride, is <a href="https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=281&toxid=51">considered carcinogenic</a> by the <a href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/vinyl-chloride.pdf">US Environmental Protection Agency</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, the actual risk of harm depends on your level of exposure. As toxicologists are fond of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bcpt.12622">saying</a>, it’s the dose that makes the poison, so we need to be careful to not over-interpret emerging research.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-are-washing-microplastics-down-the-drain-and-its-ending-up-on-our-farms-223079">Australians are washing microplastics down the drain and it's ending up on our farms</a>
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<h2>A closer look at the study</h2>
<p>This new study in the New England Journal of Medicine was a small cohort, initially comprising 304 patients. But only 257 completed the follow-up part of the study 34 months later. </p>
<p>The study had a number of limitations. The first is the findings related only to asymptomatic patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (a procedure to remove carotid artery plaque). This means the findings might not be applicable to the wider population.</p>
<p>The authors also point out that while exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics has been likely increasing in recent decades, heart disease rates have been <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.015293">falling</a>.</p>
<p>That said, the fact so many people in the study had detectable levels of microplastics in their body is notable. The researchers found detectable levels of polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride (two types of plastic) in excised carotid plaque from 58% and 12% of patients, respectively. </p>
<p>These patients were more likely to be younger men with diabetes or heart disease and a history of smoking. There was no substantive difference in where the patients lived.</p>
<p>Inflammation markers in plaque samples were more elevated in patients with detectable levels of microplastics and nanoplastics versus those without. </p>
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<img alt="Plastic bottles washed up on a beach." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582404/original/file-20240317-18-nz99jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582404/original/file-20240317-18-nz99jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582404/original/file-20240317-18-nz99jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582404/original/file-20240317-18-nz99jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582404/original/file-20240317-18-nz99jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582404/original/file-20240317-18-nz99jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582404/original/file-20240317-18-nz99jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Microplastics are created when everyday products degrade.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-waste-beach-1234533793">JS14/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>And, then there’s the headline finding: patients with microplastics and nanoplastics in their plaque had a higher risk of having what doctors call “a primary end point event” (non-fatal heart attack, non-fatal stroke, or death from any cause) than those who did not present with microplastics and nanoplastics in their plaque.</p>
<p>The authors of the study note their results “do not prove causality”.</p>
<p>However, it would be remiss not to be cautious. The history of environmental health is replete with examples of what were initially considered suspect chemicals that avoided proper regulation because of what the US National Research Council refers to as the “<a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12209/science-and-decisions-advancing-risk-assessment">untested-chemical assumption</a>”. This assumption arises where there is an absence of research demonstrating adverse effects, which obviates the requirement for regulatory action. </p>
<p>In general, more research is required to find out whether or not microplastics cause harm to human health. Until this evidence exists, we should adopt the precautionary principle; absence of evidence should not be taken as evidence of absence.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-all-ingesting-microplastics-at-home-and-these-might-be-toxic-for-our-health-here-are-some-tips-to-reduce-your-risk-159537">We're all ingesting microplastics at home, and these might be toxic for our health. Here are some tips to reduce your risk</a>
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<h2>Global and local action</h2>
<p>Exposure to microplastics in our home, work and outdoor environments is inevitable. Governments across the globe have started to acknowledge we must intervene. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/nations-agree-end-plastic-pollution">Global Plastics Treaty</a> will be enacted by 175 nations from 2025. The treaty is designed, among other things, to limit microplastic exposure globally. Burdens are greatest <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119957">especially in children</a> and especially those in low-middle income nations. </p>
<p>In Australia, legislation <a href="https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/about-epa/our-programs-and-projects/single-use-plastics-ban">ending single use plastics</a> will help. So too will the increased rollout of <a href="https://recyclingnearyou.com.au/containerdeposit/">container deposit schemes</a> that include plastic bottles.</p>
<p>Microplastics pollution is an area that requires a collaborative approach between researchers, civil societies, industry and government. We believe the formation of a “microplastics national council” would help formulate and co-ordinate strategies to tackle this issue.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-problem-with-oodies-hooded-blankets-are-cosy-but-they-are-not-great-for-oceans-or-our-health-163087">The problem with Oodies: hooded blankets are cosy but they are not great for oceans or our health</a>
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<p>Little things matter. Small actions by individuals can also translate to significant overall environmental and human health benefits. </p>
<p>Choosing natural materials, fabrics, and utensils not made of plastic and disposing of waste thoughtfully and appropriately – including recycling wherever possible – is helpful.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225354/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Patrick Taylor is a full-time employee of EPA Victoria, appointed to the statutory role of Chief Environmental Scientist.
He previously received funding via an Australian Government Citizen Science Grant (2017-2020), CSG55984 ‘Citizen insights to the composition and risks of household dust’ (the DustSafe project). Outputs from this project included published work on microplastics with Drs Neda Sharifi Soltani and Scott Wilson who were at Macquarie University at that time.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott P. Wilson works for the Australian Microplastic Assessment Project run by the not for profit organisation the Total Environment Centre. He has previously received funding from the NSW EPA for research into microplastic source tracking in Deewhy Lagoon and for developing a Microlitter Reduction Framework. </span></em></p>Microplastics are created when everyday products – including clothes, food and beverage packaging, home furnishings, plastic bags, toys and toiletries – degrade.Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie UniversityScott P. Wilson, Research Director, Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP); Honorary Senior Research Fellow, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2238622024-02-20T05:05:54Z2024-02-20T05:05:54ZDid your dog dig in asbestos-laden mulch? Here are the risks – and what to do next<p>This week, disturbing news emerged about <a href="https://theconversation.com/asbestos-in-mulch-heres-the-risk-if-youve-been-exposed-223729">mulch containing asbestos</a> in parks, schools and homes across New South Wales (<a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8527611/test-samples-collected-to-check-act-mulch-asbestos-contamination/">and possibly Canberra</a>). So far, the discussion has focused on the risks to human health. </p>
<p>But the incidents have prompted me to worry about the effects on dogs. Dogs love to sniff, dig, lick and roll on the ground. That means dogs in the vicinity of the mulch may have been exposed to asbestos.</p>
<p>I research the environmental causes of cancer in animals. Animal exposure to asbestos is deeply worrying. Long-term exposure, even to low doses, can cause a type of cancer called mesothelioma. The disease also affects humans.</p>
<p>Here, I outline the risks of asbestos exposure in dogs, and what to do if you’re concerned.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The experts trained to identify asbestos in mulch | 7.30, ABC, 19 February 2024.</span></figcaption>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/asbestos-in-mulch-heres-the-risk-if-youve-been-exposed-223729">Asbestos in mulch? Here's the risk if you've been exposed</a>
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<h2>What do we know about mesothelioma in dogs?</h2>
<p>Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that affects both animals and humans. It’s typically concentrated in the respiratory tract, but can affect all cells lining body cavities. </p>
<p>The illness is <a href="https://vsso.org/mesothelioma">rare in dogs</a>, causing less than 1% of all canine tumours. But it takes years to develop, by which time successful treatment is difficult. </p>
<p>Symptoms in dogs include difficulty breathing, enlarged abdomen and muffled heartbeat. A dog may cough, become lethargic, lose its appetite and become depressed. </p>
<p>In dogs, the incubation time – the period when the cancer is developing, is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234946/">less than eight years</a>, compared with more than 20 years in humans. So studying cancer in pet dogs can provide important <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6641667/">information about similar cancers</a> that might also affect humans. </p>
<p>Dogs can be exposed to asbestos in the same way as humans – for example, during home renovation projects. People can wear protective gear, but animals cannot. Dogs also tend to lick things, which means they may ingest asbestos fibres as well as breathe them in. </p>
<p>Asbestos is more dangerous when it is “friable” or easily crumbled and broken up into smaller pieces, releasing fibres into the air. </p>
<p>One study from the 1980s showed <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6641667/">dogs could be exposed to asbestos</a>, through “secondary contact” or the actions of someone else. This may occur, for example, if a dog inhaled asbestos fibres from the clothes of its owner.</p>
<p>So during house renovations, pets may need to stay mostly outside, or at someone else’s house or a boarding kennel.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A small dog looking up from digging a hole in the garden" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Dogs love to dig but this may can expose them to contaminants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dog-garden-digging-hole-2167039171">jarizPJ, Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>What about the mulch issue?</h2>
<p>At latest count, <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240220-asbestos-investigation-updates-20-february">47 sites in NSW</a> have tested positive for asbestos in mulch. In the Australian Capital Territory, environment officials are investigating <a href="https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/city-services/potential-mulch-asbestos-contamination">potentially contaminated “cottage mulch”</a> sold to 24 companies and 27 addresses in and around Canberra.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240220-asbestos-investigation-updates-20-february">all but one Sydney case</a>, the asbestos was considered lower-risk as it was mixed with cement or other hard bonding materials. However, “non-friable” or “bonded” asbestos <a href="https://www.asbestos.nsw.gov.au/identify-asbestos/what-is-asbestos/friable-and-non-friable-asbestos">can become friable if damaged or old</a>. Then, asbestos can be released into the air. </p>
<p>The more dangerous friable asbestos was found at a popular <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240220-asbestos-investigation-updates-20-february">public park in Glebe</a>. This is concerning.</p>
<p>The risk of an animal developing cancer is influenced by duration of exposure and the extent of contamination. We don’t know what level of exposure is required to develop mesothelioma in dogs. But in humans, there is <a href="https://www.health.wa.gov.au/%7E/media/Files/Corporate/general-documents/Asbestos/PDF/AsbestosinandaroundyourhomeOctober2014.pdf">no known safe asbestos exposure level</a>. </p>
<h2>What to do if you’re concerned</h2>
<p>Mesothelioma can progress rapidly in both dogs and humans. Early diagnosis increases the chance of survival. </p>
<p>If you think your dog has been exposed to asbestos, take it to see a vet. The vet may perform an x-ray to check the dog’s lungs and/or abdomen and windpipe. If damage is present, a vet would take samples of tissue and fluids from the thorax or abdomen, for further examination.</p>
<p>So what happens if a dog is diagnosed with mesothelioma?</p>
<p>In some cases, the cancer will be so far progressed that treatment is not an option. In that case, all effort should be made to ensure the dog is as comfortable as possible. </p>
<p>If it’s not too late to start treatment, dogs can undergo chemotherapy, usually in the form of injections. One study suggests chemotherapy <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9796774/">increases</a> a dog’s chance of survival.</p>
<p>The duration of treatment and side effects of chemotherapy vary depending on the severity of the dog’s case. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6681408/">Deciding whether or not to proceed</a> with chemotherapy can be difficult and requires weighing up the costs and likely benefits. It is expensive, but many dogs cope remarkably well and <a href="https://adelaidevet.com.au/pet-library/chemotherapy-and-your-pet/">rarely lose their hair</a>. </p>
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<h2>A wake-up call</h2>
<p>Cancer in pets doesn’t always develop by chance. It can be caused by the air they breathe, the soil they dig in and the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9969847/">water</a> they drink.</p>
<p>The case of asbestos-contaminated mulch should be a wake-up call for regulators and industry. But it should also remind pet owners to carefully consider the substances their animals might be exposed to, both inside and outside the home. </p>
<p>Gathering data on canine exposure to environmental hazards is crucial to understanding the origin of spontaneous cancers. We have just launched a national survey on the topic. You can <a href="https://uniofqueensland.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9YqjgniJezB8dym">find it here</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-my-dog-eat-grass-and-when-is-it-not-safe-for-them-205658">Why does my dog eat grass? And when is it not safe for them?</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chiara Palmieri receives funding from philanthropic donations, the Australian Research Data Commons, Perpetual trust, canine research foundation, University of Queensland internal grant schemes, Meat & Livestock Australia, and Agrifutures.</span></em></p>Exposure to asbestos can cause the same cancer in dogs as it does in humans. Recent cases of asbestos-contaminated mulch highlight the need to better protect our pets.Chiara Palmieri, Professor, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2237292024-02-19T02:50:03Z2024-02-19T02:50:03ZAsbestos in mulch? Here’s the risk if you’ve been exposed<p>Mulch containing asbestos has now been found at <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">41 locations</a> in New South Wales, including Sydney parks, <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240211-asbestos-mulch-found-at-liverpool-west-public-school">schools</a>, <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240216-epa-to-conduct-priority-testing-at-sydney-schools">hospitals</a>, a <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">supermarket</a> and at least <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/testing-for-asbestos-tainted-mulch-across-sydney-set-to-begin/0d6wo7hx6">one regional site</a>. Tests are under way at <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">other sites</a>. </p>
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<p>As a precautionary measure, some parks have been <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sydney-parks-cordoned-off-mardi-gras-event-cancelled-after-asbestos-concerns-2024-02-15/#:%7E:text=SYDNEY%2C%20Feb%2016%20(Reuters),toxic%20material%20from%20public%20spaces.">cordoned off</a> and some schools have <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">closed</a> temporarily. Fair Day – a large public event that traditionally marks the start of Mardi Gras – <a href="https://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/fair-day">was cancelled</a> after contaminated mulch was found at the site.</p>
<p>The New South Wales government has announced a new <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240215-new-asbestos-taskforce-to-support-investigation-into-mulch">taskforce</a> to help investigate how the asbestos ended up in the mulch.</p>
<p>Here’s what we know about the risk to public health of mulch contaminated with asbestos, including “friable” asbestos, which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/14/nsw-opposition-calls-for-central-register-of-sites-under-investigation-amid-asbestos-crisis#:%7E:text=The%20City%20of%20Sydney%20announced%20on%20Tuesday%20that%20friable%20asbestos,been%20found%20at%20Regatta%20Park.">has been found</a> in one <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240216-epa-to-conduct-priority-testing-at-sydney-schools">site</a> (<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/asbestos-found-in-multiple-sydney-parks-20240213-p5f4ep.html">Harmony Park</a> in Surry Hills). </p>
<h2>What are the health risks of asbestos?</h2>
<p>Asbestos is a naturally occurring, heat-resistant fibre that was widely used in building materials from the <a href="https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/workplace-cancer/asbestos">1940s to the 1980s</a>. It can be found in either a <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/hazards/asbestos/overview">bonded or friable</a> form. </p>
<p>Bonded asbestos means the fibres are bound in a cement matrix. Asbestos sheeting that was used for walls, fences, roofs and eaves are examples of bonded asbestos. The fibres don’t escape this matrix unless the product is severely damaged or worn. </p>
<p>A lot of asbestos fragments from broken asbestos products are still considered bonded as the fibres are not released as they lay on the ground.</p>
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<img alt="Bonded asbestos" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Asbestos sheeting was used for walls and roofs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/diy-renovators-now-most-at-risk-of-asbestos-cancers-3206">Tomas Regina/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Friable asbestos, in contrast, can be easily crumbled by touch. It will include raw asbestos fibres and previously bonded products that have worn to the point that they crumble easily.</p>
<p>The risk of disease from asbestos exposure is due to the <a href="https://www.asbestossafety.gov.au/asbestos-health-risks-and-exposure/asbestos-health-risks">inhalation of fibres</a>. It doesn’t matter if those fibres are from friable or bonded sources. </p>
<p>However, fibres can more easily become airborne, and therefore inhalable, if the asbestos is friable. This means there is more of a risk of exposure if you are disturbing friable asbestos than if you disturb fragments of bonded asbestos.</p>
<h2>Who is most at risk from asbestos exposure?</h2>
<p>The most important factor for disease risk is exposure – you actually have to inhale fibres to be at risk of disease. </p>
<p>Just being in the vicinity of asbestos, or material containing asbestos, does not put you at risk of asbestos-related disease. </p>
<p>For those who accessed the contaminated areas, the level of exposure will depend on disturbing the asbestos and how many fibres become airborne due to that disturbance. </p>
<p>However, if you have been exposed to, and inhaled, asbestos fibres it does not mean you will get an asbestos-related disease. Exposure levels from the sites across Sydney will be low and the chance of disease is highly unlikely.</p>
<p>The evidence for disease risk from ingestion remains <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/350932/WHO-HEP-ECH-WSH-2021.4-eng.pdf">highly uncertain</a>, although you are not likely to ingest sufficient fibres from the air, or even the hand to mouth activities that may occur with playing in contaminated mulch, for this to be a concern.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1759390095805706324"}"></div></p>
<p>The risk of disease from exposure depends on the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1445-5994.2011.02451.x">intensity, frequency and duration of that exposure</a>. That is, the more you are exposed to asbestos, the greater the risk of disease. </p>
<p>Most asbestos-related disease has occurred in people who work with raw asbestos (for example, asbestos miners) or asbestos-containing products (such as building tradespeople). This has been a tragedy and fortunately asbestos is now banned. </p>
<p>There have been cases of asbestos-related disease, most notably mesothelioma – a cancer of the lining of the lung (mostly) or peritoneum – from non-occupational exposures. This has included people who have undertaken DIY home renovations and may have only had <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2011/195/5/increasing-incidence-malignant-mesothelioma-after-exposure-asbestos-during-home">short-term exposures</a>. The level of exposure in these cases is not known and it is also impossible to determine if those activities have been the only exposure. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/diy-renovators-now-most-at-risk-of-asbestos-cancers-3206">DIY renovators now most at risk of asbestos cancers</a>
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<p>There is no <em>known</em> safe level of exposure – but this <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1445-5994.2011.02451.x">does not mean that one fibre will kill</a>. Asbestos needs to be treated with caution.</p>
<p>As far as we are aware, there have been no cases of mesothelioma, or other asbestos-related disease, that have been caused by <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/resp.14648">exposure from contaminated soils or mulch</a>.</p>
<h2>Has asbestos been found in mulch before?</h2>
<p>Asbestos contamination of mulch is, unfortunately, <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/asbestos-mulch-fears-in-perth-southern-suburb-aubin-grove-ng-1b39c602956a6588f35f42b90be75e40">not new</a>. Environmental and health agencies have dealt with these situations in the past. All jurisdictions have strict regulations about removing asbestos products from the green waste stream but, as is happening in Sydney now, this does not always happen. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Mulch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Mulch contamination is not new.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/barking-mulch-617198870">gibleho/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>What if I’ve been near contaminated mulch?</h2>
<p>Exposure from mulch contamination is generally much lower than from current renovation or construction activities and will be many orders of magnitude lower than past occupational exposures. </p>
<p>Unlike activities such as demolition, construction and mining, the generation of airborne fibres from asbestos fragments in mulch will be very low. The asbestos contamination will be sparsely spread throughout the mulch and it is unlikely there will be sufficient disturbance to generate large quantities of airborne fibres. </p>
<p>Despite the low chance of exposure, if you’re near contaminated mulch, do not disturb it. </p>
<p>If, by chance, you have had an exposure, or think you have had an exposure, it’s highly unlikely you will develop an asbestos-related disease in the future. If you’re worried, the <a href="https://www.asbestossafety.gov.au/asbestos-home">Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency</a> is a good source of information.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/asbestos-still-haunts-those-exposed-as-kids-in-mining-towns-9487">Asbestos still haunts those exposed as kids in mining towns</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223729/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Franklin is on the board of Reflections, a not-for-profit organisation for the asbestos awareness and support of people with asbestos-related disease. </span></em></p>The most important factor for disease risk is exposure – you actually have to inhale asbestos fibres to be at risk of disease. But asbestos needs to be treated with caution.Peter Franklin, Associate Professor and Director, Occupational Respiratory Epidemiology, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2136362023-12-06T13:27:05Z2023-12-06T13:27:05ZGlyphosate, the active ingredient in the weedkiller Roundup, is showing up in pregnant women living near farm fields – that raises health concerns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551447/original/file-20231002-17-ifqt51.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=156%2C760%2C1189%2C772&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As suburbs encroach on farmland, residents' risk of exposure to farm chemicals rises.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carly Hyland</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Living near farmland can significantly increase people’s exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the widely used herbicide Roundup, new research shows. This chemical has been connected to health concerns, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma and a higher risk of preterm birth.</p>
<p>We are <a href="https://www.boisestate.edu/spph/ccurl/">environmental health</a> <a href="https://publichealth.berkeley.edu/people/carly-hyland/">scientists</a> who study <a href="https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/dept/factshts/what2.pdf">pesticide</a> exposures in human populations, including exposures to herbicides. In our <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP12768">newly published research</a>, we tracked glyphosate levels in pregnant women for 10 months.</p>
<p>We found that those who were living within about a third of a mile (500 meters) of an agricultural field had significantly higher levels of glyphosate in their urine than those who lived farther away. Importantly, we only saw those differences during the time of year when farmers spray glyphosate on their fields, further suggesting agricultural spray as the source of this exposure.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12155">research also found</a> that eating organic food, produced without the use of synthetic pesticides, could reduce glyphosate levels in women living far from farm fields – but not in women who lived near farm fields.</p>
<p>Together, the results provide new insight into how people are exposed to this common and potentially harmful chemical.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Glyphosate is the single <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-016-0070-0">most heavily used agricultural pesticide in the world</a>. Its use <a href="https://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/pnsp/usage/maps/show_map.php?year=2019&map=GLYPHOSATE&hilo=L&disp=Glyphosate">grew dramatically</a> over the past two decades with the increase in production of genetically modified, herbicide-resistant crops. These crops are engineered to withstand the weed-killing effects of herbicides like glyphosate, which means that an entire field can be sprayed with these chemicals, eliminating the weeds without harm to the crop itself. This is a change from previous practices, where herbicide applications had to be more targeted. </p>
<p>While herbicides like <a href="https://ipm-drift.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/sites/hdrm/files/imce/Overview%20of%20Drift%20Issues%20FINAL.pdf">dicamba and 2,4-D</a> are known to become airborne, glyphosate is not volatile, so there has been less concern over its potential to drift when it is sprayed on crops.</p>
<p>However, our research provides evidence for the first time that agricultural use of glyphosate still reaches people living nearby.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551449/original/file-20231002-27-n4hzko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A corn field with a road sign reading: 'This road to be extended in the future.' That extension is to build houses in the middle of what is currently a farm field." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551449/original/file-20231002-27-n4hzko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551449/original/file-20231002-27-n4hzko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551449/original/file-20231002-27-n4hzko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551449/original/file-20231002-27-n4hzko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551449/original/file-20231002-27-n4hzko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551449/original/file-20231002-27-n4hzko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551449/original/file-20231002-27-n4hzko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Rural communities have dealt with risks from agriculture chemicals for many years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carly Hyland</span></span>
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<p>It is important to note that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-018-0184-7">there is no consensus</a> on whether or not this widely used herbicide causes cancer.</p>
<p>The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, has determined that glyphosate is “<a href="https://www.iarc.who.int/featured-news/media-centre-iarc-news-glyphosate/">probably carcinogenic to humans</a>,” while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that it is “<a href="https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/glyphosate">not likely to be carcinogenic to humans</a>.” This debate is playing out in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/product-liability/roundup-lawsuit-update/">courtrooms across the U.S.</a>, with <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/bayer-winning-streak-roundup-litigation-after-huge-initial-losses-2022-09-02/">mixed results</a>.</p>
<p>In addition to concerns about cancer risk, four recent human studies found that glyphosate exposure during pregnancy was associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.envres.2021.111811">reproductive effects</a>. These effects included <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7295">preterm birth</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-018-0367-0">shortened gestational duration</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-022-00906-3">reduced fetal growth</a>.</p>
<p>However, scientists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-018-0435-5">know very little</a> about levels and sources of glyphosate exposure among pregnant women. The potential risk and that lack of data is why our study focused on this group.</p>
<h2>How we did our work</h2>
<p>We collected 1,395 urine samples from 40 pregnant women living in southern Idaho. This included weekly urine samples from February through December 2021. Among women living near fields, we found that urinary glyphosate levels were <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP12768">about 50% higher during the pesticide spray season</a> – May through August in southern Idaho – than they were during the rest of the year.</p>
<p>For two weeks in June, we also provided study participants with a week of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12155">organic food</a> and a week of conventional food, in random order, and collected daily urine samples. Glyphosate levels decreased by about 25% from the conventional to the organic-food week for participants who lived far from fields. But for the women who lived near fields, the shift to an organic diet didn’t change their glyphosate levels.</p>
<p>The results suggest that, for people living in cities and towns, an organic diet can be an effective way to reduce glyphosate exposure. However, for people living near farms, exposure from nearby agricultural applications may matter more.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Our finding that living near agriculture is associated with higher glyphosate levels in the body provides important new insights about who is exposed to this herbicide. However, we still don’t know exactly how this exposure is occurring.</p>
<p>While many pesticides are transported by airborne drift, it is possible that glyphosate travels in a different way. For example, it may adhere to soil that is blown or tracked into homes.</p>
<p>Understanding this is pivotal to reducing human exposure to chemicals in agricultural areas. It is also important as <a href="https://farmlandinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/AFT_FUT_StateoftheStates_rev.pdf">urbanization takes over land that was previously farmed</a>. As new subdivisions and residential areas expand into and fragment agricultural areas, homeowners are finding themselves with farm fields, and their chemicals, as neighbors.</p>
<p><em>The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/pesticida-glifosato-esta-aparecendo-em-mulheres-gravidas-que-vivem-perto-de-fazendas-nos-eua-219383">Leia em português</a></em>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213636/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cynthia Curl receives funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences NIEHS), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carly Hyland receives funding from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH). </span></em></p>New research provides evidence for the first time that the primary chemical in Roundup is reaching people in nearby homes, and it isn’t just from the food they eat.Cynthia Curl, Associate Professor of Public and Population Health, Boise State UniversityCarly Hyland, Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension, University of California, BerkeleyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2184412023-12-04T19:13:29Z2023-12-04T19:13:29ZWill Japanese encephalitis return this summer? What about other diseases mosquitoes spread?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562569/original/file-20231129-21-8z7c8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=49%2C518%2C5499%2C2898&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-woman-travel-camping-alone-natural-2122867583">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The last two summers have been swarming with mosquitoes thanks to near constant rain and flooding brought on by La Niña. </p>
<p>With <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/study/student-life/student-news/2023/11/20/the-bureau-of-meteorology-has-predicted-an-el-nino-this-summer-what-you-need-to-know.html">the return of El Niño</a>, and a hot, dry summer in store, what’s the outlook for Japanese encephalitis and other mosquito-borne diseases?</p>
<h2>First, let’s look back at the last two summers</h2>
<p>The boom in mosquitoes over the last two springs and summers didn’t just bring an <a href="https://theconversation.com/mozzies-are-everywhere-right-now-including-giant-ones-and-those-that-make-us-sick-heres-what-you-need-to-know-194517">increased annoyance of buzzing and bites</a> but also outbreaks of potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease.</p>
<p>The first outbreak of Japanese encephalitis virus was first detected in <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/how-rains-pigs-and-waterbirds-fueled-shocking-disease-outbreak-australia">southern regions of mainland Australia</a> in February 2022.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/murray-valley-encephalitis-has-been-detected-in-mozzies-in-nsw-and-victoria-heres-what-you-need-to-know-197894">Murray Valley encephalitis has been detected in mozzies in NSW and Victoria. Here's what you need to know</a>
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<p>This was followed by the return of <a href="https://theconversation.com/murray-valley-encephalitis-has-been-detected-in-mozzies-in-nsw-and-victoria-heres-what-you-need-to-know-197894">Murray Valley encephalitis</a> in early 2023, which turned out to be the biggest outbreak in the southern states <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37860808/">since 1974</a>.</p>
<p>These outbreaks were the result of more than just more mosquitoes. Floodwaters provided <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-11/record-flooding-in-nsw-triggeres-bird-breeding-bonanza-/101812042">ideal breeding conditions</a> for waterbirds, the key “reservoirs” of these viruses. </p>
<p>Mosquitoes pick up the infection after feeding on the birds and then subsequently <a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-when-we-get-bitten-by-a-mosquito-why-does-it-itch-so-much-93347">spread the viruses</a> to people when they bite.</p>
<h2>What’s different about Japanese encephalitis?</h2>
<p>Outbreaks of Japanese encephalitis virus in temperate regions of Australia in 2022 came as a surprise. There had <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/4/1/38/htm">been activity</a> in northern Australia and the Torres Strait, but it was generally <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-japanese-encephalitis-virus-and-how-can-i-avoid-it-when-i-travel-106775">only considered</a> a risk to overseas travellers.</p>
<p>In India, Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific, Japanese encephalitis is <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/japanese-encephalitis">considered</a> one of the most dangerous mosquito-borne diseases, with tens of thousands of cases of severe infection each year. </p>
<p>While the majority of people infected suffer no or very mild symptoms, some will <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/diseases/japanese-encephalitis">experience</a> neck stiffness, fever, headache and, in the most severe cases, permanent neurological complications or death.</p>
<p>However, a vaccine is available that can significantly limit serious illness. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-japanese-encephalitis-virus-and-how-can-i-avoid-it-when-i-travel-106775">What is Japanese encephalitis virus and how can I avoid it when I travel?</a>
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<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/japanese-encephalitis-virus-has-been-detected-in-australian-pigs-can-mozzies-now-spread-it-to-humans-178017">discovery</a> of Japanese encephalitis virus in Australia’s southern states triggered a <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/news/statement-on-the-end-of-japanese-encephalitis-virus-emergency-response">declaration of</a> a “communicable disease incident of national significance”. This was in place from March 2022 through June 2023. A total of 45 people were infected, seven of whom sadly died. </p>
<p>It wasn’t just people who were at risk. The impact on commercial piggeries, which farm pigs for pork production, was <a href="https://www.porkbusiness.com/news/industry/australia-faces-pork-supply-shortages-due-japanese-encephalitis-production-losses">devastating</a> and required urgent strategies to <a href="https://www.farmbiosecurity.com.au/livestock/pigs/controlling-mosquitoes-around-piggeries/">control mosquitoes</a>.</p>
<p>Piggeries weren’t the source of the outbreak, they were the “canaries in the coalmine” – signalling the spread of the virus early on and the need to protect the broader community.</p>
<h2>What caused outbreaks in piggeries?</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771423000861?via%3Dihub">research</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19737082/">investigated</a> how different landscapes and weather patterns influence interactions between wildlife, mosquitoes, and outbreaks of Japanese encephalitis virus.</p>
<p>We looked at 62 piggeries where the virus had been detected and some locations where the virus had also been <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/mosquito-borne/Pages/surveillance.aspx">detected in mosquitoes</a>, along with waterbird and feral pig habitats, rainfall and temperature.</p>
<p>Some of the results were unexpected. Piggeries were at highest risk of an outbreak when the number of different waterbird species in their location was “just right”. If there were too few or too many, the risk of an outbreak was reduced. </p>
<p>High rainfall and flooding provided excellent conditions for mosquitoes, with temporary wetlands and flooded areas posing a greater risk than permanent wetlands.</p>
<p>Temporary wetlands may have provided habitat for waterbirds whose normal habitat and movement patterns were disrupted due to the extensive La Niña flooding. </p>
<p>Or perhaps permanent wetlands support a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13157-019-01133-2">greater diversity</a> of aquatic life (including animals that eat mosquitoes) that helped keep mosquito numbers lower than temporary waterbodies.</p>
<h2>So what might happen this summer?</h2>
<p>The return of El Niño is expected to bring <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-16/holder-nsw-el-nino-set-to-peak-as-one-of-the-strongest/103104264">below average rainfall and above average temperatures</a>. But that can be <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-03/what-happened-to-el-nino/103179568">unpredictable</a>. Wetlands are already drying up. Bushfires have replaced floods.</p>
<p>Mosquito populations are expected to decline sharply. Surveillance programs of state and territory health authorities, such as <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/pests/vector/Pages/Surveillance-and-monitoring-weekly-reports-season-2023-24.aspx">New South Wales</a> and <a href="https://www.health.vic.gov.au/infectious-diseases/mosquito-surveillance-report">Victoria</a>, are already reporting mosquito populations far lower than previous seasons.</p>
<p>So we may not see as much Japanese encephalitis this season. But that doesn’t mean it will disappear completely. </p>
<p>It doesn’t matter how hot and dry it gets, mosquitoes are resilient and will persist. They’ll seek out the same environments where water remains. So too will waterbirds and feral pigs. </p>
<p>Authorities are also on alert for the return of <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1005070">Ross River virus</a> along the coast. Despite the lower rainfall, the mosquitoes that live in saltwater wetlands will thrive following flooding by high tides, especially “<a href="https://media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/1603/explainer-king-tides/">king tides</a>”.</p>
<p>Combined with extreme weather, even during hot and dry summers, outbreaks of Ross River virus <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023000328">can occur</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australian-wildlife-spread-and-suppress-ross-river-virus-107267">How Australian wildlife spread and suppress Ross River virus</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How can you reduce your chance of getting these viruses?</h2>
<p>To protect yourself and family from mosquito bites and mosquito-borne disease:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>keep following the advice of health authorities</p></li>
<li><p>try to avoid bushland and wetland areas in late afternoon and early evening</p></li>
<li><p>cover up with <a href="https://theconversation.com/mozzie-repellent-clothing-might-stop-some-bites-but-youll-still-need-a-cream-or-spray-107266">long-sleeved shirts, long pants</a> and covered shoes</p></li>
<li><p>apply a <a href="https://theconversation.com/mozzies-biting-heres-how-to-choose-a-repellent-and-how-to-use-it-for-the-best-protection-150183">recommended insect repellent</a> </p></li>
<li><p>check your eligibility for a <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/jev/Pages/vaccination.aspx">Japanese encephalitis vaccination</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/insect-repellents-work-but-there-are-other-ways-to-beat-mosquitoes-without-getting-sticky-171805">Insect repellents work – but there are other ways to beat mosquitoes without getting sticky</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218441/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cameron Webb and the Department of Medical Entomology, NSW Health Pathology and University of Sydney, have been engaged by a wide range of insect repellent and insecticide manufacturers to provide testing of products and provide expert advice on mosquito biology. Cameron has also received funding from local, state and federal agencies to undertake research into mosquito-borne disease surveillance and management.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Walsh has received funding from the Australian Research Council to investigate zoonotic diseases associated with Australian produce and from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to investigate antimicrobial resistance. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victoria Brookes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This summer is expected to be dry and hot. Here’s what that means for the risk of mosquito-borne diseases.Cameron Webb, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of SydneyMichael Walsh, Senior Lecturer of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, University of SydneyVictoria Brookes, Lecturer in Epidemiology and One Health, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2162542023-11-14T13:25:27Z2023-11-14T13:25:27ZPFAS ‘forever chemicals’ are getting into ocean ecosystems, where dolphins, fish and manatees dine – we traced their origins<p>PFAS, the “forever chemicals” that have been raising health concerns across the country, are not just a problem in drinking water. As these chemicals leach out of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.081">failing septic systems</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117983">landfills</a> and wash off <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150393">airport runways</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129264">farm fields</a>, they can end up in streams that ultimately discharge into ocean ecosystems where fish, dolphins, manatees, sharks and other marine species live.</p>
<p>We study the risks from these persistent pollutants in coastal environments as <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=z697KEMAAAAJ&hl=en">environmental</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=w3It4CgAAAAJ&hl=en">analytical chemists</a> at Florida International University’s Institute of the Environment.</p>
<p>Because PFAS can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107640">enter the food chain</a> and accumulate in marine plants and animals, including fish that humans eat, the spread of these chemicals has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.115165">ecological</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155316">human health</a> implications. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Reef fish in Biscayne Bay." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558906/original/file-20231111-17-ata3gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558906/original/file-20231111-17-ata3gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558906/original/file-20231111-17-ata3gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558906/original/file-20231111-17-ata3gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558906/original/file-20231111-17-ata3gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558906/original/file-20231111-17-ata3gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558906/original/file-20231111-17-ata3gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Biscayne Bay and nearby coastal areas are teeming with fish, including many varieties that people eat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=898241&id=ccce1eac-1dd8-b71b-0bc0-d80f536c707c&gid=CA49F0A1-1DD8-B71B-0B6B1F1948BFA884">NPS image by Shaun Wolfe</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a new study, we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168413">traced the origins of PFAS contamination</a> in Miami’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21589-w">Biscayne Bay</a> to help pinpoint ways to reduce the harm.</p>
<h2>What are PFAS?</h2>
<p>PFAS – perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a group of human-made contaminants that have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-pfas-the-forever-chemicals-showing-up-in-drinking-water-an-environmental-health-scientist-explains-185015">used for over 50 years</a>. They’re found in personal care products, such as cosmetics and shampoo, and in water-repellent coatings for nonstick cookware and food packaging. They’re also used in adhesives and aqueous firefighting foams, among other products.</p>
<p>As those PFAS-containing products washed down drains and were thrown in landfills over the years, PFAS chemicals became widespread in the environment. Eventually, these chemicals found their way into aquatic ecosystems, including surface water, groundwater and coastal environments.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558904/original/file-20231111-15-iq9oxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558904/original/file-20231111-15-iq9oxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558904/original/file-20231111-15-iq9oxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558904/original/file-20231111-15-iq9oxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558904/original/file-20231111-15-iq9oxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558904/original/file-20231111-15-iq9oxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558904/original/file-20231111-15-iq9oxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558904/original/file-20231111-15-iq9oxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An illustration shows some of the sources of PFAS in the environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://scdhec.gov/environment/polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas">North Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The same stability and resistance to degrading that makes these chemicals valuable for water- and stain-proof products also makes them nearly impossible to destroy. Hence, the nickname “forever chemicals.” They persist in the environment for decades to centuries.</p>
<p>That’s a problem, because PFAS have been linked to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-018-0097-y">immunological disorders</a>, endocrine, developmental, reproductive and neurological disruption and increased risk of bladder, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-020-02808-0">liver</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djaa143">kidney</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12603">testicular cancer</a>. A drinking water study by the U.S. Geological Survey estimated these chemicals were in <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/tap-water-study-detects-pfas-forever-chemicals-across-us">at least 45% of tap water</a> across the U.S., and a large percentage of Americans are now believed to have <a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pfc/index.cfm">PFAS detectable in their blood</a>.</p>
<p>Studies have also found PFAS in a broad range of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107640">marine wildlife</a>, including in the livers of otters and in gulls’ eggs, as well as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.115165">in freshwater fish</a> across the U.S. These chemicals have already been shown to affect the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.105358">immune system and liver function of fish</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2015.10.007">marine mammals</a>.</p>
<h2>How PFAS get into the marine environment</h2>
<p>When we began tracking the sources of PFAS in Biscayne Bay, we found hot spots of these chemicals around the exits of urban canals – especially the Miami River, Little River and Biscayne Canal. Each of these canals, we found, is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168413">major point source</a> contributing to the presence of PFAS in offshore areas of the Atlantic Ocean.</p>
<p>One major source of that PFAS is sewage contamination from failed septic systems and wastewater leaks in urban areas. This is evident by the presence of the types of PFAS – such as PFOS, PFOA, PFPeA, PFHxS, PFHxA, PFBA and PFBS – that <a href="https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris_drafts/recordisplay.cfm?deid=345065">are used as</a> stain and grease repellents and in carpets, food packaging materials and household products.</p>
<p>Another major source is represented by the predominance of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfad006">6-2 FTS</a> in the Miami River – 6-2 FTS is a fluorotelomer PFAS typically used in aqueous film-forming foam found at military and airport facilities. The Miami River flows past rail yards, industries and Miami International Airport on its way to Biscayne Bay.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A map of Miami's Biscayne Bay and nearby coastal areas that were sampled. The hot spots stand out clearly near canal exits." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558902/original/file-20231111-17-le8qtk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558902/original/file-20231111-17-le8qtk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=847&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558902/original/file-20231111-17-le8qtk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=847&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558902/original/file-20231111-17-le8qtk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=847&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558902/original/file-20231111-17-le8qtk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558902/original/file-20231111-17-le8qtk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558902/original/file-20231111-17-le8qtk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A map from the study shows PFAS hot spots near canals that carry water from the city. Red indicates higher PFAS concentrations, measured in nanograms per liter. Green indicates lower, more diluted PFAS concentrations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also used a model to predict how ocean currents would disperse PFAS coming out of those canals and into coastal areas. We found that the PFAS concentrations were highest close to the canals, decreased along the bay and declined as ocean water became deeper and more saline, which makes PFAS less soluble in water. </p>
<p>Overall, PFAS concentrations were almost <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168413">six times higher</a> in surface waters near land compared with deep-water samples collected 13 to 33 feet (4 to 10 meters) below the surface in the bay and offshore. That suggests the highest risk is to pelagic fish that hang out in surface waters, such as mackerel, tunas and mahi-mahi.</p>
<h2>How marine organisms are at risk</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168413">levels of PFOS and PFOA</a> in our study were below the Florida Department of Environmental Protection advisory levels in surface water for human health exposure. However, the advisory levels might not be protective of human and marine life. </p>
<p>They do not take into consideration that these chemicals accumulate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128602">through the food chain</a>. Higher concentration in the top of the food web means PFAS could pose a greater <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2009.07.079">risk to dolphins</a>, sharks and humans <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c00374">that consume fish</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man leans over the edge of a boat holding a rope attached to sampling devices that are in the water below." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558903/original/file-20231111-21-a6fbtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558903/original/file-20231111-21-a6fbtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558903/original/file-20231111-21-a6fbtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558903/original/file-20231111-21-a6fbtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558903/original/file-20231111-21-a6fbtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558903/original/file-20231111-21-a6fbtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558903/original/file-20231111-21-a6fbtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Olutobi Daniel Ogunbiyi, an author of this article and lead author of the study, takes water samples in Biscayne Bay.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many types of PFAS identified in our samples are not regulated, and their potential toxicity is unknown. We believe there is a need for federal and state agencies to develop guidelines and implement action plans to protect people and the aquatic life in Biscayne Bay.</p>
<h2>What you can do about it</h2>
<p>Given the persistence of PFAS and their widespread use, it is not surprising that these forever chemicals are found in almost all water systems in South Florida and are showing up <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143297">in coastal waters around the world</a>.</p>
<p>While scientists look for effective and efficient ways to eliminate and remove these chemicals from water, food and the environment, people can limit their use of PFAS-containing products to reduce the amounts of these chemicals that get into the marine environment.</p>
<p>Here are some <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/process-contaminants-food/authorized-uses-pfas-food-contact-applications">common products that contain PFAS</a> to watch for: Teflon nonstick cookware; food packaging for fast food and popcorn; water-resistant clothing and cosmetics; and treated carpets.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216254/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalia Soares Quinete receives funding from National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olutobi Daniel Ogunbiyi receives funding from the National Science Foundation awarded through FIU Institute of Environment and Center for Research and Excellence in Science and Tech. </span></em></p>Scientists found PFAS hot spots in Miami’s Biscayne Bay where the chemicals are entering coastal waters and reaching the ocean. Water samples point to some specific sources.Natalia Soares Quinete, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Florida International UniversityOlutobi Daniel Ogunbiyi, Ph.D. Candidate in Chemistry, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2164402023-11-01T19:25:06Z2023-11-01T19:25:06ZExtreme weather is landing more Australians in hospital – and heat is the biggest culprit<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556795/original/file-20231031-23-y5pgcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C483%2C5725%2C3350&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/silhouette-of-woman-standing-facing-sunset-LOOKlkcOo5k">Rod Long/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hospital admissions for injuries directly attributable to extreme weather events – such as heatwaves, bushfires and storms – have increased in Australia over the past decade.</p>
<p>A new <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/injury/extreme-weather-injuries/contents/about">report</a> from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows 9,119 Australians were hospitalised for injuries from extreme weather from 2012-22 and 677 people died from these injuries in the decade up to 2021.</p>
<p>In 2021-22, there were 754 injury hospitalisations directly related to extreme weather, compared to 576 in 2011-12. </p>
<p>Extreme heat is responsible for most weather-related injuries. Exposure to prolonged natural heat can result in physical conditions ranging from mild heat stroke, to organ damage and <a href="https://www.dea.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/DEA-Fact-Sheet_HeatwavesWEB.pdf">death</a>. </p>
<p>As Australia heads into summer with an El Niño, it’s important to understand and prepare for the health risks associated with extreme weather.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/study-finds-2-billion-people-will-struggle-to-survive-in-a-warming-world-and-these-parts-of-australia-are-most-vulnerable-205927">Study finds 2 billion people will struggle to survive in a warming world – and these parts of Australia are most vulnerable</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A spike every three years</h2>
<p>Extreme weather-related hospitalisations have spiked at more than 1,000 cases every three years, with the spikes becoming progressively higher. There were:</p>
<ul>
<li>1,027 injury hospitalisations in 2013–14</li>
<li>1,033 in 2016–17 </li>
<li>1,108 in 2019–20. </li>
</ul>
<p><iframe id="vLaas" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/vLaas/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>In each of these three years, extreme heat had the biggest impact on hospital admissions and deaths. </p>
<p><iframe id="P03sm" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/P03sm/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Extreme heat accounted for 7,104 injury hospitalisations (78% of all injury hospitalisations) and 293 deaths (43% of all injury deaths) in the ten year period analysed. </p>
<p>In 2011-12, there were 354 injury hospitalisations directly related to extreme heat. This rose to 579 by 2021-22. </p>
<h2>El Niño and La Niña</h2>
<p>Over the past three decades, extreme weather events have increased in <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/">frequency</a> and <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/state-of-the-climate/">severity</a>.</p>
<p>In Australia, El Niño drives a period of reduced rainfall, warmer temperatures and increased bushfire danger. </p>
<p>La Niña, on the other hand, is associated with above average rainfall, cooler daytime temperatures and increased chance of tropical cyclones and flood events.</p>
<p>Although similar numbers of heatwave-related hospitalisations occurred in El Niño and La Niña years studied, the number of injuries related to bushfires was higher in El Niño years. </p>
<p>During the 2019–20 bushfires, in the week beginning January 5 2020, there were 1,100 more hospitalisations than the previous five-year average, an 11% increase.</p>
<p>Although El Niño hasn’t directly been proved as the cause for these three spikes, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, two of the three years (2016-17 and 2019-20) were El Niño summers. And the other year (2013-14) was the warmest neutral year on record at that time.</p>
<h2>Regional differences</h2>
<p>Exposure to excessive natural heat was the most common cause leading to injury hospitalisation for all the mainland states and territories. From 2019 to 2022, there were 2,143 hospital admissions related to extreme heat, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>717 patients from Queensland</li>
<li>410 from Victoria</li>
<li>348 from NSW</li>
<li>267 from South Australia</li>
<li>266 from Western Australia</li>
<li>73 from the Northern Territory</li>
<li>23 from the ACT </li>
<li>19 from Tasmania. </li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556987/original/file-20231101-27-3c98xm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556987/original/file-20231101-27-3c98xm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=632&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556987/original/file-20231101-27-3c98xm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=632&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556987/original/file-20231101-27-3c98xm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=632&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556987/original/file-20231101-27-3c98xm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556987/original/file-20231101-27-3c98xm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556987/original/file-20231101-27-3c98xm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/latest-reports">AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The report also includes state and territory data on hospitalisations related to extreme cold and storms. </p>
<p>During the ten-year period analysed, there were 773 injury hospitalisations and 242 deaths related to extreme cold. Extreme rain or storms accounted for 348 injury hospitalisations and 77 deaths.</p>
<p>From 2019 to 2022, there were 191 hospitalisations related to extreme cold, with Victoria recording the highest number (51, compared to 40 in next-placed NSW). During the same period there were 111 hospitalisations related to rain and storms, with 52 occurring in NSW and 28 in Queensland.</p>
<h2>What about for bushfires?</h2>
<p>Over the ten-year period studied, there were 894 hospitalisations and 65 deaths related to bushfires. </p>
<p>Bushfire-related injury hospitalisations and deaths peaked in 2019–20, an El Niño year with 174 hospitalisations and 35 deaths. The two most common injuries that result from bushfires are smoke inhalation and burns. </p>
<p>During the 2019–20 bushfires, in the week beginning 5 January 2020 there were 1,100 more respiratory hospitalisations than the previous five-year average, an 11% increase. </p>
<p>The greatest increase in the hospitalisation rate for burns was 30% in the week beginning December 15 2019 — 0.8 per 100,000 persons (about 210 hospitalisations), compared with the previous 5-year average of 0.6 per 100,000 (an average of 155 hospitalisations).</p>
<h2>Some people are particularly vulnerable</h2>
<p>Anyone can be affected by extreme weather-related injuries but some population groups are more at risk than others. This includes older people, children, people with disabilities, those with pre-existing or chronic health conditions, outdoor workers, and those with greater <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/1/813">socioeconomic disadvantage</a>. </p>
<p>People in these groups may have reduced capacity to avoid or reduce the health impacts of extreme weather conditions, for example older people taking medication may be less able to regulate their body temperature. “Thermal inequity” includes people living in poor quality housing who have difficulty accessing adequate heating and cooling.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/extreme-heat-is-particularly-hard-on-older-adults-an-aging-population-and-climate-change-put-ever-more-people-at-risk-210049">Extreme heat is particularly hard on older adults – an aging population and climate change put ever more people at risk</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For heat-related injuries between 2019–20 and 2021–22, people aged 65 and over were the most commonly admitted to hospital, followed by people aged 25–44. </p>
<p>Across age groups, men had higher numbers of heat related injury hospitalisations than women. This difference was most notable among those aged 25-44 and 45-64 years, where over twice as many men were hospitalised due to extreme heat as women.</p>
<h2>We still don’t have a full picture</h2>
<p>The AIHW data only includes injuries which were serious enough for patients to be admitted to hospital; it doesn’t include cases where patients treated in an emergency department and sent home without being admitted.</p>
<p>It includes injuries that were directly attributable to weather-related events but does not include injuries that were indirectly related. For example, it doesn’t include injuries from road traffic accidents that occur due to wet weather, since the primary cause of injury would be recorded as “transport”. </p>
<p>Improved surveillance of weather-related injuries could help the health system and the community better prepare for responding to extreme weather conditions. For example, better data aids communities in predicting what resources will be needed during periods of extreme weather.</p>
<p>A more complete picture of injuries during weather events could also be used to inform people of actions they can take to protect their own health. Given a predicted hot summer, this could be a matter of life or death. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/drowning-risk-increases-during-heatwaves-in-unexpected-ways-heres-how-to-stay-safe-this-summer-212095">Drowning risk increases during heatwaves in unexpected ways -- here's how to stay safe this summer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was co-authored by Sarah Ahmed and Heather Swanston from the Injuries and System Surveillance Unit at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216440/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Peden receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Meta Inc, Royal Life Saving Society - Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia. She provided expert review for the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Extreme weather-related injuries report. </span></em></p>As Australia heads into summer with an El Niño, it’s important understand and prepare for the health risks associated with extreme weather.Amy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2110182023-09-29T12:23:25Z2023-09-29T12:23:25ZFrom pests to pollutants, keeping schools healthy and clean is no simple task<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549406/original/file-20230920-23-p1ptte.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C9%2C2117%2C1400&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Schools have more to manage than just their educational strategies.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/empty-primary-school-classroom-royalty-free-image/1498426360?phrase=school&adppopup=true">10'000 Hours/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Parents send their children to school to learn, and they don’t want to worry about whether the air is clean, whether there are insect problems or whether the school’s cleaning supplies could cause an asthma attack.</p>
<p>But a research collaborative, of which I’m a member, has found that schools <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2023.101407">might not be ready</a> to protect students from environmental contaminants.</p>
<p>I’m an <a href="https://entomology.tamu.edu/people/hurley-janet/">extension specialist</a> focused on pest management. I’m working with a cross-disciplinary team to improve compliance with environmental health standards, and we’ve found that schools across the nation <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2023.101407">need updates</a> in order to meet minimum code requirements.</p>
<p>Everything from a school’s air and water quality to the safety of the pesticides and cleaning chemicals used there determine the safety of the learning environment. Environmental health standards can help a school community ensure each potential hazard is accounted for.</p>
<h2>Air, water and food quality</h2>
<p>So, what aspects of the school environment and student health need attention? For one, the air students and teachers breathe every day.</p>
<p>Understanding and controlling <a href="https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/indoor-pollutants-and-sources">common pollutants indoors</a> can improve the indoor air quality and reduce the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/indoor-air-quality#health">risk of health concerns</a>. Even small things like dust and dander, <a href="https://extension.psu.edu/asthma-pests-and-pesticides">dead insects</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-017-0536-2">artificial scents</a> used to cover up smells like mold and mildew can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.11559">trigger asthma</a> and allergies. </p>
<p>Improving ventilation, as well as a school’s air flow and filtration, can help protect building occupants from respiratory infections and maintain a healthy indoor environment. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeaoa.2022.100152">Ventilation systems</a> bring fresh, outdoor air into rooms, filter or disinfect the air in the room and improve how often air flows in and out of a room. </p>
<p>Upgrading ventilation in school buildings can improve air quality and reduce potential contaminants, including viral particles, in indoor spaces. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549412/original/file-20230920-23-si31ya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A white ceiling with a flourescent light and a large, rectangular vent." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549412/original/file-20230920-23-si31ya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549412/original/file-20230920-23-si31ya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549412/original/file-20230920-23-si31ya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549412/original/file-20230920-23-si31ya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549412/original/file-20230920-23-si31ya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549412/original/file-20230920-23-si31ya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549412/original/file-20230920-23-si31ya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Proper ventilation in schools can reduce pathogen spread and common allergy triggers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/air-conditioning-return-channel-aluminum-grille-on-royalty-free-image/1472415038?phrase=indoor+air+quality&adppopup=true">Penpak Ngamsathain/Moment</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It may seem like maintaining proper food safety and drinking-water quality would be common practices. But many schools do have <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-18-382">some level of lead contamination</a> in their food and water. </p>
<p>In 1991, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a regulation, known as the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/lead-and-copper-rule">lead and copper rule</a>, to minimize lead and copper in drinking water. The <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/revised-lead-and-copper-rule">EPA’s 2021 revised lead and copper rule</a> aims to reduce the risks of childhood lead exposure by focusing on schools and child care facilities and conducting outreach. </p>
<p>But in December 2022, a team of scientists published a report on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00845">lead and copper levels in drinking water</a>, and they found evidence that lead is still showing up in drinking water in Massachusetts schools. <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health">No amount of lead</a> is safe to have in the water. </p>
<p>To combat contamination and ensure safe food and water, the Food and Drug Administration overhauled the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/guidance-regulation-food-and-dietary-supplements/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma">Food Safety Modernization Act</a> in 2016. This act has transformed the nation’s food safety system by shifting the focus from responding to foodborne illnesses to preventing them. It gives local health officials more authority to oversee and enforce supply chain safety. </p>
<p>Per <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/guidance-regulation-food-and-dietary-supplements/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma">these new regulations</a>, every school cafeteria must be inspected by the local registered sanitarian at least twice a year to meet the minimum standards for their state and federal guidelines. </p>
<p>These inspections now include looking for entry points that might allow mice or rats to come in, finding areas with moisture buildup where flies, roaches or other insects can breed, and determining whether storage rooms are properly sanitized. </p>
<h2>Integrated pest management</h2>
<p>Even if a school has clean air, water and food, it still may not meet all the required <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/black-school-districts-funding-state-budgets-students-impact/">health standards</a>. Many schools have insect infestations, and many combat these pest problems with harsh chemicals when there’s a simpler solution. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.epa.gov/ipm">Integrated pest management</a> is an <a href="https://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/integrated-pest-management-ipm-principles#how_ipm-programs">environmentally sensitive approach</a> to pest management. Known as IPM, it combines commonsense practices like keeping doors and windows closed and making sure no food is left in classrooms overnight with other ways to help prevent pests from coming in. </p>
<p>IPM programs consider the pests’ life cycles and their larger environment, as well as all the available pest control methods, to manage pest infestations economically and scientifically.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.epa.gov/ipm/information-pests-schools-and-their-control">Common pests in schools</a> include ants, cockroaches and bedbugs. Ants enter looking for food, and cockroaches can travel in with backpacks or enter through small openings under doors or cracks in the seals around a window. Mice, cockroaches and ants can come into a kitchen or bathroom from plumbing pipes that aren’t properly sealed. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549410/original/file-20230920-27-m8uzzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A cockroach standing on a white door trim facing downwards." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549410/original/file-20230920-27-m8uzzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549410/original/file-20230920-27-m8uzzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549410/original/file-20230920-27-m8uzzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549410/original/file-20230920-27-m8uzzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549410/original/file-20230920-27-m8uzzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549410/original/file-20230920-27-m8uzzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549410/original/file-20230920-27-m8uzzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cockroaches can lurk in custodial closets and near drains at schools.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/cockroach-crawling-upside-down-on-the-wall-royalty-free-image/1330806808?phrase=cockroach">Narakhon Somsavangwong/iStock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In the fall, cockroaches reside in custodial closets, kitchens and other areas where floor drains might be. These bugs use the sewer drains to move about, so an IPM approach might include making sure the drains have plenty of water flooding through them and clearing out organic matter that the cockroaches might feed on. </p>
<h2>Green cleaning</h2>
<p>School administrators also determine what products to use for pest control and cleaning. With the intent to prioritize the safety of both the people inside the building and the environment, some schools have adopted a “<a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210901090100.htm">green cleaning</a>” approach. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-09/documents/green-clean.pdf">Green cleaning</a> uses safer – or less harsh – chemical and pesticide products, since <a href="https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.200612-1793OC">studies have found</a> that the repeated use of harsh chemicals indoors can lead to chronic health effects later in life for anyone directly exposed. </p>
<p>Products that contain ingredients like <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hydrogen-peroxide/default.html">hydrogen peroxide</a>, <a href="https://www.acs.org/molecule-of-the-week/archive/c/citric-acid.html">citric acid</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493181/">isopropyl alcohol</a> are generally safer than products that <a href="https://www.chemicalsafetyfacts.org/chemicals/chlorine/">contain chlorine</a> <a href="https://www.acs.org/molecule-of-the-week/archive/a/ammonia.html">or ammonia</a>. </p>
<p>But the school’s job isn’t done, even after the infestation has been dealt with. Schools need a plan to manage their pollutants long term – these pollutants might be cleaning chemicals and pesticides or chemicals used in science classes. Preserving the school’s air quality requires a plan for storage and disposal of these materials. But finding the funds to correctly dispose of legacy chemicals can challenge already thin budgets. </p>
<p>Over the past decade, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has worked with a variety of groups to develop the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/index.htm">Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child</a> initiative. This approach pulls together professionals, community leaders, parents and others to support evidence-based policies and practices. </p>
<p>The initiative has also led some states to develop <a href="https://www.dshs.texas.gov/texas-school-health/texas-school-health-advisory-committee-tshac/school-health-advisory-councils">school health advisory councils</a> that work with state departments of education and health to assist their local school districts with managing the indoor environment and student health.</p>
<p>When the school building is safe, students and educators are more able to get down to the business of learning, undistracted.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211018/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet Hurley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For students to learn in a safe, healthy environment, school administrators must deal with a myriad of potential environmental contaminants, from allergens to cockroaches.Janet Hurley, Extension Program Specialist, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2106972023-08-07T20:02:11Z2023-08-07T20:02:11ZControversial ‘forever chemicals’ could be phased out in Australia under new restrictions. Here’s what you need to know<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541416/original/file-20230807-20-siq78h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C30%2C6659%2C4436&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tasty-food-containers-wooden-knife-fork-2320021427">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s growing global concern about potential risks to human health and the environment from a group of industrial chemicals commonly known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals”.</p>
<p>While the full extent of harm from PFAS is still emerging, the fact these chemicals persist in the environment and accumulate in the body is alarming enough. Some scientists believe they will <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c02765">never break down</a>.</p>
<p>Until now, Australia has not restricted the trade or use of most PFAS chemicals. But that’s about to change. </p>
<p>The federal government intends to stop the import, manufacture and use of some types of PFAS within two years. We want to raise awareness and encourage industry to be proactive about finding alternatives. The sooner industry acts on this, the faster we can eliminate PFAS from the products we use and our waste. With untold benefits for people and our planet.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pfas-might-be-everywhere-including-toilet-paper-but-lets-keep-the-health-risks-in-context-201785">PFAS might be everywhere – including toilet paper – but let's keep the health risks in context</a>
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<h2>Hang on, what is PFAS again?</h2>
<p>PFAS (or per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are a group of around <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-pfas-the-forever-chemicals-showing-up-in-drinking-water-an-environmental-health-scientist-explains-185015">9,000</a> individual chemical compounds found in many everyday products. </p>
<p>These complex substances are made by joining carbon and fluorine atoms, creating one of the strongest bonds in organic chemistry. As a result, they are stain-resistant, water-resistant, grease-resistant and heat-resistant. That makes them enormously useful in products such as food packaging, non-stick cookware, semiconductors and other electronics, refrigerants, stain or waterproof textiles and cosmetics. PFAS has even been found in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/13/toxic-forever-chemicals-pfas-toilet-paper">toilet paper</a>. </p>
<p>But PFAS chemicals also appear to be toxic. They have been linked to a range of <a href="https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/etc.4890">human</a> and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/10/2/44">environmental health problems</a>. </p>
<p>The use of potentially hazardous chemicals such as PFAS also undermines recycling and the <a href="https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview">circular economy</a>. Compost made from food and garden organics may be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666765722000102">contaminated</a> through packaging and other sources. PFAS in sewage also challenges the use of <a href="https://theconversation.com/forever-chemicals-have-made-their-way-to-farms-for-now-levels-in-your-food-are-low-but-theres-no-time-to-waste-192402">biosolids</a> as fertiliser on farms. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/forever-chemicals-have-made-their-way-to-farms-for-now-levels-in-your-food-are-low-but-theres-no-time-to-waste-192402">'Forever chemicals' have made their way to farms. For now, levels in your food are low – but there's no time to waste</a>
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<h2>What is changing and what will this mean?</h2>
<p>The federal government recently reviewed the industrial chemical regulatory frameworks protecting human and environmental health. As a result, the federal, state and territory governments established the new Australian <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/chemicals-management/national-standard">Industrial Chemical Environmental Management Standard</a> in 2021. </p>
<p>Chemicals with industrial applications are placed into <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/chemicals-management/national-standard/roadmap">one of seven categories</a> or “schedules”, according to the level of environmental risk they represent. The standard sets out the measures required to manage such risks.</p>
<p>Schedule 7 is reserved for industrial chemicals likely to cause serious or irreversible harm to the environment. </p>
<p>Last month, the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water announced its <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/about/news/consultation-open-pfas-pecb-management-standards">intention</a> to regulate three groups of PFAS chemicals and pentachlorobenzene (PeCB) under Schedule 7.</p>
<p>This means businesses will have to stop importing, manufacturing or using these PFAS groups, either as bulk chemicals or in consumer products. </p>
<p>Schedule 7 also states “<a href="https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%201522/volume-1522-i-26369-english.pdf">no essential uses</a>”. This means the chemicals cannot be used, even when it is necessary for the health, safety or functioning of society, or when there are no other available alternatives. </p>
<p>The timing of the proposed Australian restrictions aligns with the <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32019R1021">EU phase-out</a>. The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/14/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-takes-new-action-to-protect-communities-from-pfas-pollution/">United States</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/canada-takes-first-step-to-regulate-toxic-forever-chemicals-but-is-it-enough-207288">Canada</a> are also pursuing similar action. </p>
<p>Increasingly, countries are pursuing coordinated regulatory actions that will shift market standards around industrial chemical use and management.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1660511304220827650"}"></div></p>
<h2>What should business do?</h2>
<p>At this stage, <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/2021-04/UTS_Chemical_Sustainability_report_2020_WEB.pdf">research indicates</a> low levels of industry awareness and action globally. Industry risks being caught short, facing the economic and administrative consequences of compliance when new rules come into effect. </p>
<p>Phasing out potentially hazardous chemicals such as PFAS will require careful consideration of both risk and technical function. In many cases, products have been designed around these chemicals. This means substitutions will need to be found. However, businesses also need to be aware of the potential for “regrettable substitution”, where a potentially hazardous chemical is replaced by a similar, but lesser-known chemical that also threatens human health and the environment. </p>
<p>There are some tools available to help find safe alternatives. For example, the European non-government organisation ChemSec has compiled a <a href="https://sinlist.chemsec.org/">database</a> of hazardous chemicals that are likely to be regulated in future, if not already, and a <a href="https://marketplace.chemsec.org/">marketplace</a> for safe substitutions.</p>
<p>In some cases, avoiding regrettable substitution will necessitate rethinking how the function of a product can be delivered in an entirely new way. </p>
<p>Market-leading businesses are experimenting with recent advances in engineering, material sciences, and technology to redesign products without hazardous chemicals. </p>
<p>For example, outdoor-wear companies have redesigned textiles to deliver waterproof products without PFAS chemicals. The North Face has started using an advanced material called “<a href="https://thenorthface.com.au/explore-technologies/technologies-futurelight.html">FUTURELIGHT</a>”, which uses nanotechnology to create a waterproof nano-fibre structure. Helly Hansen introduced “<a href="https://hellyhansen.com.au/pages/lifa-infinity-pro%E2%84%A2">Lifa Infinity Pro</a>” that uses advanced textile engineering to create a hydrophobic (water-hating) material, without having to add chemicals.</p>
<p>Emerging new services design-out problematic products entirely. For example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/recycling-plastic-bottles-is-good-but-reusing-them-is-better-126339">reusable food packaging services</a>, intended to address the environmental impacts of single-use-packaging, generally use reusable materials such as stainless steel that do not require hazardous chemicals to function. </p>
<p>In support of industry action, governments industry, universities and non-governmental organisations are helping support better chemical management.
For example, ChemSec has convened an <a href="https://chemsec.org/knowledge/iihc/">Investor Initiative on Hazardous Chemicals</a> to help reduce the impacts of hazardous chemicals, while also reducing financial risks to investors. Or in Australia, the <a href="https://stewardshipexcellence.com.au/">Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence</a> is providing <a href="https://stewardshipexcellence.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/WHITEPAPER_Chemicals-of-concern_FINAL-1.pdf">tools</a> for business and government to ensure safe, clean supply chains. </p>
<p>Governments also have a role to play in helping business transition away from hazardous chemicals. They can encourage business to take a whole-of-system approach to reducing chemicals across supply chains. This might involve tracking and tracing mechanisms, certification and labelling, or supporting research into <a href="https://www.turi.org/">safer alternatives</a>.</p>
<p>The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is inviting <a href="https://consult.dcceew.gov.au/ichems-s17-proposed-decisions">feedback on the proposed scheduling decisions</a> before submissions close on September 1 this year. The government says feedback will help Australian governments and businesses to better manage the environmental risks of these chemicals.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/youve-read-the-scary-headlines-but-rest-assured-your-cookware-is-safe-199967">You've read the scary headlines – but rest assured, your cookware is safe</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210697/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Wakefield-Rann receives research funding from various government and non-government organisations. She does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would financially benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond her academic appointment.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Wilson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New restrictions on PFAS and other potentially hazardous chemicals in Australia present an opportunity for industry to develop alternatives for new, safe and clean products.Sarah Wilson, PhD Candidate in Nanotechnology & Innovation Governance, University of Technology SydneyRachael Wakefield-Rann, Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2076992023-06-16T12:37:28Z2023-06-16T12:37:28ZThe US will send depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine – a health physicist explains their military, health and environmental effects<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532028/original/file-20230614-21396-ritl1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C0%2C5760%2C3811&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Depleted uranium shells will equip M1A1 Abrams battle tanks, also from the U.S.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/wEMMNV">Lance Cpl. Julio McGraw, USMC/Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Biden administration has agreed to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-set-to-approve-depleted-uranium-tank-rounds-for-ukraine-f6d98dcf">provide Ukraine with depleted uranium shells</a> to equip M1A1 Abrams tanks that the U.S. is sending there. Britain has already delivered tanks to Ukraine equipped with depleted-uranium shells.</em></p>
<p><em>DU munitions, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/radtown/depleted-uranium">developed in the 1970s</a>, are not nuclear weapons and do not produce a nuclear explosion. But soldiers or civilians can be exposed to the uranium, either in combat or afterward. Health physicist <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kathryn-Higley">Kathryn Higley</a> explains what depleted uranium is and what’s known about potential health and environmental risks.</em></p>
<h2>What is depleted uranium?</h2>
<p>Uranium, symbolized by the letter U, is a naturally occurring element that is radioactive. Natural uranium is composed primarily of three isotopes: U-234, U-235 and U-238. </p>
<p>These isotopes are all uranium and have the same chemical characteristics, but they have slightly different masses, as indicated by the numbers 234, 235 and 238. Depleted uranium is mainly U-238, with small amounts of other isotopes, including U-235. </p>
<p>The isotope U-235 <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary/fissile-material.html">is fissile</a>, which means that it can be split in a reaction that releases a lot of energy. U-235 in fairly low concentrations is used as fuel in commercial nuclear reactors; in high concentrations, it can power nuclear weapons. </p>
<p>Engineers use <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/ur-enrichment.html">a process called enrichment</a> to extract U-235 from natural uranium ore. What’s left over after this process removes some of the U-235 is called depleted uranium. </p>
<p>All uranium is radioactive, and each isotope <a href="https://www.iaea.org/topics/spent-fuel-management/depleted-uranium">has its own unique half-life</a>. U-238, the most abundant naturally occurring isotope, constitutes about 99.27% of all natural uranium. It takes approximately 4.5 billion years – roughly the life of the Earth – for half of a given quantity of uranium-238 to decay into other elements. U-235 has a half life of about 700 million years and represents about 0.72% of natural uranium. </p>
<p>Depleted uranium is <a href="https://www.iaea.org/topics/spent-fuel-management/depleted-uranium">about 40% less radioactive than natural uranium</a>. All isotopes of uranium decay over time, emitting both radiation and energetic particles and transforming into different chemical elements. In this process, they produce specific isotopes of other radioactive elements such as thorium, protactinium and radium.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KiJQSIrIIio?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Depleted uranium tank shells are extremely hard and dense and can penetrate the walls of Russian tanks.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why is depleted uranium used in munitions?</h2>
<p>Depleted uranium can be manufactured into a very dense material – <a href="https://hps.org/documents/dufactsheet.pdf">about 1.7 times more dense than lead</a>. This gives it some desirable characteristics in munitions.</p>
<p>Because DU is a byproduct of the nuclear fuel cycle, plenty of it is readily available. Formed into a projectile, such as a bullet or shell, its high density helps the munition penetrate into a target. Advanced tanks use DU in their armor to protect against armor-piercing munitions.</p>
<p>DU’s density also gives the munition a higher momentum, which enables it to push through materials. Once the munition penetrates a target, it may fragment into smaller pieces and ignite, <a href="https://www.orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/consumer/depleted-uranium/penetrators.html">causing further damage</a>. </p>
<h2>Where have depleted uranium munitions been used?</h2>
<p>Depleted uranium munitions have been used in the Gulf War in 1990-1991, the Kosovo conflict in the Balkans in 1998-1999 and in U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to the U.S. and the U.K., Russia, France and China are known to have DU munitions in their arsenals, and other <a href="https://www.icbuw.eu/depleted-uranium-weapons-state-of-affairs-2022/">countries may be importing them</a>. </p>
<p>DU also has nonmilitary applications. Its high density makes it useful for stopping radiation in medical, research and nuclear facilities. It can also be used as ballast to balance weight and provide stability in ships and aircraft. </p>
<p>The alpha radiation that DU emits is not strong enough to penetrate human skin, so <a href="https://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/what-to-know-depleted-uranium-exposure-veterans">just being near depleted uranium is not a health risk</a>. But it may become a health hazard if it is <a href="https://www.epa.gov/radtown/depleted-uranium">ingested or inhaled</a>, or shrapnel fragments are <a href="https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/toxic_fragments/index.asp">retained in the body</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532030/original/file-20230614-23-o4fbdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A row of munitions with pointed tips" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532030/original/file-20230614-23-o4fbdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532030/original/file-20230614-23-o4fbdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532030/original/file-20230614-23-o4fbdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532030/original/file-20230614-23-o4fbdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532030/original/file-20230614-23-o4fbdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532030/original/file-20230614-23-o4fbdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532030/original/file-20230614-23-o4fbdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">U.S. Army 25 mm rounds of depleted uranium ammunition, photographed Feb. 11, 2004, in Tikrit, Iraq.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/row-of-us-army-25mm-rounds-of-depleted-uranium-ammunition-news-photo/2973518">Stan Honda/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Will these munitions create health or environmental risks on Ukrainian soil?</h2>
<p>Numerous studies have investigated the <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/66930/W?sequence=1">potential health effects</a> of <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1106087.pdf">exposure to depleted uranium</a>. They include health studies of soldiers hit by DU shrapnel, and biomonitoring – collecting samples of urine, feces, fingernail clippings and hair from exposed individuals. Investigations have included reviews of military personnel exposed <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11979/review-of-the-toxicologic-and-radiologic-risks-to-military-personnel-from-exposures-to-depleted-uranium-during-and-after-combat">during and after combat</a>.</p>
<p>Some studies have observed uranium above natural concentrations in samples collected from soldiers serving in the Gulf War, Bosnia and Afghanistan who had embedded DU fragments in their bodies. In other instances, researchers studying <a href="https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/medically-unexplained-illness.asp">Gulf War Illness</a> in veterans did not find a difference in uranium concentrations in urine between <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82535-3">exposed and unexposed groups</a>. </p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Defense and Veterans Administration started monitoring service members for DU exposure during the Gulf War, and this program is still running. So far, the agencies have not observed adverse clinical effects <a href="https://www.health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Health-Readiness/Environmental-Exposures/Depleted-Uranium/Effects-and-Exposures/Health-Effects">related to documented exposures</a>.</p>
<p>Fragments and much smaller particles from exploded DU munitions can remain in soil long after conflicts end. This has raised concerns about possible radiation or toxic threats to people who come across these materials, such as local residents or peacekeeping forces. In general, studies of people who were inadvertently exposed to battlefield remnants of depleted uranium munitions show <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.03.024">low radiation doses</a> and <a href="https://www-pub.iaea.org/mtcd/publications/pdf/pub1164_web.pdf">low levels of chemical exposure</a> that were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jes.7500551">generally indistinguishable from background level</a>. </p>
<p>In terms of environmental impacts, the scientific literature is largely silent on the extent to which plants or animals can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.106077">absorb DU from munition fragments</a>, although laboratory studies indicate that this is possible. Researchers and health professionals agree that very high levels of uranium, depleted or otherwise, may cause chemical toxicity in plants – but if this were to happen, it would likely be in the immediate vicinity <a href="https://doi.org/10.2172/4296157">where the munitions exploded</a>. Scientists continue to examine how DU particles behave in the environment, in order to improve our ability to predict <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.106077">long-term environmental effects</a>.</p>
<p>It’s already clear that large areas of Ukraine’s territory will contain the residues of conflict, including <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230221-the-toxic-legacy-of-the-ukraine-war">weapon fragments, spilled fuels and explosive residues</a>, long after the fighting there ends. The U.S. and U.K. governments clearly believe that providing DU munitions will improve Ukraine’s ability to defeat Russian tanks and bring this conflict to an end.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207699/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Higley receives / has received funding from U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the International Atomic Energy Agency, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Vanderbilt University. She is affiliated with the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, the International Commission on Radiological Protection, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Nuclear Energy Agency. </span></em></p>Depleted uranium munitions are bad news for enemy tanks, but are not nuclear weapons, and studies have shown that they pose low risks of radiation or chemical exposure.Kathryn Higley, Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Oregon State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2006892023-06-05T12:09:06Z2023-06-05T12:09:06ZArsenic contamination of food and water is a global public health concern – researchers are studying how it causes cancer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529435/original/file-20230531-23-iq2312.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C937%2C768&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One symptom of arsenic poisoning is the growth of plaques on the skin called arsenical keratosis.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/tQzvii">Anita Ghosh/REACH via Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Arsenic is a naturally occurring element found in the Earth’s crust. Exposure to arsenic, often through contaminated food and water, is associated with various negative health effects, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK304375/">including cancer</a>. </p>
<p>Arsenic exposure is a global public health issue. A 2020 study estimated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba1510">up to 200 million people wordwide</a> are exposed to arsenic-contaminated drinking water at levels above the legal limit of <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/arsenic/standards.html">10 parts per billion</a> set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization. <a href="https://publications.iarc.fr/Book-And-Report-Series/Iarc-Monographs-On-The-Identification-Of-Carcinogenic-Hazards-To-Humans/Some-Drinking-Water-Disinfectants-And-Contaminants-Including-Arsenic-2004">More than 70 countries</a> are affected, including the United States, Spain, Mexico, Japan, India, China, Canada, Chile, Bangladesh, Bolivia and Argentina.</p>
<p>Since many countries are still affected by high levels of arsenic, we believe arsenic exposure is a global public health issue that requires urgent action. <a href="https://stempel.fiu.edu/research/labs/cancer-research/">We study</a> how <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cristina-Andrade-Feraud">exposure to toxic metals</a> like arsenic can <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=v42J5dMAAAAJ&hl=en">lead to cancer</a> through the formation of <a href="https://theconversation.com/triggering-cancer-cells-to-become-normal-cells-how-stem-cell-therapies-can-provide-new-ways-to-stop-tumors-from-spreading-or-growing-back-191559">cancer stem cells</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ftvJr-BycJY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Arsenic water contamination predominantly affects communities of color in the U.S.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Arsenic contamination of food and water</h2>
<p>Your body can absorb arsenic <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/arsenic/what_routes.html">through several routes</a>, such as inhalation and skin contact. However, the most common source of arsenic exposure is through contaminated drinking water or food.</p>
<p>People who live in areas with <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/arsenic">naturally high levels of arsenic in the soil and water</a> are at particular risk. In the U.S., for example, that includes regions in the Southwest such as Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Additionally, <a href="https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/ovid/environmental-and-occupational-medicine-3485">human activities</a> such as mining and agriculture can also increase arsenic in food and water sources.</p>
<p>High levels of arsenic can also be found in <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-worry-about-arsenic-in-baby-cereal-and-drinking-water-57948">food and drink products</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2018.01.018">particularly rice</a> and rice-based products like rice cereals and crackers. A 2019 Consumer Reports investigation even found that <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/water-quality/arsenic-in-some-bottled-water-brands-at-unsafe-levels-a1198655241/">some brands of bottled water</a> sold in the U.S. contained levels of arsenic that exceeded the legal limit. Alarmingly, multiple studies have also found that several <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/most-baby-foods-contain-arsenic-lead-and-other-heavy-metals/">popular baby food brands</a> contained arsenic at concentrations much higher than the legal limit.</p>
<h2>Arsenic and cancer stem cells</h2>
<p>Chronic exposure to arsenic increases the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djx201">risk</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136071">of</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134128">developing</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.epi-13-0234-t">multiple</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.08.070">types</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s0041-008x(02)00022-4">of cancer</a>.</p>
<p>The mechanisms by which arsenic causes cancer are complex and not yet fully understood. However, research suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3109%2F10408444.2010.506641">arsenic can</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021%2Facs.chemrestox.9b00464">damage DNA</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-013-1131-4">disrupt cell</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfy247">signaling pathways</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-12-73">impair the</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cotox.2018.01.003">immune system</a>, all of which can contribute to cancer development.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Microscopy images of ovarian epithelial cells before and after chronic arsenic exposure" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The image on the left shows ovarian epithelial cells under normal conditions. The image on the right shows the cells after three weeks of chronic arsenic exposure at 75 parts per billion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cristina M. Andrade-Feraud/Azzam Laboratory at FIU</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scientists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289%2Fehp.1204987">have also linked</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289%2Fehp.0901059">chronic arsenic exposure</a> to the development of <a href="https://theconversation.com/triggering-cancer-cells-to-become-normal-cells-how-stem-cell-therapies-can-provide-new-ways-to-stop-tumors-from-spreading-or-growing-back-191559">cancer stem cells</a>. These are cells within tumors thought to be responsible for cancer growth and spread. Like normal stem cells in the body, cancer stem cells can develop into many different types of cells. At what stage of cellular development a stem cell acquires the genetic mutation that turns it into a cancer stem cell remains unknown.</p>
<p><a href="https://stempel.fiu.edu/research/labs/cancer-research/">Our research</a> aims to identify what type of cell arsenic targets to form a cancer stem cell. We are currently using cell cultures obtained from the same organ at different stages of cellular development to examine how the origins of cells affect the formation of cancer stem cells.</p>
<p>Preventing chronic arsenic exposure is critical to reducing the burden of arsenic-related health effects. Further research is needed to understand arsenic-induced cancer stem cell formation and develop effective strategies to prevent it. In the meantime, continued monitoring and regulation of this toxic metal in food and water sources could help improve the health of affected communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200689/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diana Azzam receives funding from the Florida Department of Health and the National Institute of Health.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cristina Andrade-Feraud does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Millions of people worldwide are exposed via soil and water to arsenic, whether naturally occurring or related to pollution. Chronic exposure is linked to the formation of cancer stem cells.Cristina Andrade-Feraud, Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Health Sciences, Florida International UniversityDiana Azzam, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2018552023-03-16T16:34:44Z2023-03-16T16:34:44ZNew PFAS guidelines – a water quality scientist explains technology and investment needed to get forever chemicals out of US drinking water<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515625/original/file-20230315-3073-baa7d7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C111%2C8218%2C5363&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">PFAS can be found in hundreds of water systems in the U.S.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/close-up-of-young-asian-woman-pouring-water-from-royalty-free-image/1299286918?phrase=pouring%20water%20into%20glass&adppopup=true">d3sign/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Harmful chemicals known as PFAS can be found in everything from <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/dangerous-chemicals-found-in-baby-supplies-pet-food-packaging/ar-AA18o3wY">children’s clothes</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140017">soil</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-pfas-and-why-is-the-epa-warning-about-them-in-drinking-water-an-environmental-health-scientist-explains-185015">drinking water</a>, and regulating these chemicals has been a <a href="https://theconversation.com/pfas-forever-chemicals-are-widespread-and-threaten-human-health-heres-a-strategy-for-protecting-the-public-142953">goal of public and environmental health researchers</a> for years. On March 14, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed what would be the first set of <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-proposes-first-ever-national-standard-protect-communities">federal guidelines regulating levels of PFAS in drinking water</a>. The guidelines will be open to public comment for 60 days before being finalized.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=edLoshMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Joe Charbonnet</a> is an environmental engineer at Iowa State University who develops techniques to remove contaminants like PFAS from water. He explains what the proposed guidelines would require, how water utilities could meet these requirements and how much it might cost to get these so-called forever chemicals out of U.S. drinking water.</em></p>
<h2>1. What do the new guidelines say?</h2>
<p>PFAS are <a href="https://theconversation.com/regulating-forever-chemicals-3-essential-reads-on-pfas-201263">associated with a variety of health issues</a> and have been a focus of environmental and public health researchers. There are thousands of members of this class of chemicals, and this proposed regulation would set the allowable limits in drinking water for six of them.</p>
<p>Two of the six chemicals – PFOA and PFOS – are <a href="https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/fact-sheet-20102015-pfoa-stewardship-program">no longer produced in large quantities</a>, but they <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-pfas-and-why-is-the-epa-warning-about-them-in-drinking-water-an-environmental-health-scientist-explains-185015">remain common in the environment</a> because they were so widely used and break down extremely slowly. The new guidelines would allow for no more than four parts per trillion of PFOA or PFOS in drinking water.</p>
<p>Four other PFAS – GenX, PFBS, PFNA and PFHxS – would be regulated as well, although with higher limits. These chemicals are common replacements for PFOA and PFOS and are their close chemical cousins. Because of their similarity, they cause harm to human and environmental health <a href="https://pfastoxdatabase.org/">in much the same way</a> as legacy PFAS.</p>
<p>A few states have already established their own limits on levels of PFAS in drinking water, but these new guidelines, if enacted, would be the first legally enforceable federal limits and would affect the entire U.S. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515627/original/file-20230315-2738-19docw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A water droplet sitting on a piece of fabric." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515627/original/file-20230315-2738-19docw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515627/original/file-20230315-2738-19docw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515627/original/file-20230315-2738-19docw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515627/original/file-20230315-2738-19docw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515627/original/file-20230315-2738-19docw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515627/original/file-20230315-2738-19docw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515627/original/file-20230315-2738-19docw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chemicals used to create water-repellent fabrics and nonstick pans often contain PFAS and leak those chemicals into the environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_water_droplet_DWR-coated_surface2_edit1.jpg#/media/File:A_water_droplet_DWR-coated_surface2_edit1.jpg">Brocken Inaglory/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. How many utilities will need to make changes?</h2>
<p>PFAS are harmful <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.2c02765">even at extremely low levels</a>, and the proposed limits reflect that fact. The allowable concentrations would be comparable to a few grains of salt in an Olympic-size swimming pool. Hundreds of utilities all across the U.S. <a href="https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/pfas_contamination/map/">have levels of PFAS above the proposed limits</a> in their water supplies and would need to make changes to meet these standards. </p>
<p>While many areas have been tested for PFAS in the past, many systems have not, so health officials don’t know precisely how many water systems would be affected. A recent study used existing data to estimate that about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00713">40% of municipal drinking water supplies</a> may exceed the proposed concentration limits.</p>
<h2>3. What can utilities do to meet the guidelines?</h2>
<p>There are two major technologies that most utilities consider for removing PFAS from drinking water: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/overview-drinking-water-treatment-technologies">activated carbon or ion exchange systems</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515628/original/file-20230315-20-qih6p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A membrane treatment system." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515628/original/file-20230315-20-qih6p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515628/original/file-20230315-20-qih6p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515628/original/file-20230315-20-qih6p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515628/original/file-20230315-20-qih6p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515628/original/file-20230315-20-qih6p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515628/original/file-20230315-20-qih6p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515628/original/file-20230315-20-qih6p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Water treatment systems can use activated carbon or ion exchange to remove PFAS from drinking water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/industry-sustainability-water-purification-filter-royalty-free-image/1382353791?phrase=water%20purification%20plant&adppopup=true">Paola Giannoni/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Activated carbon is a charcoal-like substance that PFAS stick to quite well and can be used to remove PFAS from water. In 2006, the town of Oakdale, Minnesota, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12940-020-00591-0">added an activated carbon treatment step</a> to its water system. Not only did this additional water treatment bring PFAS levels down substantially, there were significant improvements in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-020-00591-0">birth weight and the number of full-term pregnancies</a> in that community after the change. </p>
<p>Ion exchange systems work by flowing water over charged particles that can remove PFAS. Ion exchange systems are typically even better at lowering PFAS concentrations than activated carbon systems, but they are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1039/D2EW00080F">also more expensive</a>.</p>
<p>Another option available to some cities is simply finding alternative water sources that are less contaminated. While this is a wonderful, low-cost means of lowering contamination, it points to a major disparity in environmental justice; more rural and less well-resourced utilities are <a href="https://perma.cc/3HTS-8E3H">unlikely to have this option</a>.</p>
<h2>4. Is such a major transition feasible?</h2>
<p>By law, the EPA must consider not just human health but also the feasibility of treatment and the potential financial cost when <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/national-primary-drinking-water-regulations">setting maximum contaminant levels in drinking water</a>. While the proposed limits are certainly attainable for many water utilities, the costs will be high.</p>
<p>The federal government has made available <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-2-billion-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-funding">billions of dollars</a> in funding for treating water. But some estimates put the total cost of meeting the proposed regulations for the entire country at around <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/13/the-battle-over-who-pays-to-clean-up-chemicals-00056136">US$400 billion</a> – much more than the available funding. Some municipalities may seek financial help for treatment from nearby polluters, while others may raise water rates to cover the costs.</p>
<h2>5. What happens next?</h2>
<p>The EPA has set a 60-day period for public comment on the proposed regulations, after which it can finalize the guidelines. But many experts expect the EPA to <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/pfas-rule-sets-up-sprawling-legal-war/">face a number of legal challenges</a>. Time will tell what the final version of the regulations may look like. </p>
<p>This regulation is intended to keep the U.S. in the enviable position of having some of the <a href="https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2020/component/h2o">highest-quality drinking water</a> in the world. As researchers and health officials learn more about new chemical threats, it is important to ensure that every resident has access to clean and affordable tap water.</p>
<p>While these six PFAS certainly pose threats to health that merit regulation, there are thousands of PFAS that likely have very <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBjQYUjEUb4">similar impacts on human health</a>. Rather than playing chemical whack-a-mole by regulating one PFAS at a time, there is a growing consensus among researchers and public health officials that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00255">PFAS should be regulated as a class of chemicals</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201855/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joe Charbonnet receives funding from the US EPA for research that is not directly related to PFAS. This article contains links to resources from the Green Science Policy Institute, which previously employed Dr. Charbonnet. </span></em></p>The drinking water systems serving over 70 million people may not meet newly proposed water quality standards. It could cost hundreds of billions of dollars to fix that.Joe Charbonnet, Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2012632023-03-07T13:43:51Z2023-03-07T13:43:51ZRegulating ‘forever chemicals’: 3 essential reads on PFAS<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513777/original/file-20230306-18-sez2sy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=49%2C0%2C5472%2C3620&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new federal regulation will set national limits on two 'forever chemicals' widely found in drinking water.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-holding-a-glass-of-water-royalty-free-image/871648094">Thanasis Zovoilis/moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pfas-epa-water-regulations-d2d5052c36a5a95f4e56866f028c9c4f">release a draft regulation</a> limiting two fluorinated chemicals, known by the abbreviations <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/PFOA_FactSheet.html#">PFOA</a> and <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=PFOS&oq=PFOS&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59j69i60l3.3403j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">PFOS</a>, in drinking water. These chemicals are two types of PFAS, a broad class of substances often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they are very persistent in the environment. </p>
<p>PFAS are widely used in hundreds of products, from nonstick cookware coatings to food packaging, stain- and water-resistant clothing and firefighting foams. Studies show that high levels of PFAS exposure may lead to <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/index.html#">health effects</a> that include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2105018118">reduced immune system function</a>, increased cholesterol levels and elevated risk of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2021.1909668">kidney or testicular cancer</a>. </p>
<p>Population-based screenings over the past 20 years show that most Americans have been exposed to PFAS and have <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/us-population.html">detectable levels in their blood</a>. The new regulation is designed to protect public health by setting an enforceable maximum standard limiting how much of the two target chemicals can be <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas">present in drinking water</a> – one of the main human exposure pathways. </p>
<p>These three articles from The Conversation’s archives explain growing concerns about the health effects of exposure to PFAS and why many experts support national regulation of these chemicals. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1629789902274547713"}"></div></p>
<h2>1. Ubiquitous and persistent</h2>
<p>PFAS are useful in many types of products because they provide resistance to water, grease and stains, and protect against fire. Studies have found that most products labeled stain- or water-resistant contained PFAS – even if those products are labeled as “nontoxic” or “green.”</p>
<p>“Once people are exposed to PFAS, the chemicals <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-pfas-an-environmental-health-scientist-explains-185015">remain in their bodies</a> for a long time – months to years, depending on the specific compound – and they can accumulate over time,” wrote Middlebury College environmental health scholar <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YCD-cegAAAAJ&hl=en">Kathryn Crawford</a>. A 2021 review of PFAS toxicity studies in humans “concluded with a high degree of certainty that PFAS contribute to thyroid disease, elevated cholesterol, liver damage and kidney and testicular cancer.”</p>
<p>The review also found strong evidence that in utero PFAS exposure increases the chances that babies will be born at low birth weights and have reduced immune responses to vaccines. Other possible effects yet to be confirmed include “inflammatory bowel disease, reduced fertility, breast cancer and an increased likelihood of miscarriage and developing high blood pressure and preeclampsia during pregnancy.”</p>
<p>“Collectively, this is a formidable list of diseases and disorders,” Crawford observed.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-pfas-the-forever-chemicals-showing-up-in-drinking-water-an-environmental-health-scientist-explains-185015">What are PFAS, the 'forever chemicals' showing up in drinking water? An environmental health scientist explains</a>
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</p>
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<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RvAOuhyunhY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The 2019 movie ‘Dark Waters’ is a dramatized account of attorney Robert Bilott’s 20-year legal battle against chemical manufacturing corporation DuPont after the company contaminated a town in West Virginia with PFOA. Bilott won a US$671 million settlement on behalf of more than 3,500 plaintiffs who claimed the chemical had given them diseases that included kidney cancer and testicular cancer.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Why national regulations are needed</h2>
<p>Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to set enforceable national regulations for drinking water contaminants. It also can require state, local and tribal governments, which manage drinking water supplies, to monitor public water systems for the presence of contaminants.</p>
<p>Until now, however, the agency has not set binding standards limiting PFAS exposure, although it has issued nonbinding advisory guidelines. In 2009 the agency established a health advisory level for PFOA in drinking water of 400 parts per trillion. In 2016, it lowered this recommendation to 70 parts per trillion, and in 2022 it <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-new-drinking-water-health-advisories-pfas-chemicals-1-billion-bipartisan">reduced this threshold to near-zero</a>. </p>
<p>But many scientists have found fault with this approach. EPA’s one-at-a-time approach to assessing potentially harmful chemicals “<a href="https://theconversation.com/pfas-forever-chemicals-are-widespread-and-threaten-human-health-heres-a-strategy-for-protecting-the-public-142953">isn’t working for PFAS</a>, given the sheer number of them and the fact that manufacturers commonly replace toxic substances with ‘regrettable substitutes – similar, lesser-known chemicals that also threaten human health and the environment,” wrote North Carolina State University biologist <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Carol-F-Kwiatkowski-2002679758">Carol Kwiatkowski</a>. </p>
<p>In 2020 Kwiatkowski and other scientists urged the EPA to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00255">manage the entire class of PFAS chemicals as a group</a>, instead of one by one. “We also support an 'essential uses’ approach that would restrict their production and use only to products that are critical for health and proper functioning of society, such as medical devices and safety equipment. And we have recommended developing safer non-PFAS alternatives,” she wrote. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pfas-forever-chemicals-are-widespread-and-threaten-human-health-heres-a-strategy-for-protecting-the-public-142953">PFAS 'forever chemicals' are widespread and threaten human health – here's a strategy for protecting the public</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513787/original/file-20230306-24-b0x7ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A medical technician takes a blood sample from a man sitting in a chair." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513787/original/file-20230306-24-b0x7ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513787/original/file-20230306-24-b0x7ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513787/original/file-20230306-24-b0x7ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513787/original/file-20230306-24-b0x7ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513787/original/file-20230306-24-b0x7ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513787/original/file-20230306-24-b0x7ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513787/original/file-20230306-24-b0x7ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Medical assistant Jennifer Martinez draws blood from Joshua Smith in Newburgh, N.Y., Nov. 3, 2016, to test for PFOS levels. PFOS had been used for years in firefighting foam at the nearby military air base, and was found in the city’s drinking water reservoir at levels exceeding federal guidelines.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TaintedWaterBloodTesting/bff899a063f2467f934c3ac27dd2c5f9/photo">AP Photo/Mike Groll</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Breaking down PFAS</h2>
<p>PFAS chemicals are widely present in <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-explained">water, air, soil and fish</a> around the world. Unlike with some other types of pollutants, there is no natural process that breaks down PFAS once they get into water or soil. Many scientists are working to develop ways of capturing these chemicals from the environment and breaking them down into harmless components.</p>
<p>There are ways to filter PFAS out of water, but that’s just the start. “Once PFAS is captured, then you have to dispose of PFAS-loaded activated carbons, and PFAS still moves around. If you bury contaminated materials in a landfill or elsewhere, PFAS will eventually leach out. That’s why <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-destroy-a-forever-chemical-scientists-are-discovering-ways-to-eliminate-pfas-but-this-growing-global-health-problem-isnt-going-away-soon-188965">finding ways to destroy it</a> are essential,” wrote Michigan State University chemists <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/A-Daniel-Jones-39771191">A. Daniel Jones</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=K5qNMk4AAAAJ&hl=en">Hui Li</a>. </p>
<p>Incineration is the most common technique, they explained, but that typically requires heating the materials to around 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,730 degrees Fahrenheit), which is expensive and requires special incinerators. Various chemical processes offer alternatives, but the approaches that have been developed so far are hard to scale up. And converting PFAS into toxic byproducts is a significant concern.</p>
<p>“If there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s that we need to think through the full life cycle of products. How long do we really need chemicals to last?” Jones and Li wrote.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-destroy-a-forever-chemical-scientists-are-discovering-ways-to-eliminate-pfas-but-this-growing-global-health-problem-isnt-going-away-soon-188965">How to destroy a 'forever chemical' – scientists are discovering ways to eliminate PFAS, but this growing global health problem isn't going away soon</a>
</strong>
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<p><em>Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201263/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
The Biden administration is finalizing the first federal limits on two compounds, PFOA and PFOS, in drinking water. These so-called ‘forever chemicals’ have been linked to numerous health effects.Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Cities Editor, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2003932023-02-28T13:25:32Z2023-02-28T13:25:32ZWhich state you live in matters for how well environmental laws protect your health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512228/original/file-20230224-2030-q1yzwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1453%2C0%2C3198%2C2035&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pesticide use on school playing fields varies from state to state. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/kids-play-football-on-outdoor-field-children-score-royalty-free-image/1409423595">matimix/iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Your child could go to gym class on Monday morning and play soccer on a field that was sprayed over the weekend with <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/training/toxmanual/modules/4/lecturenotes.html">2,4-D, a toxic weedkiller</a> that has been <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29912510/">investigated as possibly causing cancer</a>. Alternatively, the school grounds may have been treated with a lower-toxicity weedkiller. Or maybe the grounds were managed with safe, nontoxic products and techniques.</p>
<p>Which of these scenarios applies depends in large part on your state’s laws and regulations today – more so than federal regulations.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.texasagriculture.gov/Regulatory-Programs/Pesticides/Structural-Pest-Control-Service/School-Integrated-Pest-Management">Texas</a> requires all school districts to adopt an integrated pest management program for school buildings; IPM prioritizes nonchemical pest control methods and includes some protections regarding <a href="https://schoolipm.tamu.edu/files/2019/10/Texas-School-IPM-laws-and-rules.pdf">spraying of grounds</a>. <a href="https://www.mass.gov/doc/333-cmr-14-protection-of-children-and-families-from-harmful-pesticides/download">Massachusetts</a> also restricts pesticide use on school grounds. Illinois requires IPM for school buildings only <a href="http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/ipm/faq.htm">if economically feasible</a>. States also vary greatly in the education and technical assistance they provide to implement these practices.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two men with sprayers connected to hoses walk across a lawn, spraying it. One has a backpack container with liquid inside." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chemical pesticides can be harmful to human health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/two-pest-control-technicians-with-portable-spray-royalty-free-image/145091307">Huntstock/Brand X Pictures via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is involved in some baseline pesticide functions, <a href="https://peer.org/beyond-2020-pesticides/">shortcomings of the main pesticide law</a>, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-the-epas-lax-regulation-of-dangerous-pesticides-is-hurting-public-health-and-the-us-economy/">along with industry influence</a>, can leave vulnerable groups like children inadequately protected from these exposures. </p>
<p>EPA registers products for use based on a finding that they do not cause an “unreasonable” risk but <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24758543">considers economic costs and benefits</a>, an approach that can result in decisions that pose health risks. And required labels may <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2854748/">omit ingredients</a> considered trade secrets.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://publichealth.uic.edu/profiles/susan-kaplan/">environmental health lawyer and professor</a>, I teach, write and think about the pros and cons of one level of government or the other overseeing environmental health – the impact of the natural and human-made environment on human health. Pesticides on school grounds are just one example of the problem of uneven protection from one state to the next.</p>
<h2>Congress eased off, states stepped in</h2>
<p>State policy choices have become more important for limiting people’s exposure to pollution and toxins as the federal government has increasingly retreated from major environmental health lawmaking.</p>
<p>Many of the country’s major environmental health laws were <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/insights-on-law-and-society/volume-19/insights-vol--19---issue-1/environmental-law---politics/">passed in the 1970s</a> on the momentum of the environmental movement and with bipartisan support that is rarely seen today. </p>
<p>For example, the Clean Air Act amendments of 1970 <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL30853">required U.S. EPA to regulate</a> a wide range of air pollutants, in some cases based explicitly on protecting human health. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/23/archives/tough-new-cleanair-bill-passed-by-senate-73-to-0-a-tough-cleanair.html">They were approved</a> 374-1 in the House and 73-0 by the Senate and signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon. Nixon signed the law that created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1971.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A 1970s-era photo of cars on a freeway with 'Santa Monica' on the sign." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Concerns about smog from vehicles that choked cities like Los Angeles helped lead to environmental laws in the 1970s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/rush-hour-traffic-leaving-downtown-los-angeles-in-santa-news-photo/1387469939">Bettmann Archive/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>One analyst has written that groups that pressed legislators for environmental protection later splintered into groups advocating for and against environmental laws, reflecting an emerging debate over the <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-politicized-the-environment-and-climate-change-52239">appropriate extent of regulation</a>.</p>
<p>At the same time, after the success of many federal environmental health laws, attention turned to problems that are <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/environmental-protection-the-states-race-to-the-bottom-or-race-to-the-bottom-line/">harder for Washington to solve</a>. With state environmental programs growing, some suggested that the U.S. EPA’s role should shift <a href="https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1319&context=wmelpr">from compelling to catalyzing</a> – from requiring specific pollution-reducing actions to helping states act by providing increased information and help with compliance. Yet this view acknowledged that under this scenario, residents of some states would enjoy stronger environmental health protections than others.</p>
<p>Reflecting this dynamic and the extent of political division in the U.S., even when the federal government does create tougher environmental regulations, they are <a href="https://apnews.com/article/5c675cd468e648e7b97d4988bbb3d05e">often reversed</a> by the succeeding administration or challenged in court.</p>
<h2>Sometimes, states should make the decisions</h2>
<p>In some cases, it makes sense to leave decisions to states. A health department in a western state may focus on protecting vulnerable groups from wildfire smoke, given the growth of blazes in that part of the country. Some states may welcome fracking operations while others prefer to keep them out.</p>
<p>States can also serve as laboratories of innovation, and the experiences of state programs and policies can inform federal actions.</p>
<p>But this regulatory patchwork creates inequities. If you live in one of the <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/states-have-adopted-californias-vehicle-standards-under-section-177-federal">dozen-and-a-half states</a> that follow California’s tailpipe emissions standards rather than the less stringent federal standards, you probably benefit from reduced air pollution. </p>
<p><iframe id="wKn2o" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/wKn2o/5/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The same holds for East Coast residents within the confederation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which limits greenhouse gas emissions – and other air pollutants in the process. A <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP6706">recent study that compared RGGI states</a> with neighboring non-RGGI states concluded that data “indicate that RGGI has provided substantial child health benefits,” including a reduction in childhood asthma cases.</p>
<p>Drinking water limits or labeling requirements for PFAS – perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – also <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2022/09/22/states-take-on-pfas-forever-chemicals-with-bans-lawsuits">vary by state</a>. PFAS are found in products from nonstick cookware to some personal care products, and they have been linked with a range of troubling health effects. Because of their toxicity, broad scope of contamination and longevity in the environment, <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/ag-healey-calls-on-us-senate-to-pass-legislation-to-protect-the-public-from-highly-toxic-forever-chemicals">18 states’ attorneys general</a> are asking for a federal law.</p>
<h2>How you can hold lawmakers to account</h2>
<p>Environmental health often suffers from a cycle of panic and neglect. People worry about a concern like the chemical <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Alar_and_apples">alar used on apples</a>, until the next issue erupts. The public can keep up pressure on state and federal decision-makers to consider how the environment affects health in an array of ways:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>One person can be dismissed as an outlier, so start a group or join other groups that have similar interests.</p></li>
<li><p>Research the problem and best practices and possible solutions, like program or policy development, education or stepped-up enforcement. Then call, email and send letters to elected representatives and request a meeting to clearly and concisely explain your concerns and ideas.</p></li>
<li><p>Identify a “champion” – someone in a position to spearhead a change, like a school nurse or facilities manager – and reach out to them.</p></li>
<li><p>Get the issue into the local news media by writing op-eds and social media posts. Be sure to communicate benefits of the action you’re advocating, like improved school attendance or financial return on investment.</p></li>
<li><p>Attend public meetings and speak on the issue during the public comment period. Successes at the local level can provide examples for state officials.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Kaplan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An environmental health lawyer explains why some states have weaker rules than others, and how you can make your concerns heard.Susan Kaplan, Research Assistant Professor of Public Health, University of Illinois ChicagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1999532023-02-17T13:25:11Z2023-02-17T13:25:11ZHow vinyl chloride, the chemical in the Ohio train derailment and used to make PVC plastics, can damage your liver<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510674/original/file-20230216-20-8gyl1y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=204%2C43%2C6628%2C3998&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An illustration of a human liver with cirrhosis. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/liver-cirrhosis-illustration-royalty-free-illustration/1296294408">Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/deraillement-dun-train-en-ohio-quels-sont-les-effets-du-chlorure-de-vinyle-ce-produit-chimique-qui-inquiete-les-riverains-200368"><em>Lire cet article en français</em></a></p>
<p>Vinyl chloride – the chemical in several of the train cars that derailed and burned in East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023 – can wreak havoc on the human liver.</p>
<p>It has been shown <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.23321">to cause liver cancer</a>, as well as a nonmalignant liver disease known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0192623312468517">TASH, or toxicant-associated steatohepatitis</a>. With TASH, the livers of otherwise healthy people can develop the same fat accumulation, inflammation and scarring (fibrosis and cirrhosis) as people who have cirrhosis from alcohol or obesity.</p>
<p>That kind of damage typically requires relatively high levels of vinyl chloride exposure – the kind an industrial worker might experience on the job.</p>
<p>However, exposures to lower environmental concentrations are still a concern. That’s in part because little is known about the impact low-level exposure might have on liver health, especially for people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2021.09.005">with underlying liver disease</a> and other risks.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=beier%2C+Ji">assistant professor</a> of medicine and environmental and occupational health, I study the impact of vinyl chloride exposure on the liver, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/hsz-2017-0324">particularly on how it may affect</a> people with underlying liver disease. Recent findings have changed our understanding of the risk.</p>
<h2>Lessons from ‘Rubbertown’</h2>
<p>Vinyl chloride is <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/vinyl-chloride">used to produce PVC</a>, a hard plastic used for pipes, as well as in some packaging, coatings and wires.</p>
<p>Its health risks were <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23386284">discovered in the 1970s</a> at a B.F. Goodrich factory in the Rubbertown neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. Four workers involved in the polymerization process for producing polyvinyl chloride there each developed angiosarcoma of the liver, an extremely rare type of tumor.</p>
<p>Their cases became among the most important <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23386284">sentinel events</a> in the history of occupational medicine and led to the worldwide recognition of vinyl chloride as a carcinogen.</p>
<p>The liver is the <a href="https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=how-the-liver-works-90-P02006">body’s filter</a> for removing toxicants from the blood. Specialized cells known as hepatocytes help reduce the toxicity of drugs, alcohol, caffeine and environmental chemicals and then send away the waste to be excreted.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wbh3SjzydnQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How the liver works.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The hallmark of vinyl chloride exposure to the liver is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0192623312468517">paradoxical combination</a> of normal liver function tests and the presence of fat in the liver and the death of hepatic cells, which make up the bulk of the liver’s mass. However, the detailed mechanisms that lead to vinyl chloride-induced liver disease are still largely unknown.</p>
<p>Recent research has demonstrated that exposure to vinyl chloride, even at levels below the federal limits for safety, can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2021.09.002">enhance liver disease</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/hep4.1151">caused by</a> a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrestox.8b00043">Western diet</a>” – one <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfz236">rich in fat</a> and sugar. This previously unidentified interaction between vinyl chloride and underlying fatty liver diseases raises concerns that the risk from lower vinyl chloride exposures may be underestimated.</p>
<h2>Outdoor exposure and the risk from wells</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp20.pdf">In outdoor air</a>, vinyl chloride becomes diluted fairly quickly. Sunlight also breaks it down, typically in nine to 11 days. Therefore, outdoor air exposure is likely not a problem except with intense periods of exposure, such as immediately following a release of vinyl chloride. If there is a chemical smell, or you feel itchy or disorientated, leave the area and seek medical attention.</p>
<p>Vinyl chloride also disperses in water. The federal <a href="https://www.epa.gov/eg/toxic-and-priority-pollutants-under-clean-water-act">Clean Water Act</a> requires monitoring and removing volatile organic compounds such as vinyl chloride from municipal water supplies, so those shouldn’t be a concern.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0Vb1CmT98c">private wells</a> could become contaminated if vinyl chloride enters the groundwater. Private wells are not regulated by the Clean Water Act and are not usually monitored.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510671/original/file-20230216-24-99mz94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Train cars after the derailment are jumbled and on fire." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510671/original/file-20230216-24-99mz94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510671/original/file-20230216-24-99mz94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510671/original/file-20230216-24-99mz94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510671/original/file-20230216-24-99mz94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510671/original/file-20230216-24-99mz94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510671/original/file-20230216-24-99mz94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510671/original/file-20230216-24-99mz94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nearly a dozen train cars carrying hazardous chemicals were among those that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023, and burned.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APTOPIXTrainDerailmentOhio/a1db9c7fca1348d491fde492696180d6/photo">AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Vinyl chloride readily volatilizes into the air from water, and it can accumulate in <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxguides/toxguide-20.pdf">enclosed spaces</a> located above contaminated groundwater. This is especially a concern <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10473289.1991.10466844">if the water is heated</a>, such as for showers or during cooking. Vinyl chloride gas in enclosed spaces can therefore accumulate. This effect is similar to recent concerns <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010075">about fumes from natural gas stoves</a> in poorly ventilated homes.</p>
<p>Although there are <a href="https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1017">established safety levels</a> for acute and intermediate exposure, such levels don’t exist for chronic exposures, so testing over time is important.</p>
<p>What can be done? Anyone with a private well that <a href="https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=15933">may have been exposed</a> to vinyl chloride should have the well <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxguides/toxguide-20.pdf">monitored and tested</a> more than once. People can air out their homes and are encouraged to seek medical help if they experience dizziness or itching eyes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199953/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Juliane I. Beier receives funding from National Institutes of Health. </span></em></p>Vinyl chloride dilutes fairly quickly in outside air and water. One concern for lingering exposure from the derailment involves private wells.Juliane I. Beier, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Environmental Health, Member of Pittburgh Liver Research Center, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1994872023-02-09T16:31:46Z2023-02-09T16:31:46ZLack of diversity in clinical trials is leaving women and patients of color behind and harming the future of medicine – Podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509021/original/file-20230208-15-u9tmxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=73%2C196%2C2652%2C1495&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Most clinical trials overrepresent young white males. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/illustration-of-a-group-of-people-wearing-royalty-free-illustration/1267173084?phrase=medicine%20diverse&adppopup=true">Andresr/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Its a great day when you find a piece of clothing that fits perfectly. A good shirt, the right pair of shoes or a well-cut dress is comfortable, looks nice and feels like it was made just for you. Now imagine a world where every shirt was the same size, every shoe was the same design and there weren’t even differences between the cut of men’s and women’s clothing. Getting dressed in the morning would be clunky, and clothes would be uncomfortable. In other words, one size does not fit all.</p>
<p>Yet, this lack of bespoke options is more or less the reality of medicine today. Despite the many biological differences between people of different genders, races, ages and life histories, chances are that if two people walk into a doctor’s office with the same symptoms, they are going to get roughly the same treatment. As you can imagine, a whole range of treatments – from drugs to testing – could be much more effective if they were designed to work with many different kinds of bodies, not just some abstract, generic human. </p>
<p>In this episode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a> podcast, we speak to three researchers who are looking at ways to make medicine better suited to you. It starts with simply making sure that clinical trial participants look like the actual population of patients a drug is meant to treat. And as we explore in this episode, in the future, precision medicine could help each person get <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-use-precision-medicine-to-personalize-covid-19-treatment-according-to-the-patients-genes-142142">medical care that is tailored to their own biology</a>, just like a custom shirt.</p>
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<p>In 1977, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a set of policy guidelines that explicitly banned “women of childbearing age” from <a href="https://www.womenshealth.gov/30-achievements/04">participating in clinical trials</a> of new drugs. Though done out of a fear of causing birth defects, the result was that for more than a decade, new drugs were going to market with little information about how they might affect women. Due to systemic biases, research has found that people of color are routinely underrepresented in clinical trials today, too. For the most part, medical research has been done on <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/racial-disparities-clinical-trials-5114529">healthy, young and middle-aged men of European descent</a>.</p>
<p>This is a problem in the U.S, according to <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wd-fP1EAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">Jennifer Miller, a bioethicist at Yale University</a>. “If you’re not included in the trial, this raises questions about whether the drug’s safety and efficacy information applies to patients like you,” she says.</p>
<p>In recent years, a number of researchers across the U.S. – like <a href="https://www.msm.edu/about_us/FacultyDirectory/Medicine/JuliaLiu/index.php">Julia Liu</a>, a professor of medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine – have been trying to figure out ways to improve the diversity of clinical trial participants. Part of the problem, Liu explains, stems from a myth within medicine that Black people don’t like to participate in medical research due to the history of abuses the U.S. medical system has inflicted on African Americans, like the infamous Tuskegee Experiment. But when Liu began running her own trials on a new prostate cancer test at a hospital that serves a majority-African American population, she <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-black-patients-do-want-to-help-with-medical-research-here-are-ways-to-overcome-the-barriers-that-keep-clinical-trials-from-recruiting-diverse-populations-185337">found quite the opposite</a>. </p>
<p>“It turned out that just about everyone I asked said, ‘I would love to do that,’” explains Liu. “Half of the eligible patients agreed.” Black patients were just as eager to participate in research as white patients, and according to Liu, a big reason for lack of diversity in clinical trials is that they are mostly run out research hospitals in wealthier, whiter cities, not out of hospitals with diverse patients.</p>
<p>According to Miller’s research, only <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.7063">4% of trials in recent years used a representative population</a>, but she is optimistic. Women are now much better represented in trials, and with regard to equal racial representation, “that 4% does tell us is that it’s possible to get this right.” </p>
<p>Efforts like those of Liu and Miller are similar to how companies make shirts in different sizes to better fit different bodies. Once researchers do this work, health care providers can choose which drugs are likely to work better and have fewer risks for different patients based on their individual demographics. </p>
<p>Better representation is a start, but anyone who has been lucky enough to get custom-made clothing knows just how well a shirt can really fit. This is the idea behind precision medicine. According to <a href="https://profiles.ucsf.edu/Keith.Yamamoto">Keith Yamamoto</a>, who directs the precision medicine center at the University of California, San Francisco, in the U.S., in the near future it may be possible to “achieve an understanding of health and disease to the extent that we could give advice to Dan Merino, not just people like Dan.” </p>
<p>This approach to medicine would incorporate basic biology, a person’s individual genetics and life history and the wealth of all existing medical research – precision medicine is an information and computation problem. To work, it needs good data – the representative data missing from clinical trials. As Yamamoto said, “Precision medicine will fail if we don’t address those issues in a head-on way.”</p>
<p>Listen to the full episode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a> to find out more. </p>
<hr>
<p>This episode of The Conversation Weekly was produced by Katie Flood. It was written by Katie Flood and Daniel Merino. Sound design is by Eloise Stevens, and the theme music is by Neeta Sarl.</p>
<p>You can find us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">@theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also sign up for The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">free emails here</a>. A transcript of this episode will be available soon. </p>
<p>Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a> or find out <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">how else to listen here</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199487/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Miller has served on the advisory board for Alexion Pharmaceuticals and directs the Good Pharma Scorecard. She receives funding from from the FDA, NIH and Arnold Ventures and sits on the board of the nonprofit Bioethics International.
Keith Yamamoto sits on the scientific advisory board of Mate Bioservices. He is the President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), chair of the Coalition for the Life Sciences, co-chair of the NASEM Roundtable on Aligning Incentives for Open Science and of the Science and Technology Action Committee, vice chair of the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine Advisory Council. He is a member of the Boards of Directors of the Public Library of Science, Research! America and Rapid Science, the Governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Board of Counselors for the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, the Advisory Board for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Council of EBRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Liu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Medicine works better when the treatments are tailored to fit each individual person’s biology and history. A first step is increasing diversity in clinical trials, but the end goal is precision medicine.Daniel Merino, Associate Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationNehal El-Hadi, Science + Technology Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1986502023-01-27T13:27:37Z2023-01-27T13:27:37ZLA’s long, troubled history with urban oil drilling is nearing an end after years of health concerns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506677/original/file-20230126-12-fuo62g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C31%2C2896%2C1962&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Active oil wells can often be found next door to homes, office buildings and even schools.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jet-lands-at-los-angeles-international-airport-as-oil-rigs-news-photo/80864709">David McNew/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/limpact-des-puits-de-petrole-sur-la-sante-le-cas-edifiant-de-los-angeles-198809">Lire cet article en français</a></em></p>
<p>Los Angeles had oil wells pumping in its neighborhoods when Hollywood was in its infancy, and thousands of active wells still dot the city.</p>
<p>These wells can emit toxic chemicals such as benzene and other irritants into the air, often just feet from homes, schools and parks. But now, after nearly a decade of community organizing and studies demonstrating the adverse health impacts on people living nearby, Los Angeles’ long history with urban drilling is nearing an end.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-25/los-angeles-county-blocks-new-oil-wells-mirroring-citywide-ban">unanimous vote</a> on Jan. 24, 2023, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to ban new oil and gas extraction and phase out existing operations. It followed a <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/los-angeles-city-council-votes-ban-oil-gas-94371123">similar vote</a> by the Los Angeles City Council a month earlier. The city set a 20-year phaseout period, while the county has yet to set a timetable.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=t4m6sjAAAAAJ&hl=en">environmental health</a> <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bhavna-Shamasunder">researchers</a>, we study the impacts of oil drilling on surrounding communities. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.111088">Our research</a> shows that <a href="http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010138">people living near these urban oil operations</a> suffer higher rates of asthma than average, as well as wheezing, eye irritation and sore throats. In some cases, the impact on residents’ lungs is worse than living beside a highway or being exposed to secondhand smoke every day. </p>
<h2>LA was once an oil town with forests of derricks</h2>
<p>Over a century ago, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3985379">first industry to boom</a> in Los Angeles was oil. </p>
<p>Oil was abundant and flowed close to the surface. In early 20th-century California, sparse laws governed mineral extraction, and rights to oil accrued to those who could pull it out of the ground first. This ushered in a period of rampant drilling, with wells and associated machinery crisscrossing the landscape. By the mid-1920s, Los Angeles was one of the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3985379?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents">largest oil-exporting regions</a> in the world. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402241/original/file-20210523-102683-u0ildq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A historic black-and-white photo shows a street with houses, old cars and dozens of oil derricks on the hill behind them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402241/original/file-20210523-102683-u0ildq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402241/original/file-20210523-102683-u0ildq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402241/original/file-20210523-102683-u0ildq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402241/original/file-20210523-102683-u0ildq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402241/original/file-20210523-102683-u0ildq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402241/original/file-20210523-102683-u0ildq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402241/original/file-20210523-102683-u0ildq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A 1924 photo shows the oil derricks on Signal Hill.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://waterandpower.org/museum/Early_City_Views%20(1925%20+).html">Water and Power Museum Archive</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402245/original/file-20210523-23-dk3nal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An old black-and-white photo of a roller coaster on a pier, with the city behind it and then a long row of oil derricks behind that on a ridge." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402245/original/file-20210523-23-dk3nal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402245/original/file-20210523-23-dk3nal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402245/original/file-20210523-23-dk3nal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402245/original/file-20210523-23-dk3nal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402245/original/file-20210523-23-dk3nal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402245/original/file-20210523-23-dk3nal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402245/original/file-20210523-23-dk3nal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The view across The Pike amusement park and downtown Long Beach, California, in 1940 shows a forest of oil derricks in the background.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://waterandpower.org/museum/Early_City_Views%20(1925%20+).html">Water and Power Museum Archive</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Oil rigs were so pervasive across the region that the Los Angeles Times described them in 1930 as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jas079">trees in a forest</a>.” Working-class communities were initially supportive of the industry because it promised jobs but later <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3985379">pushed back</a> as their neighborhoods witnessed explosions and oil spills, along with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-004-1159-0">longer-term damage to land, water and human health</a>.</p>
<p>Tensions over land use, extraction rights and subsequent drops in oil prices due to overproduction eventually resulted in curbs on drilling and a long-standing practice of oil companies’ voluntary “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jas079">self-regulation</a>,” such as noise-reduction technologies. The industry began touting these voluntary approaches to deflect governmental regulation.</p>
<p>Increasingly, oil companies disguised their activities with approaches such as operating <a href="https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/hidden-oil-wells/">inside buildings, building tall walls</a> and <a href="https://lbbusinessjournal.com/thums-oil-islands-half-a-century-later-still-unique-still-iconic">designing islands off Long Beach</a> and other sites to blend in with the landscape. Oil drilling was hidden in plain sight. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403472/original/file-20210530-17-ozo882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A silhouetted student with a backpack walks past an oil derrick covered with drawings of flowers outside a school." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403472/original/file-20210530-17-ozo882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403472/original/file-20210530-17-ozo882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403472/original/file-20210530-17-ozo882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403472/original/file-20210530-17-ozo882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403472/original/file-20210530-17-ozo882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403472/original/file-20210530-17-ozo882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403472/original/file-20210530-17-ozo882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beverly Hills High School earned money from an oil well, hidden behind walls covered with drawings, that operated until 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/decorative-flowery-exterior-masks-an-oil-rig-along-olympic-news-photo/566019401">Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today there are over 20,000 active, idle or abandoned wells spread across a county of 10 million people. About <a href="https://news.usc.edu/184929/urban-oil-wells-drilling-lung-health-los-angeles-usc-research/">one-third of residents</a> live less than a mile from an active well site, <a href="https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/doggr/wellfinder/#openModal/-118.23225/33.87983/12">some right next door</a>.</p>
<p>Since the 2000s, the advance of extractive technologies to access harder-to-reach deposits has led to a resurgence of oil extraction activities. As extraction in some neighborhoods has ramped up, people living in South Los Angeles and other neighborhoods in oil fields have noticed frequent <a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2013-sep-21-la-me-0922-oil-20130922-story.html">odors, nosebleeds and headaches</a>. </p>
<h2>Closer to urban oil drilling, poorer lung function</h2>
<p>The city of Los Angeles has no buffers or setbacks between oil extraction and homes, and approximately <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.111088">75% of active oil or gas wells are located within 500 meters</a> (1,640 feet) of “sensitive land uses,” such as homes, schools, child care facilities, parks or senior residential facilities. </p>
<p>Despite over a century of oil drilling in Los Angeles, until recently there was limited research into the health impacts. Working with <a href="https://envhealthcenters.usc.edu/2021/04/harnessing-the-expertise-of-community-health-workers-for-environmental-health-research.html">community health workers</a> and community-based organizations helped us gauge the impact oil wells are having on residents, particularly on its historically Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Oil drilling in Los Angeles.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The first step was a door-to-door survey of 813 neighbors from 203 households near wells in Las Cienegas oil field, just south and west of downtown. We found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010138">asthma</a> was significantly more common among people living near South Los Angeles oil wells than among residents of <a href="https://ask.chis.ucla.edu">Los Angeles County as a whole</a>. Nearly half the people we spoke with, 45%, didn’t know oil wells were operating nearby, and 63% didn’t know how to contact local regulatory authorities to report odors or environmental hazards. </p>
<p>Next, we measured lung function of 747 long-term residents, ages 10 to 85, living near two drilling sites. Poor lung capacity, measured as the amount of air a person can exhale after taking a deep breath, and lung strength, how strongly the person can exhale, and are both predictors of health problems including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-012-9750-2">respiratory disease, death from cardiovascular problems</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/thorax.58.5.388">early death in general</a>.</p>
<p>We found that the closer someone lived to an active or recently idle well site, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.111088">the poorer that person’s lung function</a>, even after adjusting for such other risk factors as smoking, asthma and living near a freeway. This research demonstrates a significant relationship between living near oil wells and worsened lung health.</p>
<p>People living up to 1,000 meters (0.6 miles) downwind of a well site showed lower lung function on average than those living farther away and upwind. The effect on their lungs’ capacity and strength was similar to impacts of living near a freeway or, for women, being exposed to secondhand smoke.</p>
<p>We found <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.2c04926">evidence</a> that oil-related contaminants, including toxic metals such as nickel and manganese, are getting into the bodies of the neighbors. This indicates contamination may be getting into the community. </p>
<p><iframe id="g7Qgh" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/g7Qgh/7/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Using a community monitoring network in South Los Angeles, we were able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117519">distinguish oil-related pollution</a> in neighborhoods near wells. We found short-term spikes of air pollutants and methane, a potent greenhouse gas, at monitors <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146194">less than 500 meters, about one-third of a mile, from oil sites</a>.</p>
<p>When oil production at a site <a href="https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EM00048A">stopped</a>, we observed significant reductions in such toxins as benzene, toluene and n-hexane in the air in adjacent neighborhoods. These <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp123-p.pdf">chemicals</a> are known irritants, carcinogens and reproductive toxins. They are also associated with dizziness, headaches, fatigue, tremors and respiratory system irritation, including difficulty breathing and, at higher levels, impaired lung function. </p>
<h2>Vulnerable communities at risk</h2>
<p>Many of the dozens of active oil wells in South Los Angeles are in historically Black and Hispanic communities that have been marginalized for decades. These neighborhoods are already considered among the <a href="https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/report/calenviroscreen-30">most highly polluted, with the most vulnerable residents</a> in the state. Residents contend with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35780656/">multiple environmental and social stressors</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403473/original/file-20210530-15-1w5wltk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing active well sites." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403473/original/file-20210530-15-1w5wltk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403473/original/file-20210530-15-1w5wltk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403473/original/file-20210530-15-1w5wltk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403473/original/file-20210530-15-1w5wltk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403473/original/file-20210530-15-1w5wltk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=629&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403473/original/file-20210530-15-1w5wltk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=629&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403473/original/file-20210530-15-1w5wltk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=629&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A state app called Well Finder locates active oil wells. Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed phasing out oil extraction statewide by 2045.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/doggr/wellfinder/#openModal/-118.00909/33.92186/12">State of California 2022</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The city’s timeline for phasing out existing wells is set for 20 years, leaving concerns about continuing health effects during this period. We believe these neighborhoods need sustained attention to reduce the existing health effects, and the city needs a plan for a just transition and cleanup of the oil fields as the areas transition to new uses.</p>
<p><em>This updates an <a href="https://theconversation.com/los-angeles-long-troubled-history-with-urban-oil-drilling-is-nearing-an-end-after-years-of-health-concerns-175983">article</a> originally published Feb. 3, 2022.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198650/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jill Johnston receives funding from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bhavna Shamasunder receives funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the 11th Hour Project.</span></em></p>The Los Angeles area has over 20,000 active, idle or abandoned oil wells. The city and county have voted to ban new ones after studies showed health problems in residents living nearby.Jill Johnston, Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern CaliforniaBhavna Shamasunder, Associate Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy, Occidental CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1927232023-01-05T20:37:28Z2023-01-05T20:37:28ZNo, you shouldn’t wash raw chicken before cooking it. So why do people still do it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490251/original/file-20221018-17274-k1s6c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C18%2C6256%2C4108&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Food safety authorities and regulators <a href="https://foodsafety.asn.au/topic/tips-poultry/">around</a> <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/chicken.html#:%7E:text=after%20handling%20chicken.-,Do%20not%20wash%20raw%20chicken.,that%20previously%20held%20raw%20chicken.">the</a> <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/cleaning">world</a> <a href="https://www.mpi.govt.nz/food-safety-home/preparing-and-storing-food-safely-at-home/clean-cook-chill/#:%7E:text=Don't%20wash%20raw%20chicken,food%20poisoning%20from%20campylobacter%20bacteria.">recommend</a> you don’t wash raw poultry before cooking. </p>
<p>That’s because washing chicken can splash dangerous bacteria around the kitchen. It’s best just to thoroughly cook the chicken without washing it, so it is safe to eat.</p>
<p>Despite this, chicken-washing remains common. A <a href="https://www.safefood.qld.gov.au/newsroom/does-raw-chicken-need-rinsing/">survey</a> by Australia’s Food Safety Information Council showed almost half of Australian home cooks washed whole chickens before cooking. Dutch research found <a href="https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2022/05/dutch-survey-finds-a-quarter-of-people-wash-chicken-despite-expert-advice/">25%</a> of consumers washed their chicken often or almost always.</p>
<p>So why do people do it – and what does the research say about the risks of chicken-washing?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490247/original/file-20221017-18129-wt6pzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C48%2C5391%2C3535&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person washes chicken over a sink." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490247/original/file-20221017-18129-wt6pzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C48%2C5391%2C3535&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490247/original/file-20221017-18129-wt6pzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490247/original/file-20221017-18129-wt6pzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490247/original/file-20221017-18129-wt6pzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490247/original/file-20221017-18129-wt6pzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490247/original/file-20221017-18129-wt6pzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490247/original/file-20221017-18129-wt6pzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia’s Food Safety Information Council recommends raw poultry not be washed before cooking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-you-can-reheat-food-more-than-once-heres-why-184158">Yes, you can reheat food more than once. Here's why</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Chicken meat and germs</h2>
<p>Incorrect cooking temperatures and cross-contamination between different foods are two of the most important factors linked to foodborne illness. </p>
<p>This is particularly relevant to poultry meat. Two leading causes of foodborne illness are the bacteria <em><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/campylobacter/index.html">Campylobacter</a></em> and <em><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/salmonella-food.html">Salmonella</a></em>, which are commonly found on raw poultry. </p>
<p>In Australia, reported cases of <em>Campylobacter</em> and <em>Salmonella</em> have almost <a href="https://foodsafety.asn.au/topic/tips-poultry/">doubled</a> over the last two decades. </p>
<p>Of the estimated 220,000 cases of <em>Campylobacter</em> infection each year, <a href="https://foodsafety.asn.au/topic/tips-poultry/">50,000</a> can be attributed either directly or indirectly to chicken meat. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491574/original/file-20221025-19-osvds4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chicken is grilled on a barbecue." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491574/original/file-20221025-19-osvds4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491574/original/file-20221025-19-osvds4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491574/original/file-20221025-19-osvds4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491574/original/file-20221025-19-osvds4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491574/original/file-20221025-19-osvds4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491574/original/file-20221025-19-osvds4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491574/original/file-20221025-19-osvds4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Why do many home cooks continue to wash chicken before cooking?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/barbecue-bbq-beef-chicken-262945/">Photo by Pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Chicken-washing myths, busted</h2>
<p>One <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107682">analysis</a> of consumer responses to an education campaign about the dangers of washing raw poultry shed light on why many people still wash raw chicken before cooking.</p>
<p>Some believe there is a need to wash faeces and other matter off the chicken meat. In fact, modern processing techniques mean chicken carcasses do not need additional cleaning. </p>
<p>Others believe washing with a slightly acidic solution (such as vinegar or lemon juice) will kill bacteria. </p>
<p>On the contrary, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2018.06.034">research</a> has shown washing raw poultry in lemon juice or vinegar does not remove bacteria and can increase the cross-contamination risk.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1519397720200339456"}"></div></p>
<h2>Washing chicken splashes bacteria around</h2>
<p>One of the more compelling arguments why washing raw poultry under a running tap is a risky activity comes from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0083979">recent research</a> on water droplets ejected from the surface of washed chicken. </p>
<p>The study clearly showed bacteria can be transferred from the surface of the chicken to surrounding surfaces via water droplets.</p>
<p>Using high-speed imaging, the researchers found a higher tap height can increase splashing. </p>
<p>Chicken meat is often soft and the water flow can create a divot in the surface. This leads to splashing that would not occur on a curved, hard surface. </p>
<p>The researchers placed large agar plates next to the chicken surfaces to capture any water droplets. This allowed them to grow the bacteria that were transferred with the splashed water. </p>
<p>They found the level of bacterial transmission increased with greater tap height and water flow rate. </p>
<p>Aerated water (which is what you get when the tap is running very hard) also increased splashing and bacterial transmission. </p>
<h2>What if I still really want to wash my chicken meat?</h2>
<p>While washing raw poultry is not recommended, it appears some home cooks are reluctant to let go of this old habit. </p>
<p>If you insist on washing chicken meat, consider doing so in a sink of water rather than under a running tap.</p>
<p>Use a paper towel to mop up any liquids, dispose of the towel and clean up afterwards. </p>
<p>This will help reduce the risk of cross-contamination and keep the kitchen safe. And please wash your hands after handling raw meat! </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-when-should-you-throw-away-leftovers-92256">Health Check: when should you throw away leftovers?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192723/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Enzo Palombo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Washing raw chicken can splash bacteria around the kitchen. It’s best just to properly cook the chicken without washing it. So why do people still wash? Time to bust some chicken-washing myths.Enzo Palombo, Professor of Microbiology, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1547202022-12-27T19:20:27Z2022-12-27T19:20:27ZHow to protect yourself against bushfire smoke this summer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498606/original/file-20221202-20-fswf2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C1911%2C1279&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/Ihsi88KpQkE">Matt Palmer/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s bushfire season. So you might be wondering about the best way to protect yourself from the health impacts of smoke.</p>
<p>Guidelines suggest wearing <a href="https://files-em.em.vic.gov.au/public/Smoke/EMK-01.19-Community-SAQH-Protocol.pdf">respirators</a>, <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/air/Pages/bushfire-protection.aspx">avoiding</a> outdoor air and avoiding vigorous activity outdoors. Many people use the cheaper option of a surgical mask during bushfires. But there has never been a clinical trial to measure how well these interventions work. That’s why our group is <a href="https://kirby.unsw.edu.au/breathe">looking into it</a>.</p>
<p>In the meantime, here’s what you can do to reduce your exposure to bushfire smoke.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-summer-so-bushfires-and-covid-collide-3-ways-one-affects-the-other-169833">It's summer, so bushfires and COVID collide. 3 ways one affects the other</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Who’s at risk?</h2>
<p>Australia’s 2019/2020 summer bushfires resulted in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/26/australias-summer-bushfire-smoke-killed-445-and-put-thousands-in-hospital-inquiry-hears">more than 400 estimated deaths</a> and thousands of hospitalisations from smoke exposure.</p>
<p>You don’t have to have a lung condition to suffer the <a href="https://theconversation.com/smoke-from-bushfires-poses-a-health-hazard-for-all-of-us-11493">ill-effects of bushfire smoke</a>. Breathing difficulties, eye irritation and heart attacks are among the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-does-bushfire-smoke-affect-our-health-6-things-you-need-to-know-130126">well-documented</a> short-term impacts.</p>
<p>But people with asthma, <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-25539">emphysema</a>, chronic bronchitis and other lung conditions are particularly susceptible to smoke exposure, triggering asthma attacks and breathing difficulties.</p>
<p>This was the typical pattern we saw during our <a href="https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.202012-4471LE?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">own research</a>, conducted during the same bushfire season. We showed smoke exposure caused ill health in people with and without existing lung disease.</p>
<p>However, we found people under 65 had a higher risk of ill health after smoke exposure than older people. This may be because younger people tend to go outdoors more during bushfires.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-does-bushfire-smoke-affect-our-health-6-things-you-need-to-know-130126">How does bushfire smoke affect our health? 6 things you need to know</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>1. Be prepared</h2>
<p>If you live in an area potentially affected by bushfire smoke, the first thing to do is to get an early alert about fires and smoke using one or more apps. Examples include, the <a href="https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/news-and-media/stay-up-to-date">Fires Near Me app</a> or the <a href="https://airrater.org">AirRater app</a> for air quality.</p>
<p>You can also use a <a href="https://iser.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/iser/files/_local_upload/Air%20quality%20self-assessment%20guide.pdf">visual method</a> to assess air quality. This involves identifying a landmark on the horizon about 5 kilometres away and noting if it becomes hazy. This would be the trigger for using a respirator or avoiding outdoor air.</p>
<h2>2. Stay inside if it’s safe</h2>
<p>Try to <a href="https://files-em.em.vic.gov.au/public/Smoke/EMK-01.19-Community-SAQH-Protocol.pdf">avoid exposure</a> to smoke, avoiding outside air and staying indoors if it is practical and safe to do so. Vigorous exercise outdoors can be dangerous as it results in greater smoke inhalation and risks to the heart and lungs.</p>
<p>Close all doors and windows, set air-conditioning to recirculate, and seal gaps under or around doors, windows and wall vents with towels, blankets or plastic. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, these instructions are the opposite of what to do if there is COVID at home, when you would want fresh air in the house. If that is the case, wear a mask indoors in common areas and social distance from the person with COVID.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-buildings-arent-made-to-keep-out-bushfire-smoke-heres-what-you-can-do-129367">Our buildings aren't made to keep out bushfire smoke. Here's what you can do</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. Wear a respirator (not just a surgical mask)</h2>
<p>Most people who need to go outside during a bushfire can use some type of disposable respirator to filter the smokey air.</p>
<p>You will have seen people wearing these P2, P3 or N95 <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-n95-mask-or-other-respirator-177229">respirators</a> to protect themselves and others from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1496730465981640708"}"></div></p>
<p>These and <a href="https://www.addler.com.au/differences-p1-p2-p3-n95-respirators/">other types of disposable respirators</a> filter very fine particles and fit closely around the face. Choose one with a full band around the back of the head (rather than ear loops) as these provide a better fit.</p>
<p>Some disposable respirators have valves, which means they filter inhaled air but allow you to exhale more comfortably. This option may help people with asthma or lung disease to breathe more comfortably. If you have COVID, though, wearing a respirator with a valve does not reduce the risk of you infecting others, because the air you breathe out through the valve is unfiltered and contaminated.</p>
<p>Respirators will filter particles <a href="https://www.aiha.org/news/201022-osha-addresses-claims-that-n95s-do-not-protect-against-sars-cov-2">larger than 0.3 microns</a> (micrometres). However, they may not filter smaller particles contained in smoke, which is why avoiding outside air is still important.</p>
<p>People who live in bushfire-prone areas may want to consider a type of respirator they can clean and re-use when needed, known as <a href="https://healthcareworkersaustralia.com/elastomeric-mask/">an elastomeric respirator</a>. Their filters need to be changed at specified intervals.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Elastomeric face mask" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An elastomeric mask, such as this one, can be re-used.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/reusable-halfface-elastomeric-respirator-air-purification-2196383995">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you have trouble getting one of the mentioned respirators, you can use a disposable <a href="https://breathesafeair.com/mask-ratings/">KN95 respirator</a>. However, these have ear loops and do not fit well around the face, so air can leak through. </p>
<p>Surgical masks are not likely to protect you because they are so loose. But medical-grade ones provide good filtering. For this to be effective, wear one with a <a href="https://www.insider.com/ways-to-make-your-face-mask-more-effective-2021-2">mask brace or clip</a> to provide a better fit and to help prevent air leaking in from the sides.</p>
<h2>In a nutshell</h2>
<p>Be prepared by downloading an app to monitor bushfires and air quality near you, and stocking up on good quality respirators ahead of time if you can. You can re-use these if they are not visibly soiled or damaged.</p>
<p>Staying out of the smoke is also important, particularly if you have asthma, emphysema and other lung disease. Young people may be less aware of the health effects of smoke exposure, and even people without lung disease can experience ill health due to smoke.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Do you have asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis or bronchiectasis? Do you live in an area in Australia affected by bushfires or bushfire smoke (including metropolitan areas)? You may be eligible to be part of <a href="https://kirby.unsw.edu.au/breathe">our study</a> into the best way to protect yourself from bushfire smoke.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154720/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>C Raina MacIntyre has consulted for mask companies including Detmold and Ascend. She receives funding from the NHMRC and the MRFF currently.</span></em></p>Be prepared. Download an air quality app, stock up on respirators and stay inside if you can.C Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1967212022-12-19T13:36:24Z2022-12-19T13:36:24ZThe lenses of fishes’ eyes record their lifetime exposure to toxic mercury, new research finds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501636/original/file-20221216-18-9nfdr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=42%2C0%2C3983%2C3024&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When fish like this netted cod are exposed to mercury, it accumulates in certain organs, including the lenses of their eyes.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yvette Heimbrand</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mercury pollution is a global threat to human health, especially to unborn babies and young children. Exposure to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/mercury/how-people-are-exposed-mercury">methylmercury</a>, a type that forms when mercury washes into lakes and streams, can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/msj.20228">harm children’s brain development</a> and cause symptoms including <a href="https://www.epa.gov/mercury/health-effects-exposures-mercury">speech impairment and muscle weakness</a> in adults who consume seafood as their main food source. Methylmercury also threatens health and reproduction in <a href="https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2020/10/26/new-study-on-mercury-contamination-has-global-implications-for-wildlife-conservation/">fish and other wildlife</a>.</p>
<p>Humans, animals and birds are exposed to methylmercury when they eat fish and shellfish. Scientists have been working for decades to understand how and when fish accumulate mercury. This information is key for assessing mercury risks across different water bodies and landscapes, and for evaluating <a href="https://www.epa.gov/mercury/what-epa-doing-reduce-mercury-pollution-and-exposures-mercury">policy changes designed to reduce mercury emissions</a>.</p>
<p>For decades, scientists have used fish ear stones, known as otoliths, to gain insights into fish growth, migration, diet and the timing of their exposure to certain pollutants. These tiny structures of calcium carbonate, roughly the size of a pea, form inside fishes’ inner ears, where they help regulate hearing and balance. Otoliths can also provide clues about <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-is-climate-change-affecting-fishes-there-are-clues-inside-their-ears-110249">how climate change is affecting fish</a>.</p>
<p>But some pollutants, including mercury, are not incorporated into otoliths. Rather, they bind very strongly to tissues that contain sulfur, such as muscle tissues. That’s why muscle tissues have historically been used to assess contamination due to mercury pollution.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501627/original/file-20221216-12-jdaenu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two small oval stones in a petri dish with two round eye lenses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501627/original/file-20221216-12-jdaenu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501627/original/file-20221216-12-jdaenu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501627/original/file-20221216-12-jdaenu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501627/original/file-20221216-12-jdaenu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501627/original/file-20221216-12-jdaenu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501627/original/file-20221216-12-jdaenu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501627/original/file-20221216-12-jdaenu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fish otoliths (above) and eye lenses (below) reveal complementary information about fish life history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Karin Limburg</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a newly published study, we describe a new window into individual fish’s lifetime exposure to mercury by <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00755">measuring it in the fish’s eyes</a>. This work is unlocking new possibilities for understanding fish lifetime exposure to this potent neurotoxicant.</p>
<h2>Clues in fish ears and eyes</h2>
<p>Today, scientists analyze mercury uptake in fish by measuring how much of it accumulates in whole bodies of fish, or often just in fillets – that is, muscle tissues. This approach tells us how much mercury the fish has accumulated over its lifetime, but it doesn’t tell us specifically when in its life the fish was exposed. A time stamp is missing.</p>
<p>Mercury concentrations can vary widely within any given fish species. For example, from 1991 to 2010, U.S. government monitors detected <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/metals-and-your-food/mercury-levels-commercial-fish-and-shellfish-1990-2012">mercury levels in cod</a> that averaged 0.111 parts per million but ranged as high as 0.989 parts per million, a ninefold difference. This suggests that in addition to changes in mercury emissions over time, an individual fish’s movements and diets can significantly affect its exposure. </p>
<p>In our study, we propose a new method that combines measurements of otolith aging and of mercury in the lenses of a fish’s eyes to assign ages to fish eye mercury concentrations. Eye lenses are made of pure protein, are high in sulfur content and thus readily take up mercury either <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/cb4004805">directly from water</a> or from the fish’s diet. </p>
<p>Methylmercury appears to be preferentially taken up in certain organs, <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803147105">including eye lenses</a>. At high doses, it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.10.015">may impair fish vision</a>.</p>
<p>Our approach starts with the well-established technique of aging a fish using its otolith. As a fish grows and ages, its otoliths add yearly layers of calcium carbonate. We can estimate the fish’s age and growth rates by measuring the distance between the yearly growth layers, which are called annuli, much as foresters date trees by measuring the growth rings in their trunks. </p>
<p>We also know that a fish’s eye grows at a rate that is proportional to the growth of its otolith. So in our analysis, we apply the proportional distance that we found in the fish’s otolith to its eye lens. For our focal species, the Round Goby (<em>Neogobius melanostomus</em>), the linear relationship between these two measurements is strong. </p>
<p>As the eye lens grows and accumulates mercury, we can pinpoint when the fish was exposed using this correspondence with the otolith. And because the fish’s eye lens grows in layers throughout life, we can follow the chronology of lifetime exposure.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501628/original/file-20221216-16-cm75i8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cross-section of a catfish eye lens and graphic showing mercury exposure as recorded in the lens" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501628/original/file-20221216-16-cm75i8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501628/original/file-20221216-16-cm75i8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501628/original/file-20221216-16-cm75i8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501628/original/file-20221216-16-cm75i8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501628/original/file-20221216-16-cm75i8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501628/original/file-20221216-16-cm75i8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501628/original/file-20221216-16-cm75i8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An eye lens of a brown bullhead catfish (top) sliced into a cross section that shows the core, formed at birth, and the layers that grow throughout life. The lower image shows the spatial pattern of the element mercury in the same lens, analyzed at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source. Note that concentrations are at background levels in the layers deposited when this fish was young and increased as it got older and began to consume other fish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Karin Limburg</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A possible climate connection</h2>
<p>With this new method, we can start to trace the chronology of a fish’s lifetime mercury exposure. And we can ask questions about how life history events, such as migration and diet shifts, or temporal events such as <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ms-htf/northern-gulf-mexico-hypoxic-zone">low dissolved oxygen levels in water</a> at certain times of year, may influence a fish’s mercury levels.</p>
<p>The strength of this method is that it provides information for individual fish, which matters just as it does for humans. Different individual fish have varying abilities to catch prey and avoid or tolerate stress, all of which can affect their growth and exposure to mercury. </p>
<p>And having information about mercury exposure for all ages of a single fish can help decrease the need to collect large samples of many fish across all ages, which is how scientists traditionally have assessed how fishes’ exposure changes over their lifetimes.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1179802840728051712"}"></div></p>
<p>This new method may also help us understand how climate change is affecting mercury exposure.</p>
<p>As water temperatures rise, rivers, lakes, estuaries and oceans are losing some of their dissolved oxygen. This process, known as <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/research/climate-change-resources/faq-ocean-deoxygenation">deoxygenation</a>, is a critical stressor for aquatic life. </p>
<p>When oxygen in a pond or bay falls below 2 milligrams per liter, compared with normal levels of 5 to 8 milligrams per liter, that water body is said to be hypoxic – and hypoxic conditions can be associated with elevated concentrations of methylmercury. This loss of oxygen is exacerbated by <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hypoxia/#">nutrient pollution</a> – for example, from urban or agricultural runoff. But it can also occur in the open oceans, far from continents, due to warming.</p>
<p>Increasing hypoxia could negate <a href="https://www.mercuryconvention.org/en">recent global efforts to reduce mercury emissions</a> by making the mercury that is already in lakes and oceans more available for uptake into fish. However, fish response to hypoxia can vary by individual and by species. Our current research, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, is exploring how fish eye lenses, together with otoliths, can help us disentangle exposure to mercury from diet and hypoxia. </p>
<p>Increasingly, scientists are recognizing that various body parts of organisms function as archives of the past. For us, eye lenses and otoliths serve as key means to understand the secret lives of individual fish.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196721/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roxanne Razavi receives funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hadis Miraly is supported by funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karin Limburg receives funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, which sponsored this research. </span></em></p>A new study shows that a time stamp can be put on mercury that accumulates in fish eyes, offering a window into their lifetime exposure.Roxanne Razavi, Assistant Professor of Environmental Biology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and ForestryHadis Miraly, PhD Candidate in Environmental Biology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and ForestryKarin Limburg, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Biology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and ForestryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1940892022-12-04T08:37:49Z2022-12-04T08:37:49ZStreet food keeps Johannesburg going - but working conditions of vendors are unhealthy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494619/original/file-20221110-16-7dlev5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vendors lack proper infrastructure to ensure protection against environmental health hazards.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Informal vendors are a common feature in urban areas. Also known as street vendors, they sell products or provide services on a public road, in a regulated market or in other public spaces. These vendors usually sell food close to places of employment, educational institutions, and transit hubs. </p>
<p>Globally, it’s <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---sector/documents/publication/wcms_548288.pdf">recognised</a> that your workplace influences your health. South Africa’s National Development Plan <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report-03-10-23/Report-03-10-232019.pdf">estimates</a> that by 2030, 1 million to 2 million new jobs will be in the informal sector. It’s therefore important for researchers to explore how working conditions in the sector affect workers’ health.</p>
<p>Informal street vendors are among the most underprivileged population groups. Their working conditions also make them vulnerable to ill-health. Vendors are continuously exposed to outdoor air pollution from a number of sources. These include traffic or automotive emissions, unpaved roads, construction sites, industrial processes, poorly ventilated or small stall spaces, and biomass fuel from cooking on gas and open fires. Exposure to these pollutants can cause sickness and death. </p>
<p>In our recent <a href="https://www.one-health.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/8/8/full/">research</a> we set out to test how pollution and working conditions affected the respiratory health of street vendors in Johannesburg, South Africa. We found that vendors lacked proper infrastructure to protect them from environmental health hazards. They also lacked sufficient health and safety training. Outdoor vendors were most at risk of ill health associated with poor air quality. Vendors who prepared food were especially susceptible. </p>
<p>The impact of air pollution <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7522429/">can put a strain</a> on already stretched healthcare systems. It’s therefore in a government’s interests to reduce that impact by providing suitable infrastructure at vendor markets, potable water points and good waste management services, and assessing air quality. </p>
<h2>The study</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.one-health.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/8/8/full/">study</a> was conducted in the south of Johannesburg among 100 informal vendors. First, we conducted an environmental health walk-through survey to identify potential health and safety hazards at the vendor markets or stalls. We then interviewed vendors, asking questions about their health and occupational information such as time worked, the wearing of masks and hand hygiene practices. </p>
<p>We selected two different types of vendor locations: an enclosed market and the roadside. Out of the 100 participating vendors, 66% were trading outdoors and 34% indoors.</p>
<p>The indoor food vendors were situated in one of the biggest commercial or regulated markets in the country. Their stalls were provided with cooking facilities and hand-washing sinks. </p>
<p>Roadside vendors in public areas or on sidewalks operated from trailers or improvised with gazebos or tents. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>In this survey, female vendors made up 63% of the total. Four percent of the vendors were 55 years or older. </p>
<p>The majority (69%) of the vendors worked at cooked food stalls, mostly using gas or electricity. Only 13% of the stalls had visible smoke and traffic was light in the areas where they worked. Most (63%) worked near substantial air pollution emission sources, such as industrial combustion plants and building activities. More than half the stalls were dusty or dirty and lacked a waste container. Only 12% of the vendors were smokers.</p>
<p>Nobody reported having lower respiratory diseases at the time of the study. Only 35% of the vendors said they had had a chest illness during the past three years that kept them from their usual activities for a week or longer. In the past 12 months, 25% of the participants had had a cough and 15% had brought up phlegm during the day or night in winter. </p>
<p>Upper respiratory symptoms including sore throat and nasal congestion were identified in 35% of the participants. </p>
<p>Only 5% of non-cooking vendors reported nasal congestion and sore throat. In contrast, 29% of cooking vendors reported having had congestion in their noses and 30% had had sore throats. </p>
<p>Thirty-six percent of the vendors sometimes experienced irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat while preparing food.</p>
<p>In the analysis of exposure duration, almost 73% of the vendors worked more than the recommended eight hours a day. But even short-term air pollution exposure has been <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/15-11-2019-what-are-health-consequences-of-air-pollution-on-populations#:%7E:text=Exposure%20to%20high%20levels%20of,people%20who%20are%20already%20ill">linked</a> to negative health effects. </p>
<p>The majority (66%) of vendors who participated indicated they were trained on health, hygiene, and safety issues. But this training only happened once, a fact which could influence individual health and safety decision making. Most of the vendors used masks during the COVID-19 lockdowns but did not necessarily use the type of mask suitable for roadside exposure, or use it as it should be used. Only 30% of the vendors practised hand hygiene at all times, though most had access to tap water.</p>
<h2>What must be done</h2>
<p>Various <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1438463913001041#bbib0095">international</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10807039.2016.1247257?journalCode=bher20">studies</a> have shown that outdoor vendors are at risk of exposure to air pollution and the development of respiratory health problems. Cooking vendors have been shown to be the group most susceptible and vulnerable to risks associated with air quality.</p>
<p>Over the years, numerous international studies have been published on occupational injuries and diseases. But the evidence hasn’t always been followed through in the form of policies and programmes to prevent and control ill health.</p>
<p>Mining and construction are exceptions, where occupational legislation and policies have improved worker health and safety. This level of development is necessary for unregulated sectors like informal vending. </p>
<p>City planning to demarcate trading sites should take into account the nearby industrial activities. Civil society and government organisations should look into the health and safety of vendors in general.</p>
<p>There is a need for infrastructure and municipal services such as waste collection, water provision and shelter, especially for roadside vendors. </p>
<p>It has been <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6921537/">demonstrated</a> that using biomass fuels often and being exposed to air pollution from traffic increases the chance of negative reproductive effects on women. Initiatives should take account of the fact that women dominate the informal trading sector. </p>
<p>Food vendors’ workstations must also be maintained in a hygienic state since they are essential to the food system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194089/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maasago Mercy Sepadi received a post graduate scholar funding from the University of Johannesburg's Global Excellence Stature (GES) scholarship</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>South African National Research Foundation
South African Medical Research Council </span></em></p>Vendors are continuously exposed to outdoor air pollution from traffic or automotive emissions and cooking fuels such as gas and open fires.Maasago M. Sepadi, PhD in public health, University of JohannesburgVusumuzi Nkosi, Specialist Scientist, Environment & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research CouncilLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1948202022-12-01T19:03:08Z2022-12-01T19:03:08ZVentilation reduces the risk of COVID. So why are we still ignoring it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498358/original/file-20221130-11-pl2be8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C673%2C5815%2C3209&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">IsraelAndrade/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the end of the third year of the pandemic, we are no longer surprised to hear we’re in a new wave of infection. It’s fuelled by new sub-variants of the virus that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2204336119">may evade immunity</a> from both vaccination and previous infections. </p>
<p>Authorities recommend control measures, but they are “voluntary”. They include wearing a mask, vaccination, testing if you have symptoms and staying home if you test positive, and ventilation. Ventilation is often the last measure listed – as if it’s an afterthought. </p>
<p>While vaccines are highly effective in reducing the risk of death and serious illness, they are generally <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00143-7/fulltext">not effective</a> in preventing transmission. Wearing a mask reduces the risk of both spreading and acquiring an infection but only when <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776536">worn properly</a>.</p>
<p>The best way to reduce the risk of transmission is to reduce the concentration of airborne virus that is available to be inhaled and can therefore cause infection. </p>
<p>Adequate ventilation of air in indoor spaces is the key to achieving this goal and should be at the top of the list of control measures. Ventilation <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.02678">reduces the risks</a> for everyone, regardless of other individual actions.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-must-get-serious-about-airborne-infection-transmission-heres-what-we-need-to-do-164622">Australia must get serious about airborne infection transmission. Here's what we need to do</a>
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<h2>Virus gets into the air we breathe</h2>
<p>Let’s imagine there’s an infected person in the room we’re sitting in. Imagine we can see the cloud of air they exhale, as if it were laced with a coloured marker, for example, pink.</p>
<p>Imagine how it spreads across the room, eventually <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301932220305498">reaching</a> and engulfing us. We inhale the “pink” air. If the person speaks or sings, the “pink” of the cloud is much more intense: the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-38808-z">concentration</a> of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02786826.2021.1883544">emissions</a> is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0021850208002036">much higher</a>. </p>
<p>Now imagine that in that cloud we also see some tiny dark green beads: lots of them. These are viruses and bacteria that are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7499537/">emitted</a> by the infected person. They reach us and we inhale them. </p>
<p>Now let’s imagine we inhale enough of the “green beads”, and we are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020320675">infected</a> with COVID. Or influenza. Or a cold virus. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498608/original/file-20221202-24-b12y6j.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498608/original/file-20221202-24-b12y6j.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498608/original/file-20221202-24-b12y6j.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498608/original/file-20221202-24-b12y6j.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498608/original/file-20221202-24-b12y6j.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498608/original/file-20221202-24-b12y6j.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498608/original/file-20221202-24-b12y6j.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We can increase ventilation, either by opening the window, or by activating the mechanical ventilation system – basically using any means to get the contaminated air out of the room. </p>
<p>We will soon see that the “pink” of the cloud emitted by our roommate fades or even disappears. Ventilation efficiently removes emissions from the room, and we no longer inhale them.</p>
<h2>How can we ensure good ventilation?</h2>
<p>We need sufficient and effective ventilation in our buildings. Sufficient means enough of it, and effective means it’s everywhere within the space, so air doesn’t flow from person to person, transmitting viruses or bacteria between people. </p>
<p>Each building is different, and flexible ventilation systems – to ensure sufficient and effective ventilation – will <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abg2025">depend</a> on the building’s purpose. </p>
<p>To be effective, ventilation airflow rates must be controlled by the number of occupants in the space and their activity; the technologies to achieve this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abg2025">exist</a> and are already <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108555">in use</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Children in a classroom with windows closed write in workbooks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498359/original/file-20221130-20-bgkqqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498359/original/file-20221130-20-bgkqqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498359/original/file-20221130-20-bgkqqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498359/original/file-20221130-20-bgkqqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498359/original/file-20221130-20-bgkqqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498359/original/file-20221130-20-bgkqqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498359/original/file-20221130-20-bgkqqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Depending on the level of ventilation, we might be sharing air all the time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/boy-in-green-shirt-3992949/">CDC/Pexels</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many buildings already have good ventilation, as assessed by monitors of air flows and carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the building’s heating, ventilation, and air condition (HVAC) systems. </p>
<p>But there are even more buildings where ventilation is inadequate and no one measures it. </p>
<p>Ventilation isn’t often measured because, in the absence of legislation mandating ventilation requirements and indoor air quality, no one is responsible for it. </p>
<p>Although the situation <a href="https://www.health.vic.gov.au/covid-19-ventilation-principles-strategies-to-reduce-aerosol-transmission-community-workplace">varies</a> between different government portfolios and different states, in general, very little has been done to assess or improve ventilation.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/someone-in-my-house-has-covid-how-likely-am-i-to-catch-it-189386">Someone in my house has COVID. How likely am I to catch it?</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are the costs of poor ventilation?</h2>
<p>Viral respiratory infections have long been a major cause of illness and death in Australia. In just one year (2017), influenza and pneumonia <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/3303.0%7E2017%7EMain%20Features%7EAustralia's%20leading%20causes%20of%20death,%202017%7E2">accounted for</a> 4,269 deaths. They were the ninth leading cause of death in 2017, moving from eleventh place in <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/3303.0%7E2016%7EMain%20Features%7EAustralia's%20leading%20causes%20of%20death,%202016%7E3#:%7E:text=Heart%20disease%20is%20now%20the,first%20and%20second%20leading%20causes">2016</a>. </p>
<p>The economic burden from all lower respiratory infections in Australia was greater than <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/health-welfare-expenditure/health-expenditure-australia-2018-19/contents/data-visualisation">A$1.6 billion</a> in 2018-19. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Wind blows curtain through open window of an old terrace house" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498114/original/file-20221129-26-2d4cyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498114/original/file-20221129-26-2d4cyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498114/original/file-20221129-26-2d4cyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498114/original/file-20221129-26-2d4cyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498114/original/file-20221129-26-2d4cyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498114/original/file-20221129-26-2d4cyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498114/original/file-20221129-26-2d4cyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Opening a window increases ventilation – but it’s not always possible at work and in public spaces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/g5CUmZHUp48">Alistair Macrobert/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If only half these infections could be <a href="https://raeng.org.uk/media/dmkplpl0/infection-resilient-environments-time-for-a-major-upgrade.pdf">prevented</a> by better ventilation removing the viruses from the air and thus limiting the spread, tens of thousands of people would remain healthy, and millions of dollars saved in Australia every year.</p>
<p>Rather than asking whether we can afford it, we need to ask whether we can afford the impact and cost of infections if we don’t implement effective ventilation in our buildings. </p>
<h2>But how much would it actually cost to improve ventilation?</h2>
<p>The cost to society of prevention through better designed buildings and gradual improvement of ventilation in existing buildings is <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abg2025">much lower</a> than the cost of infections. According to some estimates, this would amount to only 1% of initial construction costs. </p>
<p>But better building designs and improvements won’t be done voluntarily because the money for them doesn’t come out of the same pocket as the money to cover the health-care costs for infected people, or other costs, such as lost productivity or absenteeism due to illness. </p>
<p>As we <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-must-get-serious-about-airborne-infection-transmission-heres-what-we-need-to-do-164622">argued previously</a> in The Conversation, we need a national regulatory group for clean indoor air. Establishing such a group will require cooperation across various areas of government, with the goal of explicitly including protection against indoor air hazards in relevant Australian legislation.</p>
<p>However, the complexity of this public health problem seems to scare the authorities, which prefer to <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/health-advice/traffic-light-advice">pretend</a> it’s a minor issue.</p>
<p>Clearly, we have a long way to go to change this mindset. But it all starts with raising the <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2022/217/11/healthy-indoor-air-our-fundamental-need-time-act-now">awareness</a> of each individual, then legislating indoor air quality standards to remove the “green beads” from the air that end up in our lungs.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/four-tips-to-avoid-your-office-christmas-party-turning-into-a-superspreader-event-194602">Four tips to avoid your office Christmas party turning into a superspreader event</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194820/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lidia Morawska receives funding from the NHMRC and ARC. She is Vice-Chancellor Fellow, Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), University of Surrey, UK.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Guy B. Marks does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When it comes to reducing the spread of COVID, ventilation is often an afterthought. But cleaner air needs to be front and centre of our COVID mitigation strategy. Here’s why.Lidia Morawska, Professor, Science and Engineering Faculty; Director, International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (WHO CC for Air Quality and Health); Director - Australia, Australia – China Centre for Air Quality Science and Management (ACC-AQSM), Queensland University of TechnologyGuy B. Marks, Scientia Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1914102022-10-07T12:20:10Z2022-10-07T12:20:10ZInvesting in indoor air quality improvements in schools will reduce COVID transmission and help students learn<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488350/original/file-20221005-26-dd8eky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C4%2C3091%2C2116&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An air scrubber in a classroom at the E.N. White School in Holyoke, Mass.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakSchoolFunding/6403884a83214a09a776339d3a6055c0/photo">AP Photo/Charles Krupa</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As fall temperatures cool across the U.S., many schools will struggle to ventilate classrooms while also keeping students and teachers comfortable and healthy. Children and teachers spend <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/tables/sass0708_035_s1s.asp">over six hours a day</a> in classrooms during the school year, often in buildings that are <a href="https://www.epa.gov/iaq-schools/take-action-improve-indoor-air-quality-schools">decades old</a> and have <a href="https://edlabor.house.gov/imo/media/doc/School%20Districts%20Frequently%20Identified%20Multiple%20Building%20Systems%20Needing%20Updates%20or%20Replacement1.pdf">inadequate heating, ventilation and air conditioning</a>, or HVAC, systems.</p>
<p>Fall 2022 marks the start of the fourth school year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has spotlighted the importance of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7123e2.htm">indoor air quality in schools</a>. Ideally, all school buildings would have adequate <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1393-1.html">ventilation</a>, filtered air in each classroom and windows that open. Sadly, this is not the case – and indoor air quality in many schools <a href="https://time.com/6206343/schools-ventilation-covid-19-air-quality/">is poor as a result</a>. This is especially problematic in the wake of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-childcare-guidance.html">August 2022 COVID-19 guidance for schools</a>, which scales back other measures for limiting transmission, such as masking, testing and quarantining. </p>
<p>Beyond minimizing COVID-19 transmission, indoor air quality also matters for student academic performance. This is especially important given the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/22/1105970186/pandemic-learning-loss-findings">learning losses</a> that many children experienced in the first two years of the pandemic. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/pol.20180612">Hot, stuffy classrooms</a> make it harder for students to learn. So do <a href="https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/essex/montclair/2021/12/14/montclair-covid-schools-cold-hvac/6445845001/">cold classrooms</a>.</p>
<p>Our research focuses on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LB_MQNAAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">indoor environments</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=iR82G3IAAAAJ&hl=en">and health</a> – an area that has received increased attention during the pandemic, since most COVID-19 transmission occurs through <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/03/23/lets-clear-the-air-on-covid/">shared air indoors</a>. There is <a href="https://www.epa.gov/iaq-schools/evidence-scientific-literature-about-improved-academic-performance#IAQIAP_AdequateAir">ample evidence</a> that smart investments in school buildings can reduce transmission of infectious disease, while also improving learning and increasing well-being for students, teachers and administrators.</p>
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<p>Many school districts have limited resources and <a href="https://theconversation.com/america-gets-a-d-for-school-infrastructure-but-federal-covid-relief-could-pay-for-many-repairs-156831">buildings in poor condition</a>. Where should they start? Here are some priorities we see for immediate action and longer-term investments that can truly transform the school experience.</p>
<h2>Filters and fresh air</h2>
<p>Since the spring of 2020, schools have invested millions of dollars in interventions to reduce COVID-19 transmission, including high-efficiency, free-standing <a href="https://www.cps.edu/press-releases/chicago-public-schools-invests-%2482.5-million-to-provide-hepa-air-purifiers-for-every-classroom/">commercial filter units</a> and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7123e2.htm?s_cid=mm7123e2_w">ventilation upgrades</a>. These actions are a drop in the bucket, given <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-494.pdf">the structural improvements needed in many schools</a>, especially in less wealthy school districts, but they are an important start. And their benefits extend beyond COVID-19, so they should not be discarded.</p>
<p>For example, high-efficiency filters – including commercial units, <a href="https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/science-action-how-build-corsi-rosenthal-box">DIY boxes</a> or <a href="https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/what-kind-filter-should-i-use-my-home-hvac-system-help-protect-my-family-covid-19">filters with ratings of MERV-13</a> for HVAC systems – capture flu and common cold viruses as well as SARS-CoV-2 virus particles. They also clean the air of pollen particles, mold spores and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.12.22269175">pollution from car exhaust and industrial operations</a>. And in areas where wildfires are common, filters <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/air/wildfire-smoke/socialmedia/wildfire-air-filtration-508.pdf">reduce the concentration of smoke particles</a> inside buildings. </p>
<p>Schools with mechanical ventilation have been able to increase the amount of filtered fresh air that these systems pull indoors. This dilutes all indoor pollutants. For kids and school staff, particularly those with asthma, allergies and sensitivities, this can mean <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12042">fewer missed days of school, less medication, and fewer asthma attacks</a> and subsequent trips to the hospital.</p>
<p>Improved ventilation can actually increase learning and attention. A 2010 study showed that kids performed better on standardized tests <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2010.00686.x">when ventilation rates were higher</a>. Poor ventilation may also affect teachers: A 2016 study found that office workers’ cognitive performance improved when they were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510037">exposed to lower carbon dioxide levels</a>, which is a marker of better ventilation. And a 2018 analysis showed that students’ performance on school tests <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w24639">declined on hot days, especially in schools without air conditioning</a>. If you’ve ever felt that it was hard to concentrate in a hot, stuffy room, the science backs you up.</p>
<p>For now, we recommend that schools that have put improvements in place should maintain increased ventilation rates with maximum fresh air, continue to use high-efficiency filters in their HVAC systems and keep free-standing filters running in classrooms. Schools that have not invested in these steps should do so, with states providing funding to lower-resourced districts as needed. The costs of these steps are modest compared with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12042">benefits they provide for health and learning</a>. </p>
<p>Families and staff who want to improve conditions in their schools should focus on providing every classroom with improved ventilation and filtration, including <a href="https://aghealth.ucdavis.edu/news/corsi-rosenthal-box-diy-box-fan-air-filter-covid-19-and-wildfire-smoke">building DIY boxes, if necessary</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hIuH-2naozI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A Corsi-Rosenthal Box is a homemade air cleaning system that can reduce indoor exposure to airborne particles containing the virus that causes COVID-19. It can also reduce the levels of other particles in the air, such as dust or wildfire smoke.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Funding for healthier buildings</h2>
<p>These near-term solutions can help, but the best way to ensure that schools provide healthy conditions for learning is by investing in healthier buildings. </p>
<p>Funds for this purpose <a href="https://www.ed.gov/improving-ventilation-schools-colleges-and-universities-prevent-covid-19">are available now</a>. All U.S. states have received millions of dollars from the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/american-rescue-plan/">American Rescue Plan</a>, enacted in 2021 to address the impact of COVID-19, including <a href="https://oese.ed.gov/offices/education-stabilization-fund/elementary-secondary-school-emergency-relief-fund/">Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief</a>, or ESSER, funds. The Department of Education has disbursed US$122 billion to help schools prevent the spread of COVID-19 and operate safely. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EsCEvAKjeSo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">With fewer COVID-19 precautions such as masking and testing in place for the fall of 2022, Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools are continuing to invest in air filtration and cleaning ducts to improve air circulation in school buildings.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>School districts have used this money to address a <a href="https://www.future-ed.org/local-covid-relief-spending/">variety of needs</a>, including staffing, academic support and mental health, but much of it is still available. And only a handful of states have <a href="https://www.contractingbusiness.com/iaq-ventilation/article/21235009/connecticuts-lamont-supports-hvac-upgrades-in-schools">invested in HVAC</a>. According to a review by the independent Brookings Institution, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2022/03/31/a-year-ago-school-districts-got-a-windfall-of-pandemic-aid-hows-that-going/">less than 5%</a> of the money from the most recent round of ESSER funds had been spent through the first quarter of 2022. </p>
<p>Another <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-states-and-cities-can-benefit-from-climate-investments-in-the-inflation-reduction-act/">$3 billion</a> was authorized in the recently enacted <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/19/fact-sheet-the-inflation-reduction-act-supports-workers-and-families/">Inflation Reduction Act</a> for environmental and climate justice block grants. These can be used to upgrade buildings and ventilation systems to reduce indoor air pollution.</p>
<p>School districts may be tempted to put indoor air interventions on the back burner, given widespread perceptions that <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-joe-biden-60-minutes-interview-transcript-2022-09-18/">the pandemic is over</a> and the many other challenges they face. But in our view, other educational interventions will be less effective if kids are frequently absent due to illness or unable to concentrate in the classroom. </p>
<p>We believe it is important for families and staff to understand the benefits that healthy indoor learning environments offer to everyone who spends time in school buildings, and to hold states and school districts accountable for investing now in HVAC improvements for <a href="https://www.usgbc.org/articles/federal-funding-sustainable-schools">healthier school buildings</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191410/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A lot of federal money is now available for making school buildings healthier. Two environmental health experts explain how school districts can best use it.Patricia Fabian, Associate Professor of Environmental Health, Boston UniversityJonathan Levy, Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental Health, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1890512022-09-06T00:14:15Z2022-09-06T00:14:15ZMicroplastics are common in homes across 29 countries. New research shows who’s most at risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481984/original/file-20220831-22-kajqnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1727%2C3808%2C2510&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The evidence is clear: microplastics have contaminated <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01143-3">every corner of the globe</a>. We can’t escape exposure to these tiny bits of plastic (less than 5mm across) in the environment, which includes the homes where people <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/7500165">spend most of their time</a>. </p>
<p>Recent research has discovered <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022001258">microplastics in the blood of humans</a>. However, the question of harm to humans <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7068600/">remains unresolved</a>. Despite concerns that some substances in microplastics could cause cancer or damage our DNA, we still have a poor grasp of the true risks of harm. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119957">study of global microplastics</a> exposure inside homes across 29 countries, published today, shows people living in lower-income countries and young children are at greater risk of exposure. But our analysis of the chemical composition of microplastics in the home shows the specific health risk is surprisingly low. The study covered all the continents, including Australia.</p>
<p>The current challenge in understanding health risks from microplastics is the very limited data on toxic effects of the petrochemicals used in plastics production. </p>
<p>A recurrent theme in the environmental health research literature is that early concerns about suspect chemicals and related compounds, including those found in plastics, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/non-toxic/pdf/NTE%20main%20report%20final.pdf">were eventually justified</a>. The effects of suspect substances only become clear after extensive toxicological and epidemiological research.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/youre-eating-microplastics-in-ways-you-dont-even-realise-97649">You're eating microplastics in ways you don't even realise</a>
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<h2>What did the new study look at?</h2>
<p>Our study investigated three main questions relating to exposure to microplastics inside homes:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>what are the impacts in different countries across the world?</p></li>
<li><p>who is most at risk?</p></li>
<li><p>what are the specific health risks?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>We reached out to residents across 29 countries to collect their indoor atmospheric dust over a one-month period. At 108 homes sampled across these countries, we also collected information about households and behaviours. This helped us to better understand possible sources and causes of microplastics in dust. These data included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>how often floors were cleaned</p></li>
<li><p>flooring type</p></li>
<li><p>presence or absence of children</p></li>
<li><p>number of people living in each home</p></li>
<li><p>percentage of full-time workers.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>In each home, atmospheric dust particles were collected in specially cleaned and prepared glass Petri dishes. We measured the levels of microplastics in the collected dust using a suite of microscopic techniques and instruments. We used <a href="https://www.chem.uci.edu/%7Edmitryf/manuals/Fundamentals/FTIR%20principles.pdf">infrared spectroscopy</a> – which identifies substances by how they interact with light – to determine the chemical composition of these microplastics.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/house-dust-from-35-countries-reveals-our-global-toxic-contaminant-exposure-and-health-risk-172499">House dust from 35 countries reveals our global toxic contaminant exposure and health risk</a>
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<hr>
<h2>What did the study find?</h2>
<p>The household dust contained a wide variety of synthetic <a href="https://www.livescience.com/60682-polymers.html">polymer</a> fibres. The most common were:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>polyester (as polyethylene terephthalate) at 9.1%, which is used in clothing fabrics</p></li>
<li><p>polyamide (7.7%), which is mainly used in textiles</p></li>
<li><p>polyvinyls (5.8%), which are used in floor varnishes</p></li>
<li><p>polyurethane (4.4%), which is used in surface coatings of furniture and in bedding</p></li>
<li><p>polyethylene (3.6%), a common polymer used in food containers and reusable bags. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481992/original/file-20220831-1921-rycya7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481992/original/file-20220831-1921-rycya7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481992/original/file-20220831-1921-rycya7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1297&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481992/original/file-20220831-1921-rycya7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1297&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481992/original/file-20220831-1921-rycya7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1297&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481992/original/file-20220831-1921-rycya7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1630&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481992/original/file-20220831-1921-rycya7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1630&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481992/original/file-20220831-1921-rycya7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1630&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026974912201171X?via%3Dihub">Author provided, The Conversation</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>We examined the prevalence and risk of microplastics according to the gross national income of each country, grouped as low, medium and high-income (such as Australia). Overall, we found lower-income countries have higher loads of microplastics, which were deposited at an average daily rate of 3,518 fibres per square metre. The rates for medium-income and high-income countries were 1,268 and 1,257 fibres/m²/day.</p>
<p>In low-income countries, the most prevalent synthetic polymer fibres were made of polyurethane (11.1% of all fibres in samples). In high-income countries, polyamide and polyester were the most prevalent microplastic types (11.2% and 9.8% respectively). </p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="46JpN" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/46JpN/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe id="lX15k" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/lX15k/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<h2>So what are the health risks?</h2>
<p>For the first time we could attribute the health risk across countries according to incomes. Our analyses showed lower-income countries are at higher risk from microplastic pollution. This aligns with <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)32345-0/fulltext">research findings</a> on other toxic exposures – poorer countries and people are most at risk from pollution. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, we found the overall risk from microplastics exposure was low. We used the US Environmental Protection Agency’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/iris">toxicity information</a> on polymers in the microplastics to calculate health risk based on the types and levels we detected. </p>
<p>Low-income countries had a higher lifetime risk of cancers due to indoor microplastic exposure at 4.7 people per million. High-income countries were next at 1.9 per million, with medium-income countries at 1.2 per million. </p>
<p>We attributed these differences in cancer risk to the different percentages of carcinogenic substances in the microplastics found in household dust.</p>
<p>We calculated the sum of the carcinogenic risk from inhalation and ingestion of the following chemicals in the microplastic fibres: vinyl chloride (polyvinyl chloride), acrylonitrile (polyacrylics) and propylene oxide (polyurethane). Because toxicity data for polymers are limited, the assessment was a minimum estimate of true risk.</p>
<p>Children are at greater risk irrespective of income, which is true for many types of environmental exposures. This is because of their smaller size and weight, and tendency to have more contact with the floor and to put their hands in their mouths more often than adults.</p>
<p>Our analysis indicated that the microplastics came mainly from sources inside the home, and not from outside. Synthetic polymer-based materials are used widely in high-income countries in products such as carpets, furniture, clothing and food containers. We anticipated levels of microplastic shedding in the home might be greater in these countries. </p>
<p>However, analysis of the data showed the only factor obviously linked with levels of microplastics in deposited dust was how often they were vacuumed. Frequent vacuuming reduces microplastic levels. </p>
<p>Vacuuming was more frequent in higher-income countries. Factors that influence the type of cleaning include people’s preference for sweeping and mopping versus vacuuming, as well as their access to and capacity to afford electronic vacuum cleaners.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Person vacuuming a rug on a timber floor in the home" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482223/original/file-20220901-24-dmslui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482223/original/file-20220901-24-dmslui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482223/original/file-20220901-24-dmslui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482223/original/file-20220901-24-dmslui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482223/original/file-20220901-24-dmslui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482223/original/file-20220901-24-dmslui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482223/original/file-20220901-24-dmslui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The levels of microplastics in the home appear to be reduced by frequent vacuuming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Liliana Drew/Pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-all-ingesting-microplastics-at-home-and-these-might-be-toxic-for-our-health-here-are-some-tips-to-reduce-your-risk-159537">We're all ingesting microplastics at home, and these might be toxic for our health. Here are some tips to reduce your risk</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What can we do to reduce the risks?</h2>
<p>Based on this and our previous <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117064">study data</a>, it is clear vacuuming regularly, instead of sweeping, is associated with less airborne microplastics indoors. Other obvious actions – such as choosing natural fibres for clothing, carpets and furnishings instead of petrochemical-based polymer fibres – can reduce the shedding of microplastics indoors.</p>
<p>Future research needs to focus on developing more complete profiles of the harmful effects of each of the toxic petrochemical-based synthetic polymers that can produce microplastics. This will give us a better understanding of the risks of exposure to these ubiquitous pollutants.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189051/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Patrick Taylor received funding via an Australian Government Citizen Science Grant (2017-2020), CSG55984 ‘Citizen insights to the composition and risks of household dust’ (the DustSafe project). The VegeSafe and DustSafe programs are supported by publication donations to Macquarie University. He is a full-time employee of EPA Victoria, appointed to the statutory role of Chief Environmental Scientist.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neda Sharifi Soltani works for Macquarie University. She receives funding from Macquarie University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott P. Wilson has received funding from state and federal grants, corporate entities and philanthropic and charitable organisations to undertake his research . He undertook this work while employed by Macquarie University but is currently employed by Earthwatch Australia. </span></em></p>It’s impossible to escape exposure to microplastics and a new study confirms they’re in household dust around the world. But the health risks appear surprisingly low, and vacuuming makes a difference.Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie UniversityNeda Sharifi Soltani, Academic Casual, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie UniversityScott P. Wilson, Chief Scientist, Earthwatch Australia, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1874222022-08-29T12:39:49Z2022-08-29T12:39:49ZExtreme heat and air pollution can be deadly, with the health risk together worse than either alone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481425/original/file-20220828-7442-4j6f2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=37%2C37%2C3551%2C2355&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bad air pollution and extreme heat each raise health risks, but they're worse combined.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/los-angeles-resident-carmen-green-jumps-rope-at-a-closed-news-photo/1228565250">Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Heat waves and air pollution from wildfire smoke and other sources are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.17923">each problematic</a> for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01208-3">human health</a>, particularly for vulnerable populations such as older adults. But what happens when they hit at the same time?</p>
<p>We examined over 1.5 million deaths from 2014 to 2020 registered in California – a state prone to summer heat waves and air pollution from wildfires – to find out.</p>
<h2>Deaths spike when both risks are high</h2>
<p>The number of deaths rose both on hot days and on days with high levels of fine particulate air pollution, <a href="https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/air/pmq_a.htm">known as PM2.5</a>. But on days when an area was hit with a double whammy of both high heat and high air pollution, the effects were much higher than for each condition alone.</p>
<p>The risk of death on those extra-hot and polluted days was about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.202204-0657OC">three times greater</a> than the effect of either high heat or high air pollution alone.</p>
<p>The more extreme the temperatures and pollution, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.202204-0657OC">higher the risk</a>. During the top 10% of hottest and most polluted days, the risk of death increased by 4% compared to days without extremes. During the top 1%, it increased by 21%; and among older adults over age 75, the risk of death increased by more than a third on those days.</p>
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<h2>Why risks are higher when both hit at once</h2>
<p>There are several ways the combined exposure to extreme heat and particulate air pollution can harm human health.</p>
<p>Oxidative stress is the most common biological pathway linked with particulate air pollution and heat exposure. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-021-00233-1">Oxidative stress</a> is an imbalance between production of highly reactive molecules known as reactive oxygen species, or ROS, and the body’s ability to remove them. It’s been linked with <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-32-9366-3_5">lung diseases</a>, among other illnesses. </p>
<p>Antioxidants help clean up these molecules, but particulate air pollution and heat disrupt this balance through excessive metabolic ROS production and lowered antioxidant activity.</p>
<p>Our research also showed that the effects of particulate air pollution and heat extremes were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.202204-0657OC">larger when high nighttime temperature and pollution occurred together</a>. High nighttime temperatures can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00139-5">interfere with normal sleep</a> and potentially contribute to chronic health conditions such as <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/215006">heart disease</a> and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1216951110">obesity</a>, and disrupt how the body regulates temperature.</p>
<p>Older adults may be more susceptible to effects of extreme heat and air pollution exposure, in part because this stress comes on top of age-related chronic health conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic lung disease. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507838/">Impaired body temperature regulation</a> in response to heat can also occur with aging. And older adults may be less mobile and therefore less able to get to cooling centers or to medical care and be less able to afford air conditioning. </p>
<h2>A future of high temperatures and air pollution</h2>
<p>This isn’t just a California problem. Climate change will increase exposure to high heat and air pollution in many parts of the country. </p>
<p>Yearly average temperatures in the U.S. are already more than 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) warmer than at the beginning of the 1900s. By the end of this century, global temperatures are on pace to be <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2021">nearly 5 F (2.7 C) warmer</a>. Dangerous extreme heat waves, currently rare, will <a href="https://science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/6/">become more common</a>. </p>
<p>Changing climate is also <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.025">affecting levels</a> of outdoor fine particulate pollution – for example, through weather changes such as air stagnation events, wind and dust storms, and drier and warmer conditions that <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/13/">contribute to increasingly frequent and intense wildfires</a>.</p>
<h2>What to do to stay safe</h2>
<p>Further research is needed to better understand these effects, such as the full impact of wildfire smoke exposure. However, enough is known that people should take measures to reduce their risk of harm during periods of extreme heat or air pollution.</p>
<p>That means staying <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heattips.html">well hydrated and keeping cool</a>. Shopping malls and other air-conditioned public spaces can provide a refuge from heat. Home air conditioning, especially during nighttime, can reduce mortality. A portable air filter in the bedroom can <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ina.12753">markedly reduce particle pollution levels</a>.</p>
<p>People with <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/warning.html">symptoms of heat stress</a>, such as headache, nausea, dizziness or confusion, especially the elderly, should seek medical care. </p>
<p>Many county and state health departments already provide alerts about extreme heat and extreme air pollution. Developing a special category of alert during co-occurring extremes may be beneficial to public health.</p>
<p>Governments also need to take steps now to avoid the worst future climate change scenarios. Some best practices for cities include creating cooling shade cover and green space that will also reduce particle pollution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erika Garcia receives support from Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant P30ES007048, and the University of Southern California Office of Research Strategic Development of Research Award.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Scot McConnell receives funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Md Mostafijur Rahman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The worst effects are during high nighttime temperatures, something happening more often with climate change. Wildfire smoke adds to the risk.Erika Garcia, Assistant Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern CaliforniaMd Mostafijur Rahman, Postdoctoral Scholar and Research Associate in Environmental Health, University of Southern CaliforniaRob Scot McConnell, Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern CaliforniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.