Exposure to chemical may affect genitals of baby boys
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
Baby boys are more likely to have changes in their genitals — such as undescended testicles and smaller penises — if their mothers were exposed to high levels of a controversial chemical during pregnancy, a new study shows.
Virtually everyone has been exposed to the chemicals, called phthalates, which are used in countless plastic products and are found in everything from drinking water to breast milk to household dust, according to the study, published in the current issue of Environmental Research.
Until recently, most studies have been conducted in animals. Those tests suggest that phthalates interfere with the male sex hormone testosterone, causing a "phthalate syndrome" in male fetuses that changes the way their genitals develop, says study author Shanna Swan, a professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Swan says her study of 106 mothers and sons suggests this syndrome may be occurring in humans, too.
In her study, doctors measured phthalate levels in the mothers' urine during pregnancy, then examined the babies at 12 months.
Boys whose mothers had the highest phthalate levels were more likely than others to show three anatomic differences: smaller penises, a shorter distance between the anus and base of the penis, and undescended or incompletely descended testicles, Swan says.
Swan also notes that most boys had normal sex organs. Twelve had incompletely descended testicles, while 29 babies fell into a category with "shorter" anogenital distances.
In most cases, these aren't serious problems, Swan says. Babies with undescended testicles often need no treatment, because the organs descend on their own by age 1. Others can be helped with hormone treatments or surgery. And even the smaller penises appeared to be within the normal range.
But Swan says she's concerned that these changes indicate a deeper problem — that phthalates may have made the boys "less masculine" in key ways. In animals, males with these genital changes also had lower sperm counts, she says.
Swan says she is also concerned about girls. It's possible that any effects from pre-birth phthalate exposure may not surface until the girls hit puberty or try to have children, she says.
In her paper, she notes that other researchers have linked phthalates to reduced sperm quality and DNA damage, as well as hormone changes, reduced lung function and premature puberty.
More and more Americans are becoming concerned about phthalates.
In August, Congress banned several types of the chemicals in children's toys and products. Dozens of hospitals around the country are phasing phthalates out of their neonatal intensive care units to protect vulnerable newborns, who may spend weeks or months connected to plastic tubing.
Read more HERE
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Micro and macro plastic in the ocean is WRONG
Are 'microplastics' marine pollutants?
Experts start to ask if tiny particles might be clogging ocean food chain
By Jessica Marshall
Discovery Channel
We've all heard about sea turtles, dolphins or seabirds dying from entanglement in six-pack rings, plastic bags or other detritus - or from bellies full of mistakenly swallowed plastic. But some marine researchers are concerned about the effect that much smaller bits of plastic may be having on the seas.
So-called "microplastics" may concentrate pollutants, be ingestible by the ocean's tiny denizens - from zooplankton to filter feeders like clams and mussels - and move up the food chain.
A group of scientists gathered this month to identify what's known about this problem and where more research is needed.
"We know that stuff breaks down, and as it breaks down, it forms smaller and smaller pieces of plastic," said workshop organizer Joel Baker of the University of Washington, Tacoma. "But there's another story, and that is that there are some processes that either purposefully or inadvertently create microplastic particles in their own right."
One such source is nurdles, the little plastic pellets used as the raw material that's molded or extruded into plastic products.
A growing source is tiny plastic spheres - less than a millimeter across, and in some cases just microns in diameter - used in new industrial abrasives or in cosmetics as exfoliants, Baker said.
"Because they're used as abrasives, presumably they're pretty hard and pretty resilient to breakup," he said. "The general rule of thumb is, if it doesn't break down pretty quickly, it ends up in the ocean. We don't have any way of monitoring for them. We have no idea, really, if they're having any impact on any organisms."
Estimates of exactly how many particles are in the ocean give a wide range.
"You tend to have numbers that are much less than one per cubic meter," Baker said. "But if you do that in terms of the number of pieces per square kilometer of sea surface, it's tens of thousands."
Amphipods, lugworms, barnacles and mussels take up microplastic in aquarium experiments. Fish and birds in the wild have been found with microplastic pieces in their bodies. But the extent and effect of this ingestion is not yet known.
Plastic specks in the oceans appear to adsorb poorly water-soluble pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and persistant pesticides like DDT. This might give creatures that ingest pellets a superdose of toxins that can accumulate up the food chain.
"There's some indication that when the animal ingests those, they not only get the physical damage to the gut, but those pollutants can desorb into the animal," said workshop participant Douglas Helton of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Debris Program, in Silver Spring, Md.
On the other hand, the pellets might act like pollutant sponges that mop up the contaminants and sequester them out of harm's way, Baker said.
One study presented at the meeting suggested that the amount of pollutant accumulated by one type of marine worm decreased when more plastic was added to sediment in an aquarium, suggesting the latter mechanism may work in that case.
One of the outcomes of the workshop was to identify areas where the greatest effects are likely to be seen.
"There are probably areas where it floats on the surface, and those are lagoons and marshes," Baker said. "The other place is coastal urban sediments, where it has settled to the bottom."
These are good starting points for additional research, because if microplastics are causing problems, such locations should show the effects most directly, he added. In the meantime, taking steps to reduce plastic debris - large and small - is a good idea, Helton said. "I don't think there's any right amount of plastic to dump in the ocean."
(c) 2008 Discovery Channel
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26994478/
Experts start to ask if tiny particles might be clogging ocean food chain
By Jessica Marshall
Discovery Channel
We've all heard about sea turtles, dolphins or seabirds dying from entanglement in six-pack rings, plastic bags or other detritus - or from bellies full of mistakenly swallowed plastic. But some marine researchers are concerned about the effect that much smaller bits of plastic may be having on the seas.
So-called "microplastics" may concentrate pollutants, be ingestible by the ocean's tiny denizens - from zooplankton to filter feeders like clams and mussels - and move up the food chain.
A group of scientists gathered this month to identify what's known about this problem and where more research is needed.
"We know that stuff breaks down, and as it breaks down, it forms smaller and smaller pieces of plastic," said workshop organizer Joel Baker of the University of Washington, Tacoma. "But there's another story, and that is that there are some processes that either purposefully or inadvertently create microplastic particles in their own right."
One such source is nurdles, the little plastic pellets used as the raw material that's molded or extruded into plastic products.
A growing source is tiny plastic spheres - less than a millimeter across, and in some cases just microns in diameter - used in new industrial abrasives or in cosmetics as exfoliants, Baker said.
"Because they're used as abrasives, presumably they're pretty hard and pretty resilient to breakup," he said. "The general rule of thumb is, if it doesn't break down pretty quickly, it ends up in the ocean. We don't have any way of monitoring for them. We have no idea, really, if they're having any impact on any organisms."
Estimates of exactly how many particles are in the ocean give a wide range.
"You tend to have numbers that are much less than one per cubic meter," Baker said. "But if you do that in terms of the number of pieces per square kilometer of sea surface, it's tens of thousands."
Amphipods, lugworms, barnacles and mussels take up microplastic in aquarium experiments. Fish and birds in the wild have been found with microplastic pieces in their bodies. But the extent and effect of this ingestion is not yet known.
Plastic specks in the oceans appear to adsorb poorly water-soluble pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and persistant pesticides like DDT. This might give creatures that ingest pellets a superdose of toxins that can accumulate up the food chain.
"There's some indication that when the animal ingests those, they not only get the physical damage to the gut, but those pollutants can desorb into the animal," said workshop participant Douglas Helton of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Debris Program, in Silver Spring, Md.
On the other hand, the pellets might act like pollutant sponges that mop up the contaminants and sequester them out of harm's way, Baker said.
One study presented at the meeting suggested that the amount of pollutant accumulated by one type of marine worm decreased when more plastic was added to sediment in an aquarium, suggesting the latter mechanism may work in that case.
One of the outcomes of the workshop was to identify areas where the greatest effects are likely to be seen.
"There are probably areas where it floats on the surface, and those are lagoons and marshes," Baker said. "The other place is coastal urban sediments, where it has settled to the bottom."
These are good starting points for additional research, because if microplastics are causing problems, such locations should show the effects most directly, he added. In the meantime, taking steps to reduce plastic debris - large and small - is a good idea, Helton said. "I don't think there's any right amount of plastic to dump in the ocean."
(c) 2008 Discovery Channel
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26994478/
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
New York Times: No More Plastic Bags
September 30, 2008
EDITORIAL
No More Plastic Bags
Westport, Conn., this month became the latest of a handful of communities to ban some plastic bags. The bags, which have only a brief, useful life, can survive forever in landfills and are of enormous concern to not only environmentalists but local officials who are running out of places to put their trash.
Westport’s ordinance will take effect in six months and applies to bags dispensed at checkout counters. Others, like dry cleaning bags, will be exempted. The aim is to reduce litter and encourage customers to tote their groceries in reusable cloth bags.
The town’s stand is laudable but will have only a limited effect on what is, after all, a statewide problem. The Connecticut Legislature rebuffed a proposed statewide ban last year. Massachusetts and Maine considered similar bans and also backed down.
Americans use and dispose of at least 100 billion bags every year. Although the plastics industry points out that plastic grocery bags are made more from natural gas than petroleum, natural gas is not a renewable resource and contributes to global warming. And about only 5 percent of all plastic bags are recycled nationwide. The rest end up in the trash, hanging in trees or floating in water where they menace marine life.
There are other possible remedies, including a constructive idea that has taken hold in Ireland. In 2002, Ireland became the first country in the world to impose a tax on plastic bags. Use of the bags dropped by 90 percent, and proceeds from the tax went to environmental causes.
If Ireland is any guide, tax laws may have greater impact on human behavior than recycling laws. Tax law could also be written to apply to an entire state, thus eliminating the need for town-by-town bans.
EDITORIAL
No More Plastic Bags
Westport, Conn., this month became the latest of a handful of communities to ban some plastic bags. The bags, which have only a brief, useful life, can survive forever in landfills and are of enormous concern to not only environmentalists but local officials who are running out of places to put their trash.
Westport’s ordinance will take effect in six months and applies to bags dispensed at checkout counters. Others, like dry cleaning bags, will be exempted. The aim is to reduce litter and encourage customers to tote their groceries in reusable cloth bags.
The town’s stand is laudable but will have only a limited effect on what is, after all, a statewide problem. The Connecticut Legislature rebuffed a proposed statewide ban last year. Massachusetts and Maine considered similar bans and also backed down.
Americans use and dispose of at least 100 billion bags every year. Although the plastics industry points out that plastic grocery bags are made more from natural gas than petroleum, natural gas is not a renewable resource and contributes to global warming. And about only 5 percent of all plastic bags are recycled nationwide. The rest end up in the trash, hanging in trees or floating in water where they menace marine life.
There are other possible remedies, including a constructive idea that has taken hold in Ireland. In 2002, Ireland became the first country in the world to impose a tax on plastic bags. Use of the bags dropped by 90 percent, and proceeds from the tax went to environmental causes.
If Ireland is any guide, tax laws may have greater impact on human behavior than recycling laws. Tax law could also be written to apply to an entire state, thus eliminating the need for town-by-town bans.
Monday, September 29, 2008
VOA: Volunteers clear trash
But those little bits of garbage have a huge cumulative impact. Ocean Conservancy President Vikki Spruill says every year, volunteers around the world clear away tons of trash that pose a serious threat to the marine ecosystem.
"To give a very specific example," she says, "a sandwich bag that seems innocent when it's being packed into your lunchbox, when it's discarded of improperly and ends up in our waterways and ultimately in the ocean, can be mistaken for a jellyfish. Something like a sea turtle, for example, sees that bag, eats it, and it results in death."
Read More
"To give a very specific example," she says, "a sandwich bag that seems innocent when it's being packed into your lunchbox, when it's discarded of improperly and ends up in our waterways and ultimately in the ocean, can be mistaken for a jellyfish. Something like a sea turtle, for example, sees that bag, eats it, and it results in death."
Read More
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Help Spread the Word: Rise Above Plastic!
SEATTLE, 1999.
DEMOCRACY VS. CORPORATE TYRANNY.
DEMOCRACY WON.
SEA TURTLES WERE THE SYMBOL.
In 1999 economic fairness, environmental wellness, and active democracy stopped the World Trade Organization (WTO) from meeting in Seattle.
Tens of thousands of ordinary people like us from around the world: union members, environmental activists, farmers, students, teachers, and nuns-gathered together in an extraordinary alliance to challenge the WTO in Seattle.
We have a historic opportunity THIS MONTH to rally together again to raise awareness of the WTO's failed, poverty-perpetuating and environmentally devastating policies - and how ordinary people can change everything. And international sea turtle protection is a central theme of the film. When was the last time you saw a Hollywood movie that discussed the importance of Turtle Excluder Devices?!
The new feature film, "BATTLE IN SEATTLE," starring Andre Benjamin as Django, the sea turtle activist, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Rodriguez, Channing Tatum, and Charlize Theron showcases activists as heroes protecting people and the planet from destruction at the hands of callous corporations.
WE INVITE YOU TO STAND UP TO THE WTO AGAIN TODAY by taking the following steps as we organize around this epic cultural event:
SEE THE FILM. Take your friends, your loved ones, your co-workers, your neighbors, and remember what victory looks like for the global environmental and social movement. The film transports you to the heart of the action, and leaves you filled with hope about creating a more just world. THE FIRST TWO WEEKS IN THE THEATERS ARE CRITICAL! If enough people see the film, it will expand into other cities around the country, bringing its important message to an even larger audience! Order tickets at HERE and invite your friends to join you HERE. If the film is not playing in your area use the "DEMAND IT!" widget HERE to bring it to your area.
INSPIRE 10 FRIENDS TO SEE THE FILM. Organize your own outreach campaign by emailing, calling or texting 10 or more of your friends in any of the opening cities (even if you don't live in one, yourself!) and ask them to relive our collective victory against corporate tyranny. Five lucky activists who use the email tool HERE or HERE will win a box of Fair Trade chocolate confections!
TAKE ACTION. Ocean Revolution is part of the 5 ACTIONS CAMPAIGN that provides 5 impactful and empowering actions you can take to follow in the footsteps of the activists in Battle in Seattle. Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000 of Outkast) plays Django, the sea turtle activist, in the film and has been very supportive of our efforts to protect turtles. Visit www.5actions.com and click on the WILD OCEANS icon to participate in our Rise Above Plastic action. (Share your experience and we'll send you a limited 5actions.com pin and stickers designed by Shep Fairey/OBEY GIANT)
INSPIRE OTHERS TO TAKE ACTION. Pass out action flyers at the film screenings so audiences who see the film know how they can simply and powerfully take action themselves. To volunteer to hand out cards at theaters, please send an email to dorettamc@gmail.com with "BIS Flyering Volunteer" and the city where you would like to volunteer in the subject line. Include your name, phone (preferably cell), the city where you would like to volunteer, dates and preference for a morning, afternoon, evening, or night shift (see the Battle in Seattle website for the available options). Shifts will be 3-4 hours long. DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: SEPTEMBER 10.
SPREAD THE WORD. Forward this email, post the links, or if you are on FACEBOOK or MYSPACE, change your profile photo to the 5 actions sea turtle icon. If thousands of us change our profile photos, it will have a huge visual impact on social networking sites and engage exponentially more people in the movement!
The film opens September 19 in New York, San Francisco, San Rafael, Seattle, and Minneapolis and September 26 in Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, and Washington DC…check the website for new cities being added!
For more information, and to see the film trailer, visit www.battleinseattlemovie.com.
Please forward this email broadly!!!
And THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THE GLOBAL MOVEMENT THAT THIS FILM REPRESENTS!
DEMOCRACY VS. CORPORATE TYRANNY.
DEMOCRACY WON.
SEA TURTLES WERE THE SYMBOL.
In 1999 economic fairness, environmental wellness, and active democracy stopped the World Trade Organization (WTO) from meeting in Seattle.
Tens of thousands of ordinary people like us from around the world: union members, environmental activists, farmers, students, teachers, and nuns-gathered together in an extraordinary alliance to challenge the WTO in Seattle.
We have a historic opportunity THIS MONTH to rally together again to raise awareness of the WTO's failed, poverty-perpetuating and environmentally devastating policies - and how ordinary people can change everything. And international sea turtle protection is a central theme of the film. When was the last time you saw a Hollywood movie that discussed the importance of Turtle Excluder Devices?!
The new feature film, "BATTLE IN SEATTLE," starring Andre Benjamin as Django, the sea turtle activist, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Rodriguez, Channing Tatum, and Charlize Theron showcases activists as heroes protecting people and the planet from destruction at the hands of callous corporations.
WE INVITE YOU TO STAND UP TO THE WTO AGAIN TODAY by taking the following steps as we organize around this epic cultural event:
SEE THE FILM. Take your friends, your loved ones, your co-workers, your neighbors, and remember what victory looks like for the global environmental and social movement. The film transports you to the heart of the action, and leaves you filled with hope about creating a more just world. THE FIRST TWO WEEKS IN THE THEATERS ARE CRITICAL! If enough people see the film, it will expand into other cities around the country, bringing its important message to an even larger audience! Order tickets at HERE and invite your friends to join you HERE. If the film is not playing in your area use the "DEMAND IT!" widget HERE to bring it to your area.
INSPIRE 10 FRIENDS TO SEE THE FILM. Organize your own outreach campaign by emailing, calling or texting 10 or more of your friends in any of the opening cities (even if you don't live in one, yourself!) and ask them to relive our collective victory against corporate tyranny. Five lucky activists who use the email tool HERE or HERE will win a box of Fair Trade chocolate confections!
TAKE ACTION. Ocean Revolution is part of the 5 ACTIONS CAMPAIGN that provides 5 impactful and empowering actions you can take to follow in the footsteps of the activists in Battle in Seattle. Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000 of Outkast) plays Django, the sea turtle activist, in the film and has been very supportive of our efforts to protect turtles. Visit www.5actions.com and click on the WILD OCEANS icon to participate in our Rise Above Plastic action. (Share your experience and we'll send you a limited 5actions.com pin and stickers designed by Shep Fairey/OBEY GIANT)
INSPIRE OTHERS TO TAKE ACTION. Pass out action flyers at the film screenings so audiences who see the film know how they can simply and powerfully take action themselves. To volunteer to hand out cards at theaters, please send an email to dorettamc@gmail.com with "BIS Flyering Volunteer" and the city where you would like to volunteer in the subject line. Include your name, phone (preferably cell), the city where you would like to volunteer, dates and preference for a morning, afternoon, evening, or night shift (see the Battle in Seattle website for the available options). Shifts will be 3-4 hours long. DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: SEPTEMBER 10.
SPREAD THE WORD. Forward this email, post the links, or if you are on FACEBOOK or MYSPACE, change your profile photo to the 5 actions sea turtle icon. If thousands of us change our profile photos, it will have a huge visual impact on social networking sites and engage exponentially more people in the movement!
The film opens September 19 in New York, San Francisco, San Rafael, Seattle, and Minneapolis and September 26 in Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, and Washington DC…check the website for new cities being added!
For more information, and to see the film trailer, visit www.battleinseattlemovie.com.
Please forward this email broadly!!!
And THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THE GLOBAL MOVEMENT THAT THIS FILM REPRESENTS!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
