Environmental Public Health Commons^™

An Evaluation Of The Us High Production Volume (Hpv) Chemical-Testing Programme: A Study In (Ir)Relevance, Redundancy And Retro Thinking, Andrew Nicholson, Jessica Sandler, Troy Seidle

Troy Seidle, PhD

Under the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) High Production Volume (HPV) Challenge Programme, chemical companies have volunteered to conduct screening-level toxicity tests on approximately 2800 widely-used industrial chemicals. Participating companies are committed to providing available toxicity information to the EPA and presenting testing proposals for review by the EPA and posting on the EPA Web site as public information. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and a coalition of animal protection organisations have reviewed all the test plans submitted by the participating chemical companies for compliance with the original HPV framework, as well as with animal welfare guidelines …

A Modular One-Generation Reproduction Study As A Flexible Testing System For Regulatory Safety Assessment, Richard Vogel, Troy Seidle, Horst Spielmann

Troy Seidle, PhD

The European Union’s Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) legislation mandates testing and evaluation of approximately 30,000 existing substances within a short period of time, beginning with the most widely used “high production volume” (HPV) chemicals. REACH testing requirements for the roughly 3000 HPV chemicals specify three separate tests for reproductive toxicity: two developmental toxicity studies on different animal species (OECD Test Guideline 414) and a two-generation reproduction toxicity study (OECD TG 416). These studies are highly costly in both economic and animal welfare terms. OECD TG 416 is a fertility study intended to evaluate reproductive performance of animals …

Health Professionals’ Roles In Animal Agriculture, Climate Change, And Human Health, Aysha Z. Akhtar, Michael Greger, Hope Ferdowsian, Erica Frank

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

What we eat is rapidly becoming an issue of global concern. With food shortages, the rise in chronic disease, and global warming, the impact of our dietary choices seems more relevant today than ever. Globally, a transition is taking place toward greater consumption of foods of animal origin, in lieu of plantbased diets. With this transition comes intensification of animal agriculture that in turn is associated with the emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases, environmental degradation, and the epidemics of chronic disease and obesity. Health professionals should be aware of these trends and consider them as they promote healthier and more …

The Transcriptional Response To Oxidative Stress During Vertebrate Development: Effects Of Tert-Butylhydroquinone And 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-P-Dioxin, Mark Hahn, Andrew Mcarthur, Sibel Karchner, Diana Franks, Matthew Jenny, Alicia Timme-Laragy, John Stegeman, Bruce Woodin, Michael Cipriano, Elwood Linney

Alicia R. Timme-Laragy

Oxidative stress is an important mechanism of chemical toxicity, contributing to teratogenesis and to cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Developing animals may be especially sensitive to chemicals causing oxidative stress. The developmental expression and inducibility of anti-oxidant defenses through activation of NF-E2-related factor 2 (NRF2) affect susceptibility to oxidants, but the embryonic response to oxidants is not well understood. To assess the response to chemically mediated oxidative stress and how it may vary during development, zebrafish embryos, eleutheroembryos, or larvae at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 days post fertilization (dpf) were exposed to DMSO (0.1%), tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ; 10 mM) …

Temporal Trends In Serum Concentrations Of Polychlorinated Dioxins, Furans, And Pcbs Among Adult Women Living In Chapaevsk, Russia: A Longitudinal Study From 2000 To 2009, Olivier Humblet, Oleg Sergeyev, Larisa Altshul, Susan A. Korrick, Paige L. Williams, Claude Emond, Linda S. Birnbaum, Jane S. Burns, Mary M. Lee, Boris Revich, Andrey Shelepchikov, Denis Feshin, Russ Hauser

Mary M. Lee

BACKGROUND: The present study assessed the temporal trend in serum concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and biphenyls (PCBs) among residents of a Russian town where levels of these chemicals are elevated due to prior industrial activity.

METHODS: Two serum samples were collected from eight adult women (in 2000 and 2009), and analyzed with gas chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry.

RESULTS: The average total toxic equivalency (TEQ) decreased by 30% (from 36 to 25 pg/g lipid), and the average sum of PCB congeners decreased by 19% (from 291 to 211 ng/g lipid). Total TEQs decreased for seven of the eight women, and the …

Genetic Modification Of The Association Between Peripubertal Dioxin Exposure And Pubertal Onset In A Cohort Of Russian Boys, Olivier Humblet, Susan A. Korrick, Paige L. Williams, Oleg Sergeyev, Claude Emond, Linda S. Birnbaum, Jane S. Burns, Larisa Altshul, Donald G. Patterson Jr., Wayman E. Turner, Mary M. Lee, Boris Revich, Russ Hauser

Mary M. Lee

BACKGROUND: Exposure to dioxins has been associated with delayed pubertal onset in both epidemiologic and animal studies. Whether genetic polymorphisms may modify this association is currently unknown. Identifying such genes could provide insight into mechanistic pathways. This is one of the first studies to assess genetic susceptibility to dioxins. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated whether common polymorphisms in genes affecting either molecular responses to dioxin exposure or pubertal onset influence the association between peripubertal serum dioxin concentration and male pubertal onset. METHODS: In this prospective cohort of Russian adolescent boys (n = 392), we assessed gene-environment interactions for 337 tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms …

Asthma Management: An Ecosocial Framework For Disparity Research, Robin A. Evans-Agnew

Robin A Evans-Agnew

Background: Asthma management disparities (AMD) between African and White Americans are significant and alarming. Various determinants have been suggested by research frameworks that affect the unfair distribution of resources for asthma management to groups who are more or less advantaged socially. Ecosocial models organize determinants into individual/family, healthcare, community, and sociocultural levels. Multilevel interventions can affect AMD through simultaneous actions on different levels and pathways between determinants. Objective: Provide a comprehensive summary of the known determinants of AMD. Method: Peer reviewed research frameworks of AMD from 1998-2009 were retrieved from PubMed/ Web of Science databases using (“Socioeconomic Factors”[Mesh] OR (“Healthcare …

The Public Health Impacts Of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations On Local Communities, Michael Greger, Gowri Koneswaran

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

Large-scale farm animal production facilities, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), release a significant amount of contaminants into the air and water. Adverse health effects related to exposure to these contaminants among CAFO workers have been welldocumented; however, less is known about their impact on the health of residents in nearby communities. Epidemiological research in this area suggests that neighboring residents are at increased risk of developing neurobehavioral symptoms and respiratory illnesses, including asthma. Additional research is needed to better understand community-scale exposures and health outcomes related to the management practices and emissions of CAFOs.

A New Brief Scale To Assess Suicidality: Scale For Impact Of Suicidality-Management, Assessment And Planning Of Care (Sis-Map- Brief Scanner), Amresh Srivastava, Megan Johnston, Miky Kaushal, Robbie Campbell, Charles Nelson

Amresh Srivastava

Purpose: In this study we examine merit of a short version (Brief Interview Screener (SIS-MAP-scn )of a previously developed and validated 108 item scale, known as ‘ Scale for Impact of Suicidality-Management, Assessment and Planning of Care ( SIS MAP), for rapid assessment in challenging clinical settings e.g. primary care and emergency room. Background: Generally suicide risk is assessed clinically and structured assessments optimize the direction for decision-making across various settings e.g. inpatient care, emergency rooms and crisis centers. We believe that measures with accurate and valid information should be based upon multifactorial risk-constituent domains, e.g. biological, social, psychological, environmental …

Lead In Green Turf, Shawn Gerstenberger

Shawn Gerstenberger

Green turf. You see it everywhere: football fields, day care centers, parks.... But is it safe? A UNLV professor says it can release lead, which people could inhale or ingest. But the Synthetic Turf Council says no one has reported bad effects. How safe is the turf we play on? How can we change it? The research professor breaks down the green turf situation for us.

Evaluating The Effects Of The Lunchtime Enjoyment Activity And Play (Leap) School Playground Intervention On Children’S Quality Of Life, Enjoyment And Participation In Physical Activity, Brendon P. Hyndman, Amanda Benson, Shahid Ullah, Amanda Telford

Dr Brendon P Hyndman

Background: An emerging public health strategy is to enhance children’s opportunities to be physically active during school break periods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Lunchtime Enjoyment Activity and Play (LEAP) school playground intervention on primary school children’s quality of life (QOL), enjoyment and participation in physical activity (PA). Methods: This study consisted of a movable/recycled materials intervention that included baseline, a 7-week post-test and an 8-month follow-up data collection phase. Children within an intervention school (n = 123) and a matched control school (n = 152) aged 5-to-12-years-old were recruited for the study. …

Effects Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) On Response Perseveration And Ultrasonic Vocalization Emission In Rat During Development, Howard Cromwell

Howard Casey Cromwell

The 3 major symptoms of autistic spectrum disorders include 1) social behavioral alterations, 2) problems in communication and 3) higher-order motoric deficits of perseveration and stereotyped movements. Previous work has shown that early developmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) alters rat pup social motivation and juvenile rat social recognition/investigation. The present work extends this previous research by examining how perinatal PCB exposure alters motoric functions and communication abilities at different stages of development. Action perseveration was examined using performance measures from a T-maze environment. Communication abilities were evaluated by monitoring ultrasound emission in rat pups during a brief isolation from …