Children exposed to the common pollutant naphthalene show signs of chromosomal damage

Children exposed to the common pollutant naphthalene show signs of chromosomal damage.

ScienceDaily (May 29, 2012) — According to a new study, children exposed to high levels of the common air pollutant naphthalene are at increased risk for chromosomal aberrations (CAs), which have been previously associated with cancer. These include chromosomal translocations, a potentially more harmful and long-lasting subtype of CAs.

Researchers from the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report the new findings in Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Naphthalene is found in both outdoor and indoor urban air. It is present in automotive exhaust, tobacco smoke, and is the primary component of household mothball fumes. Classified as a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Cancer Research, naphthalene belongs to a class of air pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Prior research at the CCCEH has established a link between prenatal exposure to PAH and increased risk for childhood obesity, IQ deficits, and CAs. The new study is the first to present evidence in humans of CAs, including translocations, associated with exposure to one specific PAH — naphthalene — during childhood.

The researchers followed 113 children, age 5, who are part of a larger cohort study in New York City. They assessed the children’s exposure to naphthalene; a CDC laboratory measured levels of its metabolites — 1- and 2-naphthol — in urine samples. (Metabolites are products of the body’s metabolism, and can serve as marker for the presence of a chemical.) Researchers also measured CAs in the children’s white blood cells using a technique called fluorescent in situ hybridization. Chromosomal aberrations were present in 30 children; of these, 11 had translocations. With every doubling of levels of 1- and 2-naphthol, translocations were 1.55 and 1.92 times more likely, respectively, to occur.

CAs have been associated with increased cancer risk in adults. Translocations are of special concern as they result in a portion of one chromosome being juxtaposed to a portion of another chromosome, potentially scrambling the genetic script. „Translocations can persist for years after exposure. Some accumulated damage will be repaired, but not everyone’s repair capacity is the same. Previous studies have suggested that chromosomal breaks can double an adult’s lifetime risk for cancer, though implications for children are unknown,“ says first author Manuela A. Orjuela, MD, ScM, assistant professor of clinical environmental health sciences and pediatrics (oncology) at Columbia University Medical Center and a pediatric oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital.

To obtain a better sense of the long-term consequences of naphthalene exposure, Dr. Orjuela and other CCCEH investigators are following some of the children in the study as they reach fourth grade. While they expect to see further translocations, they do not expect to see any signs of cancer in the white blood cells. „So far, the translocations seem to be random, and there has been no evidence of the specific translocations that are known to be associated with leukemia. This is entirely expected; leukemia is very rare.“ Frederica Perera, DrPH, senior author on the paper, adds that „the findings provide yet more evidence of the vulnerability of the young child to carcinogenic air pollutants.“

The researchers hypothesized that naphthalene exposure was primarily from mothballs, which can release high levels of the chemical. Furthermore, according to previous research, some Caribbean immigrant families use mothballs as an air freshener. Other important sources of naphthalene in indoor air are tobacco smoke, paint fumes, cooking, and heating. The new findings have implications beyond the urban environment as elevated levels of naphthalene metabolites have been documented in rural communities using biomass-burning stoves (coal, wood) — another source of PAH exposure.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants R01ES12732, U01CA159157, 5P01ES09600, R01 ES013163, P50 ES015905, 5RO1ES08977, RO1ES111158, RO1ES012468, an d P30 ES09089), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (STAR grants RD832096, R827027, 8260901, and RR00645), and the New York Community Trust.

McDonalds forced to disclose all chemical ingredients on food sold in Russia

McDonalds forced to disclose all chemical ingredients on food sold in Russia viaMcDonalds forced to disclose all chemical ingredients on food sold in Russia.

Russian consumer rights‘ group recently filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s at Moscow’s Tverskoy Court. The consumer groups involved in the suit say that McDonald’s milkshakes are falsely named because they contain little milk.

McDonald’s shakes don’t deserve to be called milkshakes

Analysis of milkshakes sold at McDonald’s outlets in Russia revealed the beverages contained more vegetable oil than dairy product. Experts at the Institute of Laboratory of Nutrition, say that by Russian law these drinks can be called „milk-containing“ but cannot be labeled as „milk“. Consumer rights advocate Mikhail Anshakov, says that the „McMilkshake“ is falsely named, „They do not list the ingredients of their products which is a strict requirement for organizations of the type they are registered as in Russia. Moreover, their products contain excessive amounts of several ingredients, which is why the product name is insufficient.“

Representatives of the Consumer Rights Protection Society (CRPS) charge that by „concealing the content“ of its products McDonald’s misleads consumers. „You might be able to get away with this type of fraud in America, but not Russia“ said Yogi Protovokov of Moscow. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit do not seek any money from McDonald’s, but want the company to redesign the packaging of their products to reveal the ingredients in its menu items, rather than simply listing the calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates. Altering product packaging would entail a multi-million dollar expense to the fast food purveyor.

Taxes and ingredient lists

The current lawsuit hinges in part on another Russian court ruling last year. McDonald’s won its case against the Moscow territorial division of the Federal Tax Service. That case concluded with a judge determining that McDonald’s in Russia is not a restaurant but company which sells food products as a store. The result of the suit seemed favorable to McDonalds at the time, resulting in a 10 percent rather than 18 percent Value Added Tax.

However, by Russian law, a store which sells food products which it also manufactures must provide accurate information regarding the ingredients in its food, as well as any biologically active supplements and the presence of the GMOs, as well as the date and place of the food’s manufacturing. Russian law also stipulates that a food store must provide information on the product packaging about the potential effects of its food for people with conditions and certain diseases.

Consumer watchdog groups in Russia say McDonald’s wants to have it both ways, gaining the tax benefits of being classified as a store, while not fulfilling the obligations such a status incurs according to Russian law. The CPRS website explained the need for the suit, saying „The McDonald’s restaurant chain deliberately violates the Russian consumer rights legislation, profiting twice from the privileged situation created by Moscow’s Arbitration Court decision.“

McDonald’s representatives claim not to have received notice of the lawsuit and it was also absent in the court’s database, according to an official statement sent to The Moscow News. But personnel at the Tverskoi court confirmed to the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti that the lawsuit has been filed. Some Russian legal experts say it will be difficult for the consumer group to win its case against McDonald’s, pointing out that the milkshakes in question are produced using a technology certified by the Russian branch of Europe’s biggest milk product manufacturer Ehrmann.

The new lawsuit comes on the heels of a year of both expansion and litigation for McDonald’s in Russia, where it has operated since 1990. In 2011, the company opened 40 new restaurants in Russia. They also faced lawsuits from customers. In one case, a man who won $50 damages plus the cost of his sandwich after getting food poisoning from consuming a Big Mac. In another suit, in which a St. Petersburg man received $3,500 to cover dental expenses for the broken tooth he got when the salad he ordered at McDonald’s contained a stone.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034810_McDonalds_ingredients_Russia.html#ixzz1kvLYshKk

http://rt.com/business/news/mcrussia-milkshake-revelation-885/

SSRI Horrors Grow: Women Who Take Popular Antidepressants Risk Babies With Severe High Blood Pressur

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Friday, January 13, 2012 by: S. L. Baker, features writer       Although Big Pharma and mainstream medicine continue to push antidepressants, especially the type known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Paxil and Prozac, the documented risks and side effects of these drugs remain often ignored. While it’s true the FDA finally acknowledged SSRIs are linked to suicide and violence in adolescents, other are rarely mentioned. Neither is the mounting evidence that SSRIs pose a serious threat to unborn babies.Take the Mayo Clinic’s official web site, for example, which claims: „depression is such a horrible disease that depression treatment during pregnancy is essential. If you have untreated depression, you might not have the energy to take good care of yourself. You might not seek optimal prenatal care or eat the healthy foods your baby needs to thrive. You might turn to smoking or drinking alcohol.“Notice all the „mights“ in that plug for antidepressant use during pregnancy. The web site states the risk of pregnant womentaking SSRIs causing drug-related harm to their babies is „low.“ What’s shocking is that this information is currently up on the Mayo website when evidence has accumulated over the past year that antidepressants can, in fact, cause very serious and potentially deadly birth defects.For example, a Finnish study published last July provided evidence that exposure to SSRIs in the first trimester of pregnancyincreases the risk for major congenital anomalies, particularly heart problems. In fact, the use of fluoxetine (the generic name for Prozac) in the first three months of a pregnancy was linked to a two-fold risk for isolated ventricular sepal defects; another SSRI, paroxetine (Paxil), was associated with more than a four-fold increased risk for right ventricular outflow tract defects in newborn hearts.If that’s not shocking and worrisome enough, especially when you consider the CDC reports at least one in ten Americans are now taking SSRIs, including countless numbers of pregnant women. News about birth defects linked to these antidepressants just got worse. A new study just published online by the British Medical Journalreveals that women who take SSRIs during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to children with a very dangerous and serious condition — persistent pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs). SSRIs can be a serious threat to the health of babies Persistent pulmonary hypertension is caused by an increase in blood pressure in the lungs. That, in turn, leads to shortness of breath and other breathing difficulties. This is no minor problem, either, but a severe disease with strong links to heart failure. The new study, conducted by scientists at the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, investigated 1.6 million births between 1996 and 2007 in five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. In all, a total of 1,618,255 single births were included in the study. The researchers discovered that 11,000 of the mothers had filled prescriptions for anti-depressants in late pregnancy and approximately 17,000 more had taken the drugs in early pregnancy. An additional 54,184 mothers in the study were found to have previously been given a psychiatric diagnosis but these women did not take any antidepressant medication during their pregnancies. Babies born to the women in the study were assessed after 231 days (33 weeks). The results? Taking SSRIs appeared to clearly raise the risk of pulmonary persistent hypertension. In all, the new study found three babies with pulmonary persistent hypertension per 1000 women taking SSRIs in early pregnancy. That number doubled if the anti-depressants were taken in late pregnancy. The risk was not enormous. Butpulmonary persistent hypertension in a baby is a very serious disease and any increase in cases at all is extremely worrisome, especially when it could be prevented. After all, aking SSRIs is not something a woman absolutely has to do. Exercise, sound nutrition, stress relief, yoga and a host of other natural approaches have been documented to help relieve depression. In an accompanying editorial, researchers from the Motherisk Program Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the School of Pharmacy at the University of Oslo concluded that mothers who take SSRIs in late pregnancy are more likely to give birth to children with persistent pulmonary hypertension. In a media release about the new study, Christina Chambers, PhD, MPH, from the University of California, San Diego, who has also studied potential risks of SSRI use in pregnancy, said the paper confirms results of „several other papers showing small increased risks for selected specific birth defects, although not all previous studies have shown a risk.“ For more information: http://www.bma.org.uk/ http://www.naturalnews.com/SSRIs.html http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Abstract/2011/07000/Selective_Serotonin_Reuptake_Inhibitors_and_Risk.16.aspx http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/antidepressants/DN00007

http://www.naturalnews.com/034638_SSRI_drugs_antidepressants_high_blood_pressure.html#ixzz1jKJDs5Xo

The Ethical Thing To Do | Common Dreams

The Ethical Thing To Do | Common Dreams.

All Rights there

 

11.22.11 – 10:23 AM

The Ethical Thing To Do

Cognitive Dissonance Dept: L.A.’s Cedars-Sinai Hospital is denying a liver transplant to a cancer patient because he used medical marijuana – legal in California and prescribed by his Cedars doctor – to ease the effects of  chemotherapy.Hospital officials say Norman Smith, 63, must stop using pot for six months, undergo random drug testing, and do weekly substance-abuse counseling before they will consider putting him back on the list. The medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access says Cedars-Sinai should change its policy. It’s tough to argue.

New Analyses Show …

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New Analyses Show Oil and Gas Industry Is Inflating the Job-Creating Potential of 

Shale Gas Development




Food & Water Watch Study Shows One Job Claim Exaggerated by 900 Percent – all rights there –

WASHINGTON – November 15 – Will the oil and gas industry create 1 million new jobs for Americans, as its latest advertisement claims? The American Petroleum Institute and major oil and gas corporations are spending millions to convince Americans that with unrestricted access to natural resources, they can lift us from our economic slump in part by fracking our nation’s shale gas reserves. But Exposing the Oil and Gas Industry’s False Jobs Promise for Shale Gas Development, a new set of analyses released today by the national consumer advocacy organization Food & Water Watch, finds that the oil and gas industry is exaggerating the capacity of shale gas development to generate jobs and economic opportunity for Americans, in one case exaggerating projected job creation by 900 percent.

“The oil and gas industry has tried to stand on three legs, claiming that shale gas is good for the environment, good for American energy security and good for the economy. The first two legs have already been kicked out, and our new analysis kicks out the third,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “They have no legs left to stand on.”

A 2011 report by the Public Policy Institute of New York State (PPINYS) claimed that by 2018, developing 500 new shale gas wells each year in five counties in New York would create 62,620 jobs. Food & Water Watch closely examined the PPINYS report and found it riddled with flaws; in fact, the economic forecasting model that PPINYS used actually only supported a claim of 6,656 jobs. PPINYS inflated the job-creation potential of shale gas development by almost 900 percent. According to Food & Water Watch, even the corrected PPINYS jobs projection is overly optimistic because it fails to account for negative effects that shale gas development would have on other key parts of the economy, such as agriculture and tourism.

Exposing the Oil and Gas Industry’s False Jobs Promise for Shale Gas Development examines employment data, revealing that opening up five counties in the southern tier of New York to shale gas development can be expected to generate a net gain in employment of only about 2 jobs per well. This calculation, derived from data on actual employment, is in stark contrast with the forecast of 125 jobs per well in the PPINYS report. According to Food & Water Watch, an employment gain of just 2 jobs per shale gas well does not justify the inevitable costs to public health, public infrastructure and the environment that the industry would bring to New York.

Across the United States, shale gas development has generated a barrage of costly consequences:

-To date, over 1,000 cases of drinking water contamination have been reported near shale gas development sites around the U.S.

-In 2008, a fracking wastewater pit in Colorado leaked 1.6 million gallons of fluids, some of which contaminated the Colorado River.

-In Wise County, Texas, properties with fracking wells have lost 75 percent of their value.

-In 2009, Pennsylvania regulators ordered the Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation to cease all fracking in Dimock, Pa., after three spills at one well within a week polluted a wetland and endangered fish in a local creek. The spills leaked 8,420 gallons of fluids that contained potential carcinogens. The state fined the company $240,000, and it cost more than $10 million to deliver potable water to the affected homes. A legal battle has now ensued over who should be responsible for providing Dimock residents with clean water.

-Scientists have found that 25 percent of the hundreds of chemicals used in fracking can cause cancer, 37 percent can disrupt the endocrine system and 40 to 50 percent can affect the nervous, immune and cardiovascular systems.

-Fracking wells in Pennsylvania, a state with many active sites, are expected to create 19 million gallons of wastewater this year, yet many municipal treatment plants lack the capacity to treat fracking wastewater in part because it often contains radioactive elements.

Many of the flaws in the PPINYS report come from a series of studies led by Timothy Considine of the University of Wyoming. His series of studies have informed many evaluations of the economic potential of shale gas development by policymakers, including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Shale Gas Subcommittee.

The industry’s jobs projections are used to make the case for deregulation, but the oil and gas companies’ recent record tells a different story. According to a report released in September by Congressman Ed Markey (D-Ma.), ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips, all involved in shale gas development, paid their executives a total of nearly $220 million and recorded $73 billion in profits in 2010. However, the Big 5 oil companies reduced their global workforce by a combined 4,400 employees that same year.

“While President Obama’s recent move to delay his decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline is a sign that his administration is attuned to public concern about the negative effects of tar sands, we hope he will not replace it with shale gas development,” said Hauter. “The oil and gas industry has exploited our economic woes to promote shale gas, yet actual employment data shows that it is not a cure-all for our nation’s economic challenges; the money to be made from shale gas development will mostly just benefit oil and gas executives.”

Exposing the Oil and Gas Industry’s False Jobs Promise for Shale Gas Development is available here.

###

Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.

News: Fukushima Fallout Fears over Japan Farms etc.

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Fukushima fallout fears over Japan farms:
New research has found that radioactive material in parts of north-eastern Japan exceeds levels considered safe for farming   

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15691571

 

Frozen Planet won’t be shown in the U.S. as viewers don’t believe in global warming:    

An episode of the BBC’s Frozen Planet documentary series that looks at climate change has been scrapped in the U.S., where many are hostile to the idea of global warming.   

http://bit.ly/vDoq9T

 

Court order allows Occupy Wall St. protesters back: –    

Hundreds of police officers in riot gear raided Zuccotti Park early Tuesday, evicting dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters from what has become the epicenter of the worldwide movement protesting corporate greed and economic inequality.   

http://bit.ly/v7gZa5

 

Police Clear Occupy Oakland Encampment, but Protesters Return:  Protesters returned to a downtown plaza Monday evening, after hundreds of police officers raided the Occupy Oakland encampment there early Monday, arresting 33 people and flattening tents.   

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/us/police-raid-occupy-oakland-camp.html

Ecuador: four months to save the world’s last great wilderness from ‚oil curse‘ (Guardian) & Niebel blockiert Yasuni Initiative (TAZ)

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Niebels einsamer Kampf gegen Yasuni (Zeit)
http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2011-10/yasuni-niebel

Niebel blockiert Yasuni Initiative (TAZ)
http://www.taz.de/Niebel-blockiert-Yasuni-Initiative/!80170/

Offizielle Yasuni-Seite der UNDP (auf Englisch)
http://mdtf.undp.org/yasuni

Ecuador: four months to save the world’s last great wilderness from ‚oil curse‘ (Guardian, auf Englisch)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/14/ecuador-oil-yasuni-national-park

Bo Derek: Save Amazon’s Yasuni National Park From Oil Drilling (Huffington Post, auf Englisch)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/27/bo-derek-yasuni-national-park_n_978358.html

Niebel und die Indianer (Zeit)
http://www.zeit.de/2011/25/DOS-Ecuador-Yasuni-Nationalpark

Regenwaldschutz in Ecuador: UNO drängt Deutschland (TAZ)
http://www.taz.de/Regenwald-Schutz-in-Ecuador/!78192/

Health and Medical The implementation of population control programs in other nations

Health and Medical The implementation of population control programs in other nations.

Critical, sometimes very critical, articles & videos by Brasscheck:

Last week we posted a segment of Steven W. Mosher’s presentation on
the implementation of population control programs in China. In it
he elaborated on China’s use of forced abortion, coercive
sterilization, and even infanticide.

Today’s video is a continuation of his presentation, in which he
discusses the implementation of these program in other countries
like India, Peru, Kenya, and more.

He elaborates on the use of food as a weapon, sterilization quotas,
the undermining of primary healthcare, and the spread of medically
transmitted HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Whether you believe in overpopulation or not, there is a right way
and a wrong way to deal with it. Steven Mosher clearly demonstrates
that the solutions generally agreed upon and offered by western
nations are immoral, sickening, and wrong.

Video:

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/5670.html
– Brasscheck

Use Your Junk Mail To Occupy Wall Street / Video

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http://youtu.be/2JlxbKtBkGM

Are you part of the 99%? Are you tired of having the needs of the people ignored by politicians and the ultra-wealthy 1% that owns them?

Not everyone can spend days camping at their local Occupy Wall Street protest, but there are other ways to show your support. The video below demonstrates a fast, easy, free, and non-violent way to drive the big banks out of their greedy little minds.

And it’s sitting in your mailbox right now.
 

Related articles

• Pat Buchanan: Occupy Wall Street Is ‚Going To End Very, Very Badly‘ (huffingtonpost.com)
• Pat Buchanan Predicts Occupy Wall Street Protests Will Get More Violent As Weather Gets Colder (mediaite.com)
• How to Get Rid of All That Junk Mail in Seconds! (annlrd.wordpress.com)
• Solutions Occupy Wall Street: Outing the Ringers (faktensucher.wordpress.com)

Disgusting: New York’s Largest Foreclosure Firm Mocked Downtrodden Homeowners at Halloween Party | AlterNet

Disgusting: New York’s Largest Foreclosure Firm Mocked Downtrodden Homeowners at Halloween Party | AlterNet.

Last year, the law firm of Steven J. Baum threw a Halloween party in which employees mocked the homeowners it foreclosed against, wearing horrific „squatter“ and „homeless“ costumes and setting up a fake foreclosure sale tent city. Steven J. Baum is the largest foreclosure mill firm in the state of New York, and represents Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, among other mortgage lenders.  A former employee sent photos of the party to the New York Times‚ Joe Nocera: 

see & read more: AlterNet