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While all links worked when entries were posted to the database, different publishers
have different policies about retaining articles and providing access to archived material.
Thus some of the links, particularly older ones, may no longer be functional.
For links no longer working, you may be able to gain paid access to text via the publisher's site.
Exposure to arsenic causes human stem cells to transform into cancer cells, report researchers who studied the cells in a laboratory.
People in certain regions of the world are exposed to high levels of arsenic through drinking water tainted by the naturally-occurring element. The results of this new study may explain why arsenic is associated with several human cancers, including prostrate cancer in men. 5 November 2009. More...
Levels of antibiotics measured in streams, lakes and well water near pharmaceutical factories in India are 100,000 to 1,000,000 times higher than levels measured in waters that receive sewage effluent in the US or China.
Much of the world's supply of supply of generic antibiotics are produced in the study area. 9 September 2009. More...
A mother's contribution of pollutants to her offspring is more important to the survival of a young turtle than its exposure through food, according to a new wildlife study that compared the long-term effects of PCBs from both sources.
The results show for the first time that it is exposure from the mother, and not diet, that has more serious consequences for survival of these turtles. Additionally, the most severe effect --death-- was only seen after an 8-month delay. 3 September 2009. More...
The common and highly-used herbicide atrazine can act within the brain to disrupt the cascade of hormone signals needed to initiate ovulation, finds a new study.
The results shed new light on the way atrazine affects the female reproductive system and the persistence of these effects when adults are exposed. 20 August 2009. More...
Iron nanoparticles that are poised for use in large-scale pollution remediation can rapidly react with oxygen and cause lung cells to die.
The same qualities that make these particles potentially useful in environmental clean-up -- their high reactivity -- also make them potentially harmful to living things. Some of the reactions can release free radicals that can damage cell DNA. 12 August 2009. More...
Large piles of aging chicken manure to be used as fertilizer on farm crops can house bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, finds a new study.
The results raise concern that typical storage conditions may fail to keep the microbes from reaching people through contaminated food or drinking water. Poultry manure is not required to be treated before it is applied to farm fields. 7 August 2009. More...
Women who are having difficulty conceiving may want to cut back on their soy consumption after a mouse study reveals that dietary exposure to genistein, a compound found in soy foods, can reduce the odds of a successful pregnancy in multiple ways.
The results reveal how natural compounds like genistein may have both risks – it can act as an endocrine disurptor to affect female reproduction – and benefits - such as protecting the heart. 28 July 2009. More...
The herbicide atrazine lowers the production of androgen hormones in male rats by altering the genes responsible for making them.
This is the first study to show that atrazine directly affects the genes responsible for hormone production in testicular cells. 27 July 2009. More...
A new study with mice links arsenic exposure to reduced immune response.
The results suggest those people most exposed to arsenic through their drinking water may be more susceptible to illness and possibly death when infected with the H1N1 swine flu virus. 17 July 2009. More...
Traditional and locally harvested foods contribute more persistent, stain-repelling compounds to the native Inuit diet than packaged food that is imported and sold at the local stores, report researchers who analyzed and compared exposures from the two food sources.
The estimated PFC exposure of the Nunavut Inuit studied is similar to levels measured in Canadians and Europeans. Yet, no universal health standards are set for PFC exposure, so the health impacts are unclear. 2 June 2009. More...
A five-generation rat study provides the clearest evidence to date that exposure to low levels of environmental estrogens can increase the risk of abnormal cell growth in the male breast.
Abnormalities which could have the potential to become cancerous developed in the mammary gland tissue of male rats that were exposed to either the soy-based phytoestrogen genistein or ethinyl estradiol -- an estrogen used in birth control pills. 27 May 2009. More...
A new study with rats shows that long-term exposure to the common agricultural pesticide atrazine causes weight gain in animals fed normal diets and obesity in those fed high fat diets.
The new results suggest a mechanism for prior studies that found an association between areas of the United States with heavy atrazine use and high obesity prevalence. 23 April 2009. More...
As babies grow into toddlers, their ability to alter arsenic into less harmful forms changes, leaving them less able to get rid of the cancer-causing metal and perhaps, more susceptible to its effects.
According to this new research from Bangladesh, children exposed to arsenic face a double whammy: they are less able to detoxify the poison at a time when their exposure through food and water is most likely increasing. 6 February 2009. More...
Dibutyltin, an understudied chemical used widely in PVC plastics, can interfere with the natural ability of human and animals cells to control important immune responses and inflammation.
The results may help understand why asthma and allergies are increasing in people. 11 December 2008. More...
Triclosan, an antibacterial agent used in toothpastes, soaps and cosmetics, alters thyroid function in male rats, highlighting a potential concern for people - especially pregnant women and children.
Effects occurred at doses that people may experience, given the many diverse sources of exposure now prevalent because of triclosan's widespread use. 5 December 2008. More...
A modern day 'canary in a coal mine' unfolds as thousands of birds “dropping from the sky” alert authorities to lead-tainted drinking water and people.
Residents of a seaside community in Australia had unusually high concentrations of a unique and toxic form of lead that was discovered after thousands of local birds died. 1 December 2008. More...
A common disinfectant used by public water treatment plants creates a byproduct that is highly toxic to mammalian cells. How much is made depends upon details of how the plants process water.
The amount produced can be reduced significantly by simple changes in the treatment process. Despite this, many plants continue to use methods that create more of the toxic chemical than necessary. 18 November 2008. More...
Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may lower a child's intelligence at age nine by several points, a study from Oswego, New York, finds.
The pre-teen children whose mothers were highly exposed to PCBs during pregnancy scored lower in general and verbal IQ tests than those born to mothers who were mildly exposed. The findings support other human studies that suggest exposure to these persistent chemicals disrupts early childhood mental development. 27 October 2008. More...
Some people are much more sensitive to arsenic poisoning than others. In this new study, researchers used fruit flies to discover the gene that may be responsible for these differences.
The gene they discovered produces an enzyme called glutathione synthetase which is important for detoxifying arsenic. 23 September 2008. More...
Scientists in Florida report that intersex conditions found in amphibians are associated with agricultural land use.
In the most heavily farmed area, almost 40% of male toads have abnormalities that make them less male and more like females. The results suggest that agricultural chemicals may be responsible. 3 July 2008. More...
Exposure to lead at concentrations below the US safe standard level decreases childhood intelligence, according to a study of children living in Rochester, New York.
The findings show a significant decline of 5 intelligence quotient (IQ) points in children with blood lead levels between 5 and 9.9 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL), which is lower than the Centers for Disease Control's safe limit of 10 mcg/dL. 27 February 2008. More...
Researchers testing deep aquifers used for drinking water found human viruses, challenging the assumption that these crucial water supplies are protected from surface contamination.
Samples from three public water supply wells that draw from a 240-foot deep aquifer in Wisconsin contained human intestinal viruses, which as a group are associated with diseases such as meningitis, encephalitis, newborn enteroviral disease and polio. 2 December 2007. More...
New research by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control indicates that the analysis the CDC has used to estimate human exposure to atrazine and atrazine-related breakdown products has strongly underestimated its extent.
By assaying for more than one atrazine metabolite, the new method finds exposures more consistent with the widespread use of the herbicide than indicated by the old approach. 27 November 2007. More...
New research confirms that estrogenic contaminants can seep into sediment after being carried by sewage into rivers.
Standard water treatment doesn't remove them from waste water effluent, so they pass from treatment plants into rivers. Once in river waters, they move into river sediments and thus potentially reach groundwater, contaminating sources of drinking water. 8 October 2007. More...
Chinese children drinking well water with very high levels of fluoride scored poorly on intelligence testing compared to those with lower exposures.
More information is needed to ascertain if the sum total amount of ingested fluoride from tap water, consumer products and other sources are enough to inhibit brain development in children living in the US and other countries where fluoridation is common. 5 July 2007. More...
Could lead poisoning contribute to asthma and other allergic diseases?
Experiments with cells in the immune system of mice--which are hypersensitized by lead-- provide support for this hypothesis. 25 June 2007. More...
Two recently published reports using data from the long running and large Normative Aging Study link elevated bone lead levels with increased heart disease in aging men.
Men with the highest lead levels suffered more heart attacks than those with lower levels. High levels of stress compounded the impact of lead to increase risk of higher blood pressure. 20 June 2007. More...
Drinking water contaminated with high levels of arsenic is associated with fetal loss and infant death.
A large study of women in Bangledesh found a 14 percent increase in fetal loss and a 17% increase on infant death for drinking water with more than 50 µg/liter of arsenic. Previous studies have associated high levels of arsenic exposure with stillbirth and spontaneous abortion. American Journal of Epidemiology 15 June 2007. More...
Exposure to arsenic during early pregnancy interferes with placenta formation causing spontaneous abortion.
This abortive effect in mice after exposures to high levels of arsenic appears to be the result of interference with blood vessel formation. This may explain why women exposed to high levels of arsenic in their drinking water have high rates of spontaneous abortion and infertility. Toxicological Sciences 14 June 2007. More...
Concentrations of arsenic considered safe in public drinking water impair the ability of zebrafish to fight off bacterial and viral infections when the exposure takes place during early development.
One day after being experimentally infected, embryos exposed to 2 parts per billion of arsenic had viral levels 57 times greater than controls and bacterial levels 20 times greater. The results raise questions about the adequacy of current public health standards for arsenic. 23 May 2007. More...
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