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Current query:Type: Scientific Studies
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Children exposed to PCBs in their first years of life are less likely to be protected from diseases by vaccinations, according to a new study.
Exposure to PCBs is strongly associated with lower antibody levels. The results may help understand why effectiveness of vaccines varies so much among children. 6 August 2010. More...
Pregnant women who live in areas close to electronic waste dismantling sites have higher exposures to persistent organic pollutants and depressed thyroid hormone levels than those who live farther away from the facilities, finds a study that compares women in two regions of China.
Even without direct interactions with the e-waste facility, recycling affected women living adjacent to the sites. This study raises concerns about e-waste practices and health effects on both the mothers and the developing fetuses. 20 July 2010. More...
Researchers at the University of Iowa have discovered that PCBs are present in many more kinds of paint pigment than previously known. While the US EPA knew about some of the contamination, the extent of the problem is a surprise.
The researchers suggest that the contaminated pigments used in a variety of paints, inks, cosmetics, plastics and other consumer goods are probably a source of ongoing exposures in humans. 9 July 2010. More...
A first attempt at measuring flame retardants and PCBs in dust from daycare centers and classrooms in the United Kingdom shows these facilities to be an important source of exposure for toddlers and young children, with a small group of them experiencing very high exposures.
Researchers may be underestimating the impact from these facilities, as levels of certain chemical types were higher than those from house dust or car dust. 6 July 2010. More...
A new method for removing fluorines from fluorinated chemicals offers a promising method to detoxify some types of organohalogen pollutants, such as CFCs.
The method could be more broadly applied to other organofluorines, including perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) such as PFOA and PFOS. PFOA is a chemical used in nonstick cookware and PFOS was used in anti-stain fabrics and water resistant coatings. 17 June 2010. More...
A family of common environmental contaminants, PCBs, can damage and break the important protein links between cells that line the intestine and form a protective barrier into the body.
The breaks allow the chemicals to move through the outer buffer cells and "leak" into surrounding tissues where they may cause the systemic toxic health effects associated with the compounds. 19 May 2010. More...
Two new studies show remarkably high levels of PBDE flame retardants in the bodies of California children.
PBDE body burden levels in two separate populations of California children were 10 to 1,000 times higher than European children, 2 to 10 times higher than other U.S. children and adults, and approached levels measured in occupationally-exposed adults. 3 May 2010. More...
A study of children born near a PCB-contaminated harbor in Massachusetts finds that prenatal exposure to banned persistent organic pollutants - specifically PCBs and DDE - may be linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The results are consistent with previous human and animal studies that have found links between PCB levels and ADHD-like behaviors, such as inattention and impulsivity. This may be the first time the behaviors are associated with DDE exposure. 20 April 2010. More...
Certain types of PCBs can affect the way a brain chemical responsible for halting signals sends its chemical messages from nerve to nerve, according to research conducted on frog egg cells
These results further tease apart PCBs' complex effects on brain chemicals and better explain how these interactions can result in abnormal brain function. 10 March 2010. More...
A study of breast milk samples from more than 300 women in North Carolina found flame retardants were highest in women aged 25 to 29.
The PBDEs were detected in almost three-quarters of the women in the study. Women older than 35 had the lowest levels. 25 January 2010. More...
A new study in rats shows that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) – at levels found in farmed Atlantic salmon – cause insulin resistance and associated obesity and liver disease in the animals. The study is the first to show this experimentally.
Insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes, which is becoming a global epidemic. The association between high levels of POPs in people and increased chance of developing diabetes has been known since 2006. Until now, scientists could not positively conclude that POPs influenced the onset of diabetes. 14 January 2010. More...
New research reports that the enzymes in the roots of a poplar tree can alter the chemical structure of a common type of PCB pollutant, rendering it less harmful than the original chemical.
The results are a first step in determining if plants would be a valuable tool in cleaning up contaminated sites. 29 December 2009. More...
Falcons that make their home in some of California's largest cities carry more flame retardant pollutants in them as compared to those that preside in rural areas, finds a study that measured the chemicals in the birds' eggs.
Levels of these flame retardants in the eggs also tripled over the two decades of the study. In contrast, PCB levels in the eggs did not change in any of the regions over the same time period. 15 December 2009. More...
Eight years after a heavily contaminated military site in northern Canada was cleaned up, PCB levels in wildlife have plummeted.
The findings are the first to show that Arctic wildlife can recover from intense pollution if the contaminated sites in these very cold-weather regions are remediated. 11 December 2009. More...
In a study of nerves from rat brains, scientists confirm that the effects of different environmental contaminants can add together.
The research adds to a growing body of evidence that estimates of risk should evaluate combinations of chemicals that are most likely to be encountered through environmental exposure. 1 December 2009. More...
A recent study uses an unconventional method to shed light on these the lives of tuna. By measuring pollutants in fish tissues, the research team was able to where the fish had been.
Pollution signatures – the blend of chemicals in the environment – are unique to different geographical areas of the world. 23 November 2009. More...
Persistent pollutants measured in the blood of college students may be the remnants of past exposures instead of current exposures through food and dust, researchers conclude in a recently published study.
While different in structure and use, PCBs and DDT are types of long-lived pollutants that can persist in the environment, concentrate through food chains, and accumulate in fatty tissue of wildlife and people. They are slow to leave the body and are linked to some endocrine effects and cancers. 26 October 2009. More...
Household dust is an important source of exposure to a lesser known – but ubiquitous and potentially toxic – flame retardant, reports a study from Belgium.
This study is the first to examine the relationship between dust, diet and serum concentrations of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs). Results are consistent with studies of other better known flame retardants, indicating that indoor sources may contribute most of human exposure to these chemicals. 8 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...
Levels of contaminants in breast milk are more complicated than once thought; instead of a constant decline during nursing, levels may fluctuate from beginning to end, finds a new study that contradicts the long-held belief that the pollutants steadily wane.
The pollutants include flame retardants, dioxins and pesticides. Sometimes, concentrations actually increased over the course of breast feeding. 11 August 2009. More...
Several long-lived pollutants measured in the blood of Canadian Inuits, including stain repellents, are associated with altered thyroid hormone levels, according to new research.
The study highlights again how long-persisting environmental pollutants can accumulate in people and alter normal hormone levels. It is unique because it included women and is one of the first large-scale studies to look at the stain repellent PFOS's effects on thyroid hormone. 5 August 2009. More...
Hudson Bay's polar bears are more contaminated with some pollutants now than in the past due to warmer temperatures that are melting ice sooner in the spring and forcing the bears to eat different food.
The bears now eat more harbor and harp seals and fewer bearded seals than before. This shift in diet resulted in higher levels of PCBs and flame retardants in their tissues. 27 July 2009. More...
Concentrations of PCBs, dioxins, and some flame retardant chemicals in human breast milk declined significantly between 1996 and 2006.
A new study of Swedish women confirms that PCBs -- a chemical used in electronics and transformers until the 1970s -- and dioxins and furans -- byproducts of industrial processes -- are less prevalent in breast milk now than in the mid 1990s. 24 July 2009. More...
Researchers report that women with higher DDE blood concentrations were 2.5 times more likely to have high thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).
Increased concentrations of the long-lived pesticide residue were also associated with reduced thyroxine (T4) levels. Potential effects of chemicals on thyroid function during pregnancy are of concern because thyroid hormones play a crucial role in fetal brain development. 14 July 2009. More...
Developmental exposure to PCBs can permanently damage hearing but co-exposure with methyl mercury reduces the effects.
The mercury doses were selected to achieve a ratio of PCBs to methyl mercury similar to that found in walleye caught by fisherman in Wisconsin, but the doses were higher than those typically encountered by people. 25 June 2009. More...
First time expectant mothers in the US have much lower blood levels of selected persistent organic pollutants than women did before the chemicals' ban and restrictions on use and emissions.
Levels of a PCB indicator fell drastically, from 140 nanograms per gram in women sampled between 1959-1966 to about 8 nanograms per gram in women from the more recent sample. Still, a metabolite of the insectide DDT, which has not been used in the US for 30 odd years, was detected in all of the women's blood. 23 June 2009. More...
A bacteria-killing chemical widely used in an array of consumer products has made its way down kitchen and bathroom sinks and into dolphins living in US coastal waters.
Researchers report for the first time that a marine mammal--the bottlenose dolphin--is accumulating triclosan from water bodies where treated sewage is released. The study examined animals from rivers, an estuary, a harbor and a lagoon in South Carolina and Florida. 18 June 2009. More...
A genetic trigger in the cell, long studied for its role in responding to some of the most toxic compounds known, appears to have newly discovered important functions in directing development.
The findings show that a receptor long-known to be responsive to dioxins can trigger different genes in the presence of pollutants than it does when no pollutants are around. The results point toward mechanisms that could help explain dioxin's impacts on fetal development. 29 April 2009. More...
A recent study in Arizona of household air identified over 400 airborne chemicals ranging from pesticides to phthalates.
Pesticides, including diazinon, chlorpyrifos and DDT were found at surprisingly high levels, as were phthalates. 28 April 2009. More...
Scientists identify changes in brain chemistry caused by perfluorinated chemicals that may be the cause of 'deranged spontaneous behavior' observed when young mice are exposed to PFCs.
The chemicals are used in clothing, carpeting, upholstery, floor and car waxes, firefighting foams, and even in the lining of food containers, including pizza boxes and microwave popcorn bags. 3 April 2009. More...
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