Toxic Dioxin

Since its use by the US military to raze the Vietnamese forests and grasslands, Agent Orange has wreaked horrific damage to the Vietnamese people. Cancers, disabilities and birth defects all bear witness to its effects. Now a study looking 

into the effects of dioxins on gene expression has revealed that even three generations after exposure, diseases and problems caused by dioxin will be present in rats.

Today dioxins are found as industrial by-products, given off by waste incinerators and other processes. To investigate effects of its exposure, pregnant rats were administered TCDD, a dioxin component of Agent Orange. This dose was low for lab rats but higher than humans would experience in the environment, as well as for a different time period and method of dose delivery. The team found that subsequent generations, all the way to the original rats' "great grandchildren", had problems such as prostate cancer, ovarian diseases and kidney disease.

The way dioxins do this is by changing which genes are turned on and off. The DNA sequences are the same, but whether they are expressed or not changes (the study of inherited changes in gene expression is called epigenetics). While the findings are not directly applicable to humans, it demonstrates that the environment of our ancestors can be responsible for diseases and disorders today.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Dmitry Oshchepkov

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120926213939.htm

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=rats-harmed-by-great-grandmothers-exposure-to-dioxin

Carmageddon and Air Quality

Air quality near the closed 10-mile portion of the 405 Freeway reached levels 83% better than typical weekends, according to a team at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

The 405 Freeway at Sunset Boulevard is shown. UCLA researchers say that last year’s Carmageddon closure of the 405 rid Los Angeles of both traffic and another notorious problem: pollution. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times / July 16, 2011)

The reprieve lasted for only one weekend, but UCLA researchers say that last year's Carmageddon closure of the 405 Freeway rid Los Angeles of both traffic and another notorious problem: pollution.

Air quality near the closed 10-mile portion of the freeway reached levels 83% better than typical weekends, according to research released Friday by a team at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

More striking, the researchers say, air quality also improved 75% in parts of West Los Angeles and Santa Monica, suggesting that whole swaths of residents stayed off the road in those areas. Overall, air quality across the region was 25% better than normal.

"Seeing such a dramatic reduction [in pollutants] in West L.A. was really quite surprising," said Suzanne Paulson, one of the professors leading the research. "It gives a very dramatic view of how clean the air could be."

As soon as traffic returned the following week, the improvements vanished, Paulson said. But area residents have another chance to breathe some fresh air starting Saturday.

More than 14 months after the initial closure, workers will again shut down a portion of the 405 Freeway, this time to demolish the northern end of the Mulholland Drive bridge. The construction is part of a $1-billion project that will include adding a carpool lane.

Paulson and Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, both said they hope the freeway will one day be filled with electric vehicles or other low-emission cars. Atwood said Los Angeles still has the "worst air quality in the country." Research has linked exposure to near-roadway pollutants to an increased risk ofasthma, heart attack, stroke, premature births and other health problems.

Atwood said the study's findings were not all that surprising but illustrate the "significant effect" cars, and especially trucks, have on air quality. He estimated that vehicular traffic is responsible for about half of all air pollution.

City leaders and transit officials have asked residents to stay out of their cars and "eat, shop and play locally" during this weekend's closure. But the average person probably won't be able to tell the difference in air quality even if cars stay home, Paulson said.

The professor and her colleague, Yifang Zhu, don't plan to conduct another study during this weekend's closure, and haven't yet published a paper on last year's findings.

So perhaps the only way for people to gauge the quality of the air they are breathing will be to look to the streets and count the cars.

Source: LA Times

Environmental Success Story

Air pollution success story

Los Angeles, wedged between the ocean to its west and mountains to its east, is built for air pollution. Contaminants from cars, utilities and factories pump out particles and gases that enshroud the city in smog.

California became the first state to regulate air pollution when then-Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Air Resources Act in 1967. The U.S. caught up with California three years later when another California Republican, President Richard Nixon, signed the Clean Air Act.

California maintains its role as an environmental law laboratory. This fall it will introduce a statewide cap-and-trade program to gradually reduce its climate pollution.

Read more energy & sustainability news.

Source: Bloomberg

Keeping Allergic Children Healthy

If your child has allergies, asthma or other sensitivities, there’s extra parenting responsibility. Erica Reid, mother to two preteens with food and environmental sensitivities and author of The Thriving Child , shares some of her tips for keeping children safe.

Be an advocate.
Own your children’s health problems, and guide your children to do so, too. “Teach them as early as possible to live with whatever they have,” Reid says. With strong food allergies, Reid’s son, 9, doesn’t eat at friends’ houses. Her son and daughter, 11, know what questions to ask when they order for themselves in restaurants.

'School' others.
Discuss your child’s health needs with teachers. “Inform teachers on the first day of school, and if your child has more than one teacher, don’t rely on that teacher to tell the other,” Reid says. And don’t be fazed by resistance. “Some teachers ... don’t understand when I tell them my son is allergic to cold air. They think I am overreacting.” It’s the responsibility of the parent and the person taking care of the child to ensure health is taken seriously.

Know the triggers.
Always carry your child’s medications and have him wear a medical bracelet that informs others of health problems in case he can’t speak for himself.

Source: USA Weekend

Pregnant? Breathe easy.

Take small steps such as:

• Trade your scented candles or oils  for fresh flowers.
• Skip the household aerosol sprays.
• Quit smoking right away, and don't allow anyone to smoke around you.

Avoid:

• Pesticides
• Paint Fumes
• Tobacco Smoke
• Improperly Maintained Stoves
• Kerosene Heaters
• Solvents

For more Breathe Easy tips, read this article at Eco-Pregnancy and this one.

Air Pollution in the News

Air pollution continues to be a problem reported in the news. Here are some recent stories that caught our attention:

• Illinois - Air Quality Index over 100 - Examiner
• Connecticut - dangerous humid winds - Fox News
• New York - chemical fire - WYNT
• Kansas - air quality alert issued - KWCH
• Hong Kong - storm creates smog - Bloomberg

BreatheEz System

The trend toward making homes more energy efficient has resulted in many pollutants becoming trapped inside our homes. Now with the BreatheEz, you can have it all: an energy efficient, odor-free healthy home for your family and yourself.

• 100% completely safe
• Environmentally friendly—uses no chemicals
• Improves air quality by destroying airborne pollutants
• Economical—costs less to use than a 50-watt light bulb
• Leaves a fresh, clean scent throughout your home
• Virtually maintenance-free—simply wipe the bulb with an alcohol-soaked cloth twice yearly when unit is not running
• Installs out of sight in the air handler of your HVAC system in 30 minutes or less
• Labor and parts guaranteed for two years from date of installation
• 60-day No-Risk Guarantee