Environmental news

Air Pollution and High Blood Pressure
http://www.injuryboard.com/view.cfm/TYPE=NEWS/ARTICLE=349

Air Pollution Thickens The Blood, Study Shows

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050223162705.htm

Pollution and Strokes:

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Sept 18 - Air pollutants are significantly
associated with ischemic stroke mortality, South Korean investigators
report in the September issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart
Association.

Dr. Yun-Chul Hong, of Inha University College of Medicine in Incheon,
and associates conducted a time-series study in Seoul where stroke is a
leading cause of death, averaging 2.8 deaths per day due to ischemic
stroke and 4.6 per day for hemorrhagic stroke. In fact, they note, the
proportion of deaths from stroke is higher in Seoul, where the major
source of air pollution is automobile exhaust, than in most Western
cities.

The researchers collected data for the period of January 1991 through
December 1997 from the Seoul Department of the Environment and the
Korean National Statistical Office.

The relative risk of dying from ischemic stroke increased significantly
as air pollution rose, on the order of 3% to 6% (depending on the
pollutant), the research team found. For total suspended particles and
sulfur dioxide, the associations were highest on the same day. For
nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, the associations were highest for
1-day lags, and for ozone, they were highest for 3-day lagged
concentrations.

During the study period, 7,137 individuals were documented as having
died from ischemic stroke. Dr. Hong's group estimates that 214 to 428 of these deaths could be attributed to air pollution.

For hemorrhagic stroke mortality, the only parameter significantly
associated was total suspended particles, their report indicates.

The investigators suggest that blood coagulation and plasma viscosity
are enhanced by air pollutants, which would explain why ischemic stroke, but not hemorrhagic stroke, is affected. "There is a possibility that patients who have suffered ischemic strokes recently are susceptible to air pollution, which may precipitate the fatal outcome," they add.

Stroke 2002;33:2165-2169.

Hanford Nuclear site Contamination:                                                                                New studies in Richland, Washington have revealed that the local Hanford Nuclear site has contaminated the area far more than previously thought. For the first time, plutonium has been found in clams and fish in the Columbia River. In addition, radiation levels of area mulberries are so high, eating less than a teaspoon full of the berries would cause a person to exceed EPA maximum allowable risk levels for an entire year.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Politics/nuclear061605.cfm

20 COUNTRIES ACT TO REPEL DEADLY RADIOACTIVE RADON GAS - GENEVA, Switzerland, June 22, 2005 (ENS) - Exposure to a natural radioactive gas in the home and workplace causes tens of thousands of deaths from lung cancer each year, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. Recent results from the largest radon studies ever conducted in North America and Europe show six to 15 percent of all lung cancers are caused by exposure to the gas. http://www.ens-newswire.com

Farmed Salmon and PCBs.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced that farmed salmon contains roughly 6-7 times as many PCBs as wild salmon. A total of 29 tests were conducted on salmon in the British Columbia area, and the results support previous studies revealing higher levels of toxins in farmed salmon, due to the compact manner in which they are raised. http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/pcbs060805.cfm