DOCSLIB.ORG

Identifying and Controlling Pulmonary Toxicants

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Identifying and Controlling Pulmonary Toxicants Identifying and Controlling Pulmonary Toxicants June 1992 OTA-BP-BA-91 NTIS order #PB92-193457 For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Document\, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328” ISBN 0-16 -037923-7 Foreword History reveals an enduring respect for lung function. In the biblical account of creation, man becomes a living soul when he receives the breath of life. Edward I of England banned the use of coal in 1273 because he found inhaling its smoke detrimental to human health. When asked how to ensure a long life, Sophie Tucker replied, “Keep breathing.” This Background Paper examines whether the agencies responsible for administering Federal environmental and health and safety laws have taken this concern for respiratory health to heart. Prepared at the request of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and its Subcom- mittee on Toxic Substances, Environmental Oversight, Research and Development, the study describes technologies available to identify substances toxic to the lung and Federal efforts to control human exposure to such substances through regulatory and research programs. The analysis shows that new technologies hold great promise for revealing the potential adverse effects on the lung of new and existing substances, but that much remains to be learned. This Background Paper provides a partial response to the committees’ request for an assessment of noncancer health risks in the environment and follows OTA’s previous work on carcinogenic, neurotoxic, and immunotoxic substances. OTA acknowledges the generous help of the workshop participants, reviewers, and contributors who gave their time to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this study. OTA, however, remains solely responsible for the contents of this Background Paper. @’&# ‘ > ~f~ John H. Gibbons Director . 111 Workshop on Identifying and Controlling Pulmonary Toxicants, September 1991 Dr. Robert M. Friedman, Workshop Chair Senior Associate Oceans and Environment Program Office of Technology Assessment Dr. Margaret Becklake Dr. Robert R. Mercer Director, Respiratory Epidemiology Unit Assistant Medical Research Professor McGill University Department of Medicine Duke University Dr. Arnold Brody Head, Pulmonary Pathology Dr. Richard B. Schlesinger National Institute of Environmental Professor, Department of Health Sciences Environmental Medicine New York University School of Medicine Dr. Daniel L. Costa Chief, Pulmonary Toxicology Branch Dr. Mark J. Utell Inhalation Toxicology Division Director, Pulmonary and Critical Health Effects Research Laboratory Care Unit U.S. Environmental Protection Agency University of Rochester Medical Center Dr. Joe L. Mauderly Dr. Gregory Wagner Director Director, Division of Respiratory Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute Disease Studies Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental National Institute for Occupational Research Institute, Inc. Safety and Health Dr. Roger O. McClellan Dr. Ronald K. Wolff President Research Scientist Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology Lilly Research Laboratories Note: OTA appreciates the valuable assistance and thoughtful critiques provided by the workshop participants. The participants do not, however, necessarily approve, disapprove, or endorse this background paper. OTA assumes full responsibility for the background paper and the accuracy of its contents. iv Reviewers and Contributors In addition to the workshop participants, OTA acknowledges the following individuals who reviewed drafts or otherwise contributed to this study. Lois Adams Fran Du Melle Office of Technology Assessment Liaison Deputy Managing Director Office of Legislative Affairs American Lung Association U.S. Food and Drug Administration June Friedlander Heinz W. Ahlers, J.D. Staff Specialist Division of Standards Development National Institute for Occupational Safety and Technology Transfer and Health National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Suzie Hazen Director, 33/50 Program John R. Balmes, M.D. Office of Air and Radiation Assistant Professor of Medicine U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Center for Occupational and Environmental Health University of California, San Francisco Hillel S. Koren, Ph.D. Acting Director Rebecca Bascom, M.D. Human Studies Division Director, Environmental Research Facility Health Effects Research Laboratory School of Medicine U.S. Environmental Protection Agency University of Maryland Martin Landry Robert P. Baughman, M.D. Budget Analyst Associate Professor of Medicine Financial Management Office Pulmonary/Critical Care Division National Institute for Occupational Safety University of Cincinnati and Health Paul D. Blanc, M.D., M. S.P.H. John L. Mason, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine Vice President Division of Occupational and Engineering and Technology Environmental Medicine Allied Signal Aerospace Co. (Ret.) University of California-San Francisco Barbara Packard, M. D., Ph.D. James C. Bonner, Ph.D. Associate Director for Scientific Staff Fellow Program Operations Laboratory of Pulmonary Pathobiology National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Jerry Phelps Carroll E. Cross, M.D. Program Analyst Division of Pulmonary-Critical Care Medicine Office of Program Planning and Evaluation Department of Internal Medicine Office of Director University of California-Davis Medical Center National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Roger Detels, M. D., M.S. William A. Pryor, Ph.D. Professor of Epidemiology Director School of Public Health Biodynamics Institute University of California-Los Angeles Louisiana State University Victor L. Roggli, M.D. Joel Schwartz, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Pathology U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Department of Pathology Duke University Medical Center Andrew Sivak, Ph.D. President Robert Roth, Ph.D. Health Effects Institute Professor Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Frank E. Speizer, M.D. Michigan State University Professor of Medicine and Environmental Science School of Public Health Jonathan M. Samet, M.D. Harvard University Professor of Medicine Medical Center Jaro J. Vestal, M. D., Ph.D. University of New Mexico Environmental Activities Staff General Motors Corp. Anne P. Sassaman, Ph.D. Director David B. Warheit, Ph.D. Division of Extramural Research and Training Haskell Laboratory for Toxicology National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Industrial Medicine I.E. Du Pont De Nemours and Co. David A. Schwartz, M. D., M.P.H. Director, Occupational Medicine Jane Warren, Ph.D. Pulmonary Disease Division Research Committee Director Department of Internal Medicine Health Effects Institute University of Iowa vi OTA Project Staff-Identifying and Controlling Pulmonary Toxicants Roger C. Herdman, Assistant Director, OTA Health and Life Sciences Division Michael Gough, Biological Applications Program Manager Holly L. Gwin, Project Director Margaret McLaughlin, Analyst Ellen Goode, Research Assistant Katherine Kelly, Contractor Desktop Publishing Specialists Jene Lewis Linda Rayford-Journiette Carolyn Swarm support staff Cecile Parker, Office Administrator vii Contents Chapter l: Introduction and Summary . 3 Chapter 2: The Respiratory System and Its Response to Harmful Substances . 15 Chapter 3: Pulmonary Toxicology and Epidemiology . 29 Chapter 4: Federal Attention to Pulmonary Toxicants . 49 Boxes Boxes 3-A—General Principles of Toxicology . 30 3-B—The UCLA Population Studies of Chronic Obstructive Respiratory Disease . 42 Figures Figures l-l—The Human Respiratory Tract . 5 2-l—The Human Respiratory Tract . 15 2-2—Branching of the Tracheobronchial Region (Human Lung Cast) . 16 2-3—Alveoli . 16 2-4—Gas Exchange in the Pulmonary Region . 17 2-5—Ciliated Cells and Alveolar Macrophages . 18 2-6—Effects of Emphysema on Alveolar Walls . 20 3-l—Framework for Exposure Assessment . 32 3-2—Integrated Approach to Identifying Pulmonary Toxicants . 35 3-3--Spectrum of Biological Response to Pollutant Exposure . 36 Tables Tables l-l—The Seventeen Chemicals of the 33/50 Program, 1989 . 7 2-l—Respiratory Tract Clearance Mechanisms . 19 2-2—Causes of Occupational Asthma . 21 2-3—Industrial Toxicants Producing Lung Disease . 23 3-l—Defining Gases and Aerosols . 33 3-2-Summary of Characteristics of Physiologic Assays . 40 4-l—National Primary Ambient Air Quality Standards . 50 4-2—Hazardous Air Pollutants Regulated Under the CAA Due to NonCancer Health Effects on the Pulmonary System . 52 4-3—Pulmonary Toxicants Controlled Under EPA’s Early Reduction and 33/50 Programs . 54 4-4—Regulated Levels of Pulmonary Toxicants Under RCRA . 55 4-5—Pulmonary Toxicants Regulated Under FIFRA . 55 4-6—Air Contaminants Regulated by OSHA Because of Pulmonary Effects . 56 . Vlll Chapter 1 Introduction and Summary Chapter 1 Introduction and Summary INTRODUCTION bined with limited agency resources, has led to neglect of noncancer health risks-risks that may be as wide- Breathing sustains life. Each day an individual in- spread and severe as carcinogenicity. hales between 10,000 and 20,000 liters of air. In the lungs, air releases oxygen to the bloodstream and picks The Senate Committee on Environment and Public up carbon dioxide and other waste products, which are Works, and its Subcommittee on Toxic Substances, then exhaled. Inhaled air contains many substances— Environmental Oversight, Research and Develop- naturally occurring and anthropogenic--other than ment, asked for assistance from the Office of Technol- oxygen. Some of these substances can injure the lungs
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Understanding Lead Uptake and Effects Across Species Lines: a Conservation Medicine Based Approach
    UNDERSTANDING LEAD UPTAKE AND EFFECTS ACROSS SPECIES LINES: A CONSERVATION MEDICINE BASED APPROACH MARK A. POKRAS AND MICHELLE R. KNEELAND Center for Conservation Medicine, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, 200 Westboro Rd., North Grafton, MA 01536, USA. E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT.—Conservation medicine examines the linkages among the health of people, animals and the environment. Few issues illustrate this approach better than an examination of lead (Pb) toxicity. We briefly review the current state of knowledge on the toxicity of lead and its effects on wildlife, humans, and domestic animals. Lead is cheap and there is a long tradition of its use. But the toxic effects of Pb have also been recognized for centuries. As a result, western societies have greatly reduced many traditional uses of Pb, including many paints, gasoline and solders because of threats to the health of humans and the environment. Legisla- tion in several countries has eliminated the use of lead shot for hunting waterfowl. Despite these advances, a great many Pb products continue to be readily available. Conservationists recognize that hunting, angling and shooting sports deposit thousands of tons of Pb into the environment each year. Because of our concerns for human health and over 100 years of focused research, we know the most about lead poisoning in people. Even today, our knowledge of the long-term sublethal effects of Pb on human health continues to grow dramatically. Our knowledge about lead poisoning in domestic animals is signifi- cantly less. For wild animals, our understanding of lead poisoning is roughly where our knowledge about humans was in the mid-1800s when Tanquerel Des Planches made his famous medical observations (Tan- querel Des Planches 1850).
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Risk Assessment of Chemicals
    Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Technical Issue Paper Environmental Risk Assessment of Chemicals Environmental Risk exposure to a chemical for organisms, such as animals, plants, or microbes, in the environment, which could be Assessment of Chemicals water, soil, or air. Effects can be assessed at different levels of biological organization, which is to say in Environmental risk assessment determines the single cells, individuals, populations, ecosystems, or nature and likelihood of harmful effects occurring landscapes. to organisms such as humans, animals, plants, or microbes, due to their exposure to stressors. A stressor can be a chemical (such as road salt runoff to a lake), Applications of Environmental exotic species (such as a foreign plant), or a change Risk Assessment of Chemicals in physical conditions (such as dredging a channel). Here, we focus on risk assessment of chemicals. The Environmental risk assessments of chemicals can be chemicals can be something that is found in nature, used at many scales. They can take place at the small- such as copper, or something created by humans, such scale site level (such as a release at a manufacturing as pharmaceuticals. Depending on whether humans plant), at the field-scale level (for example, spraying or other organisms or ecosystems are exposed, a plant protection products or pesticides on crops), risk assessment is called either a “human health” or at a regional level (such as a river catchment or an “ecological” risk assessment. Here, the term or bay). Policy makers, including government “environmental risk assessment” is used to include both. agencies, and industries use risk assessments to support environmental management decisions.
    [Show full text]
  • Are Serum Aluminum Levels a Risk Factor in the Appearance of Spontaneous Pneumothorax?
    Turk J Med Sci 2010; 40 (3): 459-463 Original Article © TÜBİTAK E-mail: [email protected] doi:10.3906/sag-0901-11 Are serum aluminum levels a risk factor in the appearance of spontaneous pneumothorax? Serdar HAN1, Rasih YAZKAN2, Bülent KOÇER3,*, Gültekin GÜLBAHAR3, Serdal Kenan KÖSE4, Koray DURAL3, Ünal SAKINCI3 Aim: To investigate the relationship between aluminum and spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) development. Materials and methods: A patient group and a control group were formed with 100 individuals in each. The serum aluminum levels of the groups were determined and statistically compared. Results: The mean serum aluminum levels were 5.6 ± 2.4 μg/L (1.6-11.9) and 23.2 ± 15.4 μg/L (2-81) in the control and SP groups, respectively (P < 0.001). The specificity and sensitivity of the measurement of aluminum level were 74.4% and 86.4% in the SP group. The risk of SP development was found to be 18 times higher in individuals with high serum levels of aluminum compared to that in individuals with low serum levels of aluminum. Conclusion: A high level of aluminum is a risk factor for the development of SP. Key words: Aluminum, pneumothorax, public health Spontan pnömotoraks gelişiminde serum aluminyum seviyeleri bir risk faktörü müdür? Amaç: Bu çalışmada spontan pnömotoraks (SP) gelişimi ile serum aluminyum düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkinin analiz edilmesi amaçlandı. Yöntem ve gereç: Yüz SP hastasından oluşan hasta grubunun yanı sıra 100 kişiden oluşan sağlıklı kontrol grubu çalışmaya dahil edildi. Gruplar serum aluminyum düzeyleri açısından istatistiksel olarak kıyaslandı. Bulgular: Ortalama serum aluminyum düzeyleri SP ve kontrol grupları için sırasıyla 5,6 ± 2,4 μg/L (1,6-11,9) ve 23,2 ± 15,4 μg/L (2-81) bulundu (P < 0,001).
    [Show full text]
  • A Toxicology Curriculum for Communities
    A Toxicology Curriculum For Communities 43 Module One Introduction to Toxicology 44 Objectives Upon completion of this module, the learner will be able to: Define toxicology and commonly associated terms Differentiate the sub-disciplines of toxicology Describe the classifications of toxic agents Describe the field of toxicology Understand the roles of various agencies Identify potential sources for additional information 45 What is Toxicology? 46 Toxicology Involves all aspects of the adverse effects of chemicals on living systems. 47 General Toxicology Questions 48 What are Harmful or Adverse Effects? Those effects which are damaging to either the survival or normal function of the individual 49 What is Toxicity? The term “toxicity”is used to describe the nature of adverse effects produced and the conditions necessary for their production. Before toxicity can develop, a substance must come into contact with a body surface such as skin, eye or mucosa of the alimentary or respiratory tract. 50 What is Toxic? This term relates to poisonous or deadly effects on the body 51 What is a Toxicant? The term “toxicant” refers to toxic substances that are produced by or are a by- product of human-made activities. 52 What is a Toxin? The term “toxin” refers to toxic substances that are produced naturally. 53 What is a Toxic Symptom? What is a Toxic Effect ? A toxic symptom is any feeling or sign indicating the presence of a poison in the system. Toxic effects refers to the health effects that occur due to exposure to a toxic substance. 54 What is Selective Toxicity? This means that a chemical will produce injury to one kind of living matter without harming another form of life, even though the two may exist close together.
    [Show full text]
  • Nebulizers: Diagnosis Codes – Medicare Advantage Policy Appendix
    UnitedHealthcare® Medicare Advantage Policy Appendix: Applicable Code List Nebulizers: Diagnosis Codes This list of codes applies to the Medicare Advantage Policy Guideline titled Approval Date: September 8, 2021 Nebulizers. Applicable Codes The following list(s) of procedure and/or diagnosis codes is provided for reference purposes only and may not be all inclusive. The listing of a code does not imply that the service described by the code is a covered or non-covered health service. Benefit coverage for health services is determined by the member specific benefit plan document and applicable laws that may require coverage for a specific service. The inclusion of a code does not imply any right to reimbursement or guarantee claim payment. Other Policies and Guidelines may apply. Diagnosis Code Description For HCPCS Codes A7003, A7004, and E0570 A15.0 Tuberculosis of lung A22.1 Pulmonary anthrax A37.01 Whooping cough due to Bordetella pertussis with pneumonia A37.11 Whooping cough due to Bordetella parapertussis with pneumonia A37.81 Whooping cough due to other Bordetella species with pneumonia A37.91 Whooping cough, unspecified species with pneumonia A48.1 Legionnaires' disease B20 Human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] disease B25.0 Cytomegaloviral pneumonitis B44.0 Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis B59 Pneumocystosis B77.81 Ascariasis pneumonia E84.0 Cystic fibrosis with pulmonary manifestations J09.X1 Influenza due to identified novel influenza A virus with pneumonia J09.X2 Influenza due to identified novel influenza A virus with other
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to Environmental Toxicology
    Introduction to Toxicology WATER BIOLOGY PHC 6937; Section 4858 Andrew S. Kane, Ph.D. Department of Environmental & Global Health College of Public Health & Health Professions [email protected] ? “The problem with toxicology is not the practicing toxicologists, but chemists who can detect, precisely, toxicologically insignificant amounts of chemicals” Rene Truhaut, University of Paris (1909-1994) Toxicology………… • Is the study of the harmful effects of chemicals and physical agents on living organisms • Examines adverse effects ranging from acute to long-term chronic • Is used to assess the probability of hazards caused by adverse effects • Is used to predict effects on individuals, populations and ecosystems 1 An interdisciplinary field… Clinical Toxicology: Diagnosis and treatment of poisoning; evaluation of methods of detection and intoxication, mechanism of action in humans (human tox, pharmaceutical tox) and animals (veterinary tox). Integrates toxicology, clinical medicine, clinical biochemistry/pharmacology. Environmental Toxicology: Integrates toxicology with sub- disciplines such as ecology, wildlife and aquatic biology, environmental chemistry. Occupational Toxicology: Combines occupational medicine and occupational hygiene. An interdisciplinary field… Descriptive Toxicology: The science of toxicity testing to provide information for safety evaluation and regulatory requirements. Mechanistic Toxicology: Identification and understanding cellular, biochemical & molecular basis by which chemicals exert toxic effects. Regulatory Toxicology:
    [Show full text]
  • Pulmonary Fibrosis with Cholesterol Granulomata in a Patient Working in a Fireworks Factory K M D J Rodrigo1, D a V Rathnapala1, W V Senaratne1, S R Constantine2
    Picture stories The sputum culture was negative. Post operatively she polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect mycobacterial was treated with anti-tuberculous medications. The wound DNA and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) completely healed after 10 months. [4]. Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health problem. Isolated sacral tuberculosis usually presents Conflicts of interest as chronic back pain in adults and discharging sinuses We declare that there are no conflicts of interest. or abscess formation in children, with or without neurological deficit [2]. References Definitive diagnosis of tuberculosis involves de- monstration of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by microbio- 1. Kumar A, Varshney MK, Trikha V, Khan SA. Isolated tuberculosis of the coccyx. J Bone Joint Surg Br 2006; 88: logical, cytopathological or histopathological methods. 1388-9. Histological examination of the biopsy usually shows epithelioid granulomas, Langhans’ type multinucleated 2. KimDoUn, Kim SW, Ju CL. Isolated coccygeal tubercu- giant cells and caseous necrosis, as in this patient’s losis. J Korean Neurosurg Soc 2012; 52: 495-7. biopsy specimen [3]. Demonstration of acid fast bacilli 3. Kumar V, Abbas A, Fausto N, Aster J. Robbins and Cotran by special stains is also possible. Only 35-60% of cases Pathologic Basis of Disease: Chronic inflammation. th8 can be diagnosed by demonstrating acid-fast bacilli in edition. China: Saunders Elsevier 2010. the biopsy specimen. Culture of the biopsy material 4. Barker JA, Conway AM, Hill J. Supralevator fistula-in-ano
    [Show full text]
  • 12 Other Uncommon Pneumoconioses
    Other Uncommon Pneumoconioses 263 12 Other Uncommon Pneumoconioses Masanori Akira CONTENTS including hydrogen fluoride, sulfur dioxide, metal fumes, cyanide, ozone, and aromatic hydrocarbons. 12.1 Aluminum Pneumoconiosis 263 Exposure to aluminum, alumina, and pot room 12.1.1 Prevalence 263 12.1.2 Chest X-Ray 264 fumes has been putatively associated with diffuse 12.1.3 Thin-Section Computed Tomography 265 interstitial fibrosis; however, the exact etiological 12.2 Welders’ Lung 266 agent of aluminum-induced fibrosis is uncertain 12.2.1 Prevalence 266 (Dinman 1987). 12.2.2 Chest X-Ray 266 Although exposure to aluminum metal and its 12.2.3 Thin-Section CT 267 12.3 Graphite Pneumoconiosis 268 oxides in the workplace is very common, pneumoco- 12.3.1 Prevalence 268 nioses attributable to these agents are rare. In early 12.3.2 Chest X-Ray 268 studies, pulmonary fibrosis in relation to aluminum 12.3.3 Thin-Section CT 269 exposure has been reported almost exclusively in 12.4 Talc Pneumoconiosis 270 workers involved in bauxite smelting (Shaver’s disease) 12.4.1 Prevalence 270 Shaver Riddell Wyatt Riddell 12.4.2 Chest X-Ray 271 ( and 1947; and 1948) 12.4.3 Thin-Section CT 272 or in those exposed to finely divided aluminum pow- 12.4.4 Positron Emission Tomography 272 ders, especially of the flake variety (pyro powder), in 12.5 Kaolinosis 272 the fireworks and explosives industry (Mitchell et al. 12.5.1 Prevalence 272 1961; Jordan 1961). Subsequently, diffuse interstitial 12.5.2 Chest X-Ray 273 fibrosis has been reported in workers making alumi- 12.5.3 Thin-Section CT 274 Bellot Jederlinic 12.6 Chemical Pneumonitis 274 num oxide abrasives ( et al.
    [Show full text]
  • State and Local Indoor Air Quality Programs: Five Case Studies
    ENVIRONMENTAL LAW INSTITUTE RESEARCH REPORT State and Local Indoor Air Quality Programs: Five Case Studies November 1997 STATE AND LOCAL INDOOR AIR QUALITY PROGRAMS: FIVE CASE STUDIES Environmental Law Institute Copyright © 1997 Acknowledgements This report was prepared by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) with funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Assistance Agreement ID No. X-824881-01. It does not represent the views of the EPA and no official endorsement should be inferred. Environmental Law Institute staff contributing to this report were Tobie Bernstein, Maura Carney, Paul Locke, Jay Pendergrass, Vanessa Reeves and Carrie Bader. Mary Becker and Michele Straube also contributed significantly to the report. The assistance of program officials from the states of California, Florida, Minnesota and Vermont, and municipal officials from Montgomery County, Maryland, is gratefully acknowledged. Copyright © 1998 Environmental Law Institute ®. A limited license is hereby granted to visitors to the ELI Web site to download, electronically or mechanically store, or retrieve and print one copy of this work in its electronic format for personal, academic research, or similar non-commercial use only, provided that notice of copyright ownership appears prominently on the copy. Electronic retransmission of the work without the express consent of the Environmental Law Institute is strictly prohibited. All other rights reserved. State and Local Indoor Air Quality Programs Copyright©, Environmental Law Institute®, 1997.
    [Show full text]
  • Behavioral Toxicology and Environmental Health Science Opportunity and Challenge for Psychology
    Behavioral Toxicology and Environmental Health Science Opportunity and Challenge for Psychology Bernard Weiss University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry ABSTRACT: Behavioral toxicology is now established nervous system mechanisms, produce distinct be- as a component of the environmental health sciences. havioral reactions. For example, the main oxidant in Its rise paralleled recognition that the adverse health photochemical smog, ozone, is a deep lung irritant impact of environmental chemicals should be gauged eliciting subjective discomfort. by how people feel and function, not solely by death This unique role for psychology grows out of a or overt damage. Its compass extends across the total new perspective by the environmental health sciences, spectrum of environmental chemicals, including heavy particularly environmental toxicology, and by public metals, solvents, fuels, pesticides, air pollutants, and health leaders. Toxicology, the science of poisons, used even food additives. Psychology can help resolve many to be a discipline ruled by the clear criteria of death critical issues in environmental health science. and tissue pathology. The new issues that emerged from our delayed recognition of environmental haz- ards, however, stimulated new questions about adverse Odious waterways and corrosive smog are such tan- effects on health. Were death or tissue lesions the only gible evidence of pollution that they evoke tangible feasible end points? What about disturbances of func- remedies. But eliminating blatant pollution is no more tion? Isn't it important to discover how people feel than a first step in managing the environment and and perform or to intervene when "behavioral changes protecting human health. Some of the most toxic dangerous to a patient and others can occur before contaminants are also the most elusive.
    [Show full text]
  • Beryllium Environmental Hazard Summary
    ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS ENCYCLOPEDIA BERYLLIUM ENTRY July 1, 1997 COMPILERS/EDITORS: ROY J. IRWIN, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WITH ASSISTANCE FROM COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT ASSISTANT CONTAMINANTS SPECIALISTS: MARK VAN MOUWERIK LYNETTE STEVENS MARION DUBLER SEESE WENDY BASHAM NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WATER RESOURCES DIVISIONS, WATER OPERATIONS BRANCH 1201 Oakridge Drive, Suite 250 FORT COLLINS, COLORADO 80525 WARNING/DISCLAIMERS: Where specific products, books, or laboratories are mentioned, no official U.S. government endorsement is implied. Digital format users: No software was independently developed for this project. Technical questions related to software should be directed to the manufacturer of whatever software is being used to read the files. Adobe Acrobat PDF files are supplied to allow use of this product with a wide variety of software and hardware (DOS, Windows, MAC, and UNIX). This document was put together by human beings, mostly by compiling or summarizing what other human beings have written. Therefore, it most likely contains some mistakes and/or potential misinterpretations and should be used primarily as a way to search quickly for basic information and information sources. It should not be viewed as an exhaustive, "last-word" source for critical applications (such as those requiring legally defensible information). For critical applications (such as litigation applications), it is best to use this document to find sources, and then to obtain the original documents and/or talk to the authors before depending too heavily on a particular piece of information. Like a library or most large databases (such as EPA's national STORET water quality database), this document contains information of variable quality from very diverse sources.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Toxicology & Public Health
    Environmental Toxicology & Public Health Bolaji Olagbegi Research for Environmental Agencies & Organizations: A Directed Study Course with Professor Richard Reibstein Overview Over 80,000 chemicals are registered under TSCA (Toxics Control Substance Act), few have undergone mandatory testing before entering the market, and this lack of effective oversight contributes to the problem that many products, ranging from diapers to strawberries, carry chemicals with unknown side effects. The resulting abundance of unregulated substances poses escalated risk to human health, due to persistent exposure. In parallel with the rising threats to human health is the concern that clinicians are not adequately prepared to accurately identify or proficiently treat diseases stemming from environmental influences such as pesticides and flame retardants. To evaluate this concern, a questionnaire was drafted, aimed to broadly assess the knowledge of medical providers regarding possible environmental causes of human health conditions. Methodology ● Conducted research on existing studies on environmental toxicants concerning public health ● This led to the formulation of our chief focus: Are medical practitioners knowledgeable about the effects toxicants have on public health? ● Drafted a preliminary questionnaire and invited prominent healthcare professionals to comment and provide feedback Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Prominent Feedback ● Linda Birnbaum, PhD, DABT, A.T.S (Director, National Institute of Environment Health Sciences; Director, National
    [Show full text]