Shannon Kelleher

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August 15, 2024

Early exposure to toxic TCDF messes with gut bacteria later in life, finds study in mice

By Shannon Kelleher

Early-in-life exposure to a common toxic chemical found in some foods and in breastmilk may disrupt healthy bacteria in the gut and increase a person’s risk for developing various diseases later in life, according to a new animal study.

The findings, published Aug. 14 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, may shed light on the link between childhood exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and widespread obesity and diabetes in adults, according to the authors.

More than 460 million people worldwide have diabetes, while global obesity levels have tripled since 1975. One in three US adults and one in six children are considered obese, according to a 2023 report.

“This study emphasizes the importance of the microbiome as a key target of early life environmental pollutant exposure,” the paper states. Exposure to the children can occur before birth when pregnant women are exposed to the chemicals as well as after birth through breastfeeding.

Although previous research has identified correlations between exposure to POPs and obesity and type 2 diabetes, the microbiome’s role has not been clear, according to the study.

The researchers fed infant mice pills containing the chemical 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran (TCDF) for five days, collecting data on their gut microbiomes right after the mice were fed the last dose and again three months later, when they had reached young adulthood. Compared to a control group that was not fed TCDF, the mice had higher body weight and glucose intolerance – a hallmark of diabetes – long after they ingested the chemical.

The researchers also measured lower levels of two bacteria species important for gut health in the mice fed TCDF when they were four months old, as well as markers of immune problems and inflammation in the intestines.

August 13, 2024

Pressure grows to close controversial Napa Valley landfill

By Shannon Kelleher

A coalition of environmental groups are pushing California officials to close a Napa Valley-area landfill that has been the site of repeated regulatory violations and is suspected of sending toxic chemicals into local waterways, which drain into the river that irrigates the valley’s famous vineyards.

In a letter finalized Aug. 14, seven local nonprofit organizations called on officials overseeing waste management and water quality to shut down the Clover Flat Landfill and the related garbage collection recycling and composting operation called Upper Valley Disposal Services (UVDS).

The landfill is “long overdue to move its waste operations to a safer, less environmentally sensitive location,” the groups wrote.

The letter was signed by Sierra Club Redwood Chapter, Non-Toxic Neighborhoods, Napa Vision 2050, Institute for Conservation Advocacy Research & Education, Preserve Rural Sonoma County, the Save Napa Valley Foundation and the Suscol Intertribal Council, a group that works to preserve Native American culture in the Napa Valley area. The letter was also signed by Geoff Ellsworth, the former mayor of the St. Helena community, and local activist Anne Wheaton.

Last year, a group of more than 20 former and then-current employees of Clover Flat and UVDS filed a formal complaint to federal and state agencies, including the US Department of Justice, alleging “clearly negligent practices” in management of “toxic and hazardous materials at UVDS/CFL over decades”.

The employees cited “inadequate and compromised infrastructure and equipment” that they said was “affecting employees as well as the surrounding environment and community.”

Clover Flat Landfill and UVDS are owned by Waste Connections, a large national waste management company.

The Napa Valley wine industry has not publicly expressed concern about pollution from the landfill.

August 7, 2024

California bill to ban food dyes in schools may have nationwide impact

By Shannon Kelleher

A bill that would ban six food dyes linked to childhood learning problems from meals served at California public schools is close to passage and could bolster efforts to make foods safer across the US, according to proponents.

The measure has garnered strong bipartisan backing and is likely to reach the governor’s desk by the end of August, California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel said at a press conference on Tuesday. Gabriel introduced the California School Food Safety Act (AB 2316) in March.

AB 2316 advanced through the Senate Health Committee last month and passed the California Senate Education Committee in June with a unanimous vote. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to decide next week whether to send it to the Senate Floor, according to Gabriel.

The dyes in question are used to give some beverages, desserts and cereals vibrant colors but don’t impact how the products taste. They account for two-thirds of the certified color additives the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for use in food.

Due to the nature of the supply chain, manufacturers are unlikely to make one version of a food product for California and a different version for other states, so the measure could have a nationwide impact, Gabriel said.

The bill is not a ban on any foods, he said, because there are readily available substitutes for each additive and the same products are available in Europe without the harmful chemicals.

August 6, 2024

EPA issues rare “emergency” suspension of dangerous weed killer

By Benjamin Purper

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday said it was taking the rare step of issuing an “emergency suspension” of a chemical used to kill weeds on farms, golf courses and athletic fields, citing risks to unborn children.

The pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, known as DCPA or Dacthal, has been the subject of regulatory scrutiny for the last several years amid growing evidence of health harms from exposure.

“DCPA is so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately,” Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a press statement. “It’s EPA’s job to protect people from exposure to dangerous chemicals. In this case, pregnant women who may never even know they were exposed could give birth to babies that experience irreversible lifelong health problems.”

Freedhoff said the suspension marks the first time in almost 40 years that the agency has used its emergency suspension authority to block continued use of a pesticide.

DPCA is primarily used on crops including broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage, but it is also used in some non-agricultural settings including golf courses and athletic fields.

Today’s decision comes after years of research and smaller actions by the EPA to limit the impact of DCPA on public health. In April, the agency issued a rare warning that the pesticide posed “serious, permanent and irreversible health risks,” especially to farmworkers involved in tasks such as transplanting, weeding and harvesting after the pesticide has been applied.

The EPA said DCPA poses the highest risk to developing babies of pregnant mothers exposed to the pesticide, leading to conditions including low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ, and impaired motor skills later in life.

July 26, 2024

EPA has failed to protect consumers from PFAS-laced containers, lawsuit alleges

By Shannon Kelleher

US regulators have failed to protect the public from millions of plastic containers that contain toxic PFAS chemicals, which can leach into pesticides, condiments, household cleaners, and many other products, alleges a lawsuit filed this week by environmental groups.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) by neglecting to demand that manufacturers stop making containers using a fluorination process that results in per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

When the EPA proposed drinking water regulations for six PFAS chemicals in March 2023, the agency stated it had determined there is no safe level of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and that this type of PFAS is likely to cause cancer. Under the TSCA, the agency had six months to start addressing PFOA’s presence in plastic containers but failed to do so, allege the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

“EPA’s failure to protect the public from exposures to toxic PFOA in their daily lives is inexcusable and reflects a severe leadership deficit at the agency,” said Kyla Bennett, science policy director for PEER, in a statement.

The EPA declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

PFOA is one of thousands of PFAS chemicals, which do not break down naturally in the environment and are found in the blood of most Americans. PFAS are in many everyday products, including nonstick cookware, dental floss, rain gear, and makeup.

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July 25, 2024

The perils of plastics extend to our pets

By Aidan Charron

By now, you’d practically have to be living on Mars not to have heard about the health risks associated with plastics and the toxic chemical cocktail used to produce them.

Almost all plastics are derived from fossil fuels and have been found to contain over 16,000 chemicals, many of which are considered hazardous. Shockingly, despite evidence of harm, the US regulates only six percent of chemicals used to produce plastic, leaving potential health risks from most of the chemicals unchecked.

As plastics break down, they don’t disappear – they degrade into smaller pieces known as microplastics. When we eat, drink, or inhale microplastics, they leach plastic chemicals directly into our bodies.

To bring attention to these dangers, EARTHDAY.ORG released a report last November, Babies VS. Plastics, highlighting infants’ heightened plastics exposure and vulnerability to health risks. It makes for grim reading: microplastics and their additive chemicals are linked to interruptions in maternal-fetal communication, damaged DNA, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, early onset puberty, and some forms of cancers.

Writing that report, I discovered that crawling on the floor puts babies at increased risk of inhaling microplastics in household dust. And since babies chew on everything, they are also more likely to ingest microplastics. The report made me wonder about my own plastics exposure, and about my two rescue dogs, Buzz and Sally. Since dogs and cats crawl on the floor and chew on everything their whole life span, are pets, like babies, especially vulnerable to microplastics?

July 25, 2024

Pesticide exposure as risky as smoking, study finds

By Shannon Kelleher

People who don’t farm, but live in US agricultural communities where pesticides are used on farms, face an increased cancer risk as significant as if they were smokers, according to a new study.

The study, published July 25 in the journal Frontiers in Cancer Control and Society, analyzed cancer incidence data from nearly every US county and looked at how that data corresponded to federal data on agricultural pesticide use. Researchers reported that they found the higher the pesticide use, the higher the risk for every type of cancer the researchers looked at.

“Agricultural pesticide usage has a significant impact on all the cancer types evaluated in this study (all cancers, bladder cancer, colon cancer, leukemia, lung cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and pancreatic cancer); and these associations are more evident in regions with heavy agricultural productivity,” the study states.

“Pesticide-associated cancers appear to be on par for several smoking-associated cancer types,” the study states. It has been well established that smoking increases cancer risk, with at least 70 of the thousands of chemicals in tobacco smoke considered carcinogens.

The findings add to a wealth of research on pesticides and human health risks that point to shortcomings in US pesticide regulations, said Dana Barr, and environmental health researcher at Emory University who was not involved in the study.

“Right now, I don’t think the regulations for pesticides are the most health-protective, and they seem to presume that a chemical is safe until it is proven toxic, not the other way around,” she said. “I do think we need policy reform that puts the onus on the manufacturers to do a better job of evaluating safety before allowing new registrations.”

July 24, 2024

PFAS increasingly added to pesticides, study finds

By Shannon Kelleher

Despite widespread alarm about the health and environmental impacts of toxic PFAS, the chemicals are increasingly being added to pesticides applied in homes and crops across the US, according to a new study.

The findings, published July 24 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, add to growing concerns about PFAS contamination in the US food system and waterways and highlight pesticides’ “underappreciated” role in the problem, said David Andrews, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group and an author of the study

The study revealed that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) account for 14% of all active ingredients in pesticides used in the US, including almost one-third of active ingredients approved in the last decade. Even when PFAS are not intentionally added to these products, the fluorinated containers in which they are stored have been found to leach PFAS into their contents, the study concluded.

“This is truly frightening news, because pesticides are some of the most widely dispersed pollutants in the world,” Nathan Donley, the environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity and an author of the study, said in a statement. “Lacing pesticides with forever chemicals is likely burdening the next generation with more chronic diseases and impossible cleanup responsibilities.”

The authors reviewed pesticide data from the US EPA, the US Geological Survey, and the Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency, as well as publicly available databases, finding that PFAS-laced pesticides are regularly used nationwide on staple crops including corn, wheat, kale, spinach, apples and strawberries. PFAS are also common ingredients in flea treatments for pets and sprays to kill insects, they found.

The study comes on the heels of a petition delivered to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday by the Center for Food Safety and other nonprofits, asking the agency to ban PFAS in pesticides.

July 11, 2024

Air pollution threatens key crop pollinators, study finds

By Shannon Kelleher

Air pollution jeopardizes bees and other pollinators essential for food production, according to a new study that sheds light on a significant but underrecognized threat to beneficial insects.

In a study published Thursday in the journal Nature Communications, researchers found that bees, as well as some moths and butterflies, became about a third less efficient at foraging for food, on average, after exposure to elevated air pollution levels. The findings were based on an analysis of data from 120 scientific papers on how 40 types of insects respond to ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.

“Air pollution is not generally considered as a driver of pollinator declines, but these results indicate that air pollution should be considered as a further factor that is driving pollinator declines,” said James Ryalls, an ecologist at the University of Reading and an author of the study. Declines in pollinator health can translate to declines in crop yields, Ryalls said.

The researchers noted that insects generally seen as harmful to agriculture, such as sap-sucking aphids, did not experience significant declines in their ability to forage from exposure to air pollution.

Air pollution may be more disruptive for bees and other insects because it muddles the chemical signals they use to communicate and sense their surroundings, the researchers suggest, while pests tend to rely more heavily on visual cues or others.

Surprisingly, even low concentrations of air pollutants below the threshold considered safe for humans harmed the pollinators, Ryalls said.

July 8, 2024

Electric vehicle batteries adding to toxic PFAS pollution, study finds

By Shannon Kelleher

A type of toxic PFAS in lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and other electronics is polluting air, soil and water in the United States and Europe, adding to concerns that the growing clean energy sector could harm the environment even as it strives to combat climate change, according to a new study.

Researchers said they analyzed samples of soil, sediment and surface water collected in 2022 near manufacturing plants in Minnesota, Kentucky, Belgium, and France, finding they were commonly contaminated with a subtype of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) called bis-perfluoroalkyl sulfonimides (bis-FASIs) at concentrations in the parts per billion.

The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Communications, also found that bis-FASI emitted into the air at these sites may travel long distances, potentially polluting areas far from the facilities where they are made and used.

“If we are not careful about the choices of materials and chemicals used in renewable energy technologies, then it is a concern that this may become a new source of PFAS pollution,” said Ariana Spentzos, a science and policy associate at the Green Science Policy Institute. Spentzos was not involved in the study.

“However, it is a false choice to choose between renewable energy and less PFAS pollution,” she added, noting that there are viable alternatives for many uses of PFAS in renewable energy.