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(ACC Mentioned) Trend in Retailers Removing Phthalates From Flooring Continues
Jul 16, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
A third US home improvement retail chain, Menards, has joined Lowe's and Home Depot in announcing a ban on the sale of vinyl flooring products containing phthalates (CW 28 May 2015), by the end of the year. -
(ACC Mentioned) DEHP Replacement Phthalates Linked to Blood Pressure, Diabetes
Jul 16, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Philip Lightowlers
Researchers from the New York University School of Medicine have linked exposure to phthalates used as replacements for DEHP to both high blood pressure and insulin resistance in children and teenagers. -
Jessica Alba On Building Her Billion Dollar Business
Jul 16, 2015 | Forbes
By Moira Forbes
To most people, Jessica Alba says she’s “this girl in movies in a bikini who kicks ass.” It’s true that the 34-year-old actress lights up the big screen in blockbusters like “Entourage” and “Fantastic Four.” -
Do We Need To Rethink What We Call Carcinogens?
Jul 16, 2015 | Environmental Working Group
By Curt DellaValle
More than one in three Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. -
Vegetables Can Take Up Phthalates, Study Finds
Jul 16, 2015 | Chemical Watch
US scientists say they have have demonstrated that phthalates in soil can be taken up by crops, and may be found in food. -
Chemical Safety Nominee Receives Praise
Jul 16, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Lauren Aguirre
Senators widely praised President Obama's new pick for the Chemical Safety Board, Kirsten Kulinowski, during a hearing Wednesday before the Environment and Public Works Committee. -
Pa. Will Stop Using Industry-Favored FracFocus Database
Jul 16, 2015 | E&E - Energywire
By Mike Soraghan
Pennsylvania oil and gas officials are breaking with fellow state regulators and planning to drop the FracFocus website for reporting the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. -
U.S. Fracking Linked to Higher Hospitalization Rates: Researchers
Jul 16, 2015 | Reuters
By Richard Valdmanis
People who live in areas near hydraulic fracturing are more likely to be hospitalized for heart conditions, neurological illnesses and cancer, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. -
Mercury Controls at Ore. Plant Also Curbed Another Toxic Scourge
Jul 16, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Amanda Peterka
Mercury controls at an Oregon coal-fired power plant significantly lowered airborne chemicals linked with neurological problems and cancer, according to a new study.
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(ACC Mentioned) Trend in Retailers Removing Phthalates From Flooring Continues
Jul 16, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
A third US home improvement retail chain, Menards, has joined Lowe's and Home Depot in announcing a ban on the sale of vinyl flooring products containing phthalates (CW 28 May 2015), by the end of the year.
The three companies made their pledges, after an NGO report on the presence of phthalates in the materials came out in April.
The Ecology Center's HealthyStuff.org programme tested 65 vinyl flooring materials from five retailers for “phthalates” - without specifying which phthalates it found.
According to the NGO, phthalates have been linked to a range of health effects including asthma, cancer, male reproductive toxicity, birth defects and harm to the brain and immune system, and can migrate out of flooring materials and into the dust and air inside of homes (CW 26 March 2015, CW 16 December 2014 and CW 30 October 2014).
Within the phthalates family, the strongest evidence of adverse effects has been linked to those of low molecular weight, such as DBP, BBP and DEHP, and in Europe these are subject to various legal restrictions. In response, the European plasticiser market has shifted to high molecular weight phthalates, such as DINP, DPHP and DIDP
NGO Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families credits the market place shift to Home Depot's leadership on the issue. The group told Chemical Watch the retail chain expressed interest in working with them last year, and this spring announced their commitment to remove vinyl flooring products containing phthalates from their stores.
“That [announcement], in turn, put pressure on other industry players to follow suit, and just days later, Lowe’s announced it would match Home Depot’s commitment,” said group spokesman Tony Iallonardo (GBB May 2015).
Following Lowe's and Home Depot's announcements, the NGO's “Mind the Store” project began an online petition for Menards to follow suit, citing that three of the 13 Menards products, tested by HealthyStuff.org, were identified as containing phthalates. The Center for Health, Environment & Justice also joined in calling Menards to action.
However, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) attests that the science does not support the removal of phthalates from vinyl flooring products. It says the substances do not easily migrate out of products - particularly vinyl flooring, which is often top-coated or laminated - and the report does not look at actual exposure, instead claiming “the mere presence of phthalates in flooring is enough to cause a long list of negative health effects”.
“It is deeply concerning when retailers and consumers fall victim to fearmongering and unsubstantiated reports about phthalates in vinyl flooring,” said Dick Dole, CEO of trade body the Vinyl Institute. He said Healthystuff.org's report “does not include any peer-reviewed scientific evidence to support its claims”.
According to the ACC, high molecular weight phthalates such as DINP, DIDP and DPHP, are “most frequently” used in building materials applications, including flooring.
Biomonitoring studies from the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) indicate widespread exposure to phthalates, and measurable levels of phthalate metabolites in the general population.
The centre says the human health impacts of phthalates are unknown and more research is necessary.
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(ACC Mentioned) DEHP Replacement Phthalates Linked to Blood Pressure, Diabetes
Jul 16, 2015 | Chemical Watch
By Philip Lightowlers
Researchers from the New York University School of Medicine have linked exposure to phthalates used as replacements for DEHP to both high blood pressure and insulin resistance in children and teenagers.
Two studies by the school used data collected in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Nhanes) to relate urinary metabolite concentrations of high molecular weight phthalates – in which the authors include DEHP as well as DINP and DIDP – to measurements of blood pressure and fasting blood sugar levels.
Within the phthalates family, the strongest evidence of adverse effects has been linked to those of low molecular weight, such as DBP and BBP. In response, the plasticiser market has shifted to high molecular weight phthalates (high phthalates), such as DINP, DPHP and DIDP.
DEHP is usually classed a low-molecular weight phthalate in Europe, but the New York University School of Medicine studies class it as high molecular weight.
Such compounds are widely used as plasticisers in PVC, in applications from clear food wrap and flooring to intravenous tubing, the authors say.
For DEHP they believe a significant use may be in plastic products used in industrial food processing, while DINP is now increasingly used in plastic food packaging and DIDP in furnishings, cookware and medications.
The first study, published in the journal Hypertension, looked at data gathered between 2009 and 2012 from 1,619 young people aged between six and 19 years. Urinary metabolites for high molecular weight phthalates were measured and compared with blood pressure readings. The latter were corrected to take account of age, sex and height.
There was a significant association between high systolic blood pressure and DEHP, DINP and DIDP phthalate metabolites. The results confirm earlier work on DEHP metabolites by the same authors (CW 23 May 2013), but the findings are new for DINP and DIDP, which are compounds replacing DEHP in many applications.
The authors, Teresa Attina and Leonardo Trasande, conclude that higher phthalate metabolite concentrations result in a 1.1mm Hg increase in blood pressure. Although this is a small rise individually, the net result across the population is a 2.2% increase in a condition known as prehypertension, or raised blood pressure, which existed in just 5.3% of the study population.
They conclude the results are particularly significant as the rates of childhood hypertension in the US have reached “almost epidemic proportions”.
Other studies have also linked phthalates to cardiovascular risks, oxidative stress and pre-term birth, they note.
The second paper, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, looked at Nhanes data from 356 12-19 year-olds who had undergone fasting blood sugar and insulin measurements as well as giving urine samples. A measure of insulin resistance – high levels of which can lead to type 2 diabetes – was calculated from the fasting blood glucose level multiplied by the insulin concentration.
The study detected a correlation between the levels of urinary DEHP and DINP metabolites and the measure of insulin resistance. For DEHP, this confirms earlier work by the authors (CW 20 August 2013). But the link with DINP metabolites was new, indicating a significantly higher insulin resistance for the top third of teenagers with the highest exposure.
However, no relationship was found between the single DIDP metabolite mono-carboxyisononyl phthalate (MCNP) and insulin resistance, perhaps because the levels found in the study group were relatively low.
The High Phthalates Panel of the American Chemistry Council (which does not consider DEHP a high molecular weight phthalate) and the European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates (ECPI) both commented on the studies. They emphasised that they show only an association and not a causal effect, noting that even the authors acknowledge further studies are needed to confirm these associations.
Both trade bodies also criticise the use of Nhanes data across such large ranges where there will be big differences in metabolism, growth, activity and behaviours. They also point to a lack of information on the amount of physical exercise and calorie intakes, which might be important factors.
The ACC said that “information collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the last ten years indicates that exposure [to phthalates] from all sources combined is extremely low – much lower than the levels established as safe by scientists at regulatory agencies."
ECPI said Echa has recently concluded a four-year re-evaluation on DINP and DIDP and confirmed that “no further risks were identified and that only a precautionary restriction should be maintained on toys and childcare articles which can be placed in the mouth”.
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Jessica Alba On Building Her Billion Dollar Business
Jul 16, 2015 | Forbes
By Moira Forbes
To most people, Jessica Alba says she’s “this girl in movies in a bikini who kicks ass.” It’s true that the 34-year-old actress lights up the big screen in blockbusters like “Entourage” and “Fantastic Four.” But her other job titles—innovator, entrepreneur, and founder of The Honest Company, a business worth an estimated $1 billion—are even more impressive. (Alba was recently on the cover of Forbes, and is close to securing a spot on the Forbes Richest Self-Made Women list.) Alba owns an estimated 15–20 percent stake in the company which sells all-natural, chemical- and hormone-free products ranging from diapers and wipes to organic beeswax sunscreen and a chic $170 vegan-leather diaper bag.
The famously fit star hatched the idea in 2008, while she was pregnant with her first child, her now 7-year-old daughter Honor. (She had another daughter, Haven, in 2012.) “I wanted to create a safe and healthy environment for my daughter, and when I looked around at what was available for me to do that, I just didn’t find the answer,” she says. “There wasn’t a brand that really spoke to me as a modern woman, a brand that was transparent, that used unquestionably safe ingredients, but also was effective.”
Those qualities she was seeking became the ethos of The Honest Company. After more than three years of late nights doing research online, endless networking, lobbying in D.C. to reform the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, and tirelessly sharpening her business plan, Alba launched the now wildly successful online retail shop in 2012. She brought in a whopping $150 million in sales last year and is on track for $250 million in 2015.
At the Forbes Women’s Summit in June, I talked to Alba about the inspiration, motivation and determination that have made her one of the most savvy and successful businesswomen of her generation.
Learn To Ask For Help
Alba has no qualms about asking for feedback and credits that openness to part of her entrepreneurial success. “We sit down with lots of really smart people that have built incredible businesses, and they give us advice on how to deal with hurdles,” says Alba.
“You should never be the smartest person in the room,” she adds. “There’s always going to be somebody who’s smarter to learn from—and that’s a good thing.” She sought advice from countless experts in the public and private sector, including other successful businesswomen like Tory Burch. Even when they weren’t 100-percent on-board, they helped her elevate her business plan and strategy. “I think that’s something I had to learn as a woman in business, to ask for help, and to not be afraid of criticism,” says Alba.
But Listen To Your Gut
Alba’s original business plan was mapped out in 50-page deck that included products ranging from paint to rugs. “I was like, ‘Everything needs to be non-toxic and safe and healthy,’ from makeup to deodorant to tampons,” she remembers. “I wanted it all. And I also wanted it to look cute and be affordable.” Though admirable, it was such an ambitious idea that skeptics (including her husband) urged her to launch with just one product. “It was just too big and a lot of people thought I was nuts,” says Alba.
Alba used that feedback as a positive force to sharpen her idea rather than destroy it. “Instead of holding me back, it just pushed me forward. I almost needed it. I needed people telling me no, I needed people to not get it and look at me cross-eyed, for me to really figure out exactly what I was going to do and how I was going do it.” The company eventually launched with 17 products as an e-commerce subscription model to make them affordable. “Come hell or high water, it was going to get done.”
Develop A Thick Skin
As an actress who auditions for roles (we don’t hear about all of the rejections movie stars endure), puts her body and talent on the big-screen for critiques to dissect, and then lives her life under the constant scrutiny of the paparazzi, Alba has been forced to develop a thick skin. “As an actress, for every success there’s a million failures,” she says.
That experience has served her well as the founder of a company in the cutthroat packaged goods sector. “All of [the criticism] comes through, even dumb critics that are just haters,” admits Alba, who purposely chose not to associate her image or name with The Honest Company. “But I try not to take it personally. I think [I’ve gotten better at that] as I’ve become a mom and I’ve grown into myself.”
Get Comfortable With Learning As You Go
It was a long process getting to the launch day, filled with tough days and big learning experiences. But Alba remembers getting her most powerful lesson as a businesswoman soon after the Honest Company was officially open for business: You are not defined by your mistakes; keep moving forward. “Five weeks after we launched, we realized we didn’t actually charge any credit cards…we just sent a lot of packages,” she says. Luckily, 100-percent of her customers allowed their credit cards to be charged retroactively for their purchases.
“For every step forward, you then are met with many more roads of challenge,” says Alba. “Everywhere, there are challenges, there are roadblocks, there are mountains.” The experience taught her to not make mistakes more than once. And if you do? “Hopefully it’s not that bad the second time,” she laughs. “And by the third time, you shouldn’t be making those mistakes anymore.”
Let Your Mission Guide Your Growth
“I feel like we’re just getting our toes in the water here,” says Alba of the company’s potential growth, despite it’s $1 billion valuation. “The industries that we’re in are huge. We just launched in Asia. We’re going into new markets,” she says. More products are in development, and this month the company will begin selling fashionably packaged feminine care products that Alba calls “dope.”
“The opportunity is massive. If we really want to make a difference in the world and people’s health, it’s billions and billions of dollars, not just one,” While she’s pulling all-nighters and working 85-plus hour weeks, she’s fueled by the difference she’s making in the lives of other women, particularly other mothers. “A woman recently shared with her that after her baby’s chronic diaper rash wouldn’t go away, and she switched to an Honest Company diaper. The infant hasn’t had an issue since. “We made her life better,” says Alba. “And that’s really cool. That’s really cool that we can do—that we did—that.”
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Do We Need To Rethink What We Call Carcinogens?
Jul 16, 2015 | Environmental Working Group
By Curt DellaValle
More than one in three Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes.
While diet, lifestyle, viruses and genetics clearly play a role in this epidemic, toxic chemical exposures are known to contribute as well. This means that it is critical that we get the science and regulation surrounding carcinogens right.
But what if our thinking about how chemicals cause cancer is incomplete? That’s what a group of scientists comprising the Halifax Project suggests in a groundbreaking series of papers recently published in a special issue of the scientific journal Carcinogenesis.
Current regulatory policy focuses on identifying “complete carcinogens”– chemicals that can cause cancer all by themselves. Consider for a moment this alternative scenario: What if some chemicals can’t induce cancer alone but can alter normal cells in ways that make them more prone to turn into cancer cells? Could exposures to mixtures of such chemicals actually cause cancer?
This is the simple yet profound hypothesis put forth by the Halifax Project, a collaboration of researchers from around the world brought together by the non-profit organization Getting to Know Cancer. The project’s aim is to investigate the relationships between low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures and cancer. And its findings may fundamentally shift the way we think about carcinogens.
Learn more here.
The idea that mixtures of chemicals that are not individually carcinogenic could cause cancer is based on two well-accepted scientific concepts:The development of cancer is a multistep process – the “multiple-hits” model;There are a set of aggressive characteristics and processes, called “hallmarks of cancer,” that distinguish cancer cells from normal cells.
The “hallmarks” describe the changes to a normal cell that allow it to divide and grow uncontrollably, eventually developing into cancer. These hallmarks include such factors as the ability of a cell to replicate without limit and avoid programmed cell death.
The Halifax Project team examined toxicity data on 85 chemicals and found that 59 percent of them can interfere with cancer-related hallmark processes at low doses we typically encounter in our day-to-day lives. These are all chemicals we commonly encounter in the environment. Among them: phthalates, which are common plasticizers, and several pesticides.
Although only a small number of chemicals were explored in the study, the findings suggest many of the thousands of chemicals to which people are exposed may be capable of affecting cancer-related processes at levels that are already present in the environment.
What are the risks associated with chemical mixtures? Questions remain, but if we consider the multi-hit model of cancer as the accumulation of hallmark processes then it suggests exposure to combinations of chemicals that act on multiple cancer-relevant pathways in the body are likely to cause cancer.
It’s time to expand our definition of carcinogens from the idea of single chemicals acting alone. We must begin to consider combinations of chemicals that – working in concert with each other – may cause cancer.
As the President’s Cancer Panel pointed out in its 2008-2009 annual report, not only do federal environmental laws leave many known carcinogens completely unregulated but they also “fail to address the potential hazards of being exposed to combinations of chemicals.”
This situation needs to change if we as a society truly have an interest in cancer prevention, especially given the Halifax Project’s important findings.
Learn more with EWG's new analysis, Rethinking Carcinogens.
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Vegetables Can Take Up Phthalates, Study Finds
Jul 16, 2015 | Chemical Watch
US scientists say they have have demonstrated that phthalates in soil can be taken up by crops, and may be found in food.
A team at the University of California in Riverside argue that phthalates are ubiquitous in soils through the use and disposal of plastics.
They carried out cultivation experiments with lettuce, strawberry and carrot plants to determine uptake, translocation and metabolism of DBP and DEHP and their primary metabolites.
Both phthalates, and the metabolites MnBP and MEHP, were detected in plant tissues with bioconcentration factors of up to 5. But translocation from roots to leaves was poor and the phthalates were readily converted in the plant tissue to their monoesters.
The authors conclude that the phthalates and their monoesters should be monitored, when considering human dietary phthalate exposure from contaminated soils.
The paper was published in Environmental Science and Technology.
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Chemical Safety Nominee Receives Praise
Jul 16, 2015 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Lauren Aguirre
Senators widely praised President Obama's new pick for the Chemical Safety Board, Kirsten Kulinowski, during a hearing Wednesday before the Environment and Public Works Committee.
The president tapped Kulinowski to join the five-person board that investigates chemical accidents following the resignation of the last chairman.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced Kulinowski, calling her a "highly technically qualified candidate" and urged his colleagues to back her nomination.
"She is not a politician," added Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the committee's ranking member. "She is a scientist. That's something we need."
The former CSB chairman, Rafael Moure-Eraso, resigned in March under pressure from the White House and lawmakers, following allegations that he broke the law and was a dysfunctional leader. An investigation is looking into those allegations.
Despite the friendly tone, lawmakers pressed Kulinowski on the challenges the agency faced.
Kulinowski vowed to continue that probe if confirmed and said she would help return the beleaguered agency's focus.
"The knowledge that many major accidents could have been prevented drives me to continue to work in this area," she said.
In a lighter moment, Kulinowski pointed out her husband and daughters in the audience. Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said, "Have your daughters stand up. They’re cute,” leading to laughter as her family briefly stood.
Kulinowski has been a research staff member of the Science and Technology Policy Institute since 2011. She holds a doctorate in Chemistry and is an adjust assistant professor at Rice University.
If confirmed, she would serve a five-year term.
This story was updated on July 16 at 12:32 p.m.
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Pa. Will Stop Using Industry-Favored FracFocus Database
Jul 16, 2015 | E&E - Energywire
By Mike Soraghan
Pennsylvania oil and gas officials are breaking with fellow state regulators and planning to drop the FracFocus website for reporting the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing.
Next year, the state Department of Environmental Protection will shift to using data reported directly to the state by oil and gas companies and integrating it with other data compiled by the agency.
"FracFocus is a great tool, there is no question about that," said DEP spokesman Neil Shader. "However, they didn't have all of the data that we want to make publicly available, and it wasn't in a format that would lend itself to thorough data searches."
The main switch for companies is that they will no longer be able to submit completion reports on paper. They will have to submit them electronically. Fracking is part of the process of "completing" a well, and the reports provide information about that process. Shader said the agency is hoping to phase out the paper reports by March 2016.
The state is working on launching a new, publicly accessible database as soon as June 2016.
FracFocus was launched in 2011 by the Ground Water Protection Council, a private nonprofit governed by a board of state water regulators, and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.
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It was quickly endorsed by oil and gas trade groups and is the industry's favored means of disclosure. The American Petroleum Institute and America's Natural Gas Alliance pay the operating expenses of the site.
But environmental groups and open-government advocates complained the site was error-prone, created needless obstacles for researchers and allowed companies too much latitude to exempt information as trade secrets. They also said a private group shouldn't be the custodian of government-mandated disclosure data.
In February, GWPC announced changes to improve the accuracy of the site, limit trade secret exemptions and make the data available in "machine-readable" format (EnergyWire, Feb. 27).
Despite the complaints, most state agencies have either required or allowed companies to use FracFocus as disclosure of fracking chemicals became the norm. After the improvements were announced, the Obama administration also decided to use FracFocus for disclosure of fracking ingredients on public land.
A prominent exception is California, where legislators ordered the state oil and gas agency to create its own system for public disclosure.
"There was some distrust of something developed with industry involvement," said Steve Bohlen, California's state oil and gas supervisor.
Pennsylvania oil and gas officials are now in a similar situation to their colleagues in California, who are under a Jan. 1, 2016, deadline to develop their own system. Like Pennsylvania, California's chemical data will be integrated with information on water use and other aspects. Bohlen said he's confident it will be done on time.
"It's an IT challenge that's not huge," he said, but he added, "It's not easy either."Wait and see
Industry and environmental advocates are taking a wait-and-see approach.
"We like FracFocus, and we also appreciate what the commonwealth is doing," said Pennsylvania Environmental Council President and CEO Davitt Woodwell.
Woodwell said he hopes there will still be a way to compare data from Pennsylvania with other states and regions. And his group continues to want disclosure of chemicals used in processes other than fracking, such as the actual drilling of the well. That is not part of DEP's current plan.
Pennsylvania shale drillers also had a neutral reaction to the changes.
"Our organization, which was a very early advocate of FracFocus participation, is committed to common-sense disclosure practices," said Erica Clayton Wright, spokeswoman for the Marcellus Shale Coalition.
The group has been less neutral about other proposals by the administration of new Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf affecting drilling. The coalition opposes Wolf's plan for a severance tax and has called some new drilling regulations "duplicative and unnecessarily costly" (EnergyWire, March 10).
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U.S. Fracking Linked to Higher Hospitalization Rates: Researchers
Jul 16, 2015 | Reuters
By Richard Valdmanis
People who live in areas near hydraulic fracturing are more likely to be hospitalized for heart conditions, neurological illnesses and cancer, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University.
Fracking is an oil and gas extraction technique using a mixture of water, chemicals and sand to break apart underground rock formations. It has triggered a surge in U.S. energy production in recent years, along with a debate over whether the process causes air and water pollution.
The study, published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, looked at hospitalization rates in parts of Pennsylvania from 2007 to 2011 and found them significantly higher in areas with fracking compared to those without.
"At this point, we suspect that residents are exposed to many toxicants, noise and social stressors due to hydraulic fracturing near their homes and this may add to the increased number of hospitalizations," Reynold Panettieri, one of the study's authors, said in a press release.
The team found that 18 ZIP codes in its study had a well density greater than 0.79 wells per square kilometer, and residents living in these ZIP codes were predicted to have a 27 percent increase in hospitalizations for heart conditions compared to areas without any drilling. The study also showed higher rates of hospitalization for neurological illness, skin conditions and cancer.
The researchers said the study does not prove any cause and effect between drilling and health problems but that the findings "suggests that healthcare costs of hydraulic fracturing must be factored into the economic benefits of unconventional gas and oil drilling."
The energy industry and proponents of fracking say the technology can be used safely and that fears of pollution and health risks are overblown.
(Reporting by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Bill Trott)
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Mercury Controls at Ore. Plant Also Curbed Another Toxic Scourge
Jul 16, 2015 | E&E - Greenwire
By Amanda Peterka
Mercury controls at an Oregon coal-fired power plant significantly lowered airborne chemicals linked with neurological problems and cancer, according to a new study.
Portland General Electric installed the controls on its Boardman, Ore., plant in 2011 to stem emissions of mercury. As a result, two groups of harmful polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons dropped by 40 and 70 percent, respectively, the study led by Oregon State University found.
Several recent studies have linked PAHs to behavior problems associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.
"PGE put control measures in to reduce mercury emissions, and as a side benefit, these other pollutants were also reduced," Staci Simonich, an environmental chemist at OSU and an author of the report, said in a statement.
The study was published this month in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. It was funded by the OSU Superfund Research Program, a center of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
The OSU team says it launched its study to examine the contribution of Asia to concentrations of PAHs in the western United States.
The OSU researchers documented levels of airborne PAHs each week from March to October 2010, and from March to September 2011, at Cabbage Hill, a site about 60 miles east of the coal-fired power plant. They also tracked levels of PAHs on the summit of Mount Bachelor, which has an elevation of 9,065 feet and is 200 miles away from the plant.
According to the study results, Cabbage Hill experienced a drop in 2011 of 40 percent in a derivative group of PAHs and a drop of 72 percent in the parent compound. The researchers said that reduction was so steep that they couldn't tell at times from the measurements whether the plant was in operation, or discern its 2011 measurements from the Mount Bachelor site.
"We looked at the data and said, 'Wow, 2010 is different from 2011, and why should that be?'" Simonich said. "We had trouble understanding it from a trans-Pacific standpoint. So we started thinking about regional sources, and that's what led us to look at emissions from Boardman."
PGE's Boardman 585-megawatt plant uses an activated carbon injection system to remove mercury from exhaust. The company says the system installed in 2011 has reduced mercury emissions by 90 percent.
"The ACI system is designed to capture mercury in the plant's flue gases," PGE says, "allowing it to be extracted using the plant's existing electrostatic precipitator -- the device that already removes almost all of the ash and small particles from the plant's emissions."
The authors of the new study said that eliminating the Boardman plant as a major source of PAH pollution would likely make it easier to study Asia's contribution to concentrations in the Pacific Northwest in the future.
PGE has agreed to stop using coal at the plant by Dec. 31, 2020, and is exploring the potential for burning biomass.
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