POPs in the news

16/03/2017 -

Today’s homes and offices are jam-packed with plastics, electronics, and furniture covered in flame-retardants. When they combust, they are extremely toxic. That means the smoke firefighters are exposed to is often loaded with a litany of septic chemicals—formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, chlorophenols, dioxins, trichloroethylene,  polychlorinated biphenyls, to name a few. Alone, any one of these may be harmful; mixed together they can make a potent cocktail of carcinogens. More:


Why Cancer Is Killing Boston’s Firefighters

Today’s homes and offices are jam-packed with plastics, electronics, and furniture covered in flame-retardants. When they combust, they are extremely toxic. That means the smoke firefighters are exposed to is often loaded with a litany of septic chemicals—formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, chlorophenols, dioxins, trichloroethylene,  polychlorinated biphenyls, to name a few. Alone, any one of these may be harmful; mixed together they can make a potent cocktail of carcinogens. More:

15/03/2017 -

March 2017 is particularly eventful with Geneva hosting many discussions aiming for a human rights-based approach towards better protection of the environment and of human health, which are also the common objectives of the BRS Conventions. Among these events, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) has opened its 34th session. More:


‘Detoxifying’ the future from hazardous chemicals and wastes: a child’s fundamental (human) right

March 2017 is particularly eventful with Geneva hosting many discussions aiming for a human rights-based approach towards better protection of the environment and of human health, which are also the common objectives of the BRS Conventions. Among these events, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) has opened its 34th session. More:

10/03/2017 -

Researchers have found a significant relationship between social behaviors among young children and their exposure to widely used flame retardants. The finding, contained in a pilot study, points to some chemicals in furniture, electronics and other goods to help prevent fires. As these chemicals, which are found throughout the built environment in furniture, mattresses, carpeting, electronics, vehicles and more, are added to the products and are not bound in the material, they are often released into indoor environments. More:


Study links flame retardants to social behavior among young children

Researchers have found a significant relationship between social behaviors among young children and their exposure to widely used flame retardants. The finding, contained in a pilot study, points to some chemicals in furniture, electronics and other goods to help prevent fires. As these chemicals, which are found throughout the built environment in furniture, mattresses, carpeting, electronics, vehicles and more, are added to the products and are not bound in the material, they are often released into indoor environments. More:

09/03/2017 -

A trend towards using plastic parts in electrical and electronic goods is causing a headache for the recycling industry. Brominated flame-retarding chemicals have been associated with lower mental, psychomotor and IQ development, poorer attention spans and decreases in memory and processing speed, according to the peer-reviewed study by the campaign group CHEM Trust. More:


Warnings over children's health as recycled e-waste comes back as plastic toys

A trend towards using plastic parts in electrical and electronic goods is causing a headache for the recycling industry. Brominated flame-retarding chemicals have been associated with lower mental, psychomotor and IQ development, poorer attention spans and decreases in memory and processing speed, according to the peer-reviewed study by the campaign group CHEM Trust. More:

05/03/2017 -

Exposure to polluted environments is associated with more than one in four deaths among children younger than 5, according to two World Health Organization reports. Worldwide, 1.7 million children's deaths are attributable to environmental hazards, such as exposure to contaminated water, indoor and outdoor pollution, and other unsanitary conditions, the reports found. Weaker immune systems make children's health more vulnerable to harmful effects of polluted environments. More:


Exposure to pollution kills millions of children, WHO reports find

Exposure to polluted environments is associated with more than one in four deaths among children younger than 5, according to two World Health Organization reports. Worldwide, 1.7 million children's deaths are attributable to environmental hazards, such as exposure to contaminated water, indoor and outdoor pollution, and other unsanitary conditions, the reports found. Weaker immune systems make children's health more vulnerable to harmful effects of polluted environments. More:

22/02/2017 -

A pair of long-lasting, man-made chemicals called PFOA and PFOS have generated controversy and lawsuits in recent years, worldwide and in Alabama, but a new peer-reviewed paper warns there are more than 3,000 replacement chemicals with similar chemical makeup used to make consumer products whose toxicology and potential health impacts are unknown. More:


Substitute chemicals for cancer-linked PFCs may also be harmful, researchers warn

A pair of long-lasting, man-made chemicals called PFOA and PFOS have generated controversy and lawsuits in recent years, worldwide and in Alabama, but a new peer-reviewed paper warns there are more than 3,000 replacement chemicals with similar chemical makeup used to make consumer products whose toxicology and potential health impacts are unknown. More:

20/02/2017 -

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Feb. 20, 2017–Although Belize discontinued widespread use of Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethylene (DDT) for mosquito eradication two decades ago, it is believed to still be in the environment, as well as in the bodies of people who had been exposed over the years. More:


24 tons of deleterious DDT stockpiled by Belize headed to France for destruction

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Feb. 20, 2017–Although Belize discontinued widespread use of Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethylene (DDT) for mosquito eradication two decades ago, it is believed to still be in the environment, as well as in the bodies of people who had been exposed over the years. More:

13/02/2017 -

Scientists have discovered “extraordinary” levels of toxic pollution in the most remote and inaccessible place on the planet – the 10km deep Mariana trench in the Pacific Ocean. Small crustaceans that live in the pitch-black waters of the trench, captured by a robotic submarine, were contaminated with 50 times more toxic chemicals than crabs that survive in heavily polluted rivers in China. More:


Extraordinary' levels of pollutants found in 10km deep Mariana trench

Scientists have discovered “extraordinary” levels of toxic pollution in the most remote and inaccessible place on the planet – the 10km deep Mariana trench in the Pacific Ocean. Small crustaceans that live in the pitch-black waters of the trench, captured by a robotic submarine, were contaminated with 50 times more toxic chemicals than crabs that survive in heavily polluted rivers in China. More:

07/02/2017 -

Researchers are finding an ever-growing list of chemicals in dust and are trying to understand what the compounds mean for our health. As sure as the sun rises, houses collect dust. It gathers on our knickknacks and dirties the carpets. More than just dirt, house dust is a mix of sloughed-off skin cells, hair, clothing fibers, bacteria, dust mites, bits of dead bugs, soil particles, pollen, and microscopic specks of plastic. It’s our detritus and, it turns out, has a lot to reveal about our lifestyle. More:


Tracing the chemistry of household dust

Researchers are finding an ever-growing list of chemicals in dust and are trying to understand what the compounds mean for our health. As sure as the sun rises, houses collect dust. It gathers on our knickknacks and dirties the carpets. More than just dirt, house dust is a mix of sloughed-off skin cells, hair, clothing fibers, bacteria, dust mites, bits of dead bugs, soil particles, pollen, and microscopic specks of plastic. It’s our detritus and, it turns out, has a lot to reveal about our lifestyle. More:

06/02/2017 -

Researchers tested more than 400 samples of packaging materials, including hamburger and sandwich wrappers, pastry bags, beverage cups and French fry containers, and found evidence of fluorinated compounds called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). Of the materials tested, these chemicals were found in 56 percent of dessert and bread wrappers, 38 percent of sandwich and burger wrappers and 20 percent of paperboard. More:


Extensive use of fluorinated chemicals in fast food wrappers: Chemicals can leach into food

Researchers tested more than 400 samples of packaging materials, including hamburger and sandwich wrappers, pastry bags, beverage cups and French fry containers, and found evidence of fluorinated compounds called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). Of the materials tested, these chemicals were found in 56 percent of dessert and bread wrappers, 38 percent of sandwich and burger wrappers and 20 percent of paperboard. More:

26/01/2017 -

Long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are persistent chemicals with proven toxic effects. A study estimated the emissions and concentrations of two such chemicals, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in 11 of Europe's most populated river catchments. Estimated emissions were lowest in the Thames and highest in the Rhine, while the EU environmental quality standard for PFOS was exceeded in all rivers. More:


Europe's rivers ‘highly contaminated’ with long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids

Long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are persistent chemicals with proven toxic effects. A study estimated the emissions and concentrations of two such chemicals, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in 11 of Europe's most populated river catchments. Estimated emissions were lowest in the Thames and highest in the Rhine, while the EU environmental quality standard for PFOS was exceeded in all rivers. More:

23/01/2017 -

Researchers at the Columbia University have discovered high and potentially harmful levels of flame retardant on the hands of toddlers in New York City. The study, from the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, or CCCEH, in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, examined 25 mother-child participant pairs from the CCCEH Sibling-Hermanos birth cohort. More:


NYC toddlers exposed to high levels of flame retardants: Study

Researchers at the Columbia University have discovered high and potentially harmful levels of flame retardant on the hands of toddlers in New York City. The study, from the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, or CCCEH, in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, examined 25 mother-child participant pairs from the CCCEH Sibling-Hermanos birth cohort. More:

23/01/2017 -

Polar bears are facing trouble inside and out. The animals are losing habitat as global warming melts sea ice. Now a study shows bears’ bodies hold toxic chemicals originally made in distant factories, substances that threaten adult bears’ health at a level 100 times greater than the acceptable threshold of risk for humans. For cubs, the risk is more than 1,000 times that threshold. More:


Polar Bear Cubs at High Risk from Toxic Industrial Chemicals, Despite Bans

Polar bears are facing trouble inside and out. The animals are losing habitat as global warming melts sea ice. Now a study shows bears’ bodies hold toxic chemicals originally made in distant factories, substances that threaten adult bears’ health at a level 100 times greater than the acceptable threshold of risk for humans. For cubs, the risk is more than 1,000 times that threshold. More:

18/01/2017 -

A new National Academy of Sciences' risk assessment could accelerate public health protection from pesticides. More:


Will Better Science Help Protect Us from Chemical Exposures?

A new National Academy of Sciences' risk assessment could accelerate public health protection from pesticides. More:

12/01/2017 -

The first stage in this policy making process is identifying problems – what they are, how severe their impacts are, who they affect and whether there is a need for policy intervention. This requires collecting scientific knowledge and is described as impact assessment. Evidence-based impact assessment allows policymakers to maximise benefits and mitigate unwanted consequences and is becoming increasingly important in decision making. However, current impact assessment methods are expensive and time consuming; often, by the time evidence has been provided, the policy context has changed. More:


QUICKScan: a quick, participatory method for exploring environmental policy problems

The first stage in this policy making process is identifying problems – what they are, how severe their impacts are, who they affect and whether there is a need for policy intervention. This requires collecting scientific knowledge and is described as impact assessment. Evidence-based impact assessment allows policymakers to maximise benefits and mitigate unwanted consequences and is becoming increasingly important in decision making. However, current impact assessment methods are expensive and time consuming; often, by the time evidence has been provided, the policy context has changed. More:

04/01/2017 -

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals have been an area of growing concern, making many headlines in 2016. This article examines further developments concerning EDCs through the year. More:


Endocrinology: Concern Over EDCs Continues to Grow

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals have been an area of growing concern, making many headlines in 2016. This article examines further developments concerning EDCs through the year. More:

03/01/2017 -

The global industrial food system is emerging as a significant pathway through which people are exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals,1 but no method exists to assess the full extent to which chemicals are transported through food. More:


Exploring Chemical Transport through Food: A Proposal for a Comprehensive Approach to Predict Exposures

The global industrial food system is emerging as a significant pathway through which people are exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals,1 but no method exists to assess the full extent to which chemicals are transported through food. More:

02/01/2017 -

New mothers who quit breastfeeding earlier than they had wanted often chalk it up to not being able to produce enough milk. But a handful of researchers are exploring whether certain environmental exposures may affect some women’s ability to lactate. More:


Mother’s Milk and the Environment: Might Chemical Exposures Impair Lactation?

New mothers who quit breastfeeding earlier than they had wanted often chalk it up to not being able to produce enough milk. But a handful of researchers are exploring whether certain environmental exposures may affect some women’s ability to lactate. More:

26/12/2016 -

Research results further elucidate the already suggested different sensitivity of genders towards HBCD exposure on the protein level, and confirm the need for undertaking toxicological animal experiments in both genders. More:

Gender specific differences in the liver proteome of rats exposed to short term and low-concentration hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) (Research article)


Gender specific differences in the liver proteome of rats exposed to short term and low-concentration hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD)

Research results further elucidate the already suggested different sensitivity of genders towards HBCD exposure on the protein level, and confirm the need for undertaking toxicological animal experiments in both genders. More:

Gender specific differences in the liver proteome of rats exposed to short term and low-concentration hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) (Research article)

24/12/2016 -

Nearly everything people do, eat or come into contact with can change them in little ways — sometimes with big consequences. Exposure to some chemicals can damage DNA, leading to cancer and other problems. Other molecular changes—chemical tags added to DNA or to proteins called histones — may affect health without injuring DNA. More:


Epigenetic marks may help assess toxic exposure risk — someday

Nearly everything people do, eat or come into contact with can change them in little ways — sometimes with big consequences. Exposure to some chemicals can damage DNA, leading to cancer and other problems. Other molecular changes—chemical tags added to DNA or to proteins called histones — may affect health without injuring DNA. More:

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