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Environmental Research Gets
Short-Shrift in National Autism Research Agenda
By Theresa Wrangham SafeMinds President
The public comment period concerning the
update of the National Institutes of Health Interagency Autism
Coordinating Committee's (IACC) strategic plan for autism research
closed last week. Now, additional information on the upcoming science
workshop has been revealed.
The workshop will be held early in
September. Its purpose is to engage the scientific community in
identifying new research objectives or amendments needed to existing
objectives within the strategic plan. Not surprisingly, environmental
expertise in the workshop is again limited, which is likely to result
in yet another iteration of the strategic plan that lacks cutting-edge
research priorities in environmental science. Amid fresh concerns regarding conflicts of interest held by IACC Chair Dr. Thomas Insel and his ability to provide objective leadership, the composition of the
science workshops was changed mid-stream, most notably excluding the
critical voice of public member and vice president of SafeMinds, Lyn
Redwood.
Why is this significant? Initial composition of these workshops
called for one federal and one public IACC member from the IACC's
strategic planning subcommittee, of which Ms. Redwood is a member. As
it now stands, five panels will address updating research objectives
within the strategic plan, and Ms. Redwood will not be on any of these
panels, despite her requests to participate. These actions are yet
another example of the inherent lack of balance between public member
(6) and federal member (12) representation on the committee, which has
served to block vital environmental research that relates to the
etiology, treatment, and prevention of autism. Read more.
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Top 10 Sources of Mercury you can do Something About - #2 Dental Amalgams
By Katie Weisman for the SafeMinds Environmental Committee
According to the EPA, dentists in the United States use
approximately 34 tons of mercury per year.
Silver fillings aren't primarily silver and never have
been. Since they were developed in
France in the early 1800's, their main ingredient has always been mercury. Today's amalgam typically consists of about
50% elemental mercury alloyed with varying amounts of silver, tin, copper and
zinc. Amalgam releases mercury vapor
continuously throughout the time it is in your mouth. The amount of vapor
released is increased by chewing (when the fillings are located on the occlusal
surfaces), by tooth brushing and by consuming hot liquids. Approximately 80% of
the mercury vapor will be absorbed into your body where it will deposit itself
in your nervous system, kidneys, liver and thyroid gland.
There has been ongoing controversy over the health risks of
dental amalgam internationally. The WHO
estimates that amalgam fillings are the greatest source of daily mercury
exposure in those who have them, greater than all other sources combined, and
ranging from 3-27mcg per day. A study
done in 1998, estimated that, "on average, each ten-surface increase in amalgam
exposure is associated with an increase of 1mcg/L mercury in urine." (Kingman
et al.) Dental associations, generally, have strongly fought the notion that
there are negative health effects from mercury amalgam, but studies are ongoing. It is well-established now that about 23% of
patients with mercury amalgam will show systemic allergy to inorganic
mercury. Mercury amalgam can also be the
cause of lichenoid lesions in the mouth.
Patients with poor kidney function should not receive amalgams because
of their impaired ability to excrete mercury. Read more.
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New Jersey "Funnyraiser" to Benefit SafeMinds
Waddaya mean you won't laugh on their behalf?
Join
us for a night of friends, food and laughs to raise funds for important
autism research. October 17, 2009 in Pine Brook, NJ. Tickets only $75. Click here to buy tickets or find out more.
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Blood Mercury Levels Rising Among
From Health Day News
A study involving more than
6,000 American women suggests that blood levels of mercury are
accumulating over time, with a big rise noted over the past decade.
Using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a researcher
from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that while inorganic
mercury was detected in the blood of 2 percent of women aged 18 to 49 in
the 1999-2000 NHANES survey, that level rose to 30 percent of women by
2005-2006.
"My study found compelling evidence that inorganic mercury deposition
within the human body is a cumulative process, increasing with age and
overall in the population over time," study author and neuroscience
researcher Dan R. Laks said in an UCLA news release. "My findings also
suggest a rise in risks for disease associated with mercury over
time." Read more.
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Congress Can Stop Mercury Pollution from Chlorine Plants
By Scott Laster for the SafeMinds Environmental Committee
Do you want to help reduce mercury in the environment, but don't know where
to start? Here's one major step that can be done right now - Congress can
pass a pending bill to stop mercury pollution from chlorine manufacturing
plants. Even though 95 percent of US chlorine is made without the use of mercury, four outdated plants continue to use old technology that relies
upon hundreds of tons of mercury. Collectively, these plants release hundreds of pounds of mercury into our air and water every year. When
released into the environment, the mercury can cause neurological damage
when we breathe it in air or eat fish in which the mercury has accumulated. Pregnant women and children are particularly susceptible. The newer
technology costs less to operate and produces higher capacity. Prudence
dictates that these four plants update their equipment now.
The Mercury Pollution Reduction Act, H.R. 2190 in the House and S. 1428 in
the Senate, would make the outdated "Foul Four" chlorine plants update their
equipment to modern technology that doesn't utilize or release mercury.
The Mercury Pollution Reduction Act was originally authored by then-Senator
Obama in 2006, and was re-introduced in 2009. Recently, the House
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection moved the bill to
the full House Energy and Commerce Committee for their consideration and the
Senate version of the bill was introduced.
Oceana, an organization which campaigns to protect and restore the world's
oceans, has been leading the push to introduce and pass these laws.
SafeMinds applauds their efforts to eliminate a major source of mercury
contamination. If you would like to learn how you can take action, please see the Oceana website.
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