This past month I had the unique opportunity to travel to Chiba, Japan with environmental committee member Steve Kette and participate in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) second meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee. 

The committee was established to develop a legally binding treaty to reduce exposure to mercury.  A global crackdown on mercury was initiated by the environmental ministers in 2009.  This historic decision to address one of the most toxic substances on earth, mercury, was agreed to by over 140 countries whose governments unanimously decided to launch negotiations on an international treaty to deal with world wide emissions and discharges.  They also agreed that the risk to human health and the environment was so significant that accelerated action under a voluntary Global Mercury Partnership is needed while the treaty is being negotiated.  UNEP estimates that every kilogram of mercury taken out of the environment can result in up to $12,500 worth of social, environmental and human health benefit.

While in Chiba I had the opportunity to work with members of the International POPs Elimination Network which is made up of over 700 public interest health and environmental organizations from over 80 countries and the Zero Mercury Working Group, which is comprised of over 90 organizations from 42 countries and personally meet Shinobu Sakamoto, a victim of Minamata disease.

SafeMinds signed on to a solidarity statement supporting Minamata victims groups which called "upon all stakeholders- including governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, intergovernmental organizations and others to work together to negotiate a strong global treaty that will effectively minimize and eliminate all human sources of mercury so that fish and seafood are once again safe to eat and so that the Minamata tragedy will never reoccur. The treaty will be the world's first effort to develop comprehensive regulations of mercury.  

Although there is still much work to be done to effectively address this global public health issue, just the fact that this initiative is supported by so many countries, large and small, is historic. Everyone alive today has some level of mercury in their bodies. Safe Minds contends that there is no safe limit for mercury exposure and is honored to be a part of this landmark treaty process.  

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How Corporate Greed, Biased Science, and Coercive Government Threaten Our Human Rights, Our Health, and Our Children

Featuring more than twenty experts from the fields of ethics, law, science, medicine, business, and history, Vaccine Epidemic urgently calls for reform. It is the essential handbook for the vaccination choice movement and required reading for all people contemplating vaccination for themselves and their children. 

Purchase Vaccine Epidemic here and a portion of the proceeds will go to SafeMinds.

Visit the Vaccine Epidemic Website and find out how you can help spread the word.

Fluorescent Lighting Breakage Update

On January 25th, the EPA released its latest clean-up protocol for broken fluorescent light bulbs.  This includes compact, linear (long tube), circular and tanning fluorescent bulbs as well as black lights and neon bulbs.  Little has changed since the last time they issued guidelines.  From the references, it does not appear that the EPA has done any new research.  The issue of potential mercury exposure from broken fluorescents emerged when the Maine Department of Environmental Protection released a study in February 2008 in which they tested mercury vapor levels from a variety of broken bulbs in a controlled environment.   The study showed some results over the Maine Ambient Air Guideline which raised concerns about bulb breakage in consumer settings.  It was also apparent that cleaning carpet and soft furnishings sufficiently to prevent later off-gassing of mercury was problematic.  They also found that using a vacuum cleaner to clean up the glass had the potential to both contaminate the machine and to raise air levels at subsequent cleanings.

SafeMinds wrote a protocol in 2009 designed to provide greater protection to consumers by incorporating the precautionary principle.  We were concerned that the guideline be written to protect pregnant women and children who might be exposed to mercury vapor from a broken fluorescent and did not feel that the EPA's standards went far enough.  Our guidelines are available here.  

To read our original series of articles on mercury and fluorescent lighting which includes discussions of air levels and recycling, please go here: 

SafeMinds Web Article:  Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

10 Sources of Mercury You Can Do Something About:  Fluorescent Lighting

Research Update - New Articles in the Journal  Immunotoxicology

Two new research articles on autism appeared this month in the Journal Immunotoxicology by Helen Ratajczak.  The first is a comprehensive review of possible causes of autism which highlights the initial work of SafeMinds in 2001 in drawing attention to the similarities between mercury and autism spectrum disorders.  The author reviews a host of factors suspected to be associated with the development of ASD including infections, medications, vaccines, pesticides, phthalates and encephalopathy following vaccination.  Click here for abstract.

The second article discusses the possibility of developing more objective measures to diagnose autism outside of the observed behavioral characteristics through the use of clinical biomarkers.  Such clinical markers discussed include hormones, metabolites, amino acids, and other biomarkers present in significantly different quantities in autistic subjects compared to age- and sex-matched controls.  These biomarkers would not only be useful in early diagnosis, but also for monitoring progression of the disorder and effectiveness of therapeutic interventions.  Click here for abstract.