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A campaign for sustainable methods of waste management |
Reports
China: POPs levels in air near MSW incinerator
A report from 2010 showing that dioxin-like PCB and PBDD/Fs around a waste incinerator contributed 8.9% and 16% to the total WHO-TEQ (the sum of PCDD/Fs, PBDD/Fs, and dioxin-like PCBs), respectively, implying that MSWI is an important source of dioxin-like compounds.
Sweden: Brominated dioxins contribute up to 15% of total dioxin TEQ in human tissue & plasma
A report from 2010 indicating that brominated dioxins are still a major problem around waste incinerators, and need to be monitored continually.
WHEN THE EU WASTES the CLIMATE:
The EU Policy of Subsidising Energy from Burning Waste is Worsening the Climate
This work analyses the contradictions of EU (European Union) policy when promoting and funding a false renewable energy - that is, the energy from burning waste. A big part of the energy produced by European incinerators is considered to be renewable energy, which allows them to receive considerable rate premiums and subsidies. This has the effect of a
false green subsidy to burn waste that could be recycled or composted. In reality these subsidies end up creating the opposite of the intended effect: more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the short term, less sustainability and less incentive to green the economy.
Garbage or Biomass Incineration/Combustion/Gasification Warning Labels - report from 2009
-
an op-ed or blog piece on garbage and biomass
incineration/combustion/gasification that could be of interest to readers.
Comments are welcome, as well as suggestions for where I might publish it.
Jeffrey
Morris, Ph.D.-Economics, Sound Resource Management,
Report (2009) - Earliest Exposures: A Research Project by Washington Toxics Coalition - pdf file
Babies are born after nine months of protection and nurturing from their mothers, and nine months of toxic chemicals from the rest of the world. Babies born in the United States can blame the government: in this country, we operate under a toxics law that has required testing of only 200 chemicals out of 80,000 produced since the law was passed in 1976.
A Beginner's Guide to Incinerator Emissions and their Known Health Effects
This
publication might be of some help to newcomers to this battle and give
them some ammo for letters...? Given all the chemicals and by-products
emitted one must question why the EU are currently proposing to cut down
on the amount of monitoring of the statutory pollutants and dioxin to once
every two years. What they are basically saying with this proposal is that
modern burners are running so well we dont need to check their emission
regulary... which of course is utter bullshit! What i think they are
saying behind closed dooors is that the cocktail of chemical emisisons are
extremely complex and they cannot answer the questions of cocktails and
synegistic effects.
In solidarity
Ralph Ryder, Coordinator, Communities Against Toxics, 18 May 2010
ralph.ryder@googlemail.com
http://www.endo-society.org/journals/ScientificStatements/upload/EDC_Scientific_Statement.pdf
Incinerators release chemical compounds that are Endocrine Disrupters, the
most well-known of which is dioxin. This is a very recent and definitive
report from the Endocrine Society
http://www.prhe.ucsf.edu/prhe/pubs/shapingourlegacy.html
- this report can be downloaded via this webpage
The evidence for the role of environmental toxins as factors in various
disabilities and diseases is growing - Autism Rights has drawn attention
to this in our submission to a parliamentary inquiry into child and
adolescent mental health and well-being - see page 5, under the heading
`Environmental Toxins and their Neurotoxic and Immunological Effects`:-
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/hs/inquiries/mentalhealthservices/MH36.pdf
www.autismrights.org.uk
SPECIFICALLY ON INCINERATION AND HEALTH
http://www.greenpeace.to/publications/euincin.pdf
- Incineration and Human Health - Allsop, Costner and Johnston
http://www.cawdrec.com/incineration/pollution.pdf
-
excellent factsheet on incineration and human health. with scientific
references
http://www.ecomed.org.uk/publications/reports/the-health-effects-of-waste-incinerators
- British Society for Ecological Medecine - February 11, 2009
The Health Effects of Waste Incinerators
A report moderated by J Thompson and HM Anthony
Both the amount of waste and its potential toxicity are increasing.
Available landfill sites are being used up, and incineration is being seen
increasingly as a solution to the waste problem. This report examines the
literature concerning the health effects of incinerators.
http://www.ideaireland.org/incineratorsandhealth.htm
- Irish Doctors Environmental Association [IDEA]
Incinerators and their Health Effects June 2006-06-15
WHO REPORT
Principles for Evaluating Health Risks in Children Associated with
Exposure to Chemicals
Environmental Health Criteria 237
http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/ehc/ehc237.pdf
The peer-reviewed report highlights the fact that in children, the stage
in their development when exposure to a threat occurs may be just as
important as the magnitude of the exposure.
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/338/jun22_2/b2532
- Published 22 June 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2532
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2532
News
Long term exposure to air pollution decreases life expectancy, UK report
finds
Susan Mayor
1 London
The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.
Long term exposure to air pollutants is associated with increased
mortality, warns a major UK report published this week, which has also
defined the most useful measure of air pollution in developing strategies
to reduce adverse effects on health.
The new report follows up a 2001 review that looked at the long term
effects of exposure to air pollutants on health, itself based on two major
US studies. That review said that a causal relationship with mortality was
"more likely than not" and that the studies’ findings were
applicable in the UK. Research in the field has progressed rapidly since
its earlier review, so the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air
Pollutants—an expert committee that advises the UK government—decided
it needed to review the latest evidence, including a European cohort
study. "We are left with little doubt that long-term exposure to air
pollutants has an effect on mortality and . . . [Full text of this
article]
OTHER INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH
http://www.pptox.dk/
- International Conference on Fetal Programming and Developmental
Toxicity
http://www.pptox.dk/Consensus/tabid/72/Default.aspx
- Conference Conclusions
Full text: http://www.iceh.org/pdfs/LDDI/LDDIStatement.pdf
Executive Summary: http://www.iceh.org/pdfs/LDDI/LDDIExecSummary.pdf
The Collaborative on Health and the Environment
(http://www.healthandenvironment.org/)
- Learning and
Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) has published
the "Scientific
Consensus Statement on Environmental
Agents Associated with Neurodevelopmental Disorders."
http://www.ehjournal.net/content/pdf/1476-069x-7-50.pdf
- Review of the evidence: Pesticides could poison our children’s brains
In October 2008, Dr. Philippe Grandjean of the Harvard School of Public
Health and the University of Southern Denmark co-published an extensive
review of the evidence that certain pesticides have a neurotoxic effect.
The paper, titled “Potential developmental neurotoxicity of pesticides
used in Europe” shows that pesticides can be toxic to the developing
brain. But brain toxicity is not routinely included in the tests for
approved pesticides. Dr. Grandjean, renowned researcher and authority on
the subject, urges the European Union to take these warnings seriously and
tighten restrictions on pesticides.
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/waste/story/0,,1943058,00.html
- toxic chemicals and damage to the brain
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=42278
- In Utero Exposure To Urban Air Pollutants Can Adversely Affect
Child Development
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2006552,00.html
- Study shows increase in mental disorders among children James Randerson,
science correspondent Tuesday February 6, 2007 The Guardian
Mental disorders in children are on the rise, according to a study of
nearly 700,000 young people.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W81-4KFTXY9-1&_user=10&_origUdi=B6TC0-4MWXPTD-1&_fmt=high&_coverDate=09%2F30%2F2006&_rdoc=1&_orig=article&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=6e3f190b2dfe0eb3699e98a4cffcfeae
- Hershey Medical Center Technical Workshop Report: Optimizing the design
and interpretation of epidemiologic studies for assessing
neurodevelopmental effects from in utero chemical exposure
http://www.greenpeace.to/publications/endocrine.pdf
- A precautionary approach to the regulation of endocrine disrupting
substances
Santillo, D., Belazzi, T., & Johnston, P. (1999). A precautionary
approach to the regulation of endocrine disrupting substances. Proceedings
of Endocrine Disrupters - How to Address the Challenge Joint Conference of
the European Commission, DG XI and the Austrian Presidency, Federal
Ministry of Environment Youth and Family Affairs, Vienna, 18-19 November
1998. Publ. Federal Ministry of Environment, Youth and Family Affairs,
Vienna, Band 21/1999, ISBN 3-901 010-14-2: pp. 105-122 (invited paper).
http://www.greenpeace.to/publications/8430732c2b7b[1].pdf
- Effect thresholds and 'adequate control' of risks: The fatal flaws in
the EU Council's position on Authorisation within REACH
Santillo, D. & Johnston, P. (2006)Effect thresholds and 'adequate
control' of risks: The fatal flaws in the EU Council's position on
Authorisation within REACH.Environmental Science and Pollution Research
(Online First), September 14th2006: 7 pp.
http://www.greenpeace.to/publications/mixed-dioxins-furans-background-2009.pdf
- Mixed halogenated dioxins and furans: a technical background document
Brigden, K. & Labunska, I. (2009) Mixed halogenated dioxins and
furans: a technical background document. Greenpeace Research Laboratories
Technical Note 03/2009, 7 pp.
http://www.greenpeace.to/publications/Bhopal
Legacy.pdf
http://www.greenpeace.to/publications/popsbutter.pdf
http://www.greenpeace.to/publications/recipe.pdf
http://www.greenpeace.to/publications/dioxin
2001.pdf
http://www.greenpeace.to/publications/es0002464.pdf
http://www.greenpeace.to/publications/fragile-our-reproductive-heal.pdf
INCINERATION
(YOU MAY HAVE TO COPY AND PASTE SOME OF THESE LINKS)
http://www.no-burn.org/downloads/Incinerator_Pollution_landfill_in_the_sky.pdf
GAIA_When_EU_Waste_the_Climate.pdf: Turn the EU away
from more incineration.pdf
http://www.no-burn.org/downloads/Incinerators
Trash Community Health.pdf
http://www.no-burn.org/downloads/Threats
to health and recycling: Why EU legislation must not favour
incineration.pdf
Non-Combustion Technologies for the Destruction of PCBs and Other POPs
Wastes: Civil Society, International Conventions and Technological Choices
Pat Costner Senior Science Advisor Greenpeace International 9 June 2004
OTHER RESEARCH
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/prebirth-lead-exposure-affects-childs-genes-disease/
- as an illustration of how the science of toxicology is ongoing
(something that the politicians and media fail to acknowledge), this
latest research on the effects of lead on DNA should prove useful
OTHER AUTO IMMUNE DISORDERS
http://www.scotsman.com/latestnews/-Scotland-39in-grip-of.5147200.jp#3916977
- Scotland 'in grip of diabetes epidemic'
Published Date: 07 April 2009
comments 102 and 104 Autism Rights
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/30/3/622
- Association Between Serum Concentrations of Persistent Organic
Pollutants
and Insulin Resistance Among Nondiabetic Adults
Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2002
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/newscience/2007/2007-0405pauletal.html
- article on links between arsenic and diabetes - also excellent links to
research linking other environmental toxins to diabetes epidemic.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T3G-4VT14KP-7&_user=10&_origUdi=B6TC0-4MWXPTD-1&_fmt=high&_coverDate=03%2F09%2F2009&_rdoc=1&_orig=article&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=4bcaee788b12c8ebba75e69e4337827b
- Role of nutrition and environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals
during the perinatal period on the aetiology of obesity
http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/15/2/109
- literature review suggest dioxin and arsenic may play a part in the
diabetes epidemic
WIDER ECOLOGY
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/271032/pollution_may_affect_pollination_study_suggests.htm
- Pollution may affect pollination, study suggests
Ecologist 19th June, 2009
WHO
The World Health Organisation is concerned about the particular effects on
children's health of pollution
06-07-2009 18:01
'Protect Children From Environmental Health Risks'
Maria Neira
WHO Director
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
All countries around the globe should exert greater efforts to eliminate
environmental risks threatening the health of children, a senior World
Health Organization (WHO) official said.
To prevent childhood diseases through a healthy environment, countries
need to use the tools and mechanisms already available, translate research
and knowledge into protective policies, and commit themselves to strong
political actions, said Dr. Maria Neira, the director for the department
of public health and the environment at WHO.
In a written interview with The Korea Times prior to her visit to Korea to
attend the 3rd WHO International Conference on Children's Health and the
Environment, Neira stressed the close co-relations between the environment
and human health.
``As much as 24 percent of global disease and 85 out of 102 main diseases
reported by WHO are associated with environmental exposure,'' she said.
``Unsafe water, polluted air, toxic chemicals and other environmental
factors contribute to diseases in children. Reducing these environmental
risks could save us as many as four million lives a year, mostly in
developing countries,'' she said.
Many believe that people are only vulnerable to environment-related
diseases in the underdeveloped world but various types of these are also
seen in industrialized countries.
Noting that children are among the most vulnerable to the effects of
environmental deterioration, she said the health of many children is at
risk.
``Major afflictions confronting children now are chronic and disabling
conditions: the `new paediatric morbidity','' she said. ``It is reported
that asthma mortality has sharply increased, as have the incidences of
leukemia and brain cancer; neurodevelopmental dysfunction is widespread;
and hypospadias incidence has doubled.
``Furthermore, we are concerned about `new chemicals' present in household
products, cosmetics and toys, about the impact of some new technologies.''
After many rounds of meetings with representatives and experts from around
the world, there is agreement that children should have the right to be
born, to grow, to live and to thrive in an environment with clean air and
water as well as safe food and minimal exposure to harmful chemicals.
Neira also noted that WHO is concerned that some of the most staple needs
for human life such as drinking water, food and air may be threatened in a
rapidly changing environment.
She said, it will be the most vulnerable people affected by poverty, who
live in areas where natural and financial resources are scarce, who will
suffer the most. WHO is now helping such countries introduce
evidence-based protective policies to protect children from new risk
factors in a rapidly changing environment.
The director has high expectations for the conference that is to be held
in Busan from Monday to Wednesday. ``It will enable us to work out why
existing global effort have not progressed more rapidly, and more
importantly, what needs to be done, both in developing and industrialized
countries,'' she said.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
ALSO, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS ATTEMPTS TO BRIDGE GAP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND
JOURNALISM
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/Members/2009-press-release
STOCKHOLM CONVENTION
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
http://chm.pops.int/Convention/tabid/54/language/en-US/Default.aspx
About the convention
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is a global
treaty to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that
remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely
distributed geographically and accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans
and wildlife. Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) can lead
serious health effects including certain cancers, birth defects,
dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater susceptibility to
disease and even diminished intelligence. Given their long range
transport, no one governing acting alone can protect is citizens or its
environment from POPs. In response, the Stockholm Convention, which was
adopted in 2001 and entered into force 2004, requires Parties to take
measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment.
The Convention is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme
and based in Geneva, Switzerland.
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