EDC Science Weekly: Nov. 20 – 26, 2019 – HEEDS

EDC Science Weekly: Nov. 20 – 26, 2019

Post author:HEEDS
Post published:November 26, 2019
Post category:EDC Science Weekly

A summary of articles on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) added to PubMed this week.

Contents: Regulations/Policy, Methods/Screening, Reviews, Human Health Studies, Laboratory Studies, Exposure/Environment Studies

Regulations/Policy

Rethinking Aid Allocation: Analysis of Official Development Spending on Modern Pollution Reduction.

Toxic Site Identification Program in Azerbaijan.

Methods/Screening

Solving the jigsaw of conflict-related environmental damage: Utilizing open-source analysis to improve research into environmental health risks.

Reviews

Commentaries

Air pollution and chronic airway disease: is the evidence always clear?

Causes of cancer: Perceptions vs. the scientific evidence.

A Plasticene Lexicon.

Miscellaneous

Nuclear receptors are important targets of environmental disrupting compounds.

Thyroid disrupting chemicals and developmental neurotoxicity – New tools and approaches to evaluate hormone action.

Genomic Tools for Environmental Epigenetics and Implications for Public Health. [includes lead]

Courtship vocalizations: A potential biomarker of adult exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds?

Advances in the application, toxicity and degradation of carbon nanomaterials in environment: A review.

BPA/Phenols

A review on sources and health impacts of bisphenol A.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

The Impact of Early-Life Exposure to Antimicrobials on Asthma and Eczema Risk in Children.

Antimicrobials and Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment and Its Remediation: A Global One Health Perspective.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

A Review on Hexachloro-1,3-butadiene (HCBD): Sources, Occurrence, Toxicity and Transformation.

Flame Retardants

Organophosphate Esters: Are These Flame Retardants and Plasticizers Affecting Children’s Health?

Absence of neurotoxicity and lack of neurobehavioral consequences due to exposure to tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) exposure in humans, animals and zebrafish.

Arsenic/Metals

Early-Life Arsenic Exposure, Nutritional Status, and Adult Diabetes Risk.

Rice Intake and Emerging Concerns on Arsenic in Rice: a Review of the Human Evidence and Methodologic Challenges.

Arsenic-induced neurotoxicity: a mechanistic appraisal.

Heavy metal toxicity and the aetiology of glaucoma.

Arsenic exposure: A public health problem leading to several cancers.

The Role of Xenobiotics and Trace Metals in Parkinson’s Disease.

Microplastics

Toxicological considerations of nano-sized plastics.

What is known and unknown about the effects of plastic pollution: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

Mini-review of microplastics in the atmosphere and their risks to humans.

Pharmaceuticals

Risks of caffeine residues in the environment: Necessity for a targeted ecopharmacovigilance program.

A critical review on antibiotics and hormones in swine wastewater: Water pollution problems and control approaches.

Human Health Studies

BPA/Phenols

The relationship of obesity with lifestyle and dietary exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. [BPA and phytoestrogens]

Phthalates

Association between phthalate exposure and blood pressure during pregnancy.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Longitudinal association of biomarkers of pesticide exposure with cardiovascular disease risk factors in youth with diabetes. [half the pesticides were POPs; includes both type 1 and type 2 diabetes]

Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Their Relationship to Hepatic Fat and Insulin Insensitivity among Asian Indian Immigrants in the United States.

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers, Polybrominated Biphenyls, and Risk of Papillary Thyroid Cancer: A Nested Case-Control Study.

Association between mixture of persistent organic pollutants and thyroid pathologies in a Belgian population. [BFRs, PCBs, OCPs, PFAS, etc]

Perfluoroalkyl Substances

Perfluoroalkyl substances and severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver in Children: An untargeted metabolomics approach.

Simultaneous determination of perfluoroalkyl substances and bile acids in human serum using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Inflammatory bowel disease and biomarkers of gut inflammation and permeability in a community with high exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances through drinking water.

Flame Retardants

Functional connectivity of the reading network is associated with prenatal polybrominated diphenyl ether concentrations in a community sample of 5 year-old children: A preliminary study.

Pesticides

Multimorbidity and complex multimorbidity in Brazilian rural workers.

Arsenic/Metals

Transcriptome-wide analysis of changes in the fetal placenta associated with prenatal arsenic exposure in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study.

Exposure to arsenic during pregnancy and newborn mitochondrial DNA copy number: A birth cohort study in Wuhan, China.

Elevated blood mercury level has a non-linear association with infertility in U.S. women: data from the NHANES 2013-2016.

Air Pollution

Burden of Cause-Specific Mortality Associated With PM2.5 Air Pollution in the United States.

Air pollution and mortality in a large, representative U.S. cohort: multiple-pollutant analyses, and spatial and temporal decompositions.

Particulate matter and episodic memory decline mediated by early neuroanatomic biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease.

Maternal exposure to PM2.5 may increase the risk of congenital hypothyroidism in the offspring: a national database based study in China.

Particulate air pollution exposure during pregnancy and postpartum depression symptoms in women in Mexico City.

Long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution and the risk of development of rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Survival After Ischemic Stroke.

Prenatal and early life exposure to indoor air-polluting factors and allergic sensitization at 2 years of age.

The Relationship Between Ambient Atmospheric Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and Glaucoma in a Large Community Cohort.

Independent effect of main components in particulate matter on DNA methylation and DNA methyltransferase: A molecular epidemiology study.

Mortality and hospitalization associated to emissions of a coal power plant: A population-based cohort study.

A case-crossover analysis of the relationship of air pollution with out-of-hospital sudden unexpected death in Wake County, North Carolina (2013-2015).

Miscellaneous

Living near an active U.S. military base in Iraq is associated with significantly higher hair thorium and increased likelihood of congenital anomalies in infants and children.

Laboratory Studies

BPA/Phenols

Fetal Bisphenol A and Ethinylestradiol Exposure Alters Male Rat Urogenital Tract Morphology at Birth: Confirmation of Prior Low-Dose Findings in CLARITY-BPA.

Hepatoprotective effects of curcumin and taurine against bisphenol A-induced liver injury in rats.

Bisphenol compounds regulate decidualized stromal cells in modulating trophoblastic spheroid outgrowth and invasion in vitro.

High-content image-based single cell phenotypic analysis for the testicular toxicity prediction induced by bisphenol A and its analogs bisphenol S, bisphenol AF, and tetrabromobisphenol A in a three-dimensional testicular cell co-culture model.

Evaluation of curcuma and ginger mixture ability to prevent ROS production induced by bisphenol S: an in vitro study.

Leydig cell tumorigenesis – implication of G-protein coupled membrane estrogen receptor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor and xenoestrogen exposure. In vivo and in vitro appraisal.

Ginger extract ameliorates bisphenol A (BPA)-induced disruption in thyroid hormones synthesis and metabolism: Involvement of Nrf-2/HO-1 pathway.

Impact of perinatal bisphenol A and 17β estradiol exposure: Comparing hormone receptor response.

The effects of caffeine and bisphenol A singularly or in combination on cultured mouse embryos and yolk sac placenta.

Phthalates

Monobutyl phthalate (MBP) can dysregulate the antioxidant system and induce apoptosis of zebrafish liver.

Effects of diisopentyl phthalate (DiPeP) exposure during gestation and lactation on hormone-dependent behaviors and hormone receptor expression in rats.

Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Hormesis-induced gap between the guidelines and reality in ecological risk assessment. [triclosan]

Triclocarban exposure exaggerates colitis and colon tumorigenesis: roles of gut microbiota involved.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs, Organotins

Adipocyte epigenetic alterations and potential therapeutic targets in transgenerationally inherited lean and obese phenotypes following ancestral exposures. [DDT, atrazine]

Tributyltin disrupts fin development in Fundulus heteroclitus from both PCB-sensitive and resistant populations: Investigations of potential interactions between AHR and PPARγ.

Long-term triphenyltin exposure disrupts adrenal function in adult male rats.

Protective effect of Pedro-Ximénez must against p,p´-DDE-induced liver damages in aged Mus spretus mice.

Perfluoroalkyl Substances

Dietary Uptake and Depuration Kinetics of PFOS, PFOA and GenX in a Benthic Fish.

Omics approach reveals perturbation of metabolism and phenotype in Caenorhabditis elegans triggered by perfluorinated compounds.

Multigenerational effects of perfluorooctanoic acid on lipid metabolism of Caenorhabditis elegans and its potential mechanism.

Translational toxicology of sex specific PFNA clearance in rat and human.

Flame Retardants

Triphenyl Phosphate at Environmental Levels Retarded Ovary Development and Reduced Egg Production in Japanese Medaka (Oryzias latipes).

Trans-generational effect of neurotoxicity and related stress response in Caenorhabditis elegans exposed to tetrabromobisphenol A.

Experimental Study of OH-Initiated Heterogeneous Oxidation of Organophosphate Flame Retardants: Kinetics, Mechanism, and Toxicity.

Pesticides

Determination of maternal and foetal distribution of cis- and trans-permethrin isomers and their metabolites in pregnant rats by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Glyphosate affects methylation in the promoter regions of selected tumor suppressors as well as expression of major cell cycle and apoptosis drivers in PBMCs (in vitro study).

The effect of a glyphosate-based herbicide on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, oxidative stress, and antioxidant status in freshwater amphipod: Gammarus pulex (Crustacean).

Comparing the acute toxicity of imidacloprid to alternative systemic insecticides in the aquatic insect, Chironomus dilutus.

Evaluation of the genotoxic potential of cypermethrin, chlorpyrifos and their subsequent mixture, on cultured bovine lymphocytes.

Increase in water temperature increases acute toxicity of sumithion causing nuclear and cellular abnormalities in peripheral erythrocytes of zebrafish Danio rerio.

Transgenerational effects from single larval exposure to azadirachtin on life history and behavior traits of Drosophila melanogaster.

Exposure to etoxazole induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in porcine trophectoderm and uterine luminal epithelial cells.

Effect of triadimefon and its metabolite on adult amphibians Xenopus laevis.

Comparative Toxicity of Two Different Dimethoate Formulations in the Common Toad (Rhinella arenarum) Tadpoles.

Time-Course Changes in Urine Metabolic Profiles of Rats Following 90-Day Exposure to Propoxur.

Therapeutic potential of Origanum vulgare leaf hydroethanolic extract against renal oxidative stress and nephrotoxicity induced by paraquat in rats.

The progressive alteration of urine metabolomic profiles of rats following long-term and low-dose exposure to permethrin.

Combined treatment of melatonin and sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate reduced the neurological and cardiovascular toxicity induced by deltamethrin in zebrafish.

Mutagenicity, genotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by pesticide industry wastewater using bacterial and plant bioassays.

Thyroxine modulation of immune toxicity induced by mixture pesticides mancozeb and fipronil in mice.

Glyphosate-based herbicide induces hyperplastic ducts in the mammary gland of aging Wistar rats.

Arsenic/Metals

Further verification of some postulates of the combined toxicity theory: New animal experimental data on separate and joint adverse effects of lead and cadmium.

Long-term Mercury Exposure Accelerates the Development of Hypertension in Prehypertensive Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Inducing Endothelial Dysfunction: the Role of Oxidative Stress and Cyclooxygenase-2.

Influence of Iron on Cytotoxicity and Gene Expression Profiles Induced by Arsenic in HepG2 Cells.

Alleviating Effect of α-Lipoic Acid and Magnesium on Cadmium-Induced Inflammatory Processes, Oxidative Stress and Bone Metabolism Disorders in Wistar Rats.

Comparative study on the effects of salinomycin, monensin and meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid on the concentrations of lead, calcium, copper, iron and zinc in lungs and heart in lead-exposed mice.

Ameliorating potency of Chenopodium album Linn. and vitamin C against mercuric chloride-induced oxidative stress in testes of Sprague Dawley rats.

Malus micromalus Makino phenolic extract preserves hepatorenal function by regulating PKC-α signaling pathway and attenuating endoplasmic reticulum stress in lead (II) exposure mice.

Mercury Accumulation and Effects in the Brain of the Atlantic Sharpnose Shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae).

Microplastics

Release of hazardous nanoplastic contaminants due to microplastics fragmentation under shear stress forces.

Low level of polystyrene microplastics decreases early developmental toxicity of phenanthrene on marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma).

Microplastic fibers transfer from the water to the internal fluid of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

The structure of agricultural microplastics (PT, PU and UF) and their sorption capacities for PAHs and PHE derivates under various salinity and oxidation treatments.

The response of soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans on the sewage sludge-derived micropollutants.

Internalization and toxicity: A preliminary study of effects of nanoplastic particles on human lung epithelial cell.

Air Pollution

Air pollution-derived particulate matter dysregulates hepatic Krebs cycle, glucose and lipid metabolism in mice.

Pharmaceuticals

Environmental risk assessment of widely used anticancer drugs (5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, etoposide, imatinib mesylate).

Life-long impairment of glucose homeostasis upon prenatal exposure to psychostimulants.

Effects of short-term exposure of paracetamol in the gonads of blue mussels Mytilus edulis.

Persistent and transgenerational effects of risperidone in zebrafish.

Early exposure to environmental levels of sulfamethoxazole triggers immune and inflammatory response of healthy zebrafish larvae.

Effect of low-dose, repeated exposure of contaminants of emerging concern on plant development and hormone homeostasis. [various pharmaceuticals]

Disruption of male mating strategies in a chemically compromised environment. [a veterinary pharmaceutical]

Mixtures

Transcription pattern of reproduction relevant genes along the Brain-Pituitary-Gonad axis of female, male and intersex thicklip grey mullets, Chelon labrosus, from a polluted harbor.

Ferulago angulata Extract Ameliorates Epididymal Sperm Toxicity in Mice Induced by Lead and Diazinon.

Combined effect of polystyrene microplastics and dibutyl phthalate on the microalgae Chlorella pyrenoidosa.

Oral Co-Exposures to zinc oxide nanoparticles and CdCl2 induced maternal-fetal pollutant transfer and embryotoxicity by damaging placental barriers.

Miscellaneous

Neurotoxicity of Mn3O4 nanoparticles: Apoptosis and dopaminergic neurons damage pathway.

Disposition and metabolism of N-butylbenzenesulfonamide in Sprague Dawley rats and B6C3F1/N mice and in vitro in hepatocytes from rats, mice, and humans.

Global Transcriptional Analysis of Nontransformed Human Intestinal Epithelial Cells (FHs 74 Int) after Exposure to Selected Drinking Water Disinfection By-Products.

Exposure/Environment Studies

BPA/Phenols

Concentrations of nine bisphenol analogues in food purchased from Catalonia (Spain): Comparison of canned and non-canned foodstuffs.

The occurrence and risk assessment of phenolic endocrine-disrupting chemicals in Egypt’s drinking and source water.

Phthalates

Phthalates in preschool children’s clothing manufactured in seven Asian countries: Occurrence, profiles and potential health risks.

Concentration of phthalate esters in indoor and outdoor dust in Kocaeli, Turkey: implications for human exposure and risk.

PAES and PAHs in the surface sediments of the East China Sea: Occurrence, distribution and influence factors.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Spatial variability of ecosystem exposure to home and personal care chemicals in Asia.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Organochlorine pesticides (HCH and DDT) in blubber of spotted seals (Phoca largha) from the western Sea of Japan.

Baseline data for distribution of contaminants by natural disasters: results from a residential Houston neighborhood during Hurricane Harvey flooding. [PAHs, PBDEs, PCBs, metals]

Atmospheric deposition of polychlorinated biphenyls to seasonal surface snow at four glacier sites on Svalbard, 2013-2014.

Polychlorinated biphenyls in the soil-crop-atmosphere system in e-waste dismantling areas in Taizhou: Concentrations, congener profiles, uptake, and translocation.

Unusual tin organics, DDX and PAHs as specific pollutants from dockyard work in an industrialized port area in China.

Uptake and incorporation of PCBs by eastern Mediterranean rabbitfish that consumed microplastics.

Perfluoroalkyl Substances

Size-fractionated particle-bound heavy metals and perfluoroalkyl substances in dust from different indoor air.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in beaked redfish (Sebastes mentella) and cod (Gadus morhua) from arctic fishing grounds of Svalbard.

Occurrence and distribution of perfluoroalkyl substances in surface riverine and coastal sediments from the Beibu Gulf, south China.

Flame Retardants

Organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers in a Chinese population: Significance of hydroxylated metabolites and implication for human exposure.

Pesticides

Chronic health risk comparison between China and Denmark on dietary exposure to chlorpyrifos.

Urinary Dialkylphosphate Metabolite Levels in US Adults-National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2008.

Effects of Organic and Conventional Growing Systems on the Phenolic Profile of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.

Labels of insecticides that could be exposed to Oregon honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) hives do not align with federal recommendations in their communication of acute and residual toxicity to honey bees.

Health risk assessment of neonicotinoid insecticides residue in pistachio using QuEChERS- Based method combined with HPLC-UV.

Pesticides (Hexachlorocyclohexane, Aldrin, and Malathion) Residues in Home-Grown Eggs: Prevalence, Distribution, and Effect of Storage and Heat Treatments.

Contribution of soluble and particulate-matter fractions to the total glyphosate and AMPA load in water bodies associated with horticulture.

History and sources of co-occurring pesticides in an abstraction well unravelled by age distributions of depth specific groundwater samples.

Arsenic/Metals

Pre-school child blood lead levels in a population-derived Australian birth cohort: the Barwon Infant Study.

Blood lead in children and associations with trace elements and sociodemographic factors.

Blood lead levels in children in urban and rural areas: Using multilevel modeling to investigate impacts of gender, race, poverty, and the environment.

Does the addition of ingredients affect mercury and cadmium bioaccessibility in seafood-based meals?

Levels and human health risk assessments of heavy metals in fish tissue obtained from the agricultural heritage rice-fish-farming system in China.

Probabilistic human health risk assessment of arsenic under uncertainty in drinking water sources in Jiangsu Province, China.

Characteristics of heavy metal concentrations and risk assessment for giant pandas and their habitat in the Qinling Mountains, China.

Simultaneous Health Risk Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements in Soils and Sediments of the Guishui River Basin, Beijing.

Evaluation of arsenic field test kits for drinking water: Recommendations for improvement and implications for arsenic affected regions such as Bangladesh

Distribution of arsenic, silver, cadmium, lead and other trace elements in water, sediment and macrophytes in the Kenyan part of Lake Victoria: spatial, temporal and bioindicative aspects.

Health risk assessment and source apportionment for heavy metals in a southern Chinese reservoir impacted by stone mining activities.

Daily exposure to toxic metals through urban road dust from industrial, commercial, heavy traffic, and residential areas in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: a health risk assessment.

River toxicity assessment using molecular biosensors: Heavy metal contamination in the Turag-Balu-Buriganga river systems, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Concentration of Mercury in the Livers of Small Terrestrial Rodents from Rural Areas in Poland.

Potential Ecological Risk and Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in Industrial Affected Soils by Coal Mining and Metallurgy in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Assessment of ecotoxicological risks to river otters from ingestion of invasive red swamp crayfish in metal contaminated areas: Use of feces to estimate dietary exposure.

Mercury and selenium concentrations, and selenium:mercury molar ratios in small cetaceans taken off St. Vincent, West Indies.

Assessment of human health risk based on characteristics of potential toxic elements (PTEs) contents in foods sold in Beijing, China.

Contemporary blood lead levels of children aged 0-84 months in China: A national cross-sectional study.

Thallium contamination, health risk assessment and source apportionment in common vegetables.

Arsenic, lead and cadmium concentrations in caudal crests of the yacare caiman (Caiman yacare) from Brazilian Pantanal.

Lead seasonality in humans, animals, and the natural environment. [review]

Heavy Metal Levels and Mineral Nutrient Status in Different Parts of Various Medicinal Plants Collected from Eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey.

Heavy Metals in Muscle Tissue of Pterois volitans from the Veracruz Reef System National Park, Mexico.

Systematic review and meta-analyses of lead (Pb) concentrations in environmental media (soil, dust, water, food, and air) reported in the United States from 1996 to 2016.

Selenium intake from tuna in Galicia (Spain): Health risk assessment and protective role against exposure to mercury and inorganic arsenic.

Toxicity and Organ Distribution of Mercury in Freshwater Fish (Oreochromis niloticus) after Exposure to Water Contaminated Mercury (HgII).

Lead in terrestrial game birds from Spain.

Bioaccumulation and health risk assessment of heavy metals to bivalve species in Daya Bay (South China Sea): Consumption advisory.

Microplastics

Characteristics and distribution of microplastics in the coastal mangrove sediments of China.

Laundering and textile parameters influence fibers release in household washings. [did you know that chemicals can bind to any textile fibers?]

Evaluation of microplastics in beach sediments along the coast of Dubai, UAE.

Interrelationship of microplastic pollution in sediments and oysters in a seaport environment of the eastern coast of Australia.

Occurrence and concentrations of chemical additives in plastic fragments on a beach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

Adsorption behavior of organic pollutants and metals on micro/nanoplastics in the aquatic environment.

Characterization of microplastics and the association of heavy metals with microplastics in suburban soil of central China.

Plastic debris accumulation in the seabed derived from coastal fish farming.

Microplastics in house dust from 12 countries and associated human exposure.

Details of plastic ingestion and fibre contamination in North Sea fishes.

Air Pollution

Fine Particulate Air Pollution from Electricity Generation in the US: Health Impacts by Race, Income, and Geography.

Personal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) of pregnant women during three trimesters in rural Yunnan of China.

Anthropogenic and meteorological influences on PM10 metal/semi-metal concentrations: Implications for human health.

How Social Media Exposure to Health Information Influences Chinese People’s Health Protective Behavior during Air Pollution: A Theory of Planned Behavior Perspective.

Miscellaneous

Development of an integral strategy for non-target and target analysis of site-specific potential contaminants in surface water: A case study of Dianshan Lake, China. [pesticides, drugs, plastic additives, surfactants]

An In Vitro Comparison of Estrogenic Equivalents Per Serving Size of Some Common Foods.

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This list is not meant to be exhaustive, and generally does not include studies on detection, remediation, or treatment of EDCs. Note that journal publication dates may be different than dates added to PubMed. To see the searchable archives, please email me at Sarah@healthandenvironment.org and ask to join the group EDC_research@googlegroups.com. Archives are at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/edc_research. Compiled by Sarah Howard, Diabetes and Environment Program and HEEDS at Commonweal.

EHN EHN

Webinar: Fluoride, neurodevelopment, and cognition: a National Toxicology Program monograph
by Sarah Howard on November 19, 2024 at 5:00 pm
This Dec. 3 webinar features Dr. Kyla Taylor of NIEHS who will discuss the results of a National Toxicology Program monograph review that concluded there is "moderate confidence" in the scientific evidence that showed an association between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children.
Webinar: Behind the scenes at EPA: What's gone wrong and what does it mean for our work?
by Sarah Howard on November 19, 2024 at 3:56 pm
This Dec. 9 webinar, Behind the scenes at EPA: what's gone wrong and what does it mean for our work? is part 2 of a series on the future of EPA decision-making. Sponsored by the Collaborative for Health and Environment (CHE), Earthjustice, and UCSF's Earth Center.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: hazards and opportunities (ECHO) course
by Sarah Howard on October 31, 2024 at 2:50 pm
This course focuses on the chemical, biological, and societal challenges of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and new opportunities for moving forward. ECHO is a two-week intensive bootcamp-style career development course for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professionals in the field. It is held at Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

EHN EHN

“We have enough evidence” to act on toxic plastic exposure now
by Katherine McMahon,Sarah Howard on November 22, 2024 at 3:31 pm
In a recent commentary published in The Lancet, Dr. Leonardo Trasande of NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine emphasizes the need to address the well-established health harms from exposure to chemical additives used in plastics. “Only through a serious and concerted effort to turn off the plastic tap will we apply the lessons learned from plastic use… and avoid the invisible chemicals used in plastic materials from becoming visible in the form of a larger global pandemic of chronic disease.”
Kids who adopt a gluten-free diet have increased arsenic levels
by Katherine McMahon,Sarah Howard on November 20, 2024 at 1:32 pm
A recent study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology found that children who adopted a gluten-free (GF) diet after being diagnosed with celiac disease had significantly increased arsenic exposure after only six months. “More research needs to be done to determine whether there are long-term effects of this bump, but overall, I think it speaks to the importance of diversifying the grains in the gluten-free diet.”
NIEHS publishes new strategic plan
by Sarah Howard on November 19, 2024 at 6:03 pm
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) published a 2025-2029 strategic plan, "Health at the Intersection of People and Their Environments."

EHN EHN

Trump’s second term could mean fewer protections for drinking water
by EHN Curators on November 21, 2024 at 12:30 pm
Donald Trump’s plans for the Environmental Protection Agency may include rolling back protections against PFAS and other drinking water threats, worrying public health advocates. Hiroko Tabuchi reports for The New York Times.
Kennedy’s fluoride policy faces obstacles
by EHN Curators on November 19, 2024 at 8:28 pm
President-elect Trump’s selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services won’t give him direct control over water fluoridation policies, though his influence could sway public and local debates. Miranda Willson reports for E&E News.
Scientists' Declaration for the Global Plastics Treaty
by Sarah Howard on November 19, 2024 at 5:54 pm
The signatories of this declaration are independent scientists with expertise on plastics, and who are free of conflicts of interest associated with the life cycle of plastics. Read it here and sign it here. Due Nov. 22, 2024.