Fw: OPPT-Newsbreak Monday, 24 May, 1999

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>

>OPPT NEWSBREAK Monday 24, May 1999

>

>

> Today's " Toxic News for the Net "

> Brought to you by the OPPTS Chemical Library

> http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/oppt_nb.txt

>

> NEWS

>

> " Disease Troubles China's Livestock Industry; U.S. Meat Exporters

>May Fill a Niche in Market. " Wall Street Journal, 24 May 99, A22,

>A27.

> An outbreak of contagious foot and mouth disease at Cangqiao

> Dairy Farm near Shanghai, China has lead to mass destruction

> of livestock and pigs in an effort to control the

> aphthovirus, which causes ulcers of the mouth, muzzle, teats

> and sometimes feet. The disease, which rarely affects

> humans, is expected to strain China's production and export

> of milk and meat. The U.S. expects to export more USDA-

> certified meat, newly accepted by China, as a result.

>

> " Smallpox Lives On [The U.N. Report]. " Washington Times, 24 May

>99, A14.

> The World Health Organization is expected to announce today

> that it will agree to delay the destruction of the last

> stocks of the smallpox virus until 2002.

>

> " Year-Old Spill Poisons Farms and Wild Food Chain. " New York

>Times, 24 Ma 99, A4.

> One year after hundreds of farms in Aznalcazar, Spain were

> flooded with more than a billion gallons of acid sludge from

> the bursting of a nearby zinc mine, cleanup slowly

> continues. Heavy metals still embedded in the soil and

> water continue their route through the food chain, entering

> at the contaminated Coto de Donana wildlife reserve, and

> spreading as far as Northern Europe and West Africa via

> migratory birds. Local farmers, unable to cultivate their

> land and less concerned about wildlife, do not want the

> government to expropriate portions of their farms to create

> a green belt, whereby plants would be used to absorb the

> left-over cadmium, lead and arsenic.

>

> " Nuclear Plants, Subs in Slow Meltdown. Kola Peninsula

>Desperately Seeks Funds to Repair Deteriorating Equipment. "

>Washington Times, 24 May 99, A13.

> Russian officials fear that widespread radiation pollution

> could occur if they do not receive aid to decommission the

> nuclear submarines that are deteriorating on the Kola

> Peninsula and for safety improvements at the Kola power

> plant. Russia has received some aid from Norway, Sweden,

> and Finland, as well as the United States, but the European

> Commission has rejected five applications for aid to the

> power plant. The EC has approved aid for four projects,

> including replacing safety valves, improving liquid

> radioactive waste treatment, and fixing the burners in the

> incineration plant. EC officials say they are having

> difficulty " finding suitable Western energy companies to

> work with the Russians. "

>

> " FDA Finalizes Rules For Sunscreen Goods, Bans Certain Words. "

>Wall Street Journal, 24 May 99, B2.

> On Friday, the FDA released its revised rules for all over-

> the-counter sunscreens, including sunscreen makeup. The new

> rules require all sunscreen products to carry a uniform

> label providing the product's sunscreen-protection-factor

> (SPF) strength and a product description free of misleading

> words like " sunblock " , " waterproof " , " all-day protection " ,

> and " visible and/or infrared protection " . Labels must also

> display a message informing consumers that " limiting

> exposure to the sun, wearing protective clothing and using

> sunscreen may cut the risks of skin aging, skin cancer and

> other harmful effects of the sun " . Sunscreen makers have 2

> years to comply. Makers of tanning products that do not act

> as a sunscreen have one year to comply with new FDA rules

> requiring that their labels inform consumers that their

> products do not provide protection against sunburn.

>

> " Merck's Vioxx Arthritis Drug Gets Approval. " Wall Street

>Journal, 24 May 99, B3.

> On Friday, the FDA approved Merck & Co.'s Vioxx arthritis

> medication which will compete with Monsanto Co. and Pfizer

> Inc.'s arthritis medicine Celebrex, also recently approved

> by the FDA. In addition to treating arthritis, Vioxx is

> approved for treating osteoarthritis and acute pain. Both

> drugs are the first to hit the market in a new class of

> drugs called cox-2 which treat symptoms without causing

> bleeding ulcers. Both drugs are effective taken once-a-day.

>

>

> EDITORIALS & COMMENTARY

>

> " Smallpox Could Still Be A Danger [Op-Ed]. " New York Times, 24

>May 99, A31.

> Ken Alibek, deputy director of the soviet biological warfare

> program until 1992 and currently chief scientist for Hadron

> inc., a Virginia research and development company, and

> Handelman, a journalist and co-author with Alibek of

> the book " Biohazard, " write about proposed plans to involve

> Russia in scientific research to develop defenses against

> the possible use of smallpox as a biological weapon. They

> urge that an internationally neutral laboratory, possibly in

> Switzerland under the sponsorship of the World Health

> Organization, be set up instead.

>

>

> GLOBAL WARMING

>

> " Mobil, Exxon Like Oil, Water On Air Pollution [Environment]. "

>Wall Street Journal, 24 May 99, B1, B9.

> Environmental groups are preparing to protest Exxon Corp.'s

> purchase of Mobil Corp., concerned that the merger will

> support global warming rather than lead to restrictions on

> green-house gas emissions, which Mobil had previously been

> working on with the EPA. While Exxon has not accepted the

> scientific theory that carbon-dioxide emissions are warming

> the planet, the company has reduced chemical emissions from

> several of its refineries and chemical plants and has also

> recently expanded its reforestation program, the goal of

> which is to plant more than 2 million carbon-dioxide-

> absorbing trees by 2000.

>

> " Warming and Wildlife Behavior [science Notebook]. " Washington

>Post, 24 May 99, A9.

> Two new studies suggest that birds are being affected by the

> apparent warming of the Earth's climate. D.

> and Jack J. Lennon of the University of Leeds in England

> found that many species of British birds have moved north by

> an average of about 12 miles: " `This general northward

> shift took place during a period of climatic warming, which

> we propose might be causally involved. " Their study appears

> in the May 20 issue of _Nature_ [which the OPPTS Chemical

> Library does not receive]. Jerram L. Brown and colleagues

> at the State University of New York at Albany report that

> Mexican jays in southeastern Arizona are nesting and laying

> eggs about 10 days earlier that they did in 1971: " `These

> changes were associated with significant trends toward

> increased monthly minimum temperatures on the study area,

> traits that are associated with the onset of breeding in

> this population. " Their study is published in the May 11

> issue of the _Proceedings of the National Academy of

> Sciences_ [which the OPPTS Chemical Library does not

> receive].

>

>

> BIOTECHNOLOGY

>

> " Stimulant Propels Diet Empire. Herbal Coalition Fight's FDA's

>Proposed Safety Regulation. " Washington Post, 24 May 99, A1,

>A10.

> This lengthy article describes the efforts of the Dietary

> Supplement Safety And Science Coalition to oppose the Food

> and Drug Administration's regulation of ephedrine, an

> alkaloid stimulant found in the ephedra plant, also known as

> the Chinese herb ma huang. Ephedrine can also be

> manufactured synthetically to be used in asthma medicines;

> in methamphetamine, an illegal stimulant; and in dietary

> supplements sold as energy boosters and diet aids.

> Hundreds of adverse reactions and at least 38 deaths

> associated with products containing ephedrine have been

> reported. This article focuses on the supplement Metabolife

> 356 and entrepreneur J. Ellis, who says his product

> is safe and effective. Sidebar: " Ephedrine: From a

> Chinese Herb, a Potent Stimulant. " Accompanying article:

> " Texas Concedes Battle, Settles for Warning on Ephedrine "

> reports that the Texas board of health approved regulations

> that require warning labels on products containing ephedrine

> but do not place limits on how much ephedrine a product can

> contain. The board abandoned its efforts to require

> prescriptions for the products due to intense lobbying by

> J. Ellis and other weight-loss entrepreneurs.

>

>

> FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT

>

> " Clinton Expands Family Leave Act for Federal Workers. "

>Washington Post, 24 May 99, A2. " Clinton Calls for Expanded Sick

>Leave. Urges Broader Use of Jobless Funds. " Washington Times,

>24 May 99, A1, A12.

> During his commencement address at Grambling State

> University, President Clinton announced that he will expand

> the Family and Medical Leave Act to allow federal workers to

> use up to 12 weeks of accrued sick leave a year to care for

> a seriously ill family member, and to allow parents of

> newborns or newly adopted children to stay home and draw

> unemployment benefits.

>

>

> LIVING IN THE INFORMATION AGE

>

> " Studies Link Increased Brain Tumor Risk With Use of Cell

>Phones. " Washington Times, 24 May 99, A13.

> Two studies to be featured in a documentary on " Panorona, "

> a British Broadcasting Corp. program, found that the use of

> cellular telephones could increase the risk of developing

> brain tumors. One study was conducted by Swedish cancer

> specialist Lennart Hardell and found that the risk of

> developing brain tumors was 2.5 times greater when phones

> are used. The other study was done in the United States and

> linked the use of cell phones to an increased risk of

> developing a rare form of brain tumor. The program is

> scheduled to air today.

>

>

> INTER ALIA

>

> " Foam Warning [Monday Morning]. " Washington Post Business, 24

>May 99, 3.

> Don't even think about interrupting one of your co-workers

> on a " `red-cube day.' " Partners at Ai, an architectural

> firm in Washington, D.C., have developed a set of three

> stackable foam shapes that workers can leave on their desks

> to help express the amount of privacy they need at any given

> time. A red square acts as the base, topped by a yellow

> ball, then a green triangle: " Leave all three on your desk

> and the message is: 'Green light; come on in and let's have

> a schmooze-fest.' Remove the green triangle, leaving the

> red block and the yellow ball, and you send the message:

> 'Approach with caution.' Put just the red block in a

> prominent spot in your cubicle to send the message

> " `Interrupt and die!' " One of the designers of the blocks

> said Ai recognized the lack of privacy inherent in its open

> floor plans when clients began " `using tape to block

> entrances to workstations.' " Protoblocs sell for about

> $14.95 a set and are being used by workers at America

> Online, the World Bank, and Freddie Mac.

>

>* All items, unless indicated otherwise, are available at the

>U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

>Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxics Substances (OPPTS)

>Chemical Library

>Northeast Mall, Room B606 (Mailcode 7407)

>Washington, D.C. 20460

>(202) 260-3944; FAX x4659;

>E-mail for comments: library-tsca@....

>(Due to copyright restrictions, the library cannot provide

>photocopies of articles.)

>

>*Viewpoints expressed in the above articles do not necessarily

>reflect EPA policy. Mention of products does not indicate

>endorsement.*

>

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