ammunition for comments: NJ: State files 120 suits in pollution cleanups

[Guest guest]

Five citations follow the article's url and can be mentioned as a person

writes to NJ paper online.The article and its comments provide opportunity

to increase concern for policies regarding toxic molecules and effects of

intra-body toxins. The paper's registration procedure is shorter than that

of most newspapers - ie, virtually painless and relatively quick.

- - - -

My comment as posted on news url

" The fact that NJ's rate of autism is the highest in the nation may

well be correlated with NJ's high level of environmental pollutants. Each

person has so many intra-body toxins that at best, single-toxin studies

will find only soft associations with autism and other

autism-spectrum disorders. New scientific models are needed,

experimental designs wherein physiological effects of myriad " low

dose " toxins are studied. "

- - - -

For a complete list of the lawsuits, visit

http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases07/NRD-lawsuits-07/

- - - -

*State files 120 suits in pollution cleanups*

By BRANDON LAUSCH and KAREN LANGLEY

Staff Writers

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070709/NEWS/707090303

-------------------------------------

...............Five Citations.........

_____________________________________

1: Lancet. 2006 Dec 16;368(9553):2167-78.

Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals.

Grandjean P, Landrigan PJ.

Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense,

Denmark. pgrand@...

Neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, attention deficit

disorder, mental retardation, and cerebral palsy are common, costly, and

can cause lifelong disability. Their causes are mostly unknown. A few

industrial chemicals (eg, lead, methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls

[PCBs], arsenic, and toluene) are recognised causes of

neurodevelopmental disorders and subclinical brain dysfunction.

Exposure to these chemicals during early fetal development can cause brain

injury at doses much lower than those affecting adult brain

function. Recognition of these risks has led to evidence-based

programmes of prevention, such as elimination of lead additives in petrol.

Although these prevention campaigns are highly successful, most were

initiated only after substantial delays. Another 200

chemicals are known to cause clinical neurotoxic effects in adults.

Despite an absence of systematic testing, many additional chemicals have

been shown to be neurotoxic in laboratory models. The toxic

effects of such chemicals in the developing human brain are not known and

they are not regulated to protect children. The two main

impediments to prevention of neurodevelopmental deficits of chemical

origin are the great gaps in testing chemicals for developmental

neurotoxicity and the high level of proof required for regulation. New,

precautionary approaches that recognise the unique vulnerability of the

developing brain are needed for testing and control of

chemicals.

Publication Types:

* Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

* Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

* Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

* Review

PMID: 17174709 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

2: J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev. 2006 Nov-Dec;9(6):485-99.

Evidence of toxicity, oxidative stress, and neuronal insult in autism.

Kern JK, AM.

Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75390-9119, USA. janet.kern@...

According to the Autism Society of America, autism is now considered

to be an epidemic. The increase in the rate of autism revealed by

epidemiological studies and government reports implicates the

importance of external or environmental factors that may be changing. This

article discusses the evidence for the case that some children with autism

may become autistic from neuronal cell death or brain

damage sometime after birth as result of insult; and addresses the

hypotheses that toxicity and oxidative stress may be a cause of

neuronal insult in autism. The article first describes the Purkinje cell

loss found in autism, Purkinje cell physiology and vulnerability, and the

evidence for postnatal cell loss. Second, the article

describes the increased brain volume in autism and how it may be

related to the Purkinje cell loss. Third, the evidence for toxicity and

oxidative stress is covered and the possible involvement of

glutathione is discussed. Finally, the article discusses what may be

happening over the course of development and the multiple factors that may

interplay and make these children more vulnerable to toxicity, oxidative

stress, and neuronal insult.

Publication Types: * Review PMID: 17090484

3. [Article summarizes mechanisms and presents prior cites finding

increased oxidative stress in autism]

McGinnis WR.

Oxidative stress in autism.

Altern Ther Health Med. 2005 Jan-Feb;11(1):19.

PMID: 15712760

4: Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Sep;114(9):1438-44.

Autism spectrum disorders in relation to distribution of hazardous air

pollutants in the san francisco bay area.

Windham GC, Zhang L, Gunier R, Croen LA, Grether JK.

Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control, California

Department of Health Services, Richmond, California, USA.

gwindham@...

OBJECTIVE: To explore possible associations between autism spectrum

disorders (ASD) and environmental exposures, we linked the California

autism surveillance system to estimated hazardous air pollutant (HAP)

concentrations compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

METHODS: Subjects included 284 children with ASD and 657 controls,

born in 1994 in the San Francisco Bay area. We assigned exposure level

by census tract of birth residence for 19 chemicals we identified as

potential neurotoxicants, developmental toxicants, and/or endocrine

disruptors from the 1996 HAPs database. Because concentrations of many

of these were highly correlated, we combined the chemicals into

mechanistic and structural groups, calculating summary index scores.

We calculated ASD risk in the upper quartiles of these group scores or

individual chemical concentrations compared with below the median,

adjusting for demographic factors. RESULTS: The adjusted odds ratios

(AORs) were elevated by 50% in the top quartile of chlorinated

solvents and heavy metals [95% confidence intervals (CIs) , 1.1-2.1],

but not for aromatic solvents. Adjusting for these three groups

simultaneously led to decreased risks for the solvents and increased

risk for metals (AORs for metals: fourth quartile = 1.7 ; 95% CI,

1.0-3.0 ; third quartile = 1.95 ; 95% CI, 1.2-3.1) . The individual

compounds that contributed most to these associations included

mercury, cadmium, nickel, trichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest a potential association between

autism and estimated metal concentrations, and possibly solvents, in

ambient air around the birth residence, requiring confirmation and

more refined exposure assessment in future studies.

Publication Types: * Comparative Study

PMID: 16966102 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

5. Health Place. 2006 Jun;12(2):203-9.

Environmental mercury release, special education rates, and autism

disorder: an ecological study of Texas.

Palmer RF, Blanchard S, Stein Z, Mandell D, C.

University of Texas Health Science Center, San Department of

Family and Community Medicine, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San , Texas

78229-3900, USA. palmer@...

The association between environmentally released mercury, special

education and autism rates in Texas was investigated using data from the

Texas Education Department and the United States Environmental Protection

Agency. A Poisson regression analysis adjusted for school district

population size, economic and demographic factors was used. There was a

significant increase in the rates of special education students and autism

rates associated with increases in environmentally released mercury. On

average, for each 1,000 lb of environmentally released mercury, there was

a 43% increase in the rate of special education services and a 61%

increase in the rate of autism. The association between environmentally

released mercury and special education rates were fully mediated by

increased autism rates. This ecological study suggests the need for

further research regarding the association between environmentally

released mercury and developmental disorders such as autism. These results

have implications for policy planning and cost analysis.

PMID: 16338635