|
Environmental Health articles published in the NADD Bulletin:
-
Sunscreen, Nanoparticles, and Individuals with MI/ID
-
Individuals with MI/ID often require psychotropic medication to
control maladaptive symptomology (including aggression, property
destruction, self-injury, and pica) and to improve their adaptive
functioning. But several classes of psychotropics can increase an
individual’s risk for sunburn, including members of the
antipsychotic, antidepressant, and mood stabilizer families (RX List,
2008). Application of sunscreen can minimize an individual’s
risk for sunburn and skin cancer, but experts have expressed concern
over the use of nanoparticles in sunscreen (Amato, 2004; Burfeind,
2007; Consumer Reports, 2007a). Individuals with MI/ID may have an
impaired ability to communicate symptoms of developing sunburn;
caregivers who fail to protect their patients from sunburn could be
charged with medical neglect. This author is aware of an incident
involving a resident with MI/ID who was thought to have boarded the
bus to the day program, but who instead went and sat in a nearby
swing. This was unnoticed by the caregivers. The day program assumed
the individual stayed home. The error was not discovered until the
bus returned, six hours later. The resident had second degree burns
and was dehydrated; one caregiver was fired and one disciplined. [more]
-
Organophosphate Pesticides and Children’s Health
Children are more vulnerable than adults to dangers of all kinds. We
invest in car seats, babysitters, and childproofing our homes knowing
that environments that seem safe for adults are wrought with
potential disaster for the very young. However, we do not adequately
protect kids from chemical pollution in our environment, even though
it too may be much more dangerous to children than to
adults. "The science is in: Children are born with lower
levels of our bodies' natural defenses against toxic pesticides,"
said Dr. Gina Solomon, M.D., a physician and senior scientist at the
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). "Yet EPA too often
ignores the clear scientific evidence and fails to protect the most
vulnerable people from these dangerous chemicals." Recent
research conducted at the University of California, Berkeley echoes
this statement. The 2006 scientific study shows that children can be
up to 164 times more sensitive than adults to pesticides that
frequently contaminate agricultural communities. [more]
-
Health Considerations of Bottled Water
Consuming commercially bottled water has become a popular practice
for millions of Americans, often due to the perception that bottled
water is “safe,” “clean,” and “healthy.”
But is this perception accurate? This article will review recent
findings regarding the safety of bottled water and other plastic
objects, identify groups who appear specifically at-risk for health
concerns, and offer some conclusions, based upon current research.[more]
-
Breaking the Cycle of Environmental Health Disparities
None of us is inseparable from our environment. We are all clearly
products of both our genetic endowment and the environment in which
we grow up and in which we live. Environmental factors are not only
physical or chemical, but are also social and economic. In this
day and age we cannot ignore the major debate on climate change and
the impact of global warming on life on our planet Earth. Although
that debate is beyond the scope of this article, our awareness of the
microcosm and macrocosm of our environments will help us to better
understand and then to better affect positive change for us, for our
children and our children’s children and fellow human beings and
fellow living creatures. [more]
-
Deceived, Disabled, Dejected, Dehumanized, Dismissed, and Dying:
The Widespread Dilemma of MCS Disability
My name is Toni Temple and I am a non-traditional, self-appointed
poster child. I'm "non-traditional" because I am not an
adorable child with Shirley Temple curls standing on crutches that
you might have seen growing up in slick March of Dimes or Polio
Prevention ad campaigns. Heck, I'm not even a child - I'm 63 years
old. And I'm "self-appointed" because the disease from
which I suffer is not recognized or acknowledged by significant
portions of the medical and health care communities. I am a victim
of, and poster child for, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).
A better understood term would be chemical poisoning, but MCS is the
name they gave us. [more]
-
Practice Prevention: Children’s Environmental Health
What’s the fuss?
Today’s children are exposed every day to a wide variety of
environmental chemicals in the food they eat, the water they drink
and the air they breathe. These chemicals can be found in
everyday products that are under your kitchen sink or in your laundry
room, basement, bathroom or garage. Chemicals in some plastics,
pesticides, flame retardants, solvents, and even baby care products
are known to be harmful to children, particularly to their developing
nervous systems and brains. Heavy metals, such as lead and
mercury, and industrial chemicals including PCBs, arsenic and
perchlorate as to the known environmental hazards that our children
face. [more]
-
Environmental Fact Sheet
Linking Environmental Exposures with Psychological Disorders
The role of neurotoxicants in the etiology of psychological disorders
is increasingly being recognized. A considerable body of research
shows that neurotoxic exposures may be associated with deficits in
IQ, learning, memory, and attention as well as behavioral changes.
Less welldeveloped but emerging data reveal that exposure to
environmental agents with neurotoxic effects may result in a spectrum
of psychological disturbances, such as anxiety, depression, conduct
disorders and schizophrenia. Most studies and clinical reports focus
on high-dose exposures that would only be encountered by accident or
perhaps in an occupational setting. There are even fewer studies of
the impacts of low-dose and chronic exposure to neurotoxic agents and
study results are often mixed. In short, new research suggests that
psychological disorders can be influenced by environmental agents
though the data are limited in many, but not all cases. [more]
-
Arsenic, A Practice Prevention article prepared by the Institute
for Children’s Environmental Health
“Arsenic is in our environment, and children may be less able to
process it out of their bodies than adults. Exposure to arsenic can
result in changes in the brain, resulting in lower IQs, impaired
memory, learning problems and behavioral problems.
“The most common sources of exposure are arsenic in the soil and
water and on outdoor surfaces. Arsenic is used to treat wood,
minimizing fungal decay and insect infestation, and can be found in
decks, playground equipment and picnic tables. [more]
-
Safe and Healthy Indoor Air is for Everyone!
People with developmental disabilities and mental health needs have
the right to live, work, learn, worship and play in environments that
are healthy and safe. The health impacts of contaminated homes,
work places, and communities pose a greater risk for the children and
people who already have compromising health issues and are faced with
health disparities greater than the general population. Persons
with developmental disabilities and some forms of mental illnesses
are more vulnerable to further injury from toxins compared to the
general population because they often spend more time indoors, they
may have less control over exposure to and escape from toxins, they
may have more vulnerable immune responses to toxicant exposure, and
they may be taking more pharmaceutical medications than other exposed
populations. [more]
|
