Ultrafine particle pollution, wildfire smoke’s health effects, and personal care product concerns were the focus of SOT member research and interviews this week.
SOT Member Research
An article in the September 2014 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives highlights research by Joshua Allen, Sean Pelkowski, Gunter Oberdorster, and Deborah Cory-Slechta. In the research— published in the same issue of EHP—the members found that adolescent exposure to ultrafine particles in mice led to brain changes reminiscent of those seen in humans with autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia.
Alongside colleagues, Wayne E. Cascio and Robert B. Devlin conducted research on when people are informed of potential health effects of wildfire smoke and the resultant economic impacts. The study in Environmental Science & Technology found that if citizens were informed of potential health impacts from a nearby wildfire and intervention procedures were put in place when fine particles in the air were on the lower side of the threshold, millions of dollars could be saved in terms of hospital visits for asthma and health failure, loss in productivity, and more.
SOT Members in the News
NIEHS’ “Environmental Health Chat” podcast featured an interview with Ruthann Rudel. During the interview, she discussed the difficulty and importance of toxicology testing of personal care products: “Personal care products are complex mixtures, often of many different chemicals. There are concerns about endocrine disruption or hormone disruption, and also about other health effects, including respiratory irritation or possibly as asthma triggers.”
Science and Public Health News
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