Women at risk when exposed to chemical used to remove paint and coatings

EPA releases final risk assessment for NMP

Pregnant women and those of childbearing
age were at risk of exposure to NMP: Experts

WASHINGTON - The U.S. EPA released the final risk assessment for N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP), a chemical commonly used to remove paint and other coatings.

The assessment identified risks to pregnant women and women of childbearing age, who have high exposure to NMP through paint or other coating removal.

“By completing this assessment, we have taken an important step in protecting pregnant women and women of childbearing age who are using NMP to remove paint,” said Jim Jones, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

“It is a reminder that as we evaluate these risks, it is very clear that our nation’s chemical laws are in much need of reform. Completing this assessment will now trigger a process to address these unacceptable risks.”

Acute and chronic risks identified for women of childbearing age who use NMP for less than four hours per day may be reduced by use of specific types of chemical-resistant gloves.

However, gloves and respirators do not adequately reduce risks to women of childbearing age who use NMP for more than four hours per day on a single day or repeatedly over a succession of days.

The NMP final risk assessment was developed as part of the Agency’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan, which identified chemicals for review and assessment of potential risks to people’s health and the environment.

NMP is a common alternative to methylene chloride, also known as Dichloromethane (DCM), a chemical-based paint and coating remover.

EPA has also identified risks associated with methylene chloride during the removal of paint and other coatings.

For both NMP and methylene chloride, EPA is considering a range of voluntary and regulatory actions to reduce risks, and recommends finding safer paint/coating removal chemicals, or taking precautions that can reduce exposures, such as using the product outside, in a well-ventilated area, and wearing proper gloves and respiratory protection.

Additional information on the NMP final risk assessment and other work plan chemicals can be found here.

Source: EPA press release

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Exposure to BPA while pregnant linked to children's lung problems

Pregnant women are urged to minimize BPA exposure.

Children of women exposed to the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) during pregnancy may be at an increased risk of lung problems, according to a new study.

In the study of 398 mother-infant pairs, researchers looked at the mothers' exposure to BPA during pregnancy by examining the concentration of the chemical in their urine.

They also assessed how healthy the children's lungs were and whether they developed wheezing by age 5. To measure their lung health, the investigators measured the amount of air they exhaled during the first second of an exhalation.

The researchers found that every tenfold increase in the average BPA concentration in a mother's urine corresponded to a 14.2 percent decrease in the child's lung functionat age 4, but not at age 5.

In other words, BPA may affect lung function during a child's early years, but the effect may disappear over time, the researchers said.

They also found that a tenfold increase in the average concentration of BPA in maternal urine was related to a fourfold-plus increase in a child's odds of experiencing persistent wheezing during the first five years of life, according to the study, published today in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

"Our results support the conclusion that BPA exposure during pregnancy is associated with persistent wheezing in children and may have a negative health [effect] on lung function," said study author Dr. Adam J. Spanier, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

"I would recommend that women of childbearing age and pregnant women try to minimize their exposure to BPA," Spanier said.

BPA is a chemical used to make polycarbonate — a hard, clear plastic that is used in many consumer products, including the lining of metal food containers.

To measure the mothers' BPA levels during pregnancy, the researchers collected urine samples twice, once when the women were 16 weeks pregnant and again at 26 weeks.

The investigators also examined the children's exposure to BPA after birth, by taking their urine samples annually during their first five years, but they did not find a relationship between their exposure during early childhood and their lung health or wheezing risk.

The study did not look at what mechanism might link the prenatal exposure to BPA and children's lung health, Spanier said. However, "[at] least one animal study suggests that BPA might affect the development of the cells in the lung responsible for airway secretions," he said.

Still, it is not clear what the exact mechanism is, he said.

"BPA is also known for its potential estrogen-disrupting effects," Spanier said. "There are many other human health studies which demonstrate associations with other health outcomes,” such as neurodevelopmental and endocrine effects, he said.

"While I think it is important to avoid BPA during pregnancy, it is a difficult task for a consumer," because it is in so many products, he said. Consumers would benefit from a safer chemical management system at the national level, he added.

"But more specifically, given the mounting evidence, I do not see a reason for BPA to be in any consumer products," he told Live Science.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on its website that the current presence of BPA in consumer products poses no risk to the public's health.

"FDA's current perspective is that BPA is safe at the current levels occurring in foods," the website reads. "Based on FDA’s ongoing safety review of scientific evidence, the available information continues to support the safety of BPA for the currently approved uses in food containers and packaging."

Source:  Live Science

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Office vapor intrusion spurs lawsuit

Five female office workers say gasoline fumes harmed their unborn children

Exposure to chemical fumes may affect an unborn child.

JACKSON (AP) -- Texaco Inc. has settled a lawsuit with five women who alleged the oil company was responsible for ailments of children born after they were exposed to leaded gasoline fumes.

Both sides informed the Mississippi Supreme Court on Aug. 15 the settlement was reached. Terms were not released.

The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal last week and sent the case to Jefferson County for approval of the settlement.

A jury had returned a $17 million verdict for the women in 2010.

The women said they were pregnant when they worked in an office building in Fayette that had been a gasoline station affiliated with Texaco, and were exposed to fumes from tanks left in the ground.

As result, they claimed, their children were born with disabilities and illnesses.

Wayne Drinkwater of Jackson, an attorney for Texaco, now part of Chevron, argued before the Supreme Court the company didn't own or operate the station and leaks were not its fault.

Eduardo Flechas, representing the families, said the court record showed Texaco had control of the tanks when the leak occurred between 1974 and 1976.

Source: Sun Herald

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Heart defects at birth linked to solvents at work

Women can be exposed through synthetic textiles
and dyes, among many other sources.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Women who are exposed to organic solvents at the workplace have a higher risk of giving birth to babies with a heart defect, new research shows.

Many pregnant women may be exposed to solvents, which are often used in chemical manufacturing and in industries where substances such as fats, oils and waxes need to be dissolved or cleaned.

Organic solvents are common ingredients in

• Paints
• Varnishes
• Adhesives
• Degreasing and cleaning agents
• Dyes
• Polymers
• Plastic
• Synthetic textiles
• Printing inks
• Agricultural products

By handling these products, workers may breathe in organic chemicals, or they may enter the body through mouth or skin.

The researchers assessed the levels of workplace exposure to solvents in 5000 women in the United States from one month before conception up to the end of the first trimester.

Pregnant women exposed to solvents at work
may put their babies at risk, a study shows.

The women took part in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study and their babies were delivered between 1997 and 2002.

Since exposure to organic solvents (chlorinated solvents, aromatic solvents, hydrocarbons) is relatively common in the workplace, industrial hygienists focused on these chemicals and possible associations to birth defects.

Their approach showed a 4-5% higher risk of heart defects, but they cautioned that the results did not allow the drawing of definitive conclusions on specific types of exposure and specific congenital heart defects.

The study appeared online in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Source: Science Daily Press Release

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Rare birth defect linked to mothers’ work exposure to PAHs

A mother's workplace exposure to certain chemicals
increases the risk for a rare birth defect, researchers say.

Exposure to certain chemicals at work in early pregnancy could lead to a higher risk of an umbilical cord defect called gastroschisis, a condition where the baby’s organs poke out of the gut.

Researchers have established a link between gastroschisis and exposure to PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), which mainly come from combustion and fossil fuels. They are also found in cigarette smoke.

Gastroschisis is a type of hernia. Babies born with this birth defect have their intestines (and sometimes other organs) protrude through a hole next to their belly button.

The birth defect can affect the babies’ ability to feed, digest food and absorb nutrients, and surgery is needed to place the organs back inside and repair the rupture.

Animal studies have already linked exposure to PAHs to multiple birth defects, including gastroschisis.

Pregnant women stay on the job

The study focused on workplace exposure to PAHs since more than 95 percent of employed women in the United States remain employed during pregnancy.

A growing number of women may be exposed to dangerous chemicals on the job that can harm the fetus.

Examples of workplaces where exposure is likely are oil and gas production facilities and coal-fired power plants as well as restaurants where meat is cooked at high temperatures.

The researchers asked study participants about the jobs they held during the critical window of development for this birth defect, which is the month before getting pregnant through the third month of pregnancy.

They found that mothers who were exposed to PAHs had 1.5 times the risk of having a baby with gastroschisis compared to women who were not exposed at work.

Babies of older women may have an elevated risk because their mothers have been exposed to PAHs for a longer time, they say.

Source: Environmental Health News

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Healthcare workers can help reduce impacts of environmental pollution: Experts

New analysis calls for more proactive role of reproductive health specialists

Doctors can help produce healthier future generations.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) say that Ob-gyns could play a major role in reducing the effects of toxic chemicals on women and babies.

They could do this with a multifaceted approach:

• Evaluating patients’ environmental exposures to chemicals
  This includes occupational exposures to chemicals and solvents
   
• Providing education
  How to reduce exposure to chemicals at home, in the community and at work
  This information could be incorporated into childbirth classes, distributed through brochures and fliers and personal consultations
    
• Help in implementing broader strategies to influence government policy
  Work with professional organizations to bring about policy change and within their institutions for better food models, for example
  Air pollution is a big risk that cannot be controlled on the individual level

Every individual is exposed to a wide range of natural and synthetic chemicals, and the number has risen dramatically over the past 70 years, the researchers say.

Environmental pollution a widespread problem

Virtually all pregnant women in the US carry multiple chemicals, including some that had been banned since the 1970s and others that can be found in common household products like non-stick cookware, processed foods and personal care products.

The problem is that more and more studies show that even low exposures to environmental chemicals can affect reproductive and developmental health.

The chemicals are a particular concern before and during pregnancy, when exposures have been linked to a number of health problems, the researchers say.

Just by making patients aware and talking about certain risk factors and ways to reduce exposure could help produce healthier future generations.

The researchers warned that the majority of chemicals used for commercial purposes enter the marketplace without being tested or standardized, and they could be very harmful for fetuses and infants in the developing stages.

Source: UCSF

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