Perspectives on trace chemical safety and chemophobia: risk communication and risk management.

Safety issues regarding consumer products contaminated with trace amounts of chemicals are of great concern to consumers, with the degree of concern occasionally escalating to the psychological syndrome, chemophobia (i.e., the fear of chemicals). Hazardous substances frequently implicated in safety concerns include heavy metals (arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and lead), volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as benzene and o-toluidine, pesticides, carcinogens, radioactive substances, and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) such as bisphenol A and phthalates. To improve communication of risk to society, members of academia, government, consumer organizations, and industry participated in this workshop to discuss and exchange perspectives on trace chemical safety. From the perspective of academia, integrated risk assessments need to be implemented to encompass various exposure sources and routes. The identification and investigation of new exposure-related biomarkers are also recommended to verify direct causal relationships between specific chemical exposure and effects on human health. As for regulation, governments need to establish and maintain acceptable limits for trace chemicals in products. In addition, harmonized efforts need to be undertaken among government agencies to share regulatory limits and effectively control trace chemicals in consumer products. Manufacturers need to faithfully abide by Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines, monitor sources of contamination, and minimize these for consumer safety. To effectively resolve safety issues arising from trace chemicals exposure, collaborative efforts are needed involving academia, government, consumer organizations, and industry. Further, scientific evidence-based risk assessment is a critical approach to effectively manage trace chemical safety issues.

Perspectives on trace chemical safety and chemophobia: risk communication and risk management.

Safety issues regarding consumer products contaminated with trace amounts of chemicals are of great concern to consumers, with the degree of concern occasionally escalating to the psychological syndrome, chemophobia, i.e., the fear of chemicals. Hazardous substances frequently implicated in safety concerns include heavy metals (arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and lead), volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as benzene and o-toluidine, pesticides, carcinogens, radioactive substances, and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) such as bisphenol A and phthalates. To improve communication of risk to society, members of academia, government, consumer organizations, and industry participated in this workshop to discuss and exchange perspectives on trace chemical safety. From the perspective of academia, integrated risk assessments need to be implemented to encompass various exposure sources and routes. The identification and investigation of new exposure-related biomarkers are also recommended to verify direct causal relationships between specific chemical exposure and effects on human health. As for regulation, governments need to establish and maintain acceptable limits for trace chemicals in products. In addition, harmonized efforts need to be undertaken among government agencies to share regulatory limits and effectively control trace chemicals in consumer products. Manufacturers need to faithfully abide by Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines, monitor sources of contamination, and minimize these for consumer safety. To effectively resolve safety issues arising from trace chemicals exposure, collaborative efforts are needed involving academia, government, consumer organizations, and industry. Further, scientific evidence-based risk assessment is a critical approach to effectively manage trace chemical safety issues.

[Child Safety Injury Experiences, Prevention Behaviors and Educational Needs among Immigrant Vietnamese Women on Jeju Island]. / ì œì£¼íŠ¹ë³„ìžì¹˜ë„ 거주 ë² íŠ¸ë‚¨ 결혼 이주민 여성의 ìžë € ì•ˆì „ì‚¬ê³ ê²½í—˜ê³¼ ì•ˆì „ì‚¬ê³ ì˜ˆë°©í–‰ë™ 및 교육요구.

PURPOSE: Study purpose was to describe the child safety injury experiences, injury prevention behaviors and educational needs of immigrant Vietnamese women on Jeju Island, and to explore associations among those factors. METHODS: A descriptive correlational study was conducted using structured questionnaires to collect data from immigrant Vietnamese women who visited a multicultural centers on Jeju Island from January to April, 2017. RESULTS: Data from 60 women were analyzed. They were 28.2±5.5 years old, had resided in Korea for 40.6±31.1 months, and had 1.5±0.6 children on average. In total, 51.7% had previous injury prevention education, 68.2% had experienced child safety injuries, and 95.0% wanted to receive education on how to prevent child safety injuries. The mean total score of child injury prevention behaviors was 27.33±17.79, and that variable was associated with a longer duration of formal education (t=2.41, p=.021) and with women's experiences of child safety injury (t=5.97, p<.001). CONCLUSION: Immigrant Vietnamese women experienced a higher frequency of child safety injuries and needed educational opportunities to prevent these injuries. Further research is necessary to develop the essential content and effective methods for education on child safety injury prevention among this unique multicultural population.

Synergic induction of human periodontal ligament fibroblast cell death by nitric oxide and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor antagonist.

PURPOSE: Nitric oxide (NO) has been known as an important regulator of osteoblasts and periodontal ligament cell activity. This study was performed to investigate the relationship between NO-mediated cell death of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLFs) and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor antagonist (+)-5-methyl-10, 11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5, 10-imine hydrogen maleate (MK801). METHODS: Human PDLFs were treated with various concentrations (0 to 4 mM) of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) with or without 200 µM MK801 in culture media for 16 hours and the cell medium was then removed and replaced by fresh medium containing MTS reagent for cell proliferation assay. Western blot analysis was performed to investigate the effects of SNP on the expression of Bax, cytochrome c, and caspase-3 proteins. The differences for each value among the sample groups were compared using analysis of variance with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: In the case of SNP treatment, as a NO donor, cell viability was significantly decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, a synergistic effect was shown when both SNP and NMDA receptor antagonist was added to the medium. SNP treated PDLFs exhibited a round shape in culture conditions and were dramatically reduced in cell number. SNP treatment also increased levels of apoptotic marker protein, such as Bax and cytochrome c, and reduced caspase-3 in PDLFs. Mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling was activated by treatment of SNP and NMDA receptor antagonist. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that excessive production of NO may induce apoptosis and that NMDA receptor may modulate NO-induced apoptosis in PDLFs.