Climate Change and Obesity.

Global warming and the rising prevalence of obesity are well described challenges of current mankind. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic arose as a new challenge. We here attempt to delineate their relationship with each other from our perspective. Global greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels have exponentially increased since 1950. The main contributors to such greenhouse gas emissions are manufacturing and construction, transport, residential, commercial, agriculture, and land use change and forestry, combined with an increasing global population growth from 1 billion in 1800 to 7.8 billion in 2020 along with rising obesity rates since the 1980s. The current Covid-19 pandemic has caused some decline in greenhouse gas emissions by limiting mobility globally via repetitive lockdowns. Following multiple lockdowns, there was further increase in obesity in wealthier populations, malnutrition from hunger in poor populations and death from severe infection with Covid-19 and its virus variants. There is a bidirectional relationship between adiposity and global warming. With rising atmospheric air temperatures, people typically will have less adaptive thermogenesis and become less physically active, while they are producing a higher carbon footprint. To reduce obesity rates, one should be willing to learn more about the environmental impact, how to minimize consumption of energy generating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, and to reduce food waste. Diets lower in meat such as a Mediterranean diet, have been estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 72%, land use by 58%, and energy consumption by 52%.

Hypothesis: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and environmental pollutants.

Genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors are relevant in the causation of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a multistep cascade. We suggest that exposure to environmental pollutants in early life is one such factor. ALS was first described in the 19th century in the context of the Industrial Revolution that began more than 50 years earlier. The rising incidence of ALS thereafter correlates with increasing longevity, but this is an incomplete association. We suggest that increasing exposure to environmental pollutants due to industrial activity, acting over a lifetime, is also important. The combination of genetic mutations and pollutant exposure, with increased life expectancy, may account for the apparent variations in incidence of the disease in different countries and continents and even regionally within a given country. This hypothesis is testable by focused epidemiological studies, evaluating early and lifelong industrial pollutant exposure of differing types, within the Bradford Hill framework.

Michael Reese Hospital and the Campaign to Warn the US Public of the Long-Term Health Effects of Ionizing Radiation, 1973-1977.

In July 1973, a study at the University of Chicago linked radiation treatment during childhood to a variety of diseases, including thyroid cancer. A few months later, a worker at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois found a registry of 5266 former patients who had been treated with radiation during the 1950s and 1960s. Hospital officials decided to contact these patients and arrange for follow-up medical examinations. Media coverage of the hospital's campaign had a snowball effect that prompted more medical institutions to follow suit, resulting in the National Cancer Institute (NCI) launching a nationwide campaign to warn the public and medical community about the late health effects of ionizing radiation. This study describes how the single action of a hospital in Chicago and the media attention it attracted led to a national campaign to warn those who underwent radiation treatment during childhood.

Ancient water bottle use and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure among California Indians: a prehistoric health risk assessment.

BACKGROUND: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the main toxic compounds in natural bitumen, a fossil material used by modern and ancient societies around the world. The adverse health effects of PAHs on modern humans are well established, but their health impacts on past populations are unclear. It has previously been suggested that a prehistoric health decline among the native people living on the California Channel Islands may have been related to PAH exposure. Here, we assess the potential health risks of PAH exposure from the use and manufacture of bitumen-coated water bottles by ancient California Indian societies. METHODS: We replicated prehistoric bitumen-coated water bottles with traditional materials and techniques of California Indians, based on ethnographic and archaeological evidence. In order to estimate PAH exposure related to water bottle manufacture and use, we conducted controlled experiments to measure PAH contamination 1) in air during the manufacturing process and 2) in water and olive oil stored in a completed bottle for varying periods of time. Samples were analyzed with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for concentrations of the 16 PAHs identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as priority pollutants. RESULTS: Eight PAHs were detected in concentrations of 1-10 µg/m3 in air during bottle production and 50-900 ng/L in water after 2 months of storage, ranging from two-ring (naphthalene and methylnaphthalene) to four-ring (fluoranthene) molecules. All 16 PAHs analyzed were detected in olive oil after 2 days (2 to 35 µg/kg), 2 weeks (3 to 66 µg/kg), and 2 months (5 to 140 µg/kg) of storage. CONCLUSIONS: For ancient California Indians, water stored in bitumen-coated water bottles was not a significant source of PAH exposure, but production of such bottles could have resulted in harmful airborne PAH exposure.

Contact dermatitis: a historical perspective.

Contact dermatitis is a common skin condition that can have a considerable impact on patient quality of life and function. Historically, contact dermatitis has played a significant role in the evolution of dermatology as the understanding of a relationship between environmental exposure and specific skin disease became more widely accepted. Reports about this relationship can be found throughout the history of humanity, thousands of years ago. The Egyptians were perhaps the first to document this relationship in ancient history, and documentation has also been found in several other cultures and nations such as the Chinese, Indians, Europeans, and American colonizers. The patch test emerged over a century ago and has remained a powerful tool for diagnosing and directing patients. This paper provides historical and curious facts about contact dermatitis.

Historic air pollution exposure and long-term mortality risks in England and Wales: prospective longitudinal cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Long-term air pollution exposure contributes to mortality but there are few studies examining effects of very long-term (>25 years) exposures. METHODS: This study investigated modelled air pollution concentrations at residence for 1971, 1981, 1991 (black smoke (BS) and SO2) and 2001 (PM10) in relation to mortality up to 2009 in 367,658 members of the longitudinal survey, a 1% sample of the English Census. Outcomes were all-cause (excluding accidents), cardiovascular (CV) and respiratory mortality. RESULTS: BS and SO2 exposures remained associated with mortality decades after exposure-BS exposure in 1971 was significantly associated with all-cause (OR 1.02 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.04)) and respiratory (OR 1.05 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.09)) mortality in 2002-2009 (ORs expressed per 10 µg/m(3)). Largest effect sizes were seen for more recent exposures and for respiratory disease. PM10 exposure in 2001 was associated with all outcomes in 2002-2009 with stronger associations for respiratory (OR 1.22 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.44)) than CV mortality (OR 1.12 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.25)). Adjusting PM10 for past BS and SO2 exposures in 1971, 1981 and 1991 reduced the all-cause OR to 1.16 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.26) while CV and respiratory associations lost significance, suggesting confounding by past air pollution exposure, but there was no evidence for effect modification. Limitations include limited information on confounding by smoking and exposure misclassification of historic exposures. CONCLUSIONS: This large national study suggests that air pollution exposure has long-term effects on mortality that persist decades after exposure, and that historic air pollution exposures influence current estimates of associations between air pollution and mortality.

Comparison of mortality in Asbest city and the Sverdlovsk region in the Russian Federation: 1997-2010.

BACKGROUND: The Sverdlovsk region of the Russian Federation is characterised by its abundance of natural resources and industries. Located in this region, Asbest city is situated next to one of the largest open-pit chrysotile asbestos mines currently operational; many city residents are employed in activities related to mining and processing of chrysotile. We compared mortality rates from 1997 to 2010 in Asbest city to the remaining Sverdlovsk region, with additional analyses conducted for site-specific cancer mortality. METHODS: Population and mortality data for Asbest city and Sverdlovsk region were used to estimate crude and age-specific rates by gender for the entire period and for each calendar year. Age-standardized mortality rates were also calculated for the adult population (20+) and Poisson regression was used to estimate standardized mortality ratios, overall and by gender. RESULTS: During the period of 1997 to 2010, there were similar mortality rates overall in Asbest and the Sverdlovsk region. However, there were higher rates of cancer mortality (18 % males; 21 % females) and digestive diseases (21 % males; 40 % females) in Asbest and lower rates of unknown/ill-defined in Asbest (60 % males; 47 % females). Circulatory disease mortality was slightly lower in Asbest. Cancer mortality was higher for men in Asbest from oesophageal, urinary tract and lung cancers compared to the Sverdlovsk region. In women, cancer mortality was higher for women in Asbest from stomach, colon, lung and breast cancers compared to the Sverdlovsk region. CONCLUSIONS: This large population-based analysis indicates interesting differences but studies with individual exposure information are needed to understand the underlying factors.

[Chernobyl Awareness].

The essay contains the author's memories of the events related to the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the thoughts about the short and long-term consequences of this disaster for society, human and biota. Awareness of the Chernobyl disaster as a multifaceted great incident which is significant for the whole world came slowly through a series of mistakes and errors. Currently it is essential to give a deeper insight into the lessons of Chernobyl for the sake of the future.

Environmental carcinogenesis - 100th anniversary of creating cancer.

Asbestos is an environmental carcinogen, and asbestos-related diseases represent a global-scale environmental issue. Mesothelioma is an aggressive, malignant tumor that initially progresses along the surfaces of the pleura and peritoneum that is chiefly attributed to asbestos exposure. X-rays are commonly used for tumor screening in populations at risk for developing this cancer. We previously reported that the N-terminal of mesothelin may be a useful blood marker for early diagnosis method for mesothelioma and since then developed an N-terminal of mesothelin ELISA kit in collaboration with IBL Co., Ltd. and confirmed its utility as a diagnostic system for mesothelioma. Recently, we performed a large-scale research screening for mesothelioma and showed that it is a good model for early diagnosis in at-risk populations. The year 2015 is the 100th anniversary of Yamagiwa's great work on coaltar-induced carcinogenesis by formative stimulation in 1915 and the 10th year since 2005, "Kubota shock", people recognized that asbestos induces mesothelioma. We dedicate this review to this memorial year for environmental carcinogenesis.

Science as an early driver of policy: child labor reform in the early Progressive Era, 1870-1900.

Scientific evidence is an increasingly important driver of social and environmental policy concerning child health. This trend began earlier than generally recognized. The child labor reform movement of the Gilded Age and early Progressive Era reflected not only moral and economic forces but also the dramatic advances during the later decades of the 19th century in scientific knowledge concerning children's biological and psychological vulnerability to environmental and psychosocial stressors. The growing importance of scientific information in shaping policy concerning children's health between 1870 and 1900 is illustrated by the events leading up to and following the New York State Child Labor Law of 1886. Child labor reform during this period was a critical step in the development of a science-based as well as a value-driven movement to protect children's environmental health and well-being that continues today.

Epidemic gasoline exposures following Hurricane Sandy.

INTRODUCTION: Major adverse climatic events (MACEs) in heavily-populated areas can inflict severe damage to infrastructure, disrupting essential municipal and commercial services. Compromised health care delivery systems and limited utilities such as electricity, heating, potable water, sanitation, and housing, place populations in disaster areas at risk of toxic exposures. Hurricane Sandy made landfall on October 29, 2012 and caused severe infrastructure damage in heavily-populated areas. The prolonged electrical outage and damage to oil refineries caused a gasoline shortage and rationing unseen in the USA since the 1970s. This study explored gasoline exposures and clinical outcomes in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. METHODS: Prospectively collected, regional poison control center (PCC) data regarding gasoline exposure cases from October 29, 2012 (hurricane landfall) through November 28, 2012 were reviewed and compared to the previous four years. The trends of gasoline exposures, exposure type, severity of clinical outcome, and hospital referral rates were assessed. RESULTS: Two-hundred and eighty-three gasoline exposures were identified, representing an 18 to 283-fold increase over the previous four years. The leading exposure route was siphoning (53.4%). Men comprised 83.0% of exposures; 91.9% were older than 20 years of age. Of 273 home-based calls, 88.7% were managed on site. Asymptomatic exposures occurred in 61.5% of the cases. However, minor and moderate toxic effects occurred in 12.4% and 3.5% of cases, respectively. Gastrointestinal (24.4%) and pulmonary (8.4%) symptoms predominated. No major outcomes or deaths were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Hurricane Sandy significantly increased gasoline exposures. While the majority of exposures were managed at home with minimum clinical toxicity, some patients experienced more severe symptoms. Disaster plans should incorporate public health messaging and regional PCCs for public health promotion and toxicological surveillance.

Five hundred years of mercury exposure and adaptation.

Mercury is added to the biosphere by anthropogenic activities raising the question of whether changes in the human chromatin, induced by mercury, in a parental generation could allow adaptation of their descendants to mercury. We review the history of Andean mining since pre-Hispanic times in Huancavelica, Peru. Despite the persistent degradation of the biosphere today, no overt signs of mercury toxicity could be discerned in present day inhabitants. However, mercury is especially toxic to the autonomic nervous system (ANS). We, therefore, tested ANS function and biologic rhythms, under the control of the ANS, in 5 Huancavelicans and examined the metal content in their hair. Mercury levels varied from none to 1.014 ppm, significantly less than accepted standards. This was confirmed by microfocused synchrotron X-ray fluorescence analysis. Biologic rhythms were abnormal and hair growth rate per year, also under ANS control, was reduced (P < 0.001). Thus, evidence of mercury's toxicity in ANS function was found without other signs of intoxication. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis of partial transgenerational inheritance of tolerance to mercury in Huancavelica, Peru. This would generally benefit survival in the Anthropocene, the man-made world, we now live in.

Selective soil particle adherence to hands: implications for understanding oral exposure to soil contaminants.

Over the last 30 years, there has been extensive research designed to quantify the extent of oral bioavailability and bioaccessibility of organic and inorganic contaminants in soil. One aspect of this research is the soil particle size selected to represent environmental exposures, which may affect study results and comparability across studies. Different research groups have studied soil particle sizes ranging from <45 µm to <2000 µm. This article reviews the historical and technical considerations that pertain to the selection of an appropriate particle size fraction for evaluating the relative oral bioavailability of chemicals from soil, which include (1) how the resultant data will be used in human health risk assessment, (2) soil fractions historically used in oral bioavailability studies, (3) studies of soil adherence to human hands, (4) the distribution of contaminants in soils as a function of particle size, and (5) the effect of differential bioavailability as a function of soil particle size and geochemical matrix. These factors are first discussed from a general perspective, applicable to all contaminants in soil, and then more specifically for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil. Based on this review, a specific soil particle size of <150 µm is recommended for future studies on the oral bioavailability and bioaccessibility of PAHs in soil.

Health effects research and regulation of diesel exhaust: an historical overview focused on lung cancer risk.

The mutagenicity of organic solvent extracts from diesel exhaust particulate (DEP), first noted more than 55 years ago, initiated an avalanche of diesel exhaust (DE) health effects research that now totals more than 6000 published studies. Despite an extensive body of results, scientific debate continues regarding the nature of the lung cancer risk posed by inhalation of occupational and environmental DE, with much of the debate focused on DEP. Decades of scientific scrutiny and increasingly stringent regulation have resulted in major advances in diesel engine technologies. The changed particulate matter (PM) emissions in "New Technology Diesel Exhaust (NTDE)" from today's modern low-emission, advanced-technology on-road heavy-duty diesel engines now resemble the PM emissions in contemporary gasoline engine exhaust (GEE) and compressed natural gas engine exhaust more than those in the "traditional diesel exhaust" (TDE) characteristic of older diesel engines. Even with the continued publication of epidemiologic analyses of TDE-exposed populations, this database remains characterized by findings of small increased lung cancer risks and inconsistent evidence of exposure-response trends, both within occupational cohorts and across occupational groups considered to have markedly different exposures (e.g. truckers versus railroad shopworkers versus underground miners). The recently published National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-National Cancer Institute (NCI) epidemiologic studies of miners provide some of the strongest findings to date regarding a DE-lung cancer association, but some inconsistent exposure-response findings and possible effects of bias and exposure misclassification raise questions regarding their interpretation. Laboratory animal studies are negative for lung tumors in all species, except for rats under lifetime TDE-exposure conditions with durations and concentrations that lead to "lung overload." The species specificity of the rat lung response to overload, and its occurrence with other particle types, is now well-understood. It is thus generally accepted that the rat bioassay for inhaled particles under conditions of lung overload is not predictive of human lung cancer hazard. Overall, despite an abundance of epidemiologic and experimental data, there remain questions as to whether TDE exposure causes increased lung cancers in humans. An abundance of emissions characterization data, as well as preliminary toxicological data, support NTDE as being toxicologically distinct from TDE. Currently, neither epidemiologic data nor animal bioassay data yet exist that directly bear on NTDE carcinogenic potential. A chronic bioassay of NTDE currently in progress will provide data on whether NTDE poses a carcinogenic hazard, but based on the significant reductions in PM mass emissions and the major changes in PM composition, it has been hypothesized that NTDE has a low carcinogenic potential. When the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reevaluates DE (along with GEE and nitroarenes) in June 2012, it will be the first authoritative body to assess DE carcinogenic health hazards since the emergence of NTDE and the accumulation of data differentiating NTDE from TDE.

Occupational and environmental aerosol exposure assessment: a scientific journey from the past, through the present and into the future.

This paper reviews how aerosol exposure assessment, for people in both working and living environments, has evolved over the years. It charts the main scientific developments that led to progressively improved ways of thinking and methods to assess exposure to airborne particulate matter in a manner more relevant to human health. It has been a long scientific journey as one generation of pioneering contributors has handed off to the next. In the process a consistent rationale has emerged, producing aerosol sampling criteria--and in turn exposure standards--which have been increasingly relevant to actual human exposures. The journey continues as a new generation of scientists steps up to deal with the new challenges that are emerging. An appreciation of the history of what went before is essential to charting the most effective path looking forward.