Chromium-6: "Erin Brockovich" chemical threatens two-thirds of Americans

In the 2000 biographical film about a legal clerk who brings a major utility company to its knees for poisoning residents of Hinkley, California, Erin Brockovich ended on a Hollywood high note with a $ 333m settlement from PG&E. But chromium-6 contamination of America’s drinking water is an ongoing battle the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is losing.

Nearly 200 million Americans across all 50 states are exposed to unsafe levels of chromium-6 or hexavalent chromium, a heavy metal known to cause cancer in animals and humans, according to a new report released Tuesday by the nonprofit research and advocacy organization Environmental Working Group (EWG).

Today, Brockovich says Hinkley wasn’t an isolated event.

“The water system in this country is overwhelmed and we aren’t putting enough resources towards this essential resource,” Brockovich wrote in an email to the Guardian. “We simply can’t continue to survive with toxic drinking water.”

We simply can’t continue to survive with toxic drinking water.

Erin Brockovich

In their analysis of the EPA’s own data collected for the first nationwide test of chromium-6 contamination in US drinking water, the report’s co-authors Dr David Andrews and Bill Walker, senior scientist and managing editor of EWG, found that 12,000 Americans are at risk of getting cancer.

Drinking water in Phoenix, Arizona, has the highest concentration of chromium-6 contamination. Of the 80 water samples taken across the city – water that serves 1.5 million people – 79 showed average concentrations of 7.853 ppb. California scientists have recommended a public health goal of 0.02 ppb, but industry pressure led to the adoption in 2014 of a legal safe limit of 10 ppb.

“More than two-thirds of Americans’ drinking water supply has more chromium than the level that California scientists say is safe – a number that’s been confirmed by scientists in both New Jersey and North Carolina,” according to Walker.

“Despite this widespread contamination, the US currently has no national drinking water standard for chromium-6.”

Dr Andrews said: “Part of the reason behind writing this report is really highlighting how our regulatory system is broken – in its ability to incorporate new science, and its ability to publish and update drinking water standards.”

Hexavalent chromium is used in a variety of processes: leather tanning, chrome-plating and small cottage industries that use dyes and pigments. But few unleash as much of it into the environment as the electric power industry.

“In 2009, the electric power industry reported 10.6m pounds of chromium and chromium compounds were released to the environment,” according to a 2011 Earthjustice report. “These 10.6m pounds represent 24% of the total chromium and chromium compounds released by all industries in 2009.”

In 2008, the National Toxicology Program, part of the National Institutes of Health, released a report detailing how cancerous tumors developed in mice and rats that drank heavy doses of chromium-6.

According to EWG, based in part on this study, scientists at the California Office of Health Hazard Assessment concluded in 2010 that ingestion of tiny amounts of chromium-6 can cause cancer in people.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, an advisory, non-regulatory agency formed to oversee hyper-toxic Superfund sites, reports long term oral exposure to unsafe levels of chromium-6 compounds are associated with gastrointestinal system cancers.

“The California scientists set a so-called public health goal of 0.02 parts per billion in tap water, the level that would pose negligible risk over a lifetime of consumption,” according to the EWG report.

“But in 2014, after aggressive lobbying by industry and water utilities, the state regulators adopted a legal limit 500 times the public health goal.”

EWG says the California Department of Public Health relied on a flawed analysis that “exaggerated the cost of treatment and undervalued the benefits of stricter regulation”.

The report also details how New Jersey and North Carolina scientists recommended a maximum chromium-6 concentration of 0.06 parts per billion following the 2008 report, meeting similar resistance that has impeded passage of drinking water standards.

In their first major chromium-6 report in 2010, EWG found chromium-6 contamination levels 600 times the public health goal in Norman, Oklahoma – the worst found in 31 of 35 US cities tested. Those tests, and a petition from environmental activists, triggered the EPA to add chromium-6 to the list of chemicals for which local utilities must test under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, according to EWG.

This rule requires the EPA to establish a new list every five years of 30 previously unregulated contaminants to be monitored by public water systems.

In the 20 years since the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act amendments passed to monitor previously unregulated contaminants, the EPA ordered 81 contaminants to be monitored. To date, only perchlorate, a rocket fuel ingredient, has been recommended for regulation. Though two years behind schedule, implementation has yet to occur.

Asked what steps are necessary to fix the country’s broken drinking water program, Dr Andrews said: “One of the first steps has to occur here: EPA has to be able to complete its health risk assessment about the toxicity of chromium-6.”

EWG reports that in 2010, scientists in the EPA’s Integrated Risk and Information System (Iris) “completed but did not officially release a draft risk assessment that classified oral exposure to chromium-6 as ‘likely to be carcinogenic to humans’”.

But the American Chemistry Council, a powerful lobby for the chemical industry, requested that the EPA withhold the release until after studies funded by the Council and the Electric Power Research Institute could trace the biological mechanisms through which chromium-6 triggers cancer.

Dr Vincent Cogliano, director of Iris, initially resisted industry pressure. In an April, 2011 letter to Ann Mason at the American Chemistry Council, he congratulated their willingness to invest $ 4m in targeted research on hexavalent chromium, but he denied their request for a delay.

“Without prejudging the outcome of mechanistic studies being written up for publication,” he wrote, “it is entirely possible that granting your request could entail a delay of unknown duration with no public discussion or review of the strong new studies that are now available.”

But then an external review panel, found by the Center for Public Integrity to include three members who consulted for PG&E in the Brockovich case, convinced the EPA to grant the American Chemistry Council time to fund their own studies.

In 2012, the EPA quietly announced it had decided to delay the draft risk assessment following the review panel’s recommendation.

Cogliano wrote in an August 24 email to EWG: “We expect to release a draft health assessment document in 2017, though I wouldn’t use the word ‘early’.”

In an email statement to the Guardian, EPA said: “Ensuring safe drinking water for all Americans is a top priority for EPA.”

The EPA says that less than 2% of the latest national monitoring systems reported hexavalent chromium at levels exceeding California’s enforceable maximum contaminant level of 10ppb.

The EWG report, however, found that “even by that far-too-lax benchmark … more than seven million Americans are served tap water from supplies that had at least one detection of chromium-6 higher than the only legal limit”.

Erin Brockovich urges Americans to disregard the EPA’s reassurances and to take a more active role in their communities to fix the country’s broken water supply.

“Superman’s not coming,” Brockovich said. “Be informed, ask questions, band together with your community and fight at the local level. And make sure you take your local elections as seriously as the national ones. The issues that most impact the average person are made at the local level.”

Chromium-6: "Erin Brockovich" chemical threatens two-thirds of Americans

My girlfriend threatens suicide every single time I try out to end our romantic relationship

My girlfriend threatens suicide every single time I try to break up with her. She even threatened it when I did not response my phone, as she was convinced I was with an additional female. I just want to normalise our connection and grow to be buddies. I have threatened to break off all contact but this is met with hysterical threats. Our troubles are compounded by language and cultural barriers the divorce of her mothers and fathers (she is an only little one) the memory of her abusive ex-boyfriend and her bodily (if not also mental) health difficulties. I have asked her to see a counsellor, but she sees this as an insult. I truly feel as if everything I do unintentionally pushes her closer to catastrophe.

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My girlfriend threatens suicide every single time I try out to end our romantic relationship

Diabetes "threatens to carry down the NHS"

Diabetes “threatens to carry down the NHS”, a leading Uk charity has warned after the number of people with the condition rose to more than three million.

Cases in England and Wales have risen by 59.8% in the previous decade – as an further 1.2 million grownups are now living with the situation compared to ten many years in the past.

The figures, extracted from NHS data and analysed by the charity, demonstrate that 3,333,069 people have been diagnosed with the illness.

Diabetes United kingdom warned that there is an urgent need to have for efficient care for sufferers, while a lot more have to be accomplished to highlight the importance of prevention.

The charity stated that six in ten individuals in England and Wales acquire the eight care processes recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Wonderful), and additional that poorly managed diabetes can lead to “devastating and high-priced health issues” including amputation and stroke.

“This is why it’s crucial that the Government will take urgent action to make certain that everyone with diabetes receives the eight care processes, lowering their threat of even more well being issues and the fees these incur for the already strained NHS spending budget,” the charity explained.

Barbara Youthful, chief executive of Diabetes United kingdom, explained: “Over the previous decade, the amount of folks residing with diabetes in the United kingdom has increased by more than 1 million men and women, which is the equivalent of the population of a tiny nation such as Cyprus. With a record quantity of people now living with diabetes in the United kingdom, there is no time to waste – the Government must act now.

“We require to see far more individuals with diabetes getting the eight care processes suggested by Wonderful. It is unacceptable that a third of people residing with the issue do not presently get these, putting them at enhanced danger of creating complications, this kind of as amputations, heart assault or stroke.”

She added: “Diabetes previously fees the NHS nearly £10 billion a 12 months, and 80% of this is invested on managing avoidable problems. So there is massive prospective to conserve funds and minimize stress on NHS hospitals and solutions via supplying much better care to avert people with diabetes from building devastating and pricey complications.

“The NHS should prioritise delivering greater care, along with improved and more flexible schooling options, for men and women with diabetes now, and give them the very best achievable chance of residing long and healthier lives. Till then, avoidable human struggling will proceed and the costs of treating diabetes will continue to spiral out of handle and threaten to bankrupt the NHS. Now is the time for action.”

The charity predicts that if present trends continue, 5 million folks will have diabetes by 2025.

Diabetes "threatens to carry down the NHS"

Diabetes "threatens to bring down the NHS"

Diabetes “threatens to deliver down the NHS”, a leading Uk charity has warned following the number of people with the illness rose to a lot more than three million.

Situations in England and Wales have risen by 59.8% in the past decade – as an added 1.2 million adults are now residing with the issue in contrast to ten many years ago.

The figures, extracted from NHS data and analysed by the charity, present that three,333,069 individuals have been diagnosed with the ailment.

Diabetes Uk warned that there is an urgent need for successful care for sufferers, even though a lot more should be carried out to highlight the value of prevention.

The charity said that 6 in 10 individuals in England and Wales obtain the eight care processes advised by the National Institute for Well being and Care Excellence (Great), and additional that poorly managed diabetes can lead to “devastating and costly health complications” including amputation and stroke.

“This is why it is crucial that the Government requires urgent action to ensure that everybody with diabetes receives the eight care processes, reducing their chance of even more well being issues and the fees these incur for the currently strained NHS budget,” the charity stated.

Barbara Younger, chief executive of Diabetes United kingdom, explained: “More than the previous decade, the quantity of men and women residing with diabetes in the United kingdom has enhanced by over one particular million people, which is the equivalent of the population of a little nation this kind of as Cyprus. With a record quantity of people now living with diabetes in the United kingdom, there is no time to waste – the Government need to act now.

“We need to see more folks with diabetes getting the eight care processes suggested by Good. It is unacceptable that a third of people residing with the condition do not at present get these, placing them at improved risk of creating issues, this kind of as amputations, heart attack or stroke.”

She added: “Diabetes presently costs the NHS nearly £10 billion a yr, and 80% of this is invested on managing avoidable issues. So there is enormous likely to conserve income and minimize pressure on NHS hospitals and services through delivering greater care to avoid men and women with diabetes from developing devastating and pricey issues.

“The NHS need to prioritise offering much better care, along with enhanced and more flexible education choices, for men and women with diabetes now, and give them the best possible chance of living long and wholesome lives. Right up until then, avoidable human struggling will carry on and the fees of treating diabetes will continue to spiral out of handle and threaten to bankrupt the NHS. Now is the time for action.”

The charity predicts that if present trends carry on, 5 million men and women will have diabetes by 2025.

Diabetes "threatens to bring down the NHS"

New wave of drug-resistant malaria threatens hundreds of thousands

When an extreme fever overcame 50-12 months-previous Daw Cho Cho final spring, she took the identical measures as when she final had malaria.

Wary of village medication and mindful of the properly-funded clinic across the border, she crossed into Thailand from her Burma village and came to the malaria centre for therapy. 7 years in the past, her malaria was cured inside of a day. This time, it took much longer.

Inside of three days, medication had killed the parasites in her blood and Daw Cho Cho felt regular, her symptoms gone. But a month later, the malaria came back. The medicines have been unable to kill all the parasites in her blood, and they multiplied.

Dr François Nosten has studied malaria on the Thai-Burma border for 30 many years. Photograph: Kathleen E McLaughlin for the Guardian

She is amid the 1000′s who have been contaminated with an insidiously evolving drug-resistant parasite that might account for 80% of the malaria on this segment of the Thai-Burma border. The mosquito-borne illness is becoming resistant to the final anti-malaria drug standing – artemisinin – largely simply because of counterfeit medicines and incorrect usage.

A top researcher at the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU), a investigation centre based mostly on the border and funded primarily by the Wellcome Trust, is taking radical measures to stop the spread of the new strain just before it gets uncontrollable. Dr François Nosten, SMRU’s director, has studied malaria in this border area, close to in which the disease very first grew to become drug resistant, for three decades. He believes that in purchase to stop it spreading to India, then Africa, the place the vast vast majority of the world’s malaria situations happen, it’s important to chase the parasite into Burma’s forests and pre-emptively treat even people who might not be ill.

“If we do not do anything at all, we think that we know what is going to come about,” said Nosten, explaining that as malaria charges decline, the strongest and most resistant strains of the parasite survive and spread. “It has constantly happened like this in the previous, there is no cause to believe this time will be any diverse.”

The degree of alarm Nosten and other scientists express more than drug-resistant malaria contrasts with how it manifests in people, in these early phases. It acts just the very same as any malaria, but is more hard to remedy. The variety of cases creeps up slowly, spreads, then explodes.

“The point about resistance to something – medicines, antibacterials – is that it rises exponentially,” said Nick White, a professor with the Oxford Tropical Medication Analysis Programme who functions with Nosten on this problem. “There’s a long time period in which it doesn’t appear to be rising – and then it really is growing.”

Folks who have had the new strain of malaria report that it feels no distinct to the ailment cured in a day by artemisinin combination therapy just a couple of years ago. That might alter, but for now, the malaria itself does not cause new signs or a lot more complications – it’s just turning out to be a lot more challenging to ruin.

Daw Cho Cho, 50, was taken care of for malaria but the parasites returned a month later Photograph: Kathleen E McLaughlin for the Guardian

My Yee Thaung, whose 9-year-previous son not too long ago had malaria thought to be drug-resistant, explained he recovered, gradually, “but he’s even now not consuming extremely effectively.”

These individuals are between 1000′s participating in a 9-week review of their blood. The clinic, one of 5 malaria centres for Burmese refugees in Thailand run by SMRU, pays their transportation charges and a nominal amount to cover lost wages, and the individuals return to give blood samples after a week.

The amount of malaria instances has shrunk in this region dramatically in the previous thirty many years, given that Nosten and his team started to incorporate and eradicate it. When Nosten commenced the very first border clinic, the parasite was a major killer, infecting tens of thousands of people each and every rainy season. Today, there are a number of thousand cases each and every yr. But individuals that remain are a lot more probably to include a wilier parasite, 1 that is evolving to evade what was very first touted as a miracle drug.

The global implications of artemisinin dropping its edge on malaria are alarming. Worldwide, the WHO estimates there were 207 million malaria situations in 2012 and a lot more than 600,000 deaths, and says malaria charges dropped 25% throughout the world in the course of 2000-2012. The Institute for Well being Metrics and Evaluation employs a various methodology for tallying malaria deaths and says the worldwide death toll could be double what the WHO reports.

In both case, malaria numbers have dropped dramatically in the past decade. But what stays is even far more unsafe, and Nosten warns of a potential complacency that could permit drug-resistant malaria to erupt.

Scientists in Mae Sot’s border clinics study malaria parasites and new drugs that might be utilized to destroy them. Photograph: Kathleen E McLaughlin for the Guardian

“It is an emergency. Everybody is investing their time in meetings, providing advice, not acting speedily ample,” he stated. “It looks like this time we are going to get rid of.”

The march of drug-resistant malaria westward has begun. Circumstances are cropping up additional west in Burma, and could have entered Bangladesh. If which is the case, and background repeats itself, this unsafe and possibly deadly parasite could move additional west into India, then drop south to Africa. It has occurred twice before with the world’s very best malaria medicines and researchers such as Nosten worry a third wave is beneath way, negating a frontline treatment method for a killer of millions, with practically nothing new on the shelf to get its area.

Starting up this summer season and backed by the Global Fund and others, Nosten’s staff is going on the offensive against malaria in Burma. His teams will set up 800 village well being stations inside Burma, treating individuals who have the illness and pre-emptively providing medication to entire villages where a higher percentage of folks carry the malaria parasite. He believes containment – the strategy of decision thus far – has been as well limited, however malaria costs have dropped significantly. Elimination is now necessary.

Artemisinin-primarily based malaria drugs have couple of side-results and most folks call for only a 3-day program to get rid of the parasites. Nosten faced early opposition to his prepare, but says time and options have run out, and the downsides are minimum.

“It is already spread from the border into Myanmar [Burma],” he mentioned. “We should have carried out this three or 4 years ago. Now I am afraid it could be a bit also late.”

Malaria is forever outrunning its attackers, shifting its shape to survive the medication invented to eradicate the parasite.

Chloroquine was widely powerful all around the world, but started to get rid of its grip on malaria following mass dosing in endemic locations. Malaria grew resistant to the drug by the 1950s. Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, frequently offered as Fansidar, came following and proved efficient until finally the finish of the final century, when resistance proved widespread.

Artemisinin, derived from sweet wormwood, followed. China’s People’s Liberation Army at the behest of the Communist get together leader, Mao Zedong, developed the drug as portion of a secretive venture in the course of the Vietnam war. The hugely effective drug was stored out of the international marketplace by China but also since of international pharmaceutical spats. In 2006, it grew to become the world’s frontline malaria treatment.

These days, artemisinin nonetheless performs inside a combination drug. Since of a worldwide abundance of fake medicines (a lot of produced in China) and undesirable dosing, even so, its days are numbered.

New wave of drug-resistant malaria threatens hundreds of thousands

Healthcare in Lesotho at chance as hospital threatens to bankrupt health spending budget - video

A Lesotho hospital which was developed utilizing public and private financing is criticised by Oxfam as it deprives bad, rural locations of funding. 51% of the African country’s well being budget goes to the consortium working the Queen Mamohato memorial hospital, which was designed to enhance healthcare requirements. Other countries in Africa are becoming warned not to repeat Lesotho’s error

Healthcare in Lesotho at chance as hospital threatens to bankrupt health spending budget - video