http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201409020040.aspx
Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) Taiwan has developed a new method for fast
detection of dioxin compounds, for use primarily in large-scale
investigations of dioxin contamination, the Environmental Protection
Administration (EPA) said Tuesday.
The cost of a typical
instrument for dioxin analysis is about NT$10 million (US$334,057) and
the process usually takes a long time, the EPA said.
It said such instruments, therefore, are not suitable for the detection of dioxins, in investigations and studies.
In
an effort to address the problem, the EPA said, it began in 2004 to use
a new analytic method of dioxin detection adopted from abroad. However,
while the patented technique was easy to use, it cost Taiwan NT$750,000
in patent fees per year, the EPA added.
The EPA said its
Environmental Analysis Laboratory, in collaboration with the National
Health Research Institutes, began working on a similar technique in 2008
and succeeded in developing a suitable one after three years of
research.
The locally developed technique is six times faster
than the normal methods and costs about the one-tenth of the price,
according to the EPA. It can also test 10 times the number of samples
per batch than other methods, the EPA said.
READ MORE
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Some Vietnam Vets Left to Wonder Whether Agent Orange Made Them Sick
http://wuwm.com/post/some-vietnam-vets-left-wonder-whether-agent-orange-made-them-sick
More than four decades ago, the U.S. military blanketed Vietnam with Agent Orange and researchers continue to find ways the toxic herbicide has sickened the nation's veterans.
The U.S. military used Agent Orange to deforest land during the Vietnam War.
To date, researchers blame Agent Orange for causing 14 illnesses in veterans, who are eligible for federal compensation and health care.
But some Vietnam vets are sick with conditions not on the official list, but insist Agent Orange is the cause.
However for many purported connections, there is no proof, at least so far.
Jim Gumm lives in the small house he grew up in on the west side of Milwaukee. Photographs of his parents dot the living room walls. His old dog tags hang over one frame.
Forty-five-years ago, Gumm was stationed at a small air base tucked between rice paddies in southwestern Vietnam. He recalls U.S. transport planes spraying Agent Orange around the base, to defoliate the land.
“This was not gentle stuff and you know, we had to walk through it. And you didn’t know what it was. That’s the problem. Some people got boils, some people got sick,” Gumm says.
READ MORE
More than four decades ago, the U.S. military blanketed Vietnam with Agent Orange and researchers continue to find ways the toxic herbicide has sickened the nation's veterans.
The U.S. military used Agent Orange to deforest land during the Vietnam War.
To date, researchers blame Agent Orange for causing 14 illnesses in veterans, who are eligible for federal compensation and health care.
But some Vietnam vets are sick with conditions not on the official list, but insist Agent Orange is the cause.
However for many purported connections, there is no proof, at least so far.
Jim Gumm lives in the small house he grew up in on the west side of Milwaukee. Photographs of his parents dot the living room walls. His old dog tags hang over one frame.
Forty-five-years ago, Gumm was stationed at a small air base tucked between rice paddies in southwestern Vietnam. He recalls U.S. transport planes spraying Agent Orange around the base, to defoliate the land.
“This was not gentle stuff and you know, we had to walk through it. And you didn’t know what it was. That’s the problem. Some people got boils, some people got sick,” Gumm says.
READ MORE
Block Genetically Modified Agent Orange Crops
http://forcechange.com/131791/block-genetically-modified-agent-orange-crops/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=block-genetically-modified-agent-orange-crops
Target: U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack
Goal: Deny government approval for chemical-intensive “Agent Orange” FrankenCrops
Until recently, Monsanto has been the prime mover behind genetically engineered pesticide-promoting crops. The company’s aggressive patenting and marketing of genetically modified (GM) seeds that are able to withstand massive, ecocidal applications of its Roundup weed killer has made it public enemy number one for anyone who cares about family farms, sustainable agriculture, or healthy food systems. But the mantle of most-hated corporation may soon be passed on to Dow Chemical, maker of such 20th century delights as Napalm and Agent Orange. Not to be outdone by Monsanto’s chemical footprint, Dow is currently seeking U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval for its own brand of toxin-loving FrankenCrops.
The connection to Agent Orange is not coincidental. In the same way that Monsanto seeds are resistant to Roundup, Dow’s new GE crops would be resistant to its own version of easy money: 2,4-D, otherwise known as half of the toxic chemical cocktail that goes into Agent Orange. Widely used as a weapon of chemical warfare during the Vietnam War, Agent Orange is said to have killed around 400,000 people directly, and been responsible for over half a million birth defects in Vietnam alone. Among American soldiers, exposure to Agent Orange has been linked to a plethora of cancers, several nerve disorders, digestive and skin issues, and an increased rate of miscarriage among the wives of returned veterans.
The reason that Dow has developed the new GM seeds to be resistant to 2,4-D is that Roundup has become less and less effective, as heavy application has caused new Roundup resistant superweeds to evolve and spread. In replacing the old GM seeds, these new seeds would simply be another step in the escalating chemical arms race that is inherent to industrial monoculture. 2,4-D is also far more toxic than Roundup, and is already a major source of dioxins in our natural environment. Dow Chemical is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths from chemical contamination—this is not a company we want involved in our food system. Tell the USDA to reject Dow’s plan to spread Agent Orange across our country.
READ MORE
Target: U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack
Goal: Deny government approval for chemical-intensive “Agent Orange” FrankenCrops
Until recently, Monsanto has been the prime mover behind genetically engineered pesticide-promoting crops. The company’s aggressive patenting and marketing of genetically modified (GM) seeds that are able to withstand massive, ecocidal applications of its Roundup weed killer has made it public enemy number one for anyone who cares about family farms, sustainable agriculture, or healthy food systems. But the mantle of most-hated corporation may soon be passed on to Dow Chemical, maker of such 20th century delights as Napalm and Agent Orange. Not to be outdone by Monsanto’s chemical footprint, Dow is currently seeking U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval for its own brand of toxin-loving FrankenCrops.
The connection to Agent Orange is not coincidental. In the same way that Monsanto seeds are resistant to Roundup, Dow’s new GE crops would be resistant to its own version of easy money: 2,4-D, otherwise known as half of the toxic chemical cocktail that goes into Agent Orange. Widely used as a weapon of chemical warfare during the Vietnam War, Agent Orange is said to have killed around 400,000 people directly, and been responsible for over half a million birth defects in Vietnam alone. Among American soldiers, exposure to Agent Orange has been linked to a plethora of cancers, several nerve disorders, digestive and skin issues, and an increased rate of miscarriage among the wives of returned veterans.
The reason that Dow has developed the new GM seeds to be resistant to 2,4-D is that Roundup has become less and less effective, as heavy application has caused new Roundup resistant superweeds to evolve and spread. In replacing the old GM seeds, these new seeds would simply be another step in the escalating chemical arms race that is inherent to industrial monoculture. 2,4-D is also far more toxic than Roundup, and is already a major source of dioxins in our natural environment. Dow Chemical is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths from chemical contamination—this is not a company we want involved in our food system. Tell the USDA to reject Dow’s plan to spread Agent Orange across our country.
READ MORE
Monday, August 25, 2014
SIGN THIS PETITION! - Release all of the US Navy ship names that carried or housed Agent Orange
SIGN THIS PETITION
For over 50 years our veterans have been dying from the side effects of the herbicide called Agent Orange, with next to little or no help from the Department of Veterans Affairs simply because the Department of the Navy and DOD will not release the information of the ships that carried Agent Orange.
Every few years the Department of the Navy and DOD release
a few names of the ships that carried Agent Orange, but by that time
there's already been several service members who have been killed by
Agent Orange. My father is dying from a rare heart condition that can
only be caused by www.gofundme/myoung
and we desperately need the funds for medical equipment ( Medical bed
lifts shower stand wheelchair in-house nursing ect.) and medical care.
On that matter no US Navy aircraft carrier has been added to the Agent
Orange list to this day. It is beyond time for The Department of the
Navy and Department of Defense to release the names of the ships, so our
veterans can get the care that they desperately need and have
rightfully earned. DEMAND change and DEMAND integrity and honor from our
government! We can use all the help we can at www.gofundme.com/myoung.
Please sign my petition to hold our government accountable for our
veterans who have been grossly neglected. Please help me help the
thousands of US Navy veterans who do not have a fundraiser or a advocate
and who are dying right now.
Agent Orange, which includes several side effects. My
father has experienced strokes, heart attack, heart condition,
blindness, and multiorgan failures. This is just what my father has
experienced there are many many more side effects. As you can imagine
the medical bills for dealing with this is staggering, currently we are
over a million dollars in debt and counting with no help from the VA
because my father is not service connected because his ship ( The USS
Oriskany ) has not been added to the Agent Orange list. We do you have a
fundraiser for my father at
SIGN THIS PETITION
For over 50 years our veterans have been dying from the side effects of the herbicide called Agent Orange, with next to little or no help from the Department of Veterans Affairs simply because the Department of the Navy and DOD will not release the information of the ships that carried Agent Orange.
SIGN THIS PETITION
Hypothyroidism and Pesticide Use Among Male Private Pesticide Applicators in the Agricultural Health Study
http://journals.lww.com/joem/Fulltext/2013/10000/Hypothyroidism_and_Pesticide_Use_Among_Male.7.aspx?WT.mc_id=EMxALLx20100222xxFRIEND
Thyroid disease is common with a prevalence of approximately
7.5% in the US population. This may be an underestimate because some
studies have reported an additional 9% of adults with unidentified
clinical or subclinical disease.1–3 Known risk factors for thyroid disease, such as age, genetic predisposition, and female sex,4
are nonmodifiable, making the identification of modifiable risk factors
for thyroid disease all the more important. Thyroid disease is less
common in men than in women and has been less studied, so there is a
paucity of data regarding risk factors in men.
Some pesticides have been reported to act as endocrine disruptors with effects on many systems, including the thyroid.5–7
Studies focusing on the effect of pesticides on the levels of
circulating thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) or thyroid hormone,
triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), have found conflicting results.8–10
Mechanisms for thyroid disruption may include interference at the level
of the hypothalamus–pituitary–thyroid axis, inhibition of iodine intake
in the thyroid gland by the sodium–iodide symporter, increased
synthesis of uridine diphosphate glucoronyltransferase, altered binding
of the transport proteins resulting in increased excretion of thyroid
hormone, decreased cellular uptake of thyroid hormone, alteration in the
expression of deiodinases, altered transcriptional activity of thyroid
hormone receptors, and up- or downregulated expression of thyroid
hormone–regulated genes.11–13
Nevertheless, not all pesticides have been classified as endocrine
disruptors, and those that have do not all have the same effect on
thyroid function or have the same mechanism of action.
READ MORE: http://journals.lww.com/joem/Fulltext/2013/10000/Hypothyroidism_and_Pesticide_Use_Among_Male.7.aspx?WT.mc_id=EMxALLx20100222xxFRIEND
Friday, August 22, 2014
Judge’s Surprise Ruling On Veteran’s Exposure to Toxic Chemicals On U.S. Military Base Called “Turning Point”
http://www.ibtimes.com/judges-surprise-ruling-veterans-exposure-toxic-chemicals-us-military-base-called-turning-1569225
For the past decade, U.S. Army veteran Steve House has been on a mission. Riding the highways of America from Oregon to Virginia on his Harley, he has visited dozens of fellow vets and medical and military experts to hear their stories and collect information to bolster his claim that he is entitled to disability payments after being exposed to toxic chemicals during his service in the late 1970s.
House, 56, a burly, deep-voiced man with a long beard and ponytail
who was stationed at Camp Carroll in South Korea, suffers from diabetes,
liver disease, glaucoma, neuropathy and other illnesses. He has been
locked in a bitter, protracted battle with the Department of Veterans
Affairs over his claim that his illnesses are linked to his work burying
250 barrels of Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant, in 1978 -- three
years after the last Marines left Vietnam.
House has doggedly pursued any information that might help get his claim approved and prove to VA that he’s not fabricating his exposure. His claim was repeatedly denied by the VA until last week, when a judge with VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) acknowledged that House’s suffering resulted from chemical exposure at Camp Carroll, though it stopped short of naming Agent Orange.
“I was determined to show that I was telling the truth about why I’m so sick,” House said. “I gave up countless hours of my life, including years of my vacation time that I should have spent with my family, digging for facts. I have a very understanding wife. I had to do what I had to do.”
The VA portrayed the ruling as a single administrative finding that applies to this one man. But House and others who have long alleged a government cover-up regarding Agent Orange and other toxic chemicals say it is an acknowledgement of the malevolent consequences of veterans’ exposure to those chemicals, even if, at this stage, it is unclear how the ruling will affect cases that are specifically about Agent Orange.
Rick Weidman, executive director of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), called the judge’s decision on House’s claim historic. “It’s a precedent, a real turning point that we haven’t had before,” Weidman said. “Despite the fact that VA is still not saying that Agent Orange was buried there, virtually no one to date has gotten recognition for exposure to toxic chemicals, Agent Orange or otherwise, outside of the war zone. VA finally admits they sprayed Agent Orange along the DMZ [in Korea], but as far as toxins harming veterans at any other location, they very rarely admit it.”
READ MORE: http://www.ibtimes.com/judges-surprise-ruling-veterans-exposure-toxic-chemicals-us-military-base-called-turning-1569225
For the past decade, U.S. Army veteran Steve House has been on a mission. Riding the highways of America from Oregon to Virginia on his Harley, he has visited dozens of fellow vets and medical and military experts to hear their stories and collect information to bolster his claim that he is entitled to disability payments after being exposed to toxic chemicals during his service in the late 1970s.
House has doggedly pursued any information that might help get his claim approved and prove to VA that he’s not fabricating his exposure. His claim was repeatedly denied by the VA until last week, when a judge with VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) acknowledged that House’s suffering resulted from chemical exposure at Camp Carroll, though it stopped short of naming Agent Orange.
“I was determined to show that I was telling the truth about why I’m so sick,” House said. “I gave up countless hours of my life, including years of my vacation time that I should have spent with my family, digging for facts. I have a very understanding wife. I had to do what I had to do.”
The VA portrayed the ruling as a single administrative finding that applies to this one man. But House and others who have long alleged a government cover-up regarding Agent Orange and other toxic chemicals say it is an acknowledgement of the malevolent consequences of veterans’ exposure to those chemicals, even if, at this stage, it is unclear how the ruling will affect cases that are specifically about Agent Orange.
Rick Weidman, executive director of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), called the judge’s decision on House’s claim historic. “It’s a precedent, a real turning point that we haven’t had before,” Weidman said. “Despite the fact that VA is still not saying that Agent Orange was buried there, virtually no one to date has gotten recognition for exposure to toxic chemicals, Agent Orange or otherwise, outside of the war zone. VA finally admits they sprayed Agent Orange along the DMZ [in Korea], but as far as toxins harming veterans at any other location, they very rarely admit it.”
READ MORE: http://www.ibtimes.com/judges-surprise-ruling-veterans-exposure-toxic-chemicals-us-military-base-called-turning-1569225
Times Beach, Missouri: Abandoned City Demolished due to Dioxin Exposure
http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2014/08/times-beach-missouri-abandoned-city-demolished-dioxin/
At over 2,000 miles from coast to coast, it’s no wonder that the United States is a repository of abandoned cities and settlements, from Wild West ghost towns like Bodie in California to modern ruins such as Centralia, Pennsylvania.
And just as Centralia became a ghost town after suffering a strange
underground mine fire which still burns today, the city of Times Beach,
Missouri was abandoned just 60 years after its founding in 1925 due to
the worst case of civilian exposure to dioxin in U.S. history.
Located just 17 miles southwest of St. Louis, Times Beach was a thriving resort town during the Roaring Twenties, an easy escape for urbanites looking for a break from the big city. But when summer homes became less practical following the Great Depression and post-World War Two petrol rationing, the city declined into a low income community supported by a small store and gas station serving travellers along Route 66, the historic highway connecting Chicago to Los Angeles.
Though the first several decades since its founding brought economic woes to Times Beach, the ailing city’s final death knell was dealt in the 1970s due to an environmental disaster of epic, if local, proportions. Plagued by dust problems due to miles of unpaved roads, a contractor was hired to spray waste oil onto the area’s highways to contain the spread of dust. And thus came the beginning of the end.
READ MORE: http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2014/08/times-beach-missouri-abandoned-city-demolished-dioxin/
Located just 17 miles southwest of St. Louis, Times Beach was a thriving resort town during the Roaring Twenties, an easy escape for urbanites looking for a break from the big city. But when summer homes became less practical following the Great Depression and post-World War Two petrol rationing, the city declined into a low income community supported by a small store and gas station serving travellers along Route 66, the historic highway connecting Chicago to Los Angeles.
Though the first several decades since its founding brought economic woes to Times Beach, the ailing city’s final death knell was dealt in the 1970s due to an environmental disaster of epic, if local, proportions. Plagued by dust problems due to miles of unpaved roads, a contractor was hired to spray waste oil onto the area’s highways to contain the spread of dust. And thus came the beginning of the end.
READ MORE: http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2014/08/times-beach-missouri-abandoned-city-demolished-dioxin/
Dioxin cleanup downstream from Dow Chemical to enter next stage
http://michiganradio.org/post/dioxin-cleanup-downstream-dow-chemical-enter-next-stage
The Environmental Protection Agency has a plan for cleaning up soil contaminated by dioxins along the Tittabawasee River floodplain. The floodplain extends along 21 miles of the river below the Dow Chemical plant in Midland.
The EPA says the dioxins, which can cause cancer and other serious health effects, came from waste disposal, emissions and incineration from the plant.
The EPA has been directing Dow to do temporary cleanups around people’s homes whenever the river floods.
“The issue is, when it floods, is the water comes up, it takes the contaminated sediments out of the river; and it deposits them in their backyards, under their swings, under their trampolines, in their gardens, in their chicken coops, on their farm fields,” - Michelle Hurd Riddick, community activist says.
Hurd Riddick is a member of an environmental group in Saginaw called the Lone Tree Council.
Hurd Riddick says they’ve been doing those temporary cleanups until they can get to this proposed cleanup of the Tittabawasee River floodplain.
The EPA did not provide an interview for this story. But the EPA’s plan says the agency will not clean up the entire floodplain. Instead, federal and state agencies will evaluate each property and work with the homeowner if cleanup is needed.
Dow Chemical will clean up properties under the EPA’s supervision.
Riddick says her group is concerned that not enough properties will get cleaned up.
“Our problem is, even though they’re telling us what they’re going to do, there’s a lot of things we’re not sure about the direction yet and I don’t think EPA’s articulating it well enough.”
READ MORE: http://michiganradio.org/post/dioxin-cleanup-downstream-dow-chemical-enter-next-stage
The Environmental Protection Agency has a plan for cleaning up soil contaminated by dioxins along the Tittabawasee River floodplain. The floodplain extends along 21 miles of the river below the Dow Chemical plant in Midland.
The EPA says the dioxins, which can cause cancer and other serious health effects, came from waste disposal, emissions and incineration from the plant.
The EPA has been directing Dow to do temporary cleanups around people’s homes whenever the river floods.
“The issue is, when it floods, is the water comes up, it takes the contaminated sediments out of the river; and it deposits them in their backyards, under their swings, under their trampolines, in their gardens, in their chicken coops, on their farm fields,” - Michelle Hurd Riddick, community activist says.
Hurd Riddick is a member of an environmental group in Saginaw called the Lone Tree Council.
Hurd Riddick says they’ve been doing those temporary cleanups until they can get to this proposed cleanup of the Tittabawasee River floodplain.
The EPA did not provide an interview for this story. But the EPA’s plan says the agency will not clean up the entire floodplain. Instead, federal and state agencies will evaluate each property and work with the homeowner if cleanup is needed.
Dow Chemical will clean up properties under the EPA’s supervision.
Riddick says her group is concerned that not enough properties will get cleaned up.
“Our problem is, even though they’re telling us what they’re going to do, there’s a lot of things we’re not sure about the direction yet and I don’t think EPA’s articulating it well enough.”
READ MORE: http://michiganradio.org/post/dioxin-cleanup-downstream-dow-chemical-enter-next-stage
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
"I gotta tell ya..." George Claxton's "Smoking Gun" Studies
Effects of endocrine disruptors on the human fetal testis
The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AHR) as a Mediator of Adverse Immune Reactions
Evolution
of sperm quality in men living in the vicinity of a municipal solid
waste incinerator possibly correlated with decreasing dioxins emission
levels
Developmental
Exposure of Mice to Dioxin Promotes Transgenerational Testicular
Inflammation and an Increased Risk of Preterm Birth in Unexposed Mating
Partners
Agent Orange exposure and cancer incidence in Korean Vietnam veterans: A prospective cohort study
Agent Orange exposure and disease prevalence in Korean Vietnam veterans: The Korean Veterans health study.
Liver Tumor Promotion by 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-
http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.Monday, August 18, 2014
For the children, grandchildren, and future generations...
S.2738 replaces S.1602--In
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2738
To establish in the Department of Veterans Affairs a national center for research on the diagnosis and
treatment of health conditions of the descendants of veterans exposed to toxic substances during
service in the Armed Forces, to establish an advisory board on exposure to toxic substances,
and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31, 2014
Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Moran, and Mr. Begich) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish in the Department of Veterans Affairs a national center for research on the diagnosis
and treatment of health conditions of the descendants of veterans exposed to toxic substances
during service in the Armed Forces, to establish an advisory board on exposure to toxic substances,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014''.
"Mortality study of civilian employees exposed to contaminated drinking water at USMC Base Camp Lejeune: a retrospective cohort study"
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/civilianmortalitystudy.html
On
August 13, 2014 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's
(ATSDR) journal article "Mortality study of civilian employees exposed
to contaminated drinking water at USMC Base Camp Lejeune: a
retrospective cohort study" was published (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/
The
purpose of this study was to determine whether potential exposures to
the drinking water contaminants at Camp Lejeune are associated with
increased risk of death from specific cancers and other chronic diseases
among civilian workers employed at the base. The study evaluated
specific causes of death in 4,647 full-time workers who were employed at
Camp Lejeune during 1973-1985. ATSDR also evaluated a comparison group
of 4,690 full-time workers who were employed at Camp Pendleton during
1973-1985 but were not employed at Camp Lejeune during this period. The
Camp Pendleton workers were not exposed to contaminated drinking water.
This
study is one of several health initiatives that ATSDR is expected to
complete in the next several years. For more information about these
studies, visit http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/
Since
1991, the Marine Corps has supported the health initiatives conducted
by various scientific agencies. We are also working diligently to
identify and notify individuals who, in the past, may have been exposed
to the chemicals in drinking water. For more information about these
efforts or to update your contact information, please see: http://www.marines.mil/
To contact the Department of Veterans Affairs to learn more about health care benefits, please visit http://www.publichealth.va.
Sincerely,
The Camp Lejeune Historic Drinking Water Program
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