Occupational Health Related Disease: Byssinosis

I chose Byssinosis (brown lung) since I have not heard of this much before. It is a respiratory disease associated with working at textile mills (primarily dust from fibers i.e. cotton). I was reading a 1978 article from the NY Times about how the cotton industry pushed back against regulation and OSHA did not set any standards for cotton dust exposure. Eventually there were standards set around ventilation, respirator use, and routine medical check ups. Upon my research on this work related disease, there seems to be little campaigns and research around prevention, but in the US Byssinosis rates are declining, according to the American Lung Association and CDC.  I was hoping that the CDC would have more info on public health campaigns around this disease, but I am not finding much information.

OSHA Program

I found on OSHA's website that they support/provide a program that gives free consultation at high-risk work places (i.e. with high hazards or exposures). They support this for small businesses and their team members will go to the work place to give recommendations for improvements so that the business will not get fined by OSHA and to further ensure worker safety. Sounds like these services are for new/developing businesses which is great so that they can learn how to be more safe, especially if they grow! This does not really apply to me/my health/my work. I also found on the OSHA website a zone for young workers where it talks about their rights and how to safely handle equipment in different work environments. This portion of the website is very kid friendly (language use, colors, etc.) and is helpful for my health since there are a lot of youth who work in industries that I am involved in (restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores). I also work indirectly with youth and could use this knowledge to tell them about their rights/refer them to this site.

Material Safety Data Sheet

My friend works at the UC Berkeley "Innovative Genomics Institute" and was telling me about a common chemical in her workplace, Imidazole

Imidazole:

- skin burns and irritation, eye damage, may harm unborn child

-not a carcinogen

-wear protective gear i.e. gloves and goggles, recommends wearing a respirator but does not stress this as mandatory (which is confusing since it states inhaling it is a hazard and to immediately get fresh air if inhaled)

-did not receive any education or training on this chemical, but was told to look up the SDS for further info and to not inhale it. Received a overall/general training on how to read hazard labels (pictograms) but nothing specific to chemicals.

-no discrepancies between the SDS and ToxNet

The MSDS (now called SDS) for Imidazole (or any other chemical I am sure) was not easy to read and comprehend. It was also difficult to find. If a worker (particularly someone with a low English proficiency) has to find and read this on their own, they will probably have a difficult time understanding. 

Heavy Metals

My general thoughts/response from the 1st article by Herbert Needleman:
- surprised that lead was present in wine due to its sweet flavor
- also never knew that lead poisoning may have had an influence in the fall of Rome!
- i like that the article provided a breakdown of lead structure and toxicology
-its wild how lead can have so many different impacts, like even no collagen, and it is not just internal impact but also influential on behavior like hyperactivity
- i'm very interested in the association between lead and dementia

My general thoughts/response from the Nigerian lead article:
- so sad :( like the lead poisoning deaths were associated with people trying to make $$$ off gold (but i know that there was no knowledge that these actions would cause lead poisoning)
-a very collaborative and caring response to make the community safe again (reminds me of what i learned in my Community Based Participatory Research class)- input from local government, tribe members, NGOs, etc. to help respond to and prevent this crisis

Green Chemistry

I loved learning about green chemistry (aka sustainable chemistry). Although I had not heard about it before or read about its principles, I was not surprised to learn that this exists. If only this could be implemented everywhere! It makes me wonder how difficult (and maybe expensive) doing green chemistry is. Are most companies just being lazy and unethical? Or just banking on secondary prevention efforts? I cannot think of any major green chemistry examples from my life at the moment but I was recently informed about biodegradable glitter instead of regular glitter since it is eco-friendly! The video on the plastic garbage patch was so hard to watch, especially since the ugliness of pollution/littering/waste is taking place in such a beautiful location. What will that place look like in 10 years? 50 years? It was sad and crazy to hear one of the women in the video say that our ocean is the largest dumpster :(

Six Chemical Classes

One of the six chemical classes I chose to learn more about was flame retardants. The video I watched about them was clear and began by understanding why flame retardants have been used (to meet flammability regulations and delay spread of fire), but unfortunately they actually are not effective and are highly toxic. They cause more smoke and toxic gas to be released when burned, and when not burned, the chemicals can move onto our bodies, like on our hands, and move into dust that we breathe in. Some facts about flame retardants:

• babies are born with the same amount of flame retardants in their system as their mothers
• toddlers have 3-10 times more flame retardants in their system than adults (bc they have close contact with furniture and put their hands in their mouth)
• flame retardants can cause lower IQ and hyperactivity in kids, and cause reproductive issues and cancer in adults
• cats have 10-100 times more flame retardants in their system than humans since they lick their fur
• common items with flame retardants:
• TV cases, building insulation, car seats, mattresses, foam blocks

As the videos state- is it actually necessary to have this in our products? No, the cost outweighs the benefit! And when moving forward with purchasing household items (like a couch), I will remember to ask or check the tag to see if it has flame retardants. 

Ideal Chemical Policy

The ideal chemical policy would:

• clearly state the risk of use of the chemical (this would keep the farmer/grower informed)
• clearly state the risk of consumption of the chemical (this would keep the consumer informed, and further allow for informed consent around what we are choosing to put in our bodies)
• include mandated, not recommended, maximum quantities used of the chemical at one time, and would also suggest a healthier alternative to motivate safer substitutes/alternatives
• clearly state consequences for not following the policy to therefore uphold accountability and integrity (this could be supported by the EPA and through regular inspections)

This ideal chemical policy would take on the public health elements of protection and prevention. Protection of the people, as well as the environment, and prevention of harmful health outcomes due to environmental and chemical exposures. 

Chemical Policy Reform

I chose to read the background on "Act on Early Warnings". This article focused on primary preventions and suggested that chemicals should be assumed to be dangerous until they have been thoroughly tested. It also highlighted the importance of paying attention to "clusters of harm" as a warning sign that harmful chemicals may be being used. Other things this article mentioned:

• it is difficult to connect harm to specific chemicals
• health outcomes are unknown before use since there may be long latent periods after chemical exposures
• there needs to be more effort in reducing exposures

Suggestions include:

• monitoring new programs, chemicals, and technologies closely
• looking at toxicity records and making these records public
• developing systems that do not rely on toxic chemicals
• establishing "Early Warning Committees" that will receive reports on harmful outcomes or suspicions, report these, work to make recommendations and changes, and hold accountability for actions/change

What's on my Food?

I think this website is really cool/interesting in that we can learn what is on our food and see how many things (pesticides) go into agriculture. The only thing, however, is that I wish I could specify where I am buying my products from so that I could get a more accurate rating/description of what is on my food.

Last night I had a hamburger for dinner. On it I put lettuce and tomato and it was on a wheat bun. I'm pretty surprised by the amount of possible pesticide residue on the produce (almost 35 different types of pesticides on the lettuce and tomato!). The tomato even had suspected hormone disruptors and probable carcinogens. The hamburger (beef) had 6 residues like DDE which fell under probable carcinogen, suspected hormone disruptor, and reproductive toxins. The bun had only 4 pesticide residues. Each of the ingredients of my dinner had likelihood of bee toxins.

Along with personal choices, like buying organic and washing or peeling produce, public health could step in to help. There could be mandated laws on what is used in food production, how many pesticides are used at one time (is this already a law?), and specific pesticides could be outlawed altogether in favor of developing healthier/less harmful alternatives.

Lit Review Topic

How do chemical exposures on pregnant women influence the risk of having a child with autism?

This is what I am doing research on for my literature review. I think that there are some federal agencies that may provide regulatory oversight with chemical exposure impact, such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FECA) who looks at oil and gas industries, and also the FDA (more specifically the USDA) to regulate production- chemicals used in food production or food storage or pesticide use that may have harmful effects. 

Agency's Role in Environmental Health

The agency that I chose to look into was the US Department of Commerce. This agency is in charge of money/economics with the goal of economic growth and efficiency. A main thing that caught my eye in regards to this agency with its connection to environmental health is its ability to place expectations on industrial production and standards. Perhaps the Dept of Commerce can further uphold EPA values in regulating materials, methods of production, and chemical exposures, which could assist in sustainability efforts and protection of all life. The Dept of Commerce could also influence money distribution for disaster relief funds and contribute $ to research on climate change.

Local Environmental Services

I went to the Alameda County Public Health Department website and identified these as environmental health services:
-asthma program: education and case management, home visits, collaboration with landlords and medical providers on asthma prevention and treatment
-lead poisoning prevention: education on sources of lead, lead prevention/reducing hazards, lead testing
-tobacco control program: education, enforcement of law and policies on smoking, reducing second hand smoke exposure and availability of products
-wildfire smoke program: education on what to do when wildfires occur near your area in order to decrease the amount of smoke you breathe in; how to track your air quality.

I was surprised to see the amount of programs supporting mental health and adolescent health around nutrition and physical activity. I was also surprised on the specificity of some services, for example, around infections such as Ebola and the flu. Honestly looking at this webpage made me really happy and inspired that so many specific services exist in Alameda county that include a wide range of public health concepts/needs.

Local Food and Obesogens

What is locally grown where I live: The first thing I found were a couple of meat companies/factories in SF lol, I know this is not grown but it still relates to production! But in regards to produce, there is a farm in El Sobrante as well as Alameda, both very close to me. Currently, the items in season are: peppers, chard and other greens, broccoli, zucchini, squash, pumpkins, garlic. The Harvest Calendar showed me other in season items as well, including artichokes, beets, basil, corn, eggplant, citrus, rhubarb, persimmons (yay!) and pomegranates (yay!).

I looovee the idea of hospitals partnering with local farms to bring in healthier, fresh foods. The farm to table movement could definitely shift to include hospitals, why hasn't this become more of a thing? I know it is really popular in Bay Area schools to expose students to gardening, healthy food options, and environmental health through such farm/garden programs.

The second article on obesogens was really helpful in further understanding what they are. I did not know about them and first heard of them from class when we went to the library! It's interesting with how they can have several different effects, such as increasing the # of fat cells, size of fat cells, or impact one's hunger, satiety, or metabolism.

i chose to look further into BPA on ToxNet. There was a study done on it to see if early life exposure would cause weight gain later in childhood (there was an association) but more research is needed. I also just read about the chemical and its effects, such as causing allergies and irritations (to throat, nose, and eyes), dermatitis, and disruption of the endocrine system.

Use of Antibiotics

The underlying theme within the articles (especially the last 3) is the need for more research around the impact increased use of antimicrobials and antibiotics have on human health.

I enjoyed the first article because it was a clear explanation on why industrial farms are using antibiotics with their animals, and I appreciated learning about "non therapeutic use". I understand why this is being done, but I do not understand why it needs to be so excessive. I also thought it was nice how the article was outlining the scientific/biological explanations around antibiotic resistance. I agree with the recommendations around creating legislative restrictions on non therapeutic antibiotic use in industrial farming!

I thought learning about the "superbug" was interesting. It is a little disturbing to read that people can get this even from non-direct contact with the farm animals. We need research on exposure/mode of transmission. The article on the antimicrobial wipes was fascinating because I (and I think we as a society) assume that if something says "antimicrobial" that is is a more effective/protective way to clean! I liked the clarity of the last article/policy brief and I connected a lot with the recommendation to only use microbial that have undergone EPA evaluation to know that they are not going to increase risk of hospital associated infections. This topic also needs some more research. Overall, very interesting reads.

Industrial Farming: Bees, Dirt, and Compost

I was aware of our crisis around bees vanishing. I went to an exhibit a year ago at the Oakland museum that illustrated this and visually showed potential impacts on our food/fruits/vegetables/flowers availability as well as the economic and social impact for farms. It is scary! I can't imagine a world without fruits and vegetables.

I have not finished watching Dirt! yet, but I am finding it very interesting and I love how it caused me to consider the value of dirt and how this has a different label/definition/value from "soil".  Dirt is ~alive~ and it is essential for life!

I really enjoyed navigating and reading the website on factory farms. There is not a factory near me (in Alameda County) which I think makes sense given the city life here. But there is high density factory farms north of me in Marin County, and severe density in Sonoma County. This makes sense to me given the open land up there and they are known for farming and delicious cheese. I had it in my mind that they were local, small friendly farms so I am a little saddened by the reality.

I do compost. My housemates and I keep it in the freezer to minimize bugs or smell. It is slightly extra effort to compost but I think it is worth it. In college, I used to teach elementary schools about compost and farming when they came on field trips to UC Davis!