Environment and your Health

What is in your drinking water? When you think of the possible contaminants that could be in your water, you don’t usually think of pharmaceutical drugs. But an Associated Press investigation has uncovered a disturbing concoction of pharmaceuticals in the municipal drinking water of at least 41 million Americans.

Hike up to remote areas of snow-covered Crater Lake National Park and you may be miles from civilization, but don't eat the snow because it contains industrial PCBs, the banned pesticide DDT and at least two currently used pesticides.

Go fly-fishing in Golden Lake at Mount Rainier National Park but don't eat the trout because they carry relatively high levels of toxic flame retardant.

Or try fishing Montana's spectacular Glacier National Park but make sure you don't eat them either because the DDT in them is higher than levels found in fish studies from Africa, even though the United States phased out DDT production in 1972 and Africa still uses it for mosquito control.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is asking for public comment on a list of 104 possible drinking water contaminants that may need to be regulated in the future to ensure the continued protection of drinking water. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA includes on the draft Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) currently unregulated contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and which may require regulation. This draft CCL, which is the third such listing, lists 93 chemical contaminants or groups and 11 microbes, and describes the process and basis for selecting these contaminants.

Lead Poisoning is still a reality for many American citizens. Children, particularly those younger than 5, are especially vulnerable. What makes lead poisoning so alarming is no symptoms present themselves, no cues, such as sight or smell detect the substance, and even dirt and dust which are omnipresent may contain lead. Additionally, once lead is ingested it may remain in one’s body for years, and in the case of bones (where it prefers to reside) may last for decades What is a parent to do? Is there anything a parent can do?

Your latest friend from India gives her child a ‘very effective’ Indian herb when they have a slight tummy ache. It has been used for centuries in her country, and has been very helpful in soothing the stressed infant. She offers you some, when you discuss your own baby’s colic. This may be the god-sent you have been waiting for! Should you take it? Read the following, and then make a decision.

Toys from imported countries have been recalled after lead exposure became a concern. However, imported countries are not the only source of lead based toys: antique or toys from the parent’s childhood, as well as collectables pose a significant risk also. While the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issues recalls of toys that could potentially expose children to lead; only the parent is aware of home sources of toys which are also dangerous.

Children exposed to lead are at high risk for cognitive, motor, behavioral, and physical disabilities. The CDC has established a toxic dose for children at greater than 10 ug/dl. Exposure below 10 ug/dl. is still undetermined, and therefore, equally unhealthy. Although children are at greatest risk for neurological damage, all ages are adversely impacted.

Once levels rise above 10 ug/dl, it can take months, even years to rid the body of lead. This inordinate amount of time includes the children we medically intervene with to reduce toxic levels. What is especially disarming is that lead is not distributed within the body evenly; 70% of lead resides in the bone and it might be decades before bone levels decrease to normal.

When a disaster strikes a community, emergency rooms near-by go into ‘triage mode’. Triage is from the French language, and means sorting. As victims enter the emergency room they are quickly sorted, or ‘triaged’ into categories: first aid only, emergency and potential for surviving high, emergency and potential for surviving low, and dead on arrival. By triaging, emergency personnel can be utilized to the optimum level to provide care.

In the fall of 2007, most of us were riveted to the increasing force and volume of the West’s wild fire season. Even the severe drought in Georgia captured the Nation’s imagination. However, lest we forget, it is once more Hurricane season, and if you live on the Eastern Seacoast, it is time to review a few simple rules that will help you to prepare for the worse.

Preparing for a Hurricane

Tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF) infections may be more serious than generally recognized, and can lead to the development of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is breathing failure that can occur in critically ill persons with underlying illnesses. It is not a specific disease. Instead, it is a life-threatening condition that occurs when there is severe fluid buildup in both lungs. The fluid buildup prevents the lungs from working properly—that is, allowing the transfer of oxygen from air into the body and carbon dioxide out of the body into the air.