Login
Study Finds Link Between Air Pollution and Lung Cancer Rates
It’s well known that smoking can lead to lung cancer. New research also finds a connection between air pollution and lung cancer. A team of epidemiologists have been looking into the causes of various cancers, beyond smoking, for years. They recently published their third study in the series, which focuses on lung cancer, in the journal Environmental Health.
It’s a disease that can take 20 years to develop, so they designed a study to take smoking out of the equation over time. “What if no one smoked 20 years ago, what would cancer rates look like today?,” asked coauthor Doug Myers, a professor in epidemiology and sociology in the School of Public Health at Boise State University.
The researchers looked at 1,078 counties in the 15 states that provided data to the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program, and simulated a scenario where everyone stopped smoking. On average, lung cancer rates were cut by more than half, but the results varied widely. In some counties, lung cancer rates plunged. But in others, there was only a modest drop. Using data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index (AQI) they found that in counties with higher pollution levels, cancer rates remained higher than in places with cleaner air.
Toiling in Toxic Fields
Earth Island Journal reported:
The summer sun burned through the clouds in California’s Salinas Valley, where a bounty of berries and leafy green vegetables grows across this rich farmland renowned as the Salad Bowl of the World. Jose, a quiet 14-year-old, was squatting and bending over for hours with other workers in a sprawling strawberry field. The pickers, many of them also minors, snapped berries from plants and placed them in plastic cartons, eight of them in a cardboard box. They moved quickly along the long rows that lined the field.
Jose was exhausted but working as fast as he could; he was being paid $2.40 for each box he filled. As he ran with a full box, he fell on the uneven ground and twisted his ankle. It hurt for days, he later recalled, but he didn’t say anything to his boss for fear of losing his job. “You just gotta suck it up, and you gotta work through it,” he said on a Sunday last summer, his only day off that week. He has labored in the fields every summer and on weekends during the school year since he was 11 years old to help his mother, who also picks berries. His siblings, uncles, and cousins — four of them minors — work in local strawberry fields as well.
Jose said that some days he didn’t fill many boxes and earned less than minimum wage for the hours he worked, which would be a violation of state child-labor laws. He described toiling under the hot sun in fields where employers failed to provide shade for workers, as required by state law. He and his sister said they harvested strawberries in a field where a tractor had sprayed a liquid with a strong chemical odor. “It really smelled bad,” he said. “It gave me headaches.”
Lesser-Known ‘Forever Chemicals’ Linked to Faster Biological Aging
For years, regulators focused on two “forever chemicals” above all others; however, a new study finds their replacements may be just as concerning. The research, published in Frontiers in Aging, suggests that specific environmental chemicals may influence how quickly the body ages at the molecular level — especially during midlife, a period that may represent a critical window of susceptibility.
Two lesser-studied types of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) — not the more heavily regulated legacy PFAS compounds that have dominated policy debates for decades — were associated with accelerated epigenetic aging. The study analyzed data from 326 U.S. adults using exposure data from 1999 to 2000.
Researchers analyzed blood levels of multiple PFAS compounds in people aged 50 and older, estimating biological age using 12 DNA-based aging measures and accounting for age, sex, smoking history, and inflammation markers.
Two compounds showed significant associations with epigenetic aging. Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) was linked to several mortality-related aging clocks as well as measures reflecting a faster pace of aging. Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) was associated with one lifespan-predictive clock. Legacy PFAS compounds — including the more widely studied PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) — showed no significant associations.
Multigenerational Abnormalities Linked to Prostate Cancer Associated With Neonicotinoid Insecticide
In the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, a study of gestational (during pregnancy) exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticide thiacloprid shows epigenetic effects (alterations in genes without altering underlying DNA) within prostate tissues. To analyze the role of gene expression in subsequent generations after initial thiacloprid exposure, the authors exposed pregnant outbred Swiss mice to the insecticide in order to assess the offspring for multiple generations.
As a result, the researchers from the Université de Rennes in France state, “Our study revealed that exposure to thiacloprid induces [cell] proliferation and is associated with epigenetic alterations in the sperm of genes important for prostate development.” Increased cell proliferation in the prostate can cause the development of conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), and lead to prostate cancer.
The study also finds elevated levels of specific biomarkers within the prostates of both the first and third generations, including phosphorylated histone H3, a marker crucial for cell division. Hox gene expression in both generations was also impacted, which plays a role in prostate development, based on the altered DNA methylation (abnormal changes) in the sperm of the analyzed mice.
Governor Dewine, Ohio Epa Announce $65 Million Dupont Settlement Distribution
Mike DeWine Governor of Ohio reported:
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director John Logue today announced details on the distribution of $65 million in funding from the 2023 environmental restoration settlement with DuPont. The settlement agreement stems from a lawsuit Governor DeWine filed against DuPont while serving as Ohio’s attorney general in 2018. The lawsuit accused DuPont of releasing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) into the air and the Ohio River from its Washington Works facility in Parkersburg, W.Va., despite knowing the risks the chemical posed to public health and the environment.
The payment of the settlement funds was delayed until this year due to legal appeals. Final approval for the release of the funding was given by the Ohio Controlling Board today. Funding will be distributed to Belmont, Gallia, Lawrence, Meigs, Morgan, and Washington counties. The funding will support local drinking water infrastructure projects in more than a dozen Ohio communities.
“Access to safe drinking water is essential for every Ohio community,” said Governor DeWine. “These funding awards will be used to make critical improvements to local water systems that will protect public health and strengthen drinking water infrastructure for years to come.”
Gov. Evers Signs Bipartisan Bills Releasing $125m to Fight PFAS in Wisconsin
Gov. Tony Evers on Monday signed two bipartisan bills unlocking $125 million to help Wisconsin communities address PFAS contamination after more than two years of delays. The money, set aside in the 2023‑25 state budget, will fund local cleanup grants, expanded private well assistance, emergency bottled water, PFAS testing, and new Department of Natural Resources staff.
According to the governor’s office, about $80 million will go to municipalities for testing and treatment. Another $35 million will expand eligibility for well replacement grants to more homeowners, businesses, schools and child care providers. The bills also protect farmers, business owners and others from liability for PFAS pollution they didn’t cause.
“It’s not a pipe dream to think Wisconsinites should be able to trust the water coming out of their tap,” Evers said. “This will make a real difference for families living with the challenges of PFAS every day.”
Pesticide Giant Syngenta Readies New Weapon Against Superweeds
The Wall Street Journal reported:
One of the world’s biggest chemical companies aims to strike a new blow against hard-to-kill weeds that can cost farmers billions of dollars. Pesticide maker Syngenta said it would begin selling in South America this year a new weedkiller capable of eradicating grass weeds that have evolved to resist other common crop sprays, and threaten soybean and cotton crops.
The chemical, called Virestina, is part of a multibillion-dollar race among agriculture companies like Syngenta, Bayer and Corteva. The companies are pushing to research, develop and market herbicides after a decadeslong lull in launching new weedkillers.
Syngenta, owned by China National Chemical Co., said the weedkiller will launch in June in Argentina, the world’s third-largest soybean producer, after recently being approved for use there.
The company aims to obtain approvals in Brazil and Australia next, while the U.S. is expected later because of its longer regulatory process, Syngenta said. Heavy use of longstanding herbicides, like glyphosate, the main ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup, has contributed to resistance developing among weeds such as waterhemp and palmer amaranth.
