Sludge Watch ==> CDC chemical exposure report - Cadmium Contamination on the Rise

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Cadmium levels in sewage sludge are quite high (compared to most animal 
manure). In the CDC study below we see that cadmium levels in humans is 
going up.  Cadmium in the soil can be accumulated in the leaves of some 
crops, especially dark green leafy vegetables like swiss chard and spinach. 
It is also found in organ meats especially liver.  Elevated exposure to 
cadmium can cause kidney damage.

In a wastewater industry forum this issue of cadmium contamination of food 
through sludge soil ammendments was raised.  Some researchers like Beverly 
Hale of Guelph University dismissed concerns.  "What's is a little renal 
failure compared to the advantages posed by agricultural disposal of 
sludge?" (personal communication).  Hey I guess some sludge land application 
advocates figure we should be willing to give up organ fuction so that 
industry can have cheap waste disposal though land application of sludge.

Nice of them to put it so bluntly.

National Report on Human
Exposure to Environmental Chemicals


To see the full  CDC report (475 pages) :

http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/3rd/pdf/thirdreport.pdf

...............................................................................
Press Release
For Immediate Release
July 21, 2005 Contact: CDC Press Office
(404) 639-3286

CDC Releases Extensive Survey of Americans’ Exposure to Environmental 
Chemicals


The Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, 
released today by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 
shows a significant decline in exposure to secondhand smoke and continued 
decreases in children’s blood lead levels. The report also suggests the need 
for more research into health effects of exposure to low levels of cadmium.

“This is the most extensive assessment ever of Americans’ exposure to 
environmental chemicals; it shows we’re making tremendous progress, and 
that’s good news,” said CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding. “Exposure to 
secondhand smoke continues to plummet and blood lead levels in children are 
way down. However, many challenges remain. CDC is steadfast in its 
commitment to health protection, including protection from environmental 
threats.”

Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke Decreases

Levels of a chemical called cotinine, which is a marker of exposure to 
secondhand smoke in nonsmokers, have dropped significantly since levels were 
first measured from 1988 to 1991. Compared with median levels for 1988-1991, 
median cotinine levels measured from 1999-2002 have decreased 68 percent in 
children, 69 percent in adolescents, and about 75 percent in adults. Still, 
some populations remain at greater risk; the third report shows that 
non-Hispanic blacks have levels twice as high as those of non-Hispanic 
whites or Mexican Americans, and children’s levels are twice as high as 
adults’ levels.

Children’s Blood Lead Levels Continue to Decline

New data on blood lead levels in children aged 1—5 years show that for 
1999—2002, 1.6 percent of children aged 1—5 years had elevated blood lead 
levels (levels of 10 micrograms per deciliter or greater – the CDC blood 
lead level of concern). This percentage has decreased from 4.4 percent in 
the early 1990s.

“Lowering blood lead levels in children is one of the major environmental 
health accomplishments of the past 30 years; however, CDC is still concerned 
about exposure to lead from lead-based paint and lead-contaminated house 
dust, soil and consumer products,” said Dr. Jim Pirkle, Deputy Director for 
Science at CDC’s Environmental Health Laboratory. “There is no safe blood 
lead level in children. Children are best protected by controlling or 
eliminating lead sources before they are exposed.”

Exposure to Cadmium Merits Monitoring

Recent studies have shown that urine levels of the metal cadmium as low as 1 
microgram per gram of creatinine may be associated with subtle kidney injury 
and an increased risk for low bone mineral density. The report shows that 
about 5 percent of the U.S. population aged 20 years and older had urinary 
cadmium at or near these levels. Cigarette smoking is the likely source for 
these higher cadmium levels. More research is needed on the public health 
consequences of these levels in people in this age group.

For this year’s report, CDC’s Environmental Health Laboratory measured 148 
chemicals – 38 of which have never been measured in the U.S. population – or 
their breakdown products (metabolites) in blood or urine. The samples were 
collected from approximately 2400 people who participated in CDC's National 
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 -2002. NHANES is 
an ongoing national health survey of the general U.S. population. The report 
provides exposure data on the U.S. population by age, sex, and race or 
ethnicity.

In addition to lead and cadmium, the report includes extensive data for such 
chemicals as mercury, lead, cadmium, and other metals; phthalates; 
organochlorine pesticides; organophosphate pesticides; pyrethroid 
insecticides; herbicides; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; dioxins and 
furans; polychlorinated biphenyls; and phytoestrogens.

CDC conducts this research to learn more about the effectiveness of public 
health interventions and better understand the health risks of exposure to 
chemicals in the environment. Research separate from the report’s findings 
is needed to determine the relationship between levels of chemicals in the 
blood or urine and health effects. The results presented in this and future 
reports will help set priorities for research on human health risks 
resulting from exposure to environmental chemicals.

The Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals and 
an executive summary are available online at the following Web site: 
http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport.


....................................



LEAD, CADMIUM IN FOOD, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP SAYS



Posted by News on 9:12:52 5/5/2003 from 134.121.87.141:
LEAD, CADMIUM IN FOOD, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP SAYS
May 5, 2003
Globe and Mail/CTV Toronto Canada
Page A6
Martin Mittelstaedt
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030505/ULEADN/
Health/Idx
A report by Environmental Defence Canada was cited as finding that Canadians
are chronically overexposed to lead and cadmium because high levels of these
metals are contained in many foods.
The report was cited as saying metals enter the food supply from industrial
pollution, sewage sludge and commercial fertilizers.
The story says that the group bases its assessment on unpublished Health
Canada data, obtained through the freedom-of-information law, on the metal
content in foods sold in Canada. However, a Health Canada official was cited
as rejecting the report's conclusion.
Environmental Defence, a major pressure group supported by foundations and
corporate donors, says its findings indicate that Canada needs an overhaul
of its food-safety system to ensure that routine industrial discharges of
metals are not ending up on agricultural land as fallout from air pollution
or from sewage sludge.
Berkhard Mausberg, executive director of Environmental Defence Canada, was
quoted as saying, "Canadians are eating toxic heavy metals regardless of
their diet. This isn't a problem that individuals can solve through
lifestyle changes. We need a better food-safety system."
John Salminen, head of Health Canada's chemical health-hazard assessment
division, was quoted as saying, "The concern that the levels of these metals
in food sold in Canada now represents a health concern is certainly
something that we do not agree with."
Health Canada regularly collects food from grocery stores in five cities and
prepares it the way Canadians normally do in their kitchens. The cooked food
is then analyzed for its metal content.
Mr. Salminen said lead levels in food have been declining for the past 10
years because the ban on leaded gasoline has reduced airborne deposition on
land.
But Robert Jervis, a University of Toronto professor of applied chemistry,
was cited as saying he worries about the public's lead intake, and that his
research shows people in urban areas have twice the lead levels as people in
rural areas, a legacy of the lead once used in gasoline.
Beverly Hale of the University of Guelph was quoted as saying, "the message
I would say to Canadians is not to worry about this. All of the intakes that
were reported in this study from diet are below that maximum recommended
daily intake set by the World Health Organization."