| 1. |
- Bergman, Åke, et al.
(författare)
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Manufacturing doubt about endocrine disrupter science : A rebuttal of industry-sponsored critical comments on the UNEP/WHO report "State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals 2012"
- 2015
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Ingår i: Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology. - : Academic Press. - 0273-2300 .- 1096-0295. ; 73:3, s. 1007-1017
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a detailed response to the critique of "State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals 2012" (UNEP/WHO, 2013) by financial stakeholders, authored by Lamb et al. (2014). Lamb et al.'s claim that UNEP/WHO (2013) does not provide a balanced perspective on endocrine disruption is based on incomplete and misleading quoting of the report through omission of qualifying statements and inaccurate description of study objectives, results and conclusions. Lamb et al. define extremely narrow standards for synthesizing evidence which are then used to dismiss the UNEP/WHO 2013 report as flawed. We show that Lamb et al. misuse conceptual frameworks for assessing causality, especially the Bradford-Hill criteria, by ignoring the fundamental problems that exist with inferring causality from empirical observations. We conclude that Lamb et al.'s attempt of deconstructing the UNEP/WHO (2013) report is not particularly erudite and that their critique is not intended to be convincing to the scientific community, but to confuse the scientific data. Consequently, it promotes misinterpretation of the UNEP/WHO (2013) report by non-specialists, bureaucrats, politicians and other decision makers not intimately familiar with the topic of endocrine disruption and therefore susceptible to false generalizations of bias and subjectivity.
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| 2. |
- Bergman, Åke, et al.
(författare)
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Science and policy on endocrine disrupters must not be mixed : a reply to a "common sense" intervention by toxicology journal editors
- 2013
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Ingår i: Environmental Health. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1476-069X. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The "common sense" intervention by toxicology journal editors regarding proposed European Union endocrine disrupter regulations ignores scientific evidence and well-established principles of chemical risk assessment. In this commentary, endocrine disrupter experts express their concerns about a recently published, and is in our considered opinion inaccurate and factually incorrect, editorial that has appeared in several journals in toxicology. Some of the shortcomings of the editorial are discussed in detail. We call for a better founded scientific debate which may help to overcome a polarisation of views detrimental to reaching a consensus about scientific foundations for endocrine disrupter regulation in the EU.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Bornman, Riana, et al.
(författare)
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DDT in Brest Milk: Intake, Risk, Lactation Duration, and Effect of Gender.
- 2012
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Ingår i: Epidemiology. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 1044-3983.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- DDT is annually applied indoors of every dwelling at 64-128 g DDT for malaria vector control. We studied 163 breast milk samples from three DDT-sprayed villages and one reference village in South Africa for the presence and levels of DDT. Mean ?DDT levels in breast milk from the DDT-sprayed villages were 18, 11, and 9.5 mg/kg mf (milk fat) (1.4 mg/kg mf reference village). Primipara mothers from DDT-sprayed villages had significantly higher levels ?DDT in their milk. The highest DDT level in breast milk ever reported from South Africa was detected (5.2 mg/l wm (whole milk) and 140 mg/kg mf). The Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) in milk and Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake (PTDI) for DDT by infants were significantly exceeded in DDT-sprayed villages (maximum exceeded the MRL 310 times, and the PTDI 99 times). The differences between villages indicated differences in exposure and uptake due to application, substrate, and/or culture. The duration of completed lactation was similar for all four villages and DDT exposure had no effect on the duration. There were indications (not significant) that first-born female infants drank milk with higher ?DDT levels than first-born male infants and vice versa for multipara male and female infants. These patterns were evident in each of the DDT-spayed villages, suggesting gender involvement on levels of DDT in breast milk. In view of the high levels recorded, effective measures to reduce DDT exposure are urgently needed, over and above the need to find suitable, safe, and sustainable alternatives.
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| 5. |
- Bornman, Riana, et al.
(författare)
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Household behavioural responses following successful IRS malaria control: Challenges for health education and intervention strategies.
- 2012
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Control of malaria remains one of the world’s chief current public health challenges, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where malaria is still responsible for 10% of the total disease burden. Mothers, guardians and caregivers of children play a vital role in the prevention, early detection and management of malaria. The general and daily priorities of caregivers living in a malarial area are not well understood, particularly as they have to balance competing social, economic and health constraints. A better understanding of household behaviour with respect to health education is imperative for the reduction of malaria incidence and the success of malaria control strategies. The investigation compared the relative importance assigned by female caregivers in communities under a successful vertically-managed malaria control programme to malaria awareness on the one hand and to social and economic concerns on the other. We conducted interviews with 156 caregivers of children using both open-ended and closed fixed-answer questions. The adult female responsible for the day-to-day care of the children was interviewed 1) in two malarial villages subject to annual indoor residual spraying (IRS) a total of 120 persons (60 in each village), and 2) 36 in a reference non-sprayed village. The mean income was between 27-56% of the national mean, indicating a community under considerable pressure. Male parents were often absent due to work commitments. Unemployment, poverty, crime, and lack of clean water were the main, unprompted, threats, but malaria was volunteered by none. Only when malaria was prompted (caregivers had good knowledge of malaria), did its concern rise to 52% and 38% in the IRS-sprayed villages. Malaria was not a prominent conscious concern and this apparent discrepancy between actual daily and potential future threats significantly increases the difficulty of mobilising communities for preventive action regarding potential threats. Integrated Vector Management (IVM), a multi-sector (central or local government, together with communities) horizontal control program, may be particularly difficult to implement in communities such as these above. Any changes to this effective system will therefore have to take exceptional care not to impact on the effectiveness other than to improve it. Considerations should be given to study the needs requirements of the caregiver as a crucial component of rural community life as their ‘buy-in’ to any new measures will be crucial for success. Our findings should be considered in malaria control strategies, rural policy development, climate change adaptation, and communication strategies.
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| 6. |
- Bouwman, Henk, et al.
(författare)
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DDT : Fifty years since silent spring
- 2013
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Ingår i: Late lessons from early warnings. - Copenhagen : European Environment Agency. - 9789292133498 ; , s. 272-291
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- 'There was a strange stillness. The birds for example — where had they gone? Many people spoke about them, puzzled and disturbed. The feeding stations in the backyards were deserted. The few birds seen anywhere were moribund: they trembled violently and could not fly. It was a spring without voices ... only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.'The book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is mainly about the impacts of chemicals (in particular in particular dichlorodiphenyltrichlorethane also known as DDT) on the environment and human health. Indeed, the close association between humans and birds remains very apt. Representing the only two warm-blooded groups of life on Earth, mammals and birds share the same environments and threats.Carson's claim that she lived in 'an era dominated by industry, in which the right to make a dollar at whatever cost is seldom challenged' still resonates strongly with the problems that societies face all over the world. One chapter heading, 'The obligation to endure', derived from the French biologist and philosopher Jean Rostand's famous observation that, 'the obligation to endure gives us the right to know'. United States President John F. Kennedy responded to the challenge posed by Carson by investigating DDT, leading to its complete ban in the US. The ban was followed by a range of institutions and regulations concerned with environmental issues in the US and elsewhere, driven by public demand for knowledge and protection.DDT was the primary tool used in the first global malaria eradication programme during the 1950s and 1960s. The insecticide is sprayed on the inner walls and ceilings of houses. Malaria has been successfully eliminated from many regions but remains endemic in large parts of the world. DDT remains one of the 12 insecticides — and the only organochlorine compound — currently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, countries may continue to use DDT. Global annual use of DDT for disease vector control is estimated at more than 5 000 tonnes.It is clear that the social conscience awakened by Rachel Carson 50 years ago gave momentum to a groundswell of actions and interventions that are slowly but steadily making inroads at myriad levels. Chapter 17 of her book, 'The other road' reminds the reader of the opportunities that should have been seized much earlier. With more than 10 % of bird species worldwide now threatened in one way or another, it is clear that we missed early warnings or failed to act on them. Will we continue to miss signposts to 'other roads'? Are our obligations to endure met by our rights to know? As Carson said 50 years ago: 'The choice, after all, is ours to make.'
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Bouwman, Hindrik, et al.
(författare)
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High levels of DDT in breast milk: Intake, risk, lactation duration, and involvement of gender
- 2012
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Ingår i: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424. ; 170, s. 63-70
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigated presence and levels of DDT in 163 breast milk samples from four South African villages where, in three of them, malaria is controlled with DDT-sprayed indoors. Mean Sigma DDT levels in breast milk were 18, 11, and 9.5 mg/kg mf (milk fat) from the three DDT-sprayed villages, respectively, including the highest Sigma DDT level ever reported for breast milk from South Africa (140 mg/kg mf). Understanding the causes for these differences would be informative for exposure reduction intervention. The Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake (PTDI) for DDT by infants, and the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) were significantly exceeded. DDT had no effect on duration of lactation. There were indications (not significant) from DDT-sprayed villages that first-born female infants drink milk with more Sigma DDT than first-born male infants, and vice versa for multipara male and female infants, suggesting gender involvement on levels of DDT in breast milk - requiring further investigation.
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| 9. |
- Bouwman, Hindrik, et al.
(författare)
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Is Indoor Residual Spraying broken and what should be fixed?
- 2015
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 7th International Toxicology Symposium in Africa. - 9780620661171 - 9780620662871 ; , s. 2-3
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Indoor residual spraying (IRS) has been and is still a very successful method to controlmalaria. We are concerned that not enough research attention is given to improvingIRS and that most funding goes towards modern but seemingly still ineffectualmethods. We believe that there is ample scope for improving IRS, while reducinginsecticide exposure
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Zoeller, R. Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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A path forward in the debate over health impacts of endocrine disrupting chemicals
- 2014
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Ingår i: Environmental Health. - 1476-069X. ; 13, s. 118-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Several recent publications reflect debate on the issue of "endocrine disrupting chemicals" (EDCs), indicating that two seemingly mutually exclusive perspectives are being articulated separately and independently. Considering this, a group of scientists with expertise in basic science, medicine and risk assessment reviewed the various aspects of the debate to identify the most significant areas of dispute and to propose a path forward. We identified four areas of debate. The first is about the definitions for terms such as "endocrine disrupting chemical", "adverse effects", and "endocrine system". The second is focused on elements of hormone action including "potency", "endpoints", "timing", "dose" and "thresholds". The third addresses the information needed to establish sufficient evidence of harm. Finally, the fourth focuses on the need to develop and the characteristics of transparent, systematic methods to review the EDC literature. Herein we identify areas of general consensus and propose resolutions for these four areas that would allow the field to move beyond the current and, in our opinion, ineffective debate.
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| 13. |
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