Joe Manchin takes a stand

 

New Round of PFAS Testing Leads to Three R.I. ‘Do Not Drink’ Water Orders

New law requires public water systems test for forever chemicals

PFAS found in Exeter, at URI and Wood River

By Colleen Cronin / ecoRI News staff

A new law requires public water systems to test for forever
chemicals. (Colleen Cronin/ecoRI News graphic)

After the most recent round of statewide forever chemicals testing, the Rhode Island Department of Health has issued “do not drink” orders to three different water systems.

The Ladd Center and Exeter Jobs Corps on the former Ladd School property in Exeter and Bruin Plastics in Burrillville can no longer use their wells for drinking water after they tested above 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

A law that was passed last year, modified earlier this year, and went into effect July 1, mandates that public water systems test for the chemicals, which are found in firefighting foams to food packaging and floor wax and are linked to several cancers, fertility issues, and developmental delays in children.

Of the 170 public water systems in the state, 164 have sampled their water, according to RIDOH spokesperson Joseph Wendelken. The remaining six have until Aug. 10 to report their samplings to be in compliance with the law.

In addition to requiring new testing, the General Assembly also created a new interim drinking water standard of 20 ppt for PFAS. Systems that test above 20 ppt must notify their customers and enter an agreement with RIDOH within 180 days to remediate the impacted wells, but only systems that tested above 70 must issue “do not drink” notices to their customers.

RIDOH and its toxicologist determined that 70 ppt put consumers at a much higher health risk than 20 ppt and decided to set the higher number as the “do not drink standard,” Amy Parmenter, chief administrator for RIDOH’s Center for Drinking Water Quality, told ecoRI News. 

Is manganese in drinking water a health hazard?

Unsafe Manganese Levels Found in Massachusetts Drinking Water

By BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 

Manganese is an unregulated contaminant often found in drinking water, but safe levels of this metal are currently unknown, and prior research has indicated that overexposure to manganese may be harmful to children.

Now, a new study led by researchers at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) has found that concentrations of manganese in a Massachusetts community’s drinking water often surpassed the maximum recommended levels of manganese stated in current guidelines.

Published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, a Nature publication, the findings also suggest that the observed manganese levels may be high enough to pose a risk to children and other vulnerable communities who are exposed.

Manganese is a naturally occurring component of soil and rock, and it is both an essential nutrient and a toxic substance—so, too little or too much exposure can be harmful to health. Despite the fact that manganese is found in many communities’ drinking water across the US, it is not federally regulated.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has developed guidelines that identify a maximum level of daily exposure to manganese for “aesthetic” purposes (i.e. color and taste), as well as for the overall health and safety of the general population. But these guidelines are only recommendations; they cannot be enforced in the way that established primary standards can.

“Some level of manganese is needed for health, but growing evidence suggests that excess levels of manganese can harm children’s brains,” says study lead and corresponding author Alexa Friedman, a doctoral student at BUSPH at the time of the study.

“Our findings suggest that the level of manganese that is present in public drinking water exceeded, on average, the aesthetic guidelines 40 percent of the time, and health-based guidelines 9 percent of the time. These data support the need for a legally enforceable primary drinking water standard for manganese in order to better protect children’s health.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: Iron and manganese are common in Charlestown's well water, sometimes causing discoloration and staining if not filtered. CLICK HERE for a URI fact sheet on the problem. - Will Collette

Blame capitalism?

Why hundreds of decades-old yet vital drugs are nearly impossible to find

Geoffrey Joyce, University of Southern California

There is presently no end in sight to the drug supply shortage.
 FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images

Past public ire over high drug prices has recently taken a back seat to a more insidious problem – no drugs at any price.

Patients and their providers increasingly face limited or nonexistent supplies of drugs, many of which treat essential conditions such as cancer, heart disease and bacterial infections. 

The American Society of Health System Pharmacists now lists over 300 active shortages, primarily of decades-old generic drugs no longer protected by patents.

While this is not a new problem, the number of drugs in short supply has increased in recent years, and the average shortage is lasting longer, with more than 15 critical drug products in short supply for over a decade. 

Current shortages include widely known drugs such as the antibiotic amoxicillin; the heart medicine digoxin; the anesthetic lidocaine; and the medicine albuterol, which is critical for treating asthma and other diseases affecting the lungs and airways.

What’s going on?

I’m a health economist who has studied the pharmaceutical industry for the past 15 years. I believe the drug shortage problem illustrates a major shortcoming of capitalism. While costly brand-name drugs often yield high profits to manufacturers, there’s relatively little money to be made in supplying the market with low-cost generics, no matter how vital they may be to patients’ health.

The shortage includes chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics, medications to treat ADHD and other critical drugs. Some patients are able to get their drugs, while others are not, and in some cases patients are getting ‘rationed care.’

GOP Obsession: War on Mexico

They want a shooting war on drugs with one of our closest allies

By TERRY H. SCHWADRON

One reason to follow presidential campaigns even from afar is to pick up on what the emerging themes say about our perceived values. It’s why the culture wars and angry backlash to high prices take on political weight.

Among the Republican candidates, there’s a continuing, growing favorite cause spreading – to bomb or otherwise invade Mexico to wipe out drug and smuggling cartels.

Donald Trump says he is committed to declare war and defeat the cartels, including a “full naval embargo” on them. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to deploy the U.S. military against cartels in Mexico and has suggested executing migrants who carry drugs. Sen. Tim Scott, R, S.C, says he wants to use “the world’s greatest military” to solve the problem.

In the House, Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Mike Waltz, R-Fla., have bills seeking  authorization for the use of military force to “put us at war with the cartels.” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., says he is open to sending U.S. troops into Mexico to target drug lords even without that nation’s permission. There are bills to label cartels as terrorist organizations.

A recent poll found strong support for military action among self-identified GOP primary voters.

Whether it is to solve fentanyl or interfere with human smuggling, the bomb Mexico refrain—once an idea limited to the extreme fringe — is taking hold in Republican leadership opinions that remain a lot more about hot air than executable proposal.

You ask them to do one simple thing

By Matt Davies

 

Watch the flags when you play

 

Uncovering the Science Secrets Behind a Good Night’s Sleep

Chemistry?

By UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA 

A good night’s sleep can work wonders for both mind and body. But what is it that determines how much we need to sleep, and what can cause us to sleep more deeply?

In a new study, researchers from the University of Tsukuba in Japan have now provided some answers, revealing a signaling pathway within brain cells that regulates the length and depth of sleep.

Is It Safe to Eat Fish from Beach Waters Closed to Swimming?

Good question

By Frank Carini / ecoRI News staff

The question was sensible, and it didn’t cross this reporter’s mind when reporting the story.

Every summer Environment America publishes an analysis of bacteria testing at beaches nationwide. In 2022, 51% of the beaches in southern New England were potentially unsafe for swimming on at least one testing day.

ecoRI News published a story about the report, Safe for Swimming?, July 10. A reader commented, asking: “Can you still eat the salt water fish caught off these beaches?”

Surf casting is popular on beaches in Charlestown, Narragansett, and Westerly, and at the edges of other Ocean State beaches.

ecoRI News reached out to the departments of health in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut to ask if beach closures and swimming/health advisories also cover the eating of fish from their waters?

Joseph Wendelken, public information officer for the Rhode Island Department of Health, said there is not a concern, as long as the fish are cooked. He noted sushi made with fish caught in an area with a swimming restriction due to bacteria is not a good idea. Shellfishing is more of a concern, he added.

The Massachusetts and Connecticut departments of public health didn’t respond.

The federal government does advise women who are or may become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children not to gorge on several marine species, namely albacore tuna, king mackerel, swordfish, and tilefish, because of the concentration in the tissue of these fish of methylmercury, a highly toxic organic compound of mercury.

Looks like Justice Thomas' pal deducted his bribes

How Harlan Crow Slashed his Tax Bill by Taking Clarence Thomas on Superyacht Cruises

By Paul Kiel for ProPublica

For months, Harlan Crow and members of Congress have been engaged in a fight over whether the billionaire needs to divulge details about his gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, including globe-trotting trips aboard his 162-foot yacht, the Michaela Rose.

Crow’s lawyer argues that Congress has no authority to probe the GOP donor’s generosity and that doing so violates a constitutional separation of powers between Congress and the Supreme Court.

Members of Congress say there are federal tax laws underlying their interest and a known propensity by the ultrarich to use their yachts to skirt those laws.

Tax data obtained by ProPublica provides a glimpse of what congressional investigators would find if Crow were to open his books to them. Crow’s voyages with Thomas, the data shows, contributed to a nice side benefit: They helped reduce Crow’s tax bill.

The rich, as we’ve reported, often deduct millions of dollars from their taxes related to buying and operating their jets and yachts. Crow followed that formula through a company that purported to charter his superyacht. But a closer examination of how Crow used the yacht raises questions about his compliance with the tax code, experts said. Despite Crow's representations to the IRS, ProPublica reporters could find no evidence that his yacht company was actually a profit-seeking business, as the law requires.

One million unnecessary American deaths each year

Unprecedented US mortality far exceeds other wealthy nations

Boston University School of Public Health

Ron Cogswell / Flickr cc

In 2021, 1.1 million deaths would have been averted in the United States if the US had mortality rates similar to other wealthy nations, according to a new study led by a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher.

Published in the journal PNAS Nexus, the study refers to these excess deaths as "Missing Americans," because these deaths reflect people who would still be alive if the US mortality rates were equal to its peer countries.

Comparing age-specific death rates in the U.S. and 21 other wealthy nations from 1933 through 2021, the authors find that current death rates in the US are much higher than other wealthy nations, and the number of excess U.S. deaths has never been larger.

Elon Musk is at it again: Twitter's new name

 

Can we agree on this?

 

Another good reason to keep your cat indoors

WHO Warning: Ongoing Bird Flu Outbreaks in Animals Pose Risk to Humans

By WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)  

They can watch the birds but can't touch
(photo by Will Collette)

Recent findings reveal the avian influenza virus in domestic cats in Poland, highlighting the virus’s broader reach beyond bird populations.

The current outbreaks of avian influenza (also called “bird flu”) have caused devastation in animal populations, including poultry, wild birds, and some mammals, and harmed farmers’ livelihoods and the food trade. Although largely affecting animals, these outbreaks pose ongoing risks to humans. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) are urging countries to work together across sectors to save as many animals as possible and to protect people. 

Avian influenza viruses normally spread among birds, but the increasing number of H5N1 avian influenza detections among mammals—which are biologically closer to humans than birds are—raises concern that the virus might adapt to infect humans more easily. 

In addition, some mammals may act as mixing vessels for influenza viruses, leading to the emergence of new viruses that could be more harmful to animals and humans. 

Unlocking the Secrets of “Good Fat”

Protein Discovery Advances Potential Treatments for Obesity and Diabetes

By UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA  

New research has unlocked insights into how “good fat” tissue could potentially be harnessed to combat obesity and remove glucose from the blood, helping to control diabetes. 

Published in Science Advances, the work is a collaboration between researchers with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Cambridge, Free University of Brussels, and University of East Anglia.

Human bodies consist of two types of fat: brown and white. Brown fat breaks down blood sugar (glucose) and fat molecules, generating heat in response to cold temperatures helping to maintain normal body temperature. The majority of fat in humans is white fat, and building up too much white fat contributes to obesity and other health issues.

Using the Krios G3i, a cryogenic electron microscope at the Penn Singh Center for Nanotechnology researchers were able to view mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)—a protein which allows fat tissue to burn off calories as heat—in atomic detail for the first time. This work uncovered new insights into how this protein’s activity in brown fat cells could potentially be harnessed for weight loss.