Rutgers Enviro-Notes

Contents

Environment and health in the home
Radon
Lead
Mold
Asthma triggers
Tobacco
What's the fuss about perchlorate?
New invasive pest making a “Stink” in New Jersey
Book Review: Fateful Harvest

New Pubs

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Environment and health in the Home

According to USEPA studies, we spend about 90% of our time indoors – at home, school or work. So it makes some sense that we should pay attention to the quality of our indoor environments.

What are the most important indoor pollutants? This is a surprisingly hard question to answer, but here are the leading candidates. -Joseph T. Ponessa, Ph.D.,Extension Specialist and Professor, Housing, Indoor Environments and Health. ponessa@rce.rutgers.edu .

 RADON

	Zone 1	Highest Potential (greater than 4 pCi/L)
	Zone 2	Moderate Potential (from 2 to 4 pCi/L)
	Zone 3	Low Potential (less than 2 pCi/L)

From a public health perspective, the answer is based on which pollutant causes the largest number of deaths. This would have to be radon, which increases the risk of lung cancer. Best current estimates are that this causes 15,000 to 22,000 US deaths each year. Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that is released from the earth and accumulates in homes. It is a serious problem in many areas of New Jersey, particularly in the northwest part of the state. Testing is easy and inexpensive, and is the only way to find out if you have a problem. In nearly all cases, the problem is readily fixed for about $2000. For information, contact the NJ radon hotline at 1-800-648 0394 or go to : http://www.nj.gov/dep/rpp/radon/ Radon information is also available at: http:www.healthyindoorair.org/oct_month.htm and http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/ .

  A particularly valuable resource is the New Jersey radon risk map. This shows the average radon risk by county, divided into high, medium and low risk. For this colorful map, go to http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/zonemap.html and, from the listing of states above the map, click “New Jersey” for a detailed picture. More useful is the listing by municipality. Here, municipalities throughout the state are ranked according to radon risk level. For county information, go to: http://www.nj.gov/dep/rpp/radon/radonin.htm .

LEAD

Another important category of indoor pollutants is those causing serious health impairments. One prominent pollutant in this category is lead. Research conducted over the last 30 years has shown that relatively low levels of lead, once thought harmless, can have profound effects on children’s development. One of the main pathways for lead poisoning in young children is the unintentional ingestion of tainted dust through hand-to-mouth activities. Ingestion of nothing more than a few grains of lead-tainted dust, on a regular basis, can cause learning deficits, reduced IQ and behavioral problems. While there are literally thousands of sources of lead, some of the most common include paint in old buildings (pre-1978) and contaminated soils. Old paint can cause problems as it deteriorates or when sanded or scraped. Soils can be contaminated from nearby house paint, or historic automobile traffic (lead was banned from gasoline in 1982.) Contaminated soils may be directly ingested or carried into the house to taint dust there. Those living in older homes need to be aware of the potential hazards of older paint, especially if young children are present. (Adults can be harmed too) To learn more, call the lead hotline- 1-800-424 5323.  

MOLD

Mold is another issue that has been getting lots of media attention recently. How harmful is it? According to medical data, serious health problems from inhaling mold spores are seen mainly in occupational exposures (such as farming – moldy hay). Risks are also high for the elderly, the very young and those with compromised immune systems. Health problems include headaches, allergies and asthma attacks, and irritation of mucous membranes.  Severe problems involve the lungs and can include infections. There is a growing belief that the amount of mold exposure is more important than the type of mold involved. Stories about “killer mold’ (Stachybotrys chartarum) seem to have gotten somewhat out of hand.

Since mold needs moisture to grow, a mold problem in a building means that there is a moisture problem in the building. Solving the mold problem means finding and fixing the moisture problem.  A good resource on mold is EPA’s 48 page booklet “Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings”, available at: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/mold_remediation.html

Despite the title, most of the information applies to homes as well as large buildings. A shorter, introductory pamphlet on mold, and other mold related links, can be found at: www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/moldresources.html or by calling 1-800-438-8326.

For a brief review of mold issues, check our fact sheet, “Flooding, Mold and Your Health” at: http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/pubs/pdfs/fs970.pdf

ASTHMA TRIGGERS

While the cause of asthma remains uncertain, we know that a large number of asthma attacks are due to irritants and allergens, many of which are in the indoor environment. These include allergens from pets, as well as from pests such as mice and roaches. Dust mites, which live in carpets, dust and especially bedding, affect about 1/3^rd of all asthma patients. Asthma patients need to understand that, in partnership with their doctors, asthma can be controlled. One task that patients must carry out is to identify their particular triggers, and to learn the steps needed to avoid them. The pediatric asthma coalition of New Jersey has a website (www.pacnj.org) containing links to many helpful asthma sites.

It is important to learn about our indoor environment, its potential hazards and the steps needed to control these risks. In most cases, a little knowledge and some easy measures can improve our living environment. For general information on indoor air, go to  www.healthyindoorair.org

This site contains presentations on 14 indoor environmental topics, plus lots of background material and links to other resources. 

TOBACCO

What's the fuss about perchlorate?

Recently there have been a number of storys in the news about perchlorate. This rocket fuel oxidizer has been detected in water, milk and lettuce. It has been found in several locations in New Jersey as well as many others states across the country.  There is debate on the question of what level of perchlorate is safe. The science and the story is still evolving. It seems at times to be currently driven as much by politics as science.

Here is a good set of answers to basic questions from the US Food and Drug Administration; Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition: http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/clo4qa.html  -B. Barbour

New Invasive Pest Making a “Stink” in New Jersey

Rutgers Cooperative Extension researchers have identified the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) from samples recently submitted by a homeowner in Somerset County. This exotic pest is native to Asia and is an important agricultural pest in Japan where it attacks soybeans and various tree crops. First identified in New Jersey in 1999 (Milford), other recoveries occurred in 2002 and 2003 (Phillipsburg, Hillsborough and Morris County) prior to this find in Somerset. First discovered in the United States in 1996, H. halys has been observed feeding on a wide variety of ornamentals, tree fruit and vegetables. It is uncertain at this time if this stink bug will become a widespread pest in the eastern US. Adults of this stink bug are approximately 17mm long, generally brown in color with characteristic white and dark banded antennal segments. Their body resembles the shape of a shield or an inverted triangle.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension and the NJ Department of Agriculture have combined efforts regarding survey and research needs. The website, www.rce.rutgers.edu/stinkbug , has been set up with more detailed information on this exotic pest. Fact sheets, digital images, email links, and online reporting of new or suspected recoveries are available. Leading this effort are Dr. George Hamilton (Extension Specialist in Pest Management) and Dr. Peter Shearer (Extension Specialist in Tree Fruit Entomology), with funding from the Northeast IPM Center.  -N. Polanin polanin@rce.rutgers.edu

Book Review: Fateful Harvest

Duff Wilson, HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 10 East 53^rd Street, New York, NY 10022. 2001. 336 p. $26.00 hardcover. ISBN 0-06-019369-7. 2002. 336 p. $13.95 paperback. ISBN 0-06-093183-3.

 Fateful Harvest is a book that reads like a novel but is a true story.  The book is about a small town mayor in Quincy, Washington named Patty Martin, caught up in an investigation of the unethical but apparently legal recycling of hazardous waste materials as fertilizer onto farmland.  Based on her contacts with some local farmers who experienced unusual crop injury symptoms, she came to believe that a fertilizer dealer was disposing of a hazardous waste by blending it with fertilizer and that this was the cause of their crop failures.  The author of Fateful Harvest, Duff Wilson, was an initially skeptical reporter who first broke the story in the Seattle Times Newspaper on July 3-4, 1997.  He admittedly had little experience in the areas of hazardous waste, fertilizers, soils, and agriculture, but along with Martin and some local farmers, conducted an investigation that exposed how loop holes in USEPA and state fertilizer laws allow hazardous waste materials to be reclassified as fertilizer products. In effect, this enables industry to save on the cost of hazardous waste disposal. The author consulted with Rufus Chaney from the USDA-ARS and obtained valuable information that is dispersed throughout the book where facts were needed regarding the behavior of heavy metals in soil and their potential to be transferred into the food chain.

About half of the 336 page book details the personal lives of the mayor and some unfortunate farmers whose land, crops, and livestock were presumably adversely impacted by the application of the suspect fertilizer materials.  The investigation, spearheaded by the mayor, eventually divided the community between a few farmers that wanted the investigation to proceed and the larger farming community that wanted the mayor silenced.  The community recalled the impact of the Alar incident on Washington apple growers and had little tolerance for an investigation that they believed may result in negative publicity for their agricultural products.  Washington State regulatory officials, Cooperative Extension, the USEPA, and various soil scientists were caught in the middle of this divisive issue and at times appear ambivalent and disengaged.  This group of regulators and scientists generally favored the recycling of industrial by-products containing plant nutrients into fertilizer but so far have taken little action to restrict the recycling of even the most contaminated substances.  While much of the story is set in a small farming community in Washington State, it is apparent that the concern with contaminated fertilizer products stretches world wide with international trade.  For example, the book describes how a contaminated fertilizer shipped from the USA to Bangladesh exposed farmers to cadmium and lead as it was hand applied to rice.      

Although some may call Patty Martin an extremist for taking an uncompromising stand against the use of hazardous waste as fertilizer, it is largely to her credit that this important environmental issue has come to light.  Her efforts have thus far been instrumental in amending Washington State fertilizer law such that all commercial fertilizer products for sale in that state must be analyzed for nine heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, mercury, molybdenum, lead, nickel, selenium, and zinc).  These heavy metal concentrations in over 3000 fertilizer product are now listed on the web, at http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/default.htm.  Other states have been slow to change their fertilizer labeling laws.  Fertilizer laws need go beyond just regulating nutrient concentrations to also regulate non-nutrient contaminants. 

This book is clearly written and it is an engaging and relevant story to read.  In addition to the narrative text it contains extensive citations to useful reference material, including quotations from many of the sources cited.   This article is republished with permission and was previously published as Heckman, J, "Fateful Harvest" Soil Science 2003 Dec; 168 (12) 900-901.    -Joseph R. Heckman Rutgers University Plant Biology and Pathology Department New Brunswick, NJ 08901   heckman@aesop.rutgers.edu.

EPA Reminder about the dangers of Carbon Monoxide

Carbon Monoxide is the "invisible" killer.  Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas.  Every year more than 100 people in the United States die from unintentional exposure to carbon monoxide associated with consumer products.

For a complete set of information and resources go to http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/senseles.html

New Publications from Cooperative Extension

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Rutgers Enviro-Notes is a publication of Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

Bruce Barbour, Editor. Contact: Barbour@rce.rutgers.edu.

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