From WBIR.com:

A Duke University scientist has published the first academic scholarly research on the TVA ash spill, citing several health concerns regarding airborne ash. Dr. Avner Vengosh said hotter and drier summer conditions increase the odds of ash going airborne.

Vengosh's findings were published last week in the Environmental Science and Technology scholarly journal. The paper said the smallest particulate matter poses the most danger in terms of going airborne and toxicity.

The study said, "Fine fractions of fly ash are typically 4 - 10 times enriched in metals... affecting human health directly... through inhalation and indirectly through the food chains (agricultural products)."

The research cites previous studies that say exposure to coal ash is associated with an increased risk of skin, lung, and bladder cancers.

"We agree with him that those are valid concerns that need to be worried about," said Joe Hoagland, TVA Vice President Environmental Science and Policy. "We've done a great deal to monitor airborne particulates and suppress dust."

"The state and EPA have required extensive monitoring and extensive dust suppression measures," said Tisha Calabrese-Benton, spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. "We have not seen dust exceed safe levels in our monitoring, but certainly recommend that people go inside if they see dust outside. And if they are experiencing symptoms to see their primary care physician."

Hoagland said much of Vengosh's data is in line with samples gathered by TVA. However, he disagrees with Vengosh's conclusions regarding Mercury levels in the river sediment. Vengosh took samples both upstream and downstream from the ash spill.

The paper said "sediments from the downstream Clinch River have higher [Mercury] content, which suggests a significant contribution of [Mercury] from the coal ash to the river sediments. We therefore conclude that ash transport and deposition in the Clinch River has increased the [Mercury] content in the river sediments.

Hoagland said Vengosh's upstream sample showed unusually low Mercury levels compared to historical samples from the Department of Energy. Hoagland said the elevated mercury levels came from Oak Ridge.

"That is legacy material that's in there. I think there's more analysis and research would need to be done related to his [Vengosh's] ideas," said Hoagland.

Calabrese-Benton said TDEC supports Vengosh's scientific efforts and has endorsed his application for a national grant to continue researching the ash spill.

From U.S. News & World Report:

Quantities of mercury have been found in high fructose corn syrup, the ingredient that has replaced sugar in many of our processed foods. Reports have also come out that the FDA knew about traces of the toxic substance in food, and sat on the information. This news comes out just as we've learned that the peanut butter factory responsible for the salmonella outbreak has a storied history of health violations. What a week for food safety.

Mercury in high fructose corn syrup affects many of the most popular foods in America, including yogurt, soda, candy, juice and jelly. Even a small amount of it can be seriously unhealthy.

From The Times, Trenton:

The biggest change in the history of American dentistry is about to occur. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on the verge of limiting the use of dentistry's 19th-century foundation-stone, amalgam fillings. Though promoted as "silver fillings," this material is 50 percent mercury and only 25 percent silver.

Mercury is, of course, highly toxic; it can cause permanent harm to a fetus, to a child's developing brain or an adult's kidneys. The World Health Organization says no safe level of mercury exists. Unlike lead, whose risk becomes acute when the child licks it, mercury is notoriously volatile (it is the only metal in liquid form at room temperature), so its vapors alone can cause neurological or fetal damage. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control warns that mercury from amalgam is "a major source" of mercury exposure to our bodies.

In dentistry's early days, no alternative existed, except expensive gold. That excuse is over. Composite, a white resin-like material, is interchangeable with mercury amalgam, albeit it takes a few moments longer to implant.

Dental mercury is an environmental hazard. A report by the Mercury Policy Project shows that dental offices are the largest source of mercury in the nation's wastewater.

Mercury-free dentistry is more than a health and environment issue -- it is a workplace safety issue. Largely female and of childbearing age, dental workers are the very persons who should be the most vigilant to avoid exposure to mercury vapors -- which happens...each time a dental worker opens the amalgam capsule.

From MarketWatch:

Recent publicity of mercury poisoning in Broadway Actor Jeremy Piven from his regular consumption of sushi highlights the prevalence and magnitude of exposure risk associated with eating certain seafood, say advocates. In a report released earlier this week by Mercury Policy Project, reported case studies document a number of similar mercury poisonings experienced by people throughout the US.

"Unfortunately, Piven's case is not that unusual," said Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project. "Our report shares stories of people who each ate enough tuna or other store-bought fish to suffer mercury's effects, according to their physicians. From New Jersey to Wisconsin to California, these stories show that seafood contamination is a very real problem that should not be ignored."

Yet late last week it was learned that FDA is currently contemplating removing mercury consumption warnings for all seafood -- including swordfish, shark and tuna -- stating benefits from eating seafood far outweigh the risks of mercury poisoning.

In 2004, the FDA joined EPA in releasing advice to restrict the species and amounts of fish eaten by women of childbearing age and children due to exposure risks to mercury. Last Friday, in a draft report submitted to the Bush White House, the FDA indicated plans to not only rescind that advice, but recommend that sensitive populations eat more mercury-contaminated fish.

"We've known for years that mercury is toxic to the brain and other organs in varying amounts depending on the individual's status. For FDA to suddenly change the equation to say that benefits outweigh risks is like once-again declaring the earth is flat after discovering it was round," concluded Dr. Jane Hightower.

Symptoms of mercury poisoning can include the following: impairment of the peripheral vision; disturbances in sensations ("pins and needles" feelings, numbness) usually in the hands feet and sometimes around the mouth; lack of coordination of movements, such as writing; impairment of speech, hearing, walking; muscle weakness; skin rashes; mood swings; memory loss; and mental disturbance.

Exposure and toxic effects in adults and children are well-documented. Dr. Hightower's new book, Diagnosis: Mercury: Money, Politics and Poison, catalogues her patients' mercury poisoning case histories.

From The New York Times:

Like many people these days, Lori Potter, a 50-year-old massage therapist living on Kauai, Hawaii, has explored alternative healing for everything from headaches to skin problems. So when she wanted to boost her immune system and lower her stress levels a few years ago, she made an appointment with a visiting practitioner of ayurveda, a medical system that originated in India thousands of years ago and has gained wide popularity in the United States.

He prescribed herbal supplements, which he tested himself for impurities, to help boost her immunity. Soon, Ms. Potter said, she felt more energetic and her digestion was better. After two years, the practitioner stopped visiting the island, and she has not taken any supplements since, she said, because she has not met any practitioners she trusts.

“You never know what’s really in these supplements,” she said. “This is serious stuff, and you can’t just take them without knowing the source.”

Ms. Potter may be right to be wary. A report in the Aug. 27 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association found that nearly 21 percent of 193 ayurvedic herbal supplements bought online, produced in both India and the United States, contained lead, mercury or arsenic. Almost all of the products were sold through American Web sites. “Some manufacturers advertised that they test for metals, and their products still had them,” said Dr. Robert B. Saper, assistant professor at the Boston University School of Medicine and lead author of the study. The average consumer, he said, “has no way of determining which supplement is free of contaminants and which isn’t.”

No one knows the exact numbers of arsenic, mercury or lead poisoning illnesses in the United States related to ayurvedic medicine. Dr. Saper estimated that there have been 80 cases since 1978, but he believes that is just the “tip of the iceberg.” In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 12 cases of lead poisoning associated with ayurvedic products in Texas, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York State and California.

While the Western medical community may be concerned about Dr. Saper’s findings, many ayurvedic practitioners and holistic health centers are less so. Of the dozen spas, wellness centers and practitioners contacted for this article, all said they stood behind their products. Some suppliers said they believed that the levels of heavy metals in their ayurvedic products were no greater than in many Food and Drug Administration-approved medicines.

Kevin Casey, the chief of Banyan Botanicals, a maker of ayurvedic products in Ashland, Ore., sells three items that are on Dr. Saper’s list of contaminated supplements.

After the study came out, Mr. Casey said, some of his 15,000 clients, who include practitioners and consumers, called. He said he alleviated their fears after he explained that his products are sent to outside laboratories, and they meet “the standards that we adhere to.”

He added that sales had not suffered since the study, which has “created a dialogue — people are talking about it and understanding that there is the presence of heavy metals, but it doesn’t mean it’s toxic or dangerous.”

Dr. Saper disagreed. Even with relatively low levels of lead in the bloodstream, he said, “a person can be relatively asymptomatic but the lead can still impact their I.Q. It can reduce their cognitive function and increase blood pressure.”

The F.D.A. does not specify maximum acceptable concentrations or daily dose limits for contaminants in dietary supplements. Instead, the onus is on the manufacturer to ensure that its products are safe. What’s more, there are no universally accepted standards for herbal supplements. The Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives Secretariat recommends that a 70-kilogram, or 154-pound, person consume no more than 250 micrograms of lead, 50 micrograms of mercury and 150 micrograms of arsenic per day.

The National Sanitation Foundation International Dietary Supplement Standard, which certifies dietary supplements and ingredients for purity, suggests a daily limit of 20 micrograms of lead, 20 for mercury and 10 for arsenic. California Proposition 65 has limits of 0.5 microgram of lead per day and 10 micrograms of arsenic per day. (There are currently no guidelines for mercury.) But, as Wynn Werner, president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association pointed out, California does not prohibit sales of these products, but “rather requires a specific warning to the consumer if a product contains these elements above its limits.” None of the tainted supplements in Dr. Saper’s study met the standards for lead set forth by California Proposition 65.