​Food For Thought: Is diet-induced Alzheimer’s Disease Type 3 Diabetes?

Source: http://sage.buckinstitute.org/food-for-thought/

Aging is known to be one of the top risk factors for both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). The pathologies of these disorders are somewhat understood, with AD being associated with the accumulations of amyloid-β plaques and/or phosphorylated tau tangles (two proteins involved in neuron structure and development) and T2D being associated with resistance to insulin (the growth factor that controls glucose uptake by cells). For many years these two diseases have been treated separately, with few overlaps. In more recent years, however, the overlap between them has become more prominently recognized. The rate of AD in diabetic individuals is elevated, and it may be worth considering these two "separate" disorders as a related problem.

Could Alzheimer's disease, a deadly form of dementia, also be considered a type of diabetes? (Image Source: National Institute of Aging)

The first suggestion of AD being a previously unrecognized type of diabetes was in 2005, where it was noted that insulin signaling and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) expression were greatly affected in the instance of AD. It has since been shown that in the instance of AD, IGF, insulin receptor, and insulin expression are all reduced in the temporal cortex and hippocampus of the brain. Further, as AD progresses the levels of these gene transcripts continue to decrease. These inhibited insulin-related signals result in a deficiency and similar symptoms to those shown in other cases of diabetes. This deficiency also contributes to a vicious cycle, as impaired insulin receptor expression can contribute to further AD-like pathology such as hyperphosphorylation of tau and increased amyloid-β deposits as well as decreased clearance of these deposits from the brain.

Additional issues that arise from inhibited insulin signaling in the brain include dysregulation of glucose transporter proteins, which results in improper glucose transport and usage, as well as increased oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction within the neurons. It is uncertain whether or not the changes in insulin signaling are causal of AD, but this alternative perspective could provide new approaches to understanding the methods by which AD develops. AD brains display similar biochemical properties to those affected by T2D, so it may be worthwhile to consider these similarities as being due to a singular cause. The two diseases even show a similar response to diet, with both being exacerbated by a high-fat diet in animal models (although it's worth noting that dietary modulation is widely considered as a preventative measure for most age-related disorders).

Although seldom considered a metabolic disorder, it is clear that AD is metabolically affected in a similar fashion to diabetes. Although frequently treated separately, the same basic principles which are used for diagnosing an individual as diabetic may also be applied to understand some of the mechanisms affected in AD. As such, it may be appropriate to consider AD as a type of diabetes of the brain. Recent in vivo and clinical trials have investigated potential treatments for the overlapping symptoms of T2D and AD. Although results using diabetes drugs such as Metformin are conflicted, ongoing preliminary experiments using Exendin-4 have provided promising enough results to warrant further investigation in human subjects.

Since the rate of diabetes is ever-increasing worldwide, understanding how it is related to AD may be key in understanding the impact of both diseases. This could provide further insights into preventative and curative measures for both of these deadly disorders at the same time. - Kenny Wilson

What to do about the antidepressants, antibiotics and drugs in our water by @lizzieg1

​August 11, 2015 — There's no way around it, the headlines are disturbing. And they come, not from tabloids or click-bait blogs, but from papers published in scientific journals. They describe fish and birds responding with altered behavior and reproductive systems to antidepressants, diabetes medication, and other psychoactive or hormonally active drugs at concentrations found in the environment. They report on opiods, amphetamines and other pharmaceuticals found in treated drinking water; antibiotics in groundwater capable of altering naturally occurring bacterial communities; and over-the-counter and prescription drugs found in water leaching from municipal landfills. And these are just some of many recent studies examining the countless pharmaceuticals that are now being found just about everywhere scientists have looked for them in the environment.

Exactly how many drugs are in use and how many may be detectable in the environment is difficult to pinpoint. But according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. healthcare providers order or provide millions of drugs each year. In 2002, the U.S. General Accountability Office estimated that more than 13 million pounds of active pharmaceutical ingredients were sold for animal use alone. And according to one analysis, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved about 1,500 drugs since it was established in 1938. Recent studies by the U.S. Geological Survey have found dozens of different pharmaceuticals in surface water sampling, and the USGS is now testing water from 38 streams in 24 states plus Puerto Rico for the presence of about 200 different pharmaceuticals or their metabolites (compounds drugs morph into as they pass through the body).

Regulatory and health authorities, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the FDA and the World Health Organization, note that levels of individual pharmaceutical compounds being measured environmentally — typically in water — have not been shown to harm human health. But many individual scientists, as well as the European Commission and other groups, have expressed concern about potential effects of the mixture of pharmaceutical chemicals present in the environment. Others, including researchers at the USGS who have been studying pharmaceuticals since the 1990s, also express concern about the consequences — for plants, animals and naturally occurring bacteria as well as human health — of long-term, low-level exposure to the various types of compounds being detected.

About 90 percent of pharmaceuticals found in the environment arrive there after being excreted.Where are these compounds coming from? How do we know if they pose hazards to people or the natural systems on which we depend? And what's being done to address concerns about the ubiquitous presence of so many drugs in the environment?

Prescribing Trouble

About 90 percent of pharmaceuticals found in the environment arrive there after being excreted. Of these, antibiotics are a particular source of growing concern given the rise of antibiotic resistance, says Anna Zorzet, coordinator for ReAct Europe, an antibiotic resistance awareness and advocacy group hosted by Uppsala University in Sweden. The recent rapid increase in antibiotic use in humans and on livestock has reduced these drugs' effectiveness as bacteria evolve to tolerate frequently used antibiotics, a problem that can be compounded by their presence in the environment.

The rest of the pharmaceuticals in the environment come from discarded medicine and effluent releases at pharmaceutical manufacturing sites, explains Dan Caldwell, toxicology fellow with Johnson & Johnson Environment, Health, Safety, and Sustainability. Many of those discards and much of that effluent also ends up in water — either as runoff from landfill or discharge from factories.

That treatment plants don't target drugs is actually not surprising in the United States, where there are no drinking water quality standards for pharmaceuticals. While most of the world's urban wastewater goes to treatment plants, typical waste- and drinking-water treatment methods are not designed to remove pharmaceuticals. In a 2011 report, WHO estimated that depending on the method, conventional water treatment plants might remove anywhere from less than 20 to more than 90 percent of the pharmaceuticals compounds present.

That treatment plants don't target drugs is actually not surprising in the United States, where there are no drinking water quality standards for pharmaceuticals. About 10 drugs are now included on the EPA's "contaminant candidate" list of pollutants being considered for possible regulation. But none is yet regulated, meaning there are no set limits on what's considered a safe level in drinking water. This makes it very hard when local water utilities report on pharmaceuticals they find in their systems — as many do — to know what the reporting actually means or what (if anything) to do about it.

Sophisticated Testing

With use of pharmaceuticals growing worldwide, it's no surprise that we're finding more and more of them in the environment. But increased usage is not the only reason detection is on the rise. As increasingly sophisticated environmental testing methods have become available in recent years, what have come to be called micro-pollutants and emerging contaminants — a category that includes pharmaceuticals — have started to be detected with greater precision.

"Analytical chemistry has progressed from being able to detect parts per million to parts per billion to parts per quadrillion," says Caldwell. USGS research hydrologist Dana Kolpin, who's been studying pharmaceuticals in the environment for more than 15 years, explains that early on, scientists could only measure about 19 pharmaceuticals in a one liter water sample. Today, he says, "we use a 15-milliliter vial in which we can now measure 110 pharmaceuticals at much more sensitive levels."

McGill University associate professor of chemical engineering Viviane Yargeau and colleagues have found "illicit drugs" — including amphetamines, methamphetamine, cocaine and prescription opiods — in Canadian drinking water sources at nanograms per liter (parts per trillion) levels. These concentrations are "really small," says Yargeau, and the impacts of these particular compounds on wildlife and other biota have yet to be determined.

Pharmaceuticals being measured in the environment in small concentrations can produce biological effects when those levels are tested in controlled experiments. 

"The fact they are there, shouldn't be cause for alarm," says Caldwell of pharmaceuticals being found in various water sources at this range of levels.

Yet impacts at infinitesimal levels are increasingly what studies are finding. Pharmaceuticals being measured in the environment in small concentrations can produce biological effects when those levels are tested in controlled experiments. For example, University of Wisconsin researchers recently discovered that levels of the antidiabetic drug metformin comparable to those found environmentally caused male fathead minnows to develop intersex gonads. Scientists in the U.K. have found that concentrations of the antidepressant fluoxetine (sold under various names, including Prozac) found in environmental samples altered behavior of starlings in an experimental study. Others in Sweden found similar results when fish were exposed to levels of another psychoactive drug, oxazepam, at levels found in wastewater samples.

While regulators stress the lack of evidence that such levels are harming human health on an acute basis — a point J&J's Caldwell also made — some scientists, including Kolpin and Yargeau, note that monitoring drugs at low levels is important for understanding possible long-term effects.

"We want to go as low as we can go in measurement as this is important in understanding long-term trends of exposure," says Kolpin. Even though organisms may look healthy, he explains, when you start to examine their tissues and behavior, "more subtle effects" of chemical exposure may become apparent. Having as much detailed data as possible will help scientists figure out what might be happening at a population level, rather than only to isolated individuals.

This type of detailed information about individual drugs will also help pinpoint which pharmaceuticals to target for removal, says Yargeau. Additional studies are needed to guide regulators toward improving monitoring and treatment, she explains. "If we don't do something, it might get worse," she says.

How Big of a Problem?

Part of what's needed is a more comprehensive grasp of exactly what's out there and how big of a problem various pharmaceuticals pose in terms of When it comes to assessing a drug's environmental impacts, things can get very complicated.human and environmental health impacts. As the Natural Resources Defense Council noted in a 2009 white paper, there are large data gaps in this domain — exact volumes of drugs used, relative contributions from humans and livestock, and a full accounting of what drugs are in the environment. Many studies document the presence of drugs, but thus far in the U.S. no data yet yield an overall picture. New studies forthcoming from USGS and the EPA may start to fill in those blanks.

When it comes to assessing a drug's environmental impacts, things can get very complicated. To understand what the environmental and health ramifications of a particular pharmaceutical may be, regulatory agencies in both the U.S. and Europe rely on information that comes from manufacturers. In the U.S., pharmaceutical manufacturers must submit this information to the FDA as part of the drug registration process, explains Raanan Bloom, senior toxicologist with the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

This environmental assessment — in Europe called an environmental risk assessment — includes information about the drug's ecotoxicity at various concentrations and about its effects on various aquatic organisms. The information is then correlated with manufacturers' projections of production, sales and use volume to estimate what potential environmental impacts will be.

Drug categories now receiving particular attention from the FDA are hormonally active compounds, antibiotics and what the FDA calls "high volume" drugs — those used frequently.A study by a group of Swedish and U.K. researchers found 83 percent of ERAs produced in 2011 and 2012 to be either lacking in data or incomplete. And a report just released by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research is extremely critical of the environmental risk assessments pharmaceutical manufacturers submit to European Union authorities. The report also criticizes claims in these assessments of a need to keep certain information confidential ­— something that is also a feature of the environmental assessments drug manufacturers submit to the FDA — and calls for making the assessments available to the public. To improve efficiency in understanding and heading off potential problems, the study also suggests grouping risk assessment for similar compounds rather than relying on the current compound-by-compound approach. Among its other recommendations is the inclusion of information about a drug's potential contribution to antibiotic resistance.

Drug categories now receiving particular attention from the FDA are hormonally active compounds, antibiotics and what the FDA calls "high volume" drugs — those used frequently. In April the FDA proposed guidelines about whether manufacturers will have to submit environmental assessments with applications for new drugs with hormonal effects. This, said Bloom, "points out our concern with hormonally active drugs." But what's being proposed wouldn't necessarily prevent such compounds or their breakdown products from ending up in local water sources.

What Can We Do?

Given the demonstrated and potential impacts, what can we do about drugs in the environment?

Unused and unneeded drugs can go into take-back programs. In the EU, take-back and collection programs are required by law. Most collections there are handled by pharmacies, and much of what's collected is incinerated. In the U.S., the Drug Enforcement Administration has, in many states, offered twice-yearly collections that since 2010 have collected more than 4.8 million pounds of prescription drugs. Some U.S. states and other local governments have drug take-back programs as well. But there are logistical challenges for both recipients and contributors: Collectors of unwanted drugs — typically healthcare facilities, pharmacies and law enforcement offices — must be authorized by the DEA and arrange for proper handling of the unwanted drugs, and such facilities may not be conveniently located for drop-off.

Drug manufacturing offers another opportunity for reducing release of pharmaceuticals to the environment. Although manufacturing's contribution to pharmaceutical pollution is comparatively small, it can create "hot spots" of pollution. For example, near Hyderabad, India, which has been a major production site for generic drugs, researchers testing wastewater treatment plant effluent found levels of several antibiotics that Zorzet describes as being comparable to those that would be prescribed for treatment.

Pharmaceutical companies are also working to improve their manufacturing processes' environmental footprint, not just at the end of the pipe but also by moving to "green chemistry solutions.To reduce such emissions, the industry is working to develop and implement what are being called "Ecopharmacostewardship" guidelines. The goal, Caldwell explains, is to work with facilities and suppliers around the world to, as he and colleagues wrote in a recent paper, "achieve the general standard of 'no discharge of APIs [active pharmaceutical ingredients] in toxic amounts.'"

Both Caldwell and the FDA note that pharmaceutical companies are also working to improve their manufacturing processes' environmental footprint, not just at the end of the pipe but also by moving to "green chemistry" solutions. Those include both more efficient drug production and designing drugs that will biodegrade more efficiently or that are effective as intended but minimize by-products that will be excreted and end up in the environment.

Wastewater treatment plants, meanwhile, are exploring possibilities for boosting their ability to remove pharmaceuticals from sewage.There is also concerted and substantial work underway in the pharmaceutical industry — including in India — to make manufacturing processes more efficient given that, historically, the industry was known for inputs — raw materials and energy — at volumes that dwarfed the volume of the finished product. Several pharmaceutical manufacturers, including  Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Merck & Co. and Pfizer, have won U.S. Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge awards for these efforts.

Wastewater treatment plants, meanwhile, are exploring possibilities for boosting their ability to remove pharmaceuticals from sewage. Options range from treating water with ozone to enlisting the assistance of microbes. But, as the 2011 WHO report cautions, "Advanced and costly water treatment technology will not be able to completely remove all pharmaceuticals to concentrations less than the detection limits of the most sensitive analytical procedures at all times."

BUT that is.....Just Beginning

Please read full by Elizabeth Grossman and follow at:
http://ensia.com/features/what-to-do-about-the-antidepressants-antibiotics-and-other-drugs-in-our-water/

Your job is literally ‘killing’ you - researchers at Harvard and Stanford has quantified just how much a stressful workplace may be shaving off of Americans' life spans

People often like to groan about how their job is "killing" them. Tragically, for some groups of people in the U.S., that statement appears to be true.

A new study by researchers at Harvard and Stanford has quantified just how much a stressful workplace may be shaving off of Americans' life spans. It suggests that the amount of life lost to stress varies significantly for people of different races, educational levels and genders, and ranges up to nearly three years of life lost for some groups.

Past research has shown an incredible variation in life expectancy around the United States, depending on who you are and where you live. Mapping life expectancy around the nation by both county of residence and race, you can see that people in some parts of the U.S. live as many as 33 years longer on average than people in other parts of the country, the researchers say.

Those gaps appear to be getting worse, as the wealthy extend their life spans and other groups are stagnant. One study found that men and women with fewer than 12 years of education had life expectancies that were still on par with most adults in the 1950s and 1960s — suggesting the economic gains of the last few decades have gone mostly to more educated people. The financial crisis and subsequent recession, which put many people in economic jeopardy, may have worsened this effect.

There are lots of reasons that people with lower incomes and educations tend to have lower life expectancies: differences in access to health care, in exposure to air and water pollution, in nutrition and health care early in life, and in behaviors, such as smoking, exercise and diet. Past research has also shown that job insecurity, long hours, heavy demands at work and other stresses can also cut down on a worker's life expectancy by taking a heavy toll on a worker's health. (If you work in an office, here are some exercises you might try to prevent this.)

But researchers say this is the first study to look at the ways that a workplace's influence on life expectancy specifically break down by racial and educational lines.

Please read full and follow at: 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/10/28/researchers-have-determined-how-many-years-of-life-you-lose-to-a-stressful-job/

What Happened 67 Years Ago on October 29th?

October 29, 1948: Toxic smog hovered over Donora, Pennsylvania. Over five-day period, smog killed 20 people (mostly elderly) & made thousands seriously ill. Town of 14,000 people on Monongahela River in valley surrounded by hills was home to steel mills & zinc smelting plant, which released sulphuric acid, carbon monoxide, & volatile organic compounds (VOC's) into atmosphere. Afterwards, air pollution finally became a matter of public concern. Donora tragedy led to the passage of 1955 Clean Air Act.

Written by

Richard Cartwright PE, CHMM (IHMM Fellow)

Please read full and follow at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-happened-67-years-ago-october-29th-richard

Study: Cutting Sugar From Diet Shows Immediate Health Benefits

As reported in TIME and other news sources, a recent study found that reducing sugar intake in obese children caused several biological health markers to improve over a short period of time (9 days). Summarizing the results: "Overall, their fasting blood sugar levels dropped by 53%, along with the amount of insulin their bodies produced since insulin is normally needed to break down carbohydrates and sugars. Their triglyceride and LDL levels also declined and, most importantly, they showed less fat in their liver."The full study is available online.

Smartphones may soon detect air pollution

GIZMAG: According to the World Health Organization, nitrogen dioxide (NO2)-based air pollution contributes to over 7 million deaths per year – children and the elderly are particularly at risk. Thanks to research being carried out at Australia's RMIT University, however, it may soon be possible to receive early warnings of dangerous NO2 levels in the air around you … via a sensor in your smartphone.

Developed by a team led by Prof. Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh, the current version of the sensor absorbs airborne NO2 molecules onto ultra-thin tin disulphide flakes. By analyzing the amount of molecules on the flakes, the sensor can determine the concentration of the gas currently present in the surrounding atmosphere.

Tin disulphide is also used as a pigment in varnish, and has a natural affinity for nitrogen dioxide molecules specifically – this means that it holds onto them while ignoring other types of gas molecules, making the sensor highly accurate.

"A lack of public access to effective monitoring tools is a major roadblock to mitigating the harmful effects of this gas but current sensing systems are either very expensive or have serious difficulty distinguishing it from other gases," says Kalantar-zadeh. "The method we have developed is not only more cost-effective, it also works better than the sensors currently used to detect this dangerous gas."

RMIT is collaborating with the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the study. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego are also developing acompact sensor capable of detecting NO2, which is typically released in the burning of fossil fuels.

Source: RMIT University

Please read full and follow at: 
http://www.gizmag.com/nitrogen-dioxide-sensor/40082/

E-cigarettes could addict a new generation of youth to nicotine, doctors are told

The US Food and Drug Administration should regulate e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) as it does other tobacco products, imposing similar age restrictions and banning their advertising and media promotion, the American Academy of Pediatrics has said in a policy statement1 released on 26 October at its national conference, held in Washington, DC.

"There is a critical need for ENDS regulation, legislative action, and counter-promotion to protect youth. ENDS have the potential to addict a new generation of youth to nicotine and reverse more than 50 years of progress in tobacco control," the academy said.

Please continue reading from: 

http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h5728

The waste, one third of all food produced worldwide gets lost or wasted

Metafilter -  According to a recent report from the United Nations Environment Program, about one third of all food produced worldwide gets lost or wasted, either during processing or consumption. In the United States, alone, that works out to about twenty pounds of food per person, per month. Most of that food waste goes into landfills - and organic waste, like food, makes up the second largest component of landfills, which are the planet's largest source of methane emissions.  

China has large solar powered helium spy airship and satellites for tracking aircraft carriers

Earlier this month, China tested a new helium-filled airship that will soar to great height to offer the government new and broad surveillance capabilities. Called Yuanmeng​, ​the ship is expected to be able to stay aloft for up to 48 hours.

The airship works via a combination of lighter-than-air gases and electricity. Helium lifts the ship to the near-space region (65,000 to 328,000 feet). Once Yuanmeng​ is at altitude, solar panels mounted on the surface provide electrical power to propellers that guide the airship into position. Solar power is ideal for high-altitude drones and airships because it reduces the need for an internal fuel supply, reducing the overall size of the aircraft and freeing it from the task of carrying its own fuel. 

Yuanmeng measures an enormous 18,000 cubic meters (635,664 cubic feet) in volume. The airship is equipped with communications and surveillance gear, including wide-band communications, digital data links, high-definition "observation" (HD cameras), and spatial imaging technologies.

The Gaofen-4 geostationary earth observation satellite will be launched by the end of this year with the express purpose of hunting US aircraft carriers. The satellite is equipped with a visible light imager at 50 meters and infrared staring optical imager at 400 meters.

China has created the means of holding at risk US aircraft carriers with two new anti-ship ballistic missiles, the DF-21D and the new DF-26. However, locating US aircraft carriers is not easy, and China has developed a variety of airborne and space-based sensors to ease the search

Read more »// Next Big Future

@The_GC3 New Online customizable Safer Chemistry curriculum for professionals Training for Businesses (Free)

New, customizable Safer Chemistry curriculum for professionals

The Green Chemistry & Commerce Council Education Group is proud to announce the launch of the Safer Chemistry Training for Businesses. This free online curriculum is comprised of educational webinars, ranging from introductory to advanced, and supplemental reading materials. While the material has been developed with a business audience in mind, we hope that other groups, such as technical assistance providers and students, will also benefit from this foundation in green chemistry.

The Safer Chemistry Training was developed in response to our member companies' needs for education of their employees and supply chains in various aspects of green chemistry. It is a direct outcome of the GC3 Policy Statement on Green Chemistry Education, which calls on businesses and academic institutions to support and implement green chemistry training in order to fulfill societal and industrial needs.

The Safer Chemistry Training for Businesses is designed to be tailored to the specific needs of the learner's job description and experience; the number of webinars watched and duration of training can be altered as needed.  For example, a purchaser trying to understand new corporate sustainability initiatives might only watch a few, whereas a chemist new to green chemistry might want to watch 5 or 6.

 

View the complete list of educational webinars here. Additional training webinars are planned and will be added to the Safer Chemistry Training in the coming months. Sign up for the GC3 newsletter to be notified of new additions.

If you have questions or feedback, feel free to contact Saskia van Bergen at saskia.vanbergen@ecy.wa.gov.

 

Please share this resource with others who might be interested.

 

Retweet on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/The_GC3/status/658629218671026177

 

See announcement in full:

http://www.greenchemistryandcommerce.org/assets/media/images/Projects/GC3%20HigherEdPolicy.pdf

 

How are you affected by USEPA' Haz Waste generator reg changes?

Hazardous Waste Generator Proposed Rule

U.S. EPA recently released a proposed rule revising the hazardous waste generator regulations under RCRA:

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-RCRA-2012-0121-0001

Also EPA has put up a helpful website with resources, summaries and FAQs about the proposed rule:

http://www2.epa.gov/hwgenerators/proposed-rule-hazardous-waste-generator-improvements

Comments are due to EPA by November 24.

Some of the important changes EPA proposes are:

1) Small quantity hazardous waste generators can avoid a higher generator status (can retain their status) when generating episodic waste so long as it is properly managed.

2) Conditionally exempt small quantity generators can send hazardous waste to a large quantity generator under the control of the same company subject to certain conditions

3) Expands labeling and reporting requirements for small quantity and large quantity generators. 

4) Increases communication requirements about hazardous waste with emergency responders

5) Requires large and small generators to re-notify EPA on a periodic basis after obtaining a hazardous waste identification number 

If implemented, authorized states would be required to adopt provisions more stringent than state generator regulations. 

How would you be affected by the proposed changes?

Some questions to consider:

1. How could additional new recordkeeping requirements for hazardous waste determinations affect you if you are an SQG or LQG (e.g. cost, labor, regulatory burden)?

2. Could you benefit from the proposed new provision that conditionally allows for episodic generation of hazardous waste that would not affect hazardous waste generator status?

3. Could you benefit from a system to consolidate hazardous waste by conditionally allowing CESQGs to send hazardous waste to LQGs under the control of the same person?

4. Are you currently an CESQG generating (not accumulating) more than 1 kg of acutely hazardous wastes in a month (and only have your acutely hazardous wastes subject to full regulation)?

5. How could new labeling/marking and inspection recordkeeping requirements for containers and tanks affect you if you are an SQG or LQG (e.g. cost, conflicts with existing labeling requirements)?

First New US Nuclear Reactor In Two Decades Gets Permission To Begin Fueling

The Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar nuclear power plant began construction in 1973. The plant's first reactor was completed in 1996, and it began operation. Work on the second reactor paused in 1988, and only resumed in 2007. That reactor is now complete — the first newly-operationalGeneration II reactor since the 1990s. The new reactor has been granted an operational license, and it will soon begin fueling. While the Gen II reactors aren't unsafe, they're much less safe than the Gen III AP1000s. "Compared to a Westinghouse Gen II PWR, the AP1000 contains 50 percent fewer safety-related valves, 35 percent fewer pumps, 80 percent less safety-related piping, 85 percent less control cabling, and 45 percent less seismic building volume. ... If an accident happens, the AP1000 will shut itself down without needing any human intervention (or even electrical power) within the first 72 hours."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Nuclear plants store waste using funds meant for dismantling

With a federal promise to take highly radioactive spent fuel from nuclear plants still unfulfilled, closed reactors are dipping into funds set aside for their eventual dismantling to build waste storage on-site, raising questions about whether there will be enough money when the time comes. Please continue reading from: JSOnline.com NewsWatch

First New U.S. Nuclear Reactor in Two Decades to Begin Fueling in Tennessee

Yesterday, U.S. federal regulators approved an operating license for Unit 2 of Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar nuclear power plant; it's only taken 19 years and almost 4.5 billion dollars. The Gen II plant should be producing power by the end of the year, and it shouldn't bother you in the least that we mostly stopped building Gen II reactors sometime in the mid '90s. 

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began construction on two pressurized water reactors (PWRs) in 1973. Unit 1 was completed in 1996, while construction on Unit 2 was halted in 1988 when it was 80 percent complete due to a reduction in the predicted growth of power demand. TVA resumed work on Unit 2 in 2007, and it's now gotten approval to load nuclear fuel into Unit 2 and to begin testing. The goal is to generate 1,180 megawatts of power by the end of this year.

Unit 2 (and the currently operational Unit 1) are both Gen II four-loop pressurized water reactors, built by Westinghouse. Generally, Gen II reactors are distinct from more modern Gen III reactors in that Gen III offers improved safety, increased efficiency, and simpler, more reliable designs. For example, four reactors based on the more modern Gen III design, known as AP1000, are currently being built in the U.S. Compared to a Westinghouse Gen II PWR, the AP1000 contains 50 percent fewer safety-related valves, 35 percent fewer pumps, 80 percent less safety-related piping, 85 percent less control cabling, and 45 percent less seismic building volume.

That's a lot less to break down. And when the newer generation's passive advanced safety features are taken into consideration, the AP1000 reactors should be about 100 times as safe as existing plants. If an accident happens, the AP1000 will shut itself down without needing any human intervention (or even electrical power) within the first 72 hours. What's more, only a small amount of water transfer (about ten garden hoses worth) is necessary after that to keep the reactor stable.

Please continue reading from: 
http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/nuclear/first-new-us-nuclear-reactor-in-two-decades-to-begin-fueling-in-tennessee

Simplified dangers around energy

Next Big Future:  wrote an answer on Quora about the dangers of energy to the environment.

I have written several articles that have looked at deaths per terawatt hour. Nuclear energy compares very favorably against other energy sources on that basis. I have looked at detailed medical studies and many other references. I have looked at it just looking at industrial and transportation deaths and including medical impacts. I have looked at short term and long term.


Let me simplify Deaths per TWH by energy source.

Particulates - incomplete burning is the driver of fossil health impact

Most energy now is from the fossil fuels. Oil, Natural Gas and coal. They are about 100 times more deadly than hydro, nuclear, solar and wind.

The reason is mainly particulates. They are not burned completely and this air pollution is like forcing babies, people with asthma and the elderly to smoke every day. The levels of particulate air pollution varies by the day and this change shows up in hospital admissions. The impact on health is by the hour and day. There were huge air pollution events in the past. The London fog killed 12000 people over several days when the weather caused air pollution to get trapped and people dropped dead with blue lips as they suffocated. 

Read more »

First Cancer Case Confirmed From Fukushima Cleanup

Japan's labor ministry has confirmed the first cancer case related to work at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Following on from reports of elevated levels of child cancer and 1,600 civilians deaths from the evacuation, this is the first time that one of the 44,000 people involved in the clean up operation has been diagnosed with cancer resulting directly from the accident. The worker was involved in recovery and cleanup efforts at the plant after it suffered a meltdown in March, 2011. He was in his late 30s at the time, and has been diagnosed with leukemia. The ministry has approved workers' compensation. Radiation exposure has been linked to the onset of leukemia.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Nearly One-third of Consumers Would Give Up Their Car Before Their Smartphone

A survey of 1,200 general consumers in four major countries by global tech design firm Frog found that 30% of respondents would give up their car before their smartphone. The online survey, which included the U.S., China, Denmark, and Germany, found that 37% of car owners would like to give up their car outright or felt they could get by without it by using an alternative form of transportation. "I think the people of my generation saw driving a vehicle as a rite of passage to adulthood. That was your freedom. I think the generation now views going from point A to point B as just occupying time that they could be doing something else," said Andrew Poliak of QNX Software Systems. At the same time, another survey revealed that even engineers continue to be wary of fully autonomous vehicles, including their vulnerability to hacks and exploits. The survey of IEEE members found they are not comfortable having autonomous vehicles pick up/drop off their children.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Free Webinar: Canada-Complying with Ontario’s Consumer Protection Laws, Oct20

Webinar with the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services: Complying with Ontario's Consumer Protection Laws

Date:  Oct 20, 2015
1:30 - 2:30 PM EST

This consumer protection webinar, presented by the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services in collaboration with the Retail Council of Canada, will feature an introduction to the Consumer Protection Act, which has been in force since 2005. The Act places a number of obligations on you as a business, including the requirements for making certain types of agreements, as well, as general standards involving fairly representing the goods and services you sell. The law applies to almost all businesses that sell directly to consumers in Ontario, as opposed to business to business firms. The ministry has the power to enforce the Consumer Protection Act, and other consumer protection statutes, which can be done using a wide range of tools, from educational visits by the ministry's inspectors to prosecution through its legal branch. A free copy of the Business Guide, and details about the ministry's online tool, the Consumer Beware List, will be highlighted. The ministry is currently enhancing its business compliance programming. This webinar is part of that offering.

REGISTER at:
https://retailcouncil.webex.com/mw3000/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=retailcouncil&service=6&rnd=0.8978146447759345&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Fretailcouncil.webex.com%2Fec3000%2Feventcenter%2Fevent%2FeventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26confViewID%3D1753754005%26%26EMK%3D4832534b00000002f22d397d2d419762e35ca47dc610590345fe48ed5313033578c260ac3fbcc96c%26%26encryptTicket%3DSDJTSwAAAAIhecL2UOsP7Z-A7qQs35VCu4beh8Id-U3NghN29ho53w2%26%26siteurl%3Dretailcouncil

Windchill refrigerator designed by Calgary students wins world prize

CBC News : Taking a cue from kangaroos, elephants, bees and even termites, a team from the University of Calgary came up with a clever way to keep food cool without the need for expensive fridges, or even electricity. 

The invention, dubbed WindChill, took first place in the student category in the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge, aimed at finding solutions borrowed from nature to improve the global food system. 

"We thought it would be good to decrease the amount of food waste in the world, and we came up with this design because it's easy to build and the materials are relatively cheap," said team member Michelle Zhou.

The design borrows the burrowing and the fanning techniques employed by some animals, siphoning in air (think elephants ears) that is then cooled by tubes which partially run underground (think digging termites). This helps provide cheap, cold air for food refrigeration.

Jorge Zapote and Michelle Zhou, two of the students behind WindChill, which won a biomimicry design prize aimed at improving the food system. (CBC)

Cheap and portable

The goal was to build something that could be used in remote locations where electricity, and money, can be scarce. 

"Anywhere from a quarter to half of the world's food goes to waste every year, and in rural populations — about 70 per cent of the people in rural Africa don't have access to electricity," said team member Jorge Zapote. 

"So this at the moment uses a tiny bit of electricity from a solar panel, but the end design is to use zero electricity. So this could really help people in those areas."

The team is now looking forward to creating a prototype for the next round of competition and trying to reach their temperature goal. 

"The 4.5 degree Celsius goal is the temperature that we need for the food to stop spoiling," said Zhou.

Please read full and follow at: 

 CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/uofc-first-place-biomimicry-1.3273816
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Study: Two-thirds of new cancer drugs don't extend life

Those drugs are instead approved because of so-called surrogate measures of effectiveness, such as scans showing tumor shrinkage, according to a paper published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Please continue reading from: JSOnline.com NewsWatch

An Algorithm That Can Predict Human Behavior Better Than Humans

Quartz describes an MIT study with the surprising conclusion that at least in some circumstances, an algorithm can not only sift numbers faster than humans (after all, that's what computers are best at), but also discern relevant factors within a complex data set more accurately and more quickly than can teams of humans. In a competition involving 905 human teams, a system called the Data Science Machine, designed by MIT master's student Max Kanter and his advisor, Kalyan Veeramachaneni, beat most of the humans for accuracy and speed in three tests of predictive power, including one about "whether a student would drop out during the next ten days, based on student interactions with resources on an online course."Teams might have looked at how late students turned in their problem sets, or whether they spent any time looking at lecture notes. But instead, MIT News reports, the two most important indicators turned out to be how far ahead of a deadline the student began working on their problem set, and how much time the student spent on the course website. ... The Data Science Machine performed well in this competition. It was also successful in two other competitions, one in which participants had to predict whether a crowd-funded project would be considered "exciting" and another if a customer would become a repeat buyer.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Cure for cancer might accidentally have been found, and it could be malaria | @health @Science | @News ]

Scientists might have accidentally made a huge step forward in the search for a cure for cancer — discovering unexpectedly that a malaria protein could be an effective weapon against the disease.

Danish researchers were hunting for a way of protecting pregnant women from malaria, which can cause huge problems because it attacks the placenta. But they found at the same time that armed malaria proteins can attack cancer, too — an approach which could be a step towards curing the disease.

Scientists have combined the bit of protein that the malaria vaccine uses to bury into cells and combined it with a toxin — that can then bury into cancer cells and release the toxin, killing them off.

Please continue reading from:  | The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/cure-for-cancer-might-accidentally-have-been-found-and-it-could-be-malaria-a6693601.html

The latest study about antioxidants is terrifying. Scientists think they may boost cancer cells to spread faster. - The Washington Post

Since the term "antioxidants" made the leap from the realm of biochemistry labs and into the public consciousness in the  1990s, Americans have come to believe that more is better when it comes to consuming the substance that comes in things like acai berries, green tea and leafy veggies.

A provocative new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature raises important questions about that assumption.

Antioxidants — which include vitamins C and E and beta-carotene, and are contained in thousands of foods — are thought to protect cells from damage by acting as defenders against something called "free radicals" which the body produces as a part of metabolism or that can enter through the environment.

That's all great for normal cells. But what researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found is that antioxidants can work their magic on cancerous cells, too — turbo-charging the process by which they grow and spread.

Researcher Sean Morrison and his colleagues conducted experiments on mice that had been transplanted with skin cancer cells (melanoma) from human patients. They gave nothing to one group. To the other they gave doses of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) which is a common antioxidant that's used in nutritional and bodybuilding supplements and has been used as a treatment for patients with HIV/AIDS and in some children with certain genetic disorders.

The results were alarming: Those in the second group had markedly higher levels of cancer cells in their blood, grew more tumors and the tumors were larger and more widespread than in the second.

"What we're starting to learn is that there can be bad cells from cancer that appear to benefit more from antioxidants than normal cells," he said in an interview. - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/10/14/antioxidants-may-give-a-boost-to-cancer-cells-making-them-spread-faster-study-suggests/
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Neil Young Launches Conservation-Themed Website GoEarth.org

Neil Young has launched a new website, GoEarthNeil Young has launched a new website, GoEarth.org, with the aim of motivating people toward global conservation. The site offers information on earth ecology, banning GMOs, the future of farming, climate change and social causes, among other topics. Taking inspiration from the "Village" of activist organizations that have been traveling with Young on his current tour, the site's motto is, "It takes a village to keep the free world rockin'."

"GoEarth.org is a powerful resource for finding services and organizations dedicated to helping you live a healthy, vital and informed life, while participating in Earth's flourishing sustainability movement," a statement for the site reads. "[The site] is a reliable portal for information on common sense, innovative and creative solutions to many of the crisis we face. GoEarth.org connects us with some of the most effective organizations, working to conserve the natural world and protect our freedoms."

Young has been touring this year in support of his latest record, The Monsanto Years, which he put out in June. No stranger to activism, Young created a film about the company Monsanto, which makes genetically engineered seeds, called "Seeding Fear," in which a farmer named Michael White talked about standing up to the corporation, after it accused him of infringing on their copyright.

The company shot back at Young the next day, citing distortions it perceived in his storytelling. "Protecting patents and copyrights can be difficult in any business – including the entertainment industry," a rep for the company said. "Mr. White's actions are equivalent to pirating an album, producing thousands of copies and selling bootleg copies – all while knowing what you're doing is illegal and that it will result in criminal charges if caught."

The singer-songwriter has also been welcoming activists onto his stage. Naelyn Pike, a member of the Native American rights organization Apache Stronghold, told Rolling Stone earlier this year how much it meant to her to have the opportunity. "It's been pretty awesome to be up on stage and look out and see so many people supporting us, yelling for us," she said..org, with the aim of motivating people toward global conservation. The site offers information on earth ecology, banning GMOs, the future of farming, climate change and social causes, among other topics. Taking inspiration from the "Village" of activist organizations that have been traveling with Young on his current tour, the site's motto is, "It takes a village to keep the free world rockin'."

"GoEarth.org is a powerful resource for finding services and organizations dedicated to helping you live a healthy, vital and informed life, while participating in Earth's flourishing sustainability movement," a statement for the site reads. "[The site] is a reliable portal for information on common sense, innovative and creative solutions to many of the crisis we face. GoEarth.org connects us with some of the most effective organizations, working to conserve the natural world and protect our freedoms."

Young has been touring this year in support of his latest record, The Monsanto Years, which he put out in June. No stranger to activism, Young created a film about the company Monsanto, which makes genetically engineered seeds, called "Seeding Fear," in which a farmer named Michael White talked about standing up to the corporation, after it accused him of infringing on their copyright.

The company shot back at Young the next day, citing distortions it perceived in his storytelling. "Protecting patents and copyrights can be difficult in any business – including the entertainment industry," a rep for the company said. "Mr. White's actions are equivalent to pirating an album, producing thousands of copies and selling bootleg copies – all while knowing what you're doing is illegal and that it will result in criminal charges if caught."

The singer-songwriter has also been welcoming activists onto his stage. Naelyn Pike, a member of the Native American rights organization Apache Stronghold, told Rolling Stone earlier this year how much it meant to her to have the opportunity. "It's been pretty awesome to be up on stage and look out and see so many people supporting us, yelling for us," she said.

Powered by body heat, Lumen flashlight never needs batteries

Gizmag: Whether it be for everyday carry (EDC), outdoor adventure, or disaster preparation, flashlights tend to be found towards the top of must-have items. But one common aspect of these luminescent devices is that they're only as good as the batteries inside. If you've ever switched on a flashlight only to experience a flood of frustrated disappointment, you might appreciate owning an "eternal flashlight." Lumen is designed to be powered by body heat, never needing batteries.

.. Continue Reading Powered by body heat, Lumen flashlight never needs batteries 

Washington DC Electrified with Raw Sewage

Completely unrelated to the current political climate in the United States, did you know Washington D.C. is partially powered by a sewage plant? No, seriously.

That's right, just this week the D.C. Water utility company has announced a bioenergy facility that makes use of resident's waste water into producing methane gas which can than be burned to generate electricity — To the tune of 10 megawatts! The facility is saving the company an estimated $10 million a year in energy bills.

Simply put, the liquid is removed from the sewage water and the solids are refined into a type of fuel. Those solids are heated, mixed, and sterilized into a form that can be easily digested by a certain type of microbe, which then in turn produce methane for burning. For a more detailed explanation, check out the info-graphic from the Washington Post explaining the entire process.

And on a smaller scale, you could do something like this in your very own backyard.

Shared via // Hack a Day

Top one percent in world own more than bottom 99 percent combined [feedly]

Global Research -A new report issued by the Swiss bank Credit Suisse finds that global wealth inequality continues to worsen and has reached a new milestone, with the top 1 percent owning more of the world's assets than the bottom 99 percent combined.

Of the estimated $250 trillion in global assets, the top 1 percent owned almost exactly 50 percent, while the bottom 50 percent of humanity owned collectively less than 1 percent. The richest 10 percent owned 87.7 percent of the world's wealth, leaving 12.3 percent for the bottom 90 percent of the population.

The Credit Suisse report focused not on the top 1 percent, but on a slightly smaller group, the 0.7 percent of adults with assets of more than 1 million US dollars. This figure includes both financial assets and real assets, such as homes, small businesses and other physical property.

The report's eye-catching "Global Wealth Pyramid" divides the human race into four categories by wealth: 3.4 billion adults with net assets of less than $10,000; 1 billion with net assets from $10,000 to $100,000; 349 million with net assets from $100,000 to $1 million; and 34 million with net assets over $1 million. 

New fluorescent lighting phosphors slash use of rare-earth elements

Phosphors are essential to fluorescent lighting, and thus office parks the world over, but their use of rare-earth elements makes them less than ideal. To address that issue, new types of phosphors have been developed that use substantially less rare-earth elements than current phosphors found in fluorescent bulbs. This could reduce the reliance on the limited supplies of rare-earth elements until fluorescent lighting can be completely replaced by LED lighting, which isn't expected to occur for over a decade.
.. Continue Reading New fluorescent lighting phosphors slash use of rare-earth elements // Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine

140 wind turbines can double the capacity factor of wind power to 60%

NREL finds that capacity factor of wind energy doubles when wind turbines go from 80 meters tall for most commercial turbines in the USA today to 140 meters tall. Germany's wind industry already averages 120 meters for new wind turbines, with some as tall as 140 meters. Wind power technology that reaches higher altitude gets to stronger and more reliable wind.

GE has space frame wind towers that are easier to assemble and can reach heights of 139 meter hub height GE space frame tower can be easily delivered to, and assembled at any project site, including those where terrain makes movement of traditional tower sections difficult. 

The ultimate potential could be wind power that is ten times more than current electrical demand. There is the climate impact, in that stopping or slowing wind reduces the cooling from wind.

Ramez Naam covers the potential and challenges for next generation wind power.

GE space frame wind tower technology

Map shows that 140 meter towers reach stronger and more reliable wind. This allows wind power to be placed near population that would want to use the energy.

Read more »// Next Big Future

Big U.S. firms hold $2.1 trillion overseas to avoid taxes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The 500 largest American companies hold more than $2.1 trillion in accumulated profits offshore to avoid U.S. taxes and would collectively owe an estimated $620 billion in U.S. taxes if they repatriated the funds, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The study, by two left-leaning non-profit groups, found that nearly three-quarters of the firms on the Fortune 500 list of biggest American companies by gross revenue operate tax haven subsidiaries in countries like Bermuda, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Citizens for Tax Justice and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund used the companies' own financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to reach their conclusions.

Technology firm Apple was holding $181.1 billion offshore, more than any other U.S. company, and would owe an estimated $59.2 billion in U.S. taxes if it tried to bring the money back to the United States from its three overseas tax havens, the study said.

The conglomerate General Electric has booked $119 billion offshore in 18 tax havens, software firm Microsoft is holding $108.3 billion in five tax haven subsidiaries and drug company Pfizer is holding $74 billion in 151 subsidiaries, the study said

Please continue reading from: 

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0S008U20151006