Chemicals_of_Concern_2011_final

8/7/2019 Chemicals_of_Concern_2011_final

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John Eyles, Bruce Newbold, Anita Toth,Tasnova Shah

McMaster Institute of Environment &Health

March 2011


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Levels of most contaminants in herring gull eggs and predator fishcontinue to decrease.

Phosphorus concentrations in the open waters are at or belowexpected levels in Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan andLake Superior.

The Great Lakes are a good source for treated drinking water. Sustainable forestry programs throughout the Great Lakes basin

are helping environmentally friendly management practices. Lake trout stocks in Lake Superior have remained self-sustaining,

and some natural reproduction of lake trout is occurring in LakeOntario, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Confirmed observations and captures of lake sturgeon are

increasing in all lakes. Mayfly (Hexagenia) populations are recovering in some areas. The Great Lakes bald eagle population is on the rebound and it

has been removed from protection under the U.S. EndangeredSpecies Act.

EPA, Environment Canada 20092


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Perfluoroctanesulfonate (PFOS), which is a product used in surfactants such as water-repellent coatings and fire-suppressing foams, has been detected in fish throughout theGreat Lakes and has demonstrated the capacity for biomagnification in food webs.

Nuisance growth of the green alga Cladophora has reappeared along the shoreline inmany places.

Many nearshore areas are experiencing elevated levels of phosphorus, which iscontributing to nuisance algae growth.

Non-native species (aquatic and terrestrial) are pervasive throughout the Great Lakes

basin, and they continue to exert impacts on native species and communities. Populations ofDiporeia, the once-dominant, native, bottom-dwelling invertebrate,

continue to decline in Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Ontario, and they may beextinct in Lake Erie.

Groundwater withdrawals for municipal water supplies and irrigation, and the increasedproportion of impervious surfaces in urban areas, have negatively impactedgroundwater.

Long range atmospheric transport is a continuing source of PCBs and othercontaminants to the Great Lakes basin, and can be expected to be significant fordecades.

Land use changes in favour of urbanization along the shoreline continue to threatennatural habitats in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River ecosystems.

Some species of amphibians and wetland-dependent birds are showing declines inpopulation numbers, in part due to wetland habitat conditions.



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EPA, Environment Canada 2009 5


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The available information on environmental pollution provideslittle insight on the exposure of people to pollutants. TRI data onchemicals used and emitted, and NPDES data on chemicalsdischarged into water, do not indicate whether these chemicalsreach people and enter their bodies. ATSDR assessments ofhazardous waste sites do, however, include analysis of exposure

pathways, and, when available, include data on how muchexposure actually occurs.

Current data do not allow us to draw firm conclusions aboutrelationships between critical pollutants in the Great Lakes regionand potential health effects.

Data that are routinely collected (such as information on cancer and birthdefects) are not well matched to exposure data in time or by location andtherefore cannot help to assess whether the identified environmental exposureshave adverse health consequences.

In addition, data are not routinely collected on some important health effectsthat might be associated with toxic exposures such as neurobehavioral,endocrine, reproductive, and immune effects.

ATSDR 2008 9


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Walter et al. 199410


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Elliott et al. 200111


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Elliott et al. 200112


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WERF 200913


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Schell et al. 201014


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Exposure

Pathways 3:

FromAgriculture

Boxall et al. 2009

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Food and Environmental Agents: Effects on Breastfeeding

Adapted from

Ward et al. 2001

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There exist 4,000 legacy chemicals in

Canada and 100,000 in the United States

Under the Chemical Management Plan,

Environment Canada has assessed 200

PCBs, Benzene, Bisphenol A, sulphuric

acid and metabolites of DDT remain on

Canadas hit listThese chemicals are toxic, persistent and

bio-accumulative.

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Exposure: Ubiquitous, usually from improper disposal

Compounds now banned

Pathways present in body fluids andtissues

Health outcomes:

Effects organs and tissues of the nervous,reproductive and immunological

Possible decreased cognitive development

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Benzene is now a known carcinogen, and its use as an additive in

gasoline is now limited. It is an important industrial solvent and

precursor in the production of drugs, plastics, synthetic rubber,

and dyes.

Benzene-induced leukemia has a usual latency period of 5 to 15

years and, in many cases, is preceded by aplastic anemia.

EPA estimates that a lifetime exposure to 4 ppb benzene in air will

result in, at most, 1 additional case of leukemia in 10,000 people

exposed.

EPA has also estimated that lifetime exposure to a benzene

concentration of 100 ppb in drinking water would correspond to,at most, 1 additional cancer case in 10,000 people exposed.

ATSDR 200019


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EPA 2006, The Oregonian 200720


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Carex

2006

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Exposure: Through a range of pest-control products

There are approx. 50,000 commercial products

Some now banned for cosmetic usesPathways:

Direct exposure through occupational and

household use

Indirect exposure through diet

Health Outcomes: Associations with heart diseases, certain cancers

and adverse birth outcomes 22


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Dieldrin ceased

to be used in

the United

States in the

1980s but has a

long

persistence

Nowell et al. 200924


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Engineered Nanotechnology

Antimicrobials

Chlorinated Paraffins

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Anti-microbials present one example ofpersonal care products andpharmaceuticals

Exposure: Largely in commercial soaps and mouthwashes

Pathways: Ingestion and inhalation

Health Outcomes: Weak estrogenic activity but largely unknown

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Exposure: Additive in paints and adhesives and thousands

of other products

Pathways: Largely through food and dermal contact

Health Concerns:

Possibly carcinogenic according to NCI But largely unknown

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Prenatal exposure

Gene-environment interactions

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Exposure and Pathways: Mother-to-child transmission of pollutants

through in utero or breast milk

Pesticides, PAHs and heavy metalsHealth Concerns:

Delayed cognitive development

Low birth weight

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These interactions are under current

investigation.

Most investigations have dealt with these

interactions with respect to traffic

pollution

They appear to be associated with an

increased propensity for heart diseaseand decreased lung function

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CarcinogenicRecognized: Aldrin, Chlordane, DDT, Dieldrin,

Heptachlor, Mirex, Toxaphene, PCBs, HCB,

Dioxins/Furans, Arsenic, Lead, Mercury, VinylChloride, Benzene, Cadmium, Chloroform,

Chromium, PBDEs, Benzo(a)pyrene, Uranium,

Tritium

Suspected: PAHs, THMs, Atrazine

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MIEH 2005

Cancer Type Exposure Carcinogen

Known Suspected

Lung Somewhat raisesrisk

Arsenic

Benzo(a)pyrene

Bis(Chloromethyl)etherChromium

Nickel subsulfide

Zinc Chromate

Uranium

Acrylonitrile

Beryllium

Cadmium1,2-Dibromo-d-chloropropane

PAHs

Prostate Might raise risk Cadmium

Stomach Might raise risk Zinc Chromate Ethylene oxideOral/Pharynx Might raise risk Zinc Chromate Tetrachloroethylene

Liver Might raise risk Vinyl Chloride

Bladder Somewhat raisesrisk

Benzidine

Tetrachloroethylene

Cyclophosphamide

4-Aminodiphenyl

Chloraphazine

Tetrachloroethylene

Skin Arsenic

Benzo(a)pyrene

PAHs

Tetrachloroethylene

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CardiovascularRecognized: presently unknown

Suspected: Chlordane, DDT, Dieldrin, Endrin,

Heptachlor, Toxaphene, PCBs, HCB,Dioxins/Furans, Arsenic, Lead, Mercury, Vinyl

Chloride, Benzene, Cadmium, PAHs,

Phosphorous, Chloroform, Uranium

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ReproductiveRecognized: DDT, Lead, Benzene, Cadmium,

Suspected: Aldrin, Chlordane, Dieldrin, Endrin,

Heptachlor, Toxaphene, PCBs, HCB,Dioxins/Furans, Arsenic, Mercury, Vinyl

Chloride, PAHs, Phosphorous, Chloroform,

Chromium, Phthlates, Atrazine, Methoxychlor,

Uranium

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ImmunotoxicRecognized: presently unknown

Suspected: DDT, Dieldrin, HCB, Arsenic, Lead,

Mercury, Benzene, Cadmium, PAHs, Chromium,Atrazine, Benzo(a)pyrene

Source: ATSDR/CDC 2011.

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Neurological disorders

Diabetes

Obesity and Overweight

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Neurological

Disorders and

Manganese

Finkelstein and

Jerrett 2007

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Lang et al. 2008 43


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Schell et al. 2010

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Associated with POPs, including

hexachlorobenzene

Pathways associated with those

influencing diabetic outcomes andthrough the thyroid regulated routes

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Boyd and Genius 2008

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Requirement of full knowledge base for

pro-active communication with

populations

Rapid response procedures needed forreactive responses to exposures or

public concern

Working with provincially and state-based agencies to develop integrated

and common policy responses

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Chemicals_of_Concern_2011_final