Spring

Parkinson's Disease is characterized by a degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and leads to symptoms such as tremor, rigidity, difficulty in moving, and an expressionless face. The etilogy of the disease is unknown, but generally is attributed to normal aging, environmental insults, and possibly genetics.

Methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant drug commonly known on the street as crank, speed, ice, crystal or crystal meth. It is currently a popular and widespread amphetamine derivative that is illegally manufactured, distributed and abused, primarily in the Western United States.

Assessment of present and future solid waste landfill design requirements and contaminant impacts on adjacent surface and ground waters requires accurate monitoring of the quality and quantity of leachate produced. However, due to field and laboratory constraints, landfill leachate is difficult to monitor. Resulting data is typically highly variable.

Mercury induces oxidative stress in rat kidney, characterized by increased production of mitochondrial H2O2 and oxidation of cell constituents. During prolonged exposure to mercury as methyl mercury hydroxide (MMH), this effect is accompanied by a two- to three-fold increase in reduced glutathione (GSH) levels in kidney cells.

The derivation and promulgation of cleanup standards for soil contaminants are impeded by the complex and uncertain science of assessing exposures to these contaminants. Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) is proposed as a more statistically and scientifically valid method of asessing soil contaminant exposures than deterministic methods currently used by regulatory agencies.

The concern over the relationship between an apparent lack of use of personal flotation devices (lifejackets) and the liklihood of drowning prompted a study to characterize factors that affect usage.

Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) in the form of enclosing and capturing hoods is meant to protect workers from unhealthy exposures and to capture and remove airborne hazards before those contaminants can enter the worker's breathing zone or the general working environment.

Photochemical pollutants, with ozone (O3) as a primary constituent, have been shown in several studies to have adverse effects on the lung function of exposed individuals.

Acute changes in pulmonary function have been shown to occur as a result of firefighting. Exposure to the products of combustion pyrolysis is associated with increased airways responsiveness and decreases FEV1 and FVC. Immediate effects are due to increased concentrations of crbon dioxide and respiratory irritants.

The objectives of this study were to compare the change in pulmonary mechanics and nasal function upon exposure to low levels of sulfur dioxide (SO2) between a group of African-American asthmatic males and a group of Caucasian asthmatic males, of similar income and education level.

Studies of work-related musculoskeletal diseases frequently rely on questionnaires for the assessment of physical exposures, yet the reliability and validity of these measures are often unknown. We studied the reliability and validity of a questionnaire which assessed occupational physical exposures to the back and lower extremities.

This thesis report will demonstrate that the pancake GM (a small, gas-filled radiation detector employing the Geiger-Mueller principle of gas multiplication) can accurately measure skin dose rates from quantities of radioactive material typically found in skin contamination incidents.

Bioassays are the primary means of detecting the nature and quantity of internally-deposited radionuclides in exposed workers.

Since the early 1970s, scientists have been studying a possible link between exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) electro-magnetic fields (EMF) and adverse health effects including leukemia and brain cancer. To assess this link, it is often necessary to quantify a person's estimated lifetime exposure using surrogate measures such as wiring codes and occupational job codes.

Three hundred thirty-eight noise exposure samples were collected from 125 construction workers employed by a general contracting company in four construction trades: carpenters, laborers, ironworkers, and operating engineers. The samples were collected on 49 monitoring days over a 22-week period from four sites employing a variety of construction techniques.

In this study an analytical assay for urinary methoxyphenols was developed as a potential biological marker of environmental wood smoke exposures. The assay was aimed at 11 marker methoxyphenols, which were guaiacol, methylguaiacol, ethyguaiacol, propylguaiacol, vanillin, eugenol, trans-isoeugenol, syringol, methylguaiacol, ethylguaiacol, and syringaldehyde.

Air filter samples were taken at 23 indoor sites throughout Western Washington and the relative contributions of radon-220 daughters and radon-222 daughters to total activity and to potential alpha energy concentration (PAEC) were determined.

Use of fuel additives without documentation of safety, as in the case of lead, has resulted in enormous public health consequences. The proposal to add methanol to gasoline or design automobiles that use mathanol as a primary fuel will necessarily widen consumer exposure to this material.

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a developmental neurotoxicant in rodents, primates and humans. The primary effects of developmental exposure include changes in cell cycling, cell migration and gene expression. We have previously demonstrated significant alterations in the expression of P21 and Gadd153 in primary rat embryonic midbrain CNS cells in vitro following a 24-hr MeHg exposure.

Presented is a general model for differentiating between population heterogeneity and state of knowledge uncertainty in methylmercury (MeHg) exposure assessments. Using data from fish consuming populations in Bangladesh, Brazil, Sweden and the United Kingdom, we compare dietary methylmercury exposures of predictive model estimates against those derived from biomarkers.

The effect of exposure to low level Hg among dentists was evaluated examining motor and cognitive functions, and symptoms. The hypothesis was that motor function would be more readily affected in comparison to cognitive functions, which may be altered to a lesser extent.

The ecological and environmental impacts of the deposition of aqueous acids, acid gasses, and acidic salts have been of growing concern in the past decade. However, not until recently have the impacts of these acids on human heallth been in the forefront of toxicological research.

Methylmercury (MeHg) is an environmentally-relevant metal and potent developmental neurotoxicant in animals and humans. Evaluation of children exposed in utero in Japan and Ira has demonstrated a range of developmental effects including mental retardation, cerebral palsy, growth retardation, blindness, and death.