UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News

Air pollution may increase stroke risk

ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 30 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers suggest even low levels of particulate matter in the air may raise the risk of stroke or mini-stroke.

They noted that probably due to prevailing wind patterns in the area studied, the levels of particulate matter -- a type of air pollution from man-made or natural sources consisting of tiny solid or liquid particles that can cause health problems when inhaled -- were relatively low.

"The vast majority of the public is exposed to ambient air pollution at the levels observed in this community or greater every day, suggesting a potentially large public health impact," lead study author Lynda Lisabeth of the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor said in a statement.

The study, published in the Annals of Neurology, is based Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi Project records of all ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack cases from 2001 to 2005 in Nueces County, Texas.

Comparing this data with the air pollutant and meteorological daily measurements from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's Monitoring Operations database, the researchers found borderline significant associations between same day and previous day fine particulate matter exposures and ischemic stroke/TIA cases -- with the majority of cases located upwind of local chemical plants and refineries.

Smelter discharges ton of lead into river

TRAIL, British Columbia, May 30 (UPI) -- A smelter leak of acid and a ton of lead into the Columbia River in British Columbia had Canadian and U.S. environmental officials taking water samples Friday.

The spill happened in Trail, British Columbia, Wednesday night at the Teck Cominco Metal plant several miles north of the border, and the smelter was immediately shut down, the Vancouver Sun reported.

Water samples were being taken at regular intervals on both sides of the border, the report said.

The B.C. Ministry of Environment said in a news release it was "highly unlikely" the spill would affect groundwater wells due to "the dilution of the spill in the spring high-flow conditions."

World agog for Peru's bird guano

LIMA, May 30 (UPI) -- Retailers in Peru say they're guarding their bird guano because of growing world demand for organic fertilizer.

Rising prices for synthetic fertilizers and organic food have shifted attention to guano, an organic fertilizer once found in large quantities on Peruvian islands. Deposits of the bird dung were high as 150 feet in the 19th century, The New York Times reported Friday.

Throughout its history, guano has been a highly prized commodity, a government official said. Wars have been fought for control over the guano islands.

"Before there was oil, there was guano, so of course we fought wars over it," said Pablo Arriola, director of Proabonos, the state company controlling guano production. "Guano is a highly desirous enterprise."

Guano in Peru sells for about $250 a ton and commands $500 a ton when exported to France, Israel and the United States. Though not as efficient as urea when releasing nitrates into the soil, guano has the good-as-gold organic label, making it a niche fertilizer coveted worldwide.

NRC updates guidance on thyroid treatment

WASHINGTON, May 30 (UPI) -- U.S. nuclear regulators say doctors need to take extra care to make sure young children aren't exposed to radiation from thyroid cancer patients.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said patients given therapeutic doses of radioactive iodine-131 should avoid direct or indirect contact with infants and young children for a specific period of time following the therapy. The guidance also recommends that physicians should consider hospitalizing patients whose living conditions may result in the contamination of infants and young children, the agency said in a release.

NRC regulations allow physicians to release patients treated with radioactive material if the total radiation dose to any other person exposed to the patient is not likely to exceed 500 millirem. The agency, however, said there has been concern in recent years that saliva from a patient in the first few days following treatment may result in significant radiation doses to the child's thyroid.