Miscellaneous Green Files

Polar Bears Switch Genders
Female polar bears in the Norwegian Arctic are growing male genitalia, report scientists from the Norwegian Polar Institute in Svalbard. The main cause is likely to be high levels of pollutants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), transported to the Arctic in water and air from North America and Europe.
-New Scientist

The Fish Goes Moo
In yet another example of science trying to improve nature’s handiwork, researchers from the University of Guelph have found a way to make cows produce milk with a nutrient commonly found in fish.

The key nutrient, one of a group of omega-3 essential fatty acids, is called docosahexanoic acid (DHA)-a crucial nutrient found in fish oils, eggs and sea algae. But it’s lacking in most North American diets, which is a "true North American nutritional tragedy," says Bruce Holub, one of the researchers who developed the enriched milk.

The university researchers have signed an agreement with Britain’s BTG International Inc and hope to get their experiment out of the laboratory and onto supermarket shelves soon.
-Editorial Staff

Don’t Believe All You Hear
Environmental journalist David Suzuki recently exposed a documentary on ABC’s 20/20 news program that denigrated the organic industry.

Suzuki found that the 20/20 investigative reporter actually fabricated scientific test results to say that no pesticide residue was found on conventional produce. The reporter’s documentary concluded that buying organic produce was a waste of time. The US-based Environmental Working Group questioned the claims and did some investigating of its own. The group found legitimate tests by the US Environmental Protection Agency that discovered residue from at least 12 different pesticides on 90 per cent of conventionally grown celery; 53 per cent of lettuce; and 26 per cent of broccoli.

With no evidence to back up some of the claims, the reporter has been reprimanded by the network and has apologized for his fabrications.
-Editorial Staff

Radiated Homes a Hazard
A report from the radiation protection branch of the BC Ministry of Health reveals that radon, which is a known human lung carcinogen, exists at significant levels in many homes and schools in the interior of the province.

Radon is a naturally occurring odourless, tasteless and colourless radioactive gas, derived from decaying uranium.

"While two thirds of BC’s population lives in low radon areas (the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island), the interior of the province presents quite a different picture," says the report from the Ministry of Health.

Homes and especially schools in areas like the Okanagan, Prince George and the West Kootenays were tested. The report found that these areas and others within the Interior were radon-prone and needed monitoring. Schools are of particular interest because they contain large numbers of young people at risk from exposure. Alpha radiation monitoring and safety ventilation mediation procedures have been underway for some years in the schools.

The Canadian safe level is extremely high at 20 picocuries per litre (pCi/L), says David Morley from the radiation protection branch in BC.

"Canada’s levels are one of the highest in the world with more countries at five to 10 picocuries," he says. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) safe level is estimated at under four picocuries per litre. Morley says that the Canadian government does not consider radon to be a problem as radon gas has "no proven effect one way or the other."

However, studies from the University of Iowa College of Public Health have shown that long-term exposure to radon in the home is associated with lung cancer. The EPA estimates that between 7,000 to 30,000 lung cancer deaths are caused by radon each year. These figures make indoor radon the second leading cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking in the United States.

Radon gas from decaying uranium flows from soil into the outdoor air. It also flows into the air of buildings from the movement of gases in the soil under homes. The problem of high concentrations of radon indoors occurs when the gas is unable to disperse. The main causes include old leaking oil or gas pipelines and flaring, increased solar radiation disturbance, near-surface mineral extraction, elevation as well as nuclear plant radiation drift from the United States. Radon attaches itself to dust particles which are easily inhaled into lungs and can adhere to the lining of the lungs. Alpha radiations can disrupt the DNA of these lung cells. This DNA damage has the potential to be one step in a chain of events that can lead to cancer.

It’s possible to test your own home for levels of radon. Low cost, do-it-yourself kits such as charcoal canisters, alpha tracks and electretion chambers are commonly used for short-term testing and are available at hardware stores. You can lower radon to safer levels in your home by sealing cracks in the floor and walls. Major changes are not necessary. By simply using pipes and fans, radon gas can be removed from the foundations of buildings before it gets inside.
-Anne Marie Corrigan
Assistant Editor