A weekly roundup of public health news
Water disinfection leaves potentially harmful chemicals behind
More than 122 million Americans are at risk from byproducts left behind during disinfection of drinking water supplies, a new analysis from the Environmental Working Group finds.
Nearly 6,000 community water systems experienced at least one instance of unsafe levels of trihalomethanes from 2019 to 2023, according to the April 10 report. The chemicals, also known as TTHMs, have been linked to birth defects and increased bladder and colorectal cancer risks.
When disinfectants such as chlorine are used to counter contamination in drinking water supplies, they interact with other pollutants, leaving TTHMs behind as a byproduct.
Unsafe levels of TTHMs were found in almost every state, with Texas at the top of the list. More than 700 water systems in Texas — reaching 8.6 million people — had TTHM levels above the Environmental Protection Agency’s legal limit of 80 parts per billion, the report said. Other leading states included California, Florida and North Carolina — all of which have high levels of animal agriculture.
The report attributed much of the initial drinking water contamination to manure runoff from factory farms, though plant material from crops and other fertilizers were also likely contributors.
Also in drinking water science, a new study published April 15 examined water injustice in the U.S. by county, identifying Mississippi as home to eight of the worst-ranked systems. The state, which has one of the nation’s highest percentages of Black residents, was home to a water crisis that left more than 160,000 people in Jackson without clean water in 2022.
Other counties with high levels of water injustice — defined as unequal access to safe, clean drinking water that disproportionately harms people of color and those with low incomes — are located in Texas and South Dakota, according to the study in Risk Analysis.
The research also ranked counties by water safety, with systems in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Oklahoma receiving the most violations.
Climate change linked to more arsenic in rice
Arsenic levels in rice, a staple food for billions of people around the world, could increase significantly with climate change, a new study led by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health finds.
Published April 16 in The Lancet Planetary Health, the research showed rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels from human-caused climate change may cause inorganic arsenic concentrations in rice to soar, elevating risks to human health.
Arsenic naturally occurs in soil and water, and the mineral is regularly absorbed by rice plants as they grow in flooded fields. Warmer temperatures and higher CO2 levels could alter root growth, arsenic accumulation in plants and soil chemistry, the study said, leading to greater inorganic arsenic uptake among people who eat rice regularly.
As a result, the world could see a sharp rise in lung, bladder and other cancers by 2050, researchers predicted, with 13.4 million new cancers alone in China, the world’s leading consumer of rice.
To help address growing levels of arsenic in rice, study researchers suggested that scientists explore new plant breeding techniques, soil management methods and other agricultural measures.
For consumers, rinsing rice before using, boiling rice in excess water and varying dietary intake can help lower the amount of arsenic they take in.
Mattress may expose kids to harmful chemicals
Children may breathe in and absorb potentially hazardous chemicals from the mattresses they sleep on, two new studies find.
Research published April 14 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters found concerning levels of more than two dozen phthalates, flame retardants and other chemicals in the air near where children slept.
A companion study led by the research team, published the same day in Environmental Science & Technology, tested newly purchased children’s mattresses and identified them as the likely the major source of the chemicals.
Phthalates, which are used to make plastics more flexible, are regulated in children’s toys but not in mattresses. Research has linked childhood exposure to phthalates to increased risk of asthma, eczema and other allergic diseases.
As infants and young children spend as much as 18 hours a day in their sleeping environments, the findings show a need for improved oversight by manufacturers “to minimize the use of harmful chemicals, especially when they are not needed,” the University of Toronto researchers said.
Parents can reduce their child’s exposure by frequently washing bedding materials, they recommended.
Other recent public health news of note includes:
• Get ready for more sneezing and itchy eyes: A new review in The Laryngoscope says climate change is worsening pollen emissions and increasing rates of hay fever, also known as allergic rhinitis. Pollen levels in the U.S. are projected to increase as much as 40% by the end of the century.
• More than 400,000 people in the 41 states that expanded Medicaid eligibility could lose their health coverage if work requirements are put into place by Congress, warns a new analysis from the Urban Institute.
Low awareness of work requirements and difficulty using state reporting systems would cause many people who are eligible for the program to be kicked out, including those who are exempt or already working, researchers said.
• Disasters can delay cancer diagnoses until the disease has advanced, a new study in Cancer shows. Researchers found diagnosis rates for colorectal cancer dropped in Puerto Rico during the COVID-19 pandemic and after two hurricanes. Late-stage diagnoses, however, eventually exceeded expected rates, suggesting delays in care.
• Many older adults have problems receiving timely health care, such as quickly getting an appointment when sick or accessing non-hospital care outside of regular hours, finds a Commonwealth Fund survey that compared the U.S. with nine other nations.
• Carbon-free energy in the U.S. reached a new milestone in March, producing 51% of the energy for the nation’s electricity grid, according to an analysis from Ember. It’s the first time sources such as solar and wind power have accounted for more than half of the nation’s energy supply, the analysis said.
• Mental and behavioral health disorders are in the high in the U.S, with people of color, those with low incomes and rural residents particularly affected, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
• Three Alaska Native tribes are taking the U.S. to court over a gold dredging operation proposed near Nome, Alaska. The Village of Solomon, Native Village of Council and King Island Native Community sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers April 10, arguing the operation would harm an estuary where residents fish, hunt and gather foods.
• Biodegradable starch-based plastics — created as an alternative to petroleum-based products — may still pose health hazards. A new study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry says animals that consumed microplastic particles from the substances developed health problems such as liver damage and microbiome imbalances in the gut.
• While guidelines recommend that people with opioid use disorder receive medications such as buprenorphine as part of their treatment, less than 20% of Medicare users are provided them, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General.
The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.