Children more susceptible to environmental carcinogens

Children are more vulnerable to carcinogens than are adults.  Children have many more years of life ahead of them after a toxic exposure in which to develop a tumour.

Malignant transformation is a slow process. Children's ability to detoxify environmental chemicals is not fully developed. They lack certain mechanisms possessed by adults that enhance the removal of toxic chemicals from the body.

Thus children's exposures to environmental carcinogens must be minimised.
 

There are many reasons why toxic chemicals are greater threats to children than to adults.

• Pound for pound, children breathe more air, drink more water and consume more food than adults. This higher rate of intake means that children will receive higher doses of whatever contaminants are present in the air, water or food. 

(In the US, it has been estimated that children aged 1-5 eat 3-4 times more per unit of body weight than the average adult. Infants and children drink more than 2 1/2 times as much water daily as adults do as a percentage of body weight.  And the air intake of a resting infant is twice that of an adult under the same conditions.)

• Children are also more susceptible to chemicals because of  their smaller size. For example, a typical newborn weighs 1/20 of the weight of an adult male, but the infant's surface area is 1/8 as great. Therefore, the total area of skin that could be exposed to a chemical (by bathing in polluted water or rolling in dirt for instance) is 2 1/2 times as great per unit of body weight in the infant as in the adult.

• Children absorb a greater proportion of many substances from the intestinal tract or lung.  For example, children take up approximately half of the lead that they swallow while adults absorb only about one-tenth.

• Children indulge in more hand-to-mouth activity than adults and transfer more foreign substances into their bodies through this route.  Since children often play in the dirt, they are also closer to the source of many pollutants.

• Children's biology is different. Their immune system is less developed, and may be less protective. For some toxicants, the body has developed biochemical detoxifying mechanisms; in some instances, these are less developed in children.

• Cells that are developing (in children) are generally more vulnerable than cells that have completed development (in adults).  This is particularly true for the central nervous system.

 

Watch out for tyre safety

Did we ever stop to think that your vehicle's tyres may have been a major cause of accidents?

 Most Malaysian motorists do not seem to be aware about the dangers of driving with faulty tyres or tyres that are not properly maintained. One of the important factors of tyre maintenance is proper inflation.

 

In this regard, air kiosks at petrol stations are not calibrated, which means that pumping up at an improperly functioning or maintained air pump can mean poor inflation, whether under-inflation or over-inflation.
In response to CAP’s queries related to tyre pressure, the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism said air kiosks at petrol stations are not calibrated because the air is provided free and calibration is “mandatory only for equipment used in trade”.
Since we have a very high rate of traffic accidents, CAP believes that a high percentage of the accidents may have been caused by wrong inflation pressure. CAP wrote back to the ministry to say that even if air provided by petrol stations is free, it is vital to calibrate the pumps to reduce the accident rate.
Imagine the ministry’s reply: That it would “do something about it” if we could provide the statistics on the number of accidents caused by poor tire inflation!
CAP wrote to the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) to request for the statistics. MIROS complied with the request, but CAP found the statistics to be insufficient and inaccurate, and therefore useless.
MIROS admitted to the flaws, saying the present system of data collection by police could not support the evidence we were seeking.
The team investigating a road accident to determine the cause of tire failure has to be equipped with the right knowledge, tools and experience. However, police investigations are basically for insurance claims.
According to figures from the Road Safety Department Malaysia (RSD), there were 6,700 deaths from road fatalities in 2009 – which is no mean figure, even if the RSD prefers to emphasise that the number of people sustaining injuries in road accidents has reduced by 42% from 54,000 persons in 2004 to 31,000 in 2009.
It must also be noted that only last year, RSD director-general Datuk Suret Singh announced that faulty tyres “are like time bombs waiting for accidents to occur”.
According to him, faulty vehicle tires have a 15% chance of causing accidents and in view of this, the department would work with the industry to ensure all tyres meet safety standards by June 1, 2010.
Well, nothing has been heard further on this!
And, CAP is also wondering, what happened to the promise of the RSD that it would coordinate programmes to educate consumers against using worn out tyres or the cheaper retreads?
We call on the government to act, for faulty tyres could well be one of the major causes of accidents on our roads!
We call upon the relevant authorities, including police investigating road accidents, to look into these areas of accidents caused by tyre failure:

• Air pressure;
• Tyre type;
• Maximum allowable load for tyre and whether vehicle was overloaded;
• Tread depth;
• Date of manufacture of tyre;
• Whether the tyres were properly installed, aligned and balanced;
• Vehicle type;
• Road condition and debris;
• Speed of vehicle;
• Time of accident;
• Weather conditions at site of accident; and
• Environment.

The data collected has then got to be classified under different categories to facilitate easy analysis and determination of the causes of tyre failure.
In the case of retread tyres, the current applicable standard for retreads is MS224: 2005. It is therefore vital that stringent quality control is observed, to ensure retread tyres rolling out of the factory are of the highest safety and quality standards.
While the government and the relevant authorities take their time to act, we call upon all consumers, especially those owning vehicles, to observe these measures:
1. Tyre groove depth: Whether you are using an original or retread tyre, make sure the tyre groove depth is at a safe level. Worn out tyres are a definite no!  Leading European car manufacturers insist that tyres must be replaced when the tread surface reaches the same level of the tread wear indicator.
2. Tyre Pressure: The recommended tyre pressure for your vehicle will be found in the vehicle handbook. Or, check with a reliable service centre or a good tyre outlet. Check tyre pressures every week and adjust when necessary, for low tyre pressures reduce tyre performance and increase fuel consumption.  Under inflation is the leading cause of tire failure. A tire can be as much as 50% under inflated before it is visibly noticeable. Not only are under inflated tyres more prone to damage and failure, but they can lead to higher fuel costs by as much as 8 cents per litre or RM1/100km (RM240/yr *If an average user travels 24,000/year)
3. Visual Inspection: It is important to visually check the condition of tyres on a regular basis. Lumps and bulges may indicate the tyre has been damaged internally. If there is any doubt as to the condition of a tyre, it should be removed immediately until it has been properly checked.
4. Balancing, rotation and alignment: Having your tyres balanced, rotated and properly aligned periodically is important not only to the longevity of the tyre but also to the safety of the driver and the performance of the car.
We in Malaysia do not have specific laws on tyre care. Perhaps it is time to look into this area. British law states that the tyre tread depth must be a minimum of 1.6mm measured in a band comprising the central 75% of the tread width and continuous around the tyre circumference.
The tyre must also be maintained in a condition so that it is fit for the purpose the vehicle is being used and must not have any defect that may cause danger to the road surface or damage to persons in the vehicle or to other road users.
In Britain, a vehicle owners stand to be fined a maximum of £2,500 for each and every tyre offence, plus three penalty points for the driver as well.
CAP calls on the authorities and motorists to take tyre safety seriously.  The Ministry of Domestic Trade Cooperatives and Consumerism should also make it mandatory for air kiosks at all petrol stations to be calibrated regularly.
Letter to Editor - 6 September 2010

Batteries can leak overheat and rupture causing chemical burns to your kids

Your household batteries, those cylindrical little storehouses of power which come in various sizes, look harmless and in fact safe enough what with their gleaming metal casing and all, right?
These batteries can leak, over-heat and rupture. When this happens, corrosive liquid can cause chemical burns to children.
 

That is why it is imperative that children should not be allowed to install the batteries in their toys themselves. This is because if a battery is put in backwards or reversed (that is, positive end where the negative end belongs and vice versa), it can overheat and rupture. There have been cases where this had happened when young children installed batteries backwards.

Parents and guardians should therefore warn children against taking out or installing the batteries for their toys themselves. This task as well as the installing of batteries in household appliances should be left to the adults.

Household batteries can also overheat and rupture if you use alkaline and carbon-zinc batteries together in the same appliance or if you mix old batteries with new freshly-charged ones in the same appliance. Therefore, always use a complete set of new batteries of the same type when replacing batteries.

If you try to recharge a battery that's not intended to be recharged (that is, not rechargeable), the battery can overheat and rupture. If you have a rechargeable battery, be sure to use the proper battery charger intended for the size and type of battery you have.

Do not use an automobile battery charger to recharge flashlight batteries because the batteries could rupture.

In short, DO NOT

•  Put batteries in backwards
•  Mix batteries
•  Recharge the wrong battery or use the wrong charger.

Handling Toxic chemical need safety control

Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) views with concern the incident in Shah Alam where 31 students of a school there fell ill and had breathing difficulties – apparently following the release of a toxic chemical known as ethyl mercaptan.

Exposure to ethyl mercaptan can cause headaches, weakness, fatigue, nausea, lack of coordination and irritation of the mucous membranes. Children are naturally more vulnerable.

Petronas Gas Shah Alam area manager, Mohd Isa Adam, was quoted in the press stating that there was no gas leak but that this chemical used to odourise natural gas, was released during a routine service check at the station.

The police and Fire & Rescue Department staff had to cordon off the road leading to the station during the cleaning-up operations, while workers from Kualiti Alam sealed several drums believed to contain the chemical.

Firstly, is a gas station supposed to be so close to a school to the extent that children can be adversely affected by its chemical operations? Secondly, were safety measures followed, and if so, why did this “accident” happen – requiring young children to be sent to hospital and a road to be cordoned off for clean-up, and for drums to be sealed?

According to the Guidelines of the US National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health and the Centers for Disease Control, during ethyl mercaptan operations as a fuel gas odourant, the recommended safety controls include “process enclosure” and “general dilution ventilation”.

Workers handling this chemical also have to be protected with a prior thorough baseline health status evaluation and regular medical surveillance for any anticipated occupational risks.

CAP calls on management of PETRONAS, the Department of Environment (DOE) authorities and also Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) authorities to throw more light on the circumstances surrounding this mishap and the measures taken nationwide to prevent any repeat occurrences.

Asbestos: The deadly, silent killer

In recent weeks, concerns over asbestos poisoning have been raised in our local print media. And rightly so! This naturally occurring fibrous mineral, with fire and heat resistant properties, has been recognised as a serious threat to life in the Western countries and where possible, its use is avoided.

People who work with asbestos are at serious risk of developing lung cancer, asbestosis, mesothelioma and fatal respiratory illnesses. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) conservatively estimates that 100,000 workers die each year from asbestos-related diseases. Thousands more perish from environmental exposures.

 

Asbestos fibres are exceptionally strong and commonly found in ceiling tiles, flooring, water pipes and vehicle brakes. Asbestos was once heralded as the greatest building material, but is today recognised as one of the biggest workplace killers.
Asbestos also includes chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos, actinolite asbestos, and any of these materials that have been chemically treated and/or altered.
Asbestos only becomes a danger when it is disturbed, causing the fibres to become airborne. This is commonly referred to as friable asbestos, while intact asbestos is referred to as non-friable asbestos.
Airborne friable asbestos is sucked into the lungs of people exposed to it. Until today, research has yet to determine a safe level of exposure to asbestos, but one thing is for certain – the more prolonged the exposure, the greater the risk becomes for developing an asbestos-related disease. This is why asbestos poisoning is often called an occupational hazard disease, because the people who commonly work with the material are most at risk for developing an asbestos-related disease.
Health officials have warned that widespread asbestos exposure will result in epidemics of mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. Besides these debilitating fatal diseases, a panel of 27 experts convened by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported new evidence that asbestos causes cancer of the larynx and the ovary.
Of concern is a forecast by Dr James Leigh, retired director of the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, Sydney School of Public Health, Australia, that there will be 5 to 10 million deaths from asbestos-related cancers by 2030.
It is also alarming that international health agencies such as the WHO, ILO and IARC agree that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Despite this, asbestos roofing materials, asbestos cement pipes and other asbestos-containing products are still being widely used worldwide, including in Malaysia.
What is of great concern to consumers is that there does not seem to be any concern for their health in being supplied with water through asbestos cement pipes. Malaysia does not have any programme to specifically replace asbestos cement pipes. Even if there is little evidence of the carcinogenicity of ingested asbestos, precaution must be taken by replacing old asbestos-cement pipes with safer substitutes.
Acknowledging the dangers of asbestos, 54 countries worldwide have imposed bans, restrictions or exemptions for minor uses of asbestos. In Malaysia, only crocidolite (blue asbestos) has been prohibited, but the use of chrysotile (white asbestos), amosite (brown asbestos), tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite are allowed.
In view of the importance of safeguarding the health of the public and workers handling asbestos, CAP has been calling for a complete ban on the material. We understand that the Malaysian government is in the midst of studying the implementation of a ban, but our concern is that this process is taking too long.  
Besides imposing a ban on asbestos, the Malaysian government must make available a national registry for asbestosis and mesothelioma, early diagnosis of asbestos-related diseases and implement a workers’ compensation scheme.
The government must also embark on an asbestos awareness and education programme to impart the message to the public, contractors, mechanics, plumbers and workers in general about the hazards of asbestos and to encourage compliance with regulations and safe asbestos management practices. We also need knowledgeable and skilled labour for safe removal and disposal of asbestos-containing products.
CAP reiterates our call to the government to expedite an outright ban on asbestos and ensure that the necessary measures are taken to safeguard the health of all Malaysians.
Letter to the Editor - 9 October 2010