• Ground Zero Special Ops Firefighters Took Heavy Chemical Hit
  
• Human Responsibility for Global Warming Confirmed
  
• Atmosphere Warming More Slowly Than Earth's Surface
  
• Utah's Redrock May Have Altered Ancient Climate
  
• Micro-Sensor Detects Botulism in Minutes
  
• Yellowstone Bison Could Get Brucellosis Vaccinations
  
• Cattle Barged Off Chirikof Island Refuge
  
• Stray Cat Causes Sewage Spill in Honolulu Harbor
  
• 'Tis the Season to Protect Against Carbon Monoxide
  

Ground Zero Special Ops Firefighters Took Heavy Chemical Hit

Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, New York City Fire Department Bureau of Health Services, the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the Montefiore Medical Center conducted the only biomonitoring study performed after the WTC collapse and during rescue operations.

Calling it the most extensive biomonitoring study ever performed on any occupational group during the first weeks of exposure to a major fire, building collapse, or urban disaster, the scientists measured up to 110 chemicals in 368 firefighters.

Thirteen of those chemicals showed statistically significant concentrations in some firefighters. For 11 of the 13 chemicals, firefighters in the Special Operations Command had concentrations that were higher than those of the other firefighter group.

Firefighters amidst the wreckage of the World Trade Center, September 29, 2001 (Photo by Andrea Booher courtesy FEMA)

For only two of the 13 chemicals - urinary antimony and urinary cadmium - levels were higher in firefighters present at the collapse of the towers compared with those who arrived after the collapse during days one and two after the collapse.

Blood and urine specimens were obtained from 321 firefighters responding to the World Trade Center fires. Controls consisted of 47 firefighters not present at the World Trade Center. Sampling occurred three weeks after September 11, while fires were still burning.

Special Operations Command firefighters had more than twice the level of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) 1-hydroxypyrene in their urine as did other exposed firefighters or control firefighters. The urinary concentrations of PAHs in the other exposed firefighters were similar to controls.

Heptachlorodibenzodioxins and heptachlorodibenzofurans, chemicals are produced when carbon and chlorine combine at high temperatures, were found in statistically significant concentrations in exposed firefighters when compared with control firefighters.

The metal antimony was found in unexpectedly high concentrations, researchers said. Firefighters present at the collapse of the World Trade Center had urinary antimony levels that were statistically higher than those of firefighters arriving one or two days after the collapse of the buildings or of the control group.

Antimony levels in the urine of the Special Operations Command group was twice as high as that of the other exposed firefighters or controls. Antimony is present in the environment in very low concentrations and has been used in glass as a coloring agent, in nonlead solders, metallurgy, electronics, and the manufacture of plastics.

Lead levels were statistically higher in exposed firefighters than in control firefighters, but the increase was small, far below clinically significant levels.

Mercury levels were not higher in exposed firefighters but were mentioned in the study because of heightened concern about exposure at the World Trade Center.

A major cause of mortality from smoke inhalation at structural fires is cyanide poisoning, but, the scientists said, blood cyanide levels reflect exposure in the 24 hours before testing, so their study shows only that the firefighters were not exposed to significant amounts of cyanide at the time of sampling, three weeks after September 11.

For volatile organic compounds, scientists said some firefighter groups had recent or continual exposures. Because of the variety of sources that could contribute to the low levels measured - fires, solvents in the debris, indoor air, drinking water, vehicular fuels, and exhausts - it is difficult to pinpoint a specific source. Only six exposed firefighters had volatile organic concentrations above baseline figures.

Comparison of exposed and control groups indicated that chemical levels in exposed firefighters, although statistically elevated, were generally low compared with reference values in the general population or workplace threshold levels, the scientists said.

Firefighter exposures during the World Trade Center disaster were "unique and extreme," they said. "Our findings should not be generalized to other populations working or living near WTC."

Human Responsibility for Global Warming Confirmed

Thomas Karl, director of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, and Kevin Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), state that industrial emissions have been the dominant influence on climate change for the past 50 years, overwhelming natural forces.

Their study appears today in "Science" as part of the journal's "State of the Planet" series.

"There is no doubt that the composition of the atmosphere is changing because of human activities, and today greenhouse gases are the largest human influence on global climate," they write. "The likely result is more frequent heat waves, droughts, extreme precipitation events, and related impacts, e.g., wildfires, heat stress, vegetation changes, and sea level rise which will be regionally dependent."

Karl and Trenberth cite atmospheric observations and multiple computer models to paint a detailed picture of climate changes likely to be felt on Earth in coming decades.

The article cites research indicating that, between 1990 and 2100, there is a 90 percent probability that global temperatures will rise by 3.1 to 8.9 degrees Fahrenheit (1.7 to 4.9 degrees Celsius), because of human influences on climate.

Such warming would have widespread impacts on society and the environment, including continued melting of glaciers and the great ice sheets of Greenland, inundating the world's coasts. The authors base their estimate on computer model experiments by climate scientists, observations of atmospheric changes, and recorded climate changes over the past century.

But there is still uncertainty in understanding the global climate and how it will change, says Karl. If temperatures rise 1.7 degrees, the expected changes would be relatively small, whereas a 4.9 degree increase could bring drastic impacts, some of which may be unforeseen.

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have risen by 31 percent since preindustrial times, from 280 parts per million by volume (ppmv) to over 370 ppmv today.

Other human activities, such as emissions of sulfate and soot particles and the development of urban areas, have significant but more localized climate impacts. Such activities may enhance or mask the larger-scale warming from greenhouse gases, but not offset it, according to the authors.

If societies could successfully cut emissions and stabilize carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, temperatures would still increase by an estimated 0.5 degree C (0.9 degree F) over a period of decades, Karl and Trenberth warn.

This is because greenhouse gases are slow to cycle out of the atmosphere. "Given what has happened to date and is projected in the future, significant further climate change is guaranteed," the authors state.

If current emissions continue, the world would face the fastest rate of climate change in at least the last 10,000 years. This could potentially alter ocean current circulations and existing climate patterns.

Moreover, certain natural processes would tend to accelerate the warming. For example, as snow cover melts away, the darker land and water surface would absorb more solar radiation, further increasing temperatures.

Karl and Trenberth say more research is needed to determine the temperature impacts of increased cloud cover or how changes in the atmosphere will influence El Niño, the periodic warming of Pacific Ocean waters that affects weather patterns throughout much of the world.

The authors call for multiple computer model studies to address the complex aspects of weather and climate. The models must be able to integrate all components of Earth's climate system - physical, chemical, and biological. This, in turn, will require international cooperation and the establishment of a global climate monitoring system to collect and analyze data.

"Climate change is truly a global issue, one that may prove to be humanity's greatest challenge," the authors conclude. "It is very unlikely to be adequately addressed without greatly improved international cooperation and action."

Atmosphere Warming More Slowly Than Earth's Surface

This measurement is different from surface temperature measurements usually associated with global warming predictions, but the director of the UAH Earth System Science Center says this rate of atmospheric warming is too slow to be of concern.

“Both human life and the environment are threatened more by air and water pollution, and by habitat destruction than they are by a climate that is changing this slowly,” said Dr. John Christy today.

The warming documented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites analyzed by Christy and his team was less than half of that seen in some global surface thermometer networks.

Dr. Christy, who is a member of the panel that wrote the American Geophysical Union's Official Statement on Climate Change 2003, says if the trend he found continues, the Earth would warm about 1.38° F (0.76 C) in the next century. The UAH 25 year Global Temperature Report will be available Monday at: http://www.uah.edu/News/climate

He and colleague Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at UAH, say this is a climate change so much less than climate model predictions that policy makers "might consider rearranging environmental and conservation priorities."

By contrast, an analysis of international and U.S. data compiled by the National Climatic Data Center, shows that global surface temperatures have increased about 0.4° Fahrenheit (0.2 to 0.3°C) over the past 25 years.

“This difference is unexpected and unexplained,” said Spencer. “If science can’t explain what happened in the last 25 years, how much confidence can we have in model predictions for the next 100 years?”

The answer to his question may soon be provided if a satellite study to measure soil moisture led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The Hydrosphere State mission (Hydros), selected by NASA from 18 competitors, would be launched upon mission approval by NASA in 2007. Hydros would measure soil moisture globally from a satellite in near-Earth orbit. A reflector antenna of the same type used to send cell phone signals would rotate to scan the Earth, measuring how much water is contained in the soil.

"Soil moisture has been one of the Holy Grails," said Dara Entekhabi, principal investigator on the project. "The community of Earth system scientists has been trying to measure it for a long, long time, but couldn't because it's so expensive," said the hydrologist and professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT. "We have a measurement for rainfall, atmospheric chemistry, humidity and temperature, but surface soil moisture has been missing."

In addition to measuring soil moisture, Hydros would also tell scientists whether the surface soil moisture is frozen or not. In forests this can help scientists determine the length of the growing season, telling them whether a forest is a net source or net sink of carbon. During the growing season, carbon is sequestered in forests through the process of photosynthesis, when plants use carbon dioxide, sunlight and water to create biomass.

The 1997 Kyoto climate protocol calls for each participating country to have a quota for carbon emission, a system that presumes all atmospheric carbon has been accounted for. If industry is a carbon source, a forest could be a carbon sink, offsetting the carbon released by industry. Without proper measurements, the Kyoto agreement cannot balance the books, says Entekhabi.

"It's like having a bank account and not knowing whether someone is depositing into it or withdrawing from it. You can't balance your bank statement," said Entekhabi. "We need this if we're going to stabilize the amount of carbon in the atmosphere."

Hydros is part of NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) program for medium sized missions capable of being built, tested and launched in short time intervals. Hydros is one of three ESSP finalists, at least two of which are expected to be approved next year. The others propose to measure the salinity of the ocean and create an atmospheric carbon dioxide profile.

Utah's Redrock May Have Altered Ancient Climate

The study, published in the December, issue of the journal "Geology" by University of Utah geology doctoral student Brenda Beitler, examines bleaching patterns in Navajo sandstone. These brightly colored red and white striped rock formations are exposed in the cliffs at Zion National Park, the Petrified Dunes at Arches National Park, and in many parts of Capitol Reef National Park.

Beitler explains that the Navajo sandstone is perhaps the largest sand dune complex on Earth, past or present. Abrupt red-white color transitions are believed to be the result of reducing fluids, likely gas hydrocarbons, flowing through the sandstone pores and removing the red pigment.

Field mapping and analysis of satellite imagery indicate both stratigraphic and structural control on where fluids have left the sandstone "bleached."

The most extensive regional bleaching occurs on eroded crests of broad asymmetrical uplifts. Beitler suggests that the faults at the core of these uplifts were carriers for hydrocarbons and brought the buoyant bleaching fluids to the crests of folds in the Earth where they bleached the sandstone in its distinctive patterns.

The extent of bleaching indicates that the Navajo sandstone may have been one of the largest hydrocarbon reservoirs known, Beitler writes. These ancient hydrocarbon traps have been extensively eroded, potentially releasing the bleaching gas into the atmosphere.

She concludes that the magnitude of this methane gas reservoir could have been significant in global carbon fluxes and possibly influenced climate.

Micro-Sensor Detects Botulism in Minutes

The device targets botulism, a severe, sometimes fatal food poisoning caused by eating food containing the neurotoxin botulin and characterized by nausea, vomiting, disturbed vision, muscular weakness, and fatigue.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta list botulism as one of the six most dangerous bioterrorism threats.

While rare in the United States, botulism is considered a medical emergency in which roughly 10 percent of those afflicted die. Those who survive may take weeks or months to recover and may undergo intensive hospital care with extensive use of ventilators.

The new device, a tiny sensor, identifies botulinum neurotoxin B, one of five strains that are known to be toxic to humans.

UC Riverside professor of cell biology and neuroscience Vladimir Parpura says that given its rapid detection and small size, the device, known as a micromechanosensor, will find applications in medicine, in the war against bioterrorism or in the food industry.

“Of course a good deal of testing needs to be done first,” Parpura said. “What we’ve done is shown proof that the principle works.”

The micromechanosensor works like a fishing pole and line. A bead coated with a protein at the end of a microscopic cantilever comes in contact with the neurotoxin, which cuts through the protein strands connecting the two, as a fish would cut through a fishing line.

The bead’s separation causes the cantilever to vibrate, announcing the neurotoxin’s presence. While effective, the process is not yet ready for practical application.

“Right now the issue is that it’s linked to an atomic-force microscope, an expensive piece of equipment, which means it cannot be used on a widespread basis,” Parpura said.

“The important thing to note is that the technique is very general and, in the future, can be done without the use of the atomic-force microscope. This also means that it will find uses in fields outside [medical] toxin sensors,” said Umar Mohideen, a professor of physics, a codeveloper of the device. The process can be used in food and water quality applications.

The new sensor detects botulism quickly enough so that antitoxin vaccinations can work to prevent the victim from becoming ill. Such vaccinations are effective only if applied quickly, before the onset of symptoms. Symptoms of botulism can take from 12 to 36 hours to develop, according to the CDC.

“When you think that we’ve cut the detection time from a few hours or a couple of days, down to a few minutes, that’s what’s important,” Parpura said. “The shorter the detection time, the more time you have to treat people and that makes a great deal of difference when dealing with this neurotoxin.”

The researchers are working on approaches to further reduce the detection time and substantially improve the sensor's sensitivity.

Parpura and Mohideen are both part of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering at UC Riverside. Edwin Chapman, a professor of physiology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison is a codeveloper. Their paper appeared in the November 11 issue of the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

Yellowstone Bison Could Get Brucellosis Vaccinations

The only animals that would be vaccinated under federal and state agency plans would be calves and nonpregnant yearlings that leave Yellowstone National Park. The livestock industry fears that its brucellosis free status might be compromised if infected animals come into contact with cattle, although no incidence of such a transmission has been documented.

The only known U.S. reservoir of the Brucella abortus bacteria occurs in wild, free ranging populations of bison and elk in the Greater Yellowstone Area, which takes in areas of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

To address the issue of brucellosis in the Greater Yellowstone Area, the Agriculture Department, the National Park Service, the state of Montana and other agencies have developed an Interagency Bison Management Plan for the bison herd in Yellowstone National Park. One of the disease management requirements of the plan is for eligible bison to be vaccinated against brucellosis.

The Montana Department of Livestock (MDOL) has requested APHIS's assistance with the vaccination against brucellosis of calves and yearlings that leave Yellowstone and migrate onto state, private, or other federal lands. The MDOL anticipates starting bison vaccination as early as this winter, using Strain RB51 vaccine, when bison begin to leave the park in search of vegetation.

Other methods of bison control include hazing the animals back as far as seven miles inside the park with helicopters and horses, capturing them and slaughtering them. These activities are protested every year by activists who have constructed towers to block officials, formed blockades and documented animal injuries and deaths caused by the anti-brucellosis management practices.

The bison conservation group, the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) says the threat of brucellosis transmission to domestic cattle from wild Yellowstone bison is "vastly overstated."

Studies indicate that less than 10 percent of the Yellowstone bison are presently infected with brucellosis, and of these animals, only pregnant female bison have the biological capability to transmit the disease, BFC says. Transmission can only occur if livestock ingest a significant quantity of infected birthing material.

Domestic livestock grazing in the Greater Yellowstone Area are already vaccinated for brucellosis. The vaccine is between 65 and 75 percent effective. "Vaccinated cattle and brucellosis infected bison have commingled in Grand Teton National Park for over 45 years without a single documented case of brucellosis transmission," BFC argues. Third, wild bison and domestic cattle do not inhabit the same range at the same time.

APHIS contends that brucellosis is considered one of the most serious diseases of livestock. While its hallmark symptom is abortion, brucellosis can also result in decreased milk production, weight loss in animals, infertility, and lameness. The agency has worked for years to eliminate this disease from the United States.

APHIS is making the environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact available to the public for review and comment. All comments received by January 5, 2004 will be considered. The documents are available online at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/es/vsdocs.html

Cattle Barged Off Chirikof Island Refuge

The cattle were safely transported by private barge and are currently in holding pens, located on private land at Middle Bay, Kodiak Island, under the care of their owners and a local vet.

Alaska Regional Director, Rowan Gould, said, "We care a great deal about the treatment of these animals and have taken all the steps necessary to try to ensure that they are receiving proper treatment. There have been some allegations about mistreatment of these cattle presented by other sources that are, fortunately, not true."

Chirikof Island is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, and wildlife officials point out that the purposes of the refuge, as stated in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, include conserving seabird populations of national and international significance and does not include private sector grazing.

Governor Frank Murkowski disagrees. He and others on the Alaska Peninsula want the Chirikof cows to stay put. "There's so many islands out there that I can't believe that this is going to have a detrimental effect on the sea birds," Murkowski said.

Refuge Manager Greg Siekaniec says that during the summer of 2002, over 600 cattle were believed to roam the island. These cattle are a mixture of several breeds including Siberian, Shorthorn, Longhorn, Angus, Jersey, Hereford, and Holstein.

For years, the island has been subject to land status reviews and considerations. Early discussions of a land exchange with the state of Alaska ended with the State concluding that the island would not make an appropriate acquisition due to difficult logistics and past failures of ranching attempts. But now the state is again expressing interest in negotiating a resolution that will preserve the Chirikof cattle herd.

Stray Cat Causes Sewage Spill in Honolulu Harbor

City officials said today that the cat made its way into the Hart Street sewage pumping station and caused a short circuit in the plant’s electrical system that shut the station down.

This caused an estimated 4.6 million gallons of untreated sewage that would otherwise have been processed by the Sand Island treatment plant to overflow into Honolulu Harbor, Nuuanu Stream and the Kapalama Canal.

City crews were alerted by the plant’s automated monitoring system and responded in about an hour, but the damage also affected the transfer circuits, preventing use of the large emergency generator that keeps the plant in operation during commercial power outages.

In the interim, some of the load was diverted to another pump station on River Street and city tanker trucks were brought in to move sewage to the treatment plant.

The State Department of Health was notified as warning signs were posted and city technicians began monitoring water in the harbor, stream and canal. Electrical repairs were scheduled for completion today.

Thousands of feral cats roam Honolulu, encouraged by mild weather, lack of predators, and a large transient population that often abandons cats. The Hawaiian Humane Society (HHS) offers free spaying and neutering for some ferals.

The nonprofit Hawaii Cat Foundation works towards population control with the HHS by trapping feral cats in humane animal traps, taking them to the HHS spay/neuter clinic and returning them to their chosen environment complete with identification, a collar with ID tag or microchip ID.

These techniques prevent thousands of litters from being born each year, but feral cats can still be seen in Honolulu neighborhoods, on the grounds of public buildings, and, last night, in a sewage treatment plant.

'Tis the Season to Protect Against Carbon Monoxide

The agency's Region 3 office is urging everyone to take precautions right now as winter weather forces doors and windows closed, trapping any carbon monoxide leaks inside. A good beginning is an inexpensive carbon monoxide detector - home models retail for under $40 at any hardware or home improvement store.

Most people know carbon monoxide as the odorless, invisible, poisonous gas that comes out of a car's exhaust pipe. But all fuel burning appliances can produce it - furnaces, water heaters, boilers, space heaters, clothes dryers, stoves, ovens, fireplaces and wood stoves.

The 14 Bucks County apartment house residents who were hospitalized on Monday with carbon monoxide poisoning were not seriously injured. Fire officials said the poisoning resulted from a collapsed chimney.

Carbon monoxide is a byproduct caused by the incomplete combustion of many common fuels. At low levels, carbon monoxide causes fatigue, headaches, dizziness, nausea, increased chest pain in people with heart disease, confusion and disorientation.

Because the chemical is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, and some of the symptoms are similar to common illnesses like a cold or the flu, the effects may not be recognized until it is too late.

Carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in the blood, so a person can die from a high concentration in a short period of time. "If you are lucky enough to realize what's happening," the EPA says, "find fresh air immediately. Get yourself and your family outdoors."

Get a regular furnace and chimney inspection, the agency advises. Make sure that all combustion appliances are properly installed, well maintained, and checked yearly for safe operation.

Do not use oven and gas ranges to heat your house. Use proper fuel in kerosene space heaters, and do not use unvented kerosene or gas space heaters except in well ventilated rooms.