• Unalaska: Memorial Held for Tanker Crew as Oil Spreads
  
• New Jersey Closes Salem River Wildlife Area Due to Oil Spill
  
• U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Continue to Grow
  
• Fewer Fine Particles Pollute U.S. Air, EPA Reports
  
• Sewage Dump in Alaska Costs Holland America $2 Million
  
• Lead Exposure Linked to Increased Risk of Cataracts
  
• Vitamin E in Nuts, Seeds Blocks Cancer Cell Growth
  
• 50 Foot Waves Pound Hawaii Surf Contest
  

Unalaska: Memorial Held for Tanker Crew as Oil Spreads

New Jersey Closes Salem River Wildlife Area Due to Oil Spill

The closure will reduce the potential for birds to be exposed to oil contamination as waterfowl activity increases along the river due to winter migration, the DEP said.

The state agency is working with the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal and state agencies to contain and clean up a spill that occurred on November 26 when an oil tanker, the ATHOS I, released an undetermined amount of crude oil into the Delaware River while attempting to dock at the Citgo Petroleum Corporation terminal in West Deptford Township.

In addition to the closure of Salem Wildlife Management Area, New Jersey hunters are asked to refrain from hunting in the area from the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge east on Route 74 to the junction with the New Jersey Turnpike and between that location and the Salem Nuclear Power Plant to the south.

This is the area of the river where the heaviest oiling from the spill has occurred.

The closure will remain in effect until further notice.

The spill has now impacted more than 125 miles of shoreline along the river, but removal of the largest oil patches and tar balls has been completed on only 13 miles of heavily and moderately oiled shoreline and three waterfront facilities.

The Public Service Electric & Gas properties - The Bayside Tract, Commercial Township Wetland Restoraiton Site, Maurice River Township Wetland Restoration Site and Cohansey River Wetland Restoration Site - are open for public recreation associated with fish and wildlife.

The Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife lifted their waterfowl hunting advisory and opened all public wildlife areas for waterfowl hunting on December 8. The cautionary advisory went into effect December 1 to protect waterfowl resources from potential oiling as a result of the oil spill. Cleanup and monitoring efforts indicate that oil contamination to birds and wetland mammals has been minimized.

The Athos I remains at the Marcus Hook Anchorage awaiting favorable weather conditions for transit to the Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia for repairs.

The unified command continues oil clean-up and recovery efforts. More than 1,700 responders and 15 vessels are working out of the command center and along the Delaware River.

The incident is still under investigation, and the Coast Guard says it could be "several months" before that investigation is complete.

To report areas affected by oil from the Athos I incident, call 267-765-3439. To report oiled animals affected by the spill, call the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge at 215-365-1558 or contact Tri-State Bird Rescue at 302-737-9543.

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Continue to Grow

The 2003 increase is well below the rate of economic growth of 3.0 percent and below the average annual growth rate of 1.0 percent in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990.

Emissions of carbon dioxide increased by 0.8 and emissions of methane, another greenhouse gas, increased by 0.5 percent, while emissions of nitrous oxide and engineered gases fell by 0.9 and 0.3 percent respectively.

Emissions of carbon dioxide from energy consumption and industrial processes grew by 0.8 percent in 2003, the agency said. Since 1990, energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide have risen by 16.0 percent.

Small increases in methane emissions from landfills and coal mines more than offset decreases in methane emissions from mobile sources and rice cultivation. Since 1990, methane emissions have declined by 15 percent.

Nitrous oxide emissions decreased 0.9 percent mainly because of declines in emissions from industrial sources and nitrogen fertilization of agricultural soils. Since 1990, nitrous oxide emissions have fallen by 2.6 percent, the EIA reported.

Emissions from three classes of engineered gases - hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) - decreased by 0.3 percent in 2003. These gases have grown by 62 percent since 1990, but most of that growth took place during the early and mid-1990s.

In 1990, land use change and forestry practices sequestered enough carbon dioxide to offset 19.2 percent of U.S. anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. In 2002, the last year of available data that offset declined to 11.9 percent.

The greenhouse gas intensity of the U.S. economy, as measured by emissions per unit of economic output, fell by 2.3 percent from 2002 to 2003.

The full report can be found on EIA's website at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/index.html

Fewer Fine Particles Pollute U.S. Air, EPA Reports

Nationwide, reductions in industrial and highway vehicle emissions of fine particles and volatile organic compounds appear to have contributed to the improvement in levels of PM2.5 in the air.

Airborne particle pollution is a mix of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the atmosphere. These particles come in many sizes and shapes and can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals.

PM2.5 and PM10 refer to the size of the particles. PM2.5, or fine particles, refers to particles less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers - approximately 1/30th the size of the average human hair.

These particles can penetrate into the deeper regions of the body’s respiratory system. Fine particle exposure has been associated with a number of serious health problems, ranging from the aggravation of asthma and the development of chronic bronchitis to heart arrhythmias, heart attacks and even premature death.

The report, “The Particle Pollution Report: Current Understanding of Air Quality and Emissions through 2003” looks at recent and long-term trends in air quality and emissions, explores the characteristics of particle pollution in the United States, and takes a close look at particle pollution in 2003 - the most recent year for which data are available.

Fine particle levels have decreased 10 percent since 1999, the report states, and they are about 30 percent lower than the EPA estimates they were 25 years ago.

"The improved air quality can be largely attributed to EPA’s Acid Rain Program, along with other programs that reduced emissions that contribute to fine particle formation," the agency said today. Power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide dropped 33 percent from 1990 to 2003. These reductions yielded regional reductions in sulfate concentrations, reducing acid deposition and improving visibility, the EPA said.

Still, in 2003, 62 million people lived in 97 U.S. counties with monitors showing particle pollution levels higher than the PM2.5 air quality standards, the PM10 standards, or both.

Concentrations of PM10 have declined seven percent since 1999 and 31 percent since 1988. Monitored levels of both particles decreased most in areas having the highest concentrations.

Sulfates, nitrates, and carbon compounds are the major constituents of fine particle pollution. Sulfates and nitrates form from atmospheric transformation of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide gases. Carbon compounds can be directly emitted, or they can form in the atmosphere from organic vapors.

Sewage Dump in Alaska Costs Holland America $2 Million

HAL Maritime Ltd., an Operating Company of Holland America Line Cruise Ships, has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges arising out of the negligent discharge of 20,000 gallons of untreated sewage into Juneau harbor from the cruise ship Ryndam on August 17, 2002.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska filed criminal charges against HAL under a federal law passed in 2000 that makes it a crime for cruise ships to discharge untreated sewage into the waters surrounding Alaska.

To resolve the federal charges, HAL entered into a plea agreement with the United States December 8 in which the company accepts responsibility for causing the untreated sewage to be discharged from the Ryndam while it was docked in Juneau.

HAL has admitted that the discharge was caused by its failure to implement adequate operational controls, impose proper training requirements, and develop thorough response measures to prevent, timely detect and properly report the release of untreated sewage.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, HAL will plead guilty to negligently discharging untreated sewage and pay the statutory maximum $200,000 fine. HAL will also perform community restitution by paying an additional $500,000 to the National Forest Foundation, a non-profit organization, for use in reducing the amount of untreated sewage and other pollutants that enter the watersheds and coastal environment of Southeast Alaska.

In addition to a fine and community service, the plea agreement requires HAL to spend an additional $1.3 million to implement a Focused Environmental Compliance Plan that mandates new environmental safeguards, improved systems and more comprehensive training onboard all of Holland America’s fleet of cruise ships.

Under the Compliance Plan, independent auditors will be hired to evaluate and monitor the operations of all of Holland America’s cruise ships and to report problems to the United States. After pleading guilty, Holland America will be placed on probation, and be under the further supervision of the United States Probation Office, for a term of three years.

The investigation into the incident began when a local Juneau citizen reported observing a suspicious discharge from a cruise ship on the evening of August 17, 2002. The discharge was reported to the ship but the crew failed to properly respond, according to the plea agreement.

When the discharge continued, investigators from the United States Coast Guard and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation were contacted and began an investigation into the cause of the discharge. Joined by agents from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a team of investigators and prosecutors worked together to conduct a comprehensive investigation into how the discharged occurred, why it continued, and how the crew responded.

Timothy Burgess, United States Attorney for the District of Alaska, said, “My office is committed to enforcing the environmental laws to insure the health and safety of the people Alaska and to preserve the pristine nature of our coastal environment.”

“The Coast Guard's marine safety mission can be best summarized as protecting people from the sea, and the sea from people. We all need to continue working as a team to ensure Alaska’s waters remain clean,” said Rear Admiral James Olson, Commander 17th United States Coast Guard District.

Lead Exposure Linked to Increased Risk of Cataracts

Researchers found that men with high levels of lead in the tibia, the larger of the two leg bones below the knee, had 2.5 times the increased risk for cataract.

Cataracts, a clouding of the lens resulting in a partial loss of vision, are common in older people. By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery.

"These results suggest that reducing exposure of the public to lead and lead compounds could lead to a significant decrease in the overall incidence of cataract," said Kenneth Olden, Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which provided financial support to the research.

The findings on risk of cataract are published in the December 8 issue of the "Journal of the American Medical Association."

The Harvard researchers are among the first to use bone lead in studying the effect of lifetime lead exposure on disease risk.

"The best biological marker for estimating a person’s cumulative exposure to lead is provided by skeletal lead," said Dr. Howard Hu, professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the Harvard School of Public Health and co-author of the study. "Since blood lead levels reflect only recent exposures, they are not likely to predict the development of age-related diseases such as cataract, which take many years to develop."

Lead is found in lead-based paint, contaminated soil, household dust, drinking water, lead crystal, and lead-glazed pottery. Following exposure to lead, the compound circulates in the bloodstream and eventually concentrates in the bone.

"Given the strong association between tibia lead and cataract in men, we estimate that lead exposure plays a significant role in approximately 42 percent of all cataracts in this population," said Debra Schaumberg, Sc.D., assistant professor of medicine and ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the study.

Schaumberg explained that cataracts develop as a result of cumulative injury to the crystalline lens of the eye. "Lead can enter the lens, resulting in gradual injury to certain proteins present in the epithelial cells, and this eventually results in a cataract," she said.

The prevention of age related cataract remains an important public health goal," said Schaumberg. "In addition to the obvious problems of reduced vision, the visual disability associated with cataracts can have a significant impact on the risk of falls, fractures, quality of life, and possibly even mortality."

The same scientists are also focusing on lead's contribution to hypertension and impairment of kidney and cognitive function.

Vitamin E in Nuts, Seeds Blocks Cancer Cell Growth

A team led by Qing Jiang has found that gamma-tocopherol, which occurs naturally in walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, and in corn and sesame oils, inhibits the proliferation of human prostate and lung cancer cells cultured in a lab.

The vitamin's presence interrupts the synthesis of fatty molecules called sphingolipids, which are components of cell membranes. Healthy human prostate cells are unaffected.

"This is the first time gamma-tocopherol has been shown to induce death in lab-grown human cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone," said Jiang, who is an assistant professor of foods and nutrition in the College of Consumer and Family Sciences.

"This could be wonderful news for cancer patients if the effect can be reproduced in animal models. But because most nutritional supplements contain only alpha-tocopherol, a different form of vitamin E that alone does not have these anticancer properties, it may be better to supplement the diet with mixed forms of vitamin E. The study shows that the anticancer effect is enhanced when mixed forms are used."

Jiang's research appears in the current online edition of the scientific journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." It was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

Jiang said the next step for her research team will be testing the effect of gamma-tocopherol and mixed forms of vitamin E on animal cancers.

"Although this discovery is promising, we do not yet know whether gamma-tocopherol has any effect on cancer in living creatures," she said. "We hope that future research not only will clarify whether gamma-tocopherol could have applications in human cancer treatment, but also will show how we might supplement the body with the vitamin to prevent cancer from developing in the first place."

50 Foot Waves Pound Hawaii Surf Contest

The National Weather Service early this morning issued an urgent high surf warning for the north and west facing shores of Oahu, combined with a high tide. In addition, a very large and dangerous northwest swell continues to build across the Hawaiian Islands, the weather service said.

Forecasters are predicting surf heights of 35 to 50 feet along north facing shores today, and waves are forecast to reach heights of 20 to 30 feet along west facing shores.

The surf will be large enough to wash over coastal roads and damage property along parts of affected shorelines, especially near the time of high tide at six this morning. Forecasters are warning residents and visitors alike to avoid the North Shore for their own safety.

"Don't come to the North Shore and expect be going for a big walk on the beach tomorrow," Honolulu City and County lifeguard John Hoogsteden told KHON TV last night.

In 2003, an enormous swell caused high surf to spill acrosss the highway, and Civil Defense officials ordered beachfront residents to evacuate their homes.

The surf is expected to gradually diminish tonight and Thursday, but another huge swell is expected on Friday.