Category: Audio

Can noise from fracking operations affect your health ?

Fracking and Health: Ask an Expert, with Dr. Michael McCawley, 2018

Dr. Michael McCawley is Clinical Associate Professor at West Virginia University.

Dr. Michael McCawley discusses the adverse health effects associated with stress from environmental noise exposure and how factors contributing to noise levels might not be effectively addressed through mitigation measures or setbacks.

Abstract

Modern oil and gas development frequently occurs in close proximity to human populations and increased levels of ambient noise have been documented throughout some phases of development. Numerous studies have evaluated air and water quality degradation and human exposure pathways, but few have evaluated potential health risks and impacts from environmental noise exposure. We reviewed the scientific literature on environmental noise exposure to determine the potential concerns, if any, that noise from oil and gas development activities present to public health. Data on noise levels associated with oil and gas development are limited, but measurements can be evaluated amidst the large body of epidemiology assessing the non-auditory effects of environmental noise exposure and established public health guidelines for community noise. There are a large number of noise dependent and subjective factors that make the determination of a dose response relationship between noise and health outcomes difficult. However, the literature indicates that oil and gas activities produce noise at levels that may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes, including annoyance, sleep disturbance, and cardiovascular disease. More studies that investigate the relationships between noise exposure and human health risks from unconventional oil and gas development are warranted. Finally, policies and mitigation techniques that limit human exposure to noise from oil and gas operations should be considered to reduce health risks.

How did the state of Maryland ban fracking ?

Fracking and Health: Ask an Expert, with Brooke Harper, 2018

Brooke Harper is Maryland Policy Director at Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Brooke Harper shares the strategies, messaging, and coalition building used to mobilize support at the local, county, and state level highlighting the most effective actions that contributed to their successful campaign.

  • Oil & Gas Program, Fracking and Health: Ask an Expert Podcasts.

What is the latest science on fracking and hormone disruption ?

Fracking and Health: Ask an Expert, with Dr. Susan Nagel, 2018

Dr. Susan Nagel is Associate Professor and Director of the Research Success Center in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health at the University of Missouri.

Dr. Susan Nagel discusses the science on health effects from prenatal exposure to fracking chemicals in animal models and human proximity studies and suggests building upon current research through collaboration with impacted communities.

  • Oil & Gas Program, Fracking and Health: Ask an Expert Podcasts.

How can biomonitoring be used by communities impacted by fracking ?

Fracking and Health: Ask an Expert, with Dr. Elyse Caron-Beaudoin, 2018

Dr. Elyse Caron-Beaudoin, postdoctoral fellow in the University of Montreal School of Public Health gives practical tips for designing research studies to measure chemicals in the bodies of people living near fracking.

Dr. Elyse Caron-Beaudoin also discusses how biomonitoring data can support efforts to protect public health.

Abstract

Background
Northeastern British Columbia (Canada) is an area of intense hydraulic fracturing for unconventional natural gas exploitation. There have been multiple reports of air and water contamination by volatile organic compounds in the vicinity of gas wells. Although these chemicals are known developmental toxicants, no biomonitoring effort has been carried out in the region.

Objective
To evaluate gestational exposure to benzene and toluene in the Peace River Valley, Northeastern British Columbia (Canada).

Methods
Urine samples were collected over five consecutive days from 29 pregnant women. Metabolites of benzene (s-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA) and trans, trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA)) and toluene (s-benzylmercapturic acid (S-BMA)) were measured in pooled urine samples from each participant. Levels of benzene metabolites were compared to those from the general Canadian population and from a biomonitoring study of residents from an area of active gas exploitation in Pavillion, Wyoming (USA). Levels measured in participants from the two recruitment sites, and self-identifying as Indigenous or non-Indigenous, were also compared.

Results
Whereas the median S-PMA level (0.18 μg/g creatinine) in our study was similar to that in the general Canadian population, the median t,t-MA level (180 μg/g creatinine) was approximately 3.5 times higher. Five women had t,t-MA levels above the biological exposure index® proposed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. The median urinary S-BMA level in our pilot study was 7.00 μg/g creatinine. Urinary metabolite levels were slightly higher in self-identifying Indigenous women, but this difference was only statistically significant for S-PMA.

Discussion
Urinary t,t-MA levels, but not S-PMA levels, measured in our study are suggestive of a higher benzene exposure in participating pregnant women from the Peace River Valley than in the general Canadian population. Given the small sample size and limitations of t,t-MA measurements (e.g., non-specificity), more extensive monitoring is warranted.

Comment distinguer un lobby de ce qui n’en est pas ?

Il ne faut pas amalgamer lobbies et ONG !

Les lobbies ont pris trop de place dans les cercles du pouvoir…

Référence.

Quelles vont être les conséquences de la récente condamnation de Monsanto ?

Le procès de tous les dangers pour Monsanto

Monsanto : un jugement historique, avec Emilie Gaillard, maître de conférences à l’Université de Caen Normandie et spécialiste du droit des générations futures, elle a participé à l’organisation du « Tribunal Monsanto » qui s’est tenu à la Haye en octobre 2016 et Stéphane Foucart, journaliste au Monde, lauréat en 2018 du Prix de la Presse Européenne avec Stéphane Horel pour leur enquête sur les Monsanto Papers.

  • Quelles vont être les conséquences de cette condamnation pour Monsanto, qui prévoit déjà de faire appel ?
  • Que va-t-il se passer pour les milliers d’Américains qui ont lancé des procédures similaires?
  • Et quels effets sur les débats autour de la toxicité du glyphosate ?

Is early detection always the best medicine ?

The Recommended Dose, with Alexandra Barratt

Hosted by acclaimed journalist and health researcher Dr Ray Moynihan, The Recommended Dose tackles the big questions in health and explores the insights, evidence and ideas of extraordinary researchers, thinkers, writers and health professionals from around the globe. The series is produced by Cochrane Australia and co-published with the BMJ.

Press Play > to listen to the recording.

Dr Ray Moynihan’s guest has led something of a double life, using both medicine and the media to explore and promote the critical role of evidence in healthcare. Now based at the University of Sydney, Alexandra Barratt‘s journey from clinician to journalist to global advocate for evidence based medicine and shared decision-making is a fascinating one.

Here Alexandra talks with Ray about her varied career and the reasons she’s ended up challenging conventional wisdom. She also talks about her research into the pros and cons of breast cancer screening and questions the widely-accepted idea that early detection is always the best medicine.

Our SoundCloud Playlists

Le flux instinctif libre : une alternative aux protections hygiéniques, serviettes et tampons

Sang tabou : comment j’ai arrêté les tampons

Pouvoir retenir ses règles natutellement, pour les évacuer librement aux toilettes, c’est le principe du flux instinctif libre.
Nina Almberg vous dit tout sur cette méthode étonnante.

  • Sang tabou, un documentaire arte RADIO, 08 mars 2018.
  • Extraits de pubs vintage et textes de :
    • Pline l’Ancien, “Histoire naturelle”, 77 après JC
    • Claude Levi-Strauss, “l’Origine des manières de table”, 1968
    • Coran, sourate II, verset 222, VIIème siècle après JC
    • Saint-Grégoire, “Homélie 29”, Vème siècle après JC
    • Tardieu, “Manuel de pathologie et de clinique médicale”, 1873
    • Séverin Icard, “la Femme pendant la période menstruelle : étude de la psychologie morbide”, 1890
    • Sigmund Freud, “Nouvelle Conférence d’introduction à la psychanalyse”, 1932.

Financer la science, récolter l’ignorance

Voyage en “agnotologie”, pays de la science et de l’ignorance (4/4)

Combien coûte l’ignorance à ceux qui la subissent et combien rapporte-t-elle à ceux qui la propagent ?

Produire de l’ignorance scientifique, est-ce un bon placement ? Qu’espèrent les philanthropes toujours plus nombreux en retour de leurs investissements toujours plus massifs dans la science d’aujourd’hui ? Quant à notre psychisme, garde-t-il toute sa raison dès qu’il est question d’argent, de pari, de gain ? Et le monde financier lui-même, ses agents, ses théoriciens, ne sont-ils pas tantôt victimes tantôt responsables d’aveuglements, de croyances, de falsification des risques, bref, d’ignorance économique ? Argent et ignorance font-ils bon ménage ?

Par Perrine Kervran , sur France Culture LSD, La série documentaire.

Le Distilbène DES, en savoir plus

Quand on préfère ne pas savoir

Voyage en “agnotologie”, pays de la science et de l’ignorance (3/4)

Explorer avec des psycho-sociologues, des chercheurs en neurosciences nos affinités envers l’ignorance : voilà le programme.

On peut comprendre aisément que des industriels du tabac, de la chimie, des mines aient intérêt à freiner, à empêcher les connaissances scientifiques de nuire à leur business… et pour cela produire de l’ignorance. Mais il est difficile de comprendre comment ils y parviennent aussi facilement avec des citoyens cultivés, érudits, informés… À moins qu’il y ait en nous une propension à douter des connaissances toujours prête à s’enclencher, un penchant pour l’ignorance.

Par Perrine Kervran , sur France Culture LSD, La série documentaire.

Le Distilbène DES, en savoir plus