Public health concerns from

The available data suggest that developmental toxic effects are not a critical public health concern from asbestos exposure. Additional animal studies on fetal and postnatal development as affected by inhalation exposure may be helpful to confirm or discard this suggestion. 

The prevalence of overweight and obesity continues to increase, keeping this disease a major public health concern. Results from the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reflect an increased combined prevalence for overweight and obesity among adults... 

Nickel is an essential micronutrient for maintaining health in certain species of plants and animals. Its deficiency effects from dietary deprivation have been induced experimentally in many species of birds and mammals. To prevent nickel deficiency in rats and chickens, diets should contain at least 50 pg Ni/kg ration, while cows and goats require more than 100 pg Ni/kg rations, perhaps reflecting the increased use by rumen bacteria. Nickel deficiency is not a public health concern for humans because daily oral intake is sufficient to prevent deficiency effects. 

Mood disorders represent a major public health concern around the globe. In the United States alone, the annual cost of major depression is over 40 billion dollars. Less than 30% of the total cost of depression is incurred through direct treatment. The remainder consists of the indirect hidden costs of lost productivity due to absenteeism and poor work efficiency, premature death from suicide or medical illness, and the uncounted losses related to a poor quality of life. 

Based on a combination of available human case studies and experiments with laboratory animals, the major public health concerns associated with exposure to 1,4-dichlorobenzene are effects on the liver, kidneys, and blood. Some immunological, dermatological, and neurological effects have also been reported in exposed humans. There is information from animal studies which raises the question of whether 1,4-dichlorobenzene can cross the placenta and elicit structural effects on the developing fetus. Data from a study conducted in rats using the intraperitoneal route have demonstrated sperm abnormalities. Cancer of the liver as a result of lifetime exposure to 1,4-dichlorobenzene has been shown in mice, and renal cancer has been reported in male rats. However, recent studies related to the mechanism of renal carcinogenesis in rats suggest that these tumors may not be expected to occur in exposed humans. Issues relevant to children are explicitly discussed in Section 2.6, Children s Susceptibility, and Section 5.6, Exposures of Children. 

By day 100, rapporteur, co-rapporteur, CHMP members and EMEA receive comments from all other members of the CHMP. A consolidated draft list of questions is prepared by the rapporteur and circulated to the members by day 115. A final consolidated list of questions is agreed by the CHMP on day 120 and communicated to the applicant, and the clock of the procedure is stopped (usually up to 6 months maximum). This consolidated list includes any major public health concerns, points for clarification and changes to the SPC, raised by all Committee members. 

DSHEA severely limited when the FDA could take action to protect the public and what actions could be taken. The burden of proof to show harm is now placed on the FDA. Moreover, dietary supplement manufacturers are not required to report adverse dietary supplement events. In fact, between 1994 and 1999 fewer than 10 of the 2500 adverse events associated with dietary supplements and reported to the FDA were reported by the manufacturer (53). The Office of Inspector General concluded the spontaneous adverse event reporting system has difficulty generating signals of possible public health concern due to limited medical information, product information, manufacturer information, consumer information, and ability to analyze trends (57). One weight loss supplement manufacturer is reported to have withheld from the FDA 14,684 complaints of adverse events regarding ephedra, which included heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and deaths (53). 

Finding There has not been a coordinated and consistent public-health-based strategy for selecting how chemicals are included in or excluded from biomonitoring studies. There is a need for a consistent rationale for selecting chemicals for study based on exposure and public-health concerns. 

Meat samples from wild harvested subadult and adult alligators in south Louisiana had low Hg levels, averaging 0.131 pg g-1 [32], The highest level detected (0.386 pg g-1) is much lower than the FDA action level for safe human consumption of fish flesh (Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, 1998). Samples of both sexes from southwest Louisiana were significantly higher (0.176 pg g-1) than those from southeast Louisiana (0.098 pg g 1). No difference was seen between males and females pooled from all sites. The average alligator meat Hg level in Louisiana (0.131 pgg-1) was lower than values reported in other southeastern states and presents no public health concern. 

Since 1997, avian influenza (H5N1) has been an emerging public health threat. The first confirmed human death from avian influenza was a 3-year-old with Reye s syndrome (Lee Krilov, 2005). From 1997 through 2002, only a handful of people died, including children. In 2003 and onward, the death rate from avian influenza has increased dramatically. At this time, avian influenza is transmitted from direct contact with infected fowl. Current public health concerns are the mutation of the influenza virus into one that transmits from human to human. Thai and Vietnamese children... 

Following the explosion at the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001, various public health concerns arose regarding the air quality. Researchers believe that the explosion may account for adverse health effects in the workers and residents in the environment around the WTC. As a result, researchers from Johns Hopkins University, New York University, and Columbia University have monitored truck drivers exposed to the dust, fires, and air pollutants in the WTC aftermath. Phase I focused on the exposure of truck drivers from the disaster site, and Phase 11 focused on the respiratory health of the workers at the disaster site. Interviews and lung function tests were conducted to evaluate changes in lung function or symptoms (Community Update, 2002). Current research is under way addressing the aftereffects of exposure to dust in the air from the World Trade Center disaster. 

Arsenic toxicity from drinking water is a major public health concern in many countries throughout the world. If exposure is to the inorganic form, the kidneys are the target organ due to its involvement in in vivo biotransformation and elimination. Very few clinical cases of toxicity are reported in humans. Most clinical cases of toxicosis are reported in animals, especially cattle and dogs, by... 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is addressing public health concerns regarding a fibrous amphibole that occurs in vermiculite ore in the Libby, Montana, area. Vermiculite was mined and milled in Libby from 1923 until 1990. In 1963 the mine was acquired from the Zonolite Company by W.R. Grace Company, which marketed the vermiculite as Zonolite . 

The principal public health concern with arsenic is from the development of naturally high-arsenic groundwaters (Smedley and Kinniburgh, 2002). Extensive arsenicosis from such sources has been... 

---