Offshore Exploration in the Arctic: Can Shell’s Oil-Spill Response Plans Keep Up?

The recent federal approval of Royal Dutch Shell’s oil-spill response plans for the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort seas grant exploration access to previously protected Arctic waters and is touted by advocates as a green light for recovering vast amounts of oil reserves. Critics argue that it is impossible to plan adequately for an oil spill in this inhospitable region. This article examines the key elements of the oil-spill response plans and some of the major environmental issues associated with them.

Arsenic, Organic Foods, and Brown Rice Syrup

Rice can be a major source of inorganic arsenic (As) for many subpopulations. Rice products are used as ingredients in prepared foods, some of which may not be obviously rice based. One of these ingredients is organic brown rice syrup (OBRS), which is used to sweeten organic food products as an alternative to high fructose corn syrup. Jackson et al. hypothesized that OBRS introduces As into these products. The authors measured the concentration and speciation of As in commercially available brown rice syrups and in products containing OBRS, including toddler formula, cereal or energy bars, and high-energy foods used by endurance athletes. They report that OBRS can contain high concentrations of inorganic As and dimethyl-arsenate. Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and ion chromatography, they found that an “organic” milk formula for toddlers contained OBRS as the primary ingredient, with As concentrations up to six times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limit for safe drinking water. Cereal bars and high-energy foods that contained OBRS also had higher As concentrations than did equivalent products that did not contain OBRS. Although the United States has no established regulations for As in food, the authors conclude that the OBRS products they evalauted may introduce measurable concentrations of inorganic arsenic into an individual’s diet.

Related News Article: Suspect Sweetener: Arsenic Detected in Organic Brown Rice Syrup

Climate Change, Migration, and Health

Climate change is projected to cause substantial increases in population movement in coming decades. However, little research has been conducted on the possible human health consequences of climate-related migration. By drawing on previous studies of refugees, people in resettlement schemes, and migrants, McMichael et al. explored the possible health impacts of climate change on population movements and examined the health implications of three types of movements likely to be induced by climate change: forcible displacement by climate impacts, resettlement schemes, and migration as an adaptive response. The authors conclude that where migration and other forms of mobility are used as adaptive strategies, health risks from climate change are likely to be mini-mized, and in some cases there may be health gains. Purposeful and timely policy interventions can facilitate the mobility of people, enhance well-being, and maxi-mize social and economic develop-ment in both places of origin and destination. Nevertheless, the anticipated occurrence of substantial relocation of groups and communities under-score the funda-mental seriousness of human-induced climate change.

Related News Article: Migration Associated with Climate Change: Modern Face of an Ancient Phenomenon

Global Mortality and Smoke from Landscape Fires

Despite extensive literature describing harmful effects of exposure to air pollutants, less is known about health effects attributable to biomass smoke, particularly landscape fire smoke (LFS). Johnston et al. estimated global daily and annual exposure to PM_2.5 from LFS for 1997–2006 by combining outputs from a chemical transport model with satellite-based observations of aerosol optical depth. They estimated the daily burden of mortality in World Health Organization (WHO) sub-regions classified as sporadically impacted, using concentration–response coefficients for the association between short-term elevations in PM_2.5 from LFS and all-cause mortality. In subregions classified as chronically impacted, the annual burden of mortality was estimated using the American Cancer Society study coefficient for the association between long-term PM_2.5 exposure and all-cause mortality. The authors evaluated the sensitivity of mortality estimates to different exposure assessments, counter-factual estimates, and concentration–response functions, and compared strong La Niña and El Niño years to assess the influence of inter-annual climatic variability. The principal estimate for the average mortality attributable to LFS exposure was 339,000 deaths annually. The regions most affected were Sub-Saharan Africa (157,000 deaths) and Southeast Asia (110,000 deaths), and estimated annual mortality was 262,000 during La Niña and 532,000 during El Niño. The authors suggest that emissions from landscape fires are an important contributor to global mortality and note that the large estimated influence of El Niño suggests a relationship between climate and the burden of mortality attributable to LFS. Interventions, such as curtailing the burning of tropical rainforests, could reduce adverse health outcomes associated with LFS.

Related News Article: Landscape Fire Smoke as a Cause of Death: Burning Vegetation Estimated to Kill Hundreds of Thousands Worldwide