Eideard

Fine atmospheric particles — smaller than one-thirtieth of the diameter of a human hair — were identified more than 20 years ago as the most lethal of the widely dispersed air pollutants in the United States. Linked to both heart and lung disease, they kill an estimated 50,000 Americans each year. But more recently, scientists have been puzzled to learn that a subset of these particles, called secondary organic aerosols, has a greater total mass, and is thus more dangerous, than previously understood.

A batch of new scientific findings is helping sort out the discrepancy, including, most recently, a study led by scientists at the University of California, Irvine, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash…It indicates that the compounds’ persistence in the atmosphere was under-represented in older scientific models.

“If the authors’ analysis is correct, the public is now facing a false sense of security in knowing whether the air they breathe is indeed safe,” said Bill Becker, of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies.

Taken together, the findings of the new study and of a handful of others published in the past two years could mean that two decades’ worth of pollution-control strategies — focused on keeping tiny particles from escaping into the atmosphere — have addressed only part of the problem.

Scientists and regulators say that new models, strategies and technologies would be needed to address the secondary organic aerosol particles, which are formed not during combustion but later, in the wake of interactions between pollutants and natural chemical compounds…

The Irvine study of the formation of secondary compounds in the atmosphere…upends previous assumptions about the fate of the byproducts of the pollution from internal-combustion engines. These gaseous byproducts were thought to incorporate themselves into tiny airborne drops of liquid that would then dissipate quickly as the drops evaporated.

The new study finds instead that they attach themselves more tightly to airborne organic particles, creating tiny tar balls that evaporate more slowly and persist longer than anyone had thought. E.P.A. models built on these assumptions now appear to understate the total amount of fine particles, according to Barbara J. Finlayson-Pitts…one of the study’s authors.

“If you’re going to use models in a predictive sense, you need to make sure they are getting the right answer for the right reasons,” she said. “Right now most models are not getting the right answer.”

Great. RTFA for a few more comments on the need for more study, greater concern. Comments which come from scientists associated with a wide range of that portion of the political spectrum that at least recognizes science as a means of understanding and perfecting life as we know it.

Airborne prions are also infectious and can induce mad cow disease or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disorder, new findings suggest. This is the surprising conclusion of researchers at the University of Zurich, the University Hospital Zurich and the University of Tübingen. They recommend precautionary measures for scientific labs, slaughterhouses and animal feed plants.

The prion is the infectious agent that caused the epidemic of mad cow disease, also termed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and claimed the life of over 280,000 cows in the past decades. Transmission of BSE to humans, e.g. by ingesting food derived from BSE-infected cows, causes variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease which is characterized by a progressive and invariably lethal break-down of brain cells.

It is known that prions can be transmitted through contaminated surgical instruments and, more rarely, through blood transfusions. The consumption of food products made from BSE-infected cows can also induce the disease that is responsible for the death of almost 300 people. However, prions are not generally considered to be airborne — in contrast to many viruses including influenza and chicken pox.

Prof. Adriano Aguzzi’s team of scientists at the universities of Zurich and Tübingen and the University Hospital Zurich have now challenged the notion that airborne prions are innocuous. In a study, mice were housed in special inhalation chambers and exposed to aerosols containing prions. Unexpectedly, it was found that inhalation of prion-tainted aerosols induced disease with frightening efficiency. Just a single minute of exposure to the aerosols was sufficient to infect 100% of the mice, according to Prof. Aguzzi who published the findings in the Open-Access-Journal “PLoS Pathogens.” The longer exposure lasted, the shorter the time of incubation in the recipient mice and the sooner clinical signs of a prion disease occurred. Prof. Aguzzi says the findings are entirely unexpected and appear to contradict the widely held view that prions are not airborne…

Precautionary measures against prion infections in scientific laboratories, slaughterhouses and animal feed plants do not typically include stringent protection against aerosols. The new findings suggest that it may be advisable to reconsider existing regulations.

I would say – “Right away!”

If you’re in a working environment where airborne contact now appears possible – or likely – you’re dumber than a hoe handle if you don’t proceed with preventive measures on your own.

UPDATE: While I don’t completely agree with his conclusions, Jim – who commented below – has a more detailed exposition of his analysis at his own blog. And a link to the original research which you may find useful.

The Boeing Company and US Air Force announced yesterday that their Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) has successfully destroyed its first sizable ground target–“an unoccupied stationary vehicle“–during a test at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Boeing describes their device as a high-powered chemical laser that, once installed aboard an aircraft like the C-130H Hercules transport plane used in yesterday’s test, offers “speed-of-light, ultra-precision engagement capability that will dramatically reduce collateral damage.” Said Gary Fitzmire:

“The bottom line is that ATL works, and works very well. ATL’s components — the high-energy chemical laser, beam control system and battle manager — are performing as one integrated weapon system, delivering effective laser beam energy to ground targets.”

We’re doomed! Doomed I say. Dooomed!

Thanks, Jägermeister

They may look silly but a new study finds surgical masks are your best protection against a cold or the flu.

Donning a face mask — either a surgical mask or a P2/N95 respirator mask (high particulate filter mask) — boosts protection from severe respiratory illnesses such as influenza and SARS, say researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). These are not necessarily the same as the dust masks that some people use when cleaning or doing construction work.

In the study, adult mask wearers in the home were four times more likely than non-wearers to be protected against respiratory viruses, including the common cold. The findings…have global implications and are particularly relevant to efforts to combat the spread of flu pandemics and other emerging respiratory diseases such as SARS…

“In a crisis, vaccine development is likely to be delayed and drugs may be in short supply or not available at all,” MacIntyre said. “Limited supplies will be directed first to front line health workers, so masks are an important means of protection for the community, who otherwise may be last in line for vaccines and drugs…”

Wearing a mask is also effective for the raft of common cold viruses that make families sick each winter. But you have to wear it…

I’m such a hermit that I’m seriously considering wearing a mask when I go to town once a week for grocery shopping. I doubt if I have built-in resistance to anything but dog hair.