Prohibitionist Junk Science?
I think so. Some are trying to make the case that even third hand tobacco smoke is a health hazard. I'll admit I'm very skeptical that even 2nd hand smoke is all that dangerous if not exposed to frequently. You'd hard pressed to convince me that someone is threatened by me smoking a cigarette 20 or even 10 feet away down the sidewalk.
harleyrider's comment to the story deserves repeating. I suspect the science behind 2nd hand smoke was developed the same way they're playing with the 3rd hand smoke issue:
harleyrider1978 wrote, "This study appears to be wall to wall junk science. They seem to be most worried about "carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines or TSNAs..several hundred nanograms per square meter of nitrosamines" (1)
Guess where Nitrosamines are also formed? Cooking fish, where TSNAs are measured in microgrammes, but in the Berkeley paper nanogrammes a factor of a thousand times smaller. (2)
Nitrosamines are also found in ham, milk, children's balloons and tap water. (3)
Finally the World Health Organization's cancer mouthpiece the International Agency Research on Cancer says on Nitrosamines: "5.2 Human carcinogenicity data. No data were (sic) available to the Working Group." (4)
So we have a dose that is so low, cooking a fish produces 1,000 times more "carcinogens" on a chemical which has not been proven to cause cancer in the first place.
Junk science that insults the intelligence.
Labels: tobacco prohibition
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:48 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Heres the rest of the story:
Just a little bit more about the N'-nitrosonornicotine found in SHS/ETS.
However, the dose makes the poison!!
This stuff is NOT present in quantities known to be hazardous!!!
The concentration of N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) ranged from not detected to 23 pg/l, that of N'-nitrosoanata-bine ranged from not detected to 9 pg/l, while 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) was detected in concentrations ranging from 1 to 29 pg/l.
Thus, non-smokers can be exposed to highly carcinogenic TSNA.
NNN = 0 to 23 picograms per liter
NNK = 0 to 29 picograms per liter
1 cubic meter = 1,000 liters
1 nanogram(NG) = 1,000 picograms
Thus, NNN of 0 to 23 picograms per liter is the same as 0 to 23 nanograms(ng) per cubic meter
NNK of 0 to 29 picograms per liter is the same as 0 to 29 nanograms(ng) per cubic meter.
The question is whether or not 0 to 29 nanograms(ng) per cubic meter of a carcinogenic substance is a dangerous level?
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has concluded that inorganic arsenic is known to be a human carcinogen.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) cites sufficient evidence of a relationship between exposure to arsenic and human cancer. The IARC classification of arsenic is Group 1.
The EPA has determined that inorganic arsenic is a human carcinogen by the inhalation and oral routes, and has assigned it the cancer classification, Group A.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprof...iles/tp2- c6.pdf
6.4.1 Air
Mean arsenic levels in ambient air in the United States have been reported to range from 20 to 30 ng/m3 in urban areas (Davidson et al. 1985; EPA 1982c; IARC 1980; NAS 1977a).
NOTE: 20 to 30 ng/m3 is NOT stated to be a hazardous level of exposure to this known human carcinogen.
Levels of arsenic in the air generally range from less than 1 to about 2,000 nanograms (1 nanogram equals a billionth of a gram) of arsenic per cubic meter of air (less than 1–2,000 ng/m3), depending on location, weather conditions, and the level of industrial activity in the area. However, urban areas generally have mean arsenic levels in air ranging from 20 to 30 ng/m3.
Both inorganic and organic forms leave your body in your urine. Most of the inorganic arsenic will be gone within several days, although some will remain in your body for several months or even longer. If you are exposed to organic arsenic, most of it will leave your body within several days.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp2-c1.pdf
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
has set a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 10 micrograms
of arsenic per cubic meter of workplace air (10 μg/m³) for 8
hour shifts and 40 hour work weeks.
so thats 10,000 nanograms per cubic meter of air per 8 hours
1 cig gives 29 nanograms per cubic meter
so we take 10,000 divided by 29 = 186,000 cigs burning simultaneously to meet oshas pel of 10ugs per 8 hour shift in a 20x9x9 sealed room.
cotton contains the same stuff from insecticide spraying,so your clothes and underwear will have this tnsa's in it too!
Levels of arsenic in food range from about 20 to 140 ppb. However, levels of inorganic arsenic, the form of most concern, are far lower. Levels of arsenic in the air generally range from less than 1 to about 2,000 nanograms (1 nanogram equals a billionth of a gram) of arsenic per cubic meter of air (less than 1–2,000 ng/m3), depending on location, weather conditions, and the level of industrial activity in the area. However, urban areas generally have mean arsenic levels in air ranging from 20 to 30 ng/m3.
You normally take in small amounts of arsenic in the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the food you eat. Of these, food is usually the largest source of arsenic. The predominant dietary source of arsenic is seafood, followed by rice/rice cereal, mushrooms, and poultry. While seafood contains the greatest amounts of arsenic, for fish and shellfish, this is mostly in an organic form of arsenic called arsenobetaine that is much less harmful. Some seaweeds may.
Children are likely to eat small amounts of dust or soil each day, so this is another way they may be exposed to arsenic. The total amount of arsenic you take in from these sources is generally about 50 micrograms (1 microgram equals one-millionth of a gram) each day. The level of inorganic arsenic (the form of most concern) you take in from these sources is generally about 3.5 microgram/day. Children may be exposed to small amounts of arsenic from hand-to-mouth activities from playing on play structures or decks constructed out of CCA-treated wood. The potential exposure that children may receive from playing in play structures constructed from CCA-treated wood is generally smaller than that they would receive from food and water.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp2-c1.pdf
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