Dutch court overturns cell permit on concern for bees

Dutch court overturns cell permit on concern for bees
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/dutch-court-overturns-cell-permit-on-concern-for-bees--906102 

"A court in Zutphen, Netherlands has annulled a permit for a UMTS antenna due to beekeeping activities in the area. The Winterswijk municipality gave KPN the permit to build the tower in November 2010. Five local residents filed an appeal against the permit, and the court found that the city did not motivate its decision well enough to show there would be no negative consequences from the cell site. One of the residents keeps bees around 80m from the proposed site; in the appeal against the site, he pointed to research in Germany and Switzerland on the effects of electromagnetic radiation on bees. The city pointed to other research showing bee deaths related to other factors and said the radiation in this case would be much less than in the German research. However the court found that the city needed to provide more concrete sources of research to sustain its argument and it could not be ruled out that the site would have an effect on the bees."

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Noise sensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity scales: Properties in a population based epidemiological study.

[COMMENT:  Let's start out with the premise that "Noise sensitivity is considered to be a self-perceived indicator of vulnerability to stressors in general and not noise alone." and state it like it's a proven fact.  In the process, systematically exclude people who have testable acute hearing, brain tumors, and other perfectly biological reasons for finding loud noise troubling and make all noise sensitivity a self-perceived vulnerability, then try to correlate it with MCS to discredit MCS.  Anyone else smell industry here?  Is it any wonder the two entities are easily differentiated?  Where's the real research?]

 

Noise sensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity scales: Properties in a population based epidemiological study.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23117535

Heinonen-Guzejev M, Koskenvuo M, Mussalo-Rauhamaa H, Vuorinen HS, Heikkilä K, Kaprio J.

Noise Health. 2012 Sep-Oct;14(60):215-23. doi: 10.4103/1463-1741.102956.

Source
Department of Public Health, Hjelt Institute, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 41, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland.

Abstract
Noise sensitivity is considered to be a self-perceived indicator of vulnerability to stressors in general and not noise alone. Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) has to some extent been accompanied by noise sensitivity, indicating a moderate correspondence between them. The aim of this study is to investigate if the Weinstein's Noise Sensitivity Scale and Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory's (QEESI) Chemical Intolerance Subscale can differentiate noise sensitivity and MCS as different entities, and if there are overlaps in the characteristics of noise sensitivity and MCS. In 2002, 327 individuals (166 men, 161 women; age range 45 - 66 years) from the Finnish Twin Cohort answered a questionnaire on noise-related and MCS items. Somatic, psychological, and lifestyle factors were obtained through earlier questionnaires for the same individuals. Both confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses (CFA and EFA) of the questionnaire items on the Weinstein's Noise Sensitivity Scale and QEESI's Chemical Intolerance Subscale indicated the presence of three factors - Noise Sensitivity, Chemical Sensitivity, and Ability to Concentrate factors - arising from the forming of two factors from the items of the Weinstein's scale. In the regression analyses, among all subjects, the Noise Sensitivity Factor was associated with neuroticism and smoking, and the Chemical Sensitivity Factor was associated with allergies and alcohol use. The study indicates that the Weinstein's Noise Sensitivity Scale and QEESI's Chemical Intolerance Subscale differentiate noise sensitivity and MCS as different entities.

PMID: 23117535 [PubMed - in process]

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The feasibility of aromatherapy massage to reduce symptoms of Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance: A pilot study.

[COMMENT:  After we finally stop laughing at the utter absurdity of using aromatherapy, of all things, to treat MCS (BIG DUH), we do have to wonder what "period effects" are that restricted the results in the first period???  Seriously, can we do some REAL research for a change and stop trying to "relax" people in the hopes that relaxing will make medical conditions go away?  Relaxing doesn't cure cancer, it doesn't cure brain tumors, and it won't cure MCS.  Big waste of research $$$]

 

The feasibility of aromatherapy massage to reduce symptoms of Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance: A pilot study.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23131370

Araki A, Watanabe K, Eitaki Y, Kawai T, Kishi R. Complement Ther Med. 2012 Dec;20(6):400-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2012.07.005. Epub 2012 Aug 16.

Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences, Japan; Hokkaido University, Centre for Environmental and Health Sciences, Japan.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:
Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance (IEI) is an acquired disorder with multiple recurrent symptoms, which is associated with diverse environmental factors that are tolerated by the majority of people. IEI is an illness of uncertain aetiology, making it difficult to treat using conventional medicine. Therefore, there is a need for novel therapies to control the symptoms of IEI. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and impact of aromatherapy massage for individuals with IEI.

DESIGN:
Non-blinded crossover trial.

SETTING:
IEI patients who attended a clinic in Sapporo city were recruited, and sixteen patients were enrolled. Participants were clinically examined by an experienced medical doctor and met the criteria included in the working definition of IEI disorder.

INTERVENTIONS:
During the active period, participants received four one-hour aromatherapy massage sessions every two weeks. During the control period, the participants did not receive any massages.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS:
Scores on the IEI-scales trigger checklist, symptoms, life impact, and the State Anxiety Inventory were assessed before and after each period. Short-term mood enhancement was evaluated using the Profiles of Mood Status (POMS) before and after sessions.

RESULTS:
Due to period effects, evaluation of the results had to be restricted to the first period, and the result showed no effect of intervention. All six sub-scales of the POMS improved after each session (mean score differences: 4.89-1.33, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:
Aromatherapy was well tolerated by subjects with IEI; however, aromatherapy, as applied in this study, did not suggest any specific effects on IEI condition.

PMID: 23131370 [PubMed - in process]

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Scents and sensitivity: As perfumed beauty products are blamed for allergies, more brands are going fragrance free

Scents and sensitivity: As perfumed beauty products are blamed for allergies, more brands are going fragrance free
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2227887/Scents-sensitivity-As-perfumed-beauty-products-blamed-allergies-brands-going-fragrance-free.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

"Think of how many beauty products you apply in a single day. You could easily have used ten before even leaving the house — all of them with their own scent, fighting for our olfactory attention.  No wonder that recent research from Mintel found that 28 per cent of us would prefer our skincare to come without a scent.  And while you might not think you're allergic to perfume, if you're in the 60 per cent of people who class their skin as being sensitive, you might find that it's the fragrance in your potions and lotions that is causing your skin to react."

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Illness puts woman out in the cold

Illness puts woman out in the cold
http://www.telegram.com/article/20121104/COLUMN01/111049663

"Bonnie Belmonte slowly raked the storm-tossed leaves in the front yard of her clapboard bungalow off June Street. She was raised in the house and inherited the property when her father died in 2007. The mortgage is paid off and she's up to date on the taxes. These days, however, she lives in the blue Ford Focus parked in the driveway. Her house, quite literally, makes her sick."

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WILDOMAR: Families suspect houses in illnesses

WILDOMAR: Families suspect houses in illnesses
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/wildomar/wildomar-headlines/20121102-wildomar-families-wonder-if-houses-made-them-sick.ece

"PART ONE: Four families walk away from their homes after an array of illnesses that some suspect was caused by contamination"

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Effects of industrial wind turbine noise on sleep and health.

Effects of industrial wind turbine noise on sleep and health.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23117539

 

Nissenbaum MA, Aramini JJ, Hanning CD.

Noise Health. 2012 Sep-Oct;14(60):237-43. doi: 10.4103/1463-1741.102961.

Source
Northern Maine Medical Center, Fort Kent, Maine, USA.

Abstract
Industrial wind turbines (IWTs) are a new source of noise in previously quiet rural environments. Environmental noise is a public health concern, of which sleep disruption is a major factor. To compare sleep and general health outcomes between participants living close to IWTs and those living further away from them, participants living between 375 and 1400 m (n = 38) and 3.3 and 6.6 km (n = 41) from IWTs were enrolled in a stratified cross-sectional study involving two rural sites. Validated questionnaires were used to collect information on sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index - PSQI), daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Score - ESS), and general health (SF36v2), together with psychiatric disorders, attitude, and demographics. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the effect of the main exposure variable of interest (distance to the nearest IWT) on various health outcome measures. Participants living within 1.4 km of an IWT had worse sleep, were sleepier during the day, and had worse SF36 Mental Component Scores compared to those living further than 1.4 km away. Significant dose-response relationships between PSQI, ESS, SF36 Mental Component Score, and log-distance to the nearest IWT were identified after controlling for gender, age, and household clustering. The adverse event reports of sleep disturbance and ill health by those living close to IWTs are supported.

PMID: 23117539 [PubMed - in process]

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