Health Risks & Environmental Issues

by Rose Marie Williams, MA

Lice and Fukushima Updates

Lice

This column reported on the perils of lindane use on head lice in the April 2000. Lindane, an organochlorine pesticide, is closely related to DDT. Its toxicity has been considered carcinogenic and neurotoxic, and it is associated with birth defects, kidney damage, endocrine disruption, breast cancer risk, and more. Lice have been developing a resistance to lindane, while children have not. Dr. Marion Moses, author of Designer Poisons, believes that “lindane should be banned,” and “not allowed for any use whatsoever.”¹

Permethrin, like other pyrethroids, which are synthetic versions of pyrethrum pesticides derived from the chrysanthemum plant family, do not break down as easily. Permethrin is another chemical toxin found in over-the-counter and prescription lice treatment shampoos. Its safety is also questionable. Risk factors include asthma, anaphylactic shock, pneumonia, vomiting, diarrhea, irritability to sound and touch, convulsions, stinging, burning, itching, numbness, decrease in blood pressure, and death. Moses even tells of brain and nervous system damage resulting in death in infants and children after exposure to permethrin products. A toxic synergist, piperonyl butoxide, is an additional ingredient and has been found to cause cancer and birth defects in rats. Again, Moses warns, “We cannot recommend it for use on children.’’¹

None of these toxic risks seem to apply to the very pests that they are intended to control – lice. Quite the opposite has happened. Scientists have found that a whopping 99.6% of lice in the US have developed resistance to over-the-counter and prescription shampoos containing the toxic chemical permethrin. Pesticides and You (www.beyondpesiticdes.org) reported on a recent study “on lice resistance published in the Journal of the Entomological Society of America indicating hazardous chemical treatments not only are not necessary given effective least-toxic alternatives, but also are not able to provide the lice control that manufacturers claim.”²

The report indicates the UK and Europe no longer use pyrethroids. “Virtually everyone except the United States and Canada have given up using these over-the-counter products,” claims John Clark, PhD, a professor of environmental toxicology and chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and coauthor of the study.²

Eric Ayers, MD, with the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, reported in the Detroit Free Press “that lice not killed by chemical treatment not only survive, but become stronger.” Other findings indicate that the more a product is used within a community, the more lice in that community become resistant, according to Shirley Gordon, PhD, director of the Head Lice Project at Florida Atlantic University. “We don’t like to use the term super lice, because it’s sensational and frightening. It’s not a superbug, but a louse that has become resistant.”²

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers permethrin part of the synthetic pyrethroid class of chemicals, “likely to be carcinogenic” when used in lice shampoo. Unfortunately, for American consumers, the chemical is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which allows its use on infants over 2 months old.² For those folks who might disagree with the FDA’s decision to allow such poisons to be used on babies and children, or even adults for that matter, there are alternative, nontoxic treatments.

Safer Treatments

Lice have made major comeback in schools; therefore, it is imperative to remain vigilant and proactive. Using a magnifying glass every so often to check for little grayish white eggs (nits) attached to the hair shaft is a first step.

Moses suggests using a soap shampoo, or any shampoo except a lice shampoo. Her recommendation is to thoroughly shampoo, making sure to cover all areas of the scalp and hair. Rinse completely, and shampoo again. This time do not rinse. Wrap a towel around the head for a few minutes, then begin combing with a special fine-tooth comb designed to remove dead lice and nits. Lice have not developed a resistance to this old-fashioned technique. Specially designed combs can be purchased from a pharmacy or by mail order.¹

Coconut-oil- or olive-oil-based shampoos and soaps, or simply pure coconut or olive oil, are considered very effective treatments for killing adult lice but may not be as effective at killing or removing the nits. Using the lice comb is a good follow-up. Both oils are safe. Instead of poisoning them, the oils kill the active lice by smothering them. An added bonus is that the oil treatment makes nit removal easier.¹

Tea tree oil is safe and effective. It should be put directly on the scalp and left on for about 10 minutes. About 20 drops can be added to a half-bottle of shampoo and used in the child’s regular hair washings for a week or two as a follow-up measure.¹

Essential oils are wonderful aromatic gifts of nature with healing qualities. For lice treatment, Dr. Andrew Weil suggests an herbal remedy consisting of 2 oz of vegetable oil, 20 drops of tea tree oil, and 10 drops each of the following essential oils: rosemary, lavender, and lemon. Weil advises first doing a skin sensitivity test by applying a few drops of the mixture to the inside of the elbow and waiting a few hours to observe if there is any irritation. To treat for lice, apply mixture to infected head, wrap in towel for 1 hour, then shampoo. Repeat at least one more time later in the week to get rid of the next batch of hatched lice.¹

Several nontoxic products are available for purchase in health food stores or by mail order. Hair Clean 1-2-3, developed in Israel, is available in many health food stores. “One dermatologist in Key West told her colleagues the lice were running off the heads like clowns out of a Volkswagen.” Lice R Goneis a nontoxic lice shampoo treatment that removes lice and nits on contact. It is a natural enzymatic formula that is pesticide free, environmentally friendly, and safe for children.

The Winter 2014/2015 issue of Pesticides and You replied to a mother’s inquiry about lice control, offering several suggestions including desiccation, or heat control as being the most effective nontoxic means of killing the nits. Many hair salons now offer this service. Do-it-yourself at home hair blowers were not recommended because lice can become airborne and spread to others. Beyond Pesticides offers a fact sheet: “Getting Nit Picky About Head Lice.”³

The American Head Lice Information Center has an entertaining award-winning video (www.headliceinfo.com).¹

For additional information on this topic, and to report any findings of head lice to assist in tracking annual outbreaks, please contact National Pediculosis Association (NPA) www.headlice.org.

Fukushima

The ongoing radioactive pollution from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster of March 2011 was reported in the October 2013 Townsend Letter. The accident, caused by an offshore earthquake and tsunami waves over 130 feet, caused major irreparable damage to the nuclear facility. The subsequent leaking of radioactive contaminated water and air pollution around the globe is possibly the worst environmental disaster of modern times, even though there is little news coming from Japan these days.⁴

Immediately following the accident, workers tried unsuccessfully to contain highly radioactive wastewater. This problem was compounded by groundwater pouring uncontrollably into the plant’s ravaged reactor buildings, where it became highly contaminated. The temporary solution was to siphon the water into huge storage tanks, but there were not enough tanks to hold all the strontium-laced water at the plant. Further efforts to contain the water in specially constructed pits proved worthless when the pits began to leak.⁴

Three major aftershocks hit northeast Japan in the months following the initial disaster of March 2011. On July 29, 2012, a 6.4 magnitude aftershock quake hit the area. On December 7, 2012, the region was hit again with an aftershock of 7.3 that shook buildings and caused 3 foot tsunami waves, forcing an evacuation of 26,000 people. February 2013, one year after the major crisis, another quake measuring 6.9 did not cause a tsunami but sent waves of fear across the same region that was hit by the 9.0 earthquake that left 20,000 dead or missing.

Problems at the Fukushima disaster site are ongoing, constantly changing, and degrading environmental and human health around the globe. Some problems listed by Nukewatch Quarterly are as follows:

• August 2014: Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) admitted that all the uranium fuel in Reactor 3 melted and burned into the bottom of the reactor’s cement containment vessel, going 2 feet into the concrete. “So harrowing is the problem of removing this mass of hot, molten fuel wreckage, that Tepco has said it won’t begin the attempt for seven years.”
• Billions in subsidies being offered to Japanese communities to store radioactive contaminated soil and debris is described as “bribes” by Greenpeace.
• An October 2014 typhoon caused the amount of tritium, radioactive hydrogen, and strontium-90 in groundwater to jump 10-fold due to heavy rain, causing great concern among the population about food contamination and lax government regulations.
• October 29, 2014: Radioactive soil stored at schools cannot be transferred to other locations because of a legal technicality. Burning thousands of tons of contaminated soil in municipal incinerators created immediate problems dealing with radioactive ash, which has increased contamination levels in many communities.
• November 11, 2014: The Oregon Statesman Journal reported that cesium-134 found in seawater from Fukushima had reached the California coast.⁵
• March 2015: Hong Kong finds traces of radioactive cesium -137 in tea and vegetables imported from Japan. “Ingestion of even the smallest traces of radioactive materials can cause cancer and other illnesses,” which “may not appear for years or decades following ingestion or inhalation.”⁶
• May 5, 2015: Taiwan imposed new bans on food imports from Japan due to faked labels that disguised the products which were really from contaminated areas in Japan, reported the French news agency AFP.⁶

Other reminders of nuclear disasters include the March 1979 near meltdown of the nuclear facility at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, due to mechanical failure and poor decisions. Less than a decade later, the world was shocked by the April 26, 1986, explosion and subsequent meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear facility in Ukraine, which caused thousands of deaths and ongoing cancers.

What do these three nuclear disasters have in common? A lot, according to Nukewatch Quarterly editor Arianne Peterson. She indicates that all three catastrophes occurred in spring: Three Mile Island, March 28, 1979; Chernobyl, April 26, 1986; and Fukushima, March 11, 2011. More striking yet is the similarity of events leading up to each accident and human failures that exacerbated each catastrophe.⁷

Peterson cites an article by Edward M. Geist in the April 2014 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, wherein he describeshow government authorities realized “to their horror their existing plans were too vague to address the challenges now facing them,” while technical experts disagreed “about what to do next.” “Some … asserted events were ‘under control’, while others warned of ongoing radioactive emissions” could lead to ‘‘an eminent release of catastrophic proportions.” Worse yet, “no one could predict the likelihoodor timing of such a development confidently enough to inform decisions about ordering evacuations,” or would this “only incite unnecessary panic?” “This narrative played out exactly the same three separate times over the past thirty-six years.”⁷

Think globally – act locally. Get active. Join an antinuke organization, or at least support one with a donation (nukewatch.org, NRDC.org, ucsusa.org, psr.org, greenpeace.org). Write, call, e-mail your elected officials protesting the presence of a nuclear facility near you. Promote safer energy alternatives such as solar and wind. Become part of the growing trend of home and business owners who are installing solar power. Vote with your dollar. It is often more powerful than the voting booth.

Just I was about to send in this column, I received the latest copy of Earthwise (Summer 2015) from the Union of Concerned Scientists, with inspiring information about bipartisan support for renewable energy in what are generally considered red (Republican) states. North Carolina is now second in the country, having installed more solar photovoltaic systems than any other state except California. Even Apple is jumping on the solar bandwagon by developing a 200-acre solar farm in the western part of the state to power its new iCloud data center. Oklahoma now ranks second in the nation for wind power installations in 2014 and fourth for total electricity generated from wind. The American Wind Energy Association indicates that there is cost savings of wind over natural gas. Texas may be replacing oil rigs with windmills. Texas installed more wind turbines than any other state in 2014, now accounting for 10% of its electricity.⁸

Notes

1. Williams RM. Head Lice are not nice, but using lindane is insane. Townsend Lett. Apr 2000;5.
2. Lice resistant to chemical treatment. Pesticides and You. Spring 2014;34(1):6.
3. Lousy lice. Pesticides and You. Spring 2014;34(1):2.
4. Williams RM. Fukushima: will we ever learn? Townsend Lett. Oct 2013;35.
5. Chronicling the plume: Fukushima’s boundless fallout. Nukewatch Quarterly. Winter 2014–15;1.
6. Fukushima triple reactor disaster – a crisis without end. Nukewatch Quarterly. Summer 2015;4.
7. Peterson A. Spring melt: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, & Fukushima taint the season. Nukewatch Quarterly. Spring 2015.
8. Union of Concerned Scientists. Red-state renewables. Earthwise. Summer 2015.

Rose Marie Williams, MA

156 Sparkling Ridge Road

New Paltz, NY 12561

845-255-0836

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