The Long-Term Health Consequences of the 9/11 Attacks

With President Obama's success in taking out Osama Bin Laden making the 10th Anniversary observance of the 9/11 attacks a less politically contentious one, are policymakers ignoring the long-term health consequences of the 9/11 attacks at everyone's peril?

By: Ringo Bones

Even though President Obama signed the James Zadroga Health Compensation act of 2010 - named in honor of the first responder who suddenly succumbed to the chronic health effects of the World Trade Center tower debris back in 2006 - to help those first responders, victims and cleaning crew who are suffering from chronic health problems after inhaling the toxic dust and debris when the WTC towers collapsed during the 9/11 attacks. A lot of us still wonder whether there are enough policymakers out there who are doing enough to compensate and take care of everyone affected by the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

The fallout of the WTC towers collapse are as deadly as that produced by a successfully detonated nuclear device. I mean lead from those 50,000 computer monitors, mercury from countless fluorescent light bulbs, not to mention tons of asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs used in the construction of the World Trade Center towers back in 1971 because these two hazardous materials are yet to be banned in 1976.

It's not just first responders - the New York Fire Department and the New York Police Department personnel - that had acquired chronic health problems years after the 9/11 attacks. Cleaners, telecom engineers and contractors who spent significant amounts of time at the vicinity WTC Ground Zero area are also affected. As the WTC fallout resembles finely pulverized glass, long-term residents in the Lower Manhattan region are affected too.

Studies have shown that a little over 60,000 are already registered at risk while 18, 262 are already receiving treatment for "9/11 Syndrome". Since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, Prof. Paul Lioy had analyzed the fallout dust and found out that it consists of a mixture of supposedly now-banned hazardous substances like asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs and unburned jet fuel residue. Osama Bin Laden may be dead but the fallout of the 9/11 attacks are still causing unnecessary suffering.

Radioactive Fallout’s Seven Deadliest

Even though the likelihood of atomic warfare is now exceedingly slim, do we still have to be wary of the seven deadliest elements in radioactive fallout?

By: Ringo Bones

Unfortunately, the threat to our health and well-being posed by radioactive fallout in atomic warfare and the one produced by a nuclear fission power plant accident are virtually identical. The recent Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster caused by the tragic March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit the north-eastern portion of Japan – which is now had been inevitably compared to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident of April 26, 1986 – has virtually the same threat to our health and well-being posed by multi-megaton MIRVs that “might” be used in an all-out nuclear exchange.

The seven deadliest elements produced by atomic warfare and a nuclear fission power plant accident are as follows:

1)Strontium-89 - has a half-life of 53 days and is similar in effects to strontium-90.

2)Strontium-90 – has a half-life of 28 years. Absorbed in the skeleton, can injure bone and cause anemia. Emits beta particles and may also be absorbed by plants and transferred to humans in food.

3)Iodine-131 – has a half-life of 8.1 days and it primarily affects the thyroid.

4)Cesium-137 – has a half-life of 27 years. Easily absorbed by the body through the biosphere. Emits gamma rays and is a bone-seeker but it’s not as dangerous as strontium-90.

5)Barium-140 – has a half-life of 12.8 days and is similar to strontium-90 in its effects.

6)Cesium-144 – has a half-life of 282 days and has similar effects to cesium-137.

7)Plutonium-239 – primary component of nuclear weapons and a nuclear power plant’s fuel. Has a half-life of 24,000 years. Can injure the bone and cause anemia. Not as dangerous as the other elements listed because of its long half-life.

Strontium: Calcium’s Evil Alter-Ego?

Even though it got a bad reputation as an evil twin of calcium due to its presence in atomic fallout, does strontium really deserve the reputation as calcium’s evil alter-ego?

By: Ringo Bones

Given that 2011 has been declared as the UN’s International Year of Chemistry what better time to reevaluate some of the reputations that the members of the “Periodic Kingdom” seem to have unfairly deserved for the past hundred years or so. Aside from giving fireworks their rich red color, strontium seemingly got a bad rap during the 20th Century’s “Atomic Age” as the evil alter-ego of life-supporting calcium even though both belong to the Alkaline Earth Metal family of the Periodic Table.

Discovered in 1790, the name strontium is derived from Strontian, Scotland. Though much, much rarer than calcium, radioactive strontium-90 is present in significant amounts in atomic fallout – it is absorbed by bone tissue in place of calcium and enough of it destroys bone marrow and can cause cancer by emitting beta particles. But is strontium’s bad rap as the evil alter-ego of calcium really warranted?

Recent advances in medical science has just found a new use for strontium’s strange chemistry – namely as a treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Strontium ranelate – a chemical compound of stable non-radioactive form of strontium and ranelic acid – is now regularly used to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis to reduce the risk of vertebral and hip fractures. Because calcium containing drugs and foods reduce strontium bioavailability by as much as 60 to 70%, strontium containing drugs that treat postmenopausal osteoporosis should be taken two hours apart from calcium-containing drugs and foods. Even though the radioactive isotope of strontium, strontium-90, can cause bone cancer, the non-radioactive stable strontium isotopes simultaneously increase bone formation and reduces bone resorption.

Prosthetic Limbs: Now Better Than Mother Nature’s?

Probably the only significant scientific spin-off of George W. Bush’s malfeasantly run global War on Terror, is current prosthetic limb technology already at par with Mother Nature’s?

By: Ringo Bones

Thanks to better body armor technology, soldiers who got wounded in action while serving George W. Bush’s malfeasantly run global War on Terror of previous years have now a better chance of surviving assault rifle shots and being hit by fragmentation grenades. Unfortunately, this resulted in a growing number of recent war veterans in need of prosthetic limbs – especially advanced myoelectric versions - that is in par with the natural one that they replace in working in everyday situations. Fortunately, prosthetic limb technology is now at a state of development that it had already received rave reviews by their recipients on how good they work in everyday situations. Given the progress of this aspect of medical science, will prosthetic limb technology ever progress to the point that it would have capabilities better than what Mother Nature has already given us? And if it ever did, will most of us opt to have the natural, perfectly-functional limbs that we are born with electively amputated in order to be replaced by better functioning artificial ones?

Dr. Bertolt Meyer – who had the misfortune of being born without a left hand and had an advanced prosthetic version installed – have stated the ethical dilemmas of such issues in a BBC Newsnight interview back in May, 21 2011. The hubbub surrounding recent advances in artificial limb technology really got the undivided attention of the mainstream press and the public-at-large during the airing of a press coverage documenting the plight of an Austrian motorcycle riding accident victim named Milo opting to have his right hand amputated after years of physiotherapy had failed to return it to full-functionality in order to be replaced by an advanced myoelectric version; Though we have to wait for a year to evaluate the success of the procedure.
People opting to have the perfectly-functional limbs that they are born with be replaced by better functioning myoelectric robotic versions reminds me of a science fiction novel I read a few years ago. Titled Antibodies, this David J. Skal work revolves around a cyber-punk themed future where people deliberately mutilate themselves in order to have their perfectly functional limbs and sensory organs – like eyes and ears – be surgically replaced by artificially implanted versions that work far better than the ones they are naturally born with. Will this be the brave new world for the future of artificial limb technology?

Mineral Oil in Cardboard Food Packaging: Latest Health Threat?

Even though it was just recently found out in a health study, are the excess mineral oil content in cardboard food packaging the latest public health threat?


By: Ringo Bones


First it was the undesirable side-effects of hormone-mimicking plastic softeners found in food containers and packaging like bisphenol-A that was deemed the greatest threat to public health after it was found out that bisphenol-A or BPAs were just too profitable to be banned, and now alarmingly high amounts of mineral oil that could pose a public health hazard that’s found in almost all cardboard-based food packaging. But does mineral oil really pose a public health threat?

A recent Swiss study conducted in the public health and food safety conscious EU had just obtained data that measurable amounts – up to ten times the agreed limit in fact – of mineral oil are found in food products packaged in recycled cardboard. Even though virgin cardboard that is freshly made from tree pulp contains no trace of mineral oil whatsoever, virgin cardboard is just too expensive for use in food packaging that’s commonly sold in supermarkets around the world. But should we be worried about the undesirable long-term effects of mineral oil contaminating our daily bread?

The problem is that people who had ingested enough mineral oil that necessitated medical intervention and thus observed by qualified medical personnel for symptomatic study are still few and far between. Before adequate occupational health and safety standards became universally adopted throughout the world, there had been cases around the start of the 1900s of workers in the production and packaging of mineral oil who work for a long time in an atmosphere where they inhale a great deal of mineral oil developed symptoms like those of a mild jag – often called “naphtha jag”.

First symptoms of acute mineral oil poisoning are a sense of excitement and lack of self-control, usually followed by depression, headache, nausea, roaring in the ears, irritation in the throat and a trembling in the hands and arms. If sufficient amount of mineral oil is ingested or absorbed, signs of shallow breathing, weakened heart, convulsions and death could follow.

Unfortunately, there is still no specific antidote for mineral oil poisoning. Therefore under such circumstances, the first thing to do is to wash out the stomach and give a mild laxative. Then stimulants are used in order to sustain life and the patient is then put under medical observation to check for possible organ damage.

Aspirin: 21st Century Anti-Cancer Wonder Drug?

Ever since the late 19th Century anti-pain medication became a heart attack and stroke preventive of the 1980s, is aspirin now poised to become the 21st Century’s anti-cancer wonder drug?


By: Ringo Bones


Ever since German chemist Felix Hoffman was credited for “inventing” acetylsalicylic acid – better known as aspirin – back in 1897, little did he know that his non-steroidal anti-inflammatory “wonder drug” also has the capacity to cure other ailments; Ever since gaining status as an over-the-counter pain medication when it was first sold without prescription back in 1915, aspirin was primarily use as a general pain reliever. It was a far better alternative than its contemporaries at the time – i.e. heroin-based preparations like laudanum, etc. Then the 1980s came and another use for aspirin was found – heart attack and stroke preventive when taken at low daily doses. And as recently as 2010 during a recent medical research study, aspirin is found out yet again as a viable cancer preventive when taken at low daily doses. But will aspirin yet again gain fame as the 21st Century’s latest anti-cancer wonder drug?

Aspirin’s newly-discovered anti-cancer properties were recently found out in an Oxford based medical research team who recently published their findings in the medical journal Lancet as recently as December 2010. The research showed on a study of conducted on 25,000 volunteers / test subjects aged 50 to 75 who took 75 milligrams of aspirin a day for 4 years have shown to have 25% lower risk of developing the most common forms of cancer. Basing on the resulting data they got so far, the researchers interpolated that if their test subjects continued taking aspirin at the “recommended” 75 milligrams a day for 20 years, they could also statistically reduce their cancer mortality rate by 20%. The research is still on-going, but will this eventually prove that aspirin is also an anti-cancer drug and not just a general non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain killer and a heart attack and stroke preventive?

If aspirin was discovered much later – when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and related pharmacological regulatory bureaus were already established, aspirin would never get approved for human use due to it’s very broad effects – good or bad. And even though it is already well established that low daily doses of aspirin has been “recommended” as a heart attack and stroke preventive for almost 30 years now, it is this very property that you should consult your family doctor / general practitioner before embarking on a low daily dose of aspirin because it could be dangerous if one has a pre-existing condition of chronic bleeding and ulcers due to aspirin’s blood-thinning properties. If your doctor gives you the green light to take aspirin in supplement like low level daily doses, you could well lowering your risk in getting not just cancer, but also heart attack and strokes as well – not to mention a proven non-narcotic pain reliever for over 100 years.

Is the Gulf War Syndrome For Real?

First observed on war veterans that served during Operation Desert Storm, will the then newfangled disorder then dubbed by the press as Gulf War Syndrome ever be demystified by medical science as a real health disorder?


By: Ringo Bones


Since its identification around 1992 and the publication of a then controversial findings by Dr. András Korényi-Both, a newly identified health disorder now known as Gulf War Syndrome could easily be dismissed by those with vested interests as nothing more than a form of post traumatic hypochondria. This is probably due to the broad spectrum of the disorder’s symptoms that tend to be chronic and undiagnosable. Not to mention the myriad of probable causes, but by the mid 1990s, a number of scientist had probably pinned down two broad types of the disorder that is now popularly referred to as Gulf War Syndrome.

The Biochemical Interaction Theory: Even though this aspect of the Gulf War Syndrome was proven by a study made by a Duke University pharmacologist Mohamed Abou-Donia and his team where they published a report back in April 1995. Stating the results of their study that a combination of pesticides and insect repellants – like DEET – used by soldiers during the 1990-1991 Gulf War caused nerve damage in chickens. And also the use of an anti-nerve gas agent, called pyridostigmine bromide tends to impair the body’s ability to break down toxic chemicals – like those found in the insect repellant DEET – as it enters the body. Even though Dr. Abou-Donia and his team’s study had been used as a guide in more recent studies on lawn chemicals used in a majority of American homes and their interaction with asthma medication to produce Gulf War Syndrome like symptoms. It has implications that this disorder probably didn’t start during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War.

There are anecdotes that date back during the early years of the Vietnam War, probably before the mosquito repellant DEET became a standard issue, about a US soldier who was almost driven to insanity by pestering mosquitoes. The soldier, according to the story, was eventually forced to take his nap under the mud of the nearest rice paddy completely immersing himself in which he used his standard issue gas mask and a drinking straw as a breathing device. When DEET became standard issue, it is safe to assume that it could have exacerbated the toxic effects of the Monsanto manufactured defoliant called Agent Orange, which became in widespread use during the height of the Vietnam War.

Those “experimental” vaccine adjuvants issued during Operation Desert Shield are also suspected as one of the contributors of some of the symptoms that fall into the category of Gulf War Syndrome. Adjuvants are substances that potentiate an immune response and the only adjuvant licensed for use in humans at present is alum – an aluminum salt. But during Operation Desert Shield, experimental vaccines that could protect coalition troops against Saddam Hussein’s biological arsenal contained a not yet thoroughly tested adjuvant called MF59 - a squalene containing adjuvant – which many suspect as the primary cause of the symptoms experienced by many veterans of the first Gulf War. Even the anthrax “anti-toxoid” issued during Operation Desert Shield contains the most adjuvants like aluminum hydroxide, formaldehyde and benzalkonium chloride.

Another suspected cause of Gulf War Syndrome that had gained recent reevaluation is the use of depleted uranium munitions. Due to its inherent pyrophoric and armor piercing capabilities, depleted uranium – which is nothing more that uranium-238 fashioned for ballistic use – had virtually replaced those tungsten cored magnesium and white phosphorous pyrotechnic armor-piercing incendiary rounds of a generation ago due to depleted uranium’s indefinite shelf-life. And due to its density, munitions experts suggests that depleted uranium has the ability to absorb any residual alpha particles, thus making concerns of its inherent radioactivity groundless.

But studies conducted by Dr. Asaf Durakovic on a number of 1991 Gulf War vets suffering from Gulf War Syndrome had shown that almost all of them had suffered chromosomal damage via alpha particle exposure. Thus making depleted uranium as another primary suspect of this newly uncovered syndrome. And the depleted uranium issue also recently raised concern when a March 4, 2010 broadcast of the BBC when their correspondent John Simpson was covering a story on the rise of birth defects in Fallujah. Where many blamed the use of depleted uranium-containing munitions during the infamous Battle of Fallujah back in April 2004. Did the US DoD issued depleted uranium-containing versions of the SS 109 / M-855 5.56mm X 45mm ammunition back then?

So far it seems the scientific community has found findings of Dr. Asaf Durakovic on the harmful effects of depleted uranium as the primary suspects of Gulf War Syndrome. Simply because it is transformed as an easily breathable vapor every time it does its intended function – i.e. as an armor piercing incendiary munitions. Thus explaining why how harmful levels of chromosome-damaging alpha particles could affect anyone that spent a significant amount of time in a depleted uranium strewn battlefield.