Science & Environment

[spaminator]

Mold, bugs found at Va. Boar’s Head facility tied to listeria outbreak
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Joe Heim, Rachel Roubein, Jenna Portnoy, The Washington Post
Published Aug 30, 2024 • 4 minute read

Popular Deli Meat Maker Boar Head's Recalls 7 Million Pounds Of Meat After Listeria Outbreak
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, Boar's Head has expanded its recall of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products to nearly 7 million additional pounds due to a listeria outbreak.
The Boar’s Head plant in southern Virginia at the epicenter of a deadly nationwide listeria outbreak was regularly cited for violations in the past year, including the presence of mold, mildew, insects and a “rancid smell,” according to reports by government inspectors.


The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports, reviewed by The Washington Post, show that inspectors notified managers at the plant of one or more “noncompliances” on 57 separate days between Aug. 1, 2023, and July 27, 2024. Among the issues cited were “dirty” machinery, flies in pickle containers, “heavy meat buildup” on walls, blood in puddles on the floor, and multiple instances of leaking pipes, clogged drains and heavy dust buildup in certain areas.

The USDA noncompliance citations were first reported by CBS News.

Deli meat produced at the Jarratt, Va., facility between May 10 and July 29 is now believed to be responsible for the deaths of nine people and the hospitalization of dozens of others. The company issued a recall July 29 of everything produced at the Jarratt location in that time frame. At least 7 million pounds of more than 70 products, including ham, bologna, bacon and frankfurters, are part of the recall, according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA.


It is the largest listeriosis outbreak since one in 2011 tied to cantaloupe, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. Inspections at the Jarratt facility have been suspended, according to the USDA, and the facility will remain closed “until the establishment is able to demonstrate it can produce safe product.”

A Boar’s Head spokesperson said the company is working with food safety experts to conduct an “extensive investigation” into how liverwurst – a sample of which tested positive for the outbreak strain of listeria – was produced at the Virginia facility. The company said its plant team “immediately remediated” noncompliance notifications issued by inspectors.

The USDA didn’t respond to questions about whether inspections at other plants revealed similar issues to those at the Boar’s Head facility, whether a food safety audit was previously conducted, and why operations at the plant weren’t closed sooner.


“We deeply regret the impact this recall has had on affected families. No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep hurt we feel for those who have suffered losses or endured illness,” a Boar’s Head spokesperson wrote in a statement Thursday.

The repeated violations at the Boar’s Head facility reflect a failed food safety system and raise questions about why the plant was allowed to continue operating in the same manner, said Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University.

“The first thing I thought when I read the report is ‘Where is the leadership of this establishment and where are the regulators?'” Kowalcyk said. “When you see repeated violations within days and chronically over that length of time, it suggests that their food safety system is not working as intended. Whatever corrective action is being taken is obviously not being integrated into their system.”


The USDA food safety program is responsible for regulating certain meats such as beef, chicken and pork, and inspectors are required to be on-site at every processing plant, according to Jerold Mande, who previously served in senior food safety positions at both the USDA and Food and Drug Administration.

“Most of what they’re doing is relying on their sight, smell and other things to detect problems,” Mande said. “They could be armed with tools to detect bacteria in real time, but they’re not.” But even with such tools, it’s unclear whether the recent listeria outbreak would have been caught, he added, because the bacteria continues to grow even when refrigerated.

Some food safety experts say the recent outbreak raises questions of whether the meat industry is doing enough to control the risk of listeria and whether USDA inspections are adequate.


“We have food safety regulators because we want them to take action before consumers die,” said Sarah Sorscher, the director of regulatory affairs for the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. “It shouldn’t take people dying for the plant to take food safety issues seriously; USDA is supposed to be there to ensure that that happens.”

Listeria is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States, according to the CDC. It is caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Older adults, pregnant people and those who are immunocompromised are at high risk of the illness.

Federal health officials anticipate seeing additional cases. It can take up to 10 weeks to develop symptoms – such as fever and muscle aches – and some of the products have sell-by dates into October, meaning the deli meats may still be in consumer’s refrigerators and on their sandwiches.


“We continue to monitor for a while after we’ve identified the source to make sure we’ve captured all the illnesses,” said Amanda Conrad, a CDC epidemiologist who focuses on listeria for the agency’s foodborne outbreak response team. The CDC is charged with investigating the illnesses in humans.

Even as agencies continue monitoring for additional cases, Kowalcyk said, there needs to be a follow-up investigation as to why the problem with food safety at the facility lasted as long as it did.

“Why didn’t management take action earlier? Why didn’t the regulators take action earlier?” Kowalcyk asked. “Nine people are dead. When a system fails, you should be doing a root cause analysis to find out why to prevent similar failures in the future.”

Mold, bugs found at Va. Boar’s Head facility tied to listeria outbreak

The USDA noncompliance citations were first reported by CBS News.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

It's a hoax. The Biden Department of Agriculture is lying about Boar's Head because of nefarious evilosity!

 

[spaminator]

Man sues Las Vegas hotel, claims scorpion sting to 'private area' ruined sex life
Author of the articleenette Wilford
Published Sep 02, 2024 • Last updated 10 hours ago • 2 minute read

A Las Vegas hotel guest is suing after a scorpion allegedly found its way into his bed and stung him on his testicles.


According to Michael Farchi, 62, of Agora Hills, Calif., he was staying at the Venetian Resort at the end of last year when the arachnid crawled into his bed and stung him in his privates.

The man has since filed a lawsuit, claiming he was left with post-traumatic stress disorder, emotional trauma, and a nonexistent sex life, according to KLAS.

“I can also indicate, as you saw in the complaint, we’re also making a claim for loss of consortium for Mr. Farchi’s wife,” said his lawyer, Brian Virag, alluding to the lack of intimacy between the couple since the alleged incident.

Farchi is seeking a jury trial to decide whether the hotel should compensate him for damages, pain, suffering, mental distress and loss of enjoyment of life, among other things, the outlet reported.


The Venetian Resort Las Vegas told 8newsnow.com: “The resort has protocols for all incidents, and we can confirm they were followed in this incident.”

Farchi allegedly awoke to excruciating pain in his groin while staying at the hotel on Dec. 26, 2023.

“I just felt like somebody stabbing me in my private area,” Farchi told the outlet. “It was like sharp glass or a knife.”

When he went to check it out, he discovered an orange scorpion “hanging on my underwear.”


Farchi shared photos with KLAS of the scorpion on his clothing, as well as a medical incident report he filed at the hotel that showed his suite number. Farchi wrote in the report that he was “bitten by scorpion on my groin/testicles.”

But he accused hotel employees of mocking him.


“(They were) just holding their groin area and laughing about it,” he said in an interview. “It was really embarrassing.”

Farchi was treated at Summerlin Hospital in Las Vegas and UCLA Medical Center in California, where doctors confirmed his physical injuries and noted he was suffering from erectile dysfunction after the sting, the station reported.

“Many effects on my family, my work, everything,” Farchi added.



The alleged victim previously told the outlet that he didn’t know how the scorpion got into his room, only that it was under the covers.

In the lawsuit, filed on Aug. 27, Farchi said the luxury resort and casino was already aware of an “infestation of poisonous, deadly scorpions.”

The suit noted that the hotel “owed a duty of care to Plaintiffs to provide a clean, safe, and sanitary room… that was free of vermin, bed bugs, or similar things, including scorpions.”

http://8newsnow.com/news/local-news/man-stung-in-testicles-by-scorpion-while-sleeping-at-las-vegas-strip-resort-victim-says

http://8newsnow.com/news/local-news/sex-life-ruined-claims-man-stung-in-testicles-by-scorpion-at-las-vegas-strip-resort-lawsuit

Man sues Las Vegas hotel, claims scorpion sting to 'private area' ruined sex life

A Las Vegas hotel guest is suing after a scorpion crawled into his bed and stung him on his testicles, impacting his sex life.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

For criminals in Canada, life's just breachy keen

Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Sep 03, 2024 • Last updated 8 hours ago • 3 minute read

You again!

Go on! Go home or to whichever rock you crawled out from under.


That appears to be the way Canada’s bail system works. Consequences are, of course, a dirty word and filthier idea here.

Most criminals, while they may be stupid, are wise to the ways of a system that is desperate to believe in them far more than the dead kid lying in the morgue.

And they know, once they get bail, it’s business as usual. If they get pinched again? Nothing is likely to happen.

After taking a break over the Labour Day weekend, I quickly scanned the police blotters. The majority of accused also have failure to comply attached to their names.

Take Lucais Joseph Dayton, 22, of no fixed address. Cops say he allegedly embarked on quite the rampage in Oshawa.


According to DRPS, Dayton allegedly assaulted a woman before stabbing another man and getting out of Dodge. Minor injuries for the fairer sex, but the male victim was listed in life-threatening condition in a Toronto trauma centre.


Dayton later allegedly stabbed another man, and fled the area before he was later pinched. Let’s see, we have attempted murder charges, aggravated assault, a mish-mash of other charges and … 11 counts of failure to comply with a probation order.


On Friday morning in Toronto, two bozos allegedly fired a shot into the ceiling of a west-end business. There were luckily no injuries.

Eugene Dantcheko, 39, of Vaughan, was arrested and charged with a load of firearms-related charges while his buddy Ahmed Hegazy, 23, of Clarington, was hit with firearms charges and that old chestnut, breach of probation.


Staying in the big city, cops say a 16-year-old tortured and killed several wild animals and the family cat of a community member in Riverdale. The possible serial killer in training was charged with two counts of causing unnecessary pain/suffering or injury to an animal, killing or injuring other animals.


And guess what? Failure to comply with his conditions. While the accused was not subject to a probation order after being convicted of a previous offence, he is alleged to have violated conditions imposed by a court order.

Back in the Durham Region, cops say Christopher Jackson, 30, is allegedly back in the child pornography game. Investigators executed a search warrant in July on suspicion that the resident was making and sharing the garbage.

The suspect was arrested and charged with failing to comply with the SOIRA and Christopher’s Law. Several electronic devices were seized from the residence. Of course, cops discovered a treasure trove of stomach-churning material.

In addition, there were allegedly plans to go on the road and sexually assault underage persons. There are allegations of possession, making, importing, distributing and possession for the purpose of distribution … gasp. And a lot more.


That includes five counts of breaching orders for a sexual offence conviction and eight counts of failing to comply with a probation order.

Breaching encompasses virtually every category of crime, from big-time you-should-be-locked-up-forever to penny-ante idiocy.

The Dollarama on Laval Dr. in Oshawa was where the big caper was going down, a bounty of riches certain to follow.

Cops say someone smashed the store’s front window before entering. Cops say Krisdon Morse, 35, of Oshawa, is the accused. Morse was charged with break-and-enter and … fail to comply with a probation order.

Here’s the punchline: He was released on an undertaking.

None of the above charges have been proven in court.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun

HUNTER: For criminals in Canada, life's just breachy keen

You again! Go on! Go home or whichever rock you crawled out from under.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

B.C. homeowner sues after his trees trimmed against his wishes
The Lions Bay homeowner says his trees had limbs removed to open up the views from his neighbours' house

Author of the article:Susan Lazaruk
Published Sep 03, 2024 • Last updated 21 hours ago • 2 minute read

A Lions Bay homeowner is suing neighbours who he alleges trimmed trees that were solely on his property after he wouldn’t trim them to improve their water views.


Lawrence Hislop, a photographer, is suing neighbours Kevin Tyson, a financial adviser, and Caroline Tyson, an emergency physician, according to the claim in B.C. Supreme Court.

Their two properties are adjacent on Isleview Place but separated by a city lane, according to the claim.

Hislop says Kevin Tyson has asked him in past to remove some branches of trees on his property, “which block his view of the water.” And the claim says the Tysons have listed their house for sale for $2.3 million, including as features “stunning ocean views and captivating sunsets.”

Hislop said the trees are solely on his property and branches don’t overhang on to the Tyson property.

He also said in the claim that aside from one time in the past, he has never agreed to trim the trees on his property.


And “at no time … (did he) allow or consent” to the Tysons entering his property and altering the trees, it said.

In March, his neighbours, or someone working for them, “deliberately trespassed on to the property and limbed a number of trees,” causing “permanent” damage to the trees, leaving lumber behind and damaging his fence, said Hislop in the claim.

He said it’s going to cost him to repair the fence and to replace the damaged trees with “new trees of the previous height, maturity and appearance.”

Hislop said his loss and damage includes the loss of amenity, privacy and quiet enjoyment of his property, reduction in property vales and costs of reforestation and debris removal.

He is seeking unspecified damages and a permanent injunction to prevent the Tysons from entering his property. And he is asking the court to order his neighbours to provide to Hislop any increase in value of their property between March 2024 and the date of the trial, the claim said.

Messages requesting comment were left with Hislop, and the Tysons couldn’t be found. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

slazaruk@postmedia.com

B.C. homeowner sues after his trees trimmed against his wishes

He alleges his neighbours trimmed trees that were solely on his property after he wouldn’t trim them to improve their water views. Read on.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Canadian researchers find signs of awareness in comatose patient, study says
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Nicole Ireland
Published Sep 04, 2024 • 2 minute read

Researchers in London, Ont., say they were able to detect awareness in a comatose patient with a brain injury — a finding that could significantly impact patient care.


Karnig Kazazian, a research associate at Lawson Health Research Institute and the London Health Sciences Centre, says a neuroimaging technique was used to shine a light into three patients’ brains to find activity in response to different commands.

The patients had already been deemed clinically unresponsive, meaning they had not reacted when asked to give a thumbs up, wiggle their toes or open and close their eyes.

But Kazazian says one of the patients showed significant neurological activity in the correct part of the brain when they were asked to imagine playing tennis.

He says the finding, published recently in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, builds on previous research that suggests 15 per cent of comatose patients have some cognitive awareness even if they appear unresponsive.


Kazazian says the technology should be made available to intensive care units across the country, as it could help doctors and family members make decisions about whether to continue aggressive care if the patient shows signs of awareness.

“By showing that some patients might still be ‘in there’ despite behaviourally showing no signs, you can imagine that this would really greatly influence that decision of whether or not you stay on life support or transition to passing away peacefully,” said Kazazian, who was co-lead author of the study.

The researchers also saw activity in the part of the patient’s brain responsible for processing auditory information when they played “complex stories.”

But the task of imagining playing a game of tennis — a test the researchers repeated five times — was the most telling sign of awareness, Kazazian said.


It triggered activity in the patient’s premotor cortex — the part of the brain that imagines movement.

“Previous work from our group has shown that you have to be conscious in order to imagine playing tennis. You have to be ‘in there’ because that’s not something that you just automatically do without any awareness,” Kazazian said.

In a less robust response, another unresponsive patient appeared to have the ability to passively perceive speech, the study found. A third patient showed no response to any of the task commands.

The light technology, called functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), shines light into the brain.

“More light absorption means more brain activity,” he said.

Before using fNIRS on the three comatose patients, the researchers tested it on more than 100 healthy participants to determine what tasks and commands were most effective at eliciting brain activity.

More research is needed with more patients to determine whether or not the brain activity detected is associated with a patient’s prognosis, Kazazian said.

His research group is in the midst of doing that with ICU patients whose families give consent.

The team will also study whether or not the fNIRS technology can be used to communicate with patients while they are comatose, Kazazian said.

Canadian researchers find signs of awareness in comatose patient, study says

Researchers in London, Ont., say they were able to detect awareness in a comatose patient with a brain injury.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Diet, demographics behind late-summer wasp outbreak on Prairies
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Bob Weber
Published Sep 04, 2024 • 3 minute read

EDMONTON — Audric Moses has seen a few late-summer wasp outbreaks around his Edmonton home over the past seven years, but nothing like what he saw last week.


“My wife said, ‘Hey, come on out here. You need to see this,”‘ he said.

“There were apples in the tree that were completely covered in wasps, inside and outside of the apples. They were just eating their way into the centre, leaving a hollow skin of an apple behind.

“The population of wasps just seems to have exploded in the last week.”

Late summer is often wasp time on the Prairies, as the little stingers go through their natural cycle. But this season seems a bit more yellow-and-black than normal.

“I’ve been hearing a lot from southern and central Alberta that it seems like it’s big wasp season,” said University of Alberta entomologist Maya Evenden.

It’s the same to the east, said her colleague Sarah Wood at the University of Saskatchewan.


“I do hear from people who are getting stung in their backyards,” she said. “Populations may be higher this year than average.”

Many would agree.

On Friday, kindergarten to Grade 9 students at Edmonton’s Shauna May Seneca School were kept indoors for recess because there were too many wasps in the schoolyard. Restaurant servers in the city have also been warning prospective patio-sitters that they may have fellow diners in yellow jackets.

The City of Edmonton says its pest management team has removed 374 wasp nests so far this year and is in the process of removing more. Last year, it got rid of 121.

While there may be a bit more buzz to this summer’s wasp season, there’s nothing new about the reasons for it. Wasp demographics and food supplies create the same effect every year.


Firstly, said Evenden, wasp colonies have had all summer to nurture their eggs and bring larvae to adulthood. By now, there’s a whole new generation of grown-up wasps thirsty for a sip of the wine in your glass.

“They’ve had that season to build up their colony size,” Evenden said. “There’s more of them from each colony.”

Evenden added that unusually hot weather across the Prairies in July may have quickened the growth of the larvae and helped more of them survive.

As well, late summer is when wasp diets shift. Earlier in the summer, wasps are able to feed their young without too much trouble _ a balanced diet of flower pollen and the larvae and young of other insects.

But by this point in the season, those prey insects have all grown up and flowers aren’t quite as abundant.


“There’s less nectar available in the environment,” said Wood.

“They need to look for other resources. That’s why they’re after human food as well as honeybees’ food. There’s just less to go around.”

That relative scarcity has another effect that does not go unnoticed.

“They seem a little bit more aggressive,” said Evenden.

Evenden said people should look more kindly on wasps. They’re important plant pollinators and play significant ecosystem roles, even in suburban backyards.

“People give them a bad rap,” she said.

But Moses wishes they’d play that role somewhere else. A wasp trap he set out in his backyard was full of dead bugs in a day.

“All of the liquid bait was gone,” he said. “It was just wasp bodies.

“It was dangerous. We couldn’t go into some parts of our yard.”

The outbreak in his yard may be abating, a little. The next wasp trap took two days to fill.

As the fall weather cools, wasps stop laying eggs and slow down. Eventually, all the wasps in the colony die, except for a few fertilized females that hunker down for the winter to wait for spring.

Then they can begin rebuilding the colony and start the whole cycle over again.

Diet, demographics behind late-summer wasp outbreak on Prairies

Audric Moses has seen a few outbreaks around his Edmonton home over the past 7 years, but nothing like what he saw last week.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Diet, demographics behind late-summer wasp outbreak on Prairies
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Bob Weber
Published Sep 04, 2024 • 3 minute read

EDMONTON — Audric Moses has seen a few late-summer wasp outbreaks around his Edmonton home over the past seven years, but nothing like what he saw last week.


“My wife said, ‘Hey, come on out here. You need to see this,”‘ he said.

“There were apples in the tree that were completely covered in wasps, inside and outside of the apples. They were just eating their way into the centre, leaving a hollow skin of an apple behind.

“The population of wasps just seems to have exploded in the last week.”

Late summer is often wasp time on the Prairies, as the little stingers go through their natural cycle. But this season seems a bit more yellow-and-black than normal.

“I’ve been hearing a lot from southern and central Alberta that it seems like it’s big wasp season,” said University of Alberta entomologist Maya Evenden.

It’s the same to the east, said her colleague Sarah Wood at the University of Saskatchewan.


“I do hear from people who are getting stung in their backyards,” she said. “Populations may be higher this year than average.”

Many would agree.

On Friday, kindergarten to Grade 9 students at Edmonton’s Shauna May Seneca School were kept indoors for recess because there were too many wasps in the schoolyard. Restaurant servers in the city have also been warning prospective patio-sitters that they may have fellow diners in yellow jackets.

The City of Edmonton says its pest management team has removed 374 wasp nests so far this year and is in the process of removing more. Last year, it got rid of 121.

While there may be a bit more buzz to this summer’s wasp season, there’s nothing new about the reasons for it. Wasp demographics and food supplies create the same effect every year.


Firstly, said Evenden, wasp colonies have had all summer to nurture their eggs and bring larvae to adulthood. By now, there’s a whole new generation of grown-up wasps thirsty for a sip of the wine in your glass.

“They’ve had that season to build up their colony size,” Evenden said. “There’s more of them from each colony.”

Evenden added that unusually hot weather across the Prairies in July may have quickened the growth of the larvae and helped more of them survive.

As well, late summer is when wasp diets shift. Earlier in the summer, wasps are able to feed their young without too much trouble _ a balanced diet of flower pollen and the larvae and young of other insects.

But by this point in the season, those prey insects have all grown up and flowers aren’t quite as abundant.


“There’s less nectar available in the environment,” said Wood.

“They need to look for other resources. That’s why they’re after human food as well as honeybees’ food. There’s just less to go around.”

That relative scarcity has another effect that does not go unnoticed.

“They seem a little bit more aggressive,” said Evenden.

Evenden said people should look more kindly on wasps. They’re important plant pollinators and play significant ecosystem roles, even in suburban backyards.

“People give them a bad rap,” she said.

But Moses wishes they’d play that role somewhere else. A wasp trap he set out in his backyard was full of dead bugs in a day.

“All of the liquid bait was gone,” he said. “It was just wasp bodies.

“It was dangerous. We couldn’t go into some parts of our yard.”

The outbreak in his yard may be abating, a little. The next wasp trap took two days to fill.

As the fall weather cools, wasps stop laying eggs and slow down. Eventually, all the wasps in the colony die, except for a few fertilized females that hunker down for the winter to wait for spring.

Then they can begin rebuilding the colony and start the whole cycle over again.

Diet, demographics behind late-summer wasp outbreak on Prairies

Audric Moses has seen a few outbreaks around his Edmonton home over the past 7 years, but nothing like what he saw last week.

torontosun.com

locally the wasps are wasping.

 

[spaminator]

World pumps out 57 million tons of plastic pollution yearly and most comes in Global South
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Seth Borenstein
Published Sep 04, 2024 • 4 minute read

An aerial photograph shows plastic waste gathered from garbage dumps for recycling, at a scrapyard on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Sept. 2, 2024.
An aerial photograph shows plastic waste gathered from garbage dumps for recycling, at a scrapyard on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Sept. 2, 2024. Photo by IDREES MOHAMMED /GETTY IMAGES
The world creates 57 million tons of plastic pollution every year and spreads it from the deepest oceans to the highest mountaintop to the inside of people’s bodies, according to a new study that also said more than two-thirds of it comes from the Global South.


It’s enough pollution each year to fill New York City’s Central Park with plastic waste as high as the Empire State Building, according to researchers at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. They examined waste produced on the local level at more than 50,000 cities and towns across the world for a study in Wednesday’s journal Nature.

The study examined plastic that goes into the open environment, not plastic that goes into landfills or is properly burned. For 15% of the world’s population, government fails to collect and dispose of waste, the study’s authors said — a big reason Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa produce the most plastic waste. That includes 255 million people in India, the study said.


Lagos, Nigeria, emitted the most plastic pollution of any city, according to study author Costas Velis, a Leeds environmental engineering professor. The other biggest plastic polluting cities are New Delhi; Luanda, Angola; Karachi, Pakistan and Al Qahirah, Egypt.

India leads the world in generating plastic waste, producing 10.2 million tons a year (9.3 million metric tons), far more than double the next big-polluting nations, Nigeria and Indonesia. China, often villainized for pollution, ranks fourth but is making tremendous strides in reducing waste, Velis said. Other top plastic polluters are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia and Brazil. Those eight nations are responsible for more than half of the globe’s plastic pollution, according to the study’s data.


The United States ranks 90th in plastic pollution with more than 52,500 tons (47,600 metric tons) and the United Kingdom ranks 135th with nearly 5,100 tons (4,600 metric tons), according to the study.

In 2022, most of the world’s nations agreed to make the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution, including in the oceans. Final treaty negotiations take place in South Korea in November.

The study used artificial intelligence to concentrate on plastics that were improperly burned — about 57% of the pollution — or just dumped. In both cases incredibly tiny microplastics, or nanoplastics, are what turn the problem from a visual annoyance at beaches and a marine life problem to a human health threat, Velis said.


Several studies this year have looked at how prevalent microplastics are in our drinking water and in people’s tissue, such as hearts, brains and testicles, with doctors and scientists still not quite sure what it means in terms of human health threats.

‘BIG TIME BOMB’
“The big time bomb of microplastics are these microplastics released in the Global South mainly,” Velis said. “We already have a huge dispersal problem. They are in the most remote places … the peaks of Everest, in the Mariana Trench in the ocean, in what we breathe and what we eat and what we drink.”

He called it “everybody’s problem” and one that will haunt future generations.

“We shouldn’t put the blame, any blame, on the Global South,” Velis said. “And we shouldn’t praise ourselves about what we do in the Global North in any way.”


It’s just a lack of resources and ability of government to provide the necessary services to citizens, Velis said.

Outside experts worried that the study’s focus on pollution, rather than overall production, lets the plastics industry off the hook. Making plastics emits large amounts of greenhouse gas that contribute to climate change.

“These guys have defined plastic pollution in a much narrower way, as really just macroplastics that are emitted into the environment after the consumer, and it risks us losing our focus on the upstream and saying, hey now all we need to do is manage the waste better,” said Neil Tangri, senior director of science and policy at GAIA, a global network of advocacy organizations working on zero waste and environmental justice initiatives. “It’s necessary but it’s not the whole story.”


Theresa Karlsson, science and technical advisor to International Pollutants Elimination Network, another coalition of advocacy groups on environment, health and waste issues, called the volume of pollution identified by the study “alarming” and said it shows the amount of plastics being produced today is “unmanageable.”

But she said the study misses the significance of the global trade in plastic waste that has rich countries sending it to poor ones. The study said plastic waste trade is decreasing, with China banning waste imports. But Karlsson said overall waste trade is actually increasing and likely plastics with it. She cited EU waste exports going from 110,000 tons (100,000 metric tons) in 2004 to 1.4 million tons (1.3 million metric tons) in 2021.


Velis said the amount of plastic waste traded is small. Kara Lavender Law, an oceanography professor at the Sea Education Association who wasn’t involved in the study, agreed, based on U.S. plastic waste trends. She said this was otherwise one of the more comprehensive studies on plastic waste.

Officials in the plastics industry praised the study.

“This study underscores that uncollected and unmanaged plastic waste is the largest contributor to plastic pollution and that prioritizing adequate waste management is critical to ending plastic pollution,” Chris Jahn, council secretary of the International Council on Chemical Associations, said in a statement. In treaty negotiations, the industry opposes a cap on plastic production.

The United Nations projects that plastics production is likely to rise from about 440 million tons (400 million metric tons) a year to more than 1,200 million tons (1,100 million metric tons, saying “our planet is choking in plastic.”

World pumps out 57 million tons of plastic pollution yearly and most comes in Global South

The world creates 57 million tons of plastic pollution every year.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Parkinson's may begin in the gut, study says, adding to growing evidence
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Meeri Kim
Published Sep 05, 2024 • 5 minute read

A new study suggests Parkinson's disease may begin in the gut and not the brain.
A new study suggests Parkinson's disease may begin in the gut and not the brain.
A new study adds to a growing body of evidence that Parkinson’s disease, long believed to have its origins in the brain, may begin in the gut.


Gastrointestinal problems are common in patients with neurodegenerative disorders, to the point where a condition known as “institutional colon” was once thought to afflict those who lived in mental health institutions. In Parkinson’s disease, the entire gastrointestinal tract is affected, causing complications such as constipation, drooling, trouble swallowing and delayed emptying of the stomach. These symptoms often appear up to two decades before motor symptoms such as rigidity or tremor.

“People have, for the longest time, described Parkinson’s disease as a top-down disease — so, it starts in the brain and then percolates down to the gut, and that’s why patients have issues with their gastrointestinal tract,” said study author Subhash Kulkarni, an assistant professor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “Another hypothesis suggests that, in many patients, it may be a bottom-up approach, where it starts in the gut and goes all the way up to the brain.”


Kulkarni and his colleagues found that people with upper gastrointestinal conditions — in particular, ulcers or other types of damage to the lining of the esophagus, stomach, or upper part of the small intestine — were far more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease later in life. The study was published online Thursday in JAMA Network Open.

Trisha Pasricha, the senior author of the study, is the Ask a Doctor columnist for The Washington Post. She was not involved in the reporting of this article.

Mucosal damage is a risk factor for Parkinson’s
The analysis involved 9,350 patients with no history of Parkinson’s and who had had an upper endoscopy with biopsy between 2000 and 2005. Most were between the ages of 50 and 64 at the time of the procedure.


Mucosal damage — an erosion, break, or sore in the mucous lining of the gastrointestinal tract — was associated with a 76% greater risk of developing Parkinson’s disease during the follow-up period, an average of 14.9 years for the whole cohort. Specifically, mucosal damage was defined as the presence of erosions, esophagitis, ulcer, or peptic injury on upper endoscopy or pathology reports.


Perhaps most notably, patients in the study suffered from their gastrointestinal issues long before discovering they had Parkinson’s, most probably because they began experiencing motor symptoms. The average lead-time between the first detection of mucosal damage and an eventual diagnosis of Parkinson’s was 14.2 years.


“We absolutely need to keep an eye on these patients who have a history of mucosal damage on their endoscopy,” said Delaram Safarpour, an associate professor of neurology at Oregon Health & Science University, who was not involved in the research. “Early detection of Parkinson’s disease means we can treat these patients in a subclinical stage before they’ve presented with motor symptoms.”

Study supports ‘gut-first’ hypothesis
The results appear to support the “gut-first” hypothesis, proposed in 2003 by German anatomist Heiko Braak after several autopsy studies. As opposed to the “brain-first” hypothesis, it states that Parkinson’s begins as misfolded proteins in the nerves of the gastrointestinal tract.


When the gut-first hypothesis “first came out, there was a lot of skepticism in the field,” said Ted M. Dawson, Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Professor in Neurodegenerative Diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. “But the evidence has been accumulating, and this study is another step in the stairway to acceptance that the gut is a major pathway by which Parkinson’s can occur.”

Normally, proteins fold into an ordered three-dimensional structure to become biologically functional. Misfolded proteins fail to achieve this form and can cause neighbouring proteins to misfold, leading to large, toxic aggregates that disrupt the function of cells, tissues and organs in the body. For example, Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by aggregates of amyloid-beta protein in the brain that form harmful plaques.


A neuronal protein called alpha-synuclein is the culprit in Parkinson’s disease, and a diagnosis is typically confirmed by the discovery of alpha-synuclein pathology in the post-mortem brain. Several studies suggest that misfolded alpha-synuclein can spread from the gastrointestinal tract to the brain via the vagus nerve, a neural superhighway that connects the two.

For example, people with their vagus nerve cut — a last-resort treatment for peptic ulcer disease — have a lower likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease. Autopsy studies, including Braak’s own experiments, have found aggregations of alpha-synuclein in the stomach and lower esophagus of Parkinson’s patients, but not in controls. And studies in mice show that misfolded alpha-synuclein injected into the gut does travel to the brain, leading to Parkinson’s-like motor symptoms and cognitive decline. Severing the vagus nerve completely protects the mice against such effects.


Rise in number of Parkinson’s cases
Globally, the number of people with Parkinson’s disease has doubled in the past 25 years, with some experts referring to this exponential surge as a “Parkinson pandemic.” Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological disorder worldwide, even surpassing Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study, which pooled health outcomes data from 195 countries.

Much of the increase is because of an aging population, but the rise in incidence persists after adjusting for age-related factors. Only about 10% of cases can be traced to genetics, with the vast majority labeled as “sporadic” — without a known cause. Solving the mystery of why some people develop Parkinson’s and others don’t could lead to options for early detection, treatment, and hopefully one day, prevention.


The current findings suggest that damage to the lining of the gut could possibly be an inciting event that triggers the initial misfolding.

“It can be hypothesized that a destruction or rupture of the mucosal membranes leads to an aberrant deposition of alpha synuclein in the mucosal tissue,” Kulkarni said. “The damage to the mucosa is not allowing normal housekeeping functions to occur, and accumulation of alpha-synuclein always causes it to misfold.”

In future work, Kulkarni and his colleagues plan to investigate the cellular and molecular changes that occur with mucosal damage and its effects on alpha-synuclein in the gut. Until then, experts recommend heightening monitoring of patients with mucosal damage and the timely treatment of conditions that may lead to mucosal damage, such as peptic ulcer disease, esophagitis and H. pylori infection.


“If we treat these patients appropriately, and the follow-up shows that the mucosal damage has been improved, is that enough to prevent future risk of Parkinson’s disease or not?” Safarpour said. “I think that’s an important point that needs to be studied.”

“There is reason for caution, but there is no reason for panic. We are not saying that every person who has mucosal damage is going to develop Parkinson’s,” Kulkarni said. “There is an association and increased risk, and we have to figure out what are the mechanisms by which we can decrease the risk in these patient populations.”

Parkinson's may begin in the gut, study says, adding to growing evidence

A new study adds to growing body of evidence that Parkinson's disease, long believed to have its origins in the brain, may begin in the gut.

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Why are so many dead fish washing ashore at Lake Erie beaches?
Beaches at Port Bruce and Port Stanley were littered with dead fish because of what one expert says is likely a natural cause

Author of the article:Heather Rivers
Published Sep 03, 2024 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 3 minute read

Visitors to Lake Erie beaches have been puzzled by a flood of dead fish – particularly sheepshead, also known as freshwater drum – with thousands washing ashore in areas near Port Bruce and Port Stanley.


“The entire beach was littered with dead sheepshead,” on Monday, a Facebook user posted to the Port Stanley Bulletin page after she had been for beach walk in Port Bruce, located 50 kilometres southeast of London.

Sheepshead are a humpbacked freshwater fish which are bottom feeders and considered a nuisance fish by anglers, according to Nature Conservancy Canada.

Commenters on Disbrowe’s post said the phenomenon also was visible in Port Stanley during the past week where hundreds of dead sheepshead were seen, as well as perch and birds along the bluffs and shorelines.

“At the shore about every metre there was a big healthy looking sheepshead,” said another online poster on the Port Stanley Bulletin. “It was the whole length of the beach.”


The deaths have not just been limited to the north side of the lake. Hundreds of freshwater drum also were being found dead on the coastline near Erie, Penn., in mid-August, according to U.S. journal Erie Times-News.

Before they perished, the fish, it reported, were “doing a sidestroke and unable to right themselves.”

U.S. park workers gathered up the dead fish using pitch forks so beaches still could be used.

Earlier this year, a weather watcher who monitors severe storms on Lake Erie sounded the alarm about what he said was shaping up to be a potentially destructive year ahead on the lake.

Lake Erie is the southernmost and shallowest of all the Great Lakes.

Rick O’Banion, who tweets as Storm Watch-Lake Erie on X, said he was worried the lack of ice on the lake last winter, combined with global weather patterns, could lead to massive fish die-offs, among other things.


But that may not be what is happening.

Michael McKay, executive director of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor, said the die-off is “something frequently related to thermal stress” or what is known as an upwelling in hypoxic areas.

Hypoxic zones are a deep area of the lake “with very little dissolved oxygen,” according to the U.S. research foundation known as Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.

During an extreme upwelling event, the lower layer of water – which is typically cooler than the water above it – is forced close to the shoreline by a wind pushing surface water away from the shore.


Ann Marie Gorman, a fisheries biology supervisor at the Fairport Fisheries Research Station in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, said the Canadian event “absolutely sounds like it is from an upwelling.


“Freshwater drum tend to be the most common species that we see impacted lately,” she said.

“Essentially it suffocated the fish that were not able to avoid it,” Gorman said.

“Fish kills due to hypoxic upwelling events usually occur every few years, but the conditions that lead to these kills are present every summer,” she said.

An upwelling event is usually accompanied by a strong odour of decay from the decomposing carcasses on the shoreline, Gorman said.

“Hungry wildlife in the forms of scavengers . . . will help clean up the dead or dying fish, so natural events like these make some wildlife very happy,” she said.

According to the Journal of Great Lakes Research, globally the number of marine hypoxic zones has doubled each decade since the 1960s.

In 2018, they numbered more than 400, it said.

hrviers@postmedia.com

@HeatheratLFP

Why are so many dead fish washing ashore at Lake Erie beaches?

Beaches at Port Bruce and Port Stanley were littered with dead fish because of what one expert says is likely a natural cause

torontosun.com

 

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Parks Canada spends 4 years, $10,000 to kill one frog
Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Published Sep 05, 2024 • 2 minute read

OTTAWA — It’s a story that’s making government watchdog groups hopping mad.


Just months after documents uncovered details of Parks Canada’s multi-million deer cull in the B.C. coastal islands, newly-released documents reveal the government agency spent four years and $10,000 just to kill one bullfrog.

Uncovered Thursday by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the documents outlined a costly initiative to eliminate invasive American Bullfrog populations in Gulf Island National Park on the southern coast of British Columbia — which only managed to cull a total of one frog.

“Parks Canada is horrible at hunting, but they sure seem great at wasting our money trying,” said the federation’s B.C. Director Carson Binda.

According to the documents, Parks Canada spent $1,920 in the 2018-19 fiscal year on the hunt, of which the bullfrog population emerged unscathed.


That was followed by a $2,000 effort the following years, which likewise resulted in removing zero frogs from the park.

After a brief pandemic-related hiatus, the Parks Canada bullfrog hunters were once again on the prowl, spending $2,207 to kill precisely no frogs.

But it wasn’t until 2022-23 that the program started to bear results, spending $3,882 to eliminate a single frog from the island.


Clearly catching their stride, the program managed to kill 100 of the frogs in the 2023-24 fiscal year, at a cost of $5,079.

In all, it cost Parks Canada $15,088 to croak 101 frogs — and a little over $10,000 and four years to garner the program’s first kill.

According to the Invasive Species Council of B.C., the American Bullfrog is an invasive species in the province, their native habitats consisting of wetlands in eastern North America.


Initially introduced to support a frog leg farming industry, the aquatic amphibians escaped and established large populations throughout B.C.’s lower mainland, Vancouver Island and the Kootenays.

Growing upwards of 20 centimetres in length, the frogs have an appetite to match their body — eating anything capable of fitting inside its large mouth, including native frogs, small turtles, rodents and even garter snakes.



Earlier this year, it was revealed that Parks Canada paid $12 million to hire foreign sharpshooters to cull an invasive herd of European fallow deer from Sidney Island on the B.C. coast, which only managed to kill 84 deer last year.

That’s nearly double the initial estimates, and ignores efforts by local hunters — who managed to harvest 2,000 of the animals at no cost to taxpayers.

“If this was a one-off, if them spending $10,000 to kill one frog was the only wildly-unsuccessful cull that they’ve managed, that would be one thing,” Binda said.

“But the Sidney Island deer cull is another great example of Parks Canada wasting a ton of taxpayer money for really dodgy results.”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume

CROAK TO BROKE: Parks Canada spends 4 years, $10,000 to kill one frog

Efforts to eradicate invasive bullfrogs in Gulf Island National Park are adding up, with few dead amphibians to show for it.

torontosun.com

 

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Rare but deadly mosquito disease has New England hotspots warning against going out at night
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Lisa Rathke
Published Sep 05, 2024 • 2 minute read

A rare but deadly mosquito-spread disease is posing a serious threat in parts of New England, health officials warn, prompting the cancellation of some events and changes to sports schedules to avoid bites by infected bugs.


Eastern equine encephalitis, which can cause symptoms including vomiting and seizures, infected a New Hampshire resident who later died, health officials reported last week. With two human cases reported in Massachusetts and one in Vermont this summer, officials are making changes to bring people inside before dusk, when mosquitos are most active.

Oktoberfest was canceled in Burlington, Vermont’s largest city, and schools in some New England schools are scheduling sports practices around peak mosquito hours.

Although rare, eastern equine encephalitis is very serious and about 30% of people who become infected die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Survivors can suffer lifelong mental and physical disabilities. People over 50 years old and under 15 seem to be at greatest risk for severe illness, according to the CDC.


“Vermont data, and current virus activity around New England, shows we need to take the threat of EEE very seriously,” Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont’s health commissioner, said in a statement last week.

In Vermont, much higher numbers of mosquitos are testing positive for the virus than in past years, and residents in high-risk communities are being told to avoid the outdoors at night until the first hard frost kills mosquitoes, the health department said.

A weekly outdoor evening festival with live music, food and drinks at Burlington’s Intervale was also canceled last week and Thursday night “for the safety of our staff and our community,” organizers said.

In Massachusetts, the town of Plymouth is closing its parks and fields each evening and at least four other towns are urging people to avoid going outdoors at night. In a 2019 outbreak in Massachusetts, six people died among 12 confirmed cases. The outbreak continued the following year with five more cases and another death.

There are no vaccines or treatment for the disease. Only a few cases are reported in the U.S. each year, with most infections found in the eastern and Gulf Coast states, according to the CDC.

Rare but deadly mosquito disease has New England hotspots warning against going out at night

A rare but deadly mosquito-spread disease is posing a serious threat in parts of New England, health officials warn.

torontosun.com

 

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Battery-powered devices are overheating more often on planes and raising alarm
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
David Koenig
Published Sep 09, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 2 minute read

Devices powered by lithium-ion batteries are overheating more often during airline flights and passengers often put them in checked bags that go into the cargo hold, where a fire might not be detected as quickly.


Overheating incidents rose 28% from 2019 to 2023, although such events remain relatively rare, UL Standards & Engagement said in a report released Monday.

E-cigarettes overheated more often than any other device, according to the report.

In 60% of the cases, the overheating — called thermal runaway _ happened near the seat of the passenger who brought the device on board.

In July, a smoking laptop in a passenger’s bag led to the evacuation of a plane awaiting takeoff at San Francisco International Airport. Last year, a flight from Dallas to Orlando, Florida, made an emergency landing in Jacksonville, Florida, after a battery caught fire in an overhead bin.

More than one-quarter of passengers surveyed for the study said they put vaping cigarettes and portable chargers in checked bags. That is against federal rules.


The Transportation Security Administration prohibits e-cigarettes and chargers and power banks with lithium-ion batteries in checked bags but allows them in carry-on bags. The rule exists precisely because fires in the cargo hold might be harder to detect and extinguish.

UL Standards & Engagement, part of a safety-science company once known as Underwriters Laboratories, said it based its findings on data from 35 passenger and cargo airlines including nine of the 10 leading U.S. passenger carriers.


The Federal Aviation Administration reports 37 thermal-runaway incidents on planes this year, through Aug. 15. There were 77 reports last year, a 71% increase over 2019, according to the FAA numbers.


Considering that airlines operate about 180,000 U.S. flights each week, incidents in the air are relatively uncommon, and lithium batteries can overheat anywhere.

“We also know that one of these thermal-runaway incidents at 40,000 feet does present unique risks,” said UL’s David Wroth.

Those risks have been known for many years.

After cargo planes carrying loads of lithium-ion batteries crashed in 2010 and 2011, the United Nations’ aviation organization considered restricting such shipments but rejected tougher standards. Opponents, including airlines, argued that the decision on whether to accept battery shipments should be left up to the carriers, and some no longer take bulk battery shipments.

The most common lithium-ion-powered devices on planes are phones, laptops, wireless headphones and tablets. About 35% of reported overheating incidents involved e-cigarettes, and 16% involved power banks.

Battery-powered devices are overheating more often on planes and raising alarm

Devices powered by lithium-ion batteries are overheating more often during airline flights

torontosun.com

 

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'Big freezes, heavy snowfall' for Ontario this winter
Author of the article:Jane Stevenson
Published Sep 10, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read

Will Canada be Ice Station Zebra this coming winter?


Depends on where you live.

According to the 2025 Old Farmers’ Almanac Canadian Edition, there will be below-average snowfall for most of Canada this winter, with the middle of the country, including Ontario, being the exception.

The forecast says “a more moderate winter is on deck after a sweltering summer, calling for mild temperatures and below-average snowfall in many parts of Canada except for in Ontario.”

“Temperate is on tap for most of the country this winter, but let it snow in Ontario!,” said Carol Connare, the Almanac’s editor, in a statement.

“A winter of big freezes and heavy snowfall will be centered in Ontario and eastern Manitoba, while most of the rest of the country will get a reprieve from snow-shoveling and super-cold temperatures.”

Before that when autumn begins on Sept. 22, the Almanac says Canada can expect near-to-below-normal precipitation across the Maritimes, southwestern Ontario, southern British Columbia, Yukon, and Northwest Territories.

However, the Almanac says above-normal precipitation is likely for much of the area for southern Quebec, southeastern Ontario and the Prairies.

Farmers' Almanac forecast: 'Big freezes, heavy snowfall' for Ontario this winter

According to the Farmers' Almanac, there will be below-average snowfall in Canada this winter except for Ontario and Manitoba.

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More than 1 million Ontarians visited food bank in last year: Feed Ontario
Author of the article:Jane Stevenson
Published Sep 10, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

According to Feed Ontario data, more than one million people in Ontario visited a food bank in the last year.


The organization also shared that food banks in the province were visited 7.6 million times throughout the year. That’s a 134% increase from 2019-2020 and marks the eighth consecutive year of growth.

“When we released record-breaking data last year, we thought that was the high-water mark,” said Carolyn Stewart, CEO of Feed Ontario, in a news release. “But food bank use has only continued to climb as more Ontarians find themselves struggling to make ends meet. When will our governments say enough is enough and take meaningful action against food insecurity and poverty?”

The data shows 1,001,150 unique individuals visited a food bank between April 1 2023 and March 31, 2024, a 25% increase over 2022-2023.

It also shows food banks were visited 7,689,580 times between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, an increase of 31% over 2022-2023.


Feed Ontario blames food insecurity on the rapid increase in the cost of living and economic vulnerability pointing to the erosion of social support programs, inadequate affordable housing, and uncertain work growth.



“Food banks cannot keep up with the unprecedented need they’re seeing,” Stewart said. “Across the province, we are hearing reports of long lines, empty shelves, and a growing concern that some food banks may have to close their doors.”

Feed Ontario says 69% of food banks in their network are concerned about not having enough food for those in need and 53% worry about having enough funding to meet the demands of their area.

“Food banks were only ever designed to be a temporary measure,” Stewart said. “They were never meant to patch holes left in our weak social safety nets. We need to act now.”

The organization is calling on the provincial government to develop a more robust poverty reduction strategy.

More than 1 million Ontarians visited food bank in last year: Feed Ontario

According to Feed Ontario data, over one million people in Ontario visited a food bank in the last year.

torontosun.com

 

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Flu shots to become available to all Ontarians by late October
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Sep 10, 2024 • 1 minute read

Ontario has announced that flu shots will be available in a few weeks for the most vulnerable people, including long-term care home residents, and at the end of October for the general public.
Ontario has announced that flu shots will be available in a few weeks for the most vulnerable people, including long-term care home residents, and at the end of October for the general public.
Ontario has announced that flu shots will be available in a few weeks for the most vulnerable people, including long-term care home residents, and at the end of October for the general public.


The Ministry of Health says it is safe and convenient to receive a COVID-19 shot and the flu shot at the same time, and shipments of the updated COVID vaccine should arrive in Ontario by early October.

That’s around the same time flu shots are expected to become available for residents and staff in long-term care homes, hospitalized people and hospital staff, followed by people in retirement homes, other congregate settings and people 65 years and older.



The ministry says free flu shots for the general public will be available starting Oct. 28 at primary care offices, participating pharmacies and some public health units.

Respiratory syncytial virus vaccines should also become available in October, free of charge for eligible people, including infants, high-risk children up to 24 months old, and residents of long-term care homes and retirement homes.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore says it is important to stay up to date on vaccinations, noting a recent rise in cases of whooping cough.

Flu shots to become available to all Ontarians by late October

Ontario announced flu shots will be available in a few weeks for the most vulnerable people and the end of October for the general public.

torontosun.com

 

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Most of Canada predicted to have warmer-than-normal fall: Weather Network
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Rianna Lim
Published Sep 11, 2024 • 2 minute read

Don’t put away your summer wardrobe just yet — The Weather Network says most Canadians are in for a warm fall.


The network predicts that the majority of Canadians will see a slow transition into autumn as temperatures in most regions are expected to be above normal in the coming weeks.

“We’re not going to have a big plunge off a cliff and get too cold anytime soon,” Chris Scott, The Weather Network’s chief meteorologist, said in an interview. “It looks like the early and middle parts of fall are going to be pretty nice for most of the country.”

Scott said Ontario and Quebec are expected to see more warm and dry days than usual persisting into October, with some chances of thunderstorms and winds from the northwest.

“It’s a pretty good-looking fall, but you have to be aware that there’s probably going to be a couple significant fall storms in there,” he said.


He pointed to this past summer, when remnants of Hurricane Beryl soaked parts of the two provinces.

“The wild card here is going to be watching the tropics,” said Scott.

Canadians in the Prairies can also expect to enjoy warmth in the fall, with the temperature outlook for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta above the norm.

Those provinces are predicted to see near-normal precipitation with some exceptions, the network said. Eastern Manitoba may see less rainfall than usual, and north and southwest Alberta may see elevated levels.

Scott said while many parts of the country are likely to see warm weather this fall, including eastern British Columbia, coastal areas in that province will likely have temperatures that are closer to normal.


“Coastal B.C. will not share in that heat in the next couple of weeks,” said Scott, adding that the south coast and southern interior of the province are expected to have more precipitation than usual.

Atlantic Canada should mostly see above-normal temperatures, and near- or above-normal rainfall, the network predicted.

But it is still important to watch out for extreme weather. That can develop quickly, Scott said, as warm waters in the Atlantic Ocean could propel storms.

“We are not done with hurricane season. We’re just coming up and past the peak,” he said.

“Let’s not be lulled into a false sense of security around the lack of hurricanes in the last couple weeks … it’s still a threat. So just be aware of that potential.”


The network said warmer temperatures will dominate most of Northern Canada, but more-typical temperatures are expected in Yukon and the western Northwest Territories.

The region is predicted to see precipitation at typical or above-normal levels, with western Nunavut the likeliest to see higher precipitation.

The network also predicted that parts of B.C., Alberta, Yukon and Northwest Territories can expect more rain than usual — a welcome forecast after a summer of wildfires.

“Generally speaking, we do expect precipitation to come on cue, as it usually does fall,” said Scott. “And that’s going to be a great thing in terms of the fire situation.”

Scott said it’s too far out to predict what the transition into winter will look like, but for now, Canadians can hang onto summer for a little while longer.

“We’ll have more ups than downs for most people, and let’s enjoy it,” he said. “We’ll worry about November and slide into winter when that comes.”

Most of Canada predicted to have warmer-than-normal fall: Weather Network

Don't put away your summer wardrobe just yet -- The Weather Network says most Canadians are in for a warm fall.

torontosun.com

 

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Lead found in several ground cinnamon products tested by Consumer Reports
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Teddy Amenabar, The Washington Post
Published Sep 12, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read

A new study by Consumer Reports has found concerning levels of lead in one-third of tested ground cinnamon and cinnamon spice blends, nearly a year after a recall of millions of cinnamon applesauce pouches alarmed consumers around the country.


Experts say trace levels of the heavy metal can often be found in the spice, and all of the tested spices had detectable amounts of lead. But 12 out of the 36 products contained levels of lead above at least one part per million (ppm).

“I think, if we actually tested more, or tested over time, we might even have found more,” said James Rogers, director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports.

There’s no safe amount of lead exposure, health officials say. Prolonged exposures to high levels of lead at a young age can stunt growth, delay puberty and lead to lower IQ levels or learning disabilities.

Although Consumer Reports used a threshold of one part per million to evaluate lead levels, there are no federal guidelines for heavy metals in spices. The Food and Drug Administration has been posting public health alerts regarding cinnamon products that have greater than two parts per million of lead.


What did Consumer Reports find?
The Consumer Reports study included ground cinnamon as well as spice blends, such as five-spice powder and garam masala, purchased online and in 17 stores in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.

Consumer Reports recommended that consumers not use and throw away the 12 products that tested above 1 ppm.


Among the 12 brands that fared the worst in testing, the highest levels of lead were detected in Paras cinnamon powder (3.52 ppm) and EGN cinnamon powder (2.91 ppm).

A distributor for EGN told The Washington Post it has removed the product from stores. A representative for Apna Wholesale, a former distributor of Paras cinnamon powder, said in an email that the company “immediately sent a recall letter” when it learned of the high lead content in the spice. “We also stopped buying or importing any cinnamon powder,” the email said. “We have taken all the necessary steps.”


A spokesperson for Wakefern Food Corp. said its products, which include Shoprite’s Bowl & Basket ground cinnamon, have tested “well under” accepted worldwide benchmarks. “The quality of our products is of the utmost importance and our cinnamon meets all safety and quality standards.”

Representatives for Mimi’s Products, Three Rivers, Rani Brand and Badia didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The Post could not determine contact information for Deep, Zara Foods, Spicy King, Yu Yee Brand and BaiLiFeng.

Laura Shumow, executive director of the American Spice Trade Association (ASTA), said in an email that the U.S. spice industry is “committed to ensuring spices remain safe,” and that the trade group has established guidance levels for metals in spices, including two parts per million for lead.


“The limit of 1 ppm used by Consumer Reports is lower than the levels being used by ASTA, FDA, the European Union and other regulatory authorities,” Shumow said.

Consumer Reports said that 18 products tested showed relatively low lead levels and were “OK to use.” The testers said six brands with only trace amounts ranging from 0.02 ppm to 0.15 ppm were “best to use.”

John Tillison, director of operations for Penzeys Spices, which had three products in the “OK to use” group, said in an email that raw materials are “tested prior to grinding.” “With all of our spices, if we can get certified metal testing done by a supplier, we will accept that. If not, we have it tested by a certified lab before processing or packaging.”

A spokesman for Amazon, which owns the brand Happy Belly, which was also in the “OK to use” group, said the findings from Consumer Reports show that the company’s products meet current regulatory and industry standards for spices. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)


Shumow said there’s a difference between trace levels of lead found in spices and “excessive lead levels” that are the result of economically motivated adulteration. After the applesauce pouch recall, the Food and Drug Administration detected up to 5,110 parts per million of lead in cinnamon collected at the manufacturing facility in Ecuador that produced the recalled pouches.

“The levels of lead in the cinnamon used in the tainted applesauce were thousands of times higher than the lead levels in the cinnamon reported in the Consumer Reports article and recent FDA investigation,” Shumow said. “ASTA considers the intentional adulteration of spices the most serious public health threat related to the potential presence of lead in spices.”


A spokesperson for the FDA said in an email that companies are not required to test ingredients or products for heavy metals, but the agency is seeking to change this and require the industry to do so, as well as expand its oversight capabilities.

Asked about the Consumer Reports study, the spokesperson said the agency does not comment on “non-regulatory sample results.”

Should I avoid using cinnamon?
Cinnamon is made from dried shoots of harvested tree bark and is largely grown in Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Sri Lanka.

Lead may be found naturally in soil, but contamination also can occur because of nearby industrial activity, roadways or even volcanic ash.

Some experts say the amount of lead in one serving of cinnamon at the levels detected in the Consumer Reports study wouldn’t typically be of concern to human health. But consistent exposure could pose a risk, especially for those most vulnerable to lead’s harmful effects, including infants and young children.

“It’s a question of how much you’re swallowing, how old the child is, and the concentration, of course,” said Jack Caravanos, a clinical professor of environmental public health sciences at New York University. “If I was advising my daughter feeding her kids, I would say I wouldn’t quite worry about this right now. I would stay with name-brand products, and spices.”

Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, director of the Center for Food Safety at University of Georgia, said the safety threshold for lead — and the difference in risk between 1 ppm or 2 ppm — remains a “gray area.”

Lead found in several ground cinnamon products tested by Consumer Reports

A new study by Consumer Reports has found concerning levels of lead in one-third of tested ground cinnamon and cinnamon spice blends.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

More Ontario Science Centre layoffs coming: 'THEY'RE DEVASTATED'
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Liam Casey
Published Sep 12, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 4 minute read

More workers at the Ontario Science Centre are set to lose their jobs as the abruptly shuttered east-Toronto attraction contemplates a move to a temporary home, potentially in a neighbouring city.


Dexterra Group, which provided cleaning services for the attraction, sent a letter to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union last week, saying 28 employees will lose their jobs by Oct. 31.

The science centre has terminated its cleaning services agreement with Dexterra and that triggered the layoff notice, the company said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press.

The employees were given the news on Friday.

“They’re devastated,” said Martin Fischer the president of Local 549 of OPSEU that represents about 500 science centre workers.

“With the plans for science centre to continue at a new location, they really wanted to be part of that.”

Premier Doug Ford said Thursday he doesn’t like hearing about job losses.


“We’ll find jobs for those people within the system, so we’ll help them out,” he said.

One location being considered for a temporary science centre appears to be a convention centre site in Mississauga, Dexterra told the union.

The science centre, which abruptly closed to the public in June, said staff and the exhibits had to be gone from the facility by the end of October.

“We sincerely appreciate the hard work and dedication of the Dexterra employees, some of who have worked at the Science Centre for many years,” centre spokeswoman Laura Berkenblit wrote in a statement.

“Acknowledging that it falls under the purview of Dexterra to identify new roles for employees, we hope that any transitions can happen as quickly as possible.


Dexterra declined to comment.

Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma has said the science centre’s closure was due to structural issues with the roof after an outside engineering firm found problems among some panels that could falter under a heavy load of snow.

The latest layoffs do not fall under the government’s purview since those employees work for a independent company, said Ash Milton, Surma’s spokesman.

“Our hope is that any potential impacts to the employment of staff working for third-party contractors at the science centre facility might be mitigated through other opportunities within those organizations,” Milton said.

The science centre’s closure sparked an outcry from the local community, politicians and workers who criticized the decision to shut the facility rather than address the structural problems with the aging building.


The province had already planned to eventually move the science centre to a redeveloped Ontario Place on Toronto’s waterfront — a move that has come under widespread criticism — but that building will not open until 2028 at the earliest and will have a significantly smaller footprint. It will be nestled near a revamped outdoor concert venue, a massive privately owned spa and beaches.

The province has not said if the original science centre building will be repaired. Surma has said the fate of the building will be subject to discussions with the City of Toronto, which along with its conservation authority has leased the site’s land to the province to operate the science centre.

Until the new facility is built at Ontario Place, the province has been looking for somewhere to house a temporary science centre that it would like to have operational by Jan. 1, 2026.


A recent request for proposals has closed. Surma’s office said Infrastructure Ontario is reviewing those submissions, but had no other updates.

The letter from Dexterra to the union shed light on potential developments.

The company said the government has “yet to identify the best options that would accommodate the unique nature of the science centre requirements, but one possibility evidently contemplated includes a convention centre location in Mississauga, which is beyond the scope of the OPSEU collective agreement.”

The company said “it is unlikely that members of the bargaining unit will be recalled by a successor employer to return to perform janitorial services work at the science centre’s temporary location within the 18-month recall time period as provided in the collective agreement.”


Ford didn’t tip his hand about the location of an interim spot.

“What I want to do is listen to other options because I know Toronto has options, Mississauga does and everyone else,” he said. “I just want to get a new one built as quickly as possible.”

This is the second set of layoffs at the science centre. Days after the province permanently closed the building, more than 50 food services workers were laid off.

JP Hornick, OPSEU’s president, said the relocation is “disastrous” and called on the government to reverse course.

“Our workers deserve better than to lose their employment over political decisions made by the Ford government,” Hornick said.

“The relocation is destroying a cultural and educational anchor in the Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park communities and the livelihoods of those who work there.”

Premier Doug Ford should be creating jobs, not getting rid of them, said Adil Shamji, the Liberal provincial representative for the area.

“The Science Centre has been a source of cultural, educational and economic prosperity,” he said.

“It’s been a massive source of jobs and of prosperity for the businesses in the region in the community and this certainly does strike another blow against people who really need their jobs.”

More Ontario Science Centre layoffs coming: 'THEY'RE DEVASTATED'

One location being considered for a temporary science centre appears to be a convention centre site in Mississauga, Dexterra told the union.

torontosun.com