The National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) yesterday announced that it would launch nationwide health surveys to better understand the environmental causes of certain diseases.
To protect the environment, ecology and people’s health, several nations have invested huge amounts of money in monitoring chemical substances in the environment and human exposure to them, the NHRI said, adding that it is to collaborate with 11 hospitals to establish the Taiwan Precision Environmental Medicine Alliance to assess environmental health risks in local communities.
Largee human biomonitoring projects assessing environment-related risks and impacts, and generating knowledge about human exposure to chemicals, have been launched worldwide, including the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative in the EU, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the US, the German Experimental Seismic System in Germany and the Korean National Environmental Health Survey in South Korea, it said.
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Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
NHRI National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Director and distinguished investigator Chen Pau-Chung (陳保中) said environmental medical studies used to be conducted with universities, but the alliance has been established to enhance the clinical applications of the findings, combining the resources of regional healthcare facilities to conduct human biomonitoring surveys according to major environmental issues in each area, assess the health risks of local residents, and offer corresponding healthcare services and practical policy suggestions.
The alliance this month started the first phase of a biomonitoring survey, collecting random blood and urine samples in 40 townships, which would be tested for lead, plasticizers and other toxic heavy metals, he said, adding that the alliance plans to publish annual reports on its findings and analysis.
Chen said it also hopes to answer some of the public’s questions, such as whether levels of lead in the blood have dropped, or how many plasticizers are still detected in the body a decade after the discovery of the illegal use of plasticizers in food additives in 2011, and if new plasticizers are detected.
National Taiwan University (NTU) Cancer Center superintendent James Yang (楊志新) said most cancer patients when they are first diagnosed ask: “Why did I get cancer?”
Aside from individual health conditions, sometimes environmental factors might have contributed to their risk of developing cancer, he said.
Air pollution is associated with the development of lung cancer, radiation exposure is associated with leukemia and thyroid cancer, and a few recent studies have suggested that exposure to excessive amounts of plasticizers might increase the risk of women developing breast cancer, he added.
The alliance is led by the NHRI in collaboration with NTU Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, the NTU Cancer Center, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital and six other hospitals.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
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