Tap Water Chemicals Not Linked To Penis Defect

NEW YORK - Though some research has linked chemicals in chlorinated tap water to the risk of birth defects, a new study finds no strong evidence that the chemicals contribute to a common birth defect of the penis.
The defect, known as hypospadias, occurs when the urinary outlet develops on the underside of the penis rather than at the tip. Genetics are thought to play a large role in hypospadias risk, but the other potential causes are not fully understood.
Some past studies have suggested that certain chemicals in tap water -- byproducts of the chlorination process used to kill disease-causing pathogens -- may contribute to the risk of birth defects and miscarriage. Other studies, though, have found no such links.
For the current study, researchers led by Tom J. Luben of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency used birth records from 934 boys born in Arkansas between 1998 and 2002. Of these children, 320 were born with hypospadias.
Luben's team analyzed monitoring data from local water utilities to estimate the mothers' exposure to two major classes of water-disinfection byproducts during pregnancy.
Overall, the researchers found, women with the greatest exposure to these chemicals were no more likely to give birth to a boy with hypospadias than women with the least exposure.
They report the findings in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
"Our results do not support the hypothesis that continuous or intermittent exposure to tap water disinfection byproduct concentrations within regulatory limits during gestation is associated with giving birth to a son with hypospadias," Luben and colleagues write.
However, the findings are not the final word, either.
The researchers did find that when they accounted for mothers' total exposure to certain chemicals -- through drinking, bathing and showering -- there was some evidence of a link to hypospadias.
There was, however, no clear pattern of hypospadias risk climbing as mothers' exposure to tap water chemicals increased. Such patterns, known as a "dose-response" relationship, are considered to be evidence of cause-and-effect.
The results, according to Luben's team, "could be due to chance."
They call for further studies, with more-precise information on individual women's exposure to tap water chemicals, to help settle the question.
from Reuters

Just One Look...#101

California's Gay Marriages Begin

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - On the front steps of the Beverly Hills Courthouse, Robin Tyler and Diane Olson became the first gay couple to marry in Los Angeles County, and possibly all of California. Tyler and Olson were the leading plaintiffs in the 2004 same sex marriage lawsuit that went before the California Supreme Court, with the majority of justices ruling in their favor on May 15. On late Monday afternoon, it was time to make everything official.
With a crowd that included LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, LA City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, Beverly Hills Mayor Jimmy Delshad, actress and producer Honey Labrador and her girlfriend, and many friends and family, the courthouse steps were jammed.
A little after five o'clock, Tyler walked out of the courthouse with Olson and their lawyer, Gloria Allred, waving the official marriage license. Tyler said the couple had ordered their white wedding suits a year ago, expecting this day to come.
"It's a great day for tolerance in America," said Michael Libow, a Beverly Hills real estate agent and master of ceremonies, as more friends and family looked on.
During the Jewish wedding, Tyler and Olson were surrounded by every major TV and radio news outlet in Los Angeles, with most of them broadcasting the nuptials live. "This is a time for celebration and rejoicing," said Rabbi Denise Eger, who married the couple.
Anti-gay protesters also attended the event, but they were silent during the ceremony after Beverly Hills police reportedly warned them to be respectful. Volunteers from the gay community stood next to the wedding crashers with rainbow flags.
For many people, it was hard to hold back the tears, and, to be honest, I was one of them. This hasn't happened often. The only other time emotions blind-sided me on the job was when I covered the 2005 civil disobedience arrest of gay rights activist Jake Reitan and his parents, Philip and Randi, at Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado. I'm still not sure why the eyes teared up in Beverly Hills, but watching Tyler and Olson successfully overcome their long struggle, which is the long struggle of every gay man and woman, stirred something in me.
After the ceremony, Janet Singleton, a friend of the married couple, served slices of a four-layered cake named "Eden" to anyone who wanted it...even, she suggested, the protesters.
Just before Robin Tyler ate her cake, she told the crowd, "We stand on the shoulders of thousands of activists who came before us...it's not about us." Tyler added, "We wanted marriage because it's the most special word in the world for someone."
At one point, anti-gay protesters started yelling at Tyler and Olson, calling them an "abomination." Gloria Allred briefly confronted them, waving the supreme court ruling in their faces. More protesters are expected to show up at ceremonies in West Hollywood and Norwalk on Tuesday.
By six o'clock, everything was over, and Tyler no longer introduced Olson to people as her "partner." Whenever she got the chance, she smiled, looked at her longtime companion, and said, "This is my wife." The day, Tyler said, made her feel like Alice in Wonderland.
A lot of music has been running through the head the past couple of days, and after I was driving home from Beverly Hills along Doheny Drive, David Bowie's "Heroes" popped up on the car stereo, with these lyrics adding to a weird buzz fueled by two slices of wedding cake and too much adrenaline:
"I can remember/ Standing/ By the wall/ And the guns/ Shot above our heads/ And we kissed/ As though nothing could fall/ And the shame/ Was on the other side/ Oh we can beat them/ For ever and ever/ Then we can be heroes/ Just for one day..."
On a warm Monday evening in West Hollywood, and a half hour after one of the first same sex weddings in California, it was the perfect gay anthem.
from LA Weekly