Direct Measurement of Perchlorate Exposure Biomarkers in a Highly Exposed Population: A Pilot Study

Exposure to perchlorate is ubiquitous in the United States and has been found to be widespread in food and drinking water. People living in the lower Colorado River region may have perchlorate exposure because of perchlorate in ground water and locally-grown produce. Relatively high doses of perchlorate can inhibit iodine uptake and impair thyroid function, and thus could impair neurological development in utero. We examined human exposures to perchlorate in the Imperial Valley among individuals consuming locally grown produce and compared perchlorate exposure doses to state and federal reference doses. We collected 24-hour urine specimen from a convenience sample of 31 individuals and measured urinary excretion rates of perchlorate, thiocyanate, nitrate, and iodide. In addition, drinking water and local produce were also sampled for perchlorate. All but two of the water samples tested negative for perchlorate. Perchlorate levels in 79 produce samples ranged from non-detect to 1816 ppb. Estimated perchlorate doses ranged from 0.02 to 0.51 µg/kg of body weight/day. Perchlorate dose increased with the number of servings of dairy products consumed and with estimated perchlorate levels in produce consumed. The geometric mean perchlorate dose was 70% higher than for the NHANES reference population. Our sample of 31 Imperial Valley residents had higher perchlorate dose levels compared with national reference ranges. Although none of our exposure estimates exceeded the U. S. EPA reference dose, three participants exceeded the acceptable daily dose as defined by bench mark dose methods used by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

The moral dimensions of Michael Martin\u27s atheology: A critical assessment

The atheist philosopher Michael Martin has established himself as one of today\u27s leading antagonists of theism. I have chosen to focus on one particular aspect of his atheological argumentation--the moral dimension--and offer criticisms of his position. Martin rejects the moral argument for God\u27s existence--the argument from objective moral values--and claims that moral goodness can exist without rooting it in some transcendent Being. Martin utilizes the Euthyphro argument to reinforce his point. Martin believes the moral objectivism and atheism are perfectly compatible. First, as a prolegomenon, I try to show that natural theology serves a useful function to show the greater plausibility of theism over against atheism. Second, I argue that for Martin\u27s moral objectivism to make any sense, he must be able to offer some reason from within his atheistic worldview for thinking that human beings have intrinsic moral value and are morally responsible agents. However, he offers no plausible ontological basis for affirming this; I suggest that the theistic understanding of the imago Dei furnishes us with the necessary basis. Affirming human dignity and significance is far more plausible and natural in a theistic setting. Third, despite Martin\u27s claim that there are analytic moral truths that exist regardless of God\u27s existence, a moral world can more readily be expected given a theistic framework. However, it is extremely difficult to see how a universe would emerge by chance that contains the sorts of beings to which moral truths apply. Fourth, Martin\u27s Euthyphro dilemma used to show that some external moral standard must exist even if God did fails since Martin\u27s own position cannot evade similar charges. Nor is God obligated to certain moral truths; rather, he by his very nature does what is right without consulting any standard external to him. Finally, despite Martin\u27s appeals to various defenses of objective morality sans God, each of these defenses offers no ontological foundation for affirming human dignity and personal accountability but rather deals with the more surface level--namely, the epistemological and empirical considerations of morality

The Gospel in the marketplace of ideas : Paul's Mars Hill experience for our pluralistic world

201 p.; 23 cm

Geometric mean perchlorate dose in urine (µg/kg of body weight/day) and 95% confidence intervals in study participants by perchlorate concentration in produce for each participant, Imperial County, California, 2009.

<p>Geometric mean perchlorate dose in urine (µg/kg of body weight/day) and 95% confidence intervals in study participants by perchlorate concentration in produce for each participant, Imperial County, California, 2009.</p

Geometric mean perchlorate dose in urine (µg/kg of body weight/day) and 95% confidence intervals in study participants by total dairy servings, Imperial County, California, 2009.

<p>Geometric mean perchlorate dose in urine (µg/kg of body weight/day) and 95% confidence intervals in study participants by total dairy servings, Imperial County, California, 2009.</p