Talk:Uranium poisoning in Punjab

Questionable research

The research referred too in this article is highly suspect, using questionable sampling and analytic techniques, and ignoring established methods, standards and guidelines.

The article itself advocates chelation therapy, a known form of quackery, that has been prohibited in many countries, for deformed children. While there is no doubt that overexposure to some heavy metals can cause disease and toxic effects in humans, many of these heavy metals are necessary for normal biological functions in trace amounts, and the removal of these metals from the body causes disruption of these functions. To advocate that chelation therapy will ‘cure’ these poor children, is simply disingenuous, if not downright dangerous.

It surely is incredibly unethical. Realwoman (talk) 11:30, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

While you may be correct, and I share your concerns re poor research design and quackery, until you can provide specific reliable references (see WP:RS and WP:MEDRS ) to support your statements, your criticism of this "research" cannot be allowed to remain in the article. Should you be able to provide appropriate references supporting such criticisms, they will be most welcome. Autumnalmonk (talk) 14:25, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

Thank you Neil. Here is a reliable reference: There was a 10 year study undertaken by the USA National Institute for Health, investigating the claims made by the proponents of chelation therapy by testing more than 1000 subjects. The preliminary outcome of the study can be found here: In essence, the study found, that all chelation agents " cause mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, hospitalization for angina and hospitalization for congestive heart failure. The study also found that chelation agents are not safe to use on humans.

I trust that this will address your concern Realwoman (talk) 09:18, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

References

Removed content

I have removed the below as it violates WP:NPOV and WP:NOR --NeilN ^{talk to me} 13:57, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

Removed content

Revealing Environmental Research Had the earlier studies done at Amritsar University received the media and governmental attention they deserved, a human tragedy on a massive scale could have been averted. There are those who are pawns (weakest and most numerable pieces on a chess board) and stooges under control of multi-national companies and to governmental agendas, who would claim that the research done in Punjab was "unscientific". Here are some facts about the studies done to date in Punjab: 1. The first studies revealing elevated uranium levels in groundwater as well as a study of indoor radon in dwellings of Bathinda district, Punjab, India and its correlation with uranium and radon exhalation rate in soil, were done at the University of Amritsar, and published by M. Kumar et al. Journal of Radiation Measurements, 36 (2003), pages 479 - 481 and later by S. Singh et al. Journal of Radiation Measurements, Volume 39, Issue 5, October 2005, pages 535-542; 2. The 2008/9 study which showed elevated uranium and other toxic metals in the hair samples and later in urine samples of brain injured children in Punjab was also published in a peer review journal: Publication Date: 12 Jul 2010, Journal: Clinical Medicine Insights: Therapeutics - Citation: Clinical Medicine Insights: Therapeutics 2010:2 655-661; doi:10.4137/CMT.S5154. 3. Although there is controversy about the validity of hair sampling for heavy metal toxicity, due to possible contamination of samples and other analytical problems (Frisch M, Schwartz BS. The pitfalls of hair analysis for toxicants in clinical practice: three case reports. Environ Health Perspect; 2002;110:433-6. Hindmarsh JT. Caveats in hair analysis in chronic arsenic poisoning. Clin Biochem 2002;35:1-11. W. Poon et al. Use of hair analysis in the diagnosis of heavy metal poisoning: report of three cases. Hong Kong Med J Vol 10 No 3 June 2004 197-200, those who claim that it is "a dubious and potentially dangerous practice... that does not even qualify as a sampling method", show inadequate knowledge about sulphation pathways in the body and the body's ability to reduce its toxic load as shown in research published by A. Holmes, M. Blaxill and B. Haley. Reduced Levels of Mercury in First Baby Haircuts of Autistic Children. International Journal of Toxicology, 22:277–285, 2003. Copyright �c American College of Toxicology; ISSN: 1091-5818 print / 1092-874X online; doi:10.1080/ 10915810390220054. Their principal finding was: "Autistic infants released dramatically lower levels of mercury into hair than control infants. In our autistic group, this reduced level was not associated with lower levels of overall exposure, quite the contrary. In many, though not all, exposure categories, autistic infants experienced higher levels of mercury exposure." The key emphasis in their article was that the more toxic an individual (in this case, an autistic child) was, the less toxic metals could be excreted, as the body retains these toxins in the body matrix (bone, blood, tissues, cells), due to the impeding role heavy metals play in normal metabolism. Hair sampling is therefore a valid sampling tool, not only to evaluate the avenues of exposure to toxins, but also to evaluate the impact of these contaminants on the children's metabolism of trace elements, macro elements (Ca, Mg, Zn etc.). • Though no blood samples were taken, the Radiation Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/radiation/radionuclides/uranium.html# medicaltest)suggest that stool and urine samples are good ways to measure uranium exposure as uranium can be found in the urine for up to several months after exposure. Criticism has been expressed against the initial hair sampling methodology of the research into the deformities, brain injury and mental retardation in children in Punjab, but as the most recent study in Conflict and Health points out, hair samples, especially those tracing isotopes, could be very valuable indicators of metabolic derangement and exposure. Ample information was provided to the scientific community by the lead author, Dr. E. Blaurock-Busch, as to the method of sample preparation (washing with de-ionising detergent, rinsing with de-ionised water, drying and acid-digestion prior to dilution and analysis with ICP-MS, "utilising collision/reaction cell methods coupled with ion-molecule chemistry, a relatively new method for interference reduction" that the methodology utilised during this research analysis, in order to elucidate proper scientific scrutiny. The analysis of urine samples was done via digestion "with certified metal-free acids involving closed-vessel microwave digestion. For sample dilution ultrapure water was used. Testing was performed via ICP-MS as outlined under Phase 1. Certified urine standards and in-house standards were used to validate results. Urine test values were compared with reference ranges provided by the German Environmental Protection Agency (UBA)" www.umweltbundesamt.de/gesundheit/publikationen. Ample research substantiates the key role that non-invasive hair mineral testing plays in monitoring for environmental health impacts (Nnorom IC, Igwe JC, Ejimone JC. Multielement analysis of scalp hair samples from three distant towns in southeastern Nigeria. Afr J Biotechnol. 2005;4(10):1124–7.; Bisse E, Renner F, Sussmann S, Scholmerich J, Wieland H. Hair iron content: possible marker to complement monitoring therapy of iron deficiency in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases? Clin Chem. 1996;42: 1270–4. Degner D, Bleich S, Riegel A, Sprung R, Poser W, Rüther E. Verlaufsbeobachtung nach enteraler Manganintoxikation—klinische, laborchemische und neuroradiologische. Befunde J Nervenarzt. 2000;71(5); Ïlhana A, Uzb E, Kalia S, Varc A, Akyolb O. Serum and hair trace element levels in patients with epilepsy and healthy subjects: does the antiepileptic therapy affect the element concentrations of hair? Eur J Neurol. 1999;6: 705–9.; Byrne AR, Benedik L. Uranium content of blood urine and hair of exposed and non-exposed persons determined by radiochemical neutron activation analysis with emphasis on quality control. J Radioanal Nucl Ch. 2005). • The aim of the study in Punjab was to determine if and whether the children who are so badly affected might have been exposed to toxic elements. The research summary concluded that early detection via bio-monitoring is an effective and preventative measure to assist in proactive environmental rehabilitation. It concludes by saying: "Early diagnosis of metal exposure can prevent the onset of serious metal-related health problems, and should be in the interest of governmental health care agencies and health care providers."

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