It could cause organ failure and even death in high doses.

The Daily Mail reports:

"… researchers … studied four different acrylic adhesives commonly used on food labels. They examined in detail 11 compounds found in the glues, four of which seeped through the packaging. Three of these had low toxicity while the remaining compound belonged to the highest risk category."

Sources:

• Daily Mail May 24, 2010

• Journal of Materials Chemistry 2010; 20: 5100 – 5109

Samsung recently issues a health warning about the potential dangers of watching 3D television and says the elderly, pregnant women and those suffering from serious medical conditions are among a wide range of people said to be at risk. 

According to Samsung Electronics’ Australian website, sleep deprivation or consuming alcohol while watching 3D programs  could be unsafe.

Even watching for too long could cause confusion, nausea, dizziness or convulsions.

It was the first warning of its kind since the firm made a massive pitch for 3D TV late last year.

"Cautious but pre-emptive approaches are needed as watching 3D programs is a totally new experience for people," a company spokeswoman said, Sunday.

LG has put a notice on its packaging over the possible health risks in 3D TVs. Such labeling has been the practice for video game console makers and publishers and could provide the same level of consumer education on the risks.

It said children aged less than 5 years should be limited in watching 3D programs and added viewing could hurt their eyes.

"The warnings are aiming to protect LG Electronics from any legal claims for compensation if people are adversely affected," a high-ranking company executive said.

An LG Electronics spokesperson wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Samsung hopes to sell 2 million TV sets over the next year, and Sony aims to sell 2.5 million. Global shipments could reach 4.2 million in 2010, and more than triple to 12.9 million in 2011, according to U.S.-based market researcher iSuppli.

The demand is expected to be sparked by plans to broadcast the FIFA World Cup this summer in 3D, giving TV broadcasters a positive outlook for the sector as a potential breakthrough.

"I’ve decided to delay the purchasing plan to buy Samsung’s 3D LED-backlit LCD TV mainly due to health risks. There is no reason to pay a premium for the set by taking the health risks," Choi Jae-ho, a 37-year-old office worker, told The Korea Times in a street interview near Samsung Electronics’ headquarters in southern Seoul.

"I’ve recently heard about some advantages in buying 3D TVs via TV commercials. But such safety issues will need to be studied. Meanwhile, 3D TVs are too pricey. I will wait."

Samsung and LG officials say they have studied the health effects of 3D viewing and have decided it is safe to proceed.

Two Florida construction firms have teamed together, Miller Construction Company and Moss & Associates, will now create Moss Miller Healthcare.  Both already recognized as innovators in healthcare construction. Expect more beautiful creations from this joint-venture through-out the states healthcare community.

“The economy has kept the lid on Florida healthcare work, but with construction costs lower than they’ve been since the 1980s, we’re beginning to see requests for significant hospital projects,” said Joe Harris, executive vice president of the new company. “As hospitals’ financial investments recover, we expect the flow of projects will accelerate,” he added.

While the Fort Lauderdale-based Moss and Miller firms remain independent as two of the state’s most prominent construction services companies, “joining forces for the long term specifically to pursue opportunities in healthcare builds on our companies’ strengths and our established working relationship,” said Wayne Hannaka, vice president of the new entity.

Executive team members of the new Moss Miller Healthcare venture are responsible for having overseen more than $2.5 billion collectively in medical facility construction projects. “Our team brings each project the insights of veteran experts plus the progressive ideas of project managers who think strategically,” added Hannaka.

Miller Construction Company has a 20-year South Florida healthcare construction track record, with proven expertise in meeting stringent requirements of the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). Fully 100 percent of Miller’s 55 hospital and other healthcare facility projects passed in all final inspections by AHCA. The company most recently completed a multi-phase renovation for Cleveland Clinic Florida and has worked on dozens of complex projects for Holy Cross Hospital.

Moss & Associates, one of the state’s largest construction management firms, has an executive team whose members directed construction of landmark medical centers from Miami to Orlando and Tampa Bay. The company recently completed two clinical facilities for Leon Medical Centers, as well as the $72 million University of Miami Biomedical Research Building. The firm has offices in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa and Ocala.

For information on Moss Miller Healthcare, contact Neil Hammack or Joe Harris at 954-769-8280.

China and India are being considered “environmental time-bombs” as mountains of discarded computer and cell phones add potential serious health risks as piles grow.

"Sales of electronic products in countries like China and India and across continents such as Africa and Latin America are set to rise sharply in the next 10 years," the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report.

"And unless action is stepped up to properly collect and recycle materials, many developing countries face the specter of hazardous e-waste mountains with serious consequences for the environment and public health."

The report entitled "Recycling — from E-Waste to Resources" was released at a meeting of Basel Convention and other world chemical authorities prior to UNEP’s Governing Council meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

By 2020 e-waste from old computers in South Africa and China will have jumped by 200 to 400 percent from 2007 levels, and by 500 percent in India, it said.

Waste from discarded mobile phones would be seven times higher in China and 18 times higher in India by the same year.

"This report gives new urgency to establishing ambitious, formal and regulated processes for collecting and managing e-waste via the setting up of large, efficient facilities in China," UNEP executive director Achim Steiner said in a statement.

THE ISSUE:

Should Americans have the option of getting health insurance from a government plan that competes with private companies?

THE POLITICS: Many Democrats want to do away with private insurance and replace it with something resembling Medicare coverage for all, but that’s not politically feasible. Offering the choice of a government insurance plan was a compromise within the Democratic Party. Liberals’ preferred approach was to make the plan as cheap as possible for consumers and the government by tying payments to doctors, hospitals and other providers to the rates Medicare pays. But moderates feared that would result in ruinously low rates for providers, particularly in rural districts.

They prevailed in the House, where the public insurance plan in the bill passed Saturday allows the Health and Human Services secretary to negotiate payment rates with providers, like private insurers do. In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., settled on a government insurance plan that states can opt out of. It’s not clear the proposal commands enough votes to survive, and it could be replaced by a standby system pushed by moderates that would not go into effect until it was clear individual states were experiencing a lack of competition among private companies. Despite the compromises, insurers, employer groups and Republicans remained opposed, fearing that while a government plan might start out modestly, Congress could change the rules later, opening it up to all people and setting take-it-or-leave payments for hospitals and medical providers, instead of negotiating, as the House bill calls for. Unions strongly support the public option, and so does a majority of the public in opinion polls.

WHAT IT MEANS: Democrats hoped a public plan could expand coverage at a lower cost to taxpayers, but the Congressional Budget Office estimated that about 6 million people would sign up for the public option in 2019, when the House bill is fully phased in. That represents about 2 percent of a total of 282 million Americans under age 65. (Older people are covered through Medicare.) The overwhelming majority of the population would remain in private health insurance plans sponsored by employers. Others, mainly low-income people, would be covered through an expanded Medicaid program.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.