Clearing The Air

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Repace’s new “study” uses the same old tricks and flawed test methods.

An article explaining James Repace's new "study" can be found here:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/524623/

“polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAHs), common carcinogenic byproducts of tobacco smoke, and respirable suspended particles (RSPs)”

Repace is measuring all the airborne particles (RSP’s) in a room and declaring that they are all caused by secondhand smoke …..which is a blatantly false testing criteria and he knows it. Years earlier in 2003 Mr. Repace was involved in measuring secondhand smoke in the proper manner found here:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2006/06/american-lung-association-of-mn-and.html

Excerpt below:

"MN Group Tests Air Quality in Nonsmoking Sections of Restaurants [12/22-3]"

"Prompted by the possibility of the next Minnesota Legislature considering a total smoking ban in restaurants and bars, the Pioneer Press Watchdog tested the air in the nonsmoking sections of 20 east-metro restaurants to see how much secondhand smoke diners could expect."

"During the past few weeks, ..(they)... tested "nonsmoking" air with equipment measuring the amount of nicotine, which in turn indicates the amount of secondhand smoke."

"In a few, we found air so smoky that James Repace, an international expert, called it very unhealthy for anyone."

"I'm not surprised at all by your findings," said Bob Moffitt of the American Lung Association of Minnesota. "We've been saying for years......

"The pretend air quality specialist Repace then tried to baffle us with his B.S., which apparently the media and Bob Moffitt (ALAMN) bought hook line and sinker.

"The level of nicotine in nonsmoking sections of the 20 east-metro restaurants tested ranged widely, from less-than-1 to 25 (ug) micrograms per cubic meter. A 1 is considered moderate, while a 3 would be unhealthy for some people, such as those with asthma or heart disease. A 5 would be unhealthy for most people, while a 15 would be very unhealthy. Above a 25, the air would be considered hazardous, said Repace, a biophysicist who does research at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. "

But what Repace and the other pseudo-scientists didn't tell you is that OSHA has a safe permissible exposure limit (pel) for the measured marker chemical nicotine. The OSHA safe level is 0.5 mg (milligram) / cu.M. same as 500 ug (micrograms) / cu. M. So at 1 - 25 ug (micrograms) / cu. M. the air quality testing proved secondhand smoke levels were 20 -500 times SAFER than OSHA regulations (OSHA permissible exposure levels (pel) are the acceptable safe exposure level for an 8 hour day, 40 hour per week time period). Of course Repace, Moffit, the American Lung Assoc. and others involved didn't provide those facts to the Pioneer Press, the media, or any of our lawmakers.

And, since Clearing the Air’s comparison of secondhand smoke air quality test results to OSHA permissible exposure levels (pel) Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR); Repace and the others will not make the same mistake again of using sound scientific air quality measurements (measuring the marker chemical nicotine), because it proves secondhand smoke is not a health hazard. By the way, here it must be noted that James Repace is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:

http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/newsreleasesdetail.jsp?id=10211&gsa=1

(RWJF), is an offshoot of the Nicoderm manufacturer, the Johnson & Johnson Company. J & J manufactures Nicoderm and Nicoderm CQ thru its wholly owned subsidiary ALZA Corporation. The pharmaceutical nicotine industry's interest in promoting smoking bans seems intertwined with its desire to increase product sales.

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2006/09/now-that-rwjf-has-put-smoking-bans-in.html

As for PPAH’s Mr Repace likes to use this “new” argument because he thinks it sounds more intriguing, dubious and hopefully deadly. But what are PPAHs you ask?

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of over 100 different chemicals that are formed during the incomplete burning of coal, oil and gas, garbage, or other organic substances like tobacco or charbroiled meat. PAHs are usually found as a mixture containing two or more of these compounds, such as soot.

Some PAHs are manufactured. These pure PAHs usually exist as colorless, white, or pale yellow-green solids. PAHs are found in coal tar, crude oil, creosote, and roofing tar, but a few are used in medicines (I wonder if Nicoderm is one of them?) or to make dyes, plastics, and pesticides.

The above can be found here: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts69.html

Now, if Repace wants to be intellectually honest as any credible scientist would, in order to determine if PPAH levels were hazardous he would do what OSHA does……measure the air quality for the specific chemical of the “group of 100” to determine if any chemical component of PPAH exceeds OSHA permissible exposure limits (pel). I am quite certain we will find, as in the airborne nicotine tests that Repace commented on 12/22-03 above, the air quality measurements would be multiple times SAFER than OSHA (pel's) which again, are the safe level of exposure for an 8 hour per day / 40 hours per week time period.

And as the OSHA permissible exposure levels are the safe levels of exposure for all workplace potentially hazardous substances…….so too should they be the acceptable level for secondhand smoke which, falls far below (SAFER than) OSHA Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR).

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2005/12/ventilation-not-legislation.html

Actual ventilation / air quality test results from more credible organizations using more credible testing methods can be found here:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2006/02/air-quality-testing-and-secondhand.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2004/04/american-cancer-society-
test-results.html

On a similar note:

How does secondhand smoke in the workplace compare to welding smoke in the workplace?

Welding smoke is far more hazardous than secondhand smoke. Yet air quality testing shows that welding smoke is regulated to safety standards by OSHA, so lawmakers allow OSHA do do its job rather than ban it.

Secondhand smoke on the other hand, though proven to be 15 – 25,000 times SAFER than OSHA workplace air quality regulations, requires government intervention according to Nicoderm funded activists and some lawmakers…….This double standard however, and the air quality testing above prove that a special interest agenda might be the real motive behind the demand for smoking bans.

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2007/02/smoking-bans-good-public-policy-or.html

Read more of my adventures with Mr. Repace here:
http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2005/08/tuesdays-with-mr-repace.html