High barium levels in public drinking water and its association with elevated blood pressure.

A maximum contaminant level for barium in drinking water has been set at 1. mg/L. This study examines for the first time, whether there are significant differences in mean blood pressure levels between a high and a low barium community.

A review of environmental characteristics and health effects of barium in public water supplies.

A comprehensive review is made of sources, occurrence, removal, health effects and water quality standard of barium in public drinking water supplies. The primary source of naturally occurring barium in drinking water results from the leaching and eroding of this metal from sedimentary rocks into the aquifers of ground water. It is a localized problem in several areas of the United States.

The "urban factor" and lung cancer: cigarette smoking or air pollution?

Data are presented which suggest that cigarette smoking, and to a lesser degree, urban pollution as indexed by benzo[a]pyrene are etiologic factors in the causation of lung cancer. The dose--response relationship to benzo[a]pyrene to lung cancer death rate in the urban community was estimated by using data on lung cancer deaths among coke oven workers. It appears to be an excess of 2--5 mumg/m3 of benzo[a]pyrene per 100,000 population, suggesting that a lifetime community exposure to benzo[a]pyrene on a continuing basis may have a greater impact on lung deaths in the community than that considered by the Royal College of Physicians.

Ozone: a possible cause of hemolytic anemia in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficient individuals.

A theoretical model is described that predicts that individuals with a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency may experience acute hemolysis on exposure to ozone at levels reached in certain urban centers.