The Swiss city Zurich has tendered a MCS Housing Project. People with chemical sensitivity, commonly shortened as MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity), will obtain a building biology home. Living in standard flats is nearly impossible. Substances from construction chemicals in concentrations tolerated by the healthy cause them unacceptable medical conditions. A toxic free habitation environment is required for stabilization and to be reasonably free from symptoms.

Currently such publicly supported projects for people with environmental illness exist only in the US and Japan. The City of Zurich is approaching this complex of problems with obligation and sympathy. They also hope to get innovative concepts for more public housing projects which could benefit many more people. The completion will require some time indeed, but the project looks promising because it is pro-actively supported by many professionals.

The search of a suitable estate for the project lasted months. The location for the house had to meet a set of criteria. Christian Schifferle, the President of the residential building cooperative HEALTHY HABITATION, went with specialists to inspect building sites again and again. Then it happened, the site was found. A dream came true for this very engaged Swiss.  How the MCS Housing Project will come true.

Beginning of November the City Zurich published a press release with detailed infos about the project. CSN sends its best wishes for success.

The estate authority of the City encourages habitation for severe cases of environmental illness. The construction of a new building at Rebenweg in Zurich-Leimbach was tendered according to a Swiss specific practice which allows to limit the selection to expert contenders. A path breaking project for an MCS compatible residential building with about ten or twelve small flats satisfying the highest building biology standards is expected. Teams of architects or planners had to file their bids by end of November to the building department. A panel will choose five teams from the applications received, who have to submit their drafts for the project by April 15, 2010. The decision will be made in May.

The City of Zurich assumes 5.000 cases of the severe illness MCS all over Switzerland. Often it’s impossible for them to find suitable habitation to live. Most minimal concentrations of chemicals trigger symptoms: vertigo, headache, limb aches, skin and respiration problems, chronic prostration. The one who is struck severely cannot work and finds himself increasingly separated from society, according to the City in its press release.

With this project of a pioneering building biology compatible house, the residential building cooperative HEALTHY HABITATION MCS, founded in 2008 based in Zurich, and the City of Zurich want to provide MCS suitable habitation and lebensraum. The site at the Rebenweg with its 1214 sq m has been evaluated thoroughly and most notably for Zurich conditions, the air quality is good.

Because the new residential building cooperative lacks adequate capital resources, the City is pre-financing the project competition with 150.000 Swiss Francs. The realization of the project is calculated with 5 million Francs. In order to achieve affordable rents, the coop aims to cover 1.5 million Francs by fund raising.

Interview Silvia K. Müller with Christian Schifferle

Christian Schifferle was interviewed by Silvia K. Mueller. He spoke of how the idea occurred to create a MCS housing project in Switzerland and which barriers yet to be overcome, but also what remarkable support it already has received.

Silvia K. Mueller: Christian, we all are very proud of you and enormous happy about the MCS housing project which getting into gear in Switzerland. How long did it take since you first had the idea for the project and what was your motivation?

Christian Schifferle: As I have suffered from environmental illness since childhood, that’s nearly 50 years, I first asked the city government of Zurich about accommodation for MCS cases 20 years ago. So it required several attempts and much perseverance. I crew up with lacquer and thinner and obviously I was ill, but NOBODY around took me seriously and I was dealt with as a malingerer.

SKM: You suffered from the existence of an outsider, into which you were forced?

CS: Yes, because from the very beginning I fought a lonely battle to survive. Being excluded marked me and made my into a political MCS activist who thinks spiritual but knows that it will take real activity to get anything done. Actions speak louder than pretty words. The plight of others and the lack of solidarity really hit me. So I founded the Swiss MCS League nearly 10 years ago. It seems MCS is my fate and my life-task, because I had this disease from childhood on.

SKM: What do you think prepared the City of Zurich for this innovative project, which last but not least will be beneficial for other building projects? Healthy habitation is not only trendy but also results in healthy and more powerful human beings. Was this idea decisive too for the City of Zurich?

CS: I started flyer campaigns in front of the Zurich City Hall and posted reports in noted local and countywide media. This made others affected by MCS to contact the authorities as well. Now the city takes us for serious and is interested to learn from our MCS housing project how to build healthier. So now we will offer this to the public media more often and I also think it is really great, what you do with CSN-Germany for us MCS sufferers. Even a foundation for MCS, which lies very close to my heart, turns out to be possible by the force of this housing project.

SKM: How did you manage to make the guys from the City of Zurich listen to you and that now, actually it can be said this way, it looks like a dream to come true for MCS sufferers?

CS: Simply it was due to the long-time pressure by the media reports. That’s great, what the city of Zurich is doing now. Special thanks should go to them for this pioneer project. Fortunately times have changed. Today we preach to the choir about HEALTHY HABITATION. We, the environmentally diseased have to make use of it to set precedents. Healthy houses for EI’s are physical facts which help others for a better understanding of this environmental illness and which lead to acceptance.

SKM: Who were and who are the biggest supporters for your project?

CS: First there were these approximately 45 members of a cooperative who acquired one or several shares of about 330 Euro and more each by now. A total of nearly 20.000 Euros, with that we had a good start. We should mention the two doctors Dr. Roman Lietha and Dr. Klaus Tereh who supported us from the early beginnings and who both are on the executive committee.

SKM: For some months we have severe emergencies in Germany and we desperately seek shelters for MCS cases who have been hit hardest and can’t find accommodation to survive. Will you offer accommodation for emergencies?

CS: Yes, the housing shortage of others struck by environmental illness touches me dearly. Of course we intend to offer emergency housing. Surely you remember what I experienced, when I searched a site for my old caravan. I never will forget it, not even the numerous nights which I spend outside in the woods, sleeping outdoors on a canvas chair. Thus we intend emergency apartments for environmental diseased and a fragrance free common room where MCS sufferers can meet. The house rules will be strictly MCS adapted.

SKM: Christian we wish you that the MCS Housing Project will be built quickly and without trouble in order to end your nomadic caravan life. What will you do with your caravan in the mountains, when you finally receive a MCS compatible home?

CS: As I am additionally sensitive to heat and suffer from the warmer temperatures in the lower regions, I will keep the caravan for the present. As many MCS cases are heat-sensitive, we also intend to provide MCS compatible emergency and holiday apartments in the mountains. Over the long term we aim to establish a system of holiday flats, because MCS diseased people hardly find suitable vacation homes. It would be nice to have such apartments at the seaside too. The Zurich MCS Housing Project obviously cannot ease all MCS accommodation needs but it should to be a pioneer impulse to originate many other MCS Housing Projects.

Author: Silvia K. Müller, CSN – Chemical Sensitivity Network, November 2009.

Translation: BrunO

Male reproductive disorders that are of interest from an environmental point of view include sexual dysfunction, infertility, cryptorchidism, hypospadias and testicular cancer.

Several reports suggest declining sperm counts and increase of these reproductive disorders in some areas during some time periods past 50 years. Except for testicular cancer this evidence is circumstantial and needs cautious interpretation. However, the male germ line is one of the most sensitive tissues to the damaging effects of ionizing radiation, radiant heat and a number of known toxicants.

So far occupational hazards are the best documented risk factors for impaired male reproductive function and include physical exposures (radiant heat, ionizing radiation, high frequency electromagnetic radiation), chemical exposures (some solvents as carbon disulfide and ethylene glycol ethers, some pesticides as dibromochloropropane, ethylendibromide and DDT/DDE, some heavy metals as inorganic lead and mercury) and work processes such as metal welding. Improved working conditions in affluent countries have dramatically decreased known hazardous workplace exposures, but millions of workers in less affluent countries are at risk from reproductive toxicants. New data show that environmental low-level exposure to biopersistent pollutants in the diet may pose a risk to people in all parts of the world.

For other noxicants the evidence is only suggestive and further evaluation is needed before conclusions can be drawn. Whether compounds as phthalates, bisphenol A and boron that are present in a large number of industrial and consumer products entails a risk remains to be established. The same applies to psychosocial stressors and use of mobile phones.

Finally, there are data indicating a particular vulnerability of the fetal testis to toxicants – for instance maternal tobacco smoking. Time has come where male reproductive toxicity should be addressed form entirely new angles including exposures very early in life.

Literatur:
Bonde JP., Male reproductive organs are at risk from environmental hazards, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark, Asian J Androl. 2009 Dec 7.

Schoolchildren, teaching staff and parents are looking forward to the imminent refurbishment which will take place in their schools. Funds from the federal government incentive programme have been earmarked to improve the learning environment, in particular in older school buildings. The federal funds allotted for remediation, modernisation and refurbishment work will not only make schools more beautiful, they will also bring better ambient air. This depends though on the proper choice of building materials by public procurement offices, as unpleasant smells might otherwise be produced by higher emissions of volatile and semi-volatile organic substances. These substances can be the cause of lack of concentration and headaches.

The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) recommends following the advice offered in its Leitfaden für die Innenraumhygiene in Schulgebäuden [Guidebook on indoor air hygiene in school buildings] publication. The Indoor Air Hygiene Commission of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has thoroughly revised the publication this year. The guidebook offers advice on how schools can do refurbishment work ecologically and with a view to health, whilst upgrading the buildings, too.  It will make the job of guaranteeing good air quality long-term for those responsible – builders and school administration – a bit easier. It does require the work of professionals, however, also as concerns consideration of potential hazardous materials in existing building structure, as well as use of the appropriate materials and products.

The Blue Angel eco-label is a reliable signpost on building products that are harmless to health. The Blue Angel has been awarded to the following products: parquet, laminate and linoleum floorings, flexible floor covering, sealants for interior use, adhesive for floors, soundproofing and heat insulation materials, composite wood panels, wood chip wall covering, varnishes, and wall paints. Use of these products must be well-balanced, however, so that an adhesive and floor covering used together, for example, do not result in any reactive outgasing.

Using low-emissions products for refurbishment jobs is a key factor for healthy ambient air in classrooms, even though the purchase price of these product groups is initially somewhat more expensive. Downstream clean-up work to correct building defects results in higher costs, as experience at affected schools has shown.

If schoolchildren report headaches, tired eyes and lack of concentration after refurbishment is completed, this hinders successful learning and incurs costs at another point, namely to restore health. Taking environmental criteria into consideration in the public tendering process has become entirely legitimate. Staff at public procurement offices and in municipalities, however, are often still unaware of the changes in the law.

The following UBA publications (in German) are available for free download and provide advice and guidance:

• Leitfaden für die Innenraumhygiene in Schulgebäuden [Guidebook on indoor air hygiene in school buildings]
• The Blue Angel product signpost, Umweltfreundlich bauen, Gesund wohnen [Green building, healthy living]
• The guide Umweltfreundliche Beschaffung – Ökologische & wirtschaftliche Potenziale rechtlich zulässig nutzen [Green procurement – making legal use of ecological & economic potential]
• Schulen, besser Lernen in gesunder Luft [Schools: better learning in healthy air] brochure

Reference: UBA, Incentive programme also benefits schools, Dessau-Roßlau, 9 November 2009

The prevalence of allergic diseases such as asthma and pollinosis is steadily increasing and seems to be associated with modern lifestyle. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that high living standards and hygienic conditions reduce exposure to microbial components, and lead to an imbalance in the immune system, especially in the Thl and Th2 system, which increases the risk for the development of allergic diseases.

However, recent accumulated epidemiological evidences have demonstrated that air pollutants including diesel exhaust particulate (DEP) and NO2 are responsible for the increased prevalence of allergies. The effects of environmental chemicals have also been supported by the in vivo and in vitro studies. It is important to prevent allergy development in our life as early as possible (e.g., since our infancy). 

Reference: Nakamura H, Hitomi Y., Environmental factors in allergic diseases, Kanazawa University, Nippon Rinsho. 2009 Nov;67(11):2043-7.

Scientists have revealed how environmental irritants such as air pollution and cigarette smoke cause people to cough, in research published today in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London and the University of Hull, have identified the reaction inside the lungs that can trigger coughing when a person is exposed to particular irritants in the air. They suggest that their findings may ultimately lead to the development of new treatments for chronic coughing. 

Coughing is the most common reason for people visiting a family doctor. Treatment options are limited for people with chronic coughing; a recent study concluded that over-the-counter remedies are ineffective and there is increasing concern about the safety of these therapies in children. 

Today’s study indicates, for the first time, how coughing can be triggered when a person is exposed to certain irritants in the air. It shows that the irritants can switch on receptor proteins called TRPA1 on the surface of nerve endings in the lungs. This switches on sensory nerves, which then trigger a cough reflex. The researchers say coughing could potentially be treated by blocking TRPA1 receptors, to stop irritants in the air from setting off this chain reaction. They hope that this could ultimately help millions of people whose lives are affected by chronic coughing. 

Professor Maria Belvisi, corresponding author of the study from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, said: “For some people, chronic coughing can be annoying and uncomfortable, but for others it can be distressing and can have a severe impact on their quality of life. Many people say that certain things in the air can make them cough and we are very excited that we have shown, for the first time, exactly what is probably happening inside the lungs. Now that we think we have cracked the mechanism, we can start investigating whether we can stop people from coughing excessively by blocking the receptor protein that triggers it.” 

To reach their conclusions, the researchers first looked at sensory nerves from mice, guinea pigs and humans, and showed that the receptors on the sensory nerves were activated by a number of irritants, including a key compound in cigarette smoke (acrolein) and a chemical called cinnamaldehyde. The researchers then blocked the receptors and showed that these substances no longer activated the nerves. 

To establish whether activating the receptor causes coughing, the researchers looked at the effect of acrolein on guinea pigs, as they have a coughing reflex. The researchers assessed the guinea pigs’ coughing after inhaling acrolein. The compound caused coughing, and the higher the concentration, the more the guinea pigs coughed. The researchers then showed that blocking the receptor using a drug significantly reduced the guinea pigs’ coughing response to the compound.

Finally, researchers led by Professor Alyn Morice at the University of Hull looked at the effect of inhaling the chemical cinnamaldehyde in humans. Ten healthy, non-smoking volunteers inhaled the chemical, as well as control substances. The researchers measured their cough response on five occasions, 2-3 days apart. All of the volunteers coughed after inhaling the compound. 

Reference: Imperial College London, Research reveals exactly how coughing is triggered by environmental irritants, November 23, 2009