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Judith and others, Carbon Monoxide poisoning is known to cause a Parkinson's-like syndrome. I believe it damages the receptor sited for dopamine rather than the presynaptic dopamine producing cells like PD does and therefore tends to be resistant to l-DOPA treatment. If I am in error about the last statement someone pleases correct me. Charlie judith richards wrote: > I had coal fume poisoning when I was in my teens, and I have wondered > since being diagnosed with Pksns, what if any role it might have played. > JMR > > 03/29/99 > > Study: Coal Fumes Poisoning Chinese > By PAUL RECER= > AP Science Writer= > WASHINGTON (AP) _ Millions of Chinese are being poisoned by > fumes from the raw coal they burn in their homes for cooking and > heating, and people in other developing nations may face similar > risks, U.S. and Chinese scientists say in a study. > An estimated 800 million of China's 1.2 billion people use > coal > in their homes. In many rural communities, the fuel is full of > arsenic, lead, mercury, fluorine and other poisonous metals that > can pose a serious health threat, the researchers said. > The poisons become part of the smoke from burning coal and > are > then breathed into lungs and baked into foods, said Harvey E. > Belkin, co-author of a study appearing Tuesday in the Proceedings > of the National Academy of Sciences. > For example, peppers dried over coal fires can have up to 500 > parts per million of arsenic, a potentially dangerous level, he > said. > ``The coal we saw in China could never be burned in the > United > States'' because of the poison mineral content, said Belkin. > ``There is high arsenic, high selenium, high mercury.'' > What's learned in China may point the way to solving the > problem > of possible health effects from burning dirty coal, Belkin said. > In one Chinese province, experts have identified thousands of > cases of arsenic poisoning, with symptoms including skin cancer and > open sores. > In another area, at least 10 million people have fluorine > poisoning with many suffering from soft and misshapen bones, said > study co-author Robert B. Finkelman. > Diseases and disorders caused by burning of dirty coal are > ``an > enormous problem,'' said Finkelman. > Such dirty coal would have to be cleaned before it could be > burned in the United States. And coal in any form is seldom used in > the U.S. for cooking. > In China, Belkin said, millions of people have no choice. > About > 22 percent of rural homes depend on coal. > ``If they want to cook or heat, they have to use coal,'' he > said. China has very little oil, gas or wood that can be used for > fuel. But China has the world's largest known reserves of coal. For > many peasants, the coal is dug out of hillsides, free for the > taking. > Many poor Chinese burn the coal in unvented stoves, filling > their homes with fumes, Belkin said. Indeed, early mornings in > rural villages finds most homes wreathed with the bluish haze of > coal smoke. > In southwest China's Guizhou province, which has beds of > arsenic-rich coal, farmers routinely dry peppers over coal-fired > stoves. The produce absorbs the smoke and fumes, and then are added > to virtually every food prepared, Belkin said. > It is unknown if the arsenic poisoning has caused any deaths, > he > said, because death certificates and autopsies are rare in rural > China, but at least 3,000 confirmed cases of chronic arsenic > poisoning have been confirmed. > In another area, farmers use coal with a high fluorine > content > to dry corn, Belkin said. The grain takes up high levels of the > poison mineral, he said, and as a result fluorosis, or fluorine > poisoning, is very common. The effects can range from discolored > teeth to softened, twisted and crippled bones. > Judy Mumford, an Environmental Protection Agency scientist > who > has studied China's pollution problems, agrees that poisoning from > the burning of dirty coal has had a very severe health effect. > Chinese officials, aware of the problem, are beginning to > search > for solutions, she said. > -- > Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada > <[log in to unmask]> > ^^^ > \ / > \ | / Today’s Research > \\ | // ...Tomorrow’s Cure > \ | / > \|/ > ``````` -- ****************************************************************************************** Charles T. Meyer, M.D. Middleton (Madison), Wisconsin [log in to unmask] ******************************************************************************************