CURRENT NEWS

• ETL submits second Testimony to the EPA Expert Panel on WTC Contaminant Monitoring. On May 25, 2005 Dr. Robert Jaffe submitted an open letter to Dr. Nancy Adams. The testimony summarized the main issues discussed in the 23 February Report to the EPA and proposed the use of the Glaucoma Swimming Behavior Assay for rapid monitoring (10 minutes) of air samples during future terrorist attacks. The testimony can be downloaded HERE.
  
  
• ETL receives Subcontract for WHOI/ETL DoD Project ETL has been awarded a subcontract for the WHOI Project: "Early Warning of Terrorist Poisoning of Drinking Water". Dr Scott Gallager of WHOI is director of the study which will develop a field model Swimming Behavior Spectrometer for the analysis of changes in swimming behavior parameters (Speed, Angular Velocity and Mean to Gross Displacement Ratios) during 10-20 minute observation times. ETL will assist in the development of continuous culture methods and the selection of the most sensitive species from several heterotrophic protists (Tetramitus rostratus, Glaucoma chattoni. Tetrahymena pyriformis, Tetrahymena malaccensis, Tetrahymena furgasoni, and Bodo caudatus) and the algae Chlamydomonas, Rhodomonas, and Dunaliela. In addition to the selection process ETL will help to perform validation studies of the laboratory bench-top model and assist in the validation studies to be performed by two independent laboratories; a DoD laboratory and Southwest Laboratories of San Antonio, Texas.
  
  
• ETL Conducts Tetramitus Particle Toxicity Tests on the EPA Reference Toxicants used in the Mouse WTC Inhalation Study ETL has performed Tetramitus Particle Toxicity Tests on diesel particle exhaust and the three reference toxicants used in the EPA study: "Toxicological Effects of Fine Particulate Matter Derived from the Destruction of the World Trade Center." (1) The results of this study have been submitted in a report to the EPA Health Effects laboratory on October 11, 2004. The study results can be downloaded HERE (please note that this file is appx. 3 megabytes).
  (1) 2002 , Stephen H. Gavett, Najna Haykol-Coates, John K. McGee, Jerry W. Highfill, Allen D. Ledbetter and Daniel L. Costa.. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC. September, 2002. EPA/600/R-02/028.
  
  
• ETL submits Testimony to the EPA Expert Panel on WTC Contaminant Monitoring. On November 15, 2004 Dr. Robert Jaffe submitted a proposal, to the WTC Expert Panel, for inclusion of the Tetramitus Particle Assay for consideration as one of the tests to be used in monitoring for WTC Dust Contamination. The issues of whole particle toxicity and the possible synergistic effect of mixtures were raised. The testimony can be downloaded HERE.
  
  
• ETL Tests Deutsche Bank WTC Contaminated Dust Samples Dr. Nancy Adams, of the EPA Department of Homeland Security/Consequences and Decontamination Division, has provided ETL with Deutsche Bank, WTC contaminated dust samples in order to examine toxicity results using the Tetramitus Growth Inhibition and Glaucoma chattoni Swimming Behavior Assays. The complete report and a short version have been submitted on 23 February 2005. A feasibility study is proposed which would demonstrate the utility of the Glaucoma Swimming Behavior Assay for monitoring worker exposure during the upcoming Deutsche Bank Deconstruction (CLICK HERE). An additional study is proposed which would confirm DNA Damage as the mechanism of action for the growth inhibition of Tetramitus flagellates exposed to particle suspensions prepared from the Deutsche Bank Dust Samples.
  
  
• ETL and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), in a joint project, have discovered that the swimming pattern produced by the 10 micron diameter flagellate, Tetramitus rostratus is extremely sensitive, in a dose-dependant way, to compounds which influence flagellar motor activity, including heavy metals, endotoxins, ion channel blockers, and a variety of other noxious compounds. One of the key components of this project was to develop a real-time method for tracking individual cells within a population, quantify motion characteristics such as displacement, velocity, speed, and bearing and then use those characteristics to designate normal cells from those that had been affected by a toxin. The result is a sensitive, rapid assay for biologically active admixtures and individual toxins which could not be detected by conventional means. This collaborative effort has lead to a joint grant application in response to a Department of Defense request for new anti-terrorism technologies. Please CLICK HERE to visit a WHOI web site which contains additional information on this exciting project.

• Dr. Robert Jaffe appeared before the New York City Council Hearing on January 14, 2000, concerning the expansion of Route 120 next to the Kensico Reservoir. A report was submitted to the Council entitled, "Drinking Water Toxicity in New York City Tap Water and Reservoir Samples". This report is now available for review - CLICK HERE to view the report.

• Dr. William J. Nicholson, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine recommends that a population-based study be conducted to test the possible linkage between drinking water toxicity detected with the Tetramitus Assay and cancer incidence. In a November 29, 2000 letter to Dr. Ellen Heineman, National Cancer Institute Project Director of the Long Island Breast Cancer Study, Dr. Nicholson advocates the exploration of drinking water toxicity as a possible environmental risk factor for breast cancer on Long Island. CLICK HERE to view the letter.

• ETL in cooperation with Trout Unlimited (Croton Branch), Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition and New York Water Watch, has completed a study describing particle and whole water toxicity in the streams and tributaries of the Croton Watershed. These water bodies feed into the Croton, Muscoot and Kensico reservoirs - sources of drinking water for New York City, Westchester and Putnam County. Performance of the Tetramitus Assay during this study revealed, as was the case for the Long Island Drinking Water studies, a high level of statistical reliability. New observations included; data describing toxicity masking effects by sediment containing particles above 20µ, changes in particle densities (particle concentration per mg sediment) in samples taken under different rainfall conditions, and different particle toxicity to sediment concentration relationships under different rainfall conditions. This report: "Survey of Tetramitus Toxicity in Waterbodies in the Croton Watershed" was part of the larger report entitled "A Study of Storm Water Conveyances as 'Point Sources' of Pollution in the East of Hudson Watershed, New York City Drinking Water Supply". Copies of this report have been distributed to Governor Pataki, various regulator agencies (DEC,DEP,EPA), and local town supervisors. CLICK HERE to view the report.

• ETL appeared on Television broadcasts of two news conferences called by John Keane of Trout Unlimited. The news conferences were to publicize the release of the report, "A Study of Storm Water Conveyances as 'Point Sources' of Pollution in the East of Hudson Watershed, New York City Drinking Water Supply". The broadcasts included News Channel 4 Eleven o'clock news on August 3, 2000; ABC News 6.00 o'clock news on August 9, and continuous coverage on Westchester News Channel 12 on August 9. Full coverage of the August 8, 2000 press conference appeared in the Westchester Sentinel.

• ETL has recently completed an Interlaboratory Validation study. Three laboratories as well as our own performed the Tetramitus Assay on cadmium chloride and 4NQO (4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide) and compared the results. This study was undertaken by Drs. Chandler Fulton, Charles Walsh and Oscar Pancorbo from Brandeis University, the University of Pittsburgh and the Massachusetts DEP, respectively. Preliminary evaluation of the data shows that all laboratories obtained linear dose response curves for both toxicants with an interlaboratory coefficient of variation of 50-60%. Further evaluation will be published in the upcoming ATSDR Report, 2nd edition.

• ETL has submitted a report to the ATSDR: "Utility and Reliability of the Tetramitus Assay as a Monitoring Instrument for Toxicity Reduction and Risk Assessment" on April 16, 1999. The writing of this report was funded by a grant from ATSDR to ETL. On June 11, 1999 a memorandum to ETL, by Dr. William Cibulas suggested that a peer review panel would be an appropriate body to evaluate the Tetramitus Assay. ETL has agreed to this process, but requested additional time in order submit a later version which would include the results of the New York City Drinking Water and Croton Watershed studies. ETL anticipates that the revised edition will be completed and sent to the ATSDR for during the Winter of 2001. The 2nd edition of this report will be posted on this Web site.

• ETL, with the assistance of Dr. Marina Larson, has filed a second patent application "Determination of Cytotoxic Substances in Whole Effluent Samples" which deals with the use of other flagellate species for measuring size-specific particle toxicity. A preliminary application also was filed for the use of flagellate swimming patterns as an indicator of potential toxicity.

MILESTONES

• 2000 Report, "Survey of Tetramitus Toxicity in Waterbodies in the Croton Watershed" completed.

• 2000 Report, "Drinking Water Toxicity in New York City Tap Water and Reservoir Samples" completed.

• The "Tetramitus Assay" a chapter in Biomonitors and Biomarkers as Indicators of Environmental Change Vol 2.(ed. Butterworth, et.al.) published by Kluwar Academic/Plenum Publishers.

• 1999 Report, "Utility and Reliability of the Tetramitus Assay as a Monitoring Instrument for Toxicity Reduction and Risk Assessment" submitted to ATSDR.

• 1998 First licensing agreement signed.

• 1997 Interlaboratory Validation Study completed.

• 1996 Environmental Toxicology Laboratory is now on the Internet. World Wide Web site established at envirolab.com.

• 1995 The manuscript, Rapid assay of cytotoxicity using Tetramitus flagellates, is published in Toxicology and Industrial Health, Vol. 11, No. 5, pp. 543-558, 1995.

• 1995 A U.S. Patent was issued for the Tetramitus Assay , February 7, 1995. Patent # 5,387,508.

• 1994 The testing of 31 coded samples, using the Tetramitus Assay, with no false positives and no false negatives.

• 1993 Dose Response Curve obtained for centrifuged drinking water particles.

• 1991 Demonstration of cytotoxicity for twenty known mutagens.

• 1990 Environmental Toxicology Laboratory, Inc., incorporated in the State of New York