A significant and unprecedented collection of science studies has appeared in the American Chemical Society journal, Environmental Science & Technology, which has devoted its entire December issue to the "effects of emerging contaminants on people and planet." This is a first step in providing a comprehensive treatment of how synthetic chemicals are altering life on the planet.

For those of you who have read THE HUNDRED YEAR LIE, many of the 40 studies and articles elaborate on trends and themes identified in the book. For instance, the magazine supports the book's contention that wastewater treatment and water purification plants are releasing huge numbers of synthetic chemicals into the environment and into our bodies with unknown impacts on health.

The press release announcing the special issue described its approach this way: " Not so long ago, the notion that particles 80,000 times thinner than a human hair could somehow self-assemble and cause harmful effects in the water, air and perhaps even cells seemed far-fetched. But today the quest to understand nanoparticles and other emerging contaminants and discover ways to cope with them is one of the hottest and most critical areas in chemistry research."

Here is a summary of a few of the science studies that provide evidence supporting key points in THE HUNDRED YEAR LIE:

--a study of North American rainwater at four northeastern U.S. sites and two sites in southern Canada found significantly high concentrations of PFOAs, which are used as stain resistant coatings on paper, particularly fast food packaging. The main source of this contamination seemed to be the urban corridor between New York and Washington, D.C.

--carbon filters on water treatment plants often fail to remove PFOAs and PFOSs, both types of perfluorinated surfactants found in consumer products. Both the Moehre and Ruhr rivers in Germany were found to be contaminated, apparently because food industry sewage sludge had been spread on farm fields near the rivers. Drinking water taken from these rivers had alarmingly high levels of these chemicals.

--Flame retardants (PBDE's) in the bodies of North Americans are 10 times higher than anywhere else in the world. These retardants are absorbed by fish and bioaccumulate up the food chain into humans.

--Dozens of types of disinfectant chemical byproducts were detected at 12 drinking water treatment plants, including 28 "new previously unidentified disinfection byproducts."

--Two common 'complexing agents' called BT and TT, used in dishwasher detergents and as anticorrosives, escape removal in wastewater treatment plants and bioaccumulate in the environment. A study of seven rivers in Switzerland found concentrations of both contaminants. The health risks are unknown.

--a study of surface waters in Germany and Switzerland found certain types of barbiturates, whose production was halted decades ago, still pollute the environment and resist breakdown.

--organic wastewater contaminants were identified and analyzed from solid waste produced by wastewater treatment plants in seven U.S. states. This waste was spread on farm fields. In any one sample taken, up to 45 chemical contaminants were found out of 87 that were being sought, which means the actual numbers of chemical contaminants surviving wastewater treatment will be in the hundreds if not thousands. Biosolids are "highly enriched" with these contaminants, said the study authors, and the results "demonstrate the need" to better determine the health risks, since 50 percent of biosolids produced in the U.S. are spread on lands, many of which support crops.

--an antibacterial chemical used in the swine industry called CDX is being found in groundwater. This chemical survives chlorine treatments in water purification plants. That means drinking water contains this potential carcinogen.

--two chemical compounds used in cancer chemotherapy and the treatment of autoimmune diseases were found to survive treated wastewater processes and to persist in groundwater with unknown toxic effects on aquatic life.

--wastewater from 30 onsite treatment systems in two Colorado counties --Summit and Jefferson-- was analyzed for organic wastewater contaminants. Of the 24 target chemical compounds, 88 percent were detected in the samples. Some compounds, such as endocrine disrupting chemicals, disinfectants, antimicrobial agents, and pharmaceuticals, were found in every sample with unknown consequences for the environment or human health.

--aircraft deicer and anti-icer fluid runoff creates endocrine disruption and toxicity in aquatic life, but scientists are having difficulty studying the effects because trade secrecy laws enable manufacturers to hide toxic chemical ingredients from public view and as a result, "much of the toxicity is due to unidentified additives," concluded the scientists involved in this study.