Research on lead poisoning, hair styling and artists’ oil paints will be featured at Towson University gathering of world’s largest scientific society

Each paper embargoed for release until date and time of presentation, unless noted otherwise

More than 250 research findings will be presented at the 34th Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, May 30-June 1. Seven hundred scientists are expected to attend the meeting which will be held at Towson University near Baltimore. Highlights include:

• Effects on human hair from color products, hair dryers and sunbathing
• Safety of consumer products such as fireworks, food and drugs
• Child lead surveillance in Maryland

Laurence J. Boucher, Ph.D., department of chemistry, Towson University and Alan Samuels, Ph.D., Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, are serving as chairmen. For more information, visit www.towson.edu/chemistry/marm2001/Welcome.html.

Wednesday, May 30, 2001
9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

• Heat styling hair: what really happens —- Few people stop to consider the chemistry behind their everyday habits. Fifty-five percent of American women blow-dry their hair at least six times per week. Another 70% use a curling iron or hot rollers more than once per week. How does heat-styling work and what else happens to hair as it gets heated? Researchers will discuss various effects of heat styling on hair including water loss and resulting decrease in hair plasticity. (Presenter Kathleen Martin, Unilever HPC-USA, Rolling Meadows, IL)

• Artificial color on human hair —- Hair coloring products not only affect natural hair color and fibers. They also cause damage to hair protein and produce a variety of shades when treated with the same color product. Additionally, life style, environment and application of cosmetic treatments such as styling mousse can alter color appearance. Researchers will discuss how sunlight, humidity, and hair color products damage hair protein and which factor is most detrimental to color appearance. (Presenter Gabriela M. Wis-Surel, Unilever Research, Edgewater, NJ)

• How sunbathing and cosmetic chemical treatments affect hair at molecular level —- Exposure to sun, particularly during summer, as well as cosmetic chemical hair treatments, can damage hair fibers. Researchers will discuss the extent of hair damage caused by sun and beauty products and how new research is influencing cosmetic companies to develop sunscreen products for hair. (Presenter Chandra Pande, Clairol Inc., 2 Blachley Road, Stamford, CT)

• The science of smell: how the nose senses odor —- The olfactory system determines how we perceive fragrances and other odors, and also provides neuroanatomical pathways by which odorous compounds affect our memory and emotions. In the nose, odorants bind to an extremely large family of receptors. This binding event initiates a cascade of molecular events culminating in the detection and recognition of an odor by the brain. An independent chemical sensor, the vomeronasal organ, also functions to modulate sexual and aggressive behavior in many animals. The presence of this organ in humans suggests that airborne chemicals may be able to influence human behaviors. (Presenter Jonathan Pevsner, Department of Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD)

Thursday, May 31, 2001
1:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

• Childhood blood lead surveillance in Maryland —- Maryland law requires that laboratories report all blood lead test results on children to the Maryland Childhood Lead Registry. Reported data are the basis for statewide surveillance, case identification, and case tracking. This presentation will demonstrate uses of this data, including: assessment of screening performance, trends in blood lead levels over time, identification of high risk areas,case management, enforcement, and GIS applications. The presentation will also cover a statute recently passed by Maryland state legislation enforcing stronger regulations on laboratories to report lead detection results in children. (Presenter Barbara L. Conrad, Maryland Department of the Environment, Baltimore, MD)

• Role of regulations in reducing childhood lead poisoning —- Defective lead paint continues to present a challenge to state and federal government, property owners and parents trying to protect children from exposure to this serious hazard. This presentation will cover the Maryland primary prevention law aimed at reducing risk in rental housing and how it has resulted in reduction in lead poisoning cases. (Presenter Susan Guyaux, Maryland Department of the Environment, Baltimore, MD)

• Current and future measurements of lead in blood and urine —- Researcher will discuss lead detection techniques currently used as well as recent advances in technologies to better measure levels of lead in blood and urine. (Presenter Patrick J. Parsons, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY)

• Long term natural aging of artists’ oil paints —- Exhibition, storage and treatment of oil paintings depends on their chemical and physical condition. Researchers will discuss how changes in oil paintings occur over time as well as newly developed techniques to preserve oil paintings and help manufacturers develop better oil paints. (Presenter Charles S. Tumosa, Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education, Suitland, MD)

June 1, 2001
9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

• Consumer fireworks safety —- This presentation will compare professional “display” fireworks with those produced for consumer use. Simple methods for protecting yourself when handling consumer fireworks will be highlighted, including placing roman candles into buckets filled with dry sand rather than holding them in your hand. (Presenter Joseph A. Domanico, chief of pyrotechnics team, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, MD)
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