Health effects of leaf blowers and lawn vacuums

Leaf Magnets™ are the best leaf removal technology, and the healthiest. All alternatives (rakes, blowers, vacuums, sweepers, and lawn mowers) damage your health, appearance, mood, brainpower.

Surprised? So were we. We knew exhaust gas is toxic and noise is annoying, but beyond that, we didn't see any other problems except for a cough lingering for a few days after blowing or vacuuming—just allergies, we presumed.

The reality is more alarming. The inescapable problem with blowers is that they blow everything on lawns, not just leaves. Lawn vacuums also stir up plumes contaminating the user's eyes, nose, lungs, ears, and clothing. What's on leaves and grass is often toxic, and what is in soil always is: no area is safe, but some are worse than others (example). Even lawn sweepers and rakes create some dust and airborne debris, and thus also pose a risk to you.

The references listed below substantiate our concerns. Most were generated by scientists, all of whom have nothing to sell, and hence no vested interest in persuading you that what is on lawns and in soil is indeed hazardous to users and their neighbors.

The irony is that people use leaf blowers and lawn vacuums to save time, but they may waste even more by triggering health problems and increasing the risk of premature death not only in the operator but others nearby because noise, exhaust, dust, and other hazards spread widely.

Minimizing future risks and focusing on immediate benefits is an example of temporal discounting. In the minds of most people, the apparent time savings from using leaf blowers instead of rakes is so alluring they opt for the blower even though it may send them to an early grave or unable to perform in the bedroom without pharmacological assistance—none happening today or anytime soon, so the generally small risk from any one usage is rounded down to zero. But just as one fast-food meal won't kill you but a steady diet of them very well may (the threshold effect, analogous to the straw that broke the camel's back), small but repeated risks can slowly add up to big problems. Leaf Magnets™ eliminate the need to trade current benefits for future risks because they outperform leaf blowers while not subjecting you to their health hazards.

Lists summarizing the health effects

Here's a summary listing problems caused or contributed to by leaf blowers, lawn vacuums, and mowers as well as sweepers and rakes to a lesser extent:

• birth defects
• premature birth
• reduced height, academic performance, and motivation
• asthma
• cough
• infections
• hypertension (high blood pressure)
• heart attacks, other heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases
• type 2 diabetes
• erectile dysfunction
• obesity
• eczema
• psoriasis
• acne
• hearing loss
• poor sleep
• stress
• anxiety
• depression
• irregular menstrual cycles
• mood swings
• compulsive behavior
• hyperactivity
• oppositional behavior (angry/irritable mood [easily loses temper, touchy, easily annoyed, resentful], argumentative/defiant behavior [abrasive, often deliberately annoys others or blames them for his or her mistakes or misbehavior], vindictiveness)
• neurotoxicity
• decreased learning ability
• diminished IQ
• increased propensity for violence
• kidney disease
• premature graying of hair
• hair loss
• cancer
• accelerates inflammation and aging
• premature death

One of these risks is Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite transmitted by contaminated soil. Interestingly, there are gender differences in its effects. They include:

Men

• lower intelligence
• lower probability of achieving higher education
• decreased novelty seeking
• more distrustful
• reduced superego (conscience) strength
• more aggressive
• more inclined to break rules
• increased criminality (& likely more sociopathy in general)
• more rigid
• more emotionally reactive
• less stable
• more affected by feelings
• more easily upset

Women

• feeling out of control or overwhelmed
• less independent
• more uninhibited
• more rule-bound and conforming
• more uptight
• increased pregnancy weight gain
• symptoms resembling premenstrual syndrome
• unpleasant signs or symptoms of menopause (cognitive impairment, migraine, mood disorders, bouts of rapid heartbeats, dizziness, low back pain, breast pain, abdominal pain, digestive problems, electric shock sensations)

Males and females

• slowed reaction time
• increased risk of traffic accidents
• decreased ability to maintain concentration
• reduced academic performance in children (especially in math)
• learning and memory impairment (in mice)
• anxiety
• depression
• schizophrenia
• epilepsy
• Down syndrome
• abortion
• mental retardation (with congenital toxoplasmosis)
• chorioretinitis (usually acquired congenitally)
• neuroticism (worry, fear, envy, anger, moodiness, frustration, jealousy, guilt, loneliness, self-consciousness, shyness, difficulty controlling urges and delaying gratification, poor tolerance to stress)
• “higher focus on ego, ambition, money, material possessions, self-achievement and work than on relationships, people, social support and quality of life”

Leaves decay primarily via decomposition by mold, with various fungal species predominating at different times; this diversity heightens the chance of leaves inducing an allergic response in any one person. Arrows in the pictures below highlight mold spots on leaves in early spring after they were covered by snow during a northern Michigan winter. Fungal decay slowly proceeds until leaf decomposition is complete.

Some of the hazardous substances in soil, grass, and leaves

• mold and bacteria (which can harm you and plants, with leaf blowers potentially spreading them from one infected plant to many others); see pictures above
• roundworms (nematodes)
• animal urine and feces, such as from cats, dogs, deer, birds, raccoons, rats, and mice, some of which can transmit infections, such as hantavirus, which is potentially fatal; the CDC recommends wearing a N95-rated respirator when cleaning up raccoon feces, a process that typically generates markedly less airborne emissions than blowing
• decaying bodies of dead insects and animals, such as worms, birds, and snakes
• pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals
• allergens such as plant pollen
• dust resulting from tire wear
• brake-lining dust, which may contain asbestos, which also occurs naturally in some soil
• dirt (which inevitably includes metals and frequently is contaminated by heavy metals such as lead that can cause a variety of physical and cognitive effects, including impaired intelligence. Another heavy metal, cadmium, is present in soil and phosphorous fertilizers; it can cause a variety of physical effects, including cancer, kidney disease, and hair loss. Importantly, lungs absorb cadmium more readily than the gastrointestinal tract, so cadmium inhalation is especially toxic. Cadmium has a long biological half-life of 17 – 30 years, so once in the body, it takes decades to excrete half of it, therefore even tiny doses progressively accumulate. Inhaling metals, whether as dust or fumes, is often substantially more toxic than ingesting the same amount. For example, manganese is an essential trace mineral we need in our diets. Ingested in tiny amounts, it is good for us, but when chronically inhaled, it is neurotoxic because it can pass directly into the brain via olfactory pathways. Researchers found that higher manganese levels in children correlate with lower IQ scores. Manganese is present in some fertilizers [example], so by applying it to lawns, some inevitably ends up in soil and hence people using leaf blowers and others downwind of them.)
• particulate matter from engine exhaust and dirt
• volcanic ash
• glass (can be naturally formed from the heat of asteroid impacts)
• erionite and other fibrous zeolites
• other mineral dusts

Most people don't know about research documenting these effects, thus they never put two and two together, so if their children do not get into medical school or otherwise fail to achieve their career dreams, or if they develop health or behavioral problems, almost never is the leaf blower identified as the culprit or contributing factor.

Reference list

Skip to Toxoplasma references

1. October 27, 2023: Letting those leaves pile up? New research shows leaf litter contains persistent free radicals
   Based on: Leaves are a Source of Biogenic Persistent Free Radicals
2. Leaf blowers fatal to declining insects, Germans warned
3. Study uncovers link between air pollution and intellectual disabilities in children
4. Dirty air now could harm hearts of offspring later: Study in mice first to suggest pollution's dangers can be passed on
5. Air pollution linked to autism: study
6. Report reveals link between air pollution and increased risk for miscarriage
7. New UK research links even low levels of air pollution with serious changes in the heart
8. Air pollution leads to cardiovascular diseases
9. Air pollution and noise increase risk for heart attacks
10. Air pollution reduces global life expectancy by more than one year, study finds
11. Air pollution contributes significantly to diabetes globally: Even low pollution levels can pose health risk
12. A mountain of evidence on air pollution's harms to children
13. Increased air pollution linked to bad teenage behavior: Tiny, toxic particles creep into developing brains, cause inflammation and may damage brain pathways responsible for emotion and decisions, researcher finds based on Longitudinal Analysis of Particulate Air Pollutants and Adolescent Delinquent Behavior in Southern California
    Comment: The culprit? Particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5). One source: engine exhaust. Researchers at USC's Environmental Health Sciences Center found that air pollution increases obesity, teenage aggressiveness, and nearly doubled the risk for dementia in older women.
14. Polluted Morality: Air Pollution Predicts Criminal Activity and Unethical Behavior
15. Evidence mounts for Alzheimer's, suicide risks among youth in polluted cities
    Comment: City air is significantly cleaner than air inhaled by people using gasoline-powered leaf blowers.
16. In China, a link between happiness and air quality: Moods expressed on social media tend to decline when air pollution gets worse, study finds
17. California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board: A Report To The California Legislature On The Potential Health And Environmental Impacts Of Leaf Blowers
18. Leaf litter in street sweepings: investigation into collection and treatment
    Comment: In addition to being contaminated by potentially toxic chemicals such as lead, arsenic, and chromium, street leaf sweepings were found to contain high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, some of which are genotoxic carcinogens) that may originate from vehicle exhaust, tire wear, and other sources. Wind (natural and that resulting from vehicle motion) spreads leaves, so ones contaminated by being in or adjacent to streets can move to other areas, including your lawn.
19. Traffic-related air pollution linked to DNA damage in children
    Comment: This translates into more health problems and shorter lives, but it's not just from automobiles; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other pollutants are produced by motor vehicles but the exhaust of small engines—such as those used in leaf blowers and lawn vacuums—is considerably more toxic, as documented by other references below. The irony is that in using them to save time, people risk cutting years or even decades off their lives. Not everyone succumbs to premature death, but it is impossible to escape all consequences of small-engine exhaust, such as premature signs of aging, some of which are mentioned below.
20. Brief exposure to tiny air pollution particles triggers childhood lung infections
21. Exposure to inorganic dust increases risk of gout in women by 27%
    Comment: Dirt also contains inorganic dust (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
22. Up to 38 percent of all annual childhood asthma cases in Bradford may be caused by air pollution
    Comment: The research also revealed that up to 24% of the total number of asthma cases could be caused by traffic-related air pollution. As documented below, vehicle exhaust is considerably less toxic than that from small engines, such as leaf blowers and lawn vacuums. Furthermore, people using such devices are exposed to a much higher concentration of pollutants than waft in from a distance from vehicles.
23. Traffic-related pollution linked to risk of asthma in children
24. Air pollution may be linked to heightened mouth cancer risk: High levels of fine particulate matter and to lesser extent, ozone, may be key
25. Particulate air pollution linked with reduced sperm production in mice
26. Some chemicals in smoke may be even more dangerous than previously thought
27. Increased air pollution cuts victims' lifespan by a decade, costing billions
28. Study of US seniors strengthens link between air pollution and premature death
29. Neurobehavioral effects of ambient air pollution on cognitive performance in US adults
30. Prolonged exposure to air pollution leads to genetic changes in rat brains, study finds: Cedars-Sinai Research provides insight into potential health effects of dirty air in the Los Angeles basin
31. Air Pollution Increases Obesity-Related Hormone: Study
32. Air pollution may affect levels of obesity-related hormone
33. Air pollution is associated with cancer mortality beyond lung cancer: A large scale epidemiological study associates some air pollutants with kidney, bladder and colorectal cancer death
34. Why polluted air may be a threat to your kidneys
35. Air pollution may shorten telomeres in newborns -- a sign of increased health risks
    Comment: Shortened telomere length is linked with cognitive decline, heart disease, cancer, aging, and premature death.
36. Pollution responsible for 16 percent of deaths globally -- Lancet Commission report
37. Air pollution exposure on home-to-school routes reduces the growth of working memory
38. Nitrogen dioxide in exhaust emissions from motor vehicles
    Comment: Nitrogen dioxide is also present in small-engine exhaust, such as from leaf blowers and lawn vacuums.
39. National Emissions from Lawn and Garden Equipment by Robert McConnell (Environmental Engineer with the US Environmental Protection Agency) and Jamie Banks, PhD, MS (environmentalist, healthcare scientist, and Executive Director of QuietCommunities.org, an exemplary non-profit organization superbly educating people about the health hazards of leaf blowers)
40. Can clean air make you happy? Examining the effect of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) on life satisfaction
    Comment: Researchers found a significant inverse correlation between mean annual ambient NO₂ and life satisfaction, with effects comparable to many 'big hitting' life events.
41. Air pollution can make you feel as poorly as a partner dying, study finds
42. Polluted air may pollute our morality
43. Pollution can lead to brain damage and depression warn scientists: Long term exposure to air pollution could damage the brain and lead to learning and memory problems and even depression, new research has revealed.
44. Air Pollution Linked to Cognitive Decline in Later Years
45. How toxic air clouds mental health
46. Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollution Linked to Impulsivity, Emotional Problems in Children
47. Air pollution may disrupt sleep
48. Sleep loss affects your waistline
49. How air pollution is linked to type 2 diabetes
50. Cleaner air, longer lives
51. Air pollution linked to irregular menstrual cycles
52. In-womb air pollution exposure associated with higher blood pressure in childhood
53. Environmental factors may trigger lupus onset and progression
    Comment: Environmental triggers include air pollution particulates.
54. October 6, 2022: Widespread pipe repair technique sends nanoplastics into the atmosphere, new study finds
    Excerpt: “The tiny bits of plastic that wear off bottles, plastic bags, automotive parts and even cosmetics … also get into the air, where they can damage lungs much more effectively. But for that to happen, they have to be worn away by water or earth and then be launched into the sky by winds.”
    Comment: Or leaf blowers.
55. Carotid Intima-Media Thickness, a Marker of Subclinical Atherosclerosis, and Particulate Air Pollution Exposure: the Meta-Analytical Evidence
56. Dogs born in the summertime more likely to suffer heart disease: Penn study supports earlier findings in humans pointing to the role of early gestational exposure to fine air particulates and increased risk of heart disease later in life
    Comment: For those born in July, a 74% higher risk!
57. In utero exposure to carbon monoxide increases infants' risk of poor lung function
    Comment: Engine exhaust contains carbon monoxide.
58. 'Tornado cough' threatening families in devastated areas and Insulation and plastic spread by tornadoes may not mix well with livestock
    Comment: Tornadoes that rip apart homes and other buildings widely spread their fiberglass insulation, pulverized drywall, asbestos (in older buildings), and other things you don't want in your eyes, nose, or lungs. However, the risk doesn't end after the tornado passes because such materials land on the ground, eventually mixing into the dirt, and can be subsequently stirred up by lawn vacuums or sweepers and especially leaf blowers. The dirt they put into the air kicks up everything in it. This problem can affect you even if tornadoes have never damaged your area because smaller amounts of fiberglass are added to soil during construction and some renovation or restoration projects.
59. A study links soil metals with cancer mortality
    Comment: Researchers found associations between various types of cancer and soil metals, including lead → esophageal cancer, copper → lung cancer, arsenic → brain tumors, cadmium → bladder cancer; (cadmium, lead, zinc, manganese, and copper) → digestive system cancers. Leaf blowers are the single most effective way of stirring soil into the air, with everything on and in it—including metals—given pipelines to enter the body, such as via inhalation. Lawn vacuums and mowers pose a similar risk but generally create less airborne dust.
60. Airborne dust threatens human health in Southwest
    Comment: Dry conditions in the Southwest make dust more of a problem there, but most other areas have dry spells during which leaf blowers and lawn vacuums can stir up substantial amounts of dust that endanger health. Lesser but still harmful amounts of dust are generated by leaf blowers at other times, including wet weather.
61. Noise throws the heart out of rhythm
62. Traffic noise may make birds age faster
    Comment: Noise in general is a stressor.
63. Recent advances in research on non-auditory effects of community noise
64. Noise exposure and public health
65. Burden of disease from environmental noise - Quantification of healthy life years lost in Europe
66. Transportation noise increases risk for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes
    Comment: Leaf blower noise is even more irritating.
67. Leaf blowers can ruin the neighborhood
    Comment: Those making noise are less bothered by it than others hearing it.
68. Blowback: The great suburban leaf war
    Comment: Some of the many take-home messages in this superb article:
    • Dr. David Lighthall said respirable road dust stirred up by leaf blowers can remain airborne for days.
    • The California Air Resources Board said fine airborne particles cause 9000 premature deaths per year in California—that's like three 9/11s per year.
    • After the head of a gardening crew spent eight minutes blowing, he accumulated a debris pile weighing about 12 ounces. This illustrates leaf blower inefficiency.
    • Peter Kendall complained that salad greens from his organic garden are covered with dust stirred up by leaf blowers, wisely realizing that dirt contains several toxic substances. He and his wife Susan created a website (Quiet Orinda) advocating for a city ban on blowers and posted a video presenting some of their hazards.
    • Attacking leaf blowers incited some of their proponents to inflict ad hominem attacks upon the Kendalls. People resort to ad hominem attacks when they cannot substantively rebut points made by their ideological opponents, substituting personal attacks on them in place of a debate of the issues.
    • Orindans often worry they may lose gardeners by discussing leaf blower issues with them. As a former lawn maintenance contractor, I would have loved it if customers voiced problems and presented new solutions helping them and me. Leaf Magnets™ do exactly that.
69. Analyzing roadside dust to identify potential health concerns: Findings from studies of traffic-related abrasion particles point to tires, brake pads, and road materials as significant sources of environmental pollution with potential health implications
70. Pollution warning over car tyre and brake dust (tyre = British spelling of tire)
71. Brake dust air pollution may have same harmful effects on immune cells as diesel exhaust
72. On Banning Leaf Blowers
73. My rake is faster than your leaf blower
    Comment: Because blowers are so slow, their operators are exposed to exhaust, dust, and toxic substances in it for longer periods than they would with the efficient Leaf Magnet™ method. With it, one pass and that area is done, as opposed to leaf blowers in which areas often must be blown again as wind or the leaf blower blows leaves onto that spot again … and again. Because the airstream from blowers fans out, leaves will inevitably be blown onto previously cleared areas. The only way to minimize that is counterintuitive and awkward, making leaf blowers even more annoying to use.
74. The Leaf Blower, Capitalism, and the Atomization of Everyday Life
75. Sound & Fury
    Comment: According to the article, landscapers claim they must work up to 50% longer with a rake and broom instead of a leaf blower.
76. Blow Hard Blues: Most local efforts to ban leaf blowers have fallen on deaf ears
77. U.S. Geological Survey: You're Standing on It! Health Risks of Coal-Tar Pavement Sealcoat
    Comment: Living adjacent to coal-tar-sealcoated pavement substantially increases cancer risk; most of which stems from ingestion or inhalation of soil, since inhaled material is often swallowed. Sealcoatings easily abrade from driveways and parking lots, contaminating those surfaces and adjacent dirt with toxic particles leaf blowers can spread widely.
78. Noisy, but that’s not all: the health threat posed by leaf blowers
79. Coal-Tar-Based Pavement Sealcoat and PAHs: Implications for the Environment, Human Health, and Stormwater Management
    Comment: PAHs = Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
80. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
    Comment: Adults exposed to PAHs have a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease. Exposed animals show increased atherogenesis, which elevates the risk of heart disease, stroke, erectile dysfunction, and other problems.
81. Is Your Driveway Toxic?
82. Studies: Health risk from toxic pavement sealant greater than previously believed
83. PAHs underfoot: contaminated dust from coal-tar sealcoated pavement is widespread in the United States
84. Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and azaarenes in runoff from coal-tar- and asphalt-sealcoated pavement
85. Toxicity of azaarenes
86. Oral exposure to commercially available coal tar‐based pavement sealcoat induces murine genetic damage and mutations
87. Counting genetic mutations predicts how soon you'll get cancer
    Comment: A mutation here, a mutation there: as they add up, your chance of living goes down. Unfortunately, this is just one of the cancer risks stemming from leaf blowers and lawn sweepers. Wearing a suitable mask reduces the risk to their operators, but not others who breathe in dust generated by them.
88. Studies Raise Questions about Pavement Sealers
89. Exposure to runoff from coal-tar-sealed pavement induces genotoxicity and impairment of DNA repair capacity in the RTL-W1 fish liver cell line
90. A Common Pavement Sealer May Lead to Unhealthy Homes
91. They paved paradise, all right, and with a potent human carcinogen to boot
92. Melting snow contains a toxic cocktail of pollutants: Air pollution from cars affected by freezing temperatures and snow
    Comment: After melting snow releases those toxic chemicals into soil and onto grass, leaf blowers and lawn vacuums spread them widely.
93. Does air pollution play a role in infertility?: a systematic review
94. Potential pathways of pesticide action on erectile function – A contributory factor in male infertility
95. Environmental agents and erectile dysfunction: a study in a consulting population
96. Impotence caused by pesticides
97. Non-cancer health effects of pesticides: systematic review and implications for family doctors
98. Pesticide Exposure and Child Neurodevelopment: Summary and Implications
99. Pesticides and personality
100. Pesticides and your health — a family physician's perspective
101. Dread of roses: Neurobehavioral effects found in children exposed to flower pesticides
     Comment: Leaf blowers don't just stir up dust, leaves, and grass but everything contaminating them, including pesticides.
102. 9-year-old boy dies months after being diagnosed with rare disease from mouse droppings
     Comment: The culprit? Hantavirus.
103. You Breathe What They Blow: The negative effects of leaf blowers are shocking.
104. Health hazards of leaf blowers
105. Air district report: Leaf blowers present health risks
106. Why You're the Worst Person In the World If You Use a Leaf Blower: Want to be a lousy neighbor? Have we got the device for you!
107. Exposure to air pollution increases risk of obesity
108. Air pollution cuts 3 years off lifespans in Northern China
     Comment: Air pollution affects everyone, everywhere. Some areas are worse, but none are without risk. Leaf blowers and lawn vacuums contribute to the problem.
109. House dust spurs growth of fat cells in lab tests based on Characterization of Adipogenic Activity of House Dust Extracts and Semi-Volatile Indoor Contaminants in 3T3-L1 Cells
     Comment: Using leaf blowers and lawn vacuums when windows are open can quickly contaminate homes. Merely entering a home with dusty clothes is another source. Researchers found that measurable effects were produced by as little as 3 micrograms of dust.
110. New study reveals Ulsan is exposed to yearlong toxic fine dust
111. New hyper-local air pollution map unveiled
     Comment: We tend to think air pollution varies regionally, but nearby locations can have significantly different pollution levels.
112. Air pollution a risk factor for diabetes, say researchers
113. Air pollution increases risk of insulin resistance in children
114. Air pollution linked to children's low academic achievement
115. Air pollution linked to slower cognitive development in children
116. Improving air quality in NYC would boost children's future earnings by increasing IQ
117. Air pollution linked to depression and slow thinking
118. Living near major traffic linked to higher risk of dementia
119. Late effects of a perinatal exposure to a 16 PAH mixture: Increase of anxiety-related behaviours and decrease of regional brain metabolism in adult male rats
     Comment: Leaf blower and lawn vacuum engines inevitably produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from incomplete combustion. PAH exposure during early stages of brain development can cause anxiety in adults.
120. Living near busy roads increases dementia risk, study finds
121. Traffic exposure may increase risk of dementia, study finds
122. THE POLLUTED BRAIN: Evidence builds that dirty air causes Alzheimer’s, dementia
123. Bad air means bad news for seniors' brainpower
124. Stroke from poor air quality
125. Air pollution linked to blood vessel damage in healthy young adults
126. Study shows how air pollution fosters heart disease
127. 'Bad' air may impact 'good' cholesterol increasing heart disease risk
128. Traffic-related air pollution associated with changes in right ventricular structure, function
129. Heart disease patients advised to avoid being outside in rush hour traffic
130. Air pollution linked to chronic heart disease
131. High-pollution days linked to increased risk of cardiac arrest
132. Poor air quality increases patients' risk of heart attack
133. Air pollution and hardening of arteries
134. Carotid artery stenosis: Air pollution connected with narrowing of the arteries
135. Exposure to air pollution 30 years ago associated with increased risk of death
136. Link between air pollution, increased deaths and increased deaths from heart disease affirmed
137. Air pollution linked to irregular heartbeat, lung blood clots
138. Air pollution may directly cause those year-round runny noses, according to a mouse study
139. Short-term exposure to low levels of air pollution linked with premature death among US seniors
140. Short-term exposure to air pollution at levels below current standards and risk of death
141. Scientists discover mechanism for air pollution-induced liver disease
142. Particulate matter from modern gasoline engines damages our lungs
143. Toxicity of aged gasoline exhaust particles to normal and diseased airway epithelia
144. Air pollution linked to increased rates of kidney disease
145. Air pollution causes millions of cases of kidney disease each year
146. Breathing dirty air may harm kidneys based on Particulate Matter Air Pollution and the Risk of Incident CKD and Progression to ESRD
147. Exposure to air pollution just before or after conception raises risk of birth defects
148. Air pollution exposure during pregnancy linked with asthma risk
149. Environmental pollution exposure during pregnancy increases asthma risk for three generations
150. First evidence that soot from polluted air is reaching placenta
151. Link between vitamin E, exposure to air pollution
152. Air Pollution and Symptoms of Depression in Elderly Adults
153. Cardiovascular Triggers Are in the Very Air We Breathe
154. Scientists warn of links between soil pollution and heart disease
     Excerpt: “Pesticides and heavy metals in soil may have detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system … Dirty soil may enter the body by inhaling desert dust …”
     Comment: Or any soil dust, including that blown by leaf blowers.
155. Particulate air pollution: Exposure to ultrafine particles influences cardiac function
156. Link between air pollution, heart disease confirmed: Higher levels of coarse particles in the air associated with increase in same-day cardiovascular hospitalizations in major urban areas
157. Volkswagen's excess emissions will lead to 1,200 premature deaths in Europe
158. 44,000 healthy years lost in Europe, 72,000 years could still be lost in the future
159. Outdoor air pollution tied to millions of preterm births
160. Yearly cost of US premature births linked to air pollution: $4.33 billion
161. Even a little air pollution may have long-term health effects on developing fetus
162. Even low levels of air pollution appear to affect a child's lungs
163. Strong link between higher levels of pollution, lung health of European citizens
164. Air pollution and impaired lung function prove independent risk factors for cognitive decline
165. Prenatal exposure to combustion-related pollutants and anxiety, attention problems in young children
166. Prenatal exposure to common air pollution linked to cognitive, behavioral impairment
167. Air pollution affects young people's psychiatric health
168. Prenatal exposure to air pollution linked to impulsivity, emotional problems in children
169. Air pollution and psychological distress during pregnancy
170. World's largest study shows effects of long-term exposure to air pollution and traffic noise on blood pressure
171. Birds sing shorter songs in response to traffic noise
     Comment: And likely also leaf blower noise, which is even more annoying.
172. High blood pressure linked to short-, long-term exposure to some air pollutants
173. ADHD-air pollution link: Breathing dirty air during pregnancy raises odds of childhood ADHD-related behavior problems
174. Cardiovascular effects of environmental noise exposure
175. Air pollution below EPA standards linked with higher death rates
176. Noise exposure in occupational setting associated with elevated blood pressure in China
177. Exposure-response relationship between traffic noise and the risk of stroke: a systematic review with meta-analysis
178. Environmental stressors and cardio-metabolic disease: part I-epidemiologic evidence supporting a role for noise and air pollution and effects of mitigation strategies
179. Environmental stressors and cardio-metabolic disease: part II-mechanistic insights
180. Road traffic noise is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and all-cause mortality in London
181. Noise as a Health Hazard for Children, Time to Make a Noise about it
182. The effect of noise on the health of children
183. Night time aircraft noise exposure and children's cognitive performance
184. Children's cognition and aircraft noise exposure at home--the West London Schools Study
185. The effects of road traffic and aircraft noise exposure on children's episodic memory: the RANCH project
186. The effects of chronic aircraft noise exposure on children's cognition and health: 3 field studies
187. ICBEN review of research on the biological effects of noise 2011-2014
188. Health effects from noise
189. Florida Woman Threatens to Shoot Man with Leaf Blower Because it Was Too Loud!
190. Woman, mad about leaf blower, pulls out gun, threatens worker
191. Neighbors' bitter leaf-blower battle ends with one shot dead, the other charged
192. Clash over leaf blower leads to deadly shooting
193. Microbes can redeem themselves to fight disease; Science News, Nov. 1, 2014, p. 19 (discussing how modified bacteria can be therapeutically used, but bacteria present in nature can, as quoted in the video, be harmful).
194. Raccoon Latrines: Identification and Clean-up
195. Photographs of Raccoon Poop
196. Raccoon droppings pose danger
197. Cleaning up raccoon droppings is deadly serious
198. Undetected infection: Raccoon roundworm -- a hidden human parasite?
     Comment: Yes. The CDC found that 7% of people tested positive for raccoon roundworm antibodies. The roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) infects over 90% of raccoons in Santa Barbara (in adult raccoons, infection rates are typically as high as 70%; in juvenile raccoons, they can exceed 90%). Female worms can produce well over 100,000 eggs per day (up to 877,000), invisible to the naked eye but dangerous and resistant to disinfection with soap, alcohol, or bleach and are hardy, able to survive years in the environment. Up to 45,000,000 eggs can be shed daily by an infected raccoon. The infectious dose is relatively low, estimated to be <5,000 eggs. Eggs accidentally consumed can hatch. Roundworms stay in the gut in raccoons; others aren't so lucky: they can migrate through the body, potentially producing blindness, severe brain damage, or even death (as happened to a Santa Barbara toddler). Dogs can be infected, then shed eggs in their feces. Raccoons are primarily nocturnal, so you may not realize they live in your area. One study found 30 raccoons per quarter acre.
199. Raccoon roundworm eggs near homes and risk for larva migrans disease, California communities
     Comment: The authors said serious or fatal larva migrans disease in humans and animals is increasingly recognized to result from the raccoon roundworm Baylisascaris procyonis, the eggs from which were found in 28 – 49% of properties surveyed.
200. Update on Baylisascariasis, a Highly Pathogenic Zoonotic Infection
201. Baylisascaris procyonis: An Emerging Helminthic Zoonosis
     Comment: Most doctors don't know about this disease, so many cases of it are overlooked, with the true cause never identified. However, even when Baylisascaris infection is suspected, diagnosing it is difficult.
202. Raccoon Roundworm Encephalitis
203. Backyard Raccoon Latrines and Risk for Baylisascaris procyonis Transmission to Humans
204. Baylisascariasis--a new dangerous zoonosis
205. Raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) encephalitis: case report and field investigation
206. A child with raccoon roundworm meningoencephalitis: A pathogen emerging in your own backyard?
207. Spinal cord involvement in a child with raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) meningoencephalitis
208. Parasite-carrying Raccoons Found To Be Culprits In Spread Of Lethal Disease
209. Raccoons deal death
210. Baylisascaris Procyonis (Nematoda: Ascaridoidea) in Raccoons (Procyon Lotor) from Duval County, Texas
211. Parasite prevalence and the worldwide distribution of cognitive ability
212. Disease and Development: Evidence from Hookworm Eradication in the American South
213. Hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides infection and polyparasitism associated with poor cognitive performance in Brazilian schoolchildren
214. Evidence for an association between hookworm infection and cognitive function in Indonesian school children
215. Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (ascariasis, hookworm infection, and whipworm infection)
216. Gut microbiota disturbance during helminth infection: can it affect cognition and behaviour of children?
217. "Stupidity or worms": do intestinal worms impair mental performance?
218. Helminthiasis Presenting as Microcytic Anemia
219. Toxocariasis in North America: A Systematic Review
220. Childhood parasitic infections endemic to the United States
221. Reduced cognitive function in children with toxocariasis in a nationally representative sample of the United States
222. Toxocariasis and lung function: relevance of a neglected infection in an urban landscape
223. Toxocara infection and diminished lung function in a nationally representative sample from the United States population
224. Prevalence and risk factors associated with Toxocara canis infection in children
225. Parasitic zoonoses: one health surveillance in northern Saskatchewan
226. Ocular toxocariasis--United States, 2009-2010
227. Toxocariasis: America's Most Common Neglected Infection of Poverty and a Helminthiasis of Global Importance?
228. Toxocariasis mimicking liver, lung, and spinal cord metastases from retinoblastoma
229. A public health response against Strongyloides stercoralis: time to look at soil-transmitted helminthiasis in full
230. Cadmium and Phosphorous Fertilizers: The Issues and the Science
231. Cadmium And Cadmium Compounds: Toxicology
232. Cadmium poisoning
233. Cadmium Levels in Soils and Crops in the United States
234. Cadmium in Soils and Plants
235. Associations between cadmium exposure and neurocognitive test scores in a cross-sectional study of US adults
236. Exposure To Cadmium: A Major Public Health Concern
237. Cadmium and Phosphorous Fertilizers: The Issues and the Science
238. Possible Relationship between Chronic Telogen Effluvium and Changes in Lead, Cadmium, Zinc, and Iron Total Blood Levels in Females: A Case-Control Study
239. Raynaud syndrome
240. Vibration white finger
241. Inflammation-Aging Link Confirmed
242. Inflammation in Aging and Age-related Diseases
243. Inflammation in aging processes: an integrative and ecological perspective
244. Exposure to particulate air pollutants associated with numerous cancers
245. Exposure to Air Pollution May Shorten Survival in Liver Cancer Patients
246. Carcinogenic soot particles from petrol engines
247. Common class of chemicals cause cancer by breaking down DNA repair mechanisms
     Comment: The chemicals, aldehydes, are present in engine exhaust and smoke.
248. How inflammation can lead to cancer
249. Cancer and Inflammation
250. Review article: Inflammation and cancer
251. Air pollution and skin diseases: Adverse effects of airborne particulate matter on various skin diseases
252. Traffic-related air pollution linked to facial dark spots
     Comment: Small engines (such as those powering leaf blowers, lawn vacuums, and mowers) emit significantly more pollution than automobiles, which are heavily regulated and possess several pollution-control devices.
253. Slow the signs of aging with sun protection
     Comment: The article also mentions that uneven skin tone can result from pollution.
254. How bad for the environment are gas-powered leaf blowers?
255. Emissions Test: Car vs. Truck vs. Leaf Blower
     Comment: Despite having only ≈ 1% or less of the power of the 411-horsepower, 6,200-pound 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Crew Cab, the four-stroke Ryobi leaf blower emitted enormously more NOx, CO, and NMHC; the two-stroke leaf blower was even worse, generating more hydrocarbon emissions per season of typical use than the truck would in 20,000 – 300,000 miles (depending on yard size and leaf density).
256. Leaf Blower's Emissions Dirtier than High-Performance Pick-Up Truck's, Says Edmunds' InsideLine.com
257. More Pollution Than Cars? Gas-Powered Gardening Equipment Poses the Next Air Quality Threat
258. One Hour Of Grass Cutting Equals 100 Miles Worth Of Auto Pollution
259. October 11, 2021: Gasoline-powered lawn mowers, leaf blowers to be banned under new California law: Law targets small engines, which can pollute more than passenger vehicles.
     Excerpt: “Operating a gasoline-powered leaf blower for one hour produces as much volatile organic compounds and NO_x as driving a 2017 Toyota Camry from New York City to Orlando, Florida, state officials say. … as recently as last year, small engines produced more NO_x [nitrogen oxides] and VOC [volatile organic compound] pollution in California than passenger vehicles.”
260. Rush hour pollution may be more dangerous than you think
261. Sitting in traffic jams is officially bad for you
     Comment: Operating gasoline-powered leaf blowers, lawn vacuums, and mowers is much worse because they emit more pollutants, which essentially pool around the user.
262. Stopping at red lights exposes drivers to high levels of air pollution
263. New study shows smoking can affect breastfeeding habits: Exposure to household smoke shortens duration
264. Road traffic pollution as serious as passive smoke in the development of childhood asthma
265. Asthma symptoms kicking up? Check your exposure to air pollution
266. Bad air quality along utah's wasatch front causes more than 200 pneumonia cases each year
267. Induction of alopecia in mice exposed to cigarette smoke
268. Genotoxicity of environmental tobacco smoke: a review
269. Genotoxicity of tobacco smoke and tobacco smoke condensate: a review
270. Genotoxic risk of passive smoking
271. Exposure to smoking before and after birth linked to hearing impairment in toddlers
272. Is the Air You Breathe Your Skin's Biggest Enemy? Age is in the air: Pollution is waging a war on your complexion
273. Oxidative stress in ageing of hair
274. The impact of oxidative stress on hair
275. Towards a "free radical theory of graying": melanocyte apoptosis in the aging human hair follicle is an indicator of oxidative stress induced tissue damage
276. Oxidative stress--a key emerging impact factor in health, ageing, lifestyle and aesthetics
277. Association between smoking and hair loss: another opportunity for health education against smoking?
278. Air pollution and the skin
279. Environmental influences on skin aging and ethnic-specific manifestations
280. Environmental pollution and skin aging
281. The Dirty Truth About Pollution-induced Skin Aging: The AhR Pathway Tells All
282. Airborne particle exposure and extrinsic skin aging
283. Particulate Matter and Skin
284. Association between smoking, passive smoking, and erectile dysfunction: results from the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey
285. Effects of Fine Particulate Matter on Erectile Function and Its Potential Mechanism in Rats
286. How air pollution affects your health – infographic: Exposure to air pollutants has been linked to suppressed lung growth, asthma, heart disease, fetal brain growth damage and the onset of diabetes
287. Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution
288. How to save ourselves from the invisible gas choking us to death
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Millions of Europeans die per decade from air pollution with most resulting despite their air supposedly being safe.
     • Strong evidence now indicates that NO₂ [nitrogen dioxide] is itself harmful.
     • Air pollution likely heightens the risk of autism, dementia, diabetes, and other problems.
     • Researchers found myriad small iron particles in brains, likely from engine exhaust.
289. Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation — Clinical syndromes and neuroimaging
     Comment: Iron can generate reactive oxygen species that are neurotoxic.
290. Brain iron deposits are associated with general cognitive ability and cognitive aging
291. Biogenic Magnetite in Humans and New Magnetic Resonance Hazard Questions
292. Nanoscale biogenic iron oxides and neurodegenerative disease
293. Nanoparticles can travel from lungs to blood, possibly explaining risks to heart
294. Detecting nanoplastics in the air
     Comment: Microplastics and nanoplastics settle onto the ground and accumulate on it via various processes, such as from rain and morning dew trapping tiny airborne plastic particles. However, once there, they don't always stay there but instead can be resuspended in air from various activities, such as mowing lawns and especially using leaf blowers. More plastics in the air = more plastics in your lungs and body.
295. Air pollution linked to cognitive decline in women
296. Exposure to high pollution levels during pregnancy may increase risk of having child with autism
297. Fine particulate air pollution linked with increased autism risk
298. Researcher adds to evidence linking autism to air pollutants
299. Autism risk for developing children exposed to air pollution: Infant brain may be affected by air quality
300. Hair Heavy Metal and Essential Trace Element Concentration in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
301. ASD Linked to Prenatal Metal Exposure According to Baby Teeth Findings based on Fetal and postnatal metal dysregulation in autism
     Comment: ASD = Autism Spectrum Disorder
302. Environmental toxicants and autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review
303. Association between air toxics, childhood autism
304. New evidence links air pollution to autism, schizophrenia
305. One in 20 cases of pre-eclampsia may be linked to air pollutant
306. Air pollution can alter the effectiveness of antibiotics and increases the potential of disease, new study reveals
     Comment: Researchers discovered air pollution directly affects bacteria that cause respiratory infections and their response to antibiotics.
307. Air pollution is sending tiny magnetic particles into your brain
308. Long-term exposure to traffic-related particulate matter impairs cognitive function in the elderly
309. Long-term exposure to air pollution may pose risk to brain structure, cognitive functions
310. Particulate Matter in Polluted Air May Increase Biomarkers of Inflammation in Mouse Brain
311. Childhood inflammation raises risk of later bipolar symptoms
312. Inhaled ultrafine particulate matter affects CNS inflammatory processes and may act via MAP kinase signaling pathways
313. Composition and sources of fine particulate matter across urban and rural sites in the Midwestern United States
314. Air pollution may lead to dementia in older women: Tiny, dirty airborne particles called PM2.5 invade the brain and wreak havoc, study suggests
315. Dementia risk linked to air pollution …
     Comment: Strong evidence that dementia is associated with air pollution.
316. Heavy metal: Some airborne particles pose more dangers than others
317. Heavy metals: Environmental heavy metals
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Use of leaded gasoline in North America largely ceased by 1996 but soil adjacent to roads built before then is still contaminated with lead.
     • Researchers found a significant correlation between use of leaded gasoline and violent crime.
     Considering the latter: because major cities had a higher density of leaded gasoline use, it isn't surprising that their violent crime rates were higher.
318. Heavy metal contaminants in inorganic and organic fertilizers
319. Minnesota Department of Health/Agriculture: Heavy Metals in Fertilizers
320. Metal Dusts, Fumes and Mists
321. Dust Resulting from Tire Wear and the Risk of Health Hazards
322. Tire Dust
323. What are the Effects of Dust on the Lungs?
324. Ancient enzyme protects lungs from common irritant produced by bugs and mold
     Comment: Chitin is a component of organisms such as fungi (yeasts, molds, mushrooms), nematodes, protozoa, arthropods (insects, arachnids [spiders, dust mites], myriapods [millipedes, centipedes]), and Lissamphibia (frogs, toads, salamanders, newts), many of which can be inhaled when decaying debris from their dead bodies is stirred up by leaf blowers and lawn vacuums. In humans, chitin triggers an immune response that may become an allergy. Animals deficient in chitinases (enzymes that break down chitin) may develop severe inflammatory lung disease producing fibrosis. Some plants (such as bananas, avocados, tomatoes, kiwis, papaya, and chestnuts) use chitinase to defend against fungal and invertebrate attack whereas other organisms use chitinases for other purposes, such as digestion or structural remodeling. Chitinases have hevein-like protein domains that may trigger allergic cross-reactivity between latex and various plants.
325. Sand in public playgrounds may play a role in transmitting infections
     Comment: Dirt isn't just dirty; it is also germy—and leaf blowers spread it like wildfire.
326. Public Health Statement for Aluminum
327. Neurobehavioral effects of developmental toxicity
328. Manganese Exposure and Cognition Across the Lifespan: Contemporary Review and Argument for Biphasic Dose–Response Health Effects
329. Neurofunctional dopaminergic impairment in elderly after lifetime exposure to manganese
330. Neurotoxicity of inhaled manganese: public health danger in the shower?
331. Manganese neurotoxicity: behavioral, pathological, and biochemical effects following various routes of exposure
332. Manganese-induced neurotoxicity: a review of its behavioral consequences and neuroprotective strategies
333. Does environmental exposure to manganese pose a health risk to healthy adults?
334. Higher manganese levels in children correlate with lower IQ scores, UC study finds
335. Manganese and the brain
336. Manganese neurotoxicity: new perspectives from behavioral, neuroimaging, and neuropathological studies in humans and non-human primates
337. Developmental exposure to manganese induces lasting motor and cognitive impairment in rats
338. Manganese: Role in neurological disorders
339. Map illustrating how the manganese (Mn) content of soil varies greatly in the United States
340. Even better map that's interactive and displays concentrations of many elements and minerals from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): Geochemical and mineralogical maps for soils in the conterminous [lower 48] US
341. Manganese exposure: cognitive, motor and behavioral effects on children: a review of recent findings
342. Manganese exposure and cognitive deficits: a growing concern for manganese neurotoxicity
343. Safety concerns over tungsten
344. Electric Leaf Blowers Recalled after Injuries
345. Science provides a new way to measure blower performance [ANSI B175.2 measuring blowing force]
346. Map of soil arsenic distribution (United States)
347. Map of arsenic in water (United States)
348. Map of soil lead distribution (United States)
349. Soil is an important pathway of human lead exposure
350. Road Dust Lead (Pb) in Two Neighborhoods of Urban Atlanta, (GA, USA)
     Comment: A major potential source of lead exposure in urban children continues to be road dust.
351. Lead (Pb) legacy from vehicle traffic in eight California urbanized areas: continuing influence of lead dust on children's health
352. Estimation of leaded (Pb) gasoline's continuing material and health impacts on 90 US urbanized areas
353. The continuing impact of lead dust on children's blood lead: comparison of public and private properties in New Orleans
354. Urban soil-lead (Pb) footprint: retrospective comparison of public and private properties in New Orleans
355. The urban rise and fall of air lead (Pb) and the latent surge and retreat of societal violence
356. Spatial distribution of lead in Sacramento, California, USA
357. New Orleans soil lead (Pb) cleanup using Mississippi River alluvium: need, feasibility, and cost
358. Altered myelination and axonal integrity in adults with childhood lead exposure: a diffusion tensor imaging study
359. Early-life metal exposure and schizophrenia: A proof-of-concept study using novel tooth-matrix biomarkers
360. Environmental exposures to lead and urban children's blood lead levels
361. Potential for childhood lead poisoning in the inner cities of Australia due to exposure to lead in soil dust
362. Thousands of U.S. Areas Afflicted with Lead Poisoning beyond Flint's: The Michigan city doesn't even rank among the most dangerous lead hotspots in America
363. The elephant in the playground: confronting lead-contaminated soils as an important source of lead burdens to urban populations
364. Low-level lead exposure and children's intelligence from recent epidemiological studies in the U.S.A. and other countries to progress in reducing lead exposure and screening in the U.S.A.
365. Lifetime exposure to environmental lead and children's intelligence at 11-13 years: the Port Pirie cohort study
     Comment: Lead exposure before age 8 is associated with persistent cognitive deficits.
366. Exposure to environmental lead and visual-motor integration at age 7 years: the Port Pirie Cohort Study
367. Environmental lead exposure and children's cognitive function
368. Neurobehavioral aspects of lead neurotoxicity in children
369. Association between soil heavy metals and fatty liver disease in men in Taiwan: a cross sectional study
370. The Adverse Effects of Heavy Metals with and without Noise Exposure on the Human Peripheral and Central Auditory System: A Literature Review
371. Metals and Neurodegeneration
372. Effect of Lead (Pb) on Inflammatory Processes in the Brain
373. Wind speed map (United States)
     Comment: Wind helps spread soil contaminants once launched into the air by leaf blowers or vacuums.
374. The surprising reason abandoned US mines haven’t been cleaned up
     Comment: Discusses how wind blows arsenic-contaminated dust from abandoned mines onto yards.
375. Long-term dust climatology in the western United States reconstructed from routine aerosol ground monitoring
376. Rainfall can release aerosols, study finds
377. Light rain can spread soil bacteria far and wide, study finds
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Researchers found that raindrops produce a spray of mist (aerosols), each laden with up to several thousand soil bacteria.
     • Wind can further spread airborne bacteria, enabling them to travel considerable distances, eventually settling to colonize distant areas.
     Leaf blower air velocity can exceed 200 mph, so they have markedly more potential to create mists from blowing leaves wetted by rain or dew. To illustrate this, we put blue food dye on grass that was blown by a leaf blower, which sprayed mist onto downstream paper (see below). In addition to the distinct spots, note the diffuse bluish haze especially concentrated near the upper center; that resulted from an aerosolized mist of countless tiny droplets—ones ideally suited for long-distance spread. The direct blast can travel many feet, but once airborne, wind can carry it hundreds or thousands of feet.
     
     
     Leaf blower mist on paper ≈ 17 x 44 inches
     
     Closeup of leaf blower mist; green square ≈ 1 in²
378. Dew drops spontaneously flinging themselves into the wind may spread wheat infections
     Comment: However they get into the air (by flinging themselves or via leaf blowers), drops can spread numerous infections, affecting both plants and animals.
379. Fungal community on decomposing leaf litter undergoes rapid successional changes
380. Cryptococcus
     Comment: Cryptococcus neoformans is the most medically important species of Cryptococcus. Wild birds, such as pigeons, can spread it via their droppings, which dry and can subsequently be stirred up, infecting humans or pets that inhale the dust. Leaf blowers aren't great at moving leaves, but they are exceptionally effective in stirring up dust of all sorts: from dirt (as toxic as it can be, as documented elsewhere in this page) to everything deposited on lawns, including bird droppings.
381. Cryptococcus gattii
     Comment: Spores from this potentially lethal fungus are easily aerosolized by disturbing soil. It can cause disease (cryptococcosis) in people with normal immune systems (non-immunocompromised).
382. CDC: Emergence of Cryptococcus gattii--- Pacific Northwest, 2004--2010
     Excerpt: “C. gattii is an emerging infection in the United States. C. gattii appears to differ from its sibling species, C. neoformans, both in its clinical aspects (e.g., less responsive to antifungal drugs and more likely to cause tumor-like lesions called cryptococcomas) and its ecologic niche … In addition, whereas the primary risk factor for C. neoformans cryptococcosis is severe immunosuppression (e.g., from HIV infection), risk factors for C. gattii infection in the United States appear to include both immunocompromise and exposure to specific regions of environmental fungal colonization … Many cases of C. gattii infection are likely not recognized because distinguishing between C. gattii and C. neoformans requires plating on differential media not routinely available in clinical microbiology laboratories; therefore, many cryptococcal infections are never speciated. … Fungal spores are known to colonize the nasal cavity and spread to other body sites, causing meningitis, pneumonia, and the development of lung, brain, or muscle cryptococcomas …”
383. Cryptococcus gattii Dispersal Mechanisms, British Columbia, Canada
384. Isolation of Cryptococcus gattii from Oregon soil and tree bark, 2010–2011
385. Isolation Of Cryptococcus Neoformans From Soil
386. First global atlas of the bacteria living in your dirt: Researchers have compiled a 'most wanted' list of around 500 key bacterial species that are both common and abundant worldwide
387. Killer fungi: The health threat that's creeping up on us: They kill more people than malaria, and the death toll is set to rise. But we are only just starting to understand the devious ways fungi can infect us
     Comment: Cryptococcus usually grows on rotting plant material in soil.
388. November 16, 2022: Lung infections caused by soil fungi are a problem nationwide: Outdated maps of disease-causing fungi may lead to delayed, missed diagnoses
     Comment: Leaf blowers inevitably blow dirt into the air along with everything — including pathogens — that is in dirt. Take a deep breath and ponder that.
389. November 21, 2022: A Soil Fungus That Causes Lung Infections Is Spreading Across the U.S.: A study suggests histoplasma is now found in nearly every state, but many doctors aren't looking out for it.
     Based on: The Geographic Distribution of Dimorphic Mycoses in the United States for the Modern Era
     Comment: The modern era includes leaf blowers that helps germs do their dirty work.
390. January 10, 2023: 4 key things to know about lung infections caused by fungi: News that three kinds of fungi are more widespread than thought prompted reader questions
     Excerpt: “Human activities that disturb the soil where these fungi typically live — such as farming, gardening, construction, road work or archaeology — can also stir up dust and spores.”
     Comment: Or using a leaf blower.
391. November 21, 2022: Physicians urged to consider fungal infections as possible cause for lung inflammation: Climate change widens spread of Valley fever, other fungal diseases beyond typical hot spots
392. Characterization of pollen allergens
393. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis from a contaminated dump site
     Comment: A municipal leaf compost site liberated Aspergillus fumigatus spores that caused allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in a local patient.
394. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis
     Comment: Aspergillus spores are common in soil.
395. Evaluation of the cause of nasal and ocular symptoms associated with lawn mowing
     Comment: Leaf blowers and lawn vacuums stir up even more allergens than lawn mowers.
396. Allergenic exposure, IgE-mediated sensitization, and related symptoms in lawn cutters
397. Outdoor allergens
398. Mold Allergy
399. Leaf mold
400. 10 Ways to Reduce Mold Allergies
401. Four Things You Might Not Know About Fall Allergies
402. Exposure-response relationships for work-related sensitization in workers exposed to rat urinary allergens: results from a pooled study
     Comment: Animals urinate, defecate, vomit, bleed, die, and decay in nature. Leaf blowers and lawn vacuums strongly stir up these materials not only from their primary sites but also secondary ones after they are spread via a variety of processes.
403. Isolation of Trichosporon asahii from environmental materials
     Comment: Trichosporon occur naturally in soil.
404. Trichosporon Infections
405. The opportunistic yeast pathogen Trichosporon asahii colonizes the skin of healthy individuals: analysis of 380 healthy individuals by age and gender using a nested polymerase chain reaction assay
406. Trichosporon asahii, a Non-Candida Yeast That Caused Fatal Septic Shock in a Patient without Cancer or Neutropenia
407. Overview of naturally occurring Earth materials and human health concerns
     Comment: An overview of several natural health hazards, including:
     • volcanic ash + aerosols + gases
     • mineral dusts
     • non-volcanic aerosols + nanoparticles
     • asbestos + fibrous zeolites
     • arsenic
     • fluorine
     • iodine
     • uranium + thorium + radium + radon + polonium
     • selenium
     • mercury
     • copper
     • lead
     • chromium
     • cadmium
408. Comprehensive Study finds Widespread Mercury Contamination Across Western North America
409. Map #1 of volcanic ash distribution (United States)
     Map #2 of volcanic ash distribution (United States; Mount St. Helens)
     Map #3 of volcanic ash distribution (United States; 1936 Yellowstone Eruption)
     Map #4 of volcanic ash distribution (world)
     Comment: Once airborne, wind blows volcanic ash for surprising distances (“thousands of kilometers”), so it can be found far from volcanic eruptions.
410. Kamchatkan volcanic ash travels half the world
411. Sahara dust may make you cough, but it's a storm killer
     Comment: Dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa was blown to the Southern United States, including Texas; worldwide total: 2 to 9 trillion pounds.
412. Asian dust providing key nutrients for California's giant sequoias
     Comment: Since dust can travel from one continent to another, dust stirred up by leaf blowers and lawn vacuums can easily spread onto neighbors' property and faraway places.
413. Asian dust and acute myocardial infarction: Prediction and prevention
     Comment: Acute myocardial infarctions (colloquially, “heart attacks”) spike when Asian dust clouds blow in.
414. Bacteria may travel thousands of miles through the air globally: Study could shed light on harmful bacteria that share antibiotic resistance genes
415. Volcanic ash
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Airborne ash particles smaller than 10 µm diameter are inhalable.
     • Inhaling ash produces respiratory problems along with nose, throat, eye, and skin irritation.
     • Long-term exposure likely triggers health problems because free crystalline silica has been proven to cause silicosis.
416. The Health Hazards Of Volcanic Ash: A guide for the public
417. Volcanic Ash -- Effects on Health and Mitigation Strategies
418. Volcanic Ash: More Than Just A Science Project: Hazards Of Volcanic Ash
419. Health Canada: Potential Health Effects Of Volcanic Ash
420. The respiratory health hazards of volcanic ash: a review for volcanic risk mitigation
421. Case study by Dr. Shafiq Qaadri: Volcanic ash can severely damage your lungs
422. The health hazards of volcanoes and geothermal areas
423. A retrospective study on acute health effects due to volcanic ash exposure during the eruption of Mount Etna (Sicily) in 2002
424. Long-term health effects of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption: a prospective cohort study in 2010 and 2013
425. Volcanic ash in the air we breathe
426. Viruses -- lots of them -- are falling from the sky: An astonishing number of viruses are circulating around the Earth's atmosphere -- and falling from it
427. Researchers raise health concerns about off-road vehicles and inhalation of asbestos
     Comment: Leaf blowers can generate vastly more dust than off-road vehicles.
428. The dust storm microbiome
     Comment: Bacteria cling to particles of airborne dust, traveling many miles during storms.
429. Soil pollution: Xenobiotic chemicals
430. CDC: Anthrax
     Excerpt: “People get infected with anthrax when spores get into the body. … This can happen when people breathe in spores, eat food or drink water that is contaminated with spores, or get spores in a cut or scrape in the skin. It is very uncommon for people in the United States to get infected with anthrax.”
     Comment: But it happens, and if it happens to you, its rarity is no consolation.
431. Investigation of Inhalation Anthrax Case, United States
     Excerpt: “Inhalation anthrax occurred in a man who vacationed in 4 US states where anthrax is enzootic. Despite an extensive multi-agency investigation, the specific source was not detected, and no additional related human or animal cases were found. Although rare, inhalation anthrax can occur naturally in the United States.”
432. Anthrax in the United States: Respiratory, Inhalational, or Pulmonary Anthrax: “is contracted by breathing in the anthrax spores. It has similar symptoms to the cold and flu for the first few days—a sore throat, muscle aches, and fever are often common. However, the disease then deviates, resulting in acute breathing difficulty and shock, which is often fatal. Untreated cases have a 100% mortality rate.”
433. Modeling the Geographic Distribution of Bacillus anthracis, the Causative Agent of Anthrax Disease, for the Contiguous United States using Predictive Ecologic Niche Modeling
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Anthrax is a zoonotic disease still affecting many countries, including the USA for wildlife species and herbivorous livestock, and secondarily people.
     • The soil-borne bacteria B. anthracis [the causative agent of anthrax] is ubiquitous.
     That article includes the predicted distribution of Bacillus anthracis in the 48 contiguous United States.
434. Unearthing Anthrax's Dirty Secret: Its Mysterious Survival Skills May Rely on Help from Viruses--and Earthworms: Researchers find that viruses infecting anthrax and other Bacillus bacteria control its growth both in the soil and in earthworms--and uncover possible new reservoirs for the age-old scourge
     Comment: According to the article, up to 75% of those inhaling anthrax spores (and 60% of those ingesting them) can die from it.
435. Anthrax can grow and reproduce in soil, researchers find
436. United States EPA: Learn About Asbestos
     Comment: Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral fiber in some soil and rock.
437. Asbestos in Soil
438. Asbestos: understanding and managing asbestos risks in soil
     Comment: Asbestos is also frequently found in made ground.
439. Asbestos in Soil
     Comment: Soil can naturally contain asbestos.
440. Asbestos map of the United States (article)
441. Landscapes Tainted by Asbestos
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Naturally occurring asbestos has been found in locations throughout the United States.
     • Minerals physically similar to asbestos, such as erionite, can also form needlelike structures that heighten the risk of mesothelioma.
     • Some California residential developments were built on soil containing asbestos; such fibers were found blowing around those communities.
     • Human harm resulted from considerably smaller amounts of asbestos than were previously assumed to be dangerous.
442. CDC: Erionite: An Emerging North American Hazard
     Excerpt: “Disturbance of this material can generate airborne fibers with physical properties and health effects similar to asbestos.”
443. CDC: Erionite map (Western United States)
444. Erionite and its Health Effects
     Comment: The fibrous zeolite mineral erionite is a highly toxic human carcinogen (causing mesothelioma) widely distributed throughout the world.
445. Naturally Occurring Asbestos: Potential for Human Exposure, Southern Nevada, USA
     Comment: Disease can result from many natural fibrous minerals besides asbestos. These include:
     • amphibole minerals
     • winchite
     • magnesioriebeckite
     • richterite
     • erionite
     • antigorite (a serpentine mineral)
446. Come rain or shine, viruses live on in soil
447. CWD prions discovered in Wisconsin soils for the first time
     Comment: CWD = chronic wasting disease, a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (another is bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a.k.a., mad cow's disease). The big question is: can CWD infect humans? The CDC said, “Scientists believe CWD proteins (prions) likely spread between animals through body fluids like feces, saliva, blood, or urine, either through direct contact or indirectly through environmental contamination of soil, food or water. … Experts believe CWD prions can remain in the environment for a long time, so other animals can contract CWD from the environment even after an infected deer or elk has died. … To date, there is no strong evidence for the occurrence of CWD in people, and it is not known if people can get infected with CWD prions. Nevertheless, these experimental studies raise the concern that CWD may pose a risk to people and suggest that it is important to prevent human exposures to CWD.”
448. Could avian scavengers translocate infectious prions to disease-free areas initiating new foci of chronic wasting disease?
     Comment: Because they are migratory, American crows can potentially spread infectious prions (including those associated with CWD) in their feces to distant disease-free areas.
449. Modern Pestilence: Leaf Blowers Generate Infuriating Noise, Toxic Gases and Hazardous Dust
450. The Devil's Hair Dryer: Hell is other people, with leaf blowers.
451. The Leaf Blower: A lazy person's lawn manicure
452. DrWeil.com: Ban Leafblowers!
453. Do noisy leaf blowers drive you mad?
454. First in the Nation: The MSSNY's Gas Leaf Blower Resolution
     Comment: MSSNY = Medical Society of the State of New York.
455. Massachusetts Medical Society's Resolution Against Gas Leaf Blowers
456. Leaf Blowers- A Quality of Life And Public Health Issue
457. Noise isn't just a city problem — Leaf blowers are a major issue for towns
458. Author James Fallows (of The Atlantic fame) is likely America's most vocal opponent of leaf blowers. He has bashed them for years, and even mused about “whether plastic explosives, or a ball-peen hammer, would be a better option for destroying my neighbors' leafblowers.” Some of his articles include:
     • I Have Seen the Face of Evil: The world's most pointless invention: It's not just for autumn any more!
     • What the Devil Does in His Spare Time
     • Technology Can't Solve Every Problem, but It Sure Helps With This One (Leafblower Dept)
       Comment: Electric blowers are quieter, but the inescapable problem with all leaf blowers is that they blow. Operators could reduce risks to themselves by wearing goggles, a respirator, earmuffs, and covering all skin with clothing, but doing that would frequently make blowing uncomfortably warm, even dangerous during hot weather. Furthermore, it does nothing to shield others from airborne debris stirred up by leaf blowers. Mr. Fallows touts the electric Stihl BGA 100, but even in what Stihl terms the “Boost Mode,” it is less than half as powerful as some gas blowers, none of which can equal the performance of Leaf Magnets™. Cost and battery capacity limiting run time are two more strikes against electric blowers.
     • Other leaf blower articles by James Fallows
459. A prominent writer and Washington insider is launching a war. On leaf blowers.



Toxoplasma references

460. June 13, 2022: Cats that are allowed to roam can spread diseases to humans and wildlife
461. Systems analysis points to links between Toxoplasma infection and common brain diseases based on Toxoplasma Modulates Signature Pathways of Human Epilepsy, Neurodegeneration & Cancer
462. Prenatal Infection and Schizophrenia: A Review of Epidemiologic and Translational Studies
     Comment: The authors reported that Toxoplasma gondii more than doubled the risk of schizophrenia in individuals exposed in utero (in the womb).
463. Relationship Between Toxoplasma gondii and Mood Disturbance in Women Veterans
     Comment: Toxoplasma gondii infection has been associated with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and suicidal behavior.
464. Common parasite may trigger suicide attempts: Inflammation from T. gondii produces brain-damaging metabolites
465. Women infected with common parasite have increased risk of attempting suicide, study finds
466. Toxoplasma gondii antibody titers and history of suicide attempts in patients with schizophrenia
467. Toxoplasma gondii and Schizophrenia
468. Scientists Find Stronger Evidence For Link Between Cat Faeces And Schizophrenia
469. Seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibody in patients with schizophrenia
470. Toxoplasma gondii infection in first-episode and inpatient individuals with schizophrenia
471. Antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in Patients With Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis
472. A controlled prospective study of toxoplasma gondii infection in individuals with schizophrenia: beyond seroprevalence
473. Early Infections of Toxoplasma gondii and the Later Development of Schizophrenia
474. Psychosis may be associated with toxoplasmosis
475. Evidence of increased exposure to Toxoplasma gondii in individuals with recent onset psychosis but not with established schizophrenia
476. Maternal antibodies to infectious agents and risk for non-affective psychoses in the offspring--a matched case-control study
477. Serum antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii and Herpesvidae family viruses in individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: a case-control study
478. Is there any role of Toxoplasma gondii in the etiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder?
479. Toxoplasmosis: How a cat parasite exploits immune cells to reach the brain
480. Epidemic toxoplasmosis associated with infected cats
481. Acquired toxoplasmosis
     Comment: Disease resulted from infected cats fecally shedding toxoplasma oocysts with transmission presumably resulting from oocyst aerosolization or hand-to-mouth contact.
482. During a hurricane, where does all the pig poop go? Into your water.: The horrifying pig poop floods in North Carolina are not a one-time thing.
     Comment: And onto the ground, and into the air (thanks to leaf blowers), hence into your eyes, nose, and lungs.
483. Toxoplasmosis – A Global Threat. Correlation of Latent Toxoplasmosis with Specific Disease Burden in a Set of 88 Countries
484. Follow-up of the 1977 Georgia Outbreak of Toxoplasmosis
     Comment: The toxoplasmosis outbreak most likely stemmed from inhalation or ingestion of cat feces stirred up by horses. Leaf blowers can create substantially more airborne dust.
485. Cats and Toxoplasma: implications for public health
     Comment: Toxoplasma oocysts in soil or water, or on uncooked vegetables, is an important source of human infection.
486. Toxoplasma gondii: epidemiology, feline clinical aspects, and prevention
     Comment: Soil and water are the usual sources of human toxoplasma infection.
487. Toxoplasmosis. Are cats really the source?
     Comment: Human toxoplasma infections are less likely to result from direct contact with pet cats than from fecally contaminated soil spreading oocysts to hands.
488. Spatial distribution of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in soil in a rural area: Influence of cats and land use and Land use and soil contamination with Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in urban areas
     Comment: Oocyst-contaminated soil is increasingly acknowledged to be a primary source of human infection.
489. Association between seropositivity for Toxoplasma gondii, scholastic development of children and risk factors for T. gondii infection
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Toxoplasma oocysts are usually acquired from soil.
     • Infected men are more distrustful, aggressive, and apt to break rules; infected women more likely to feel a need to abide by them yet are paradoxically uninhibited.
     • When infected, both sexes exhibit slowed reaction time and more difficulty maintaining concentration.
     • Infected children scored less well on the Scholastic Performance Test with math giving them the most difficulty. Hence avoiding leaf blowers and lawn vacuums is occupationally relevant for those seeking careers demanding brainpower.
     • Most lawn and exposed soil samples were contaminated.
     

     ---

     Previously, T. gondii infection was thought to generally endanger pregnant women and people with impaired immunity, such as diabetics or those with HIV; infections in others was thought to be typically asymptomatic—that is, without symptoms.
490. Toxoplasma Gondii Infection and Depression: A Case-Control Seroprevalence Study
     Comment: Researchers found a potential link between toxoplasma infection and depression.
491. Correlation of duration of latent Toxoplasma gondii infection with personality changes in women
     Comment: In men, reduced superego [conscience] strength is correlated with the duration of toxoplasma infection.
492. Changes in the personality profile of young women with latent toxoplasmosis
493. Induction of changes in human behaviour by the parasitic protozoan Toxoplasma gondii
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Toxoplasma gondii changes behavior.
     • 20 – 80% of people are infected by this parasite.
     • Those infected exhibit highly significant differences as compared with uninfected people.
     

     ---

     Reduced superego strength increases the risk of sociopathic behavior, including criminality.
494. High seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in inmates: A case control study in Durango City, Mexico
495. Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in psychiatric inpatients in a northern Mexican city
     Comment: Those infected with Toxoplasma gondii had a significantly higher risk of being a psychiatric inpatient, especially one with schizophrenia.
496. Toxoplasma gondii Infection: Relationship With Aggression in Psychiatric Subjects
497. People with rage disorder twice as likely to have latent toxoplasmosis parasite infection: New study identifies link between Intermittent Explosive Disorder and exposure to the common toxoplasma gondii parasite typically found in undercooked meat, cat feces
     Comment: Toxoplasma gondii is also commonly present in soil.
498. Toxoplasma gondii: a potential role in the genesis of psychiatric disorders
499. "Latent" infection with Toxoplasma gondii: association with trait aggression and impulsivity in healthy adults
500. The diagnosis of a personality disorder increases the likelihood for seropositivity to Toxoplasma gondii in psychiatric patients
501. Influence of chronic toxoplasmosis on some human personality factors
502. Decreased level of psychobiological factor novelty seeking and lower intelligence in men latently infected with the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii Dopamine, a missing link between schizophrenia and toxoplasmosis?
     Comment: They reported that 30 – 60% of people worldwide are infected with Toxoplasma gondii, with infected individuals showing poorer psychomotor performance and personality changes, including:
     • Less novelty seeking.
     • Lower IQs.
     • Less likely to achieve higher education.
503. Decreased level of novelty seeking in blood donors infected with Toxoplasma
504. Influence of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection on Symptoms and Signs of Premenstrual Syndrome: A Cross-sectional Study
     Comment: Toxoplasma gondii infection produced premenstrual syndrome symptoms.
505. Toxoplasma gondii Infection and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study
     Comment: Toxoplasma gondii infection was associated with feeling out of control or overwhelmed.
506. Influence of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection on Symptoms and Signs of Menopause
507. Toxoplasma gondii Infection and Mixed Anxiety and Depressive Disorder: A Case-Control Seroprevalence Study in Durango, Mexico
     Comment: Toxoplasma gondii infection was associated with behavioral changes including mixed anxiety and depressive disorder.
508. Beyond the association. Toxoplasma gondii in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and addiction: systematic review and meta-analysis
     Comment: Toxoplasma gondii infection was associated with several psychiatric disorders.
509. Neuropsychiatric disease and Toxoplasma gondii infection
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Toxoplasma gondii infection can alter human personality and may increase the risk of schizophrenia and depression.
     • The Toxoplasma gondii genome contains two aromatic amino acid hydroxylases that could directly affect biosynthesis of dopamine and serotonin.
510. Toxoplasma gondii: host-parasite interaction and behavior manipulation
     Comment: Toxoplasma gondii infection is associated with schizophrenia and epilepsy.
511. Alterations in gut microbiota contribute to cognitive deficits induced by chronic infection of Toxoplasma gondii
512. Impact of chronic toxoplasmosis in pregnancy: association between maternal seropositivity for Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies and fetal growth restriction
513. Toxoplasma gondii infection associated with inflammasome activation and neuronal injury
514. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in the Iranian general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis
     Comment: There is a high (more than one-third) seroprevalence of Toxoplasma infection in Iran.
515. Parasites as causative agents of human affective disorders? The impact of anti-psychotic, mood-stabilizer and anti-parasite medication on Toxoplasma gondii's ability to alter host behavior
516. Effects of Toxoplasma gondii infection on anxiety, depression and ghrelin level in male rats
517. Impairment of learning and memory ability in mice with latent infection of Toxoplasma gondii
     Comment: In mice, latent infection with Toxoplasma gondii may cause learning and memory impairment.
518. Influence of latent Toxoplasma infection on human personality, physiology and morphology: pros and cons of the Toxoplasma-human model in studying the manipulation hypothesis
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Toxoplasma gondii infection was previously assumed to be asymptomatic but actually produces significant effects in humans, such as by increasing reaction time, which explains why infected people have a higher probability of traffic accidents.
     • Latent infection with Toxoplasma gondii is associated with immunosuppression, which may explain why mothers of children with Down syndrome have a very high prevalence of toxoplasmosis.
     • Male students infected with Toxoplasma gondii are approximately 3 cm taller and have faces perceived by women to be more masculine and dominant: effects that may be caused by increased testosterone.
     • Toxoplasma gondii infection is associated with the initiation of more severe schizophrenia.
     • Dozens of studies have demonstrated a link between toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia.
519. Toxoplasma and reaction time: role of toxoplasmosis in the origin, preservation and geographical distribution of Rh blood group polymorphism
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • The RHD gene encodes the RhD protein, which is the strongest Rh blood group immunogen in the Rh blood group system.
     • A significant minority of people are RhD-negative because they lack the RhD antigen.
     • Heterozygous men (those with RhD plus and RhD minus alleles) were protected against reaction time prolongation associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection.
520. Increased incidence of traffic accidents in Toxoplasma-infected military drivers and protective effect RhD molecule revealed by a large-scale prospective cohort study
     Comment: Toxoplasma gondii infection could strongly increase the risk of traffic accidents in RhD negative people. Reaction time is crucial for everyone but even more so for racecar drivers and professional athletes: for them, it is easy to see why reaction time can make the difference between living and dying, or a huge paycheck versus a more meager one. Hence anyone RhD negative with such career aspirations who yearns to be a star has another compelling reason to avoid using—or even being near—leaf blowers and lawn vacuums.
521. Is Toxoplasma gondii a potential risk for traffic accidents in Turkey?
     Comment: More evidence linking toxoplasmosis with an increased risk for traffic accidents.
522. Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in drivers involved in road traffic accidents in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
523. Higher prevalence of toxoplasmosis in victims of traffic accidents suggest increased risk of traffic accident in Toxoplasma-infected inhabitants of Istanbul and its suburbs
524. Increased pregnancy weight gain in women with latent toxoplasmosis and RhD-positivity protection against this effect
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • RhD-positive people were protected against impaired psychomotor performance associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection.
     • RhD-negative mothers infected with Toxoplasma gondii gained more weight.
     

     ---

     Hence RhD-negative people are NOT protected against toxoplasmosis-associated problems. Approximately 15% of the U.S. population is RhD-negative.
525. Rh blood group system
526. The influence of RhD phenotype on toxoplasmosis- and age-associated changes in personality profile of blood donors
527. Toxoplasmosis-Associated Difference in Intelligence and Personality in Men Depends on Their Rhesus Blood Group but Not ABO Blood Group
     Comment: Rh-positive people are protected against certain behavioral effects associated with infection by Toxoplasma gondii, such as slower reaction time and altered personality; Rh-negative individuals are not protected.
528. Survey on the contamination of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in the soil of public parks of Wuhan, China
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • More evidence demonstrating the importance of soil in transmitting Toxoplasma gondii.
     • All parks sampled were contaminated with Toxoplasma gondii.
529. Quantitative estimation of the viability of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in soil
530. Earthworms as paratenic hosts of toxoplasmosis in eastern barred bandicoots in Tasmania
     Comment: Earthworms can transmit Toxoplasma gondii.
531. Toxoplasmosis and mental retardation--report of a case-control study
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • A greater risk of mental retardation was found in children of mothers exposed to soil and cats.
     • Toxoplasma gondii infection quadrupled the risk of retinochoroiditis.
     • Subclinical congenital toxoplasmosis seems to be an important factor in mental retardation.
532. Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in gravidas and recently aborted women and study of risk factors
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii were higher in recent aborters from rural areas in which women are more commonly exposed to soil even if they don't have pet cats.
     • More evidence demonstrating the importance of soil in transmitting Toxoplasma gondii.
533. Are There any Relationships between Latent Toxoplasma gondii Infection, Testosterone Elevation, and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder?
534. How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy
535. Can the common brain parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, influence human culture?
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Toxoplasma gondii manipulates human personality.
     • Most infected people initially experience only mild flu-like symptoms, but fetal infection can produce devastating effects.
     • After the initial infection, Toxoplasma parasites become largely dormant in tissues including the brain.
     • The seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii exhibits substantial geographic variation that may explain behavioral differences in people from different areas.
     • Toxoplasma gondii infection is associated with increased neuroticism and proneness to guilt; infected women are more rule-conscious, conforming, and staid; infected men are less intelligent, more rigid, more emotionally reactive, more changeable, more affected by feelings, more easily upset, and less emotionally stable.
     • Toxoplasma gondii oocysts live longer in low-altitude areas with higher humidity, especially those at mid-latitudes with infrequent freeze-thaw cycles.
     • People working with soil are more likely to ingest Toxoplasma gondii oocysts.
536. Toxoplasma – the brain parasite that influences human culture
     Comment: The take-home messages:
     • Toxoplasma gondii carriers are more likely to exhibit long-term personality changes. Effects differ in men and women but both are more neurotic.
     • Countries with a higher prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection more often have (1) more pronounced differences in gender roles with more focus on ambition, work, and money instead of people and relationships, (2) greater risk aversion, (3) a tendency to embrace strict regulations and rules.
537. Effects of Toxoplasma on Human Behavior
538. Effects of Toxoplasma gondii infection on the brain
539. Influence of latent Toxoplasma infection on human personality, physiology and morphology: pros and cons of the Toxoplasma-human model in studying the manipulation hypothesis
540. Common Parasite Linked to Personality Changes
541. Reexamining Chronic Toxoplasma gondii Infection: Surprising Activity for a “Dormant” Parasite
542. Study identifies exposure to common food-borne pathogen linked to rare brain cancer
     Excerpt: “A new study suggests a link between Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection and the risk of glioma, a type of brain cancer, in adults.”

Leaf trivia