Queering food security research: A critical analysis of 2SLGBTQ+ People's experiences of food insecurity in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Household food insecurity (HFI), stress, isolation, and discrimination are major determinants of health that disproportionately affect 2SLGBTQ + people. The COVID-19 pandemic potentially exacerbated these inequities. This study investigates HFI rates among 2SLGBTQ + adults living in diverse household conditions during the pandemic and explores the idea that heteronormative conceptions of the "household" may affect measurement of HFI. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey responses were collected from 437 self-identified 2SLGBTQ + people from Toronto, Canada between March and July 2021. The survey measured HFI, sexual/gender identities, socio-demographic factors, household composition, and psycho-social stress/distress. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess variation in odds of marginal, moderate, and severe HFI in relation to sexual/gender identities, household composition, psycho-social distress, and socio-demographic covariates. RESULTS: Forty-two percent of respondents reported some level of HFI, with severe HFI higher among respondents who were bisexual, transgender/gender diverse, and/or assigned-female-at-birth. Living alone was associated with decreased odds of reporting marginal HFI but increased odds of moderate or severe HFI compared to living with a partner, family, or roommates; living with children was associated with decreased odds of both marginal and severe HFI. One indicator of psycho-social distress (perceived discrimination) was associated with higher odds of all levels of HFI, while the other (isolation) was associated with decreased odds of marginal HFI. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the high prevalence of HFI linked with discrimination among 2SLGBTQ + individuals during the pandemic. The complicated results regarding household composition and social isolation may suggest a need to revise definitions of the household when measuring, monitoring, and seeking to mitigate HFI in 2SLGBTQ + communities.

Lead in candle emissions.

The candle-using public should be made aware that the core of candle wicks may contain lead. Used as a stiffening agent to keep the wick out of the molten wax, lead can be emitted as particulates to the air and then deposited on indoor surfaces. To define the problem, 100 sets of candles (two or more identical candles) were purchased locally. The criterion for purchase was that the candles must appear to contain a metal-cored wick or be covered by a metallic pigment. Of the candles purchased, 8% contained lead wicks. The wicks were 39-74% lead (the remainder was fabric or paper) and the lead cores (approx. 100% lead) had linear densities of 13-27 mg/cm. Candles were burned to completion in a closed chamber to capture the air emissions, and the candle residue was extracted to assess the lead mass balance. It was found that individual candles emitted lead to the air at average rates that ranged from 100 to 1700 microg/h. Assuming realistic indoor conditions, these emission rates were modeled to project room air concentration, child exposure by inhalation, and indoor deposition. Results showed that burning single candles can easily raise the source room concentration above the ambient air lead concentration limit of 1.5 microg/m3 set by EPA. Burning multiple candles can elevate it above OSHA permissible exposure limits of 50 microg/m3. Although blood lead levels have dropped precipitously in the United States since lead was phased out of gasoline in 1986, nearly 900,000 children still had levels above 10 microg/dl during NHANES III. Considering that candle sales in the US are estimated at $1-2 billion per year, and that children may spend as much as 88% of their time indoors, it is reasonable to suspect that some blood lead elevation in children arises from indoor micro-environments where lead-wick candles are burned.