Toxins and poor health

[Merry]

In this Nature article, "Chemical Soup Clouds Connection Between Toxins and Poor Health," Brendan Borrell writes about the work of toxicologist Linda Birnbaum, head of the (US) National Institute of Environmental Health Services and the National Toxicology Program. He describes how she counters the influence of industry lobbyists fighting regulation and ends the article with an interview. (The article first appeared in Scientific American.)

http://www.nature.com/news/chemical-soup-clouds-connection-between-toxins-and-poor-health-1.11881

 

[Dreambirdie]

Having MCS for about 30 years, I am very sure that chemicals cause serious debilitating chronic illness.
No doubt there for me!

 

[AFCFS]

I like this quote from the article - "the way science becomes law and the ways lobbyists subvert science" It makes it so difficult to trust much of anything if there is a money motive behind it.

 

[Dreambirdie]

And there is ALWAYS money behind science. Too bad for truth and reality!

Not that long ago, money convinced science that that all you had to do to survive an atomic bomb blast was to "duck and cover." No mention of the poisonous RADIATION, (hello!) which would contaminate the earth nearly forever, when it comes to human years.

And then there was DDT--supposedly a safe product that our neighborhoods were doused with to control mosquitos.

And then there were all the other fantastic chemicals dumped and pumped into our environment for decades. Here's a map of all the superfund (toxic sites) in the US as of April 2007.

And of course, the mercury in our teeth--real safe according the ADA. Interesting though that any mercury filling that is removed from your mouth is considered a "hazardous waste" and has to be disposed of accordingly, yet while it's in your mouth, it's all supposedly just okey dokey.

It's rather overwhelming to think about. But good to remember that this is why we need to do as much as possible to limit exposures to the toxins around us.

 

[AFCFS]

And then there were all the other fantastic chemicals dumped and pumped into our environment for decades. Here's a map of all the superfund (toxic sites) in the US as of April 2007.

For a time, I had the privilege of living by what is now the World's Largest Superfund Site - The Berkeley Pit in Butte, MT. It's a shame, as Butte sits amidst pristine beauty.

And then later in life, I had the privilege of regularly driving by the World's Largest Garbage Dump, Fresh Kills Landfill, Staten Island. They now call it a World-Class Park, which is debatable. I don't think I could walk there without olfactory flashbacks and constantly wondering what lay beneath my feet.

 

[Little Bluestem]

I wonder what became of those two guys standing in the bed of the DDT truck. It is just mind-boggling what people used to consider an acceptable risk.

Quite a few years ago, one of my professors told me about working on a crew that spayed cotton fields from an airplane to eradicate the boll weevil. He told me how many acres they had sprayed in one summer and how few pilots they had lost. I think it was in the teens. He was a young man at the time and his job was to stand in the field and flag the plane in on each pass. He died a year after he retired.

 

[*GG*]

Interesting Little Blue,

I had an environmental professor in college tell me also how when he was younger they sprayed DDT around, i think he walked through it also. He also mentioned how he would play with mercury in his hands. He is still alive.

GG

PS I have heard the argument on how many people have died because of (none use of DDT) the diseases it kept at bay or from spreading.

 

[Little Bluestem]

If you would like to have a better look at a US Superfund site map, you can find one here:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/query/queryhtm/nplmapsg.htm