You say they're where? Toxic chemicals - some known to cause cancer -- are in our bodies, our newborns as well. In fact, researchers have found some 300 contaminants -- industrial chemicals, consumer product ingredients, pesticides and pollutants from burning fossil fuels -- in the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies, rendering our babies 'pre-polluted' according to the esteemed scientists and medical experts of the President's Cancer Panel.
In a landmark report released Thursday May 5th, the panel appointed by President Bush declared: "The American people -- even before they are born -- are bombarded continually with myriad combinations of these dangerous exposures." Blaming the situation on weak laws, lax enforcement and fragmented authority, as well as the existing regulatory presumption that chemicals are safe unless strong evidence emerges to the contrary, the panelists advised President Obama, to whom they report, "to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our nation's productivity, and devastate American lives."
According to Richard Clapp, a professor of environmental health at Boston University's School of Public Health and one of the nation's leading cancer epidemiologists, "Some types of cancer are increasing rapidly," including thyroid, kidney and liver cancers. Others, including lung and breast cancer, have declined.
We don't know why some types of cancer are becoming more common but the proliferation of chemicals in water, food, air and household products is widely thought to be a factor. The panel listed a variety of carcinogenic compounds that many people routinely encounter. Included are benzene and other petroleum-based pollutants in vehicle exhaust, arsenic in water supplies, chromium from plating companies, formaldehyde in kitchen cabinets and other plywood, bisphenol A in plastics and canned foods, tetrachloroethylene at dry cleaners, PCBs in fish and other foods and various pesticides.
Consumers shouldn't need a PhD to be sure the products they bring into their homes and yards are safe for their families. Which is why it is so essential that Congress reform the Toxics Substances Control Act and take appropriate steps to improve the safety of chemicals on the market. Some 80,000 chemicals are produced and used in the U.S. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been able to require testing on just 200 and only FIVE have been regulated under the Toxics Substances Control Act. Even asbestos, known to cause lung cancer, has not been entirely banned from use in commercial products because of flaws in the law.
We need a better chemical management system. We need a law that adequately protects Americans. Senator Lautenberg (NJ) introduced legislation in April 2010 -- the Safe Chemicals Act -- intended to tighten up regulation of problem chemicals and require testing of new chemicals before they were allowed for use in commerce. It's not a perfect bill, but it's a great start. Urge your Senators and Representatives to engage in the debate and take action to strengthen TSCA.
To learn more about hidden hazards in the home and yard, use Simple Steps Home & Garden Interactive. The Panel also suggests these measures to begin reducing your risk today:
Nalini Chilkov: A Guide to the President's Cancer Panel Recommendations
This just released report -- "Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What Can We Do Now" -- states that exposure to environmental chemicals is giving rise to more and more cancers than we imagined.
Darryle Pollack: A Link and a Blink
Linking cancer to environmental causes rather than lifestyle marks a major reversal from previous reports, and stands out as an alarm raised by a governmental group.
Liberalism/Progressivism is a mental disorder and need to be listed in the DSM.
As for allergies and asthma, the culprit is the over-hygienic mania of liberals. Humans lived and evolved in filth for millions of years. Let children make and play with mudpies - and eat them occasionally.
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/FDA-re-opens-probe-into-benzene-contamination-of-soft-drinks
And all plant matter - not only tobacco - produces nicotine.
Milk - cow, human, or goat - have trace amounts of narcotics.
Mother Nature is one nasty b*tch.
In some homes, for a bit extra, we can finger joint countertops out of fir replacing the plywood, but it's almost impossible to fabricate cabinets without using plywood. I do not allow particle or pressboard in any house I build. Same for MDF products, laminates and engineered flooring. I would like to use recycled paper pulp for insulation as opposed to fiberglas, but it too, has it's problems.
As an aside, our family is a combination of English, German, Bohemian, Italian and French Canadians. We have relatives who lived into their 100s. I mention this because of the ten cousins two died of cancers before their 50th birthday, and three more are battling cancer, myself included.
No one before us died of cancer, which leads me to suspect our polluted environment during gestation and childhood. The five oldest of the cousins all have or have had, cancer.
California Air Resources Board's report December 15, 2009:
"Nearly all homes (98%) had formaldehyde concentrations that exceeded guidelines for cancer and chronic irritation..."
Summary: http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/apr/past/04-310exec_sum.pdf
Report: http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/apr/past/04-310.pdf
Researcher's PowerPoint: http://iee-sf.com/resources/pdf/ResidentialVentilation.pdf
Elevated formaldehyde in "green" homes Synergist February 2010: http://www.aihasynergist-digital.org/aihasynergist/201002?pg=32
Anyone can self-test for $39, http://acsbadge.com/formaldehyde.shtml
Locating and remediating formaldehyde sources has occupants reporting improved health.
3-decades of the energy code caused formaldehdye to climb from difficult to detect, to 14ppb, 29ppb, 50ppb, 75ppb, 100+ppb. Children under 5 are in their home 24x7 have increasing asthma.
1980's had commercial buildings develope sick building syndrome, forcing an air exchange every hour. Homes are being built tight, it takes 5-hours to exchange the air. Current target is 3-hours. Homes have more pollution sources, need more ventilation.
100ppb is an occupational standard, assuming 8-hours/day, 40-hours/week, with healthy adults. California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessments residential concentration is 7ppb since November 2008. Children have decreased lung function at 30ppb, increased asthma rates at 50ppb.
Unintended consequences of saving energy is making a lot of people sick.