An Uncontrolled (& Out of Control) Experiment on American Children

Many people are intrigued by my home business. I love what I do . . . . my passion is to help de-tox households . . . .  one home at a time. I am also one heck of a great trainer in my field.
Many people have also asked me why I decided to work in this field of wellness. Here is part of an article from National Geographic Magazine that just may help answer that question.

Although many health statistics have been improving over the past few decades, a few illnesses are rising mysteriously.

• From the early 1980s through the late 1990s, autism increased tenfold; from the early 1970s through the mid-1990s
• one type of leukemia was up 62 percent
• male birth defects doubled
• childhood brain cancer was up 40 percent. 

Some experts suspect a link to the man-made chemicals that pervade our food, water, and air. There's little firm evidence. But over the years, one chemical after another that was thought to be harmless turned out otherwise once the facts were in. 

The classic example is lead.  This picture shows a lead paint Xray. 

In 1971 the U.S. Surgeon General declared that lead levels of 40 micrograms per deciliter of blood were safe. It's now known that any detectable lead can cause neurological damage in children, shaving off IQ points. 

From DDT to PCBs, the chemical industry has released compounds first and discovered damaging health effects later.

Regulators have often allowed a standard of innocent until proven guilty in what Leo Trasande, a pediatrician and environmental health specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, calls "an uncontrolled experiment on America's children."

 A helpful resource and place to request more information.

Lawsuit Proceeds on Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo

A lawsuit alleging Johnson & Johnson’s baby shampoo includes potentially cancer-causing chemicals will be allowed to go forward, according to a federal court judge In Newark.
U.S. District Court Judge Dennis Cavanaugh based his decision to let the lawsuit proceed on the presence of a single chemical ingredient found in the shampoo: methylene chloride, which is banned by the Food and Drug Administration for use in cosmetics.

Johnson & Johnson’s baby shampoo AND WalMart’s Equate Tearless Baby Wash contain the same cancer-causing chemicals.

Lawyers for WalMart and Johnson & Johnson, which is based in New Brunswick, had sought to dismiss the suit, arguing the consumers lacked standing to sue because the product failed to cause an injury or that the shampoo failed to clean hair.
Bonnie Jacobs, a spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson’s consumer products business, refused to comment on the litigation.

In a letter last May to Johnson & Johnson’s Chief Executive Officer William Weldon, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of consumer, health and environmental groups, asked the company to reformulate the baby shampoo as well as some of its other personal care products.
In addition to noting methylene chloride, the letter — and the ensuing lawsuit — also identified formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane as being in the baby shampoo.

At the time the coalition sent its letter to Weldon, the company said the chemical compounds existed in "trace levels’’ that could result from processes that make the baby shampoo gentle for babies and safe from bacteria growth. "Many regulatory agencies around the world consider these trace levels safe,’’ Johnson & Johnson spokesman Bill Price told the Associated Press at the time.

Ira Loss, an analyst who follows the pharmaceutical industry, said it is not unusual for companies to reformulate their products and then to market them as new and improved.



Edited by Soutenus (bolding  and cartoon is my emphasis)
Full post here.
Author: Susan Todd  stodd@starledger.com or (973) 392-4125

Top 10 Killer Household Chemicals

 

AIR FRESHENERS: Most air fresheners interfere with your ability to smell by coating your nasal passages with an oil film, or by releasing a nerve deadening agent. Known toxic chemicals found in an air freshener: Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. Phenol: When phenol touches your skin it can cause it to swell, burn, peel, and break out in hives. Can cause cold sweats, convulsions, circulatory collapse, coma and even death!!

AMMONIA: It is a very volatile chemical, it is very damaging to your eyes, respiratory tract and skin.  Do not inhale under any circumstances.

BLEACH: It is a strong corrosive. It will irritate or burn the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. It may cause pulmonary edema or vomiting and coma if ingested. WARNING: never mix bleach with ammonia it may cause fumes which can be DEADLY.  Bleach can be absorbed into the skin and can take months to break down.  Bleach is now being suspected in the causes of breast, ovarian, and testicular cancer - think about it - what do you wash your underclothes in??

BODY CARE PRODUCTS: Shampoo, toothpaste, soap, hair spray, antiperspirants, fingernail polish, lotion, baby wipes, etc. contain an ingredient called Quaternium 15.  This is one of over 30 trade names for FORMALDEHYDE ( this is what is put into dead bodies to slow down decomposing process)which is a highly suspected carcinogen. Formaldehyde can cause dizziness, ear infections, nausea, headaches, skin irritations, joint pain, mental confusion, disorientation, vomiting, sleep disturbances, phlebitis, fatigue, laryngitis.

CARPET AND UPHOLSTERY SHAMPOO: Most formulas are designed to over power the stain itself, they accomplish the task but not without using highly toxic substances. Some include: Perchlorethylene: Known carcinogen damages liver, kidney and nervous system damage. Ammonium Hydroxide: Corrosive, extremely irritable to eyes, skin and respiratory passages.

DISHWASHER DETERGENTS: Most products contain chlorine in a dry form that is highly concentrated. # 1 cause of child poisonings, according to poison control centers.  You know those steamy fumes from the dishwasher - chlorine gas...

DRAIN CLEANER: Most drain cleaners contain lye, hydrochloric acid or trichloroethane. Lye: Caustic, burns skin and eyes, if ingested will damage esophagus and stomach. Hydrochloric acid: Corrosive, eye and skin irritant, damages kidneys, liver and digestive tract. Trichloroethane: Eye and skin irritant, nervous system depressant; damages liver and kidneys.

FURNITURE POLISH: Petroleum Distillates: Highly flammable, can cause skin and lung cancer. Phenol: (see Air fresheners, Phenol.)  Nitrobenzene: Easily absorbed through the skin, extremely toxic.

MOLD AND MILDEW CLEANERS: Chemicals contained are: Sodium hypochlorite: Corrosive, irritates or burns skin and eyes, causes fluid in the lungs which can lead to coma or death. Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. Irritant to eyes, nose, throat, and skin. May cause nausea, headaches, nosebleeds, dizziness, memory loss and shortness of breath.

OVEN CLEANER: Sodium Hydroxide (Lye): Caustic, strong irritant, burns to both skin and eyes. Inhibits reflexes, will cause severe tissue damage if swallowed.

ANTIBACTERIAL CLEANERS: may contain: Triclosan: Absorption through the skin can be tied to liver damage.  Also - news reports are now saying that antibacterial soaps can eliminate your body's ability to ward off harmful germs which will lead to "supergerms" that cannot be killed by antibacterial soaps.  Are they doing more harm than good?  That is the question now.  Check your Bath & Body products and all antibacterial soaps for this ingredient.

LAUNDRY ROOM PRODUCTS: Sodium or calcium hypocrite: Highly corrosive, irritates or burns skin, eyes or respiratory tract. Linear alkylate sulfonate: Absorbed through the skin. Known liver damaging agent. Sodium Tripolyphosphate: Irritates skin and mucous membranes, causes vomiting. Easily absorbed through the skin from clothes.

TOILET BOWL CLEANERS: Hydrochloric acid: Highly corrosive, irritant to both skin and eyes. Damages kidneys and liver. Hypochlorite Bleach: Corrosive, irritates or burns eyes, skin and respiratory tract. May cause pulmonary edema, vomiting or coma if ingested. Contact with other chemicals may cause chlorine fumes which may be fatal.

OTHER NASTY THINGS THAT ARE AROUND YOUR HOME

PESTICIDES: Most pesticides have ingredients that affect the nervous system of insects. Imagine what these extremely poisonous chemicals do to your body or your baby's. Dimpylate: Better known as Diazinon, extremely toxic. Impairs the central nervous system. Chlorinate Hydrocarbons: Suspected carcinogen and mutantagen. Accumulates in food and in fatty tissue. Will attack the nervous system. Organophosphates: Toxic and poisonous. If you can smell it, your lungs are absorbing it.

FLEA POWDERS: Why put toxins on "man's (or woman's) best friend." Carbaryl: Very toxic, causes skin, respiratory and cardiovascular system damage. Chlordane: Accumulates in the food chain, may damage eyes, lungs, liver, kidney and skin. Dichlorophene: Skin irritation: May damage liver, kidney, spleen and central nervous system.

LICE SHAMPOO: Especially vulnerable are children. Lindane: Inhalation, ingestion, or ABSORPTION through the SKIN causes vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions and circulatory collapse. May cause liver damage, stillbirths, birth defects and cancer.
Lice R Gone is a non-toxic alternative to pesticide based Head Lice Products

CAR WASH AND POLISH: Petroleum Distillates: Associated with skin and lung cancer, irritant to skin, eyes, nose and lungs. Entry into the lungs may cause fatal pulmonary edema, most marked Danger, Harmful or Fatal.

TAR AND BUG REMOVER: Contains XYLENE and PETROLEUM DISTILLATES.  Manufacturers are not required by law to list all ingredients (harmful or not) on their labels if they are intended for household use.  And don't forget about your favorite LYSOL product.  It contains DIOXIN which is an ingredient used in Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.  Agent Orange was a chemical used to spray in the jungles to strip foliage off the trees so our soldiers would be able to SEE the enemies they were looking for.  This poison has afflicted so many soldiers from that war!

The question is - what will YOU use to clean your home and body ?  Do you want your children to be absorbing these chemicals?  They already are.  Do you want to educate yourself on the dangers of household chemicals, cleaning products, and personal care products?  Would you like to know what options are available? 

http://www.5678.fourpointwellness.com/contact.cpo

http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/household/alternative_products.htm

More info can be found here: 

Know the Facts for Safety

One Decision Can Make a Difference

SOURCES:  author, Steve Tvedten @ http://www.thenhf.com/articles_296.htm

 

Did You Know?

WARNING:  You can't trust warning labels!

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) analyzed 2983 chemicals used in personal care products.  The results were as follows:

• 884 of the chemicals were toxic
• 314 caused biological mutation
• 218 caused reproductive complications
• 778 caused acute toxicity
• 148 caused tumors
• 376 caused skin and eye irritations

Did You Know?

• There are more than 3 million poisonings every year.
• Household cleaners are the #1 cause of poisonings in children.
• Regular shampoos often contain formaldehyde as a preservative
• Since 1980 asthma has increased by 600%
• Common household products have been identified as triggers of asthma
• A 15 year study found that women who worked at home had a 54% highter death rate from cancer than women who had jobs outside the home.
• Manufacturers ARE NOT required to list the exact ingredients on a label
• Chemical names are often disguised by using "trade names", so you may not recognize the chemical for what it truly is
• A women's fertility has also been negatively affected by the increase use of chemicals.  In 1934 only 21 cases of endometriosis existed in the entire world.  Today over 5 million women have this condition, which causes infertility in the US alone.
  
  

Why Should We Worry About Toxic Chemicals?

• According to the EPA, most homes have airborne concentrations of hazardous chemicals that are two to five times higher indoors than outdoors. 
• According to the EPA, toxic chemicals found in the home are three times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor airborne pollutants.
• The Consumer product Safety Commission connects 150 chemicals commonly found in our homes to allergies, birth defects, cancer and psychological disorders.
• The National Cancer Institute has a list of twenty known carcinogens and over 2,200 chemicals that are probable carcinogens.  Many of these chemicals are in the cleaners and personal care products you buy at your local grocery store.

What can you do?

There are many safe products on the market...  all you have to do is change brands of products.  Buy your products at a health food store, or order them from a reliable wellness company.

Links about these toxins:

http://www.bygpub.com/natural/living.htm

http://www.nbc6.net/dianagonzalez/1822845/detail.html

http://consumerlawpage.com/article/household-chemicals.shtml

http://oprah.com/tows/pastshows/tows_2002/tows_past_20020531_c.jhtml

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlight/2001-11-08-chec.htm

http://www.checnet.org

http://www.childenvironment.org

http://danpatch.ecn.purdue.edu/~epados/waste/house/mainmenu.htm

http://www.rmbarry.com/research/toxics_children.html

http://www.pbs.org/tradesecrets/

http://www.preventingharm.org/index.html

15 Point Hit List (Neurotoxins and ADHD)

ADHD and Neurotoxins . . . . Connecting the Dots

My friend, Marie, used to rouse her three teenage children on Saturday mornings and begin the day by requiring everyone to help clean the house. I admired her determination to consistently teach this responsibility to her kids.

Interestingly enough, because Marie was so consistent I found that a curious pattern emerged.  Every Saturday afternoon, without fail, Marie's son exhibited hyperactive, "out of control" behavior after his cleaning chores.

Looking at the cause and effect of the son's behavior through my lens of awareness of how neurotoxic many cleaning chemicals are, I could see it would make sense that the son's central nervous system and brain could be reacting to these chemicals. Symptoms of neurotoxicity include lack of concentration, personality changes, depression, hyperactivity and the mimicking of psychiatric disorders.

Not being particularly "green," the cleaning products Sally bought for her kids to use were the standard store-bought fare readily available in supermarkets.
This brings to mind a couple of sad, but true, facts:

1. Just because it is on the store shelf does not mean that it is safe.

     2.  The government has very limited power to regulate manufacturers.  In fact,
products that kill 50% of lab animals through ingestion or inhalation can still receive the federal regulatory designation "non-toxic".

To name a few examples of neurotoxins found in such products:

1. VOCs  (furniture polish can contain VOCs) 
2. neurotoxic disinfectants
3.  petroleum distillates
4. fragrances (scented products are notoriously neurotoxic)
5.  and waxes (VOCs again in the solvents)
   

Pesticides take front seat in the arsenal of poisons that hurt the central nervous system and brain. After all, they are designed to kill. A new study reported in the June issue of Pediatrics, published online May 17, links organophosphate pesticide metabolites found in urine to a much higher incidence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

"Each 10-fold increase in urinary concentration of organophosphate metabolites was associated with a 55 percent to 72 percent increase in the odds of ADHD," study author Maryse F. Bouchard, PhD, of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Montreal, told Medscape Psychiatry.

Another example of subtle neurotoxic exposure children suffer through that most adults miss is to the solvents in markers in art class. When my daughter was in school, one year the math class was the period after art class, and she said that the kids were always "off the walls" in math class. What a tragedy, and one that could so easily be avoided if schools stopped allowing neurotoxic art materials to be used. How many kids thought they were bad at math when the culprit was the colored markers?

I've often wondered why the dots haven't been connected by most people between neurotoxic chemicals and ADHD-type behavior. After all, if a neurotoxic chemical is known to cause depression, for example, and that chemical is being used, why do so few people (and almost no psychiatrists) say, oh my gosh, let's remove the neurotoxin?

At least one thing parents can do is to remove neurotoxins from the home. Here is the 15 Point Hit List. These are quick and easy solutions:

• Yes to "green" dry cleaning using C02, no to dry cleaning with perchlorethelene (and NO hanging clothes in bedroom closets until they have first aired out -sans plastic dry cleaner bags- in another less "lived in" room. We use the garage unless it is boiling hot and in the summer we use the well ventilated  mud room)

• Yes to vegetable-based Free and Clear detergents and cleaning products, no to cleaning products containing volatile organic chemicals (My company has great choices here).

• Yes to natural furniture polishes like those made by my company - or simple jojoba oil (a natural wax), no to furniture polish made of volatile organic chemicals.

• Yes to organic produce, no to highly processed foods.

• Yes to safe integrated pest management, no to synthetic pesticides (Request information for @ least two replacement products in this category). 

• Yes to water-based markers, no to solvent-based markers.

• Yes to food with natural food coloring, no to food with FD&C dyes

• Yes to cedar and herbs for moths, no to moth balls.

• Yes to natural essential oils for fragrance, no to synthetic perfumes and fragrances (Again my company hits a home run in this category!)

• Yes to efficient heating systems, no to kerosene, open gas, or other systems that could leak carbon monoxide.

• Yes to educating yourself about lead paint and other sources of lead, no to "hoping for the best"  if you live in a house built before 1978.

• Take your shoes off in the house.

• Filter your water - Brita works well (Also, have your tap water tested and do not be fooled into thinking bottled water is better).

• Do not smoke and stay away from second hand smoke.

Simple steps such as these can make a big difference. Being away from neurotoxins helps you have more serene sleep, babies are less fussy, children concentration is improved, people are calmer and the lifestyle helps you have a better sense of well-being.

Article by, Anne B. Boyd (Huffington Post)

Edited by, Soutenus

Read more: 

http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/neurotoxins_and_adhd_connecting_the_dots/#ixzz0vpgN43NO

Environmental Toxins - Mount Sinai CEHC (list w/ links)

Environmental Toxins

Today, children are exposed to thousands of substances in the environment, most of which have never been tested for toxicity to children. Lead is perhaps the best-studied of the environmental threats to children, but there may be countless more that have never been studied. There is strong and growing evidence that exposure to toxic chemicals in the environment contributes to many diseases of children, among them asthma, learning disabilities, certain birth defects and childhood cancer.

• More than 80,000 new chemical compounds have been developed since World War II
• Of these, 3,000 are high-volume chemicals, with annual production exceeding one million pounds. These chemicals are used extensively in our homes, schools, communities, and they are widely dispersed in air, water, soil, and waste sites.
• Fewer than 20% of these high volume chemicals have been tested for their possible toxicity to children.
• Over 2.5 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are released to the environment in the US each year.
• Nearly 75% of the top 20 chemicals discharged to the environment are known or suspected to be toxic to the developing human brain. In addition, more than 4 billion pounds of pesticides - many of them neurotoxic - are applied in the US each year in agriculture, on lawns and gardens, and inside homes, schools, day-care centers and hospitals.
• National surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show measurable levels of high-volume synthetic chemicals in the bodies of nearly all Americans, including newborns, infants and in the breast milk of nursing mothers.

References:
United States Environmental Protection Agency. Chemical Hazard Data Availability Study:  What Do We Really Know About the Safety of High Production Volume Chemicals? Washington, DC: Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 1998.
United States Environmental Protection Agency.  Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Program. Washington, DC, February 21, 2008.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. Atlanta (GA): CDC, 2005.

A:

• Abestos
• Acetone
• Air Polluntants
• Ammonia
• Arsenic
• Artificial Turf

B:

• Benzene
• Bisphenol A

C:

• Carbon Dioxide
• Carbon Monoxide
• Chlorine

D:

• Diesel Exhaust
• Dioxins
• Drinking Water Contaminants

E:

• Endocrine Disruptors (BPA and Phthalates)
• Environmental Tobacco Smoke
• Ethylene Glycol

F:

• Flame Retardants (PBDEs or BFRs)
• Formaldehyde

G:

• Gasoline

L:

• Lead

M:

• Mercury
• Mold

N:

• Natural Gas
• Nitrogen Oxides

O:

• Ozone

P:

• Particulate Matter
• Perchloroethylene
• Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)
• Pesticides
• Phthalates
• Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
• Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
• Propane

R:

• Radiation
• Radon

S:

• Solvents
• Sulfur Dioxides
• Sun Exposure

T:

• Toluene

V:

• Vaccinations
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's)

W:

• Water and Soil Contaminants

SOURCE: http://www.mountsinai.org/patient-care/service-areas/children/areas-of-care/childrens-environmental-health-center/environmental-toxins


Additional Resources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• National Institute of Health Household Products Database
• National Institute of Health Toxtown

Brain Development And Toxic Chemicals

The Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) released the first-ever bio-monitoring report identifying toxic chemical pollution in people from the learning and developmental disability community.  

Mind, Disrupted: How Toxic Chemicals May Affect How We Think and Who We Are examines 61 toxic chemicals present in project participants in the context of rising rates of autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other learning and developmental disabilities.

"Given the increasing rates of learning and developmental disabilities -- particularly autism -- we need to recognize that the rising costs associated with long term care of disability, special education and related health care will only continue to grow," explained Jeff Sell, Esq, Vice President for Policy of the Autism Society and father of twin teen sons with autism.

• Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental exposures because their biological systems are still developing.*1
• During fetal development, exposures to even miniscule amounts of toxins at certain developmental windows can have lifelong health impacts *2

Dr. Larry Silver said, "By protecting children from toxic exposures, we can protect everyone. We need to create healthy environments to ensure all children can reach their full potential and contribute to society."

AND WHILE WE ARE ON THE SUBJECT OF BRAIN DEVELOPMENT:

All those colorful toys that you give your children, all those expensive classes, and a number of music compilations may not make your child smarter if you fail to provide the most needed emotional support. With all this different things available promising to make your child smarter, it's hard to sort out the best way to help your child's brain thrive. A newly published policy paper helps parents to put those worries to rest.

This is the essence of the paper: What kids need is an intimate and secure relationship with adults who adore them.

"It's all about playing with your child," said Eric Knudsen, PhD, the Edward C. and Amy H. Sewall Professor in the Stanford University School of Medicine, succinctly summing up a paper coming out in the June 27 advance online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A child's eventual ability to learn calculus or a second language, he explained, starts with the neurons that are shaped by positive interactions with nurturing adults.

The piece, written by Knudsen and three other members of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child including Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman, PhD, doesn't just ease parents' toy-buying decisions - it lays out the scientific basis for why helping all kids have the best early experiences is good economic policy . . . .

SOURCES:

1. * Dr. Larry Silver, M.D. is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown at Georgetown Medical Center, accomplished self-advocate, and author of groundbreaking learning disabilities research.
2. * Dr. Larry Silver, M.D.
3. http://newideas.net/adhd/environmental-toxins-adhd-learning-problems
4. LDDI -- an international partnership fostering collaboration among learning and developmental disability organizations, researchers, health professionals and environmental health groups to address concerns about the impact environmental pollutants may have on neurological health. LDDI currently has over 400 organizational and individual participants engaged in educational and policy efforts.
5. Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative

Toxic Brew

This is a serious, life threatening problem. Fortunately there is a simple solution to protect you and those you love.

Could your home be healthier?
Learn how to get rid of toxins. . . it is worth it. 

This video clip is from a news program (CBC) in Canada.  The United States of America's Code of Federal Regulations is like Canada's in that; if a product is used for personal, family or household use.... the manufacturer does not have to tell us what is in it" (Section 1910.1200C, Title 29, Section 1500.82 2Q1A)

Link back to SOURCE:
http://video.aol.ca/video-detail/cbc-marketplace-report-toxic-brew/966454477/?icid=VIDLRVENT08
(you may need to scroll down)

Round-Up, Monsanto and the Environment

Study Finds Small Doses of Roundup Weedkiller Kills Frogs
A study reported in Science Daily finds that Roundup, the herbicide thought to be less harmful than most other toxic herbicides in its class, is highly toxic to amphibians at much lower concentration levels than tested previously. The study also finds that the pesticide’s deadly effects are not mitigated by the dilution of soil.

The study published in Ecological Applications finds that 71%  of tadpoles were killed within weeks after being exposed to 1/3 of the maximum concentration level expected in nature. The study also finds that baby frogs, or tadpoles, are not the only stage of amphibian development affected. Tests also show that an application of Roundup® Weed and Grass Killer, a common product marketed to homeowners and gardeners, kills up to 86% of terrestrial frogs after only one day.

Researchers lead by Rick Relyea out of the University of Pittsburgh also find that adding soil to the test study, thought to absorb the pesticide, made no effect on preventing the death of most of the three species of tadpoles. The researchers join others nationwide who increasingly suspect that Roundup along with other common herbicides like atrazine to be primary contributors to the worldwide decline in amphibian species (see photo story). The decline is believed to be a gauge of the toxic pollution adversely affecting the natural state of the environment.

The active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, tops the list as the most widely used herbicide in the U.S., with up to 90 million pounds applied annually in agriculture and up to 8 million pounds in the non-agricultural sector – second only to 2,4-D, the chemical found in most “weed and feed” products. Monsanto, the corporate chemical giant that makes Roundup, also produces genetically engineering plants and seeds to be resistant to the herbicide, which studies show increases the use of the pesticide. Both 2,4-D and glyphosate enter waterways, including small wetland areas where tadpoles develop, due to toxic runoff from agriculture and urban and suburban lawns.

The study adds heavily to the weight of evidence that the inert ingredients used in the retail herbicide, not disclosed on the label due to a “trade secret” loophole, make it significantly more toxic than just its active ingredient glyphosate alone. 

Note from Soutenus --Read this next statement slowly - I had to read it twice for the reality of it to settle in:

The Environmental Protection Agency only evaluates health and environment data submitted by the manufacturer on active ingredients and not on actual pesticide formulations sold on the shelves. 

Several other studies published in peer-reviewed journals over the years have underscored the lethal affects of Roundup to humans and wildlife.

Study Shows Glyphosate and Roundup Pesticide Toxic To Fetus
Study Reveals Common Pesticides Damage Aquatic Communities
Monsanto Wins Plant Patent Rights, Loses Battle With Farmer
Glyphosate Contamination Detected in Humans
Study Shows Glyphosate (RoundUp) May Encourage Toxic Fungi Growth
Colombia Argonomist Reports Effects of Roundup® Exposure

TAKE ACTION: Encourage schools, neighbors, park managers and others to stop using Roundup herbicides and adopt sustainable land care practices that will not adversely effect humans and wildlife. Join the National Coalition for Pesticide-Free Lawns or visit the Beyond Pesticides issue webpages.

SOURCE: (Beyond Pesticides, August 11, 2005)

34K Cancer Deaths a Year Due to Toxins

 

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 6% of cancer deaths — nearly 34,000 a year — are caused by environmental pollutants. 

That number could be much higher according to the 240-page report released by the President's Cancer Panel, a body of experts that reports directly to President Obama. Although the report doesn't give a figure, it says the government has "grossly underestimated" the problem because of a lack of research.

The report urges the Obama administration to act, even if the evidence linking cancer and chemicals isn't definitive. Nearly 80,000 chemicals are used in the country today, many of which are unstudied and "largely unregulated," the report says.

Children appear to be especially vulnerable, the report says.  Look to your home and make the necessary changes so that you are not living in a toxic brew.  

You can read the whole article here.

By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY

Edited by Soutenus

RESOURCES: 

FORMALDEHYDE: Linked to more common cancers

Environmental Working Group

What's Causing Cancer in North America?

This is a Canadian article but much of the article pertains to all of North America!

Chemicals may be one of the biggest reasons for cancer's epidemic proportions.

There are more than 85,000 chemicals that are currently licensed for use in North America. Less than half have ever been tested for human health risk and even fewer for potential environmental impacts (and even fewer have been tested for environmental impact).

Cancer in Canada is now projected to afflict one in every 2.2 men and one in every 2.6 women in their lifetime. In the 1930s, those numbers were less that one in 10. What's happening? Why are we now seeing what many are calling a "cancer epidemic"?

Some would suggest we are simply an aging population and cancer is a disease of the old. Not true. Recent statistics show that the net incidence rate of cancer has increased 25% for males and 20% for females from 1974 to 2005 - after correcting for the effects of aging.

Children are increasingly the victims. Researchers in Britain have shown that certain childhood cancers such as leukemia and brain cancer have increased by more than a third since the 1950s.

In Canada and in the U.S., hundreds of millions of dollars are raised and spent for cancer research and treatment. The elephant in the room, however, is the contribution of environmental toxins and whether many of the cancers striking North Americans can be avoided rather than simply managed.

The World Health Organization estimates that fully 25% of cancers worldwide are caused by occupational and environmental factors other than smoking. You don't have to look far for some potential chemical culprits.

THIS IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO REPEAT:

There are more than 85,000 chemicals that are currently licensed for use in North America . Less than half have ever been tested for human health risk and even fewer for potential environmental impacts (and even fewer have been tested for environmental impact).

The U.S. Centers For Disease Control recently turned their attention toward pollution detection - not in the environment, but within the human body. Their study in 2002 found the presence of 81 different toxic chemicals, including PCBs, benzene and other carcinogens in their sampling of 2,500 people tested.

It is somewhat of a no-brainer that reducing exposure to known carcinogens will reduce the risk of developing cancer. Surprisingly, this simple logic seems to have been lost on our federal governments. Many chemicals that are scientifically demonstrated carcinogens or otherwise toxic are freely used without any legal obligation to identify them on the label. Some of these same chemicals are entirely banned elsewhere.

A trip to your local supermarket reveals a small sample of these hidden poisons:

• Mothballs contain either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene, both of which are carcinogenic. A recent U.S. study linked mothball use to an increased incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 

• Polycarbonate plastics used in food-grade plastic containers such as water bottles can leach Bisphenol A, an estrogen-mimicking chemical linked to a variety of disorders, including hormone-related birth defects, learning disabilities, prostate cancer and neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. 

• Several leading perfumes, nail polishes and other cosmetic products sold in Canada contain the endocrine-disrupting phthalates DBP and DEHP - both banned for use in cosmetic products in European Union countries. 

• Many leading brands of household laundry detergent contain trisodium nitrilotriacetate, another suspected carcinogen as well as an environmental pollutant.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs are common chemical fire retardants found in everything from foam mattresses to computer parts. They have similar properties to the now outlawed PCBs and are known neurotoxins and hormone disrupters. The most dangerous forms are now banned in the EU, though they remain legal in North America .

Chemicals that endanger human life also go down the drain and impact the environment. A gruesome example involved a dead orca that washed up south of Vancouver in 2000 that was so contaminated with persistent chemicals that Ottawa considered shipping the carcass to the Swan Hills toxic waste facility for incineration.

Like orcas, we are perched at the top of the food chain and are becoming the unwitting receptacles of many of the chemicals designed to make our lives more convenient.

Ballooning cancer rates are simply not worth whiter clothes or fewer moths. (Besides, there are natural, effective and affordable *alternatives!)

Cancer must be fought on many fronts. Research and treatment are undeniably important but so is environmental cancer prevention. It is therefore shocking that our governments are not moving faster to ban known and suspected carcinogens, and  requiring mandatory "right to know" labeling so that Canadians and Americans can better protect themselves and their families.

Anything less is quite simply putting the interests of the chemical industry ahead of human life.

SOURCE:  TorontoStar  June13th, 2005 / article by Mitchell Anderson     
Mitchell Anderson is a board member of the Labour Environmental Alliance Society, a Vancouver-based charity that educates the public on cancer prevention. 
Edited by Soutenus   
Shared Post: BCN, Coffee Grounds and Egg Shells 

A Proven Neurotoxin in the H1N1 Vaccine

French Documentary

This is a must --- please take the time to watch this even if you do it in sections.
This is a documentary aired on French television - a documentary that Americans won’t ever see. The gigantic bio-tech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years



H/T: Nicene Truth