ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

When Viviane Maraghi took blood tests to find out how many chemical pollutants were in her body, she expected the number to be low. An environmentalist, she carefully monitored what she ate and the household products and items she purchased.

Nevertheless, lead, arsenic, mercury, PCBs, flame retardants, and an array of other chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and neurological diseases were all well represented in her bloodstream. She tested positive for 36 of 68 potentially toxic chemicals, many of which never actually leave the body, but

instead continue to accumulate over time in tissues such as fat or bone.

Dangerous chemicals are in the air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat and the products you use. Over the last 50 years, from 70,000 to 100,000 different chemicals have been introduced into the world‘s markets with about 1,500 new ones added each year. Only now are governments beginning to examine the dangers posed to human health and world ecosystems.

Many western governments are finally initiating new chemical controls as part of the 2006 Strategic Approach to International Chemical Management agreement. Leading the way is the European Union, with a new program called REACH (Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) that requires industry to prove the safety of their chemicals and consumer products before they reach the market.

Sources: The Gazette June 20, 2008

The future of our children isn't bright with over 100,000 different chemicals being used in industry and food manufacture, the number of toxic chemicals that you are constantly exposed to on a daily basis is truly staggering. With 1,500 or so more being added each year – all without any major testing for safety until after the fact – is it any wonder the world is self destructing.

Adressing the number of toxic chemicals would be impossible, but being an informed consumer can help you keep your toxic levels low. It has been said it is impossible to cut your toxic exposure to zero, even if you lived at the North Pole. After all, toxic chemicals are everywhere - in the air, water, soil, food supply, and in a vast majority of the personal care and household items used on a regular basis. Dangers lurk in many forms including electronic circuitry boards, the paint you use on the walls of your house, the plastics in the kitchen laminates, etc. 
Some of the toxic sources you have control over. Others, you don’t.

Tips on limiting your exposure to most common health hazards:

Environmental Toxins - Many of the toxins that you’re exposed to are from your general environment, which also ends up including your food supply. A few of the most common toxins are: PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls): This industrial chemical has been banned in the United States for decades, yet is a persistent organic pollutant that's still present in your environment.

Risks: Cancer, impaired fetal brain development.

Major Source: Most farm-raised salmon, which accounts for most of the supply in the United States, are fed meals of ground-up fish that have absorbed PCBs in the environment and for this reason should be avoided.

Pesticides: According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 60 percent of herbicides, 90 percent of fungicides and 30 percent of insecticides are known to be carcinogenic. Alarmingly, pesticide residues have been detected in 50 percent to 95 percent of U.S. foods.

Risks: Cancer, Parkinson's disease, miscarriage, nerve damage, birth defects, blocking the absorption of food nutrients

Major Sources: Food (fruits, vegetables and commercially raised meats), bug sprays
Dioxins: Chemical compounds formed as a result of combustion processes such as commercial or municipal waste incineration and from burning fuels (like wood, coal or oil).

Risks: Cancer, reproductive and developmental disorders, chloracne (a severe skin disease with acne-like lesions), skin rashes, skin discoloration, excessive body hair, mild liver damage
Major Sources: Animal fats: Over 95 percent of exposure comes from eating commercial animal fats.

Chloroform: This colorless liquid has a pleasant, non-irritating odor and a slightly sweet taste, and is used to make other chemicals. It's also formed when chlorine is added to water.

Risks: Cancer, potential reproductive damage, birth defects, dizziness, fatigue, headache, liver and kidney damage.

Major Sources: Air, drinking water and food can contain chloroform.

Heavy Metals: Metals like arsenic, mercury, lead, aluminum and cadmium, which are prevalent in many areas of your environment, can accumulate in soft tissues of your body.

Risks: Cancer, neurological disorders, Alzheimer's disease, foggy head, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, decreased production of red and white blood cells, abnormal heart rhythm, damage to blood vessels

Major Sources: Drinking water, fish, vaccines, pesticides, preserved wood, antiperspirant, building materials, dental amalgams, chlorine plants.

The American Cancer Society has stated that environmental pollution causes:
Cancer
Alzheimer's
Parkinson's
Asthma
Nervous disorders and hyperactivity
Emphysema
Nasal congestion and burning eyes
Headaches and muscle aches
Burning and tingling skin
Irritability and mental confusion
Lack of coordination, and other symptoms

So, just how high is your exposure to toxic compounds from your environment; the air you breathe; your city water supply?  If you’re a U.S. resident, one way of assessing your level of exposure in the area where you live, is by checking out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency TRI Explorer database.

This site summarizes the basic Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for each county and state, starting from 2002, and contains information about the releases of toxic chemicals by industrial facilities.
The TRI was established by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986, for the purpose of providing you with information about the presence and release of toxic chemicals in your community.