Who Knew?
We've been informed, time and again, that our bodies are infested with low levels of toxic chemicals. That no one is exempt from these chemicals lodging in our internal systems, coursing through our bloodstream, affecting us in ways we cannot even begin to imagine; if not right now, at some time in the future as our bodies continue to steadily, incrementally - albeit at 'low levels' accrue these ubiquitous chemicals.
It's the fault of run-off from agricultural fertilizers, from chemical companies dumping their waste into waterways, and simply from the overwhelming amounts of chemicals, both natural and man-made used in the industrial complexes that manufacture the goods we use, the foods we eat, the cleaning products that we thoughtlessly take for granted.
In using them we ourselves are continually infesting the environment with these deleterious and certainly life-altering chemicals.
Some chemical compounds cannot be avoided, they occur naturally in the environment, just a radon gas does, and arsenic and other cancer-causing agents. Little wonder, we think, that disease epidemics occur in areas where manufacturers often spill the dross of their processing into the environment with scant thought to the fact that they're effectively degrading our soil, and ourselves.
Our governments should be infinitely more aware, more responsive to our needs, more vigilant on behalf of all of us. To ensure that adequate environmental laws are in effect, policed and where malfeasance is detected, bring the malefactors to court, fine them, put them out of business if necessary. Those manufacturing chemical spills, the dumping of waste, and the leftovers of military experiments imperil us.
Or so we think. Well, certainly we think correctly. But it also appears that there is more, far more to the story of environmental degradation of our personal spaces, than we're aware of. We're damaging ourselves and our environments through our trustfulness of the ordinary household products we use on a daily basis. The greater proportion of our exposure to harmful chemicals, it would appear, comes from day-to-day living.
From the plastics products we so commonly use around the house; plastics containing food and cleaning products that we pick up at the neighbourhood supermarket and give no additional thought to. Well, we should if they contain bisphenol A, among other cancer-causing agents. The Government of Canada has recently flagged that chemical for its cancer-causing effects, and banned it from use in baby bottles. And more latterly placed a wider ban on it.
Of course nothing is ever quite so simple. There is a thin film of that plastic commonly used to line the interiors of food-containing cans. Industry must now seek safe alternatives and that is easier said than done. Flame retardants used on some clothing items and upholstered furniture, commonly used cosmetics, and household cleaners are all implicated in the proliferation of chemicals, many of them distinctly harmful.
"It's the consumer products" normally used throughout the course of an ordinary day that tend to infuse our bodies with chemicals, according to Kathleen Cooper, a researcher for the Canadian Environmental Law Association. A study in the "Journal of Health and Social Behavior", produced through empirical research on Cape Cod mirrors what occurs in Canada as well as the United States.
"People have this assumption that a product is on a shelf, and someone has made sure that it's safe, nothing toxic in it. And that is a false assumption." While the pollution that affects our great outdoors remains a prime culprit, "...the area that is coming forward as very important is indoor exposure. We spend 80 percent of our time indoors".
A 2003 study on chemical exposure used urine samples from women living on Cape Code, because that area is recognized as having a hither-than-average rate of breast cancer. The study found that the bodies of these women - along with their household dust - contained carcinogenic compounds and chemicals deleteriously affecting human hormonal systems.
Chemical compounds commonly found included plastic ingredients (phthalates) used in varnishes, perfumes, cosmetics and detergents; anthracenes from paving materials and diesel fuels; solvents from paints, varnishes, inks; flame retardants from upholstered furniture; parabens representing an anti-microbial agent in everything from jam to cosmetics - along with a long list of "breakdown products" occurring when the body metabolizes pollutants.
So much for complacency, for trust, for instinctively believing - because we want to, simply because it's too inconvenient not to - that products commonly sold on supermarket and pharmacy shelves are composed of ingredients that pose no threat to our health and longevity. As consumers we must become vigilant, we must notify our lawmakers of our concerns, we must do what we can to protect our families.
But isn't it worrying that there is just so much that we can do, and much depends on the willingness of our governments enacting consumer protection laws that don't bypass manufacturer responsibilities? Unless and until it is demonstrably proven that human health is suffering among a large proportion of the population, legislators won't concern themselves unduly.
It's difficult to come head to head with the wealth and lobbying power of large corporations whose interest is not necessarily public safety. Advertising, public relations are costly and their aim is to invest in consumers an aura of trust, and a desire to use products. The effect of altering product constituents resulting from additional costly research, and costlier replacement of harm-identified ingredients isn't a welcome prospect among manufacturers.
Meanwhile, people can make their own shampoos with one part mild dish detergent, one part vinegar to ten parts water. And much the same recipe is extremely effective for washing down bathrooms on a regular basis, to remove mould. Above all, avoiding lip glosses and other body emoluments that come from China, though domestic ingredients are often little better. Become aware.
What a massive conundrum.
It's the fault of run-off from agricultural fertilizers, from chemical companies dumping their waste into waterways, and simply from the overwhelming amounts of chemicals, both natural and man-made used in the industrial complexes that manufacture the goods we use, the foods we eat, the cleaning products that we thoughtlessly take for granted.
In using them we ourselves are continually infesting the environment with these deleterious and certainly life-altering chemicals.
Some chemical compounds cannot be avoided, they occur naturally in the environment, just a radon gas does, and arsenic and other cancer-causing agents. Little wonder, we think, that disease epidemics occur in areas where manufacturers often spill the dross of their processing into the environment with scant thought to the fact that they're effectively degrading our soil, and ourselves.
Our governments should be infinitely more aware, more responsive to our needs, more vigilant on behalf of all of us. To ensure that adequate environmental laws are in effect, policed and where malfeasance is detected, bring the malefactors to court, fine them, put them out of business if necessary. Those manufacturing chemical spills, the dumping of waste, and the leftovers of military experiments imperil us.
Or so we think. Well, certainly we think correctly. But it also appears that there is more, far more to the story of environmental degradation of our personal spaces, than we're aware of. We're damaging ourselves and our environments through our trustfulness of the ordinary household products we use on a daily basis. The greater proportion of our exposure to harmful chemicals, it would appear, comes from day-to-day living.
From the plastics products we so commonly use around the house; plastics containing food and cleaning products that we pick up at the neighbourhood supermarket and give no additional thought to. Well, we should if they contain bisphenol A, among other cancer-causing agents. The Government of Canada has recently flagged that chemical for its cancer-causing effects, and banned it from use in baby bottles. And more latterly placed a wider ban on it.
Of course nothing is ever quite so simple. There is a thin film of that plastic commonly used to line the interiors of food-containing cans. Industry must now seek safe alternatives and that is easier said than done. Flame retardants used on some clothing items and upholstered furniture, commonly used cosmetics, and household cleaners are all implicated in the proliferation of chemicals, many of them distinctly harmful.
"It's the consumer products" normally used throughout the course of an ordinary day that tend to infuse our bodies with chemicals, according to Kathleen Cooper, a researcher for the Canadian Environmental Law Association. A study in the "Journal of Health and Social Behavior", produced through empirical research on Cape Cod mirrors what occurs in Canada as well as the United States.
"People have this assumption that a product is on a shelf, and someone has made sure that it's safe, nothing toxic in it. And that is a false assumption." While the pollution that affects our great outdoors remains a prime culprit, "...the area that is coming forward as very important is indoor exposure. We spend 80 percent of our time indoors".
A 2003 study on chemical exposure used urine samples from women living on Cape Code, because that area is recognized as having a hither-than-average rate of breast cancer. The study found that the bodies of these women - along with their household dust - contained carcinogenic compounds and chemicals deleteriously affecting human hormonal systems.
Chemical compounds commonly found included plastic ingredients (phthalates) used in varnishes, perfumes, cosmetics and detergents; anthracenes from paving materials and diesel fuels; solvents from paints, varnishes, inks; flame retardants from upholstered furniture; parabens representing an anti-microbial agent in everything from jam to cosmetics - along with a long list of "breakdown products" occurring when the body metabolizes pollutants.
So much for complacency, for trust, for instinctively believing - because we want to, simply because it's too inconvenient not to - that products commonly sold on supermarket and pharmacy shelves are composed of ingredients that pose no threat to our health and longevity. As consumers we must become vigilant, we must notify our lawmakers of our concerns, we must do what we can to protect our families.
But isn't it worrying that there is just so much that we can do, and much depends on the willingness of our governments enacting consumer protection laws that don't bypass manufacturer responsibilities? Unless and until it is demonstrably proven that human health is suffering among a large proportion of the population, legislators won't concern themselves unduly.
It's difficult to come head to head with the wealth and lobbying power of large corporations whose interest is not necessarily public safety. Advertising, public relations are costly and their aim is to invest in consumers an aura of trust, and a desire to use products. The effect of altering product constituents resulting from additional costly research, and costlier replacement of harm-identified ingredients isn't a welcome prospect among manufacturers.
Meanwhile, people can make their own shampoos with one part mild dish detergent, one part vinegar to ten parts water. And much the same recipe is extremely effective for washing down bathrooms on a regular basis, to remove mould. Above all, avoiding lip glosses and other body emoluments that come from China, though domestic ingredients are often little better. Become aware.
What a massive conundrum.
Labels: Environment, Health
posted by Pieface @ 5:46 PM
1 Comments:
At 8:25 PM,
Unknown said…
I actually found a company that's trying to get away from all the chemicals that are in today's products. It's called Trivani. If you would like to see and judge for yourself, go to www.mytrivani.com/sneddon. I’ve been using the products and I really like them. If you have any questions feel free to respond to this address. Thank you for your time.
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