LAT: Dozens of Chemicals Found in Most Americans' Bodies

[DeepModem Mom]

Dozens of Chemicals Found in Most Americans' Bodies
The concentration is especially high in children, a national study says. But experts aren't sure what the health effects are.

By Marla Cone, Times Staff Writer


In the largest study of chemical exposure ever conducted on human beings, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that most American children and adults were carrying in their bodies dozens of pesticides and toxic compounds used in consumer products, many of them linked to potential health threats.

The report documented bigger doses in children than in adults of many chemicals, including some pyrethroids, which are in virtually every household pesticide, and phthalates, which are found in nail polish and other beauty products as well as in soft plastics.

The CDC's director, Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, called the national exposure report — the third in an assessment that is released biennially — a breakthrough that would help public health officials home in on the most important compounds to which Americans are routinely exposed.

The latest installment, which looked for 148 toxic compounds in the urine and blood of about 2,400 people age 6 and older in 2000 and 2001, is "the largest and most comprehensive report of its kind ever released anywhere by anyone," Gerberding said. Findings were broken down by age group and race.

At Thursday's news conference, CDC officials emphasized the good news: Steep declines were found in children's exposure to lead and secondhand cigarette smoke....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-chemicals22jul22,0,129106.story?coll=la-home-nation

[quaoar]

1. The story doesn't even mention mercury

which may be one of the worst of all and getting worse all the time since Bush wants to allow utilities to continue burning coal without tougher pollution standards.

[sintax]

2. It's in the air- It's in the water

It's in the food- It's in your daughter

Clouds of smoke-Clouds of soot
Chemical Land is under foot

It's in your brain- It's in your blood
It's Progress Man- It's not that good

You're near the cliff, "We can't go back"
One more step could be your last.

[fooj]

3. I've said it once, I'll say it again...

I'd go back to a black and white TV that had NO remote if we could clean up the environmental mess that we've made of this world. I swear I would. In a heartbeat!

Peace.

[Dogmudgeon]

10. Electronics manufacture can be dirty ...

... but most processes have become much cleaner in the last few years. Surface-mount technology -- the real tiny stuff -- uses organic glues instead of solder, and it is much easier to control pollutants used in manufacturing the ultra-small devices. Electronics manufacture and assembly is one of the success stories of pollution control, although there is always room for improvement, and we shouldn't just look the other way.

--p!

[rucky]

4. Buy Organic!

it's more expensive, but so's a medical bill.

[meganmonkey]

5. Clean with vinegar, buy good detergents for laundry

and eat organic. Rearrange priorities a little and it IS affordable. And nail polish? Bah. Wear it once or twice a year for weddings and stuff if you must.
You may not be able to change the world on this one but you can change your own habits.

:hippie:

[onecent]

6. Check the labels on your deoderant bottle...go organic. n/t

[StrafingMoose]

7. Move out of Mexico city

(smog)

[Dogmudgeon]

8. It's mainly organophosphates and xenoestrogens

Organophosphates are usually pesticide residue. They resemble nerve agents like Sarin, Soman, and Tabun. They mess with your brain; recently, it has been discovered that people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have a gene that becomes much more active in the presence of organophosphates. It is little wonder, then, why CFIDS resembles a subclinical dose of nerve gas.

Xenoestrogens are chemicals that act kinda-sorta like estrogen, only have a lot of negative effects as well. One big source of estrogen-derived xenoestrogens is from the urine of women who take birth control pills; but the remediation for that should be fairly easy. If nothing else, the addition of a little lye or muriatic acid (but not both!) to the waste water will destroy the chemicals, and pose no environmental threat when diluted.

But many xenoestrogens do not resemble or derive from estrogen at all, and many are made from halogens (chlorine and fluorine); the main source seems to be Teflon and similar plastics, and fluoride in water adds some, too, but isn't quite as active in the form used for reducing cavities. Then, too, trans-fats are xenoestrogenic, and they are in many of our foods. Many of our industrially-modified foods have profoundly negative effects -- but so do most soy products, which contain very high levels of xenoestrogens. Some of the soy fractions are beneficial for people with heart disease, but some have powerful desexualizing effects.

I strongly suspect that xenoestrogens are primarily responsible for the dramatic increase in obesity, "subtle" diseases and mental illnesses, and autoimmune/allergy syndromes we've seen since the 1920s. And yet, xenoestrogen toxicity is only one part of the problem.

There is a whole body of literature on these pollutants if you wish to check them out. Now, instead of just idly complaining about "chemicals", we know better which chemicals are doing what to us (the much-mocked polysorbates appear to be fairly safe; organic soy oil may be carcinogenic, especially to young men). It's sad to think that eating food requires a certain level of education these days, but the alternative is worse.

--p!

[Verve]

11. Great post!

I'm definitely motivated now to fix my water distiller! Thanks for your input Pidwigeon. :toast:

[whatelseisnew]

12. Education is required these days, in politics and health

How many people go to the most convenient grocery store, where they can buy from the largest selection and get the cheapest prices and get the name brands.

How many people educate themselves on issues of politics but don't educate themselves on their daily purchases?

How many people educate themselves on health matters only after they, or someone they know, become ill?

Educating ourselves and acting in good conscience applies to every aspect of our existence.

[Verve]

9. My local paper sucks! The article I read this morning didn't say anything

about this. It just claimed that chemicals in our bodies have decreased over the past ten years. It had a very pollyanish slant. I'm definitely going to right the editor on this one!

[bonito]

13. Get some MSM (Ethyl Smulfonyl Methane ) n/t

[theophilus]

14. DAMN CNN TO A HELL LIKE ENVIRONMENT!!!!

Excuse me for shouting but I am so glad that DMM posted this. I saw a blurb on CNN yesterday with the pretty little doll like newsreader smiling and talking about how we don't have as many chemicals in us as we used to have. She said that second hand smoke and pesticides "and lots of other things" had all decreased according to the CDC. That was it. GOOD NEWS FOLKS! Uhhhhh, wait a minute. My BS detector went off immediately and I said to myself and those near me, "That's a crock. That CAN'T be right!" Well, obviously, it is not! CNN is full of lies and made up facts.

What hope does this country have if our "news" contains gross distortions like this blurb on CNN? 99 out of 100 listeners would come away thinking, "That's good that we have less chemicals in us." I am so frustrated and disgusted. We're all going to drown in this cancerous cocktail that goes by the name "Environment". God help us all!

[Dr Fate]

15. So THAT'S where the WMDs are?

???

[hedgehog]

16. Autism epidemic, anyone?

How about ADHD, depression, etc, etc. There was supposed to be a study comparing households that use pesticides vs. those that don't, but it was cancelled after many protests. I still think we got played by the chemical industry. The last thing they want is a large scale study that would pick up trends from multiple "safe" exposures.

[Sgent]

17. I've got to tell you

for anyone that actually reviews the report, its fiarly impressive. 10% decrease in blood lvls of mercury, 20% on lead, and 20-60% on a lot of others.

There are some increases, but they tended to be relatively small in most cases. They are also massively outnumbered by the decreases.

Don't take my word for it.

CDC Enivronmental Exposure Report

[progressivebydesign]

18. Suddenly, I don't feel so good.

:puke: This is why we don't use chemical fertilizers in our yard, chemical pesticides, we don't smoke (there's thousands of chemicals right there), and try to avoid unecessary chemical exposure. Unfortunately, even some foods (like those always soft cookies and some cheeses used at certain pro-life pizza chains) have plastic in them to keep them gooey. Living somewhere with clean air helps, too. I'm glad to see that some parents are getting a clue, and some cities are getting a clue, and second hand smoke is declining steeply. If only people realized that cigarettes have oodles of deadly chemicals in them.. they'd never subject anyone or themselves to that. My fave is smokers to drink only bottled water because tap water has "so many chemicals", that's the funniest logic.