Toxic Waste Dump
Jul 22nd, 2005 at 7:42 pm by Susie
It always amazes me that so much cancer research seems to ignore environmental toxins:
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.
While this is admittedly a step forward, we’re testing for 148 of 80,000+ commercial chemicals; and the number increases every year. The efficacy of testing only for a small number of the chemicals only applies if we know the chemicals selected are the most problematic ones. Not at all sure this is true. And a chemical seems to be added to the list only after several years of use when questions begin to be asked about perceived health problems associated with it. Some of the gasoline additives come to mind. (e.g. MTBE, which is polluting aquifers in several states)
Susie, regarding your cancer research comment, tests are conducted on some toxins, though nowhere near enough. However the tests are done one toxin at a time. Additive effects of multiple toxins are not generally performed because of the complexity of such a test and the time that would be required. This simplifies the test requirements, but may not represent real world conditions adequately.
Jim