by: Harrison Ferrone
Environmental Illness
My main policy problem that has really affected my life is the governmentʼs
position on acceptable levels of PCBʼs, POPʼs and other various Phalate containing and
offgasing compounds. These include carpets, furniture, water bottles, any plastic and
most of the chemicals that are used in preparing and serving our food, not to mention in
the food itself. Phalates have been shown through exhaustive scientific study to be the
root cause of ALL disease. You may find this hard to believe, as it is not really
acknowledged by most of the medical profession, but that is simply ignorance of the
data in favor of burying their collective heads in the sand. The way phalates do this is
by acting as endocrine and hormone disruptors, neurotoxins and immune system
attacking agents. Basically they mimic body system functions, and then mess them up,
which causes symptoms that we interpret as disease. My point is that the current
regulation standard limits on our exposure to these compounds is way above the
amount needed to cause disease. Hopefully, when enough people get sick and die
from this the government will do something. Hopefully.
30 comments:
I found this topic very disturbing as I think everyone who learns about it should. I remember when nalgene water bottles were getting heat for the cancer causing 'ingredients' in their plastic. I just wonder how many people took that seriously since I still see them everywhere. ALso, why have other companies producing plastic containers with this same chemical not been put under public scrutiny?
Does corn plastic also have this problem? If not a transition to corn based plastic could help this problem and our excess of corn.
What is "ALL disease" I would like to know more about this because it seems that this chemical hides in many products that a consumer buys, unknowingly. Is this the same thing as BPA?
What is "ALL disease" I would like to know more about this because it seems that this chemical hides in many products that a consumer buys, unknowingly. Is this the same thing as BPA?
I'm no expert on these chemicals but the fact that they're in so many things makes you think that they probably are quite essential in a great deal of manufacturing. If I had to trade every commercial good I enjoy on a day to day basis for potential health benefits I wouldn't. I like my stuff thats why I don't live naked in the woods.
This sounds very scary any causes some concern but how do you know most of this is true. I know there has been some problems with plastics, but I don't think they are responsible for "all diseases." I'm just saying that I would like to see your facts.
There has to be a trade off between what people desire and what is good for them. For the most part I believe people choose to ignore negative facts about the things that they love and enjoy everyday. Mostly because it is hard to see the negatives and it in not instantaneous. Its not until its too late before people start to care and this is a huge problem.
I am also wondering what "all disease" refers to, does this include any type of illness or just a few of them like cancer. Although I do believe that most of what is used to produces plastic is harmful for our health and we need to be aware of how much and how often we use plastic. It is hard for me to believe that something would be so toxic and be causing extreme illness and the government would do nothing about it. If it is really has harmful as the report than my feeling is government control would step in and handle the situation.
David McKinley
This is very interesting, and the knowledge of the harmful substances found in many daily items that we rarely think about is something that is already known, it is a big question why this is allowed to continue, perhaps as stated earlier they are key in the process of making things. In the past there was famine, war, and now there is the light inside my laptop screen!
I have actually had a friend that was affected by too much PCB in her body. She was raised on an island and was not at all exposed to factory pollutants or anything, which made it a bizarre case. It can cause cancers and cause many problems in the body. I am glad at least water bottles are beginning to turn away from it.
In response to Brady, these chemicals are not in everything. Your choice is not cancer/naked in the woods. That's a bit ridiculous. Much like high fructose corn syrup, plastics and coatings with BPA/PCB's are a cheaper version of other products that will not make you sick.
Instead of coke in a plastic bottle (corn syrup, a rather strong acid, and lots of phalates) try filtered water in a stainless steel bottle.
I assure you that I avoid these chemicals like the plague, and I am not naked in the woods.
I don't think there have been enough scientific studies to show that these toxins/chemicals lead to "all diseases". When finding the causes of diseases there are many factors that need to be considered. But, no doubt these chemicals are bad for you!
This is interesting and disturbing. What are alternatives to products that contain these harmful agents? Have we come across anything that will virtually replace these products?
Yikes! I have heard of phalates before, but did not know they were so harmful. Yet you are making an extremely critical statement with no sources to back you up. The government has taken many measures to eliminate toxic chemicals from everyday life, such as BPA, DDT, and even cigarettes. Yet they are doing very little for a more common substance that causes far more damage? From this perspective, it seems that any alternatives would be far more costly than the health effects incurred from phalate consumption. Or is this not the case?
I agree that this seems to be an important part of manufacturing, and I'm sure many people feel the same way about not wanting to give up goods we have become dependent on. Is there something we can replace this with? How much of these are needed to actually cause disease, because supposedly everything that we have become dependent on now causes cancer, how are we supposed to know that these truly are the cause of people becoming ill?? Something to think about...
Katie Witters
This is very disturbing! I hope it's not as big of a deal as your talking about, but i guess if it's the cause of all disease then we'd have a pretty easy time curing all disease. I agree with Brady though, i'd trade a higher risk of cancer for all the plastic goods in my house.
This seems to be a very controversial issue, but seems like there is not that much information released to the public on it. I feel like man people would be willing to give up some goods, specially because if it was more public alternatives would become more popular to replace them.
I am also a little confused as to the extent of goods that we are referring to. Are we considered with the things we eat and drink from or all sorts of manufactured goods? Kids toys, computer mouse, etc. Is there a problem with the traceability or measuring of the chemicals that is holding us back taking action? Is it just a matter of cheap material? We should be concerned with how manufactured items affect us and more time and resources should be used to ensure safety in this issue.
I dont pretend to know about phalates or the effect that these chemical have on our bodies, and i am skeptical about the claim that they are the cause of all disease. That being said, i do agree with the what the post said about the ubiquitous nature of chemicals in our every day lives. I think part of the problem is the fact that these harmful chemicals are so common place in how we live, but them most problematic thing to me is how we are not even informed that they are there or can be harmful to our health. At the same time what exactly is the evidence that these are harmful to our health? Are the effects mostly felt down the road?
You can find this stuff in Arctic and Antarctic ice too... Every place is connected somehow via our atmosphere and weather.
Burn an old carpet, kill a penguin...
It is difficult for the government to regulate them because they are found in almost everything we buy. In addition to potential health problems, these products sit in landfills for a very long time. Thats why it is up to the individual to avoid these products. You can buy products from vinyl free shower curtains to lotions free of phthalates and parabens. So, if you feel these products are harmful, there are ways to avoid them. It just takes more effort and time.
I don't see the tendency towards "burying their head in the sand" as reason enough to explain why phallates haven't been idenitifed as the root cause of all diseases. I am not convinced.
It was my fault that i didn't include references to explain where you could find more information and scientific case studies. Dr. Sherry Rogers has written 7 books, maybe more i've only read a few, about the science and policy behind my claim that phalates and other chemicals slowly accumulate in the body, and eventually top-out the bodies detoxification system. This basically means that everybody will experience this at a different point in their lives as all peoples bodies are slightly different when dealing with chemicals. However, what i meant by all disease is that they are merely symptoms, appearing as the start of something when really they are the product. for the people who doubt my stance on this issue and lack of backed up information, good for you, you should question it. But i don't have the time or the space on this blog to go into it. Like i said in the beginning, Dr. Sherry Rogers writes books for scientists, doctors and laypersons. check her out. On a personal note, my mother has been bedridden for almost a year because her body toped-out really early in her life. Make no mistake, this is happening. and the governmental agencies that should be doing something about this aren't because it would require so much change in almost every aspect of our day to day lives that they feasibly can't yet on a national level.
from my perspective, if the medical community doesn't consider something to be a health hazard, neither do I. I'm not a doctor, and no offense but neither are you, and the truth of the matter is neither one of us is really qualified to size up the threats posed by these chemicals. Data can be misleading for a lot of different reasons, the important part is interpreting and proving a consequence of that data. Doctors are qualified to make that distinction, and I am inclined to agree with their findings.
Perhaps with increased awareness and examples of individuals that have specifically developed certain diseases due to these agents, further research can be done. It seems controversial to me that all diseases can be attributed to these agents. If they were, it seems that there would be higher legislative concern around the issue. If the government has regulated our exposure to these agents, yet it is proven they contribute to all diseases, it seems strange to me more research has not been conducted and concrete, alarming evidence given.
This is a very scary post. Is there any safe level of phthalates? It's amazing that companies are allowed to get away with putting things in their products that will give us health problems, and it's amazing people haven't made a bigger deal over this.
Why do we call on mother government to fix our problems? cant we research the chemicals we place in our bodies? Can we not exclude these chemmicals from our day to day lives and not look for some man made god to save us?
If anyone disputes me, consider your ancestors, they all died of something. Then, consider your neighbors, would you like to live by them for eternity? And thier offspring? And thiers? Death must be = life. Everyone must die from Some affliction.
This issue seems a little fishy to me. How could something that has "been shown through exhaustive scientific study to be the
root cause of ALL disease" not be acknowledged by the medical profession? I know that PCB's are bad for you, but this is pretty extreme...
How have things like this not been regulated more? The Nalgene bottles are a perfect example. I have friends who know about the findings regarding cancer causing ingredients, but yet they are still using them daily. Why hasn't a larger force stepped in yet?
This is very interesting and rather scary.
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