Toxic Minnesotans

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It is no surprise that our daily use of manufactured chemicals such as plastics and cosmetics poses a health risk by introducing toxic and harmful substances to our bodies. Your body, and the body of every person you know has a plethora of toxics, a mixture of chemicals that are known toxins and ones that have not been tested on humans yet, meaning that we don’t know how they affect us.

The Test

Healthy Legacy Coalition*(1) conducted a test to measure the levels of 20 common chemicals, from three chemical families, in about three dozen people across the U.S. about a year ago; Minnesota contributed Five test subjects.

Kathleen Schuler from Healthy Legacy explained, “We tested for chemicals in products we are exposed to every day in our homes, in our communities, in our schools, in our workplaces.. We found everyone we tested had these chemicals in their bodies, to some extent.”

Don’t They Test These Products?

Would you be surprised if you found that most of these chemicals were developed in labs and then used in products that we use every day from couches and bed linens to food containers and plastic wrap? To make matters worse, products produced in 3rd world countries like China have been shown over and over to contain toxic Lead and all sorts of harmful chemicals.

Dr. David Wallinga from the Healthy Legacy Coalition says that most of these chemicals come into human use and commerce without any requirement that they be tested for safety.

Are You Lucky? You Better Be!

Just as I said in my article on cosmetics, how could we, the consumers, make sound decisions on what we buy and use if the ingredients or the health risk of such ingredients are not known to us? Consumers cannot make an educated decision because they don’t have the information they need. It comes down to guessing, taking risks and hoping that luck is on your side. Are you luck? You better hope you are.

Elizabeth Wattenberg, a U of M Environmental Health Sciences Department associate professor supported this view when she said: “If we don’t know how much health risk is posed by exposures to these chemicals, it really comes down to a personal decision.. Are you so concerned about these risks that you’re willing to give up all the plastics or are you willing to accept the risks, because you like using plastic wrap?”

You better wish that you are lucky, because you’ve been guessing what products to purchase, what’s good and whats bad for years. We will still be guessing tomorrow, as long as critical product and toxins information isn’t available for us to consider when purchasing products.

What are you waiting for? to run out of luck? Well then you’d be sick and you’d be concentrating on healing vs. preventing sickness.

A Real Problem

MN State Representative Shelley Madore was a test subject who, unfortunately, had very high, off the charts, levels of a toxin in her blood. It turns out these toxins are found in fire retardants that are sprayed on all furniture. Ms. Madore had slept on a couch for a week during a remodeling project.

Have you recently slept (or spend considerable time) on a couch?

Why then isn’t action being taken? why are my kids allowed to swallow toy parts with Lead and date rape drugs in them? I care, but who else does?

Why is this a real problem? Based on Health Legacy’s website, this is a problem because:
#1: Most chemicals are not required to be adequately tested for safety before use.
#2: The government usually takes action only after harm is proven and widespread.
#3: Certain levels of harm are accepted and allowed by government authorities.
#4: Powerful special interests obstruct government action to protect our health.

Toxic Chemicals

There are thousands of synthetic chemicals (approximately 82,000) in everyday products and while not all are toxic, most have never been tested on humans.

Some of the chemicals that advocate groups would like to see phased out are: polyvinyl chloride (PVC), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), perflourochemicals (PFCs), Bisphenol-A, and Phthalates.

These chemicals are found in: Vinyl toys, Shower Curtains, Food Packaging, Wallpaper, Skin Lotions, Perfumes, Hair Products, Soap, Water bottles made from polycarbonate (#5) plastic, Baby bottles and “sippy” cups, Tin can linings, Bottle tops, Water pipes, Polymers used in dental treatment, Teflon, Stainmaster, Scotchgard, Gore-Tex, Electronics such as Televisions and Computers, Furniture, Mattresses, Carpeting and Flooring.

For more info and for alternative “safer” products visit the Healthy Legacy website: http://www.healthylegacy.org/background_toxic.cfm

Take Action

State Representative Shelley Madore will support legislation this session that will phase out products that contain high levels of questionable chemicals.

You can support State Representative Mandore’s legislation.
You could also use the power of your money by purchasing only products that do not contain these toxins. Perhaps then the manufacturers would phase these chemicals out.

Some suggestions on what you could purchase:
* Quality wooden and cloth toys
* Ice cubes or a frozen damp cloth for teething
* Nylon or cloth shower curtains and bibs
* Paper, nylon or metal lunch boxes
* Wood, tile, linoleum, or bamboo flooring
* Wood or aluminum blinds or cloth curtains
* Computers: Dell, HP, Lenovo
* Televisions and Electronics: Samsung, Sony
* Furniture: Ikea, Herman Miller, Steel Case
* Mattresses: Ikea, Serta
* Carpeting and Flooring: Ikea, Shaw Inc., Interface
* For cooking use stainless steel, cast iron, or enamel coated pots and pans
* To prevent foods sticking cook with canola oil and line baking sheets with wax paper
* Water bottles made from stainless steel or aluminum such as Klean Kanteen or Sigg
* Baby bottles and “sippy” cups made from glass, stainless steel, or polyethylene (#1) or polypropylene (#2) plastic.
* Foods packaged in glass containers

Hope?

State Representative Shelley Madore will push for a website, run by the state, that would inform consumers about chemicals and their effects, to help every day consumers make good decisions rather than have to rely on their luck.

Sources / More Reading

Test suggests living in a chemical age is making Minnesotans toxic: http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=269219

Healthy Legacy Coalition: http://www.healthylegacy.org/

Safe Cosmetics Skin Deep Database at: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com

500000 Chinese-made toys recalled over date-rape drug link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2208755,00.html

Toy is linked to date rape drug: http://www.wigantoday.net/wigan-news/Toy-is-linked-to-date.3463010.jp

China suspends exports of toys tainted with precursor of ‘date rape’ drug: http://www.pr-inside.com/china-suspends-exports-of-toys-tainted-r293815.htm

Don’t Buy L’Oreal, Cover Girl and Dior Lipstick: http://www.helpfultalk.com/health/don%e2%80%99t-buy-loreal-cover-girl-and-dior-lipstick

*(1) Health Legacy is a coalition that began as a joint project of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and Clean Water Action of Minnesota in the summer of 2006.

Notice: I wrote this article in Dec 2007, I republished it here on 11/21/2008

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