Who’s chirping about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity today?

Glenda at Writing Stories About Real People, an eclectic blog chock full of interesting topics, writes about a tough week with her chemical sensitivity. In her post entitled “Indoor pollution is killing me!” she says:

This week, although I’ve gone as green as possible in my house, we are having a renovation done and after the plumber had come to put in the pipes for the washing machine, I had the worst attack I’ve had in many years. Turns out it was the glue used on the PVC piping. The harsh chemicals took my breath and I had to go outside to breath[e]. We closed off the new laundry room, placed an air filter machine in the living area but I had to retire to my little cubby hole of a room with my own air cleaner which runs day and night, close my door and hibernate.

The Windsor Star talks to Susan Jasper, vice-president of the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Fibromyalgia Society of Alberta (ME/FM), who has fibromyalgia.

Q: How are ME/CFS [Chronic Fatigue Syndrome], fibromyalgia and multiple chemical sensitivity related?

A: They are all distinct, but the reason we lump them together is we think they’re environmentally linked, in the sense that people are affected by their environments more than (with) other conditions. Usually ME/CFS is post-viral, while fibromyalgia is more commonly related to physical trauma, like a motor vehicle accident or a multiple head and neck trauma, and then the pain spreads. Multiple chemical sensitivity can start on its own, for example if you have a history of being in a sick building, where there’s little ventilation and chemicals from the office such as toner or paint. It starts as an exposure problem that generalizes.

MCS America posts an informational flyer on the Quick Environmental Exposure and Assessment Inventory, a standardized questionnaire developed by Dr. Claudia Miller that assists researchers and clinicians when evaluating patients for chemical sensitivity.  It measures exposure levels and symptom severity and estimates the life impact of a chemical injury.

Canary’s Cry for Friday, Oct. 31

Oh the horror:

The Canary is screaming her head off about The Washington Post report on the Bush Administration making “A Last Push to Deregulate,” which will result in the easing of many environmental rules including clean air protection. The Post says, “Those and other regulations would help clear obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities, ease controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining.”  The Post also says, “The burst of activity has made this a busy period for lobbyists who fear that industry views will hold less sway after the elections.”

ChicoER.com reports that school officials had to close two portable library buildings in Hamilton, California, due to mold growth. Officials didn’t know whether the library books will have to be cleaned or destroyed.

The Press Enterprise, in “Cement dust harmful, suit says,” reports on a lawsuit filed on behalf of 268 people who allege they’ve been harmed by hexavalent chromium emissions from the TXI Riverside Cement Co. plant just north of Riverside, California. Attorneys for the plaintiffs are working with Erin Brockovich-Ellis, the legal researcher made famous by the 2000 movie “Erin Brockovich.” The lawsuit filed by the Westlake Village firm of Masry & Vititoe claims the plaintiffs — people who lived or worked near the plant — have suffered from unspecified types of cancer, kidney and liver injuries, upper airway and skin irritations as well as emotional duress.

Happy Hallows’ Even!

Did you vote yet?

Do you want cleaner air? Go vote!

Do you want better health care? Go vote!

Do you want safer food and nontoxic household products? Go vote!

Do you want change? Go vote!

I’M NOT KIDDING. VOTE.

Photo by On Bradstreet.

EPA weakens pesticide standard at request of manufacturer

Environmental Protection Agency’s action at behest of manufacturer could double human exposure to food contaminant linked to asthma, infertility

Think the EPA is looking out for your health? Think again. Here’s a press release from the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research organization. Click on Skin Deep graphic for more info on the chemical benzalkonium chloride.

OAKLAND, CA - At the request of a single manufacturer - Edwards-Councilor Co., Inc. of Virginia Beach, VA - the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has weakened federal safety standards for a toxic chemical that is used in a broad range of cleaners and other consumer products that come in regular contact with food.

The chemical in question - alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, or ADBAC - is a pesticide and antimicrobial agent that is suspected of causing asthma and reproductive system damage. Products containing this chemical are regularly used to sterilize surfaces and utensils used during food preparation. Residues that remain can accumulate in food and be consumed by unwitting diners.

“EPA should not give a free pass to this potent chemical, given its widespread use in commercial and consumer products, and growing concerns about its adverse impacts to human health and the environment,” says Environmental Working Group scientist Rebecca Sutton, Ph.D.

This toxic antimicrobial is a type of benzalkonium chloride, a class of antimicrobial chemicals used in a broad range of cleaning products and at least 207 personal care products, where it is completely unregulated,according to an EWG analysis. EPA’s action, effective Oct. 20, has rolled back a key federal safety standard in place to reduce consumers’ risks.

Reviews of available toxicological and epidemiological research on ADBAC and other quaternary ammonium compounds, or QACs, reveal substantial data gaps and significant cause for concern regarding impacts to human health and the environment. As EPA eased food safety standards for this particular pesticide, it neglected to consider evidence that ADBAC and other QACs may be reproductive and genetic toxicants. In addition, studies on people and lab animals have linked these compounds to increased risk of asthma.

In an interview in the leading scientific journal Nature in June of 2008, Washington State University scientist Dr. Patricia Hunt says she observed a severe decline in the fertility of her lab mouse population after moving her lab from Case Western University in Cleveland, OH to Pullman, WA. The culprit: the disinfectant Virex, that contains ADBAC and other QACs, and which was used to clean the mouse cages in the new animal facility.

Widespread use in hospitals of disinfectants containing ADBAC and QACs is believed to be one of the primary reasons asthma is on the rise among health care workers. A recent survey of 3,650 health care workers in Texas found that the likelihood that these workers developed asthma during their careers doubled if they performed general cleaning of surfaces.

“EPA’s action to remove these safety standards at the behest of a single company goes against the Agency’s own mission ‘to protect human health and the environment’,” Sutton said. “EPA’s acquiescence to Edwards-Councilor will increase human exposures to this toxic chemical, and may lead to more cases of asthma and infertility among Americans.”

Dr. Sutton’s entire letter to EPA can be found here.

###

Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment.

Link

Thanks, Ruth!

Mommie blogger tackles toxic home products

Alison (at left with family), an excellent “mommie blogger” at GreenMe.vg, wrote this week on using nontoxic products in the home. It’s a fabulous post! Those of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity are always very excited to see the topic of toxic home products recognized and discussed within the green mommie blogosphere; green mommies are the savviest consumers around, they know their stuff!

I love Alison’s suggestions for nontoxic products, and she includes a very smart warning about not trusting the “green” label, which has no standard guidelines whatsoever.

…the lung is a working organ and the only way for humans to get oxygen into our blood stream. Every time we inhale a chemical irritant we damage our lungs. Enough damage and the lungs start to lose their ability to repair themselves. Furthermore airborne irritants and toxins can aggravate the lungs for folks who already have breathing problems, such as asthma, even worse they can induce asthma in folks who were previously not at risk. Smoking may be the most common cause of lung cancer but it is not the only cause.

According to research collected by the EcoMom Alliance over 150 toxic chemicals are common to the average household. What is really bad news, is that many of these chemicals have been connected to increased incidence of asthma, allergies, cancers, and behavioral disorders.

Link to Alison’s whole post for chemicals to avoid, nontoxic replacements, and info on the “green” label. Brava, Alison!

Children blossom while learning to garden

Children learn about the beauty of organic gardening at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.

The San Antonio Botanical Gardens is known for showing of exotic plant life — like orchids and colorful roses.

But in rear of the Botanical center more mundane plants are grown — back at the Children’s Vegetable Garden.

Every Saturday morning children like nine-year old Ben Wenzel show up with their parents in tow to work on their assigned plot of land.

And recently it was time for the big harvest.

Ben’s mom Laurie carries off their haul of produce in re-used plastic grocery bags.

“We’ve got a couple of little turnips. We picked the little ones. We’ve got a bunch of tomatoes. Then I’ve got a bunch of spinach. We’ve got lots of green beans,” she said.

Link

Canary’s Cry for Wednesday, Oct. 29

The Washington Post reports that the FDA’s ruling on BPA was flawed (surprise, surprise). The Posts says, “The Food and Drug Administration ignored scientific evidence and used flawed methods when it determined that a chemical widely used in baby bottles and in the lining of cans is not harmful, a scientific advisory panel has found.” Basically, the FDA ignored the mounting scientific data showing bisphenol A (BPA) is a danger to health and instead relied on industry-funded studies that concluded it’s safe.

ExMaxHealth reports on “Bug Bombs Linked to Illness.”

State health officials have documented dozens of cases of illness or injury from exposure to bug bombs or insect foggers in Washington in the past three years. Many people don’t know that these products can be a health risk, especially if directions aren’t followed.

Between 2005 and 2007, the Washington Poison Center received 256 reports of people who had symptoms after bug bomb exposure. The Department of Health, which typically documents only the cases reported to the center that seek medical attention, attributed 47 illnesses and injuries associated with bug bombs in the same period.

Medical News Today reports that “Tobacco Abuse by US Troops in Iraq Twice National Average.”

The prevalence of tobacco use by US military deployed to Iraq is more than twice the national average. Researcher Michael A. Wilson of the United States Navy surveyed 408 Marines and sailors deployed in Iraq to assess the prevalence of tobacco abuse and usage patterns related to service. Overall, 260 (64 percent) of the Marines and sailors surveyed used some form of tobacco. Of those, 213 (52 percent) smoked cigarettes, 145 (36 percent) used smokeless tobacco (dip, chew), and 98 (24 percent) used both. For all tobacco abusers, 74 percent expressed a desire to quit using tobacco. Researchers conclude that the prevalence of tobacco abuse during deployment to Iraq is significantly higher than the national average of 29.6 percent reported in a 2006 national survey. The rate of usage also was higher than the 38.9 percent reported for troops returning from Iraq, based on a 2004 survey.

Science News says that “Farm Chemicals Can Indirectly Hammer Frogs.” “Atrazine, the second-most widely used agricultural pesticide in America, can pose a toxic double whammy to tadpoles. The weed killer not only increases the likelihood that massive concentrations of flatworms will thrive in the amphibians’ ponds, a new study reports, but also diminishes the ability of larval frogs to fight infection with these parasites.

Photo by The Facey Family

Tainted candy alert

White Rabbit Creamy Candy, Koala’s March Crème filled Cookies, and Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins may contain melamine.

I used to eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy as a kid, it’s a local favorite, so this melamine scare is a little creepy to me. Here’s some info from an email I received from momsrising.org:

We want to give you a heads up about some Halloween candy that could be bad for kids: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to consume White Rabbit Creamy Candy or Koala’s March Crème filled Cookies because they may contain melamine. (1)  And, the Canadian government is warning the public not to consume Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins, which may also have reached the U.S. (2)

What’s wrong with these candies? You’ve likely heard about the dangerous chemical, melamine, which was recently found in the Chinese milk supply and sickened thousands of children in China.  We’ve now seen reports that melamine tainted milk has been used in some Chinese candy products that have been shipped to the United States. (3)

The good news is that Chinese candy makes up only 0.7% of the candy sold in the U.S. (4) and the risk of serious harm from minor exposure to melamine is considered low by the World Health Organization (5). That said, we wanted to send this out to you because we don’t want our kids eating candy with any toxic ingredients.

*Please forward this email to friends, family, and your school email list so all can be on the lookout for this tainted candy on Halloween.  (And, if you’re not already a member of MomsRising, please sign on now so we can keep you informed: http://www.momsrising.org/fighttoxins)

MomsRising has created a page where you can easily share this information with friends, as well as see pictures of the tainted candies, get more information, and download a flyer that you can post on your school or other community bulletin boards.

See the Tainted Candy Pictures, Get the Flyer & Tell Friends Here:

http://www.momsrising.org/melamine

Enjoy a safe and happy Halloween,

Joan, Kristin, Katie and the MomsRising.org Team

1. http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/melamine.html

2. Here’s the Canadian government’s warning:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2008/20081008e.shtml

The Vancouver Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081028.wlhalloween28/BNStory/lifeFamily/home

And an article in the Chicago Tribune:

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2008/10/chocolate-coins.html

3. From Consumer Reports:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/10/chinese_formula07.html,

Candy problem verified on Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/coins.asp

4. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-24-melamine-china_N.htm

5. “Consumers exposed to tiny amounts of melamine shouldn’t worry, says Angelika Tritscher of the World Health Organization. ‘Melamine at low doses is actually not considered to be very toxic.’” Quote from: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-24-melamine-china_N.htm

And some recent press coverage:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=868904

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_10626959

Erin Brockovich investigates brain tumor cluster

Erin Brockovich, the environmental activist portrayed by Julia Roberts in an Oscar-winning movie, met with people in Cameron Monday night. KMBC-News clip:

Report at MyCameronNews.com:

Brockovich speaks to Cameron residents concerned about brain tumors

Approximately 200 Residents of Cameron, Mo. gathered in the gymnasium of the Cameron High School in the hopes that community activist Erin Brockovich would lead them to answers. After feeling unsatisfied with answers from government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Missouri Department of Health, the Center for Disease Control and the Department of Natural Resources who stated that the number of brain tumors in the area were below statistical rates, Brockovich was welcomed with open arms in hopes of finding a reason for the community’s recent health scare.

Brockovich opened her town hall meeting by stating, “I won’t have all of the answers you are looking for tonight. It will take a long time to find out what is causing the problem here. But I can say that I am very uncomfortable with what I am learning.”

Link to full story at MyCameronNews.

Breast cancer survivor battles pesticide overspray

OMG, look at what this poor couple has to put up with! And the husband says his wife is chemically sensitive (I think the plea below is written by the wife). I feel so sorry for these people! If this is happening to you, you need to call the authorities, call the cops, call your local pesticide control authorities. Find out what the law in your state says about overspray and then take action. No one should have to put up with this!

HELP! Our neighbor values a green lawn more than a life! They constantly have their yard, trees and shrubs sprayed with pesticides. Pesticides that are on the EPA’s list of endocrine disruptors.

We have a pesticide free yard and organic garden. Every month, we have to cover my garden and fruit trees to keep the lawn care company from over-spraying onto our garden and fruit trees. This last time, I caught them spraying full blast and it coming through the fence that clearly divides our property lines. I stopped them just short of spraying my honeysuckle vines that cascade over the fence.

They know I am pesticide sensitive and am trying to keep the spray off my yard. The lawn care company boasts they have the right to do this!!! And that they can spray anything that is on the neighbor’s side of the fence and that our concern for over-spray is not substantiated. They are saying I do not have the right to a pesticide-free yard!!!

We must go cry out to our city, county, state and federal governments to get over-spraying to be illegal. Every homeowner in America should have the right to NOT HAVE HARMFUL CHEMICALS SPRAYED ON THEIR LAWNS VIA THEIR NEIGHBOR! Help me start this fight! After all, the tomato you pick from your organic garden may have the pesticides from your neighbor on it. Do you feel safe feeding it to your children?

Contact the Governor of Colorado, Bill Ritter and tell him Bev Veals wants Residential Pesticide Use Guidelines! I am a 9-year, two-time, advanced stage breast cancer survivor. PLEASE HELP ME OUT!!! E-mail: beepesticidefree@mac.com

Link

UPDATE: Drat! Their email beepesticidefree@mac.com is not working, the email I sent them was rejected by the recipient domain.

Who’s chirping about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity today?

Melody at Little Home Blessings writes about the importance of safe housing for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Four years ago I couldn’t get out of bed most days. I was on oxygen regularly. It wasn’t uncommon for me to be too weak to speak or raise a glass to my lips. I suffered neurological impairment to the point that I couldn’t remember how to spell my own child’s name, and couldn’t make my hands cooperate in zipping a zipper.

I still have my limitations and I still have to be very cautious, but after 2 ½ years of living in a healing home, I’m now able to be out and about in public, to care for my children and generallylead a productive and satisfying life.

Melody’s post includes an excellent vision of how to create a healing home.

Catherine at Breathez writes about the connections between her Celiac Disease and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

In my case, trying to determine which one came first is like asking the proverbial question of which came first, the chicken or the egg. I may have had symptoms of MCS before those of celiac, but years of undiagnosed celiac caused permanent damage to my adrenal glands, which in turn caused more chemical injury–or did the chemical injury cause some of the adrenal damage and thus aggravate the celiac? These are questions I quit asking long ago, because there were no clear answers, and knowing wouldn’t change how things were anyway.

Catherine at Sacredseed’s Weblog was diagnosed with MCS in the winter of 2007, and writes about the power of ritual in her post “Living the Demetrian Wheel, reality strikes.”

October 15^th is the anniversary of the day I went into the Emergency Room at Disneyland in anaphylactic shock, which is a much longer story that does not need to be told here. That event triggered the toxins that had been stewing in my body from an exposure to Formaldehyde about 18 months earlier. The anaphylaxis pushed me over into full blown Multiple Chemical Sensitivity – the chronic illness I now live with. This year my business partner Jamie and I created a ritual to help me mourn some of what I had lost through that experience and celebrate some of what I have gained. We performed the ritual on Friday October 17^th at the Berkeley Marina with a handful of other friends who shared in letting go some of their grief and celebrating some of their joys. It was a quiet and poignant evening.

Now the wheel turns and the Wiccan in me prepares for Samhain this weekend. More honoring of grief and joy at the end of the year. Somehow it all fits together. And just behind me, supporting and offering comfort and understanding, I can feel Demeter’s presence. Sister, Lover, Mother, Goddess, Cohort in Crime, and Friend.

Canary’s Cry for Tuesday, Oct 28

Blacksmith Institute in collaboration with Green Cross Switzerland issued a Top Ten List of the world’s most dangerous pollution problems [Urban Air Quality at left]. The report names pollution as one of the leading contributing factors to death and disability in the world and highlights the disproportionate effects on the health of children.

The Top Ten list includes commonly discussed pollution problems like urban air pollution as well as more overlooked threats like car battery recycling. The problems included in the report have a significant impact on human health worldwide and result in death, persistent illness, and neurological impairment for millions of people, particularly children.  According to the report, many of these deaths and related illnesses could be avoided with affordable and effective interventions. “Our goal with the 2008 report is to increase awareness of the severe toll that pollution takes on human health and inspire the international community to act,” said Richard Fuller, founder of Blacksmith Institute. “Remediation is both possible and cost-effective.”

Army Times reported that “Burn pit at Balad raises health concerns.”

Troops say chemicals and medical waste burned at base are making them sick, but officials deny risk.

An open-air “burn pit” at the largest U.S. base in Iraq may have exposed tens of thousands of troops, contractors and Iraqis to cancer-causing dioxins, poisons such as arsenic and carbon monoxide, and hazardous medical waste, documentation gathered by Military Times shows.

The billowing black plume from the burn pit at 15-square-mile Joint Base Balad, the central logistics hub for U.S. forces in Iraq, wafts continually over living quarters and the base combat support hospital, sources say.

Reuters INDIA picked up the Reuters Washington story “Does mold make you sick?” Fungus expert Joan Bennett did not believe in toxic mold — the cause of “sick building syndrome” and many lawsuits — until her New Orleans home was flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. When she got a whiff of the foul air that the black goo had created in her home, she decided to change her research focus and try to find out how and if the fungi that took over most of the flooded homes on the Gulf Coast might make people ill. “The overwhelming obnoxiousness of the odor and of the enveloping air made me start to believe in something that I had never believed in before — sick building syndrome,” Bennett, of Rutgers University in New Jersey, told a news conference.

Why I boycott Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Beware: Breast Cancer Awareness Month turns breast cancer into just another marketing campaign

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and before the month runs out, I’d like to add my two cents to the discussion.

Rather than jumping on the very popular pink bandwagon, I boycott all breast cancer “awareness” and pink ribbon campaigns, subscribing to a CAUSE not CURE approach to the epidemic of breast cancer.

My highly critical view of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is along the lines of  Samantha King’s, who, in her book Pink Ribbons, Inc., “traces how breast cancer has been transformed from a stigmatized disease and individual tragedy to a market-driven industry of survivorship.” King maintains that corporations,  under the guise of philanthropy, “turn their formidable promotion machines on the curing of the disease while dwarfing public health prevention efforts and stifling the calls for investigation into why and how breast cancer affects such a vast number of people.” I couldn’t agree more.

I also fully support Breast Cancer Action, an organization based in San Francisco helping to transform breast cancer from a private medical crisis to a public health emergency. And I love their Think Before You Pink campaign that “calls for more transparency and accountability by companies that take part in breast cancer fundraising, and encourages consumers to ask critical questions about pink ribbon promotions.” Think Before You Pink also highlights “pinkwashers”—companies that “purport to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon campaign, but manufacture products that are linked to the disease.”

In the spirit of focusing on CAUSE not CURE, Rita Arditti at CommonDreams.org today writes about “Why Cancer’s Gaining on Us,” making the case about the rise in breast cancer coinciding with the flood of synthetic chemicals in our environment since the 1950s, calling for research into any possible links.

“Is there definitive evidence that these substances cause breast cancer?” she asks. “Have they been sufficiently studied? Well, no. We need to know more about the timing, duration, and patterns of exposure, which may be as important as dosage.”

Don’t miss that the chemicals she lists as examples are some of the very same chemicals to which those of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity react negatively.

Since World War II, the proliferation of synthetic chemicals has gone hand-in-hand with the increased incidence of breast cancer. About 80,000 synthetic chemicals are used today in the United States, and their number increases by about 1,000 each year. Only about 7 percent of them have been screened for their health effects. These chemicals can persist in the environment and accumulate in our bodies. According to a recent review by the Silent Spring Institute in Newton, 216 chemicals and radiation sources cause breast cancer in animals.

Nearly all of the chemicals cause mutations, and most cause tumors in multiple organs and animal species, findings that are generally believed to indicate they likely cause cancer in humans. Yet few have been closely studied by regulatory bodies. There is concern about benzene, which is in gasoline; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are in air pollution from vehicle exhaust, tobacco smoke, and charred foods; ethylene oxide, which is widely used in medical settings; and methylene chloride, a common solvent in paint strippers and glues.

That’s where we should be focusing, not on the pretty ribbon in a feel-good color that pops up on the calendar once a year.

Link to photo of metastatic cancer cells by euthman on flickr

UPDATE: I forgot to include that I am a breast cancer survivor.

Birthday as Thanksgiving

Today is my birthday. As I grow older, I’ve come to love birthdays more and more.

Photo: Me with one of my first horses, on Kauai in 1966

When a kid, of course, my birthdays were all about presents and cake and fun parties; as a teenager and 20-something, it was all about presents and good food and crazy partying; but as a 30-something maturing adult it became more about meaningful gifts and quiet dinners, tinged with a nagging reminder of growing old. I was beginning to understand why many adults dislike birthdays, seeing them as a reminder of death rather than a celebration of life.

To compound things, the 30-something decade was the age when I developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, and my life became difficult in ways I could have never imagined. I had to close up my wonderful bookshop, retreat to the confines of my home, conduct an exhaustive search for someone to diagnose what was happening to me, come to grips with becoming disabled. My life as I knew it was derailed. Birthdays? Not so fun. In fact, completely ignored.

Then, as a 40-something, I discovered a small lump in my right breast. A couple of weeks later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember when the doctor called to give me the news, she sounded so depressed, her voice low and sad while I tried to understand what she was saying.

“So what you are telling me,” I said to her on the phone, “is that if we remove the breast, then I am free and clear of the cancer? No chemo? No radiation? So, this is good news! You are telling me good news! We caught it in time, and I get to live! When can I come in for the surgery?”

She later told me no one in her experience had ever reacted that way to news about a cancer diagnosis. But what had happened in that phone call was an amazing transformation of my entire perspective on life. I understood in that moment, that life is precious, and even if you have a disability, it’s better than death. I realized in that moment, if I’m still alive, I have options.

When you have a breast removed, obviously there’s a breast missing on the front of your chest. In it’s place is a big scar, like a centipede, undulating from under the arm across the now bare ribs, to the heart center of your being. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t see that scar at least twice a day: when I dress first thing in the morning, and when I undress last thing at night. I am never allowed to forget that I was kissed by death and that a very precious body part has preceeded me to the grave.

Which brings me back to the topic at hand: birthdays. Birthdays are a totally different thing for me now. They are days of Thanksgiving. I become introspective, everything around me seems more beautiful than ever before, it is a day of recognizing exquisite beauty, even at this moment, when the neighbor just lit a BBQ and I am being hit with fumes as I write this, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to be alive. If I can smell that poison, I’m alive! That’s why I lept out of bed this morning and shouted “52!! Woohoo! I made it to 52!” Huge happy feeling.

I haven’t revealed my inner self to you very much here on The Canary Report. That may change as things progress and grow with this, my latest project, and I will tell you why. Because one of the things I feel grateful for today is the community that is growing here at The Canary Report: I am grateful to you all for all you’ve brought into my life. I thought that I was building a platform to support others with MCS, but little did I know that I was creating another thing in my own life that would trigger an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I love you guys! And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have brought into my life.

Happy Birthday to me and to each and every one of you! Be well, my friends.

Aloha and mahalo,

Susie

Snow on Mauna Kea

Mountaintop briefly dusted in snow for first time this season

I woke to a fresh chill to the air this morning, brought on by the first snow fall on Mauna Kea yesterday. Yes, it snows in Hawaii! Isn’t it beautiful?

This photo is taken by my good friend William Ing, photog at our local paper the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.

Whenever it snows up Mauna Kea, the night wind brings fresh, crisp air down the slope all the way to the sea. Even though it’s already melted, the air is crisp and clean today. You can imagine how much I love that!

Waking up to clean air is such a blessing, made even more special today because it’s my birthday. So not only do I feel grateful for clean air today, but also for making it to 52 years of age!

Yep, it’s a beautiful day.

They say it’s my birthday!

Yep, 52 today and oh so grateful to be here, alive and kickin’! Now, where’s the organic cake?!

Link

Who’s chirping about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity today?

The Chronicle Telegram has a story on a medical center employee who is suing the hospital for moving her into an office that aggravated her asthma. She also has Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. The lawsuit states the office didn’t have proper ventilation and had a high level of chemicals, which caused the worker, Jacquelyn Palmer, respiratory distress, burning eyes, nose, throat and skin, swelling of lips and tongue and other ailments. Palmer accuses the hospital of discrimination, retaliation, failure to provide a safe workplace and inflicting emotional distress.

Catherine (one of our flock), at Mormon Bloggers Speak Out, writes today about Chemical Sensitivity and Earth Stewardship, explaining the connection between her chemical sensitivity and her interest in the environmental movement, what she says is “a logical step for me to take, from protecting my own personal environment to seeking protection for the larger environment of the world.” She blogs:

I can’t reverse the chemical damage that has already occurred in my body, but I can become militant in preventing it from happening to others. Thus my interest in and association with the environmental movement. I believe that God created the earth for our use, but charged us with the responsibility to be wise stewards. If we allow the earth to be poisoned with chemicals, we do so at our own peril. As a chemically injured person, I am a living witness of the consequences of poor stewardship.

Making sense of the USDA Organic label

Understanding the USDA Organic label will help you make better choices when planning for a chemical-free diet.

Here’s the scoop:

Making sense of organic labeling can be difficult, and many consumers do not understand the significance of the USDA Organic label. Since October 21, 2002, the following guidelines were established by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) to assure consumers know the exact organic content of the food they buy.

Single-Ingredient Foods
On foods like fruits and vegetables, look for a small sticker version of the USDA Organic label or check the signage in your produce section for this seal.

The word “organic” and the seal may also appear on packages of meat, cartons of milk or eggs, cheese, and other single-ingredient foods.

Multi-Ingredient Foods
Foods such as beverages, snacks, and other processed foods use the following classification system to indicate their use of organic ingredients.

100% Organic—Foods bearing this label are made with 100% organic ingredients* and may display the USDA Organic seal.

Organic—These products contain at least 95–99% organic ingredients (by weight). The remaining ingredients are not available organically but have been approved by the NOP. These products may display the USDA Organic seal.

Made With Organic Ingredients—Food packaging that reads “Made With Organic Ingredients” must contain 70–94% organic ingredients. These products will not bear the USDA Organic seal; instead, they may list up to three ingredients on the front of the packaging.

Other—Products with less than 70% organic ingredients may only list organic ingredients on the information panel of the packaging. These products will not bear the USDA Organic seal.

Keep in mind that even if a producer is certified organic, the use of the USDA Organic label is voluntary. At the same time, not everyone goes through the rigorous process of becoming certified, especially smaller farming operations. When shopping at a farmers’ market, for example, don’t hesitate to ask the vendors how your food was grown.

*Salt and water are not included.

Link

Earthjustice seeks tougher regulations for vinyl manufacturers

Many cancer-causing toxins from vinyl manufacturers remain unregulated.

Dig this: The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to set emission standards for each hazardous air pollutant PVC plants emit. But the EPA in 2002 set standards for just one: vinyl chloride. This means emissions of dioxins, chromium, lead, chlorine, and hydrogen chloride – substances associated with a wide variety of serious adverse health effects including cancer – are entirely unregulated.

Worse, monitoring conducted by the EPA shows PVC plants have emitted concentrations of vinyl chloride at more than 120 times higher than the ambient air standard. And still, the EPA does nothing to protect the public. Says Marti Sinclair, Chair of Sierra Club’s National Air Committee, “We’re left with little choice but to bring this matter before a judge.”

Washington, DC — Citizens in communities affected by cancer-causing air pollution from vinyl manufacturers went to court today to ask the federal government to regulate the host of toxins released from these plants.The nonprofit public interest law firm Earthjustice filed the lawsuit today in federal district court in Washington, DC, on behalf of the Sierra Club and two community groups in Louisiana – Mossville Environmental Action Now (MEAN) and Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN).

Each year, PVC plants pump some 500,000 pounds of vinyl chloride – a known human carcinogen – and many other toxins into the atmosphere. In spite of the documented effects of these cancer-causing chemicals, the federal government has bowed to pressure to keep the PVC industry’s air emissions largely unregulated.

Mossville, Louisiana, with its four vinyl production facilities, including two major vinyl chloride manufacturers, is considered the unofficial PVC capitol of America. Mossville residents Edgar Mouton and Dorothy Felix have spent much of the past decade fighting to protect their families from the cancer-causing chemicals raining down upon their community.

“We’re being hit from the north, south, east, and west. Every time the wind changes, we get a lungful of pollution from some other plant.” said Edgar Mouton, a Mossville resident and retired chemical plant employee. “These chemicals end up in our water, our gardens, our children’s bodies. Each day we hear about someone in our community being diagnosed with cancer or another illness. We’re taking legal action so that we might live to see some improvements for ourselves and our community.”

Louisiana is home to six of the nation’s 21 plants manufacturing polyvinyl chloride, commonly known as PVC or vinyl. Six more plants are located in Texas. The remaining plants are found in New Jersey, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.

“Air pollution from PVC plants is a serious problem in Louisiana. In Baton Rouge alone, we have four of these plants and they’re talking about building a fifth,” said Gary Miller an engineer with Louisiana Environmental Action Network. “This is one of our region’s most toxic industries. It only makes sense that it be subject to correspondingly strong rules.”

Link to full story at Earth Justice

Who’s chirping about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity today?

At Zona pellucida… blinded by the light, Dana writes about developing a chemical sensitivity to disposable menstural pads and pantyliners when she was a teenager. Her solution? All-natural reusable cotton or flannel menstrual pads. “The story has a happy ending: Lunapads saved my life!” Dana says. “I highly recommend them.” Lunapads has a great blog, too!

Organic Authority picked up the story of Elizabeth Feudale-Bowes, who was diagnosed several years ago with environmental illness and has been ordered by a judge to remove the non-toxic back yard structure in which she spends most of her life. The Canary Report has been following this story, link here for background.

The World, out of Coos Bay, Oregon, reports on a couple that wants to buy and transplant a condemned house about ready to fall off a cliff so that the husband, who has Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, can live in an old, chemical-free house. It’s a pretty creative proposal and if city officials can figure out how to make it work, it’s a win-win for everyone involved.

Author Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore at NOBODY PASSES, darling, blogs in a post called “Thoughts on the vocabulary of disability” about the interconnections between MCS, fibromyalgia, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She does a great riff on acronyms, but also speaks to the more serious topic of living with multiple disabilities.

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