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A toxic emissions spill at a BP refinery in Texas makes area residents ill; a $10 billion class-action lawsuit is filed

Posted on Aug 30, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Susie Collins

The New York Times reports while the world was focused on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a BP refinery in Texas released huge amounts of toxic chemicals into the air that went unnoticed by residents until many saw their children come down with respiratory problems.

While we were busy paying attention to the health affects of the BP oil well blow out in the Gulf, a community in Texas was dealing with the aftermath of a BP refinery spewing out huge amounts of toxic chemicals into the air during an accident.

The New York Times reports With Neighbors Unaware, Toxic Spill at a BP Plant.

For 40 days in April-May, 538,000 pounds of toxic chemicals poured out of the refinery following an equipment failure. Environmentalists say the release of toxic gases ranked as one of the largest in the state’s history. Most households in one area close to the spill had at least one family member fall ill during the month of the accident, including many children. Residents are so angry, they’ve filed a $10 billion class-action lawsuit against BP.

[The] final report said the release of chemicals had gone on for 959 hours, until May 16. Among other pollutants, the plant had released 17,000 pounds of benzene; 37,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides, which can cause respiratory problems; and 186,000 pounds of carbon monoxide. Another 262,000 pounds of various volatile organic compounds also escaped.

“The state’s investigation shows that BP’s failure to properly maintain its equipment caused the malfunction and could have been prevented,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement.

Of interest to Canary Report readers is that current research shows both carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds or VOCs can initiate Multiple Chemical Sensitivity in susceptible individuals. (The seven main classes of chemicals that can initiate cases of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity include three classes of pesticides: organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides, the organochlorine pesticides and the pyrethroid pesticides. Other types of chemicals reported to initiate cases of MCS include organic compounds, mercury, hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide. See the peer-reviewed MCS research of biochemist Martin Pall for further information.)

How many new cases of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity have been initiated through the negligence of BP in these recent accidents in the Gulf and in Texas is anyone’s guess at this point.

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Tags: Air, Canary's Cry, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Pollution, Research, Toxic

Gulf Coast: Grab your respirators!

Posted on Jul 04, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

3M #4279 Organic Vapour/Inorganic and Acid Gas/Ammonia/Particulate Respirator

RT America reports on health problems in the Gulf caused by chemical fumes from crude oil and dispersant originating from BP oil well blowout. Don’t miss reference to the Exxon Valdez spill and the analogy to 9/11.

6/30–What can go wrong will go wrong. Such is the case for the Gulf Coast and the unending saga of the BP oil spill that’s now in its eleventh week. What’s wrong now is this: winds from Hurricane Alex are pushing tar balls as large as apples onto Gulf Coast beaches. This has stopped cleanup efforts momentarily and even undone some of the spill control. As one marine scientist put it: “We lost all the progress we made.” But the winds picking up are a giant concern for something else.

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Tags: Air, Children's Health, Environment, Environmental Illness, Pollution, Products, Toxic, Video

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Posted on Jun 07, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, News, Susie Collins

Here are some websites and stories I’ve been reading this week.

The National Children’s Study is a multi-year research study that will examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of more than 100,000 children across the United States, following them from before birth until age 21.

I highly recommend everyone become familiar with the National Children’s Study.

Excellent article on Air Filters: Choosing Portable Equipment.

The New York Times reports on Domestic Detox: Extreme Home Cleaning.

Adrien Bledstein’s I Can Breathe! Masks.

Annie Leonard, The Story of Stuff creator, talks about polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

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Tags: Children's Health, Healthy Living, Home, Products, Toxic

CNN investigative report Toxic America with Dr. Sanjay Gupta to rebroadcast tonight and tomorrow

Posted on Jun 05, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Government Regulation, Media/Videos, Products, Susie Collins

The two-part CNN investigation “Toxic America” with Dr. Sanjay Gupta will rebroadcast tonight and tomorrow night, Sat & Sun, June 5 & 6, at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Check listings in your area to confirm times. Don’t miss it!

I was hesitant to recommend the CNN special Toxic America with Dr. Sanjay Gupta until I saw the first airing. It’s pretty good actually, although if you look at it through the lens of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity you may feel that it falls short in many areas. Still, it’s heartening to see this topic and type of investigative reporting on mainstream media. Dr. Gupta does a good job of presenting the problems of toxic chemicals in our environment and our homes, and he shows genuine concern, repeating over and over the fact that out of the 80,000 chemicals put into consumer goods, only 200 have been tested for safety.

Click here for dates and times of ONLINE replays June 7, 8, & 9.

Also, for those of you so inclined, CNN is inviting you to “Share Your Story” through video or photos:

Put yourself on video and document conditions in your area, or take photos of what’s around you. Tell us what industrial or chemical pollution may be contributing to health problems for you and those you love, and be sure not to put yourself in a dangerous situation.

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Tags: Air, Asthma, Children's Health, Environment, EPA, Home, Indoor Pollution, Policy, Products, Research, Sick Building, Toxic, Video

Celebrating new life and healthy choices

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Franny Armstrong, Healthy Living

I’m much too young to be a grandmother, so I am Nanny Franny. And with it comes responsibility to life and good health.

By contributor Franny Armstrong.

Me with my new grandson Brock William Daniel, born April 22.

For the first time since I became ill with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, I feel there is light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not a train barreling towards me. Keep up the faith and WILL yourself to be well. I, for one, envision myself celebrating good health and happiness. This has begun with the birth of my grandson. I’m now Nanny Franny (because of course I’m much too young to be a grandmother at 39).

My daugher Christina with Brock just moments after he was born.

Pepsi or Coke? I get asked that question a lot as an author. It’s just one of the interview questions people like to ask. I have been drinking Pepsi for decades and sometimes Coke when the other isn’t available. My hubby always says, “It’s bad for you.” Yet, he doesn’t think twice about eating chicken wings while drinking beer. Hmmm…high cholesterol and high blood pressure mixed with toxins?

We all make choices to better or harm our health. I believe it’s called “free will.” I’ve decided once again to give up pop and any alcohol then keep working one day at a time to continue on the road to wellness.

I’m happy to say that I’ve begun to react less harshly to fragrances and other contaminants after nearly ten years of “avoidance” and eating healthy. I live in the country next to a golf course but hubby doesn’t want to move. After calling the clubhouse to ask for a warning a day or two in advance of when they spray the FUNGICIDES to keep their lawns beautiful, I never received a reply.

Brock with his sister Alexis.

The first time I became ill, I dropped like a rock into poor health and could barely talk, shook like a leaf all the time, and slept nearly TWENTY HOURS A DAY! I was diagnosed as Bipolar II, yet my psychiatrist, who by the way says I’m NOT crazy (whew), agreed that moving away from pesticides that affect the brain neurologically, not to mention cause cancer, was a great idea in improving my health.

Alas, if you have an “alpha male” like I do, it’s like trying to move the Rock Of Gibraltar with a toothpick. Most of the time I stay indoors typing on my beloved laptop, pouring out the stories from my overactive imagination in the world of paranormal romantic suspense. I even write about environmental illness but those particular books are taking a long time to create. It’s difficult to write what you live, while at the same time also writing about what other people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity live, too.

Joy goes a long way in promoting good health. My daughter is thoughtful to make sure the baby and I are not exposed to toxic chemicals. No baby powder, no Ivory Snow, no other fragrances either. She’s a gem.

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH!

NEVER SURRENDER! NEVER GIVE UP!

Hugs,
Franny Armstrong-ParaNovelGirl

Come visit me at ParaNovelGirls and my website.

~~~

Franny Armstrong is a writer of “paranormal romantic suspense” novels filled with private investigators, police, and even Royal Canadian Mounted Police who use their amazing psychic abilities to catch the villains. Franny also uses her technical and journalistic skills to create helpful, upbeat stories and articles to enlighten and motivate people.

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Tags: Children's Health, Healthy Living, Home, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: The importance of reducing the toxic load

Posted on May 07, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Eva Caballé, MCS, Media/Videos

I didn’t know that air fresheners and laundry softeners have carcinogenic ingredients. The manufacturers hide all this information because they want us to be unsuspecting consumers who buy products without questioning the ingredients. But there are natural and healthier choices, and in most of the cases they aren’t more expensive.

By contributor Eva Caballé, Spain.

(Editor’s Note: Please help me welcome Eva Caballé as a regular contributor at The Canary Report! Eva’s story about her life with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity has been featured on TCR many times since last summer, and she started guestblogging here in February. I asked her to come join us as a regular contributor, and to my delight she’s said yes! She’ll blog here at The Canary Report on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, disability rights, social justice, the state of MCS recognition in Spain, and give you tips about living a nontoxic life. You can read her full bio here. Eva makes her contributor’s debut with a video on the importance of reducing the toxic load in your life. The video was first aired at a conference in Spain on healthy cosmetics. Welcome, Eva! Aloha, Susie)

Eva Caballé

Hello, my name is Eva Caballé. I’m an economist from Barcelona, Spain, and I’ve lived with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity for four years, although I was diagnosed only two years ago. I write NO FUN, a Spanish blog about MCS and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, with information and advice for people who are sick or who want to live a healthier life free of toxics. My blog includes an English section. And I have written a book Desaparecida: Una vida rota por la Sensibilidad Química Múltiple (Missing: A life broken by Multiple Chemical Sensitivity) that was published in Spanish last year by the publisher El Viejo Topo .

First of all, I want to thank Silvia Ferrer for inviting me to this conference about healthy cosmetic to talk about MCS, although I have had to record my conference in this video, because my illness doesn’t allow me to leave my house.

Maybe some of you haven’t heard about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. MCS is an acquired chronic illness which manifests with multisystemic symptoms as a reaction to very small exposures to toxic chemical products, meaning normal everyday chemicals but unnecessary ones like perfumes, air fresheners and laundry softeners.

MCS is a syndrome with four grades of severity, so not all of us who are sick suffer the same level of disability and isolation. Unfortunately, I have the highest severity and because of MCS I have developed other illnesses that make me live completely isolated, without leaving my house, and right now, not even leaving my bed.

The symptoms are chronic and they can become acute when we are exposed to chemical products. Symptoms are different depending on the sufferer, and in my case include dyspnea, tachycardia, dizziness and extreme fatigue. This is the reason why we must avoid contact with any chemical product.

There are two ways of developing MCS: from one single exposure to toxics at a high dose (fumigation, for example) or by many exposures to small amounts over the years, which is my case.

Over the years, our body accumulates chemical substances which circulate in our environment without any controls, in the food we eat, in the water we drink, in the air we breathe, in our beauty products, etc., until the toxic load is unbearable and we end up getting sick, which according to our genetic make-up, it could end up being MCS or other environmental illness like cancer, asthma, and allergies.

If you start noticing unbearable chemicals which you did not notice before or you stop tolerating alcohol or some food, you may be developing MCS. If a perfume gives you headache, if some chemicals give you dizziness or nausea, you may be part of the 12% of people who have chemical sensitivities in a mild degree.

Since my MCS started, before I got the right diagnosis, I had to make changes at home, because the laundry detergent, the toothpaste or for example the shower gel suffocated me. My body guided me to eliminate all the products that were intoxicating me. In spite of not knowing the name of my illness, I started to look for alternatives to substitute for all these toxic products. Two years later, when I knew that I had MCS and that I had to avoid all the chemical products, I realized that my body had led me on the right track.

Then I created the blog NO FUN, first of all to spread a video about MCS that I recorded at home for a TV program, and after that I started to share all that I had learned with other people who were sick and anyone who wanted to live a healthier life free of toxics.

I also have allergies since I was a child, but nobody warned me that I was in a risk group to develop MCS. If I was aware of this, I would have changed my habits and I would have used the products that I use now. I also didn’t know that most deodorants are toxic and there are a lot of studies that link some ingredients with breast cancer.

I didn’t know either that air fresheners and laundry softeners have carcinogenic ingredients. The manufacturers hide all this information because they want us to be unsuspecting consumers who buy products without questioning the ingredients. But there are natural and healthier choices, and in most of the cases they aren’t more expensive.

Each day, there are more children with allergies, asthma, with celiac disease, dermatitis, even cancer. MCS is growing rapidly and also affects younger people, even children. This horrifies me and I am ashamed to live in a world where economic interests are put before health, where they let us get sick and then they abandon us with no help.

I decided to write a book with my history in part to denounce all of this, because I don’t want anybody else get sick when this can be avoided. While the health authorities do nothing, everyone has the option to change their way of life, to stop using these toxic products and to start using ecological products, which are respectful to our bodies and the environment.

I only wish that my experience is useful in preventing others from getting ill.

~~~

Eva Caballé blogs at NO FUN.

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Tags: Children's Health, Environment, Environmental Health, Environmental Illness, Fragrance, Healthy Living, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Video

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Posted on May 04, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, News, Susie Collins

A few web pages I’ve been reading this week.

Environmental Working Group's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides. Clip and take with you to the market!

Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides, a guide to take with you when shopping for fruits and veggies.

Writer and disability advocate Sharon Wachsler popped up on my radar in a few places this past week. Here’s her Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Information Page at Massachusetts CFIDS Association. Here’s her website Sick Humor Postcards: cartoons that take a twisted look at life with disability (good laughs). Here’s her Home Page with listings of all her online writing courses and other amazing activities. And of course her blog After Gadget, which she launched following the passing of her longtime service dog Gadget.

Healthy Child, Healthy World is a great resource for information about the toxicity of modern fragrance.

Wendy Standish Unscented Body & Bath Care makes makes soaps and shampoos from scratch, using vegetable oils.

Jody Smith at EmpowerHer gave The Canary Report two shout outs this past week: one on a post about Martin Pall’s research and one on Lourdes Salvador’s guestblog on Electroconvulsive Therapy.

Start Up Nation is a great site for inspiration about starting your own business.

Boston.com has some incredible photos of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption. Makes the vog here look like steam from a tea kettle.

Euroclean HEPA vaccum: This is the vacuum I own.

This is Dr. Grace Ziem‘s explanation about the difference between Allergies and Chemical Reactions; Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is not an allergy!

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Tags: Children's Health, Healthy Living, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Pesticides, Products

Film: Submission

Posted on Apr 22, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

SUBMISSION: In defence of the unborn. A film by Stefan Jarl.

This documentary film, a rebuke on the chemical industry, will have its premier in Sweden on April 23, and in Denmark on May 5.

A documentary by Stefan Jarl featuring Eva Röse and 23 professors.

Thirty years ago I began shooting a documentary, which came to be called Nature’s Revenge (Naturens hämnd). It was about how humans manipulate nature and how nature strikes back. Since that day I have been continuously collecting material for a new film on the same theme; however, much more than a “Nature’s Revenge, part 2”.

Submission is a documentary about the ‘chemical society’ – the society we have been building since the Second World War. Back then, humans used 1 million tonnes of chemicals per year; the figure today is 500 million tonnes. The chemical industry is the fastest-growing industry in the world. The film is about the 100,000 chemicals we use every day, what they’re used for and what they do to us and our health. And I don’t mean food additives – I’m talking about chemicals we are exposed to in our daily environments: softeners (phthalates), flame retardants (PBDE), surfactants (PFOS, PFOA) and so on.

Professor Åke Bergman at Stockholm University is my guide throughout the film, analysing the chemicals in my blood and explaining what they are. It turns out I’m carrying several hundred foreign chemicals. I can’t hide my shock.

After discovering the huge number of chemicals in my blood, I turn to my friend Eva Röse and ask if she would like to test her blood as well. She’s 35 years younger than me; surely she couldn’t have picked up as many chemicals as I have? Eva is pregnant at the time and has her baby while the film is being made.

Consulting a wide range of scientists from the United States, the UK, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Finland, Denmark and Sweden, I seek answers: What problems can these chemicals cause? These are some of the world’s foremost experts, and they explain what we currently know about effects and risks, the cocktail effect, hormone disruptors and the vulnerability of unborn children.

As I considered the format for my film, I thought of Claude Lanzmann’s documentary Shoah, which is based solely on interviews. I decided to put my faith in the close-up, the candid testimony of the human face. Rather than travelling to developing nations and bringing home terrifying images, I chose a different path.

But why the title, Submission?

Over the years I have grown to realise how willing we humans are to submit to others’ terms. It’s a holdover from our earliest childhood. And commercial interests in society are quick to make use of it. This interests me from a philosophical viewpoint. Just as Nature’s Revenge showed that Mother Nature doesn’t take kindly to manipulation and strikes back at us, I now understand that humankind is prepared to submit to whatever consequences our manipulations of nature throw our way.

The American musician Adam Wiltzie from the band Stars of the Lid made the music. He calls the film “a horror movie for the 21st century”.

I am aware that this popular science essay film asks a lot of the audience, but like most of my other documentaries, Submission is, at the core, about what kind of society we want to live in.

This is the most important film I’ve ever made. Ever.

Stefan Jarl

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Tags: Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, Environmental Illness, Indoor Pollution, Pollution, Research, Toxic, Video

KFC and Susan G. Komen launch huge pinkwashing campaign

Posted on Apr 17, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Food, Social Justice, Susie Collins

Kentucky Fried Chicken and Susan G. Komen for the Cure team up for the largest pinkwashing campaign in the history of breast cancer.

This commercial introduces the “Buckets for the Cure(tm)” campaign from KFC. KFC is joining the fight against breast cancer with this national campaign aimed at educating more women about breast health, generating support for the cause and attempting to make the single largest donation in the history of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

I was disgusted to see the KFC commercial above announcing their alliance with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to raise funds for breast cancer “education.” Regular readers of The Canary Report know that I have a pet peeve about pinkwashing. As a breast cancer survivor, I am sickened when companies who produce products containing carcinogens jump on the pink bandwagon, suckering the public into buying unsafe products through the guise of caring about our breast health.

Christina Pirello reports at The Huffington Post on Susan G. and KFC: An Unholy Alliance. Pirello says that “according to Neal Barnard, MD, president and founder of Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine (http://www.pcrm.org), both the grilled and fried chicken served up in these pretty pink buckets contributes to the development of cancer, including breast and prostate cancers.”

Spend some time on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure website and you’ll see lots of resources for women to find information once diagnosed. You’ll also find sections advising women about living a healthy lifestyle by eating a healthy diet and maintaining a healthy weight. But how can they really talk about healthy eating when they partner with the very kinds of companies that destroy the health of all people, not just women? How can they accept one penny from companies like KFC whose products create the exact health problems this organization is sworn to defeat? Someone is tilting at the wrong windmill.

Further, as an animal lover and the owner of four precious hens, I hope you think twice about the source of the chicken you eat. KFC practices factory farming, a food production practice so cruel and inhumane that I am unable to even write about it or give you links to learn more. I hope you are being conscious about the sources of your food and thinking twice before eating any factory farmed animals.

Boycott this KFC-Komen campaign!

NOT!

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Tags: Cancer, Children's Health, Environment, Food, Products, Toxic

National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures

Posted on Apr 06, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Government Regulation, Policy, Susie Collins

You’re invited to discuss your opinions at the CDC’s National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures. Three days: April 5-7. Sign up and tell ‘em what you think!

ATSDR and CDC's National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) have launched a National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures, working with government, professional organizations, tribal groups, community and nonprofit organizations, health professionals, business and industry, and members of the public to create a national action agenda.

A comment from Canary Report reader Lauren Gerard that I wanted to be sure you didn’t miss:

I would like to encourage all your readers to participate in the National Conversation on Public Health and Environment Exposures, a format which is being conducted by the CDC and ASTDR. For overall information on the forum, check out their website at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/nationalconversation The web dialogue is April 5-7. Please, everyone, sign up and make your voices heard! Let others know, who are also dealing with the ill effects of chemicals! Go to http://www.webdialogues.net/cs/nationalconversation-vision/view/di/212?x-t=home.view and sign up! I don’t know how much teeth this governmental exercise will bear, but we need to take advantage of the few opportunities given us to get our government to act responsibly on this ever growing health issue!

Thanks, Lauren!

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Tags: Air, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, Policy

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Posted on Apr 06, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, News, Susie Collins

Here are few of the websites and news stories I’ve been reading this week.

Healthy Child, Healthy World's Mission: We are igniting a movement that inspires parents to protect young children from harmful chemicals.

Healthy Child, Healthy World has a great resource page with links to information about model programs dedicated to getting toxic chemicals out of schools.

Schools are our children’s second homes. The moment a parent sets foot in a school and realizes how important this place is to their child’s health and development is oftentimes the moment a community advocate is born. For parents who have taken every precaution at home, it can be a moment of culture shock. Luckily, parents and schools across the nation are blazing a green trail towards creating healthy environments for students to learn and grow in.

Dr. Andrew Weil writes about simple ways you can help your body detox naturally without hooking into costly, unproven fads.

Chow reports on Scent-Free Dining: Whether or not to wear perfume to restaurants.

I refer a lot of people in Canada to the Environmental Health Association of Alberta.

Two stories at the New York Times: Social Networks a Lifeline for the Chronically Ill, and Weak Rules on Toxins and Safety.

Ihor Basko, DVM, is helping me with my chronically ill cat. The tab for his website has been open for six weeks. Check out his guidelines for pet nutrition. He had me make a beef liver shake last week that made ME want to vomit, but made the cat spring to life! Here’s the recipe, I’m doing the first one with carrot juice, no wheat grass, I doubled up on the carrot juice and nutritional yeast, and I started out giving it to her by the teaspoon every 2-3 hours for total of about 6 tablespoons a day (less dose than recommended here):

LIVER SHAKE FOR KITTIES

In a blender, liquefy the following ingredients:

1 cup Raw beef liver (local, grass fed or organic ….if possible)
1/2 cup fresh carrot juice or broccoli juice or ½ cup of broccoli sprouts
1 raw whole egg
1 cup of water
1/2 oz of fresh wheat grass (optional)
2 tablespoon of brewers or nutritional yeast

Give 20 cc 6 times daily

OR

1 Cup Raw Beef Liver
1 Cup of Purified water
½ cup fresh carrot juice
2 tablespoon of Cold Pressed Organic Corn Oil or Sesame Seed

Give 20 cc 6 times daily

You can powder your supplements and herbs and mix with this liquid and give as a treatment.

To make a “Jello” add 1 or 2 tablespoons of Knox Gelatine, then put the liquid in a shallow baking dish (like for brownies) and refrigerate a few hours or overnight.