Tag Archives: EPA
Open tabs
Posted on Feb 25, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, News, Susie Collins
Every night when I turn off the computer, I have dozens of tabs open from all the sites I’ve explored during the day. In the first of a new regular series on The Canary Report called “Open Tabs,” I’d like to share some of the more interesting with you!
Every night when I go to turn off the computer, I have dozens of tabs open from all the sites I’ve explored during the day. Some links are emailed to me, some I pick up on Twitter and Facebook, some I get from peeps during chats on our network, some I find on my own. I thought it might be fun to share them with you from time to time: it will give you a glimpse into the roaming I do all day to satisfy my uncontrollable urge to stick my nose into absolutely everything.
Here are a few of the tabs that I’ve had open for the past few days:
A sign every canary will love.
Someone sent me a link to this awesome sign, “Environmentally Sensitive Area.”
My cat’s been very sick for months, unable to eat without throwing up. We put her through myriad tests, which all came up with nothing. Then, I remembered my holistic vet from when I lived on Kauai, Dr. Ihor Basko. Ihor’s specialty is homemade diet and Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and medicines. From his website: “Dr. Basko provides high quality, caring, holistic veterinarian services and healing acupuncture services on the Islands of Kauai and Oahu. Dr. Basko also provides guidance to pet owners world-wide for preventing disease and supporting the well-being of their pets through telephone consultations, a weekly radio show and through products and resources available through this website.” I filled out an online questionnaire, sent it off along with all the test results, and within five minutes on the phone, Dr. Basko had the problem diagnosed as gall bladder problems. He prescribed a special diet and some Chinese medicine, and after only a couple of days, my cat was doing almost 100% better! We are in week two of the Basko Protocol and she’s getting stronger every day. Thank you, Dr. Basko!
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Anatomy of a toxic chemical spill
Posted on Feb 25, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Government Regulation, Guest Bloggers
On February 17, 2010, in Alameda, CA, a garbage or recycle truck owned by Alameda County Industries blew its hydraulic line at the corner of Oak Street and San Jose Avenue, spewing hydraulic fluid all over the street. I had to walk through it to get to my house.
By guestblogger Steph.
~~~
02-17-10
February 17, 2010 - Alameda, CA. That's not snow - it's 57F outside. Alameda County Industries garbage or recycle truck blew its hydraulic hose earlier in the day, and their crew came out with an absorbent material to pick up the spill. That material was like fine grain sand and immediately went airborne. Now it's on the cars and everything, and likely in my house since I had to open the front door to go inside.
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02/18/10
On February 17, 2010 in Alameda, CA, a garbage or recycle truck owned by Alameda County Industries (ACI) blew its hydraulic line at the corner of Oak Street and San Jose Avenue, spewing hydraulic fluid all over the street.
Cars continued driving, as San Jose Ave is a thoroughfare, and the oil spread all up and down both streets. ACI sent a cleaning crew, who applied a thin sandy ‘absorbent’ material all over the road, which got picked up by passing cars and went airborne immediately, with the oil particles on the sand.
The scene above is what I had to walk through to get to my house.
Please google hydraulic fluid toxicity to learn more, and also check out a news story about a woman who died after a similar accident.
I have also uploaded photos here. My lips were stinging when I got back into the house last night after taking pictures. I should have worn a mask of course. Of course. I shed all my clothes in the kitchen and put them in a garbage bag. I took a shower immediately.
Last night I filed complaint with the Alameda Department of Public Works and the City Clerk’s office for Boards and Commissions. This morning, following Susie Collins’ advice, I phoned up the police department to make sure they’d been notified. They said they had, and seemed indifferent to me. They routed me over to the fire department, where I was told I’d get a call back. I got a voicemail saying they’d send someone over to check out the street, but I didn’t see anyone come by in a Fire Department uniform or vehicle.
At 3pm today, I received the following email:
Good afternoon Steph,
I am responding back to your e-mail that was sent to ACI this morning, at approximately 2:30pm on February 17,2010 one of our fully automated trucks had a hydraulic hose rupture and leaked fluid onto the street, our driver immediately contacted our dispatch center and a field supervisor.
Upon notification of the spill we immediately contacted the City of Alameda, Public works department. Both the City of Alameda Fire and Police department were called and responded to the scene to assist us with the cleaning of the street and traffic control.
After meeting with the fire department and the urban run-off group they released the scene back to us for our cleanup process. We responded with 7 ACI employees to put dry sweep on the on the fluid and swept up all the areas effected. The hydraulic fluid can become slippery and that’s why we reacted to get it cleaned up immediately. The fluid that was on the ground is a premium hydraulic oil that is commonly used in hydraulic systems. The absorbent that was used is called select sorb professional multi purpose spill aid (MSDS_SelectSorbProfessional.pdf).
We are keeping in contact with the city of Alameda and the urban run-off Manager, today we had street sweepergo thru the areas that were effected and he will be returning again tonight after cars have left the street. As far as the City of Alameda and ACI is concerned there are no direct health hazards as a result of the spill.
I apologize for any inconvenience this matter may have caused you, please feel free to contact me should you have any further questions or concerns.
Best Regards,
Guy Martinez
Safety Manger
I sent an email back to Mr. Martinez, asking for specifics on the hydraulic fluid; “Thank you for your response. Can you tell me what type of hydraulic fluid had spilled, aside from it being ‘premium’? Was it mineral oil, organophosphate ester, or polyalphaolefin?”
And now I wait.
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Documentary film: The Idiot Cycle
Posted on Nov 07, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, Susie Collins
“Everyone should know that the ‘war on cancer’ is largely a fraud.” -Dr. Linus Pauling, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Watch the trailer for “The Idiot Cycle,” a feature length documentary about the link between cancer and toxic chemicals, produced by Emmanuelle Schick Garcia and Laila Tahhar.
Related: Our Midland reports on a new documentary that says Dow Chemical and other chemical makers are profiting from the production of cancer-causing products that are not closely watched by the government, and then some of the same companies are investing in profitable cancer treatments.
Local environmental advocate Michelle Hurd Riddick, of the Lone Tree Council, said she didn’t know when the crew of “The Idiot Cycle” visited the community to talk about chemicals and cancer that one year later she’d be in the trailer for the feature-length documentary and traveling to Canada for a screening of the film.
Hurd Riddick has long been passionate about seeing cleanup of The Dow Chemical Co.’s dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay. She spent two days in November 2008 taking the film crew around the communities on the rivers and talking about the impact of dioxin pollution on people’s lives.
Dioxins are a chemical byproduct produced as part of past manufacturing processes at Dow. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency labels dioxin a likely carcinogen, while Dow disputes that claim based on extensive studies of its workers around the world.
People walk, run and bike to raise money to fight cancer, but they often don’t think of what causes cancer, Hurd Riddick said. “Someone needs to step back and ask, ‘What’s causing the cancer in the community?’” she said.
Link to full report.
Link to learn more about the film.
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Government to improve regulation of toxic chemicals
Posted on Oct 14, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Government Regulation, Policy, Social Justice, Susie Collins
EPA director presents new guidelines to improve regulation of toxic chemicals.
The Michigan Messenger reports momentum builds for tighter regulation of industrial chemicals; health care providers say reform of chemical regulation is key to creating public health system.
In a recent policy speech, Lisa Jackson, director of the Environmental Protection agency, called the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act an “inadequate tool” and presented a set of guidelines that she said should steer efforts to improve regulation of chemicals. Environmental health activists, representatives of the American Nurses Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Clean Water Action are urging the EPA to use biomonitoring data — data gleaned from screening certain demographics for chemicals in blood and urine — as a guide in prioritizing its investigation of chemical safety.
The Michigan Messenger reports on the EPA announcement from their state’s perspective:
New chemical regulations could have special meaning in Michigan. Midland-based Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW), the nation’s largest chemical company, is in negotiations with EPA officials over how to handle the company’s widespread contamination of the state’s largest watershed with industrial chemicals. In the Midland area, and in other industrial and post-industrial sites around the state, people are burdened with historic chemical contamination in the environment as they also encounter new chemicals in everyday items [emphasis added].
Unlike pharmaceutical chemicals, which are often only available by prescription and only after they are evaluated for safety by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and manufacturers are required to divulge information about possible side effects, industrial chemicals — found in plastics, food packaging, cleaning products, building materials, furniture, medical supplies and a host of consumer products — are generally not reviewed for safety by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“[W]e need to review all chemicals against safety standards that are based solely on considerations of risk — not economics or other factors ,” Jackson said, “[A]nd we must set these standards at levels that are protective of human health and the environment.
Although more than 80,000 chemicals have been manufactured, since the 1976 enactment of the Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA has only declared five unsafe.
The article explains well the problems in current chemical regulations. Given the weak federal protections, states were pretty much left on their own to strengthen the most problematic of health and environmental toxicity. We saw this when California recently initiated the first of its kind state-level chemical oversight program. The article makes the case for using the new momentum initiated by the EPA to strengthen chemical regulations at both state and federal levels.
I don’t think any of this current activity is going to bring tangible relief to those of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Both policy reform and biomonitoring initiatives are first looking at the most egregious offenders, already backed by solid science as being harmful — such as lead, Bisphenol A, mercury, perfluorinated compounds, phthalates, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and triclosan — not necessarily the most common household chemicals that can make our lives a living hell on a daily basis. But there are trends moving in our favor in toxic chemical regulation reform and also with breakthroughs in green chemistry. Again, perhaps not activity that will bring people with MCS relief in the near future, but nonetheless positive activity when looking at “cause” of our illness.
It’s wise to remember while watching trends that government regulations do not truly change corporate practices in a systemic manner until consumers demand it. So keep doing what canaries do best: educate, educate, educate. Live by example. Continue sparking discussion and debate about toxic chemicals with your friends, family, employers, landlords and elected officials. It’s a tough job, especially when struggling with chronic illness, but it’s always tough for people ahead of the curve on medical, social and economic change. Hang in there and be aware that there are forces out there finally taking a look at toxic chemical regulation reform.
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In the news: Chemical regulation, pesticide ingredients, and healthy art
Posted on Oct 07, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, News, Susie Collins
JS Online reports the EPA director backs tougher regulation of chemicals. The summit where Lisa Jackson spoke was a highly unusual gathering, called by the American Chemistry Council, the lobby group for the chemical industry, and the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group that frequently criticizes industry’s lack of disclosure. Those groups typically are at odds over how much information and testing needs to be done.
Beyond Pesticides reports EPA Seeks to Disclose Hazardous Pesticide Inert Ingredients. What the heck have they been waiting for? Let’s see how nuts people think we are now.
Green Train announces Hollywood charity and Inku Artist McKenzie, who was stricken with a devastating environmental illness thought by doctors to be triggered by years of exposure to toxic materials in the art creating process. This sickness inspired and propelled McKenzie life-changing mission to discover and create an innovative way to produce healthy, earth-sensitive fine art and prints, which she calls Inku Art.
Dr. Weil reports on a study in China conducted by Australian researchers showing that women who ate the most fresh button mushrooms, 10 grams or more per day, were about two-thirds less likely to develop breast cancer than women who ate no mushrooms.
Start-Up Nation is a website that housebound canaries might like to peruse for ideas about home-based businesses.
Two products came to my attention this week with raves from people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. One is the Healthmate air filter from Austen (at right), and the other an all metal utility heater fan from Honeywell. The person chirping about the heater said she had to run it for a few hours out in the garage first before it was safe, but once that was accomplished, she loves it! As with any product, remember that what works for one canary might not work for another, so be cautious whenever trying new consumer goods.
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A chemical nightmare at work
Posted on Jul 28, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Keith Carlson, MCS, Worker's Rights
There are poisons and toxins everywhere that can damage our health and cause us temporary or permanently debilitating symptoms that directly impact our ability to fully function in the world.
Post by Keith Carlson.
Last week, I was sitting in my office and began to notice an odd smell, sort of sickly sweet. Ignoring it against my better judgment for several days, I was even told by my astute boss—who is well aware that I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)—that something seemed amiss.
Since last week, I’ve been noticing increased confusion, memory loss, and a marked increase in my level of stress and anxiety. Granted, we are in the midst of selling our home and radically changing our lives, but this past week my emotional life has been over the top and I have been feeling physically unwell.
Today, my (chemically sensitive) wife came to visit my office, remarking immediately that my office seemed incredibly toxic to her and that I should leave immediately. Just prior to her arrival, I had literally been crawling around on the floor, trying to “sniff out” where the offending odor was coming from, an odor that had by now become almost overpowering in its sweet disgustingness.
With my nose on the top of the heat register, I detected the source of the odor emanating directly from the heater, even though it wasn’t on.
Bringing two colleagues into the office, they both agreed that the smell was very strong and that I should leave for the day and we would try to get to the bottom of it. Just then, one colleague mentioned that someone had moved into the office directly below mine last Tuesday, and perhaps there was a connection. Looking back, it was indeed Tuesday or Wednesday of last week that I began to feel unwell and that the faint smell had begun to make itself known.
Running down to the first floor with my wife, we quickly located the office directly below mine (which I had never before noticed), and although the door was closed and locked, the smell coming through the cracks was absolutely the same odor now filling my office on the second floor, although the intensity of it as it emanated through the door was enough to send us reeling.
My guess is that the new resident of this office installed a “Plug-In” on the day she moved in, the sort of plug-in that is filled with noxious liquid fragrance that is heated via an electrical outlet. These insidious and ubiquitous devices have taken over, with Americans of all economic stripes convinced that their homes will not smell “clean” without such unhealthy trash that poisons the very air that they and their children breathe.
Since the building manager was out, I sent him an urgent email explaining the situation, left work early (with dizziness and confusion continuing), and will not return to my office until the space has off-gassed for several days.
So, although I have fought for a fragrance-free workplace, low-VOC paints, “green” cleaning products, and other accommodations, this employee who moved into the office downstairs unwittingly created a toxic environment for me that has subsequently caused me a week of distress, confusion, and other neurological symptoms that will, I hope, decrease as the next few days allow me to detox from its deleterious effects.
When one has MCS (or even if one does not), there are poisons and toxins everywhere that can damage our health and cause us temporary or permanently debilitating symptoms that directly impact our ability to fully function in the world.
I was glad to get to the bottom of this situation, and hope that it will be rectified shortly and that I can recover from the impact of this unfortunate chemical event.
This post was originally published at Digital Doorway.
Link to image at NoFragrance.org.
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Film: The Future of Food
Posted on Jul 19, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Home & Garden, Media/Videos
Film offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.
Click on link at end of post to view entire film. Here’s the first 10 minutes.
Link to film’s website.
Click here to view the entire film (one hour, 30 minutes).
Thanks, Ruth!
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The challenge of finding a nontoxic recreational vehicle
Posted on Jul 19, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Keith Carlson, MCS
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: An Inconvenient Reality
Post by Keith Carlson
As my wife and I shop for a recreational vehicle in which to spend the next year or two as we live, work and play, our Multiple Chemical Sensitivity has become even more of an inconvenient reality.
We all know that new car smell, and many people equate that smell with freshness and newness. We also know the particular smell of a new shower curtain which is now widely understood to be the off-gassing of pthalates and other very unhealthy chemicals. These are modern realities, and they’re making us sick.
Recreational vehicles (RVs) are manufactured just like homes and cars—they are filled with particle board, formaldehyde-based materials and nasty chemical-laden furnishings that off-gas for years. In our meanderings, we have entered several newish RVs and the chemical aura has hit us both like a brick wall, driving us out the door in seconds. One wonders about all of the retirees out there who buy brand new RVs and then hit the road. Do they develop cancers, memory loss or early-onset dementia more quickly than others? After all, they are living in a small area which is often sealed tight—a literal chemical soup.
Many people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity end up homeless because they can’t find safe housing. Small homespun businesses (like Taylor Designs) have indeed sprung up in an effort to fill a niche, creating “safe rooms,” MCS trailers, and other spaces designed to make living and sleeping healthy for those with environmental illnesses. Publications like “Our Toxic Times” and “The Canary Report” offer resources, advertisements and classifieds for those seeking safety and healthy alternatives, and many do-it-yourselfers take a shot at retrofitting trailers, homes and other structures to suit their needs.
For us, our only alternative may be a refurbished Airstream trailer, gutted and professionally retrofitted by Taylor Designs several years ago and now available through a private seller. However, what we really want is an all-in-one RV in which we can live, work, sleep, eat and drive, but every vehicle we look at or consider has been treated with, or is constructed with, materials that can put our health at risk.
Yesterday, after combing through Craig’s List, Mary found an RV that sounded great, and she called the owner. After a long and detailed discussion during which she patiently explained our MCS, the owner finally acknowledged that he has put Bounce dryer sheets in all of the storage compartments of the rig in order to ward off mice and “freshen” the air. That potential sale is going nowhere, of course.
So, we continue in our search, narrowing it down, looking under every rock, and may end up spending more than we care to on the retrofitted Airstream and a diesel pickup truck with which to tow it. This is another consequence of MCS—we can often end up spending more to get what we need because so much of the world is stacked against us. It’s a chemical soup out there, and we simply want to remove ourselves from the broth.
This post was originally published at Digital Doorway, my blog on creative expression, nursing adventures, reflections on healthcare, thoughtful reverie, thoughtless repose, and other flotsam and jetsam.
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Hawaii’s roadsides routinely sprayed with herbicide
Posted on Jul 09, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Government Regulation, MCS, Susie Collins
People with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity have reported experiencing dizziness, brain fog, asthma attacks or neurological problems that make it difficult to walk and talk after exposure to roadside herbicides.
Honolulu Weekly reports on The last Roundup: Herbicides are more than just a headache for Hawaii residents.
Reporter Joan Conrow takes a look at the problem of roadside spraying here in Hawaii, using as one of her primary sources a woman with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.
This is a well researched report and Conrow does a good job explaining the problems associated with the ubiquitous use of Roundup herbicide on virtually all our roadways. It can be a nightmare for people with MCS. Not your vision of paradise, is it?
Diane Koerner travels with an oxygen tank in the trunk of her car, all the windows rolled up and the air conditioning on recirculate. The Big Island resident, who suffers from severe Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, takes such precautions because smelling the herbicide Roundup can leave her with a debilitating migraine. And given that chemicals are used to suppress vegetation along nearly every mile of roadway in the Islands, an unpleasant chance encounter is not an unlikely risk.
Koerner is not alone. Other persons with MCS have reported experiencing dizziness, brain fog, asthma attacks or neurological problems that make it difficult to walk and talk after exposure to roadside herbicides. And even those who haven’t been diagnosed with MCS complain of headaches and flu-like symptoms after traveling in areas that have been sprayed. Still others worry about the impact of weed-suppression chemicals on children, pets and the environment.
Link to full report.
Photo credit, a roadside on Kauai that’s been sprayed with Roundup. Virtually all county and state roadsides in Hawaii are lined with an ugly, dead strip of foliage that’s been sprayed with Roundup. As soon as it starts to rebound, workers come along and spray it again. The spraying is done from trucks without much thought to the way the wind is blowing. During application, where the truck moves slowly along the shoulder as the spray is applied, it’s not unusual for the herbicide mist to be floating or blowing all over the road onto and into passing vehicles.
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Endocrine disruptors, pesticides, and a lawsuit
Posted on Jul 09, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, News, Susie Collins
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kritof reports on endocrine disruptors in an op-ed called It’s Time to Learn From Frogs. The essay comes on the heels of Kristof’s appearance on The Colbert Report, where he bantered with the comedy host about endocrine disruptors, hormones and genitalia. The importance of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Kristof choosing the topic of endocrine disruptors cannot be over emphasized; he is known for reporting on serious topics that mainstream media ignores such as human trafficking and the Darfur genocide. He has a huge following that listens to what he has to say. My hope is he will continue to write and speak out about endocrine disruptors with the same courage and vigor he’s shown with other major issues of our times.
AP reports the Center for Biological Diversity on Wednesday gave 60-day notice it will sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to consider the effects of pesticides on polar bears and their Arctic habitat.
The Los Angeles Business Journal reports Dole Food Co. Inc. filed a defamation suit against a Swedish filmmaker over a documentary that chronicles the legal battles between an L.A. plaintiff’s attorney and the Westlake Village food giant over its use of pesticides on Nicaraguan banana plantations.
Environmental Working Group reports on the American Chemistry Council’s strategy to influence reform of the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The Think Before You Pink campaigns asks you to tell Avon, Estee Lauder, Revlon and Mary Kay: We Demand Safer Cosmetics!
Mail Online reports Piers Morgan the beefcake advertises new Burger King perfume (with a whiff of fakery).
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Nicholas Kristof on endocrine disruptors
Posted on Jul 02, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Media/Videos
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Nicholas Kristof | ||||
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The Colbert Report, July1: Nicholas Kristof describes the endocrine disruptors in the water that are causing genital malformations in male animals and humans.
Thanks, Jasmine!
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Researchers say inert ingredient in Roundup kills human cells
Posted on Jun 25, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Bobby McClintock, MCS, Research
BOBBY’S SOAPBOX.
Post by Bobby.
To Hawaii Governor Lingle, Lt. Gov. Aiona, Hawaii State Senators and Representatives, Hawaii State Department of Health, and County Mayors:
For years now, I and others around the world have been complaining about the illnesses caused by these products. For years now, we have been told we are either chemo-phobes or fanatics, sometimes by people on this very email list (you ALL know who you are!). I guess this was easier than doing something about it. No one has tried to help, even when it’s a matter of “equal access” granted under the Americans with Disabilities Act guaranteed to those of us with chemical disabilities (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity- please read the law!). When can we be assured these products will be banned here on our islands to protect everyone’s health?
Bobby McClintock
RED AHI (Respiratory & Environmental Disabilities Association of Hawaii)
Environmental Health News reports:
Roundup “inert” ingredient kills human cells
“Used in yards, farms and parks throughout the world, Roundup has long been a top-selling weed killer. But now researchers have found that one of Roundup’s inert ingredients can kill human cells, particularly embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells,” writes Crystal Gammon in the July 22 issue of Environmental Health News.
Pesticide researchers and activists from the U.S. to Argentina, Japan and Croatia have been calling for public access to, and warnings about, “inerts” (almost 4,000 solvents, surfactants and other chemicals included in pesticides, approved by the U.S. EPA, yet not specified on warning labels because they are not the “active” ingredient aimed at pest control).
“Glyphosate, Roundup’s active ingredient, is the most widely used herbicide in the United States. About 100 million pounds are applied to U.S. farms and lawns every year,” Gammon reports. “Until now, most health studies have focused on the safety of glyphosate [alone], rather than the mixture of ingredients found in Roundup.”
In a study from the University of Caen in France, first published in January, “scientists found that Roundup’s inert ingredients amplified the toxic effect on human cells — even at concentrations much more diluted than those used on farms and lawns.” Their focus was on POEA — polyethoxylated tallow amine — an “inert” detergent in Roundup that they were astonished to discover was far more dangerous than the herbicide itself. “The proprietary mixtures available on the market could cause cell damage and even death [at the] residual levels’ found on Roundup-treated crops, such as soybeans, alfalfa and corn, or lawns and gardens.”
These latest findings are no surprise to Caroline Cox of Oakland’s Center for Environmental Health. She wrote of the dangers of inerts, including POEA, for years while at the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides in Eugene, OR. Monsanto claims the recent study is flawed; Gilles-Eric Seralini, the molecular biologist that headed the French study, says standard toxicological methods were used.
Cox points out that competitors can discover what is in formulations like Roundup with routine lab analysis. “The proprietary protection laws [for inerts] really only keep information from the public,” she said.
Link to full report.
Read more about The Cocktail Effect: Pesticides Prove Deadlier in Combination
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Flame retardent in plastic pallets may contaminate fruits and vegetables
Posted on Jun 24, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Government Regulation, Home & Garden
Animal studies link chemical to cancer, brain and reproductive disorders.
Environmental Working Group reports:
WASHINGTON — Large plastic pallets used to ship, cool and store produce contain decabromodiphenyl ether (Deca), a flame retardant chemical and known neurotoxin that may leach onto the fruits and vegetables inside.
In a letter sent today, Richard Wiles, senior Vice President and for Policy and Communications of Environmental Working Group (EWG), urged Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the federal Food and Drug Administration, to order the food industry to stop using plastic pallets made with Deca.
Wiles pointed out that significant levels of Deca could accumulate during the standard food industry practice of “hydro-cooling” produce by submerging stacked pallets filled with fruits or vegetables in water or by dripping water over the pallets. As the water is recycled, its Deca concentration intensifies and leaves Deca residues on the produce.
Citing concerns that this practice could lead to Deca contamination of food, on April 29, 2009 Dr. Elizabeth Sánchez of the FDA’S Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition advised a Washington, D.C.-area consulting firm that Deca is “not authorized” as a component of plastic pallets used in the hydro-cooling produce. She said that FDA required pre-market approval for the chemical “to be used in contact with food.”
April 29 letter: http://files.bnpmedia.com//RFF/Home/Files/PDFs/Letter2.pdf
January 23 letter: http://files.bnpmedia.com//RFF/Home/Files/PDFs/PNC757_R_correspondence%2…
“Given the Agency’s decision that Deca-treated plastic food pallets are not authorized for use in hydro-cooling, the FDA must take action to ensure that they are not, in fact, used for this purpose,” Wiles wrote Hamburg.
According to statements by iGPS , the shipping industry’s largest plastic pallet supplier, plastic pallets are now being used by General Mills, Borders Melon Company, PepsiCo, Cott, Okray Family Farmsand Martoni Farm. The company said that Dole Foods and Kraft Foods are conducting trials of plastic pallets. If the iGPS statements are accurate, the food industry’s ongoing transition from wooden to plastic pallets raises the threat of Deca food contamination.
“This is yet another example of our tattered food and chemical safety net,” Wiles said in a separate statement. “Highly toxic chemicals creep into the food supply while no one in government is paying any attention.”
According to studies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and academic scientists, Deca, like other flame-retardants, can disrupt brain and reproductive system development.
The EPA website says that some research on Deca has yielded “suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential.” It cites studies showing increased incidence of four different cancers and non-cancerous tumors in rats and mice.
Other research cited by EPA has found that activity levels and behavior of mice exposed to Deca for a single day undergo notable changes associated with neurotoxicity. EPA says that “the neurotoxic effect of neonatal decaBDE exposure was persistent and also worsened with age.”
“Fruits and vegetables are an essential part of a healthy diet, but contaminated produce pallets could cause millions of men, women and children to consume harmful levels of a chemical neurotoxin,” Wiles said. “A toxic chemical designed to suppress fire should not be allowed to taint the food we eat.”
As a result of the serious health risks presented by Deca, public health authorities in Maine and Washington State have restricted its use. State legislators in 10 states have proposed Deca bans this year.
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EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment. http://www.ewg.org
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Help launch What’sOnMyFood? website
Posted on Jun 18, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Government Regulation, Home & Garden
The Pesticide Action Network launches interactive website.
The Pesticide Action Network reports:
Today we launched PAN’s new What’sOnMyFood? website.
The searchable site reveals what pesticides are found on which foods, in what amount, and – for the first time – links pesticide residues to the health effects associated with exposure to each of the chemicals.
Spread the Word » What’sOnMyFood? is an outreach tool meant to build momentum toward real pesticide reform — we need your help to make it work!
In addition to highlighting the health risks of pesticide residues, the What’sOnMyFood? database points to the hazards of pesticide use before food even reaches the kitchen table. By taking readers deeper into the public problem of pesticides, the site shows how widespread use of agricultural chemicals threatens the health of workers and rural communities, as well as harming wildlife and contaminating ecosystems.
Examples of pesticides facts found with What’sOnMyFood?
- 22 different pesticides were found on one strawberry sample.
- 79% of conventionally produced carrots contain linuron, a pesticide known to cause developmental or reproductive health problems.
Share this tool with 3 friends today! » Thank you for helping us launch this important new website.
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The need for toxic chemical policy reform
Posted on Jun 08, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, Research, Susie Collins
The nation’s toxic chemical regulatory law, the Toxic Substances Control Act, is in drastic need of reform.
Ken Cook, co-founder of the Environmental Working Group, makes the case for chemical policy reform in the video “10 Americans.” The mission of EWG is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment, and was founded in 1993 by Cook and Richard Wiles. One of the top priorities of EWG is passage of the Kid-Safe Chemical Act.
The human race is now polluted with hundreds of industrial chemicals with little or no understanding of the consequences. Babies are born pre-polluted with as many as 300 industrial chemicals in their bodies when they enter the world. Testing by Environmental Working Group has identified 455 chemicals in people, and again, no one has any idea if these exposures are safe.
We are at a tipping point, where the pollution in people is increasingly associated with a range of serious diseases and conditions from childhood cancer, to autism, ADHD, learning deficits, infertility, and birth defects. Yet even as our knowledge about the link between chemical exposure and human disease grows, the government has almost no authority to protect people from even the most hazardous chemicals on the market.
The Campaign: Pass the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act
This pollution in people is the direct result of a statute that does not require chemicals to be proven safe to get on the market, or stay on the market. Under federal law EPA does not have the authority to demand the information it needs to evaluate a chemical’s risk, and neither manufacturers nor the EPA are required to prove a chemical’s safety as a condition of use.
The Kid-Safe Chemical Act will change all this through a fundamental overhaul of our nation’s chemical regulatory law.
To promote Kid-Safe, EWG produced the video “10 Americans,” a talk given by Ken Cooke in 2007 in which he makes the case for chemical policy reform. Obviously, people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity need no convincing. Smart canaries will take note of these discussions in the video:
- The toxic consumer goods discussed are the very same products that cause big trouble for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.
- The problem of low doses is discussed. People with MCS know all about the destructive power in low doses of toxic chemicals!
- Recommendations are discussed about what you can do to protect yourself: Buy organic, filter your tap water, and avoid fragrance. People with MCS have been saying for YEARS that pesticides on produce is dangerous, that tap water is lethal and fragrance is poisonous. These tips are part of the Canary Code.
It’s heartening to see groups like EWG catch up with the empirical findings of people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Maybe a well-funded research group like EWG will have better luck than us at convincing the public and lawmakers of the need for chemical policy reform. I applaud EWG’s efforts to get the Kid-Safe Chemical Act passed. I think it’s an approach that may grab people’s attention. However, I fluctuate between optimism and pessimism about any meaningful reform taking place in the near future.
Worth 22 minutes of your time to view:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Link to more information about the Kid-Safe Chemical Act.
Link to the Environmental Working Group.
Link to EWG’s Enviroblog.
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Welcome to The Canary Report!
The Canary Report is a blog and social network about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.
We compassionately bring you unfiltered and uncensored news and information you can trust directly from the source: people who have MCS. Dedicated to sharing, supporting, and inspiring with the Aloha Spirit, The Canary Report gives all canaries a voice. Come join us!
Aloha,
Susie Collins
Founder and Contributing Editor
Hilo, Hawaii
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