Body Chemistry

The chemical soup we live in has gotten much more complex and harmful to us over the past century. With the rapid development of new toxic chemicals and pesticides, especially since WWII, we as a species have suffered an unprecedented assault on our chemical makeup. We are not equipped by nature to respond so rapidly to these sorts of changes and as a result there have been huge increases in cancer and neurological disorders in humans, as well as incredible damage to the species we share this planet with. The links and pages listed below provide information on what's out there and how it gets into you.

The Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals 2009 "The Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals is the most comprehensive assessment to date of the exposure of the U.S. population to chemicals in our environment. CDC has measured 212 chemicals in people's blood or urine‹75 of which have never before been measured in the U.S. population. The new chemicals include acrylamide, arsenic, environmental phenols, including bisphenol A and triclosan, and perchlorate... Each two year sample consists of about 2,400 persons." No discussion of harmful exposure levels or how dangerous these chemicals are. The Fact Sheets and other information on the left menu will give more details.

Physicians for Social Responsibility--biomonitoring discusses the CDC report and the importance of biomonitoring. Links to a study of chemicals in health care workers.

DDT and Breast Cancer/Age of Exposure: A study of historical blood levels correlated with increased risk of breast cancer if the women hit puberty around the time of peak DDT usage, a 2007 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives.
   www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2022666
     or, PDF format

Endocrine Disruptors (EDCs) Many chemicals, especially those called organochlorines, mimic natural hormones and wreak havoc with our endocrine system. They have been linked to elevated cancer rates and to severe problems in wildlife Some of the herbicides which NSTAR proposes to use for defoliation along its 150 miles of easements (private property) on Cape Cod are being investigated as endocrine disruptors. View an informative series of lectures on youtube at www.youtube.com/user/endocrinedisruptor#g/u More information on our endocrine.html page

Do EDC's affect Gender? From Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 113, Number 10, October 2005. An article detailing current research on the "Gender-Bending" effects of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals.

Do Phthalates pose a Health Risk? From The Wall Street Journal, no less, dated October 4, 2005.
An article detailing probable adverse health effects of phthalates, a common chemical used in everything from cosmetics to baby bottles to medical equipment.  Just another gift from the chemical industry to you.

Body Burden Conducted in 2003 by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York in collaboration with the Environmental Working Group, blood and urine from nine people were tested for 210 chemicals that occur in consumer products and industrial pollution. They found an average of 91 industrial compounds, pollutants, and other chemicals in the nine volunteers, and a total of 167 different chemicals present in their bodies. Also linked from our Your Home page.

Body Burden 2 Pollution in newborns is a serious issue. This alarming report report shows that babies are born with more chemicals in their blood than you would think possible. Ten newborns averaged 200 contaminants, and 209 pollutants had never before been detected in cord blood.

Bird's Egg Body Burden This recent study of bird eggs in Maine (Contaminants in Maine Bird Eggs conducted by the BioDiversity Research Institute) reveals that 192 contaminants (most synthetic) persist in the environment e.g. DDT, PCBs, PBDEs, PFCs and others. The contaminants were found in higher levels in south coastal Maine so what does this mean for Massachusetts birds? Contaminants stop at the State Line-right? www.briloon.org/contaminants/

October 2006 National Geographic Magazine has an article on body burden by David Ewing Duncan called The Pollution Within. Disappointingly lukewarm conclusions. There is a companion article about toxic homes. Available at your public library.