LIVER-MAN AND BOY KIDNEY BEAT UP BAD GUYS

[Guest guest]

http://www.grinningplanet.com/2003/life-expectancy/environmental-issue-8.htm

 

SCENE 1: LIVER-MAN AND BOY KIDNEY BEAT UP BAD GUYS (POW! WHACK! OOF!)

.... or How Chemical Safety is Not Being Ensured By the Government

 

The body's detoxification system works constantly to render harmless and dispose

of all of the body's toxins, including ingested and absorbed chemicals.

 

When the disposal system can't keep up with the incoming load of toxins, health

problems usually result. We don't necessarily mean that you grow a third eye or

qualify for a Superfund grant—often the problems are subtle and blamed on

" getting older. "

 

So, toxins in our bodies could be partly to blame for what ails us healthwise?

But don't government regulations ensure that our exposure to toxic chemicals is

no greater than the levels our bodies can handle safely? Not really.

 

When a US government agency—usually the Environmental Protection

Agency—establishes " safe " limits for human exposure to a chemical—whether it be

an additive in plastic, the toxic element mercury, or a chemical in

hairspray—they do so based on the effects of that chemical alone.

 

But in the real world, we are exposed simultaneously to many chemicals over the

course of a given day, month, year, or decade. Unlike what happens in a movie

fight scene, the bad guys—in this case, the toxins—do not present themselves one

at a time to be disposed of by the hero. Your body has to deal with the whole

gang of bad guys at once.

 

Even if government-established safety limits existed for all chemicals—they

don't—and even if the established limits were all truly safe—they aren't—most

COMBINATIONS of chemicals have not been evaluated and will almost always impart

a higher toxic load to the body than would the chemicals individually. (Think

about the standard warnings we get regarding drug interactions.) People's

abilities to deal with these toxic loads vary greatly, depending on factors such

as age, health status, nutrition, total exposure to toxins, and use of alcohol,

pharmaceuticals, and other liver-impairing substances.

 

Providing advice on your personal struggle to maintain an efficient

detoxification system and overall good health is beyond the scope of Grinning

Planet, but it's always helpful to eat a wide variety of fresh fruits and

vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds; to keep your bad habits

 

to a minimum; and to avoid toxic exposures in the first place by eliminating

your use of pesticides and other chemicals as much as possible. That includes

many common household cleaners and personal products. (Safer alternatives are

available!)

 

In terms of the political debate, the Grinning Planet team plans to be wary of

government assurances of " safe doses " of chemicals. Better to err on the low

side in this case, lest we end up sitting in the Freaks with Beaks booth at the

carnival.

 

Publish date: 07-OCT-2003

 

BRAIN FOOD

U.S. law does NOT require chemical companies to:

 

tell EPA how their compounds are used;

conduct basic health and safety testing of their products before they are

sold; or

monitor where their products end up in the environment.

 

Most applications to produce a new chemical are approved by the EPA with no

health and safety data.

 

Source: Environmental Working Group