Green Options

The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-being is one of those books that freak me out…sometimes I just don’t want to know.  In reality, we need to know about all of the chemicals of modern industry and how to protect our families.  Knowing is the first step to making informed decisions, which is probably one reason you are a reader of Eco Child’s Play.

Publishers Weekly describes The Body Toxic:

This is a chilling look at the questionable safety of nearly everything we store food in, drink from, wear, walk on, rest on and drive. Chemicals used to make everything from water-repellant jackets and flame retardants to unbreakable plastics used for food storage are building up in our bodies and the environment with possible far-reaching consequences, says journalist Baker. She focuses on endocrine disruptors that alter hormone levels, even in fetuses. Individual chapters consider the weed killer atrazine; phthalates found in many cosmetics; and perfluorooctanoic acid, used in nonstick and stain-repellant coatings. Lab studies have linked these chemicals to cancer, diabetes, obesity and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, among other problems. Baker blasts both Democrats and Republicans in Congress for the toothless Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, which leaves testing and reporting results to the manufacturer. But the companies rely on skilled public relations firms to attack scientists who raise safety concerns. The current pro-business administration also takes some licks from Baker. Although she offers suggestions for reducing exposure to these chemicals, No place—and no one—is immune.

From flame retardants to fossil fuels, newborn babies are exposed to chemicals passed on by his/her mother in utero. Although this is not new information, I was shocked to learn that there are actually 300 chemical compounds in a newborn’s umbilical cord!

Those pure little beings aren’t so pure at birth, and as a mother and a human being, I find this level of contaminants alarming.

According to the LA Times:

Virtually everything we buy, breathe, drink and eat contains traces of toxic substances…Every day, about half a dozen chemicals are added to the estimated 83,000 already in commerce. In the United States alone, about 42 billion pounds of chemicals are produced or imported daily.

If we start with 300 chemicals in our bodies, imagine the bioaccumulation that occurs over our lifetimes.  Some parents have gone so far as to have their whole family’s body burden tested.  The results of one Oakland family were shocking.  The children had chemical exposure levels seven times those of their parents proving children are more susceptible to the chemicals in our homes.