[GreenYes] new CDC Report on Toxics in our bodies

[Ted Smith <tsmith@svtc.org>]

http://www.toxicexposure.org/index.cfm?C=2&CFID=6502&CFTOKEN=59983641
                                                     
The CDC National Chemical Exposure
                                                                                 
Report
                                                 
Profiles of the Chemicals Found in our
              
[toxicexposure.org]                                               
Bodies
                                                           
Reducing Your Toxic Exposure
                                                                    
Coalition Statement
                                                                             
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Welcome to ToxicExposure.org!
                  
Statement
of                      
Protect your family's health from
      Health, Education, Religious,
Women's,         exposure to
toxic chemicals! Please
    Children's, and Environmental
Organizations        send a free
e-postcard today.

                 
In Response
to                   
Take action to protect your family's
            The
Nation's First
Chemical                          
health...
           
Exposure Monitoring
Report               
Dear Appropriations Committee
                                                     
Leaders:
  As organizations concerned with the nation's
  health, the education and development of
our        Toxic chemicals contribute
to a
  children, and our moral responsibility
to           range of
chronic diseases such
  current and future generations, we
welcome          as cancers,
birth defects,
  the nation's first-ever report of
chemical         
Parkinson's disease, and
  contaminants in the bodies of
average              
developmental and neurological
 
Americans.                                         
disabilities. We know more about
                                                     
the chemical contaminants in the
  The results released today by the Centers
for       fish that swim in our lakes
and
  Disease Control and Prevention represent
the        streams than we do about
the
  nation's first step toward understanding
the        chemicals inside our
nation's
  role that an array of chemical
contaminants         children.
The research on the
  play in contributing to chronic diseases
such       toxic chemicals inside our
  as certain cancers, birth defects,
mental           bodies
should be greatly
  disabilities, and developmental
and                
expanded. I call on you to
  neurological effects in
children.                  
immediately double funding for
                                                     
the Center for Disease Control's
  The results raise serious concerns that
need        modest exposure
monitoring
  to be addressed. Among
them:                       
program and to consider this as
                                                     
a down payment on a
     * Since a majority of individuals in
this        comprehensive national
exposure
       study had detectable levels of
chemical        monitoring
program.
       contaminants in their bodies, it
is
       reasonable to assume that a majority
of           Add your
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       Americans carry within them
a                              
below.
       multiplicity of substances of
varying
       toxicity that they are exposed to
daily
       or that accumulate in their bodies
over        First Name[Image]Last
Name[Image]
       time;

     * Actual mercury levels are higher
than                  
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       scientific models and bodies like
the
       National Academy of Sciences
have                      
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       estimated. Levels of mercury among
many
       women of childbearing age are
high
       enough such that small increases
in              
City[Image]State[Image]Zip
       exposure could expose them and
children
       in utero to unsafe levels. The
findings           Keep
me informed about this
       suggest that more than 60,000
children
       are probably born each year with
unsafe        issue.
       levels of
mercury.                               
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     * Pesticide levels for a small portion
of                    
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       those tested were much higher than
had             
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       been predicted. If these findings
were
       found to hold true for the
general                 
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       population, many Americans could
be                
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       exposed to pesticide levels much
higher                    
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       than was previously believed.
                                                                  
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     * Individuals are exposed to phthalates
on               
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       a frequent if not daily basis, and
at
       much higher levels than
scientific
       models and a major government panel
had
       predicted just six months ago. Women
of
       childbearing age, in particular,
are
       regularly exposed to a phthalate
clearly
       associated with developmental
effects in
       animal studies.

     * No one can say with certainty whether
       the levels of chemicals found by the
CDC
       are safe-even for those substances
that
       appear to fall within legal
exposure
       levels. Legal levels were never set
to
       take into account the additive
effects
       of chemicals acting in combination
with
       one another or to take into account
the
       much greater vulnerability of
children
       and other sub-populations.

     * The population-wide reductions in
       childhood lead poisoning document
the
       continuing health benefits of
government
       regulations to control lead.
       Nevertheless, this aggregate
national
       data do not capture the
continuing
       tragedy of childhood lead
poisoning.
       More than one-third of
preschool
       children in many low-income
minority
       communities are still poisoned by
lead
       paint hazards in their homes.
The
       national lead data released by the
CDC
       today underlines the need for much
more
       localized data in the future.

     * For almost every class of chemical, the
       CDC report demonstrates that
scientific
       models and expert panels have
generally
       underestimated the public's real
world
       exposure to toxic chemicals.

  Because of government funding priorities, we
  know more about the chemical contaminants in
  the fish that swim in our lakes and streams
  than we do about the chemicals inside our
  children. Much more information is needed
  about chemical contaminants in humans in
  order to protect public health and because
  Americans have a fundamental right to know
  about the chemicals contaminants that might
  be in their bodies. Based on this:

    1. We are calling on Congress to
       immediately double the CDC's
modest
       budget for exposure monitoring and
to
       ramp up in five years to a
comprehensive
       national exposure monitoring
program
       that targets every state, every
major
       subpopulation in the U.S., and more
than
       500 toxic substances including all
major
       pesticides and all chemicals found
in
       public water systems. A
comprehensive
       national exposure monitoring
system
       together with disease incidence
data
       will allow health officials to
determine
       which chemicals pose health dangers
to
       the public.
    2. We are calling on manufacturers and the
       U.S. government to act with
more
       precaution: to ensure that all
chemicals
       to which people are exposed are
fully
       tested, especially for potential
effects
       on children, and that more
aggressive
       steps are taken to reduce exposure
to
       substances that are harmful or
       potentially harmful, following
the
       examples of lead and cotinine.
Nearly
       90% of the top-volume chemicals
in
       commerce lack basic, publicly
available
       screening information about hazards
to
       health.
    3. In the absence of easily accessible
       health and toxicity information from
the
       U.S. government on the
chemicals
       identified in this exposure report,
we
       are committed to making sure the
public
       is aware of information they have
a
       right to know. The web site,
      
http://www.toxicexposure.org,
will
       provide basic information about
the
       sources of toxic substances
identified
       in Americans' bodies by the CDC,
the
       effects of such chemicals observed
in
       scientific studies, and steps
       individuals can take to limit
their
       exposure if they choose.

       Coalition Signatories:
       Alliance To End Childhood Lead
       Poisoning
       American College of Preventive
       Medicine
       American Federation of 
Teachers
       American Public Health
Association
       Association of Women's Health,
       Obstetric
          and Neonatal
Nurses
       Breast Cancer Fund
       Central Conference of American
       Rabbis
       Children's Environmental 
Health
       Network
       Environmental Working Group
       Health Care Without Harm
       Learning Disabilities Association
of
       America
       National Council of Catholic
Women
       National Education Association
       National Environmental Trust
       National Medical Association
       National Safety Council
       Physicians for Social
Responsibility
       Union of American Hebrew
       Congregations
       US Public Interest Research
Group
       YWCA of America


                                        
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    Design and ColdFusion by Dungeness Communications
& Design

Ted Smith

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition

Campaign for Responsible Technology

760 N. First Street

San Jose, CA 95112

408-287-6707-phone

408-287-6771-fax

tsmith@igc.org

http://www.svtc.org/svtc/

=========================================

Food for thought:

How Gandhi Defined the Seven Deadly Sins

· Wealth without work

· Pleasure without conscience

· Knowledge without character

· Commerce without morality

· Science without humanity

· Worship without sacrifice

· Politics without principle