Upon getting the news from my doctor that the following
chemicals that are carcinogens, reproductive and neurotoxicant such as DDT,
lead, and dioxins, were to be found in my blood and urine samples, my first
thoughts and questions would be are the current levels safe, and would I be
further expose and accumulate more of these toxins, and to what point should I
be worried for myself and my children. The answer would be no one knows and
there are no “safe” levels.
It seems like we are in a wait and see mode. Health officials
seem to be not concern as these chemicals “do not cause diseases”. If there are
no safe levels, public health departments should at least educate the public of
the association of chemical exposures to cancer, neurotoxicity, and infertility.
Some sort of public testing for chemicals can also be established for future
data use.
Biomonitoring California https://biomonitoring.ca.gov/ was
established in 2006. The purpose of the program is to:
1.
Determine levels of
environmental chemicals in a representative sample of Californians
2.
Establish trends in the
levels of these chemicals over time
3.
Help assess the
effectiveness of public health efforts and regulatory programs to decrease
exposures to specific chemicals.
Hi Ira,
ReplyDeleteThat website is a great find! Thank you for posting the information about it. Maybe with increased surveillance, we will have more information to back policy changes to protect the population from harmful chemicals. There is a great part of the website that reviews the chemicals and lists ways to reduce exposure. I think this would be a great resource to educate the public on ways to protect themselves.
Ira,
ReplyDeleteThis blog was filled with information and great resources. Your right!! Health officials do seem to unbothered by the harmful chemicals that are presented in out community today. Providing more resources like Biomonitoring California can open the eyes of society and make them aware of chemicals to look out for. Great job!!