I’d like to hear what the guests think about the high incidence of autism in Silicon Valley and the possibility that ground water pollution from chip fab plants has something to do with it. Is autism a problem caused primarily by environmental damage to chromosomes?

Hello

How can we find out if tap water is safe to drink?

County government issue annual water safety reports, but a) I cannot understand it, even though I tried reading it several times and b) it always states that the water is safe, but how can we really know?

I doubt that the report is ever going to state that water is not safe to drink.

I drink Brita filtered tap water in Buffalo, NY and have been for years, but some people, especially in Erie county say that its not safe. How can we tell?

Thank you

Tom,

Can your guests elaborate on the high amounts of processed foods we eat.

Dear Tom,
I am so sorry to hear about your Mom. It was moving to hear you tell us about her.
Hang in there, we appreciate you!
Joanna

When I was finally diagnosed with hypothyroidism after suffering from the long list of symptoms for more than a year, I mentioned it to friends (all in their 20s and 30s) and about 50% said they had the same experience. [Essentially, losing a year of your life from not being able to function normally on a daily basis.] And, we all now have to take synthetic thyroid hormone pills for the rest of our lives.
The condition is diagnosed, but the cause is never determined.
From what I’ve read, perchlorate is one thing that can cause it, and one way it apparently gets into our water is via those fireworks set off every July 4.

Tom, thanks for shedding light on this important topic.
We are being polluted with endocrine disruptors from so many household products, food containers, pesticides, personal care products, and legacy sources of contamination.

With cancers, learning disabilities, infertility, obesity, and diabetes on the rise, it’s time to reduce the unnecessary, toxic chemicals that are contaminating all of us without our approval or even knowledge.

The worst part is that the public thinks that products on store shelves are regulated, and safe. We all need to press for more health protective laws.

Listening to the current program on endocrin disruptors, i am reminded of the book I just read by a local couple, New York Times jounalists, POISONED PROFITS
The toxic assault on our children.
by Alice and Philip Shabecoff.
The Shabecoffs have show in great details how the chemicals in our food is negatively affecting our children. However, companies keep producing these chemicals which are known to damage our bodies, because they make profits.
Please mention this fabulous book to add to the information about this large problem.
I enjoy your show, marga dieter

Hello,
Does reverse osmosis screen any these chemicals found in our public water supply?

Thanks

How much is the causality of these disruptions directly linked to some of these chemicals. How much of it is that it “might” be a problem, versus there is a direct link. Phthalates have been questioned but the science is not really strong based on realistic exposures. Plus, there is a real risk that the replacements may have higher risks. How thoroughly have the replacement plasticizers been tested before being used? These plasticizers have been used in medical tubing, and our water pipes for decades. If the risks were as high as is being described, perhaps we would have seen more wide spread problems.
It seems to me that some of these problems may be more related to how food is grown/raised in the corporate farm community.

Are these chemicals phalatates, etc? Arent they banned in China or Europe? If these chemicals are recognized by other countries as toxic than how do we get our government to notice?
I am reminded about 15 years ago when they discovered that microwaving plastics had the same endochrine affects. So they still with even “microwave safe” plastics, or do they still contain some of these harmful chemicals?

Government? If we rely on the government to solve the problem of environmental chemical hazards, then no solution will ever be forthcoming. The public needs to be educated about these hazards, so they can learn to take steps to minimize exposure and protect themselves. We can’t rely on government to educate the public about these hazards, because the corporations that cause the pollution are also the same ones that spend millions lobbying government to ignore the dangers. And forget the EPA. The EPA has become little more than a tool to serve corporate polluters, in order to put an “official” government seal of approval on ignoring the dangers, thereby limiting their legal liability for the damage their pollution causes.

Also wanted to ask are these affects being studied in Marine organisms as well as fresh water? Since we dump many tons of plastics in the pacific, how does this affect them?

My husband and I were both born in 1982. As a boy, he underwent surgery for gynecomastia (male breast development). As a girl, I entered puberty at age 7 or 8. There was no family history of such abnormality for either of us.

I strongly suspect these endocrine disruptors have been screwing with our systems for a long time now; I doubt my generation was the leading edge of this epidemic.

My daughter sprouted breasts and breast buds at 12 months due to the estrogenic chemicals in skin products. After eliminating parabens and some chemical sunscreens they have gone away. We have to monitor it closely, but were very fortunate that we could quickly and externally see the impact of these chemicals.

We were pretty “crunchy” parents with glass bottles, homemade organic food, etc, so we were startled to see how little exposure caused such a dramatic reaction.

How to we increase the education on the risks or regulate these chemicals, especially to parents? I didn’t learn about this from parenting resources, but Breast cancer resources. How can we steer them away from these risky products that cost so much less?

This is so important and goes beyond BPA in baby bottles.

I don’t know about dangerous estrogens in the water, but I know they’re in SOY. The Weston A. Price Foundation has been researching this issue and giving soy alerts for years.

Could your guests please speak to the concept of the precautionary principle? I think this is a huge part of the discussion.

The reason toxicologists miss the effects of these chemicals is that they operate at extremely low doses, on the order of parts-per-million even. At these low doses, the timing of exposure is critical. One of the most vulnerable times is during prenatal development. Endocrine disrupting chemicals can penetrate the womb and affect the developing fetus, and that’s where they have such devastating effects.

A while back our “wellness committee” at the university where I work sponsored a walking program. At the conclusion of the six-week program we had a luncheon at which everyone was given a “commemorative” water bottle – which we found out in a matter of moments was unsafe to drink from!

Part of the reason they were banned by the EU, is that it was post Mad Cow disease scare. They found it was better to remove it from the market because it might be a harm…rather than it being proven as having caused harm. The NIH has looked at bis-phenol A, and does not see that it stays in the body for any significant length of time.

Hi Tom,
great show and great speakers. Can they comment on which are the alternatives to these chemicals? Can they elaborate on what we can do in our everyday lives? Thank you

I was diagnosed with an endocrine disorder at the age of 33 last fall, and have to take several kinds of hormone pills each day (so now I’m contributing to the water-quality problem!).

I’m pretty sure that it is tied to fetal exposure to endocrine disrupters, since my kindergarten photo shows the beginnings of breasts, and I hit puberty at the age of 10.

This is a frightening situation with implications for our survival and the survival of other species.

Even if a full list of ingredients were provided, few, if any consumers, would know which of the 40-charcter, hyphenated and number laden ingredients were “bad” for them.

I routinely ignore the warning “… known to cause cancer by the State of California” since is shows up on almost everything I buy.

Obviously people have been trying to ring the alarm for awhile and the EPA/FDA/Congress/other government bureaucracy has not responded meaningfully, nor has the President bothered with this issue of our health.

If and when this information reaches a critical mass, it will be interesting to see what change comes about. It seems there are countless industries (and their attendant lobbies) that have a vested interest in avoiding any further regulation.

Consider the myriad toxic substances mentioned on the show today and I don’t think it even takes a cynic to say our government doesn’t care much for us.

The Story Of Stuff nicely illustrates the hidden costs of our consumer society: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

I feel that your guests are whining and wringing their hands, waiting for Nanny Government to take care of them. Quit being consumer/producers and become free citizens. If you truly believe there is such a great threat take direct action against those who benefit. It is not your government until you seize it.

The problem is much broader yet includes endocrine disruptors. One out of three American children now suffers from a chronic illness, from cancer, birth defects, asthma and mental illnesses such as ADHD and autism,triggered by toxins in our every day lives.
The book Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on our Children (Random House) talks about the range of the toxics that harm kids, the scientific evidence that makes the connection, the way corporations obscure that evidence, and guidance for parents to avoid these toxins.

It’s silly to think that people to be able to shop their way out of this problem, we need the government to protect our health! Public support for chemical policy reform is needed to make this change possible.

Tom,
As an architect in Shelburne Vermont, we’re faced with advertising of spray polyurethane foam insulation as being the newest green product for insulating houses. As a highly flammable product, this product requires the addition of flame retardents in order to be useful, as do the foams used in all furniture as seat cushions, etc. Historically, the additive has been one of a family of Polybrominated Biphenyl Ethers, PDBE’s, which have been banned in Europe for their accumulation in fatty tissues of humans and other mammals and fish, showing up in breast milk of mothers among other places.. Representatives of DOW say that these products have been replaced by new “safe” chemicals as of about a year ago, but the name of the new additive is secret. Do your guests know what this ingredient is and if it is in fact safe?
Thanks you.
Stephen Selin

I think The Onion nailed it:

Taco Bell’s New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91dv1_QuuA

What a great show today!

There are synthetic sex hormones in canned foods and body lotion, and they end up in our bodies, and in our wombs. We are contaminated without consent!

We’ve got to push the market and state & federal governments to protect us and to act with *precaution* – not to eventually, maybe getting around to banning substances after they’ve proven incredibly harmful.

I hope listeners/readers will visit safecosmetics.org, endocrinedisruption.com, saferstates.com and other campaigns for chemical policy reform and corporate accountability. Now is the time to halt this “global poisoning.”

You guest commented that there several sites where to find information that might help us know what to start avoiding. I am particularly interested in knowing what foods, what packages, what food containers should we really be careful with. In addition to the EPA site, does your guest know of other websites that would address these questions?

No one seems to be able to age anymore without eventually getting some form of cancer.

When are people going to wake up to the pointlessness and detriment of all the chemicals they’re spreading around their homes, their clothes, their lawns, and their bodies (both inside and out)?

What the hell are people thinking spraying nasty chemical air fresheners inside their homes, into the very air they breathe into their lungs?

Poisons to kill a couple of small insects, when a shoe or newspaper will do the trick?

Lawn chemicals and weed killers? Haven’t these people ever tried simply pulling out a weed? If one is too lazy for that, then they should xeriscape their lawn.

Chemical cleaners for the home? Sheer stupidity! I’ve never had to clean anything except dishes that couldn’t be leaned well using only warm water or Bon Ami cleaning powder. For dishes, there are plenty of mild, natural cleansers that work fine if one simply rinses their dishes before the food film becomes dried or crusted.

Soaps, shampoos and toothpaste? Try Kirk’s Castle soap… it’s cheap, lathers well, is totally natural, and has been around for a hundred years or more. Most commercial supermarket soaps for the body aren’t soaps at all… they’re detergents that are very bad for skin health.
Good natural shampoos and toothpastes are also easily found and often cheaper than chemical shampoos.

Most of the chemicals used in these products don’t easily break down, but stay in the environment and home for years or decades. They are all bad enough on their own, but many even interact chemically, becoming even more harmful or carcinogenic, often in ways that haven’t been carfefully studied.

The bottom line is this:

People should use a little common sense about whether they really need to use harmful chemical products… at least until the U.S. government finally does the right thing and starts banning all of these worthless, unnecessary, and harmful products.

Not only would lives be saved and people be healthier, but think of all the healthcare dollars that could be saved. Healthcare is now the #1 economic threat to the future financial stability of our government and economy.

It is time for individuals and government to wake up to this stupidity!

Dear Tom:

Thank you so much for this important broadcast. I am among those who are deathly sensitive to chemicals, especially scented personal care products, cleaning chemicals, air fresheners, pesticides, smokes etc. Due to the overload of our environment with environmental chemicals/toxins, some of us are permanently harmed. I hope the chemical industry will see what the chemicals they are producing have been doing to our health, environment, and future, and be responsible, and do the right things to remove all those harmful chemicals from our daily lives. People who suffer from Environmental Illness (or Chemical Intolerance) are already paying a heavy price. If nothing is done timely, more will suffer this devastating illness.

Aiwen Li

[...] Read more here: Chemicals in Our Bodies | WBUR and NPR – On Point with Tom Ashbrook [...]

I haven’t read every comments above, so maybe this question has been posted.

I have always wondered if gay populations rises because of our exposure of chemicals? Some people explain because people are more open about this now, therefore it gives us a sense of gay population has risen. I don’t think anyone has the answer yet.

Another myth is cancer. Medical industry would tell you since our medical technology is more advanced to detect cancers now than ever, giving us false sense cancer patients are rising. They explained in old days, people died without ever knowing the cause, those causes could be cancer. Do you buy that?

First of all: Don’t Play Golf!

Golf courses use more toxins that a big corporate farm. My problem is that I live in a townhouse condominium, and I am the only one there who does not believe that green grass is more precious than life itself.

BTW, save a lot of money and avoid a lot of household toxins. Use baking soda and vinegar as your primary household cleansers. I tried for 20 minutes to clean my steering wheel with Formula 409 with no luck. It took me less than 10 minutes to get it spotless with baking soda and a moist rag.

I encourage anyone who’s interested in knowing more to read Alice and Philip Shabecoff’s book, Poisoned Profits. It’s very well documented and describes how the chemical industry and regulators have conspired to sacrifice children’s health for extra profit. It also includes an appendix with common-sense suggestions about how to avoid many sources of toxic pollution. Tom, could you invite the authors to do a follow-up show on this topic?

My husband and I made all our own baby food for our first child from organic vegetables. My second baby just started eating solid food. I have been too busy to make an adequate variety of homemade baby food and finally broke down and bought organic food from the store. When I brought it home, it was immediately noted that the organic baby food is in clear plastic containers which are likely made with BPA. Mmmm… healthy for baby.

Of course, I freeze my homemade food in plastic ice cube trays and store it in plastic bags in the freezer. Can we get away from these chemicals? What is safe to store food in?

I live in the country away from large industry. You might say pollutant free zone you would think. I once had a dog who lived in a pen out back, healthy as a dog you would say. Regular checkups at the Vet,etc. The dog died of cancer. The only thing the dog was ever exposed to was store bought dog food and water from the local water system and air. Us humans in this area seem to have the same problem,is it just fate? The water system states our water passes all federal standards. Humm, it must be fate or maybe the air, or maybe it was the dog food.

This was a wonderful program and hopefully will spark more action. Thank you!

Has there been any mention of people being exposed to these chemicals at their job without knowing the consequences of being exposed? My husband was diagnosed with AML (acute myelogenous leukemia) in October 2004 after having worked for Columbia Gas Transmission, which now belongs to Nisource, for a period of 25 years. Most of this time he was exposed to Benzine; which is in gas, gasoline, copy chemicals and lots of other things, and has been linked totally to causing this type of leukemia. He was never warned that his job might cause this kind of devastation in his later life! It is not fair…it is horrible and people should know what they are heading for down the road. We have no life…he is totally disabled and it is not his fault. He was earning a living for his family.

Standing in line at the check-out cashier the other day, I overheard some people saying that this woman they knew just had a baby with no nipples and that the baby was going into surgery soon to fix that. They were discussing this as this was the most normal thing in the world!

I wonder which is scarier: knowing that our environment is poisoning us, or seeing that it doesn’t seem to bother most of us!

Since the day fossil oil was discovered, we enter the age of processed chemical industry that penetrates our daily life, we are so dependent on them now, lots of us don’t even know how deep rooted chemical has taking over our life.

Is there better future for human? It seems we all get smarter about making money (sarcasm), having high tech., but why every corner we turn, there’s a road block. All these hyper energetic civilization high tech stuff give us such a great illusion about who we really are. Every time I heard the news about some Japanese made some creepy human looking robots, where is this taking us to? We totally live in our science fiction fantasy, the scary thing is they are all coming to life.

There’s no boundary as long as we are curious, and we are going to explore our curiosity for every next generations to come. Life goes on, just not sure where it’s taking us to.

It would be great, and common sense, to link to web sites and blogs of the guests so we can learn more.

Several years ago I attended a seminar at the American Public Health Association. There was a presentation on endocrine disruption related to a particular pesticide. A representative of the pesticide company interrupted and called the speaker a liar and finally was escorted from the room.

Thank you for this most timely and important production. But please, do not raise awareness of the issues without giving people reliable places to turn, e.g. websites, books, etc. that can help them know how to handle their personal concerns. This is both a societal and personal issue. Yes, we should be leaning on every “horn” we have to awaken our elected officials to taking action on these serious environmental issues. But we each make choices that affect everyone else. Birth control pills and water supply is a prime example. I have a serious problem with estrogen dominance most likely brought on by a lifetime of uniformed consumer lifestyle choices. I am trying to educate myself as rapidly as possible but am finding no easy alternatives to some of the products/choices that I need to stay a part of the human race. From reviewing the comments above, I am not the only one who feels this way. A follow up production with people who can answer these questions would be so helpful.

Thank you so much for FINALLY having a program on this. Another point to ponder is: does anyon test for synergistic reactions between the chemicals in their products. Or in the way people really use them, 20 or more scented and polysyllabic body care products at a time. No wonder the tiny bit of xenoestrogenic chemical in a particular product tests out ok, how about if a person puts on a dozen or more product with the same chemical at a time?

The former Parker Street Waste Site in New Bedford, MA is where where two schools, New Bedford High,Keith Middle School, Paul Walsh Sports Field, a church, businesses and homes have been built.
The City of New Bedford has bought out six homeowners because of their heavily contaminated soil that lies beneath their properties. This site contains PCBs, arsenic, lead, chromium 6, barium, cadmium, dibenzofurans, benzenes, PAHs, VOCs, mercury, etc. Children are playing on this, living on this, being educated on this to the tune of 4500 students and staff, let alone the number of homes and parishners at the local church.
This is bigger than Love Canal which had only 70 acres. This is 101 acres.
The entire area needs to be closed off and secured as such a dangerously contaminated toxic waste site that no human needs to have access to this site. Many children and adults are ill and many have died or have gone on to have children with some type of neurological disorder due to the contamination from the parents who were exposed to this site. We need your help! Please contact me at kav704@yahoo.com for more information

Here is the link for the City of New Bedford’s Website for the Parker Street Dump, now occupied by students, staff, homeowners, churchgoers and businesses, essenially a “Love Canal” situation:
http://www.ci.new-bedford.ma.us/McCoy/Keithmiddleschool.html

Like the writers before me, I too am very grateful for your timely and informative presentation. I also agree with the other comments that the show or the website should offer additional resources/information for questions and inquiries that would naturally be spawned from a compelling show such as this one. ( I literally pulled over to listen, as I was getting interference on the station.) Last night, I had the some of the same questions, such as “Where can I get truly purified water, or is there a such thing?” Is this phenomenon contributing to increased homosexuality and gender imbalance in our species? What are some websites/resources for people who want to organize and mobilize, and what organizations are already involved in mobilizing efforts to combat these evils perpetrated on our planet? It’s up to us, not the government. It’s up to us to ensure that our government does what is necessary to protect our children and our future. It’s up to us. This info needs to be widespread. People need to be educated. Is there anyone who will answer these questions on this board? My parents raised me to eat from the earth, and as a rule of thumb,if it wasn’t around 100 years ago, it’s not worth eating. I don’t own a microwave, they can be tempting, and growing up without one didn’t render me deprived of hot foods.

Great show! In addition, a study from Mt. Sinai Medical Center links chemicals in plastics to child obesity. Researchers looked at about 400 girls, aged 9-11 in East Harlem. About 40% of the kids who live there are either overweight or obese. They found high levels of phthalates in their urine. Phthalates are chemicals that make plastics pliable…they also keep nail polish from chipping and mascara from running, and they’re found in toys and pacifers.
In my book “Super Natural Home” released this year, I show people how to idenify and eliminate chemical toxins they’re exposed to in their homes.
Beth Greer
Author, Super Natural Home (Rodale, 2009) and Radio Show Host on Progressive Radio Network