Posted on 10/23/2007 8:20:13 AM PDT by yankeesdoodle
"[Rowan's] been on this planet for 18 months, and he's loaded with a chemical I've never heard of," Holland, 37, said. "He had two to three times the level of flame retardants in his body that's been known to cause thyroid dysfunction in lab rats."
The technology to test for these flame retardants -- known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) -- and other industrial chemicals is less than 10 years old. Environmentalists call it "body burden" testing, an allusion to the chemical "burden," or legacy of toxins, running through our bloodstream. Scientists refer to this testing as "biomonitoring."
Most Americans haven't heard of body burden testing, but it's a hot topic among environmentalists and public health experts who warn that the industrial chemicals we come into contact with every day are accumulating in our bodies and endangering our health in ways we have yet to understand
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Um, but if one believes in evolution, shouldn't one assume that human beings will evolve to be able to handle these chemicals?
“Um, but if one believes in evolution, shouldn’t one assume that human beings will evolve to be able to handle these chemicals?”
Sure in a few hundred generations.
We already are.
Sperm and eggs that can't 'handle' the pollution never become fertilied...those that do and are subject to high levels of pollution are spontaneously aborted, usually before the female even knows she was/is pregnant.
The kids being born today are not the same kids being born 100 years ago.
Wait till he's a teenager...
My grandfather used to have snowball fights in the asbestos pile at the refinery. If you didn’t smoke, you could snort the stuff through a straw and you’d be fine. If you smoked, well, it would turn your lungs into an empanada.
I was at my dentist yesterday and spotted a copy of the Material Safety Data Sheets (the entire frickin two volumes of them) on the shelf.
I asked, “What’s the deal with that?” Turns out the EPA and Washington State EPA require it. Of dentists.
Nothing like a little onerous over regulation of small businesses to get your economy going.
Anyway, good to know the little guy can walk through fire like that cheerleader on Heroes. That can come in handy.
I wonder how I have survived to be as old as I am. I lived in houses with lead paint, ran behind DDT trucks spaying for mosquitos, and broke thermometers to play with the mercury in them.
Now I understand where the MoveOn nuts come from.....
We see this stuff in our systems, and we have no clue what it does or doesn't do. Therefore, let's assume it's horribly evil, nasty stuff and that the government must regulate the living daylights out of every last milligram of it!
Even after scientific studies conclusively prove that it's harmless to us, let's continue to regulate it even more tightly and punish everyone who isn't as fanatically against it as we are, because that's the Right Thing to Do!
fire RETARDants.......
More children will die as a result of removing the fire retardants from their PJ’s than if you left them in......
Yeah, well that kind of rational thinking sure wasn't around when DDT was on the chopping block. Enviros are apparently happy to sacrifice millions of children to their false god of nature.
Rachel Carson has probably killed more people than Hitler, Stalin and Mao put together.............
But if this stuff is found to turn normal people into stupid, emotional left wing nuts, we will need to do something.
LOL All those plastics molecules getting wedged into their brains.
“I’m just sure to die sometime in the next century ...”
The next one or this one? If it’s the former, can I have some of whatever you’re drinking? ;)
I love that site - it still cracks me up!
I put a lot of blame on her, but even more on the thoughtless minions who blindly implemented such a short-sighted action on such flimsy premises. All the "earth first and only" crowd share in that ignominy equally.
So much horror has been unleashed on the earth because of one well-intentioned but thoroughly false idea or another. Facts matter! ...not just intentions.
Well, someone ought to get the word out to these liberals moms so they aren't so hysterical.
You forgot, went to school in schools with asbestos ceilings.
I think it's the opposite. I believe too many organic vegetables and other healthy eating causes liberalism. We should insist on more Twinkies and other preservative-laden foods for our children! :-)
More junk food, less exercise! Please, it's for the children!
Stay away from that DHMO ... too much of that stuff will kill you dead.
;'}
(OBTW, I meant "some time within the next 100 years".)
Was that “thin egg shell” theory ever debunked?..........
And of course, in the meantime, if kids die from exposure to these chemicals, it is only natural selection at work, so no biggie.
I’ve yet to evolve according to my family....
“(OBTW, I meant “some time within the next 100 years”.)”
I know. Just razin’ ya. lol!
Carolyn
Or is that “razzin’”? I wouldn’t want to say anything unPC. ;)
There are no winning hands to play, here.
Here’s my belief. You only die from one thing....being born! If you believe the Bible, there have been only TWO people in history who didn’t die. Enoch (father of Methuselah) who “walked with God and was no more” and Elijah who ascended to heaven on a chariot of fire. God’s own Son died!!! What makes any other human think they can live forever?
Yes. In fact, if I remember correctly, the scientist who originally found the alleged problem eventually came forward himself to debunk it. DDT remains banned.
There are so many other factors that cause egg shell thinning, but were not accounted for in the study, that any correlation to DDT use was pure coincidence.
DDT is one of the safest chemicals ever used, as far as my reading has found.
There was a thread the other day which contained a quote from Louis Farrakhan to the effect that the racist policies of the US were a major reason why blacks died more often than whites in this country.
Hilarious.
Hitler and Stalin maybe, but I think it would take nukes to get anywhere near Mao’s body count.
EVERYBODY PANIC!
Not all of the anti-DDT types were well-intentioned. One even admitted his genocidal intentions when he said it was better to let Africans die of malaria than to “remain alive, riotously reproducing.”
I spent a college summer removing asbestos from a school. The project used full body protective gear and was monitored by the state. That winter I came down with a bad case of bacterial pnemonia that lasted 6 months and affected my health for years afterwards. I blame its severity on the asbestos exposure. I imagine it cause damage which made the lungs vulnerable to the bacteria that winter. More satisfying than blaming my nightly runs in 20-degree weather I guess....
Yes it was- the “DDT Facts” section of junkscience.com is quite an eye-opener.
As it is, the only real problem with DDT is also it’s greatest strength, which is persistence. That makes it wonderful for treating houses but completely unsuitable for agriculture and iffy for other outdoor applications.
Last time someone asked about the death rate here I said, “Same as the USA- one per person.”
I’ve heard that removing asbestos is worse than leaving it right where it is because it stirs up so much dust.
I am at a loss to understand the ridicule in this thread regarding any concern over chemical levels in children. A British study has shown evidence of reduced male fertility from exposure to certain chemicals, the use of which has been increasing over the past 25 years. This isn’t superstition or stoned hippie daydreams. Toxic substances affect the bodies as one would expect them to. It isn’t complicated. I recall a similar ridicule on this forum regarding transfats. I notice I see much less ridicule here about that as mucho info regarding that poison has become public, and fast food joints have moved to eliminate them.
Looks like they are recycling this story:
From 2003:
Flame retardant chemicals found building up in bodies ~ next lawsuit, after asbestos?
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/896841/posts
From 2005:
Toxic Chemicals Found In Bodies Of Prominent Californians
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1473966/posts
And I know I saw this on FR too, but couldn’t find the link:
Man-made Chemicals Detected In Newborns
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070424102456.htm
Seems like the scare about prominent Californians didn’t work, so now they are going to trot out a toddler. It’s the crisis du jour for the lefties. Polar bears, second-hand smoke, health care. They’ve got to have something to fret over.
My dad used to wear fire protection suits with asbestos. He’s 77 now.
but are they * ever * looked at?
You should call that TV lawyer, he will get you $$money$$.
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