Human Health and the Environment

Rethinking Pollution• We have normally thought of pollution as an

external concern – something floating around in the air or in lakes. “Out there”. Something we can avoid.

The New Reality• …..is that we are surrounded by pollutants

every day and its sources are ordinary, familiar items.

• We are permeable and many of these pollutants seep into us. For some pollutants, it is impossible to get them out again.

Pollution?

OR

Who are the most vulnerable in our society to pollutants?

Because they are small, children are exposed to more contaminants every day. In addition, because their organ systems are immature, they are less able to fend against chemicals.

• “By the time the average woman grabs her morning coffee, she has applied 126 different chemicals in 12 different products to her face, body and hair” (Rick Smith, Slow Death by Rubber Duck)

Is there a connection?• We are into the fourth generation of people exposed

to chemicals from before birth through to adulthood (the chemical industry “took off” after WW 2)

• A child born today faces high odds of developing- ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)- ASD (including Autism)- Asthma- Birth Defects- Learning Disabilities- Childhood cancers- Diabetes- Parkinsons Disease, Alzeimer’s Disease ………..

Remember Rachel Carson?• “For the first time in the history of the world,

every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death”

• That was 1962

• Fifty years later, how are we doing?

• Over the past 50 years (or so), pollution and its effects have changed dramatically.

1. It is now global rather than local2. It is now invisible rather than visible3. Effects are now chronic rather than acute

How have things changed?

Chronic: symptoms develop gradually often after long exposure to a chemical

Acute: symptoms develop quickly after short exposure to a chemical

Body Burden

• New concept (last 5 years) – a measure of the amount and type of chemical that we now carry with us in our tissues

• Toxic Nation project (Toronto based)• http://environmentaldefence.ca/campaigns/to

xic-nation

Routes of Entry (Ways that toxins get into our bodies)

• Ingestion (Eating/Drinking)• Inhalation (Breathing)• Absorption (through the skin)