Maine Sunday Telegram, July 22, 2007

TOXIC CHEMICALS INSIDE US ARE A NIGHTMARE WE CAN END

[Rachel's introduction: Hazardous substances found in citizens of Maine should arouse government to remove the health threats.]

By Nancy Ross

[Nancy Ross, an associate professor of environmental policy at Unity College, is on the steering committee of the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine (www.cleanandhealthyme.org).]

Toxic chemicals lurk within innocent people. This isn't the tagline of a horror movie or summer science fiction.

It's "Body of Evidence," an analysis by the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine of pollution in the bodies of 13 Mainers who generously consented to publicize the results.

The 71 chemicals the study measured don't come from terrorist poisonings or toxic spills. Much worse. They're in everyday household products and in our food, air and water.

Phthalates in perfume and baby toys: Phthalates are used to soften plastics, including baby toys. They also permeate personal care products, labeled as "fragrance" in perfume, hair spray, deodorant, nail polish and soap. Minute levels of phthalates have been statistically linked to sperm damage in men and genital changes in fetuses.

"Body of Evidence" found that frequent perfume users Vi Raymond of Winthrop, Hannah Pingree of North Haven and Paulette Dingley of Auburn had twice the national median level of phthalates.

Brominated flame retardants in dust: These retardants, called PBDEs, are added to TV and other electronic casings and to upholstery, curtains and other fabrics. From there they leach into air, food and household dust -- and into people and wildlife. Studies in lab animals show harm to memory, learning and behavior from low levels of PBDEs.

Lauralee Raymond, Vi's daughter, also from Winthrop, and Bette Kettell of Durham had total PBDE levels above the median found in 62 women from California and Indiana.

Mercury in fish: Mercury comes in products like fluorescent bulbs and thermostats, but most mercury in Maine arrives airborne from coal-fired power plants. It's washed into streams and lakes and builds in the food chain -- with exposures highest for people who eat lots of fish such as tuna.

Mercury hurts brains, particularly developing brains of fetuses and children. Even at low levels, exposure in the womb leads to deficits in memory, attention and motor control.

Pingree, Lauralee Raymond and Elise Roux of Windham, all of childbearing age and frequent eaters of fish high on the food chain, had mercury levels twice the national median.

WHAT TO DO?

In the environmental policy classes I teach, the first question students ask when we look at toxics in everyday products is "How can I lower my risk?"

It's a teachable moment. Sure, you can search the Internet for deodorant without phthalates and stop eating big fish, but how do you avoid household dust?

After reflection, students usually argue for an approach known as the precautionary principle: We don't know for sure the effects of toxic chemicals in our bodies. But we do know that what we don't know can hurt us. And we shouldn't have to live in a world any more dangerous than it has to be.

Maine families have thousands of chemicals to worry about aside from those sampled in "Body of Evidence" -- chemicals whose effects on human health are suspect or unknown. The solution to toxic chemicals in our bodies and our children's bodies isn't careful consumption. This is the time and place for government action to protect us.

FEDERAL FAILURE, STATE PROMISE

Unfortunately, the federal regulatory system treats chemicals as innocent until proven guilty. In 30 years, only six chemicals have been banned of the 80,000 in use in homes and workplaces. Only 10 percent have been tested for safety.

If the feds can't do it, you may ask, how can the states?

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said the states are laboratories of democracy. That was good advice 75 years ago and it's good policy today.

California requires labeling of carcinogens. Washington State has phase-out plans for chemicals with long lives in the environment and humans.

Maine's record on toxic-chemical reduction to date is good. We've banned many products containing mercury, lead and arsenic. A new law requires safer alternatives to PBDEs. A Governor's Task Force on Safer Chemicals will make recommendations this fall on a comprehensive chemical policy.

Your support of a solution can make it happen. Call on your state legislators (federal, too):

** To require safety of all chemicals;

** To require full health and safety information for all chemicals;

** To support research and development of safer alternatives.

These policies will not only end our toxic nightmare but provide incentives for a "green chemistry" marketplace to flourish.

Copyright 2007 Blethen Maine Newspapers