Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
contaminated with the products we have manufactured that make our
everyday lives more comfortable.
A study in 2009 found up to forty-eight toxic chemicals in blood and
urine samples of fi ve prominent female environmental activists from
various parts of the country.
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The chemicals found are present in every-
day consumer products. Each of the women's samples contained fi re
retardants, Tefl on chemicals, fragrances, bisphenol A (BPA), and per-
chlorate. Flame retardants are found in foam furniture, televisions, and
computers. Tefl on is used in nonstick coatings and grease-resistant food
packaging. BPA is a plastics chemical; perchlorate, an ingredient in
rocket fuel, can contaminate tap water and food. Fragrances have been
associated with hormone disruption in animal studies. A physician with
the Environmental Working Group noted that animal studies show that
the chemicals can be potent at very low levels of exposure. Although the
rising number of chronic diseases has many roots, increased exposure to
chemicals is one likely cause.
In an incredibly detailed blood test in 2009, David Duncan, author
of
Experimental Man
, underwent several hundred scientifi c and medical
tests costing $25,000, in which he was tested for 320 chemical toxins.
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The tests revealed he had 185 of these known toxins in his body. There
are about 80,000 industrial chemicals in existence, so testing for “only”
320, much less than 1 percent of them, barely scratches the surface of
our probable bodily pollution. The average person's bloodstream may
well contain thousands or tens of thousands of industrial chemicals. It
is noteworthy that the body is known to hide its poisons in its fat, cells,
and other areas of the body to keep them out of the bloodstream, so
even an analysis for all 80,000 industrial chemicals might not uncover
all of the ones in the body.
Not only is our drinking water much less than pure, 40 percent of
our rivers and 46 percent of our lakes are too polluted for fi shing, swim-
ming, or aquatic life.
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Two-thirds of U.S. estuaries and bays are either
moderately or severely degraded from eutrophication (nitrogen and
phosphorous pollution). Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico near-
shore waters have become notorious for the level of their pollution.
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Even the reservoir that holds 90 percent of America's fresh drinking
water is polluted.
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More than a century of industrial dumping has
spread pollution throughout the Great Lakes. Fish caught from this
largest source of drinking water are often unsafe to eat.
Americans are often told by their government that no nation has
better-quality drinking water than the United States. This is certainly true
