Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
urine.challenge.test.for.toxic.metals,.and.a.test.of.morning.urine.for.porphy-
rins.(Fowler.2001,.Nataf.et.al..2006).
Environmental Pollution and Health Impacts
The.environment.of.Hong.Kong.is.fast.becoming.polluted,.and.with.a.size-
able. level. of. ish. consumption. and. frequent. use. of. dental. amalgams. and.
Chinese.Herbal.medicine,.literally.all.people.have.toxic.overload..The.U.S..
Environmental. Protection.Agency. has. monitored. human. exposure. to. toxic.
environmental.chemicals.since.1972.when.they.began.the.National.Human.
Adipose. Tissue. Survey. (Committee. on. National. Monitoring. of. Human.
Tissues.1991)..This.study.evaluated.the.levels.of.various.toxins.in.the.fat.tis-
sues.from.cadavers.and.elective.surgeries..More.than.90%.of.these.samples.
had.ive.or.more.toxic.organic.pollutants..A.survey.of.the.newborn.infants'.
cord. blood. mercury. in. Hong. Kong. has. shown. that. more. than. 70%. of. the.
infants.had.mercury.levels.above.the.acceptable.levels.(Fok.et.al..2007).
The. local. health. authority. declared. ish. consumption. can. be. associated.
with. raised. blood. mercury. in. the. general. population,. but. this. would. bear.
no.relation.to.ill-health..The.local.health.authority.has.educated.the.public.
to.apply.“Chlorine.Bleach”.widely.in.the.home.environment.after.the.SARS.
and.inluenza.epidemic,.thus.aggravating.the.problem.of.pollutant.overload..
Pregnant. women. in. Hong. Kong. stand. a. high. chance. of. having. toxic. over-
load..The.fetus.
in utero
.would.share.a.portion.of.the.mother's.toxic.burden.
(Scandborgh-Englund.et.al..2001)..After.delivery,.the.level.of.toxic.load.pres-
ent.in.the.infants.would.further.increase.when.they.are.fed.with.breast.milk.
(Grandjean. et. al.. 2003).. The. protean. manifestation. of. the.children. growing.
up. with. toxic. overload. are. poor. sleep,. allergies,. anorexia,. stunted. growth,.
attention.deicit,.hyperactivity,.and.mood.disorders..Women.with.toxic.over-
load.can.be.asymptomatic.or.may.have.chronic.fatigue,.migraine,.menstrual.
disorders,.recurrent.infection,.insomnia,.autoimmune.diseases,.severe.aller-
gies,.and.gynecological.diseases.
The.pathophysiological.mechanism.of.mercury.overload.is.the.blockade.
of.ATP.production.and.mediation.of.excessive.oxidative.stress.(Goyer.2000,.
Clarkson.2002)..The.immune.function.would.be.severely.affected,.and.the.
affected. patients. would. have. “gut. dysbiosis”:. Pathogenic. viruses,. fungi,.
and.bacteria.would.lourish.inside.the.gastrointestinal.tract..The.concomi-
tant.overload.of.POPs.acts.as.xenoestrogen..Through.excessive.stimulation.
of. estrogen. receptors,. these. women. are. prone. to. develop. endometriosis,.
breast. cancer,. gynecological. cancers,. menorrhagia,. and. premature. labor..
For. example,. the. perchlorate,. a. particular. organic. pollutant,. can. block.
thyroid. receptors. causing. obesity,. fatigue,. constipation,. and. menorrhagia.
(Porterield.1994).
A.spectrum.of.illnesses.have.been.observed.in.infants.born.with.toxic.over-
load.. They. may. have. a.latent.period. of. normal. health. in. the. irst. few.weeks.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search