In another development, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced a bill to help communities determine if a causal connection exists between childhood cancer clusters and contaminants in the surrounding environment. The bill authorizes federal agencies to form partnerships with state and academic institutions to investigate the role of environmental contaminants in childhood diseases. Since 1975 childhood cancer has increased, along with exposure to toxic chemicals. The World Health Organization reviewed 900 chemicals in use and identified 107 that are known to cause cancer. For example, new wall to wall carpet over which baby crawls [photo] contain toluene, benzene, styrene, formaldehyde, acetone and other chemicals known to be carcinogenic. In Europe a company must prove that its chemical products are safe while in the United States a corporations right to make profit comes before proving product safety. A presidential panel of experts urged last year the reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act, noting that the law was "the most egregious example of ineffective regulation of chemical contaminants."
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
BP Mess Still There
The first peer reviewed study of the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest in US history, confirms that three months on, chemical remnants of Corexit 9500 used to disperse the crude oil is within an oil and gas plume at 3000 feet deep. The respected Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute reports that a major chemical component (dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate) has not degraded after application. The study appeared on line in the American Chemical Society's journal "Environmental Science and Technology". The total amount of dispersants used on the spill was unprecedented--1.84 million gallons--with little or no prior testing on the environmental effects of such large volumes. Woods Hole scientists refused to characterize the lingering dispersants as toxic, but admitted that in much higher concentrations than found, the chemical could be considered toxic.
In another development, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced a bill to help communities determine if a causal connection exists between childhood cancer clusters and contaminants in the surrounding environment. The bill authorizes federal agencies to form partnerships with state and academic institutions to investigate the role of environmental contaminants in childhood diseases. Since 1975 childhood cancer has increased, along with exposure to toxic chemicals. The World Health Organization reviewed 900 chemicals in use and identified 107 that are known to cause cancer. For example, new wall to wall carpet over which baby crawls [photo] contain toluene, benzene, styrene, formaldehyde, acetone and other chemicals known to be carcinogenic. In Europe a company must prove that its chemical products are safe while in the United States a corporations right to make profit comes before proving product safety. A presidential panel of experts urged last year the reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act, noting that the law was "the most egregious example of ineffective regulation of chemical contaminants."
In another development, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced a bill to help communities determine if a causal connection exists between childhood cancer clusters and contaminants in the surrounding environment. The bill authorizes federal agencies to form partnerships with state and academic institutions to investigate the role of environmental contaminants in childhood diseases. Since 1975 childhood cancer has increased, along with exposure to toxic chemicals. The World Health Organization reviewed 900 chemicals in use and identified 107 that are known to cause cancer. For example, new wall to wall carpet over which baby crawls [photo] contain toluene, benzene, styrene, formaldehyde, acetone and other chemicals known to be carcinogenic. In Europe a company must prove that its chemical products are safe while in the United States a corporations right to make profit comes before proving product safety. A presidential panel of experts urged last year the reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act, noting that the law was "the most egregious example of ineffective regulation of chemical contaminants."