Transcript TOXIC POLLUTION - University of Florida

TOXIC POLLUTION
Poisoning our World
We are poisoning each
other
 Every time we put herbicides on our lawns, fill
our tanks with gasoline, buy pressure treated
lumber, purchase plastic, we threaten our
neighbors, human and non-human.
• Over 98 percent of all families use pesticides at least once a year
 More than a billion pounds of pesticides are
released every year in the United States, 3/4 of it
on farms.
1. Dan Fagin in Resisting Toxic Culture.
Toxic chemicals >> child
development and
learning disabilities
 One Billion pounds of developmental and
neurological toxins were released in 1998
– into the air and water of the USA
• According to EPA Toxic Release Inventory
 12 Million children suffer from developmental,
learning, or behavioral difficulties (retardation,
autism, birth defects, to name a few).
– National Academy of Science estimated that 3% of
such defects are caused by directly toxic
chemicals, and 25% in combination with genetic
factors.
Cancer and Humans
In the United States, according to the U.S. Government, over
• 70,000 chemicals are in use.
• almost six trillion pounds are produced annually
• most are not even minimally tested
WE ARE ENGAGED IN A MASSIVE,
UNCONTROLLED EXPERIMENT ON THE
ECOSYSTEMS UPON WHICH WE DEPEND
Environmentally Caused Cancers cause,
at least, 10,940 deaths per year (more
than die from hereditary breast cancer)
(Steinbgraber in Resisting Toxic Culture)
Mercury in the Midwest
 Tiny amounts damage the
human nervous system,
especially in children and
the unborn, causing brain,
lung, kidney damage and
even death.
 Mercury injures the
reproductive abilities of
wildlife including frogs,
rainbow trout, zebra fish,
ducks, loons and terns.
 Mercury contamination
in rain exceeds EPA’s
safe levels by these
amounts:
 Chicago 42 times safe
levels
 Detroit 65 times
 Duluth, 6 times
 Illinois/Wisconsin
border, as high as 56
times safe levels
Pesticide releases are
not even inventoried!
Nor do we
know what
most of the
chemicals
released into
the
environment
do to animal
bodies.
Unless evidence
links chemicals to
injuries, no studies
are performed to
determine their
impacts
– Chemicals get the
benefit of the doubt
– “Precautionary
principle” missing
Risk Assessment ~ A Sham?
Dan Fagin: “Risk Assessment” is . . .
1. designed to demonstrate no or minimal
harm
2. manipulated by industries that support it
and its premises
3. not based on replicable, credible science
(and thus assessments cannot be disproved)
4. And, citizens groups rarely have resources
necessary to evaluate assessments
•
Dan Fagin in Resisting Toxic Culture.
Environmental Toxins &
Environmental Justice
Minorities, especially African
Americans, are exposed to more
toxic pollution
– In 14 of 25 of counties subjected to the
greatest toxic releases African American
populations exceed the US average.
Hope on Toxics?
 Right to Know movement growing:
– Rachel Carson: it is a human right to know about
poisons introduced into one’s environment
 150 Countries working on treaty on POPs
– These countries are targeting 12 persistent toxic
chemicals world wide, including dioxins.
• POPs = Persistent Organic Pollutants)
 International Joint Commission for Great Lakes
Water Quality called for elimination of the release
of any persistent toxic substances.
Public Pressure Leads
to New Research
• The Chemical Industry agreed to fund
research designed to determine the risks of
many of the most suspect chemical classes
(in 1998).
• The industry nets 400+ Billion/Year
• Chlorine Chemical Industry establishes
“responsible care” codes and a dialogue on
sustainability with Environmental Ethics
experts.
• Some European countries are dramatically
reducing chemical pollution.
TOXIC POLLUTION
Poisoning our World