From an article by Melanie Benesh, Legislative Attorney
- Chlorpyrifos is a highly neurotoxic pesticide that is particularly risky to children’s brains.
- The toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS are sometimes called “forever chemicals” because once they get into the environment they never break down. They also build up in the human body and can stay there for decades. PFAS chemicals are linked to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened immunity and reproductive problems. EWG estimates that these chemicals contaminate drinking water supplies for an estimated 110 million Americans.
- Trichloroethylene, or TCE, is a known carcinogen made infamous by the novel and movie “A Civil Action.” It contaminates drinking water for 14 million Americans in 37 states. It is linked to various cancers in former residents of the Camp Lejeune military base in North Carolina, and contaminates military bases throughout the U.S.
- Since June 2016, the EPA has reviewed nearly 3,000 new chemicals and approved more than half. More than 700 of these chemicals are now being manufactured.
- Dioxane is a chemical the EPA considers “a likely human carcinogen.” It contaminates cosmetics and cleaning products and is also found in drinking water for 7 million Americans. Yet in a draft safety assessment released last month, the EPA didn’t consider any exposure from consumer products or through tap water. The EPA’s safety assessments also will not consider “legacy uses,” that is, exposure through abandoned uses of toxic substances like asbestos in insulation.
The above are just a few of the incomprehensible chemicals that are allowed in our foods. We must stay aware and informed to insure our good health, that of our family, our children and our friends.
© Copyright – Hector Sectzer
