Several major news outlets recently reported that three states in the Northeast section of the country were found to have PFOA-contaminated municipal water supplies. The states are New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. Companies that produce perfluoro-octanoic acid (PFOA) include the corporate giants DuPont and 3M. And like so many other industrial chemical monoliths, DuPont and 3M have been allowing PFOA's to escape into the waterways of this country for decades. What they have always made bank on is the seeming conspiracy of the average American through a confederacy of complacency. These companies expect little to no interest or protest or curiosity from the general public when stories of drinking water contamination make the headlines. The massive amounts of money, investments, and financial/fiduciary collusion between industry and government are so large as to overwhelm the priorities of health and environment. Few senators, governors or scions of industry share the concerns of working America. Because it is an election year, a presidential election year at that, there exists a responsibility to inform and subsequently arm oneself with information before taking step one toward the polling station. This election cycle we must make the health of our children and their environment the primary concern; we must become public health voters.
Let's begin.
Recent studies conducted by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) found that more than 98 percent of all Americans have at least trace amounts of PFOA and related chemicals in their blood. Perfluoro-octanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8, when ingested, does not bioaccumulate in adipose or fatty tissue, rather it circulates in the blood, collecting in the serum. PFOA is not a new chemical creation, it has been in production for close to 70 years. It is the primary chemical used in the manufacturing of Teflon. It is also used in scores of products, including: non-stick cookware, stain-resistant carpet, microwave popcorn bags, pizza box liners, wire coatings, fire fighting foam and flame and water-resistant clothing. It is a chemical that persists in our water, our soil and our bodies; as it does not easily degrade either within the human body or in the environment, it is simply transferred from the lakes and rivers to the water supply, to the soil; from mother to fetus via placenta and cord blood; from mother to infant via breast milk. It is important to note that ingestion of/exposure to C8 by infants and children has been shown to reduce the efficacy of nearly all vaccinations.
The adult body burden of PFOA and related compounds, known as fluorotelomers, has been linked to the development of certain cancers, including: kidney, thyroid, prostate, bladder, ovarian, breast, pancreas, testicle and liver. In fact, the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), a subsidiary of the World Health Organization, has officially recognized PFOA as a Group 2B carcinogen. Such classification places C8 in the company of a number of other long-standing cancer-causing agents, i.e. DDT, 1, 4-Dioxane, Heptachlor, Styrene, Mirex, Toxaphene, Chlordane, Nitrobenzene and Chloroform.
PFOA, like so many other 2B's, bioaccumulates in wildlife and as a result fish, fowl and cattle are also contaminated. Perfluorinated compounds are found in the most significant concentrations in shrimp, mussels, clams and oysters. As a result of this super-concentration in aquatic invertebrates/fish, the Minnesota Department of Health has issued a series of fish consumption advisories for contaminated portions of the Mississippi River.
Water, fish, fowl and foodstuffs are not the only routes of C8 ingestion and exposure. As cited earlier, food-packaging products are notorious for containing PFOA; such products can include food-coatings and food wraps as well as non-stick cookware. And once PFOA/ Teflon-coated cookware is heated during the food preparation process, inhalation of PFOA fumes becomes a distinct possibility. In addition, ingestion of contaminated house dust via hand-mouth transfer is a route of contamination for toddlers and children.
Despite the very real and extensively documented deleterious health effects PFOA exacts on humans throughout every stage of development, the EPA has yet to develop and implement standardized exposure thresholds, safe exposure limits in drinking water, foods, etcetera. In fact, the United States has yet to ratify, accept or approve the Stockholm Convention, a global treaty put into force May 2004. Simply stated, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife, and have harmful impacts on human health or on the environment. This treaty requires its parties to take meaures to eliminate or reduce the release of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) into the environment. The following countries are examples of those that have signed, ratified, accepted, approved and put into force the Stockholm Convention: Canada, France, Germany, Finland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Again, the United States remains relatively uninvolved and unaffected by the sentiment and effort of this treaty. Have we, as a country, allowed big business/big pharma to so completely infiltrate our government that what was once for the people by the people has become something more akin to for the profit, despite the people? The why's and wherefore's of this shift within our country we may never know, however, it is not acceptable nor is it prudent to forfeit control of our health and that of our family to the drift of financial whim. We must perform our due diligence as voters this election cycle and support candidates who will ratify and put into force the Stockholm Convention, and are dedicated to the public good, our public health.
Please reference: npr.org, cancer.org, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, chm.pops.int, epa.gov
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