Category Archives: chemical

The coal debate

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I about fell off my chair when I heard the radio ad that Barack Obama “approves this message”.  I thought it sounded too much like an Onion spoof…but, alas…

The message?  He approves of coal…and fracking as viable energy sources.  Well, not that it’s a surprise that he *still* supports “clean coal”…but I thought that he at least had sense not to endorse fracking…I was apparently wrong.

Story here:  http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/09/obama_campaign_says_romney_not.html

Look at the faces of the miners–blackened with coal dust that contains mercury, lead, arsenic, and on...

91% of those children had respiratory problems–what more does it take?!  A 100%??

From the article:

But according to Stephen Lester, science director of the Virginia-based Center for Health, Environment, and Justice, the air quality tests done at Marsh Fork were “extremely limited” and “provide meaningless information” since they did not test specifically for heavy metals like nickel, lead, arsenic, and mercury found in coal dust.  Rather, they conducted standard state tests for mold, air flow, and air filter upkeep

What a joke.  See, if you don’t acknowledge there’s a problem…then they don’t have to do something about it.  And the chemical industry/coal industry/nuclear industry…and on…can continue doing what they do without being held accountable.

A miner’s viewpoint here.

Environmental Working group has this from 2004.  And this from 2001:  the revolving door phenomenon.

This woman is a walking toxic dump.   Good Grief.  This a testament to our body’s ability to withstand a toxic beating and still try to correct the situation…but even the miracle of one’s body has its limits.

The problem with the situation is that as the above article states, scientists are testing folks for toxins in their systems, but they don’t know what it means–it doesn’t mean the presence of disease, but also doesn’t mean there’s no damage done.

From the article:

“Just because it’s there doesn’t mean it’s going to hurt you,” says Bruce Caswell, senior manager of environmental health and safety with the Canadian Chemical Producers Association. But it doesn’t mean it’s not hurting you either. We experience a constant barrage of synthetic stuff, even in the womb. Doses differ as do genetic and physiological vulnerabilities. “None of this belongs in our bodies. Period,” says Riina Bray, a family physician at Women’s College Hospital’s Environmental Health Clinic. Researchers suspect these toxic chemicals have links to a number of cancers, including breast, testicular and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, not to mention reproductive disorders and learning disabilities.

I wonder about the toxin drift as highlighted in this article with David Masty testing positive.  I think the bizarre actions of folks in the last decade or so are related to how toxic our environment is–that we’ve reached our limits of how much our bodies can take before we crash–and the result isn’t always physical, but mental.  This was one of the most surprising aspects of toxic poisoning that I’ve learned on this odyssey I’m on–I had no idea that toxins affected one’s mental abilities.  The medical profession has always treated mental issues as if they were exclusively a problem with the brain–not a likely result of toxic exposure.

And the children being born polluted…it should be enough to make every adult sit up and take notice….

Related to this is the EWG filing suit after Cuomo refuses to release all requested documents.

In my case, although there are numerous red flags, the FDA refuses to recognize that dental amalgams poison people–even though most folks on the mercury support group became sick within a year of amalgam placement.  And I know that living near a coal-burning power plant in the 70s also contributed to my mercury/lead/arsenic load.  Truly, it was when I first had mercury symptoms–only they were minor annoyances that would be misdiagnosed or ignored.

And the USDA is still recommending a diet that is heavily grain based, even though this may mean it is opening the door for mercury/heavy metal poisoning for Celiacs.

…and then the poor sap that falls ill will be met with the “you don’t have a right to food or shelter…”

The Pusher Man

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commondreams has this up on the re-definition of a “pusher-man”.   How can Big Pharma get away with creating drugs that are addictive–that they know will keep permanent customers in the loop? Look at all the pharmacy robberies that have cropped up since the introduction of oxycontin?

It’s along the lines of creating a drug for one condition that causes so many side effects that the person needs another drug to combat them, and another drug to combat the second drug’s side effects…and so on…neverending customers…neverending profits…

~~~A commenter brought up the song by Steppenwolf “Pusher Man”   

I used to have a coworker who played that song on a regular basis.  He was a Vietnam vet and I think he dabbled a little in the illegal stuff, but had straightened himself out.   The amusing thing (to me) was that he played this loudly and his office cubicle was right near the front door so every client that came in the door could hear “God Damn the Pusher Man…” coming over the cubicle wall…you should have seen some of the looks on their faces…

 

 

Funding for organic research questioned

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commondreams has this up on the questions of who funded this bogus study.  Knowing about how corporations are trying to influence university’s research, I was suspicious of this study from the start.

Links on the subject here. 

And here.

And here.

And here.  This isn’t shocking to me–Monsanto was giving huge amounts to Purdue University.  During a panel on the genetically modified organisms, circa 1998, they asserted there was no problem with GMO’s.  The panel was made up of three scientists–one against GM’s and the other two for them.  The technology was new and had not been tested for adverse affects not only on humans, but nature, as well.

Deer have been known to cross a road to eat organic corn if a choice were given between GMO corn.  Here’s a link to an article.

A thought struck me as I read that last article–these crops are engineered to “drink poison”.  If we put aside the genetic manipulation, and look at the ability for the gene to absorb much more pesticides, etc., wouldn’t that be multiplying the devastating effects of those chemicals on the body?  I mean, we know how devastating chlorinated hydrocarbons (DDT, etc.) are…so it stands to reason that it’s exponentially more so with these GM crops.  And the Celiac thing–how much is being influenced by not only eating GM crops, but breathing in that poison from, say, corn pollen? Article here. Note that this was clear back in 1999–this stuff has been known…and yet the Monsanto monster continues to grow…

Sleeping with the enemy…

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…toxic chemical manufacturers created a front group to promote the use of fire retardants…and the guy behind it was also a mouthpiece for the tobacco industry.

Be sure to click on the Chicago Tribune’s excellent piece.

Here’s the kicker:  fire itself is not usually the cause of death–it’s smoke inhalation.  From chemicals.  One of the fire guys I talked to told me that burning plastic is the worst–burning plastic creates cyanide and it will “drop you like that” (as he snapped his fingers).  He said they never go into where plastic is burning without their oxygen masks.

Here’s a report from the LA Times in 2011.

…and the next question should be:  If it affects humans, what effect does it have on nature?

Here’s a short blurb on the increase of the toxic chemicals in the oceans.

These stories make me glad that I sewed my kids’ pajamas when they were young, using untreated cotton…at least I spared them that exposure.

 

Whales attacked by seagulls

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Michael Warren of the AP has this up on a disturbing story of whales being attacked by seagulls.

I’m concerned that the seagulls, since they are feeding on fish, perhaps are exhibiting such bizarre behavior because of mercury.  It’s a big clue that this has only been happening the last eight years.  This leads me to be skeptical that the open trash containers and fish refuse thrown by fisherman is the cause…trash has been around for a few decades and the fishermen have most likely always discarded the unwanted fish parts…so why now?

I found this. Interesting–but not really surprising because mercury is a known neurotoxin, so it is conceivable that it would affect that part of the brain that sexual desire is located.  It is fairly well known among the mercury group that desire is affected.  I don’t think this subject has been broached, probably because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Here’s a paper on mercury’s devastating effects on humans, fish, birds, et al.  If you look on page 7, there is a table with an astonishing number of over 4 billion tons of mercury in the ocean water.

From the paper:

There is a strong relation between the food of birds from Minamata and the Hg content in feathers; the content is highest in fish-eating seabirds and lowest in herbivorous waterfowl (Doi et al. 1984; Table 4). This same relation held in birds collected from China and Korea, although concentrations were significantly lower (Doi et al. 1984). There are close correlations between Hg contents of zooplankton and suspended particulate matter, and of sediments and fish muscle, suggesting a pathway from sediment to fish by way of suspended matter and zooplankton. The conversion from inorganic Hg to methylmercury is believed to have occurred primarily in zooplankton (Nishimura and Kumagai 1983).

page 13:

An elevated concentration of mercury (i.e., >1.0 mg/kg fresh weight), usually as methylmercury, in any biological sample is often associated with proximity to human use of mercury. The elimination of Hg point-source discharges has usually been successful in improving environmental quality. However, elevated levels of mercury in biota may persist in contaminated areas long after the source of pollution has been discontinued (Rada et al. 1986). For example, Hg remains elevated today in resident biota of Lahontan Reservoir, Nevada, which received about 7,500 tons of mercury as a result of gold and silver mining operations during the period 1865 to 1895 (Cooper 1983). It is noteworthy that some groups of organisms with consistently elevated Hg residues may have acquired these concentrations as a result of natural processes, rather than from anthropogenic activities. These groups include older specimens of long-lived predatory fishes, marine mammals (especially pinnipeds), and organisms living near natural Hg-ore-cinnabar deposits.

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If you look down a bit, they list the Bald Eagle egg as increasing its mercury contamination from .35 in 1974 to .84 in 1979–doubled.

Further down, it lists a cat that ate fish below a chloralkali plant–look at the fur:  121 mg mercury /kg

The harbor seal in California: 269 mg/kg

The striped dolphin in Japan: 205 mg (in the liver)

The sea lion in California: from 73.0 to 1,026 mg/kg

The paper goes on to summarize that mercury in birds was highest by those that ate fish and other birds.

More from the paper:

The most probable source of recent elevated Hg residues in feathers of the Finnish sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) was from consumption of avian granivores that had become contaminated as a result of eating seeds treated withorganomercury compounds; in 1981, 5.6 tons of methoxyethylmercury compounds were used in Finnish agriculture for protection of seeds against fungi (Solonen and Lodenius 1984).

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Another reason to push for sustainable farming practices…birds being contaminated by mercury application (as a fungicide) by farmers.

This is an understatement:

Mercury is a known mutagen, teratogen, and carcinogen. At comparatively low concentrations in birds and mammals, it adversely affects reproduction, growth and development, behavior, blood and serum chemistry, motor coordination, vision, hearing, histology, and metabolism. It has a high potential for bioaccumulation and biomagnification, and is slow to depurate.

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Mutagens change your DNA.  Teratogen is a fancy word for birth defects.  And of course, carcinogen is cancer causing.  Note that this states low concentrations affect behavior–hence my concern about the seagulls attacking the whale is not normal behavior and that’s why I suspect mercury (or other toxins).

This also applies to we mammals by the way:

MAMMALS
Mercury has no known physiological function (EPA 1985). In humans and other mammals, it causes teratogenic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic effects; the fetus is the most sensitive life stage (NAS 1978; Chang 1979; Khera 1979; EPA 1980, 1985; Elhassani 1983; Greener and Kochen 1983; Clarkson et al. 1984). Methylmercury irreversibly destroys the neurons of the central nervous system. Frequently, a substantial latent period intervenes between the cessation of exposure to Hg and the onset of signs and symptoms; this interval is usually measured in weeks or months, but sometimes in years (Clarkson et al. 1984). At high sublethal doses in man, mercury causes cerebral palsy, gross motor and mental impairment, speech disturbances, blindness, deafness, microcephaly, intestinal disturbances, tremors, and tissue pathology (Chang 1979; EPA 1980, 1985; Elhassani 1983; Clarkson et al. 1984). Pathological and other effects of Hg may vary from organ to organ, depending on factors such as the effective toxic dose in the organ, the compound involved and its metabolism within the organ, the duration of exposure, and the other contaminants to which the animal is concurrently exposed (Chang 1979). Many compounds–especially salts of selenium–protect humans and other animals against mercury toxicity, although their mode of action is not clear (NAS 1978; Chang 1979; EPA 1980, 1985; Eisler 1985).

 

GMO monsters; Nanoparticles and Karl Rove…

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Jill Richardson has this up at PR Watch.  Can anyone make sense of this?  The chemical/bioengineering industry is a monster running amok—make more toxic food that makes people, animals sick and poisons the atmosphere…

…so they can grow more food per acre.

I have a question:  if people are dying from the poison food and poison atmosphere, who is this serving?  Not us.

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More from PR Watch on the propaganda of Monsanto, et al…

Good Grief. Nanoparticles are nothing to worry about??  Just a little benzene (one of the most toxic chemicals out there)  isn’t going to hurt…/snark

And the debate on sunscreens also questions their validity and necessity.

CDC link here: http://www.ewg.org/analysis/toxicsunscreen

Natural News has a story here.

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Finally there’s this story on Rove controlling the purse strings…the behind the scenes and under the radar guy.

Doublespeak

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…is a word in Communications for when you’re talking in such a way that it seems you mean something when you really mean something else…

…such as this.

This is why I am upset that people who went to Obama fundraisers didn’t put that money towards a third party candidate–someone who will restore the Constitution, not sign anymore Free Trade agreements, not sign legislation that gives the top 1% tax breaks, push for livable wage, get us out of all conflicts, and will push for re-regulating banks and sustainable farming/regulating environmental polluters.  And what happened to our antitrust laws, again?

That’s the candidate I want…

“Baffling new disease…”

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AP has this up on a yet another disease that implicates a destroyed immune system.

Let’s break this down, shall we?

She was from Vietnam, and came here after the war, in 1975.  Although the article doesn’t state that, she most likely was exposed to Agent Orange–exposure to Agent Orange can cause immune system deficiency.

I also wonder about Celiac.  When doing my research on it, I had read that Asians don’t get it–it’s just unheard of in that population…but knowing how the medical profession likes to make pronouncements of entire classes of people with a small sampling, I’m suspicious that she might have it and not be diagnosed nor tested.  I didn’t have any overt symptoms–it was only because of my Irish-German heritage that I put the puzzle together.  And it’s interesting that I have become more sensitive as I have adopted the GAPS diet–allowing my gut to heal.

There isn’t any mention of her diet, nor of the doctor asking her about diet….so one is left to wonder if she’s adopted the Western diet and is suffering because of it.  I think the age thing is a big clue–our bodies are miracles that can take a lot of abuse before the cells break down and start to wreak havoc.  This is something I’ve noticed on the mercury poisoning support group–some folks will have good health up ’til the time they reach 40, and then things start happening.

There’s also no discussion on toxin exposure.  She lives in Tennessee, ranked 11th in toxic exposure.  (What? Indiana is *only* ranked 4th? …we must be slipping in polluting our environment./snark)   Note the assertion of the article that the EPA is right on top of things… the reporter apparently didn’t get the memo of the corporate polluters who worked to get those regulations repealed.

From the article:

The NRDC also framed its report in a political context, indicating that Sen. Lamar Alexander voted against an attempt by Sen. James Inhofe, R.-Okla., to repeal the Mercury and Air Toxics standard. Sen. Bob Corker supported it.“For too long, Americans have had no choice but to breathe toxic air pollution. Thanks to the EPA, the air is getting cleaner,” said Franz Matzner, NRDC associate director of Government Affairs. “But we need lawmakers who will help clean up the air we all breathe — not lawmakers who do the bidding of big polluters trying to repeal safeguards that protect children’s health. This and future Congresses should let the EPA do its job so all Americans can breathe easier.”

Here’s another article on the toxic junk in Tennessee by Kelly Hearn ( The Nation).  Pay attention to the date–I think it could be significant to this woman because she began getting ill in 2009.  Holy Crap.  Mysterious disease…my arse.

Here’s another discussion on it (same blog).  A good discussion on Celiac reaching across several populations that the medical profession has refused to acknowledge. Good Grief.  The misery and diseases they have caused by their ignorance.

 

 

Italy’s Chernobyl and other toxic disasters

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this up at commondreams. 

If there isn’t a big explosion, or bomb, or someone bleeding…well, it’s just *got to be* something else besides toxic chemicals.  Seriously.  There are people who, faced with evidence, will still not believe that chemicals can do so much harm.

Also up from common dreams is this.  I clicked on the link someone posted in the comments section for American Progress–the paper is too long for me to read on the limited time here, so I’ve scrolled down to the companies responsible for getting this law pulled–for the Midwest: Link here.   (In case this doesn’t work, the page number is 11.)

For the general list  (page 9) of those fighting the EPA:  link here.

Another article in the comments section on the same subject here.

Again, the articles address the affects to humans, such as asthma, but fail to entertain the scope of all of nature being affected by the poisonous air.  Not to mention the affects on crops.