Making America Sick



A pesticide, which belongs to a class of chemicals developed as a nerve gas, is now found in food, air and drinking water. Human and animal studies show that it damages the brain and reduces I.Q.s while causing tremors among children. It has also been linked to lung cancer and Parkinson’s disease in adults.
This chemical, chlorpyrifos, is hard to pronounce, so let’s just call it Dow Chemical Company’s Nerve Gas Pesticide. Even if you haven’t heard of it, it may be inside you: One 2012 study found that it was in the umbilical cord blood of 87 percent of newborn babies tested.
And now the Trump administration is embracing it, overturning a planned ban that had been in the works for many years.
The Environmental Protection Agency actually banned Dow’s Nerve Gas Pesticide for most indoor residential use 17 years ago — so it’s no longer found in the Raid you spray at cockroaches. The E.P.A. was preparing to ban it for agricultural and outdoor use this spring, but then the Trump administration rejected the ban.

From Nicholas Kristof (NY Times)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trick or Treating for UNICEF

A current  ad campaign  is asking children to “be scary good” and “trick or treat for UNICEF.”  The promotion claims it will “help kids affected by recent emergencies.” Before taking part, however, it’s worth asking about protections of the rights of children in the countries that run UNICEF. UNICEF is the children's relief agency of the United Nations.  Sitting on UNICEF’s Executive Board are two countries that permit some of the worst abuses of children to go unchecked:  Iran and Saudi Arabia . Saudi Arabia has failed to enact meaningful reform measures to prevent what has been called the “well-entrenched” practice of child marriage. In one reported case from 2008, a court refused to annul the marriage of a girl of  eight  – that’s younger than many of the trick-or-treaters that UNICEF is asking to help them raise money.   Iranian children of the Baha’i faith, along with their parents and all other Baha’i, have been branded “deviants,” and “enemies of God.” Iran also continues to
Read more

Is the Administration Poisioning Americans?

Why Has the E.P.A. Shifted on Toxic Chemicals? An Industry Insider Helps Call the Shots. A scientist who worked for the chemical industry now shapes policy on hazardous chemicals. Within the E.P.A., there is fear that public health is at risk. By  ERIC LIPTON OCT. 21, 2017  New York Times WASHINGTON — For years, the Environmental Protection Agency has struggled to prevent an ingredient once used in stain-resistant carpets and nonstick pans from  contaminating drinking water . The chemical,  perfluorooctanoic acid , or PFOA, has  been linked to  kidney cancer, birth defects, immune system disorders and other serious health problems. So scientists and administrators in the E.P.A.’s Office of Water were alarmed in late May when a top Trump administration appointee insisted upon the rewriting of a rule to make it harder to track the health consequences of the chemical, and therefore regulate it. The revision was among more than a dozen demanded by the appointee, Nancy B.
Read more

Donald Trump's Impeachable Offense

Donald Trump's Impeachable Offense The commander in chief’s calls to abridge freedoms of speech and the press represent attacks on the Constitution he swore to protect and defend. Conor Friedersdorf Oct 13, 2017 From The Atlantic Whereas  Donald J. Trump stood beneath American flags on the steps of the United States Capitol on January 20, 2017, placed his hand on a Bible, and  spoke these words : I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States; and will,   to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God. Whereas  the Constitution of the United States reads in part, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” W
Read more