Reviewing the Louisville Charter for Safer Chemicals was a ray of light in this dark, cloudy pollutant-filled sky. It's uplifting to see hope that policies are being proposed to correct the careless and widespread use of chemicals in our environment.
I reviewed Background Paper #2: Phase Out Persistent, Bioaccumulative, or Highly Toxic Chemicals. Having researched dioxin, or specifically TCDD, for my literature review I am particularly interested in the upcoming efforts to restrict toxins like TCDD from use. The fact that this paper can site the struggle it took to get court approval to ban asbestos is unnerving. The courts would not ban it and claimed there was insufficient evidence to prove the control action of the chemical. After reading multiple papers on TCDD and its effect on fertility, the research is there and the effect is known. What is still missing is the mechanism by which TCDD acts. We know MS effects neurons and leads to disability and premature death over time, but still do not know specifically by what cellular mechanism. We need to stop introducing new chemicals INTO the environment and only approve them when these mechanisms are understood. Not the other way around!
Thanks for reading my rant :)
Completely agree with you! It completely blows my mind that people are seeing past the hard core evidence that these chemicals are toxic and allowing them to be persistent in our environment. Hopefully one day (probably in the far future) this will change.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same background paper i reviewed too. I researched POPs in breast milk for the lit review and it still amazes me how we let these chemicals get into our food source and home environment.
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