Toxic chemicals are rapidly on the
increase, exposing our bodies by food, air and water.
According to Herbert L. Needleman, M.C. and Philip J. Landrigan, M.D. in
their book Raising Children Toxic Free, Since 1950, at least 70,000 new
chemical compounds have been invented and dispersed into our environment
through new consumer commodities, industrial products, and food. Only a
fraction of these have been tested for human toxicity. We are, by default,
conducting a massive clinical toxicological trial. And our children and
their children are the experimental animals.
You may feel there is not a lot you can do as an individual, whilst large
manufacturers are contributing to the pollution by dumping into rivers and
lakes. But did you know that your home is the number one source of toxic
chemicals?
A study by the EPA, conducted over a fifteen-year period, found that women
who worked at home had a 54% higher death rate from cancer than women who
had jobs away from home.
Many products are assumed to be safe and are allowed to be sold in the
marketplace without adequate testing. Of the 17,000 chemicals that appear
in common household products, only 30% have been adequately tested for
their negative effects on our health; less than 10% have been tested for
their effect on the nervous system and nothing is known about the combined
effects of these chemicals when mixed within our bodies. (World Resources
Institute, The 1994 Information Please Environmental Almanac).
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Its amazing what we dont know CAN
hurt us. Many household products dont require labelling. Products like
pesticides only have to include active ingredients, even though the inert
ingredients may account for up to 99% of the product and even if there are
toxins or poisons like DDT in them. The inert ingredients can be just as
harmful as the active ingredients!
More children under four die of accidental poisonings at home than are
accidentally killed with guns at home. (National Safety Council).
At Lakshmi’s
Circle in Kyneton, I stock primarily organic and natural products. Some facial
and body products include Pure Earth Natural Personal Care, Nature’s Creations,
and Mere Dream. These products don’t contain SLS, synthetic ingredients, animal
derivatives, petroleum by-products or any other harmful ingredients. For more
information, email Sue:
fengsue@netcon.net.au. |
