Air Resources Brief

Pollutants commonly found in the air, water and food can weaken the brain, muscles, immune system, and other vital systems. In the USA, the average person's body already contains lead, mercury, PCBs, arsenic, and more than 100 other toxic substances in combinations that have never been tested for safety.  Lead and some other pollutants are unsafe at any level above zero because they weaken your immune system, making you more vulnerable to microbes and parasites.  

Your immune system is your first line of defense against bacteria and your only defense against viruses. Maintaining a strong immune system has become even more important because some bacteria have already become resistant to even the best antibiotics. A strong immune system can make the difference between staying healthy and getting sick when you are exposed to microbes.

Lung disease is the number three killer in America, responsible for one in seven deaths. Lung disease and other breathing problems are the number one killer of babies younger than one year old. Today, more than 28 million Americans are living with chronic lung disease such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Chemicals and Germs Together Increase Disease Risks

The issue of mixtures is complicated further by interactions now known to occur between contaminants and infectious agents [bacteria and viruses]. Large increases in disease risk can be associated with simultaneous exposure to contaminants and infectious agents. For example, Rothman and others[1] reported a greater than 20-fold increase in relative risk to non-Hodgkins Lymphoma with combined exposure to elevated (but still   background) PCBs and Epstein-Barr virus. The mechanism underlying this result is unknown, but is possibly due to well-established immune system impairment by PCBs. If this mechanism is widespread, then current estimates of morbidity and mortality due to contamination are likely to be unrealistically low. Immune system interference by a variety of contaminants is widely reported (for example, Baccarelli[2]).

1. Rothman, N., K. P. Cantor, A Blair, D Bush, JW Brock, K Helzlsouer, SH Zahm, LL Needham, GR Pearson, RN Hoover, GW Comstock, PT Strickland. 1997. A nested case-control study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and serum organochlorine residues. THE LANCET 350 (July 26): pgs. 240-244.
2. Baccarelli, A, P Mocarelli, DG Patterson Jr., M Bonzini, AC Pesatori, N Caporaso and MT Landi1. 2002. Immunologic Effects of
   Dioxin: New Results from Seveso and Comparison with Other Studies. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 110: pgs. 1169-1173.

A Very Unhealthy and Unappetizing Stew

The Washington Post
July 15, 2005

Unborn babies in the United States are soaking in a stew of chemicals, including mercury, gasoline byproducts and pesticides. The article was based on a report by the Environmental Working Group, which, after studying umbilical cord blood samples, found an average of 287 fetal contaminants. Rep. Louise Slaughter said, "If ever we had proof that our nation's pollution laws aren't working, it's reading the list of industrial chemicals in the bodies of babies who have not yet lived outside the womb."

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