EPA vs. NYC Schools

So the city of New York is apparently “downplaying” the potential danger of PCB contamination in schools, and as a result the EPA is planning to inspect classrooms for potential dangers. Apparently the city says claims that there is no danger, and that to fix the problem would cause the layoffs of 15,000 teachers. And there’s more:
“the city's estimate(s) that it would cost $1 billion to replace the aging fluorescent lighting fixtures that are the chief suspects of PCB contamination in schools.
The EPA has recommended the city immediately begin removing the older fixtures suspected of leaking PCBs, or polychlorinated byphenyls, a potentially cancer-causing chemical linked to numerous other health problems, including reproductive and immune disorders. PCBs were often used in construction and electrical components starting in the 1950s, but were banned in 1978.
The city contends there is little scientific evidence to show that inhaled PCBs like those in the schools pose an immediate health risk. “
I find all of this hard to swallow. I know schools have tight budgets, along with numerous other problems, but I find it hard to believe that replacing the light bulbs in their schools would cost $1 billion, as they estimate.
And even if it did, then I’d challenge them to figure out how many new PCB-free schools they could build instead for a billion dollars. Either way, you can’t put a price on the health of children.

Test Kits for Everyone

While talking about Wikileaks in school today, I started wondering if there was some way I could cheaply test my environment for toxic chemicals such as PCBs and report them to the authorites. The best answer I could find was not ideal, and required you to send samples to a lab for $100. Another that I found actually sends you a kit and lets you test your pee to see how much exposure you've had to the list of items below, and costs $197. It has taken me almost three months to save $120.

Mercury
Arsenic
Lead
Dioxins
Polyvinylcholide
Damage from Alcohol
Pesticides
Toxicity from Prescription Drugs

I've heard that the toilets in Japan will test your pee for pH and sugar levels. With all our advances in technology, we should be able to test ourselves daily for exposure to toxins. Grocery stores should test samples of their foods. Sushi restaurants should test for mercury. Too bad businesses don't have enough money to take such life improving steps to clean up, and keep the earth clean.

Monsanto documentary

There’s an interesting documentary from Germany about a Canadian farmer who’s in a legal battle with Monsanto. Neighboring farms were using Monsanto-patented seeds, some of which were carried by the wind into his crops. Now Monsanto is suing him for patent infringement.

The pink-cheeked, plainspoken Schmeiser tells how he first discovered that genetically modified canola seeds were infiltrating his crop — only to get sued by the seeds' designer, Monsanto, for patent infringement. Sounds crazy, yes, but it gets a zillion times worse: Monsanto actually won a $400,000 judgment against Schmeiser, and, when the farmer refused to give up the fight, the company sued him again, this time demanding $1 million. Schmeiser was forced to fight all the way to the Canadian Supreme Court, and even then, his victory was Pyrrhic at best: Monsanto's canola seeds have taken over North America.

It’s not available on Netflix, but there are speeches and other bits about him on youtube and vimeo. You can also get the movie off of his website.

Bad news and good news

Milk that contains recombinant bovine growth hormone (rGBH) has been shown to cause an increase in carcinogenic hormones. This kind of milk has been banned throughout Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The US is one of very few countries that allow it. The state of Ohio took it a step further and had a ban on labels that identified milk produced without the use of bovine growth hormones, thanks to the work of Monsanto, the company that created these genetically engineered hormones.

I want to repeat that because it’s the opposite of what you would expect of our government: the law that was passed doesn’t keep dangerous hormones from being put into cows that produce the milk we drink. The law deliberately keeps us uninformed about whether or not there are dangerous hormones in the milk we drink.

So the good news: Last month, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals . This is good not only because now people in Ohio can know whether or not they’re getting milk with dangerous hormones in it; it also “a legal opinion based on scientific evidence submitted for the Court’s consideration that confirms what many of us have long suspected: milk from hormone-treated cows is in fact not only a different product than milk from untreated cows, but it is also potentially damaging to our health.”

And if you’re worried about whether your milk has rBGH, just follow the steps listed in the post I linked above:

Buy milk from local farmers whose names you know and whose kids go to school with yours, or buy milk produced by authentic organic dairies.

Every time you go into the grocery store, and milk is on your list, find a manager and ask, “Was this milk produced with rBGH or rBST?” If the answer is “I don’t know” or “yes,” tell the manager you refuse to buy it and that you’ve asked your friends not to buy it either.

Milk has a short shelf life. If we don’t buy it, the people who produce and sell it lose money. Once they start losing money, we’ve got their attention. Only then will they begin to listen.

Some inspiration from the field

I’m not the biggest football fan, but I came across this really uplifting article about a former NFL player that had non-hodgkin’s.

Merril Hoge played for the Steelers, and has a new book about his experiences in the NFL.

“From a young age, Merril knew it would be up to him to act on his dreams. He suffered abuse at the hand of his father, lost his mother at age 19, and was considered “too small and too slow” to play professional football.

He proved his critics wrong. Merril played eight seasons in the NFL before retiring in 1995 after a series of concussions. But in 2003, he faced his biggest challenge of all: cancer. Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Merril took on chemotherapy with the same tenacity that got him to the NFL.”

Now Hoge is a commentator on ESPN. It’s really heartening to hear success stories about people suffering with this kind of cancer. I’m thinking about putting together a list of people who have or had non-Hodgkin’s. If you know of anyone famous, feel free to let me know.

Contaminated Schools

Last week I posted about schools in Alaska that were contaminated with PCBs. Today I came across a story about a television show that is going to follow “students, teachers and the community working together to renovate aging and broken public schools.” The article in question makes much of the fact that construction can release contaminants into the air and generally make it unsafe for habitation.

While I don’t think the show covers any of that subject, it did make me realize that this isn’t just a problem for Alaska schools. When I think back to my elementary days, I remember the school buildings seeming old even then. They were probably filled with PCBs and other contaminants. It’s a wonder really, that there aren’t more of us suffering like my sister.

Chemo Fog is a Serious Bummer

Chemo fog aka chemo brain aka cognitive dysfunction aka post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment ...

Whatever you call it, it sucks. Chemo fog refers to the memory problems cancer survivors experience after chemotherapy treatments. Approximately 20-30% of chemo patients end up with chemo fog. According to Mayo Clinic, very little is understood about this bizarre condition. According to chemofog.net, scientists have attributed the following cognitive changes to chemo treatments:

• Word finding. You might find yourself reaching for the right word in conversation.
• Memory. You might experience short-term memory lapses, such as not remembering where you put your keys or what you were supposed to buy at the store.
• Multitasking. Many jobs require you to manage multiple tasks during the day. Multitasking is important at work as well as at home — for example, talking with your kids and making dinner at the same time. Chemotherapy may affect how well you’re able to perform multiple tasks at once.
• Learning. It might take longer to learn new things. For example, you might find you need to read paragraphs over a few times before you get the meaning.
• Processing speed. It might take you longer to do tasks that were once quick and easy for you.

If you are close to someone who is going through chemo, or recovering from treatments, be sensitive to this issue. They are most likely aware that something's not up to snuff, but for the time being, they are relatively helpless over it. Ginkgo biloba is a natural memory enhancer, and may be a useful dietary supplement for those suffering the dreaded chemo fog.