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Measuring Pollution In Humans

Posted by Hemos on from the you-come-out-to-3.5%-filthy dept.

CHaN_316 writes "Scientists have begun measuring pollutants in our body and the results sound like a chemical clean-up site. They've found things such as flame retardants, chemicals derived from DDTs, mercury, uranium, cotinine, and many more. The concern is a lot of this stuff is ending up in mother's milk. But hey, at least in the event of spontaneous combustion, I'll be partially protected."

7 of 423 comments (clear)

  1. Prevention? Antidote? by Locky · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Drink more Water.

    1. Re:Prevention? Antidote? by miracle69 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Except for the fact that our water is one of the main reasons that expected lifespan has exploded over the past 100 years. I mean, when was the last time 50% of the population in a U.S. community under 10 died from cholera?

      When you're expected to live to 75 and you're worried about the quality of the stuff that allows you to live that long, perhaps the problem is that you *ARE* living that long.

      --
      Linux - Because Mommy taught me to Share.
    2. Re:Prevention? Antidote? by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This might be an opportune time to mention the campaign to Do Something about the growing danger posed by dihydrogen monoxide in the environment and in our very bodies.

      This substance (H2O) has an even more obscure name in the IUPAC chemical naming system: "ozane" (H-saturated oxygen). It is so rarely used you can't even find it in Google.

      "Trihydrogen mononitride" (NH3) has its own IUPAC name too: "azane".

  2. Healthy future ... by foobsr · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Milloy noted that despite all the chemicals, the overall U.S. population is living longer and healthier.

    I do not know about the U.S., but things are different in Germany.

    [QUOTE]
    Overweight & Diabetes in Germany Due to overweight, obesity and inactive lifestyles, the number of people with diabetes is set to double from five million to 10 million in Germany in the next 10 years, doctors warned at a meeting of the German Society for Internal Medicine in Wiesbaden this week. Most worrying is the number of young people who are developing type 2 diabetes because of obesity. Unlike type 1 diabetes - an autoimmune disease that usually develops in children or young adults - type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity and lifestyle, and has traditionally been seen in mainly middle-aged and older adults.
    [UNQUOTE] ( c.f. here )

    CC.

    --
    TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
    1. Re:Healthy future ... by TheSync · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I bet in 1991 people started to stop smoking in large numbers...

      It is not suprising that cancer rates increase as the population lives longer, as if you don't die from other things, eventually a chance mutation, virus provided oncogene, and/or telomere shortening will begin carcinogenesis.

      If you look at countries with very low life expectancy, cancer rates are very low as well.

    2. Re:Healthy future ... by Smidge204 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Are infant deaths factored into life expectancy calculations?

      http://mathworld.wolfram.com/LifeExpectancy.html

      Seems to me that at least the above method has a built-in correction. That they are actually measuring is the number of people (% of population) who die within age catagory x. If x is ages 30-40, then it has decreased in the past 100 years. If x is 70-80, then it has increased in the past 100 years.

      The conclusion is that more people are reaching the 70-80 age group, and therefore people pn average are living longer.

      At least that's my understanding...
      =Smidge=

  3. Flame retardant example by plinius · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A recent article in Science News (a journal) described how one class of flame retardants called PBDEs are more common in the US than in Europe and how blood levels in Americans are on average 10 times higher. It also says there may be a link to ADD, which is also more common in the US. Maybe your next futon should be an organic one?