Independent research identifies cancer-causing chemicals in food packaging, fabric coatings
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer

(NaturalNews) An independent scientific panel has determined that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C-8, a commercial substance produced by chemical giant DuPont, causes kidney and testicular cancer in humans. And because of how pervasive this chemical is -- more than 99 percent of Americans have PFOA in their blood -- the consumer advocacy organization Environmental Working Group (EWG) is calling for the government to take action and stop ignoring the problem.

For more than 50 years, DuPont has been producing PFOAs for use in non-stick cookware, grease-resistant food packaging and stain-resistant furniture, carpeting and clothing. But this pervasive chemical continues to be exposed as a deadly toxin that can cause very serious health problems, especially since it is now also being found in drinking water supplies nationwide.

In 2009, individuals living near DuPont factories where PFOA was being produced filed a class action lawsuit against the company for poisoning their water. After ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, a U.S. District Court judge ordered that DuPont establish a scientific assessment panel to appraise the environmental and human health damage caused by PFOA exposure.

Unable to stack the panel with its own biased scientists, DuPont was forced to have its PFOA chemicals honestly and independently scrutinized. And the end result was a complete stripping of the emperor, so to speak, as PFOAs were revealed to be highly toxic poisons capable of literally destroying the human body.

"Widespread pollution by PFOA should be a wake-up call that our chemical regulation system is severely broken," said Olga V. Naidenko, Ph.D., a senior scientist at EWG. "It is particularly urgent for the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a legal limit for drinking water pollution by PFOA, which is currently unregulated and never should have come to market."

Full phase-out of PFOA production in the U.S. will not commence until 2015, and its replacements will not be safety tested before approval
Though DuPont has agreed to phase out the production and use of PFOAs, this will not transpire fully until 2015. In the meantime, millions of Americans, including young children in their critical developmental years, will continue to be exposed to this unregulated, untested chemical, which besides causing cancer is also linked to cholesterol problems http://www.naturalnews.com/029676_PFOA_non-stick_cookware.html) and immune system degradation http://www.naturalnews.com).

But PFOA production still be allowed to continue in other countries. And its replacement chemicals here at home will not be required to undergo safety and environmental testing prior to their approval, which means new chemicals even more dangerous that PFOAs could potentially come to market in their place.

You see, federal law does not require that chemicals undergo safety and environmental testing prior to being approved -- the EPA literally just approves new chemicals based on empty promises made by their manufacturers. This is why EWG and many other groups continue to push for regulatory reform that will mandate independent safety testing of chemicals before they are even considered for approval.

"The current law is so toothless that the Environmental Protection Agency could not use it to ban asbestos," says EWG about the failed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. "Since its enactment, tens of thousands of untested chemicals (like PFOA) have come into use, and more appear daily."

As a solution, EWG is pushing for passage of the Safe Chemicals Act, which would reform TSCA and require proper safety testing of all chemicals before they come to market. Be sure to urge your Congressmen to cosponsor or support the Safe Chemicals Act by visiting:
http://action.ewg.org/t/1875/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26526

Sources for this article include:

http://ewg.org

http://www.beasleyallen.com




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We had an interesting thread some way back about the using over and over again of plastic water bottles. We have a habit of buying a pack of bottle waters every few weeks or so, and then refilling with tap water as and when necessary.

The interaction of the packaging with the food or water it contains definitely requires constant vigilance.

"The dangers of plastic containers to humans are magnified once they enter the environment. The same chemicals that can leach into human food, can leak into the soil, waterways and oceans when they are discarded, and according to the EPA "releases of BPA to the environment exceed 1 million pounds per year." According to the nonprofit Plastic Debris Rivers to Sea, up to 80 percent of ocean pollution is plastics. Plastics do not decompose into their constituent elements, rather they tend to break into smaller and smaller bits. The Algalita Marine Research Foundation tells the story of how, in the 1990s, researchers discovered a vast garbage patch of floating refuse in the Pacific Ocean. Additional garbage patches have been discovered since, where the weight of suspended plastic particles is six times greater than the weight of zooplankton, the base of the marine food chain. According to Algalita's video, "Synthetic Sea," a 2001 Japanese study has found that the small plastics in the ocean ingested by marine animals also tend to bind with toxins such as PCB, concentrating them up to one million times and thereby posing an even greater threat to marine animals."

www.livestrong.com

The most corrupt FDA refuses to ban BPA and gives reassurances to it's safety.
Personally, I would not be reassured by any corrupt FDA assurances...