Mother's Mutated Milk

Mother's Mutated Milk
Current mood: distressed

Generally I classify the P-I as entertainment, not journalism. However, every once in awhile you come across a story like this which teaches you something new.

I've been aware of PCB's and their lovely carcinogenic nature for some time now. But I was unaware of the problem PBDE's are causing, and how, unlike PCBs, there are no current regulations controlling their use and disposal.

PolyBromylDiEthanide. Yep, that's what they are---flame retardants used in many common products. Sounds pretty nasty. I learned about "bioaccumulation" in my environmental science class last quarter, which is basically why mammals in particular are so susceptible to cancers and other diseases caused by pollution. You see, chemicals like PCBs and PBDEs are stored in mammalian fatty tissue, and they accumulate over time. This is the reason why Puget Sound Orca Whales are the most polluted animals in the world---they live for decades, which allows plenty of time for accumulation; and, they have plenty of fatty tissue to store the stuff. And here in our area, with the majority of the country's air force for WWII being built right down the street by Boeing, there was massive amounts of this shit dumped into our local waterways. Thanks Boeing. (Although in their defense they had no idea in the 40s that this stuff was harmful----kinda like cigarettes). 60 years means nothing to these chemicals. They never go away and are still just as potent as they were back then.

In a sick twist of nature, female mammals expunge these contaminants through their BREAST MILK!!!! Shit! (and sorry, guys, but we NEVER expunge ours. This is one of the many reasons why females have longer lifespans than males)

We rely on our industry to keep our Sacred Economy running. But, ironically, our short-sightedness regarding its long-term effects is hurting the very people we claim to want to protect the most---our children. Now, I neither have nor want any of my own, but I do wonder what sorts of lovely cocktails I was consuming as an infant. I may not have grown up in this area with Boeing nearby, but a good chunk of the nation's nuclear and chemical weapon testing was done in the western Utah desert over the past 50 years, only a few hundred miles from Salt Lake. So I'm sure I got a good dose of something tasty.

The dirty environment affects all. The days of the "treehugger" stereotype are long, long, gone. There's been a lot of talk in the press recently about cancer, with the recent diagnoses of some prominent people. I'm sick of talking about a "cure." Shouldn't we be talking about why so many people are getting cancer in the first place? It's way too easy to just blame smokers. I think we should start blaming the Boeings and the Dow Chemicals and the General Electrics of the world.

Currently listening :
Lost Horizons
By Lemon Jelly
Release date: 22 October, 2002