The Story of Stuff - Annie Leonard [64]
This information gets overwhelming fast. Thank goodness some activists have created powerful resources that enable us to inform ourselves and to push for change. The Environmental Working Group created and maintains Skin Deep, a huge database of more than forty thousand products and their ingredients.129 You can enter in the name of many cosmetics and personal care products and find out what’s in them. Visit their site at cosmeticsdatabase.com so you can avoid as many chemicals as possible, especially if you are pregnant or planning on getting pregnant.
You can also look out for companies that have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, a pledge to replace ingredients linked to cancer, birth defects, and hormone disruption. More than one thousand companies have signed it to date.
For example, in making ethylene, which is needed to produce the plastic product polyethylene, the by-product propylene is created. If this byproduct can be put to use as a sink, or a raw material for something else, the cost of making ethylene goes way down. So inventors cast around for something to do with propylene and discovered it can be turned into something called acrylonitrile, which can be made into those acrylic outdoor carpets. And so acrylic outdoor carpeting was born as a substitute for natural ground covers.130 It’s not like we needed a replacement for mosses or grass and set our most brilliant minds to come up with one. Instead there was a strange backward development process, driven by profit.
TOXINS GET PERSONAL
In the summer of 2009, I had my own “body burden” tested to find out which of the chemicals that I’d been investigating for years were present in my own body.a The testing was organized by Commonweal’s Biomonitoring Resource Center and the results were analyzed by Dr. Ted Schettler from the Science and Environmental Health Network.
Not surprisingly, the test uncovered dozens of toxic chemicals, including heavy metals, pesticides, and the chemicals used in industrial production that are present in everyday items. While certain lifestyle choices, like avoiding nonstick pans and eating organic food, have likely reduced my exposure to some compounds, there is still a disturbingly high level of toxins inside me. Even more unsettling, no one can say for sure how they got there, because it’s impossible to link contaminants to a specific route of exposure. For example, although I avoided a toxic source like a vinyl raincoat, I may have been exposed to the same chemicals it contains and offgases—through the air, the water, or my food.
Here is an overview of some of the chemicals in my body, along with some of their most widely known sources:
Bisphenol A (BPA)—BPA is an endocrine disruptor, which means that it can interfere with the body’s hormones. It causes a variety of health problems, particularly to the reproductive system. BPA is used in many everyday products from baby bottles to plastic water bottles to the linings of most canned food containers. When buying your refillable water bottle, make sure to check for the BPA-free label.
Lead—(see pages 73–74) a neurotoxin that was once widely used in gasoline and paint and is still used in many consumer products, from lipstick to electronics to children’s toys.
Perflorinated compounds (PFCs)b—a probable cause of many cancers as well as liver and kidney damage, and reproductive problems, PFCs are used to make Stuff resist sticking and staining. They are found in microwavable popcorn bags, Teflon pans, and in some waterproof clothing and carpets.
Triclosan—linked to endocrinological problems, asthma, and allergies in animal studies. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has listed triclosan as “could be” and “suspected to be” contaminated with dioxins.c Triclosan is used in many antibacterial products including soaps, cosmetics, household cleaners,