This is just an excerpt on a website devoted to POPs and what they are....... Persistent Organic Pollutants: A Global Issue, A Global Response Studies have linked POPs exposures to declines, diseases, or abnormalities in a number of wildlife species, including certain kinds of fish, birds, and mammals. Wildlife also can act as sentinels for human health: abnormalities or declines detected in wildlife populations can sound an early warning bell for people. Behavioral abnormalities and birth defects in fish, birds, and mammals in and around the Great Lakes, for example, led scientists to investigate POPs exposures in human populations (see below for more information on the Great Lakes). In people, reproductive, developmental, behavioral, neurologic, endocrine, and immunologic adverse health effects have been linked to POPs. People are mainly exposed to POPs through contaminated foods. Less common exposure routes include drinking contaminated water and direct contact with the chemicals. In people and other mammals alike, POPs can be transferred through the placenta and breast milk to developing offspring. It should be noted, however, that despite this potential exposure, the known benefits of breast-feeding far outweigh the suspected risks. A number of populations are at particular risk of POPs exposure, including people whose diets include large amounts of fish, shellfish, or wild foods that are high in fat and locally obtained. For example, indigenous peoples may be particularly at risk because they observe cultural and spiritual traditions related to their diet. To them, fishing and hunting are not sport or recreation, but are part of a traditional, subsistence way of life, in which no useful part of the catch is wasted. In remote areas of Alaska and elsewhere, locally obtained subsistence food may be the only readily available option for nutrition (see below for more information on the Arctic). In addition, sensitive populations, such as children, the elderly, and those with suppressed immune systems, are typically more susceptible to many kinds of pollutants, including POPs. Because POPs have been linked to reproductive impairments, men and women of child-bearing age may also be at risk. http://www.epa.gov/international/toxics/pop.html#affect
I always thought Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was a great book, however, it was really a book about the ability to analytically detect chemicals in the early 1960's. Proof of damage is another thing entirely and was poorly represented. The EPA is propagandizing this stuff to justify bullying chemical companies with fines. Hopefully, they will be defunded in the next administration.
That's not why I posted it.. these things never go away once they are combined for use in industrial applications.. Industry spends billions in trying to dispose of them safely. There is a new technology coming own the pike that will break this stuff down into original elements and rare earth sorts of things. .. so it will be safe and resold to industry.
What a coincidence. This is going around - saw it another message board this morning. I'm not saying it's not legit, not at all, but perhaps talking points have been issued. Is the EPA trying to validate itself? Hmmmmm In politics, there are no coincidences.
Nowhere in this piece does it mention either toxic concentrations or actual observed concentrations of the alleged toxins - some of which have not been used in the US for three decades. Sounds like the EPA trying to find a new crusade to justify its continued existence. Does anybody think there is the remotest possibility of getting the Chinese or Indians on-board with this? Why don't they lead the way for a change?
about as much of a chance as they do of having them cut their CO2 emissions Forget the EPA, this smells more like another attempt to shift power to the Indians and Chinese since Kypto got the ball rolling for them still at least this one makes sense to a degree, unlike the CO2 scam
The EPA served a purpose from 1970 to about 1976. By then they had effected a lot of improvement. Rather than being satisfied with really good results at moderate price, they have since sought ever-smaller improvements at ever-increasing cost. As a result, the economy is wrecked.
