Sounds like another good reason to go vegan...!!! Have the legumes been polluted yet?
plants have feelings, too? Plantimals? Rand on 8/11/04 1:26 PM, Will Affleck-Asch at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > ------ forwarded message ------ > Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 13:59:56 -0600 > From: Teresa Binstock <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Tainted chinook found in wild - Fish testing shows wide spread of > chemicals used as fire retardant - > polybrominated diphenyl ethers aka PBDEs > > Tainted chinook found in wild > Fish testing shows wide spread of chemicals used as fire retardant > > Tuesday, August 10, 2004 > By LISA STIFFLER > SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER > http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/185566_salmon10.html > > The king of fish -- wild chinook salmon -- is turning up tainted with > industrial-strength fire-retardant chemicals in the Pacific Northwest, > showing just how far the compounds have spread in the environment. > > Wild chinook tested in Oregon and British Columbia had levels of the > chemicals -- polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs -- that were as > high or higher than farmed salmon, according to a global study released > today. > > The research was the latest blow to the good-for-your-body reputation of > salmon, which is packed with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. A prior > study by the same researchers recently found troubling levels of PCBs, a > known carcinogen, in farm-raised salmon. > > Although PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, have been banned for > decades, their chemical cousin, PBDEs, are still in production around > the world. Bans in Europe, California and Maine will kick in over the > next few years, and U.S. manufacturers voluntarily are stopping > production of some forms of the fire retardant. > > For now, though, PBDEs are still being added to a long list of common > household and workplace items -- from computers and other electronic > gear to foam seat cushions and synthetic fabrics. > > And evidence is mounting that the chemicals in the products are being > released into the environment at an alarming rate. > > The toxicity of PBDEs isn't fully understood, but the fish-contamination > study concerns health officials and environmentalists. > > "The bottom line here is pointing out ... we have a problem with PBDEs," > said Rob Duff, director of the Washington Health Department's Office of > Environmental Health Assessment. "They're rising in the environment. The > levels are getting up there." > > PBDEs can harm neurological development and function in babies and young > children -- just like mercury and PCBs, Duff said. > > Besides chinook, other locally caught wild salmon -- coho, chum, sockeye > and pink -- generally had lower levels of the fire retardant than their > farmed counterparts, according to the study. > > Among the farm-raised salmon tested, Washington fish were the least > contaminated, with concentrations of the chemicals at slightly more than > 1 part per billion. That's lower than the same fish tested in Europe, > Canada, the East Coast and Chile. The highest levels were in Scotland, > where the fish tested at almost 4 ppb. > > On average, wild fish were less contaminated, with two exceptions: > chinook from Oregon and British Columbia, which tested at more than 2 > ppb and 4 ppb, respectively. > > It's unclear exactly how the PBDEs leach out of products, but they've > have been turning up in everything from household dust to women's breast > milk. > > "Add this study to the mounting evidence that shows the PBDEs are in the > environment and moving up the food chain," said Ivy Sager-Rosenthal of > People for Puget Sound, an environmental group. > > The results being published today in the Environmental Science and > Technology journal come from a continued analysis of the 2 tons of fish > examined in the PCB study. > > In both studies, the scientists generally found that farmed fish were > more contaminated than wild fish. But the fact that the local chinook > were as contaminated with PBDEs as the farmed variety "was a real > surprise to us," said the study's lead author, Ronald Hites, a professor > at Indiana University. > > Studies of Puget Sound chinook and coho also have shown levels of PCBs > on par with farmed fish. > > Besides Hites, the study involved researchers from Cornell University, > the University at Albany, the Midwest Center for Environmental Science > and Public Policy and AXYS Analytical Services. > > The source of PBDE contamination is likely the salmon's food. Farmed > fish eat a fish meal made from ground-up smaller fish, and chinook also > eat smaller fish. The other salmon species generally eat lower on the > food chain, feeding on jellyfish and plankton. Pollutants such as PBDEs, > PCBs and mercury tend to build up in animals, concentrating in organisms > higher on the food chain, such as orcas and people. > > Unlike other pollutants, there are no dietary recommendations > restricting how much PBDE is safe for people to eat. > > Health authorities and scientists urged people to continue eating fish, > which is a good source of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids. > > PBDEs and PCBs concentrate in the fatty tissue of the fish, so removing > the skin and using cooking methods that allow fat to drip off can reduce > exposure. > > People can follow state and federal dietary recommendations based on > mercury and PCB contamination in fish and generally will be protected > from the harmful effects of fire-retardant chemicals, Duff said. > > European countries already have banned two of the main forms of PBDEs, > and U.S. manufacturers have promised to take them off the market by the > end of this year. That leaves one form -- deca PBDE -- still in production. > > The forms of fire retardants most frequently found in salmon were the > ones slated for phase-out, said Peter O'Toole, spokesman for the Bromine > Science and Environmental Forum, an organization representing chemical > manufacturers. > > "The logical projection is the levels will decrease over time." > > Research on laboratory animals has shown that PBDEs can disrupt thyroid > hormones, which can affect the developing brain and have other harmful > effects. Newborn mice exposed to PBDEs have learning and motor-skill > problems. At least one form of the chemical is known to be carcinogenic. > > It appears that the flame retardants naturally and gradually leave the > human body over time. > > Next month, the state Ecology Department plans to release a draft > version of a plan to reduce PBDEs. Public comment will be accepted for > 30 days after that. > > "These things shouldn't be out in the environment when we don't know > what their effects are," Sager-Rosenthal said. > > © 1998-2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer > > The material in this post is distributed without profit to those > who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included > information for research and educational purposes. > For more information go to: > http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html > <http://oregon.uoregon.edu/%7Ecsundt/documents.htm> > http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm > <http://oregon.uoregon.edu/%7Ecsundt/documents.htm> > If you wish to use copyrighted material from this email for > purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission > from the copyright owner. > >
