{"id":445,"date":"2020-02-25T21:24:26","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T21:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cleanthehousatonic.com\/?page_id=445"},"modified":"2020-03-02T16:04:25","modified_gmt":"2020-03-02T16:04:25","slug":"health-effects","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cleanthehousatonic.com\/?page_id=445","title":{"rendered":"HEALTH EFFECTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

In much the same way we had to push GE and the EPA and the Massachusetts agencies to fully recognize the extent of the PCB contamination, we had to pressure them to acknowledge the significant numbers of GE employees, and local residents who were suffering adverse health effects from their exposure to PCBs.<\/span><\/p>\n

We began first by listening to those who worked with PCBs, those who lived with them, the residents who had played in contaminated soil, those who watched their friends and neighbors die too soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

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We asked Lakewood residents to stick a pin into a neighborhood map if they or any of their relatives had developed or died from cancer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Those who worked at GE breathed in the persistent fumes, stuck their arms up to their elbows in PCB oil, slogged through a foot of PCB oil on the floor. The men and women who worked with transformers and capacitors were never offered the option of changing out of their everyday clothes for more protective uniforms. And so they came home with oil-soaked clothes which went into the family washing machine with all the other clothes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lakewood residents shared with us the smell of heated PCB oil that hung over their neighborhood. Meanwhile Puff the Magic Dragon burned the PCB oil that was being pumped up from the underground plume\/lake that was located beneath their neighborhood. A GE worker told us that the incinerator burned so hot it had destroyed the sensor that was to register what was coming out of the stack. Depending on the weather and the wind, the smoke would linger atop the Newell Street neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those plumes ion PCB-contaminated oil infiltrated the basements of local businesses and homes. Deno Renieri, a retired GE worker, lived up the block from the plant on Newell Street, bordering the Housatonic. He took the sewer cover off to show Mickey Friedman the lake of oil that had migrated from Building 100 to the River.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Over the course of forty years we’ve watched as scientists better appreciated the damage PCBs and dioxins did and better understood that even the smallest dose of exposure was dangerous. Here are some facts to consider.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the World Health Organization: “Dioxins and dioxin-like substances, including PCBs, are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) covered by the Stockholm Convention. They can travel long distances from the source of emission, and bioaccumulate in food chains.<\/span>
\nHuman exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like substances has been associated with a range of toxic effects, including chloracne; reproductive, developmental and neurodevelopmental effects; immunotoxicity; and effects on thyroid hormones, liver and tooth development. They are also carcinogenic. Developmental effects in males are the most sensitive toxic end-point, making children \u2013 particularly breastfed infants \u2013 the population most at risk.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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https:\/\/www.who.int\/ipcs\/assessment\/public_health\/dioxins\/en\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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The Center for Health, Environment & Justice, in its\u00a0<\/span>PCBs Factsheet offers some insight into the<\/span>
\nhealth effects of PCBs, including concern about exposure in our schools: “<\/span>The manufacture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was stopped by the U.S. federal government in 1977 because of their harmful health effects and because PCBs are extremely persistent and last for decades in the environment. Unfortunately, PCBs remain in various forms in buildings created before 1979, such as PCB oils in school lighting ballast fixtures.<\/span><\/p>\n

People are exposed to PCBs by three routes, ingestion such as eating PCB-contaminated fish, skin or dermal absorption and inhalation when PCB\u2019s off-gas into the air. In schools, the most important route of exposure is inhalation as PCBs evaporate into the air. For instance, in New York City, some schools were found to have PCB concentrations in the air as high as 670,000 parts per million. Dr. David Carpenter, a national expert on PCBs, told the New York City Department of Education that \u201cthe health effects associated with exposure of children, teachers and school staff are serious and merit immediate removal of these sources of contamination.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Health Effects of PCBs<\/span>
\nA growing number of studies have found serious health effects from exposure to PCBs.<\/span>
\nCancer:<\/strong> PCBs are likely to cause cancer and are classified as a \u201cprobable carcinogen\u201d by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. In addition, a study found children\u2019s risk of developing acute lymphocytic leukemia, increased by two-fold when PCBs were detected in the dust of a room in which the child spent a significant amount of time.<\/span>
\nImmune System:<\/strong> PCBs suppress the immune system and thyroid function.<\/span>
\nHeart Disease:<\/strong> PCBs cause an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes. Hormonal Impacts: PCBs can alter the sex hormone systems, and have been found to lower the age at which a girl reaches puberty \u00a0and can reduce the levels of the male hormone, testosterone.<\/span>
\nAsthma:<\/strong> PCBs cause an overall increased risk of asthma and other infectious respiratory diseases. More specifically, children have an increased risk of asthma and other infectious respiratory diseases when exposed to persistent organic pollutants, including PCBs.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nBirth Weight & Infant Motor Skills:<\/strong> Women who are exposed to PCBs have babies that weigh slightly less\u00a0than babies from women who have not been exposed. In addition, children born to women who ate PCB- contaminated foods have abnormal responses in tests of infant behavior, including problems with motor skills and a decrease in short-term memory.<\/span>
\nAbility to Learn:<\/strong> PCBs are associated with cognitive problems and a reduction in the ability to learn and remember. For example, children who are exposed to PCBs before birth through maternal consumption of PCB contaminated fish were found to have a 6.2-point IQ deficit as compared to non-exposed children. Other studies have reported reduced alertness and increased tiredness in association with PCBs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0http:\/\/chej.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Health-Effects-of-PCBs-Fact-Sheet.pdf<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Health Effects of Environmental Endocrine Disrupters<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The greater an individual’s exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs), the greater the risk of chronic disease, with the most concern for children, pregnant women, and anyone with a compromised immune system.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

By Amy Hess-Fischl MS, RD, LDN, BC-ADM, CDE and Jodi Godfrey, MS, RD With Vincenzo Marotta, MD<\/span><\/p>\n

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are environmental chemicals that mimic, block, or interfere with hormones in the body. Increasing exposure to\u00a0 EDCs over the past 20 years appear responsible for the growing number of people with infertility, diabetes, early onset of puberty in girls and early menopause in women, cancer, birth defects, and neurobehavioral disorders, according to a statement issued by the Endocrine Society and IPEN, a global network of more than 500 public interest NGOs in more than 100 countries around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

These environmental toxins have been found in our air, water, and soil as well as in a range of household products, including children\u2019s toys, furniture, and beauty products.\u00a0<\/span>While it is not clear exactly how many EDCs exist, the most common EDCs include:<\/span><\/p>\n