Blog 6 - - - Section 31

Living Downstream

The use of toxic chemicals in our everyday lives might have greater impacts than originally thought. More research has to be done to identify the cause and point source of cancer causing chemicals. People have to realize that the environment plays a large role in caner causing problem, more than genetically inherited traits. Understanding the cause of cancer is one thing, but having the public awareness of the effects, symptoms, and how to check for the dieses is another. Cancer consists of a very settle change in the DNA structures, making it difficult to recognize and find solutions. In the case from the article, bladder cancer is started, or caused, from carcinogens making contact with the cell walls, most notably from aromatic amines. The use of many chemicals to do daily processes can cause major effects to the human body, some resulting in cancer. These effects are noticed usually in industrial settings, where large amounts of workers are suffering from similar problems. Aromatic amines affect vast amounts of people, from their surround environment, in small quantities. This type of carcinogen was also the first type to be discovered, due to the large effect on humans. This cancer relies on the environment to infect. For example 1/3 of this cancer is related to cigarette smoke, first or second hand. Also industrially contaminated water has be proven to be a large problem, even in trace amounts. The danger of using untested chemicals becomes apparent, as these cancers causing agents are used throughout the U.S., with little to no restriction, because until now the effects weren’t known. Current research efforts are working on finding hereditary and acquired cancer origins, and if they do have substantial impacts in increasing the chance of contracting cancer. People have the right to know about health risk, especially environmental hazard, like spring hill. Susceptible traits that are inherited tend to have a increased risk when facing a hazardous environment, greatly increasing the need of awareness. To grasp the problem with chemical pollution, one must look at the past, future, and present. The past provides information, and a understanding on how the impact today originated, and possibly the type of chemical. The present looks at human rights and the use of untested chemicals. Banning there use can prevent many unknown problems that can occur in future generations, in the same way the past is effect the present right now. This chemical contamination is a leading cause of death throughout the U.S., and solutions need to be found to prevent further pollution hazards. The use of the “principal of the least toxic alternative” ensures that the most environmentally friendly options/products will be used first before toxic alternatives are though of. Our views have to move from “how much toxic chemicals are acceptable”, to “What alternative ways are there instead”.

The use of toxic chemical is necessary in some setting, but a lot of the time are used and abused beyond their intended use. This kind of thinking takes away from the overall health of communities. Chemical need to be responsible used, as one bad choice today, may effect many generations in the future. The speed at which chemicals are being produce, so should the amount of proper disposal sites. More options and education of the options for dealing with unwanted chemical waste, will greatly reduce the illegal dumping, and corporations with government influence, to hide there expensive wastes. Providing education to dumpers, might make them realizes that harmless chemical apart might form deadly strains when combined. It is also important that testing should be done on chemical before they are released, to understand potential impacts of human and the natural environment. Safety should always be first.