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« Message Received: Growing organics in the Fairness Amendment | Main | America's schools have a pesticide problem »

The Onion on pollutants in people

By Amanda

Oh, The Onion. From an article titled EPA Warns Human Beings No Longer Biodegradable, snip:

WASHINGTON, DC—The Environmental Protection Agency issued a bulletin Tuesday warning the bodies of American citizens, with their large concentrations of artificial, synthetic, and often toxic substances, have been reclassified as industrial waste.

Funny! Except that it's not. From EWG's Body Burden Report:

In a study spearheaded by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in collaboration with Commonweal, researchers at two major laboratories found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in umbilical cord blood from 10 babies born in August and September of 2004 in U.S. hospitals. Tests revealed a total of 287 chemicals in the group. The umbilical cord blood of these 10 children, collected by Red Cross after the cord was cut, harbored pesticides, consumer product ingredients, and wastes from burning coal, gasoline, and garbage.

Read the rest of The Onion article and snicker, then check out EWG's Human Toxome Project to learn more about the pollution in people.

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