Biomonitoring tests to check for chemicals in people always find them. It doesn't matter whether the people are old, young, newborn or even fetal, nor what their history is. Contamination is always found. It is therefore a virtual certainty that if I were to be tested, I would learn I was contaminated, too. Not to cause panic, but so would you.

This pollution of our bodies is thought by many scientists to be universal today. It goes by the name of body burden.

Where do the chemicals come from? They are used in a seemingly endless array of industrial applications and consumer products, including baby toys, air freshener, laundry detergent, shampoo, nail polish, food containers, rugs and furniture, to name a few.

And how do they get into our bodies? Through our food, tap and bottled water, indoor and outdoor air and many of the things we touch or put on our skin. Babies get them in the womb from their mothers. Hence, the phenomenon of infants starting life with chemicals already in their systems.

Given how ubiquitous chemicals are, the question is not really how they get into us, but whether there is any way to keep them out. I will get back to that.

Let's first talk about whether and how the chemicals might harm us. The chemical industry predictably claims they are safe. In reality, next to nothing is known about the vast majority of them. That's because our laws allow chemicals to go on the market without prior safety testing.

But we do know quite a bit about a few chemicals, and what we know is not reassuring. For instance:

• Phthalates have been linked to problems with reproductive system development in baby boys and to insulin resistance and obesity in adult men. They are used in a wide variety of cosmetic products, such as moisturizers, nail polish and baby powder; cleaning products; plastic food wraps; and toys, especially those made with PVC plastic. Other uses include medical equipment and building supplies.
• Bisphenol A (also known as BPA) has been linked to breast and prostate cancer, reproductive problems, diabetes and alteration of brain chemistry and behavioral changes. It is used in many household products, including plastic baby bottles, hard plastic sports bottles and metal food cans, which are often lined with plastic to prevent a metallic taste in food.
• PCBs, which were formerly used as electrical insulators, among other things, have been found to affect the immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems. They are also considered a probable carcinogen. Though their production in the U.S. was banned in 1979, these long-lasting chemicals continue to circulate in the environment and in the food chain. New releases also occur when old equipment made with PCBs is damaged or improperly disposed of.
• Dioxins, a byproduct of the manufacture and burning of chlorine products, can affect the cardiovascular, respiratory, immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems and cause cancer.

Other classes of chemicals shown to be toxic include PBDEs (used as flame retardants) and PFCs (used to repel water, stains and grease).

All the chemicals listed above are endocrine disruptors, meaning that they interfere with the workings of the endocrine -- or hormone -- system. Hormones are our bodies' chemical messengers. They tell cells to start or stop carrying out key functions at the proper time. While key to basic body functioning throughout our lives, they are particularly important to fetal development. During the nine months in which a baby takes shape, an exquisitely timed orchestra of these chemical signals ensures that the baby's body develops as it should. Any tampering with the type or timing of the signals can have tragic consequences, from cancers that emerge later in life to missing body parts. They can also affect the brain and behavior.

The years directly leading up to puberty, when hormones again play a major role in body development, may be another time when people are particularly sensitive to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

So, how can you protect yourself, your children and your children-to-be?

Unfortunately, moving somewhere remote is not, in itself, an answer. Many chemicals are highly mobile and resistant to breakdown. Over the last few decades, they have spread on wind and water currents to every corner of the globe, including the most pristine places.

However, your personal practices can make a difference in your LEVEL of exposure, not just to endocrine disruptors but to other toxins that humans are spewing out into the environment. These steps, in particular, can help:

•  Buy organic foods as much as possible. If cost is an issue, focus on the produce that will make the most difference, along with milk if you have young children.
• Eat less meat and meat products, especially fatty meats and butter, as many toxic chemicals are picked up by animals and stored in their fat (and ours).
• When choosing fish, follow these  safety guidelines for avoiding mercury contamination.
• Reduce your use of cosmetics and fragrances and  buy less toxic brands.
• Use unscented laundry detergent and cleaning products -- or use natural cleansers.
• Do not use chemical pesticides around your house, on your pets or on your lawn.

At the same time as you take these steps in your own life, keep in mind that the real solutions to body burden, like other forms of pollution, are societal not individual. Without government regulation, safety from chemicals is a losing battle.

—Sheryl Eisenberg


September 2007
THE FUTURE OF DRINKING WATER

Could this be ebb tide for the bottled water craze?

For years, NRDC has been crying in the wilderness that bottled water is not any safer than tap water and in many cases actually is tap. Though frequently cited, these findings, based on a four-year study published in 1999, never seeped into the public consciousness until now.

Suddenly, everyone seems to have discovered that tap water can be perfectly drinkable --and that bottled water has problems of its own. In a bit of reverse chic, the stuff you can get virtually for free is now in. Big city mayors are pushing it, high-profile restaurateurs are offering nothing but, and even the New York Times editorial board has seen fit to recommend it.

For many of the new converts, tap water's chief advantage is that it doesn't leave a flood of non-biodegradable and rarely recycled containers in its wake -- nor require the manufacture of said containers from non-renewable petroleum in the first place. For others, it's the fact that tap water usually flows to us through energy-efficient infrastructure. No trucks or ships required.

Who could argue with either point? Major population centers are already drained of landfill space. They don't need the additional strain placed by millions of plastic water bottles. Nor can any of us tolerate the unnecessary contribution to global warming that transporting the water to market makes -- whether all the way from Fiji or just across the state.

But the main reason to prefer tap water, in the end, may, ironically, be safety -- not because tap water is inherently purer (it's not), but because it is better regulated.

Now, don't go to sleep on me just because I used the "R" word. Regulations are the teeth of the law -- and tap water's teeth are stronger than bottled water's, translating to higher safety standards and better monitoring. That doesn't mean they are tough enough, and they do leave a wide range of contaminants uncovered (from rocket fuel to the gasoline additive MTBE), but they are nevertheless the tougher of the two, and better enforced besides.

Tap water is also regulated more consistently. Environmental Protection Agency rules apply to every public water system in the nation. In contrast, bottled water is governed by Food and Drug Administration rules when transported across state lines and otherwise by individual states.

One particular strength of tap water regulations is that they guarantee the consumer's "right to know" what's in his or her water. Utilities must issue annual "Water Quality Reports" -- also called "Consumer Confidence Reports" -- identifying the source of the water and contaminants found in it. FDA regulations for bottled water offer nothing comparable. False claims on labels are barred, but there is no requirement that contaminants within so-called safe limits be listed. You can ask bottled water companies for the information -- and by all means do if you drink it -- but recognize that they are under no obligation to tell.

A guaranteed "right to know" means more than you might think. Say there was arsenic in your tap or bottled water, but it was "only" 9 parts per billion (ppb). Arsenic is considered unsafe at any level, having been linked to cancer and other health problems. Yet both the EPA and FDA, in a bow to industry, which wants to keep water treatment costs down, allow up to 10 ppb. The bottled water label would not have to mention the arsenic (and might even call the water pure!). But the Water Quality Report from the utility would have to list it. Armed with that information, a savvy consumer could then get a filter to screen out the poison.

Whoa, did I say there could be arsenic in your tap water? Yes, I did. In your bottled water, too? Yes. And arsenic isn't the only scary thing -- in either.

So, if that's true, why am I pushing tap? Because the tap water in most places is still pretty good (amazing in some places), bottled water is no better and abandoning the public system will only serve to make tap water worse. Should that happen, the poor will be left with undrinkable water, while the well-off pay a premium for purity. Whether the rich will be able to find it is another matter.

If you are concerned about the quality of your tap water, here's what to do:

1) Ask your utility for a Water Quality Report and see if your fears are founded.

2) Consider filtering your water to address any problems you may have uncovered. Filters can help with water that tastes bad, too.

3) If your water fails to meet safety standards and you or a member of your household is very young, old, pregnant or living with chronic illness or a weakened immune system, consult your doctor about what to do. In some cases, bottled water may be the best alternative if it is from a source that is known to be good.

And please support local measures to protect your watershed, modernize infrastructure and upgrade drinking water treatment. They are the keys to clean, affordable drinking water for all.

—Sheryl Eisenberg