Watch the presentation by Mr. Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, titled “10 Americans”. This video is provided as a supplement to chapter 4 in your textbook–The Impact of the Environment on Health.
On your original DB post, please share any thoughts you had while watching the video, whether positive or negative. And please share what you found most alarming after watching the video. Answer the following question: Do you feel there is any validity to the data Mr. Cook presented? Why or why not? Please back up your answer using at least one scholarly peer reviewed source (which you will cite at the bottom of your post). (Minimum 150 words, but please do not dwell on the word count–I am interested in your thoughts and your research results!)
For the DB response, please reply to at least one original post with a well thought out intellectual reply, also backing up your reply with a scholarly peer reviewed source. (Minimum 100 word count, but please do not dwell on the word count)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-kc3AIM_LU
Please reply to this post:
The information provided throughout Ken Cook’s presentation saddened and frustrated me. I find the entirety of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 very alarming. One alarming thing that the act did is grandfather in 62,000 chemicals and considered them to be safe (Environmental Working Group, 2012). Additionally, the TSCA didn’t require any safety/ health studies before new chemicals were allowed on the market (Environmental Working Group, 2012). It is also alarming to me that, in the past 40 years, only 5 chemicals have been banned or restricted (Environmental Working Group, 2012). It is said that the TSCA was created in order to protect “…the public from hazardous chemicals…,” but this never truly came to fruition (Krimsky, 2017, p. 1). For 40 years, many chemicals were introduced to the markets without toxicological information (Krimsky, 2017, p. 1). For 40 years, consumers have been exposed to tens of thousands of chemicals that could potentially be detrimental to their health. Luckily, in 2016, the first major revision to the TSCA was passed (Krimsky, 2017, p. 5). Under this revision, the EPA has more authority to regulate chemical companies (Krimsky, 2017, p. 5). Now, chemical companies are required to provide chemical toxicity and exposure data prior to introduction of chemicals to the market (Krimsky, 2017, p. 5).
The data presented by Ken Cook is valid; there are many other sources that have provided the same information regarding the pollution of the body. The academic journal cited in this post discussed many of the same points as Cook and even elaborated on many of his points. The information, however, was a little outdated. The 10 Americans were evaluated in 2004, and this video was published on YouTube in 2012. That was quite a while ago, considering the rate at which new chemicals are being introduced to the market. It is estimated that close to 700 new chemicals are introduced each year (Krimsky, 2017, p. 4). That means that, since 2004, approximately 10,500 new chemicals have been introduced to consumers. I wonder what the results would be like if another set of 10 Americans were to be tested today.
References
[Environmental Working Group (EWG)]. (2012, July, 23). “10 Americans” by Environmental Working Group . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-kc3AIM_LU
Krimsky, S. (2017). The unsteady state and inertia of chemical regulation under the US Toxic Substances Control Act. PLOS Biology, 15(12), 1–10. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2002404
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