Chlordane is a man made chemical and popular pesticide that was offered in the United States from 1948-1988. Due to concerns about environmental damage and human health risks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of chlordane in 1983, except for controlling termites. It was banned for that use, and all uses, in 1988 but still its effect is felt across the world and in the United States. (more…)
Barium is a natural, silvery-white earth metal. Highly reactive with air, barium is not found naturally in pure forms but as a component of ores. When barium is combined with other elements to form barium compounds, it has many applications. Barium carbonate is used as a rat poison, low amounts of barium sulfate may be ingested prior to receiving an x-ray to provide better imaging, and industries such as mining, refining, glass, and coal also utilize barium. Barium exposure, however, can cause serious health concerns. (more…)
The extensive use of toxic metals in industry and consumer products has resulted in a toxic metal proliferation in our daily lives and environment. Metals are not biodegradable and can remain in the environment to produce a variety of negative effects. Toxic metal exposure has been linked to organ damage and some metals have the potential to cause cancer. (more…)
Even before the Surgeon General's 1964 report, "Smoking and Health," society has been aware of the terrible effects of tobacco smoke on health. Today, you'd have to be living under a rock or purposely obtuse to not know that tobacco smoke is a very dangerous pollutant. Whether you're doing the smoking yourself or just enduring exposure to side-stream smoke or second hand smoke, tobacco smoke contributes to lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease and other illnesses. (more…)
If you’ve ever been concerned about pesticides or radiation in your food, or even whether the organic food you purchase really is organic, you’re probably going to be very excited by the Lapka Personal Environment Monitor, an iPhone device slated to come out later this year. (more…)
