ITD180
1.U5
 1976
United States
Environmental Protection

Agency
Office of Public Affairs (A 1071
Washington, D C  20460
May 1976
                 Pollution
                 and
                 Your Health
                 OOOK76004

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     There is no way lor society to avoid paying for
     pollution. If we do not pay for prevention,
     we pay in other ways—in lost recreational
 uses of rivers and beaches,  in higher treatment
 costs for drinking water, in damage to crops,
 forests  and buildings  and,  most importantly,
 through higher  medical bills, time lost because
 of illness, human suffering and premature deaths.

 The Department of Health, Education and
 Welfare puts the total  national health bill  at about
 $120 billion a year, most of it for cure  rather
 than prevention. Yet there  is an increasing  body
 of evidence and an impressive array of expert
 opinion that we may be approaching the  whole
 question of human health from the wrong side—
 that, as a matter of national policy as well as
 personal practice, an ounce  of prevention may
 well be worth a pound of cure.

 In the  United States the once-dreaded infectious
 diseases are controlled through sanitation, immu-
 nization and antibiotics. Today we are plagued
 with chronic diseases  that an increasing  number
 of health experts believe  are largely caused
 by environmental factors—where we work or
 live, our habits,  diets  or  lifestyles. The  more
 sophisticated and sensitive our monitoring devices
 become; the more data we accumulate on the
 health  effects  of pollutants and other  agents in         ^
 the environment: the worse  things look.                ^
                                                      
 be fought, not simply in the hospitals and doctors'
 offices, but in  our streets, homes and workplaces;      .o
 in our  air and water; in our food and products;        cj     CD
 and  in  our habits and lifestyles. Such a shift in     •*-    .fc **.
 emphasis will  require a searching re-examination      >•    ^ O
 and radical revision of our popular understanding      __    E O
 of,  and our public approach  to, health care and     •£? >, _§ ^
 disease. If environmental disease is becoming         cu  cu  ro  co
 "the disease of the century," as it appears to be,     g 5 Q ^
 then environmental protection must become the      £?  "^ -c  :£
 most important  ingredient in any national health     > ^ 5  ~
program.                                          uj  c ^  J?
              Russell E. Train,                     C/5 JW O  .1-
              Administrator                       ^ £} g> -C
              U.S. Environmental Protection Agency        ^ O

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Introduction
T^he principal reason for controlling
 •*- pollution is  to protect human
health and  the ecological integrity of
man's life-support systems. Innumer-
able other benefits can result from
clean-up measures—financial savings,
more efficient productivity, and esthetic
pleasure. But fundamentally,  the con-
cern about environmental pollution  is
its threat to human  health and life.
We have been slow to recognize the
damage brought about by our activi-
ties, almost as slow as  the appearances
of some environmental  after-effects.

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The impact of environmental deterio-
ration  on health is  often subtle, be-
coming apparent only when correction
is not always possible. Frequently
the results of environmental contami-
nation become known so  belatedly
that few people are likely  to associate
the effect with its cause.
The long-delayed beginnings of ill-
nesses caused by pollution makes  it
difficult for many people to compre-
hend the full impact environmental
degradation has on their health.
The complexities  of modern life and
the  many  forms  of environmental
pollution combine to make the task
of protecting public health a major
challenge.
While  much is already  known  about
the health effects of some pollutants,
pollution's total impact is  difficult to
measure. What each pollutant  does
to a human depends on the physical
and chemical properties of the pollut-
ant; the length, intensity and method
of exposure; and an individual's ability
to tolerate the pollutant.
Pollutants  reach people through vari-
ous  avenues, each  taking its unique
toll. But virtually all forms  of pollution
harm people somehow. Some  people
are especially susceptible  to attack,
notably the very young, the old and
those weakened by disease. Since
resistance to pollution is an individual
trait governed by such factors as age,
heredity, general health, climate, occu-
pation, residence, smoking  and dietary
habits, it is extremely difficult to assess
precisely the general effects upon a
large population.
Effective and at times stern decisions
must be made to solve obvious prob-
lems, even though we may  not know
the full extent of the health threat.
There  is no way to ascertain abso-
lutely the chronic effects of environ-
mental  pollution.  We cannot,  for
instance, state unequivocally  that the
continued  accumulation  of  tiny
amounts of pesticides in the fatty
tissue of humans or other organisms,
is a direct  cause  of disease. Neither
can we prove that life is not altered
at all as a result. The field  of environ-
mental  health effects is one of cer-
tainties mixed with uncertainties.

But we must  not suspend  all
judgment while we argue about proof.
We know that environmental pollution
has significant adverse effects on the
physical and  emotional  health  of
Americans.
The U.S.  Environmental  Protection
Agency  (EPA)  was created  in  De-
cember 1970 to consolidate,  strength-
en and  coordinate  Federal  efforts
to enhance human health  and well-
being through environmental reha-
bilitation and protection. Since  1970
existing  laws have been strengthened
and new laws enacted which give
EPA  the  mandate  and the  means
to  accomplish  these  national  goals.
Much  has been accomplished  in
recent years, but much more remains
to be done. As the costs  of pollu-
tion control become more  apparent,
it is important to remember that
the primary benefit—-good health—
is priceless.
This booklet is a  general discussion
of possible  threats to human health
posed  by environmental pollution.
It presents  some  of  the background
that must be considered as we try
to solve the  problems  of environ-
mental health risks.

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Air
 Thirty air makes eyes water, burns
     throats and stifles lungs. Fumes
of sulfur and nitrogen oxides, sulfuric
acid  and  photochemical  oxidants
irritate  the  respiratory  system
causing coughing, chest discomfort
and impaired breathing.  When small
particles are breathed in along with
these fumes, the irritation—and
injury—may increase  substantially.
Carbon monoxide interferes with  the
ability of blood cells to carry oxygen.
Heart and nerve tissues  are parti-
cularly  susceptible   to  oxygen  defi-
ciency,  so that  carbon  monoxide
pollution can seriously  impair coro-
nary  and central nervous system
functions.
On Friday, December  5, 1952,
static weather conditions  turned the
air of London, England, into  a
deadly menace.  A prolonged temper-
ature inversion  held the city's  air
close  to  the ground and an  anti-
cyclonic  high  pressure  system  pre-
vented the formation of winds which
would have  dispersed  the pollutants
that were  accumulating heavily  at
ground level.
For five days  the  Greater London
area was blanketed in airborne muck.
Few realized it at the time, but there
were 4,000 more deaths than  normal
for a five-day period, hospital ad-
missions were 48 percent higher  and
sickness  claims to the national health
insurance system were 108 percent
above  average. Eighty-four percent
of  those who  died  had pre-existing
heart  or lung  diseases.  Hospital
admissions for respiratory  illness in-
creased threefold and deaths due to
chronic respiratory disease increased
tenfold.
The same static atmospheric condi-
tions had caused a  similar  incident
in Donora,  Pennsylvania,  in  1948.
A town of  only 14,000,  it  had 15
to  20 more  deaths than normal
during the  episode.  More than 6,000

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of its residents  were adversely  af-
fected, 10 percent of them seriously.
Among  those  with pre-existing illnes-
ses,  88  percent of  the  asthmatics,
77  percent of  those  with  heart
disease,  and 79 percent  of those with
chronic  bronchitis  and  emphysema
were  adversely  affected. Allowing
for the great difference  in population,
Donora paid  a  much higher price
for  air  pollution  than  London.
New  York  City has experienced
similar periods  of  atmospheric stag-
nation on numerous  occasions
during the last 50 years.  During  one
such  episode,  in  1953,  the  city
reported more than 200 deaths above
normal. Birmingham,  Alabama,  is
another high-exposure  area  where
residents frequently  have exhibited
a  greater-than-avcrage  incidence  of
respiratory irritation symptoms, such
as coughing,  burning  throats  or
lungs, and shortness of breath. EPA
monitoring  studies  indicated that
non-smokers in  these  two cities  de-
veloped respiratory  symptoms two
or three  times more frequently than
non-smokers in cleaner communities.
Unfortunately,  the climatic  condi-
tions  and  human  activities  that
combine  to  form critical build-ups

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of pollutants are by no means  un-
common in the United States. They
occur  periodically  in  various  parts
of the country and will continue to
threaten public health as long as  air
pollutants  are  emitted  into the at-
mosphere in amounts sufficient  to
accumulate to  dangerous levels.

Air pollution  disasters such as these
are alarming. However, many people
are even more concerned about the
health effects  of long-term exposure
to air  pollution. While we  have
learned a great deal in  recent years
about  the  effects  of  air pollution,
we are  still very far from being  able
to assess accurately  what low  but
persistent levels of air pollution do
to human  beings.
Emphysema and chronic bronchitis—•
the chronic obstructive lung  diseases
—are  two  of  the  more  significant
causes  of  disability  compensated
by Social Security. Since these  two
diseases are commonly responsible
for workdays lost to illness, chronic
disabilities  and premature  retire-
ments  or  deaths,  they  hurt  the
Nation's physical health and its eco-
nomic  well-being.
Aside from the question of  whether
or not  air pollution causes chronic
lung  diseases,  it certainly aggravates
their  symptoms  and increases  the
frequency  and severity  of asthma
attacks.  It  also caused  changes in
the  heart   and lung  functions  of
healthy people. Early childhood ex-
posure  to heavy pollution is believed
to contribute significantly to a lowered
pulmonary reserve  capacity in adults.
Children from high exposure areas
suffer a greater risk of developing
lung disease as adults than children
raised in cleaner communities. Statis-
tics  also show that residents  of com-
munities  with  persistently  high
pollution  levels  have  higher death
rates than residents of  other  com-
munities.  Particulates  and sulfur
oxides are not the only major classes
of pervasive pollutants. All kinds of
combustion  produce  nitrogen oxides
which have  been  associated  with
increases in acute respiratory disease.
Carbon monoxide is still a problem
in today's heavy traffic. Inhalation of
carbon  monoxide  can  impair a
driver's judgment and his ability  to
respond  rapidly  in  traffic. Further-
more,  it  can  also  impair vision,
produce headache, and exert a strain
on the heart.
There arc other air pollutants that
in minute amounts can  cause severe
health effects.  Each has its  parti-
cular adverse  characteristics  which
place unique stress on human beings.
The  total number of such pollutants
commonly found throughout  the
country is not known but every year
thousands of new chemicals are intro-
duced into  manufacturing processes
alone. It is  impossible  to discuss  the
potential health effects of all likely
pollutants, so  here are four examples
that  suggest the kinds of health  ef-
fect  that may be involved.
Inhalation of   asbestos  fibers  has
been related to asbestosis, broncho-
genie cancer, mesothelioma, and
other malignant  diseases.  Symptoms
of  mesothelioma,  for  instance,  de-
velop about 30 years  after the initial
exposure to asbestos, and  some phy-
sicians  expect  an  increase in the
disease  among persons who  worked
in or near American shipyards during

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World War II. Asbestos  is used  in
many products and industrial opera-
tions.
Beryllium is a metal commonly used
in rocket fuels,  missile guidance
systems,  nuclear reactors and atomic
weapons.  The most deleterious effect
of inhaled beryllium  is a progressive
lung disease.

Mercury is  commonly used in bat-
teries,  mildew-proofing  and  the
manufacture of  paint,  pulp,  and
paper. Airborne mercury  can affect
the central  nervous  system and can
lead to weight loss, insomnia,  tremors
and  psychological disturbances.

Lead absorption  is often prevalent
among  preschool  children  in urban
areas. In the past, we attributed most
of the poisoning to eating lead-based
paint chipped  from  the walls  of
older dwellings,  but  recent  evidence
indicates  that  other  environmental
lead sources are also contributing to
the  problem. High  concentrations
of lead in dust,  soil  and vegetation
near  streets  and  highways  clearly
can  be  attributed to  lead emissions
from motor  vehicles.  Precipitation
samples from locations  throughout the
United States show a positive corre-
lation between gasoline consumption
and  the lead content  of rain.  People
who ingest excessive  amounts of
lead may show neurological impair-
ment such  as  seizures, mental re-
tardation and  behavioral disorders.
Ordinarily we all accumulate  lead in
our  bodies, but  urban  residents
usually  have higher  average blood
levels of lead  than  rural residents.
Children and the newborn  may be
particularly susceptible to lead damage
of the  central nervous system.

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Water
 "pifty  years ago, the United States
     was plagued by massive outbreaks
 of  typhoid, cholera,  dysentery and
 other  water-borne  diseases. Better
 treatment  of  sewage  and drinking
 water  have largely  eliminated these
 epidemics. As  a result,  Americans
 have long considered safe  drinking
 water as a natural heritage. We have
 accepted  it much as  we  regarded
 the  air we breathe—unlimited,  free
 and clean. But, like  air,  water is
 not limitless,  nor free,  nor some-
 how immune to the pollution which
 affects other aspects  of  our  environ-
 ment.
 Between 1961  and 1973, there were
 more than 200 known or reported
 outbreaks  of  disease  or  poisoning
 caused  by contaminated  drinking
 water. Twenty-two people died and
 nearly 55,000 became ill, many of
 them seriously.  And some EPA water
 supply  experts  believe that  perhaps
 ten  times  as many such incidents
 occur but  go unreported for a variety
 of  reasons and that countless  indi-
 vidual  sufferers—and their  doctors
 —fail  to  associate  ailments with
 contaminated  water.
 A  1970 survey of  969  public water
 supply systems  disclosed that 56  per-
 cent had facility deficiencies relating
 to  equipment design,  construction
 or plant condition; 77 percent of the
 plant  operators were inadequately
 trained  in  microbiology  and  46
 percent were deficient in the chem-
 istry  relating  to their assignments;
 and 79  percent of the  systems  had
 not been inspected by State or county
 authorities  during  the  preceding
 year.

 Sources  of water  pollution  are

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innumerable. Major sources can  be
found  in  nearly  every  kind of in-
dustrial, municipal or agricultural
operation.  There  arc   thousands  of
toxic  chemical  compounds  in  use
today and new chemicals are  being
developed every year.  Chemical con-
taminants, such as phosphates, ni-
trates,  pesticides, detergents, trace
amounts  of metals,  acid from mine
drainage, cyanide, phenols, radioactive
substances,  solvents, and  hydro-
carbons,   are all products  of our
technological society and potential
threats to  our  water sources.
A 1975 EPA  survey  of drinking
water supplies in 80 cities found that
small quantities  of organic chemicals
were present in  public water supply
systems throughout the country. Some
of these were  suspected cancer-
causing chemicals,  if taken  in large
amounts. Although the survey found
very low concentrations of them in
the water,  their presence is  cause
for concern.

Water  supply  intakes  are  also
jeopardized from time to  time  by
spills of oil and hazardous materials.
Such  spills in estuaries often make
fish and shellfish unsuitable for food.
Oil in  water is known to  concentrate
fat-soluble  poisons, such  as insecti-
cides   and  certain  chemicals, many
times  higher  than  would normally
occur in water alone. In  this  way,
oil  spilled  into   water  can  permit
highly  destructive  amounts of  pol-
lutants  to be  ingested by organisms
in man's food chain.

The  widespread  use of high-nitrate
fertilizers   and  extensive   feedlot
operations  have  resulted  in an  in-
creased contamination  of both  sur-
face  and ground waters with  nitrates.
As  a result,  the nitrate content of
much  of our ground water  now
exceeds the drinking water  standard.
This is highly  significant because
once an underground water  supply
source  becomes  contaminated, it  is
virtually impossible to purify.  In-
fants up to three months old run the
principal  risk  of  damage  from
drinking water having a high  nitrate
content—damage  that  includes  a
blood  disease that  is  fatal  if not
properly treated.
Sodium levels  also have been rising

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                                      Solid  Wastes
in American waters. Increased sodium
intake from polluted water, for those
who are susceptible, can put a strain
on  the heart and  aggravate
cardiovascular (heart and blood
vessel) disease. The corrosiveness of
water is also  linked, statistically, with
deaths due to cardiovascular diseases.
Water that corrodes pipes causes
metals to be swallowed by people
drinking the water.  Comparatively
little is known about the effect on
human health of ingesting these
metals.
Sewage discharges can also
contaminate surface waters with
harmful bacteria and viruses. Water-
borne viruses still cause infectious
hepatitis in this country and  may be
causing some gastroenteritis and
salmonellosis. Most hepatitis
outbreaks from public  supplies occur
after the water is purified,  and result
from contamination of the distribution
system due to mechanical
inadequacies. Many of our recreational
waters, too, are  unsafe because  of
high bacteria  counts from sewage
discharges.
Mismanaged  water resources can
deteriorate into swamps and stagnant
areas that foster the growth of
mosquitoes and insects. In the United
States,  mosquitoes still transmit
disease. Encephalitis has occurred in
epidemic form, reaching a median of
1,340 reported cases a week during
the years  1969-73.
"C nvironmental health cannot be
    compartmentalized. Nowhere is
this more evident than in the area of
solid waste management. There are
only three  places to put our wastes:
the Earth, its waters, or its atmosphere.

The use or misuse of  any  one is
inextricably bound up with the other
two. Restrictions on using one medium
almost invariably lead to increased
burdens on—and frequently to abuse
of—others. Certainly, improper
management of solid wastes on land
creates health hazards from both air
and water pollution. For example,
water picks up foreign matters as it
trickles down through open dumps or
improperly designed landfills and
pollutes ground or surface waters;
open burning of solid wastes and
faulty incineration contribute to air
pollution.
Conversely  and somewhat
paradoxically,  what may be counted
as successes for air and water
pollution control  programs may
actually aggravate the public health
problems of solid waste management.
For example, effective waste water
treatment plants produce solid
sludges, which must be disposed of.
A ban on home incinerators or open
burning of  yard debris immediately
results in a greater burden on the
solid waste collection, processing, and
disposal system. And as land disposal
activities are upgraded, some  coastal
communities look to the sea for
ultimate disposal of their solid wastes.
Management of solid  wastes, clearly,
is a root environmental issue with
profound public health implications.
Perhaps the most obvious health
aspect of waste management is the
10

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adverse effect of hazardous wastes—
that is, wastes that are toxic, corrosive,
flammable, or explosive. These wastes,
whether solid, liquid, or sludge, have
a unique potential for affecting public
health and the environment. Some are
hazardous to human  health; others
adversely  affect desirable plants and
animals,  and, indirectly,  man. They
require special care in all aspects of
their storage, collection, processing,
and disposal.
Less obvious, though nonetheless
important,  are the adverse health
impacts associated  with seemingly
"nonhazardous" wastes. The
relationship between  public health
and improper storage and disposal of
solid wastes has long been recognized.
Rats,  flics,  and other disease carriers
breed in open dumps and in
residential areas where food and
shelter are  available. Many fires begin
or are spread by improperly stored
trash. Drinking water sources can be
contaminated by leaching from dumps
and poorly designed landfills. Among
the diseases that have been directly
or indirectly associated with  the open
dump are typhoid fever, cholera,
dysentery, anthrax, trachoma, and
trichinosis. And there  are still
thousands of open dumps operating
in various parts of the country.
Modern food-production and
marketing techniques have created
new potential  health hazards.
Livestock and poultry  production in
the United States is commonly
concentrated in large-scale,
confinement-type operations. These
large concentrations of animals have
greatly magnified the problem of
managing wastes in a way that will
minimize health hazards. Among the
serious  health-related  effects  possible
in feedlot operations are the wholesale
reproduction of flies and the
contamination of water.
The basic health and environmental
problems associated with solid waste
management are exacerbated by a
number of factors related to our social
and  economic  structures, institutions,
and  attitudes. One result is the
incquitability of health impacts on
different population groups in the
United States.  The poor are most
likely to suffer ill effects from
unsanitary storage and inadequate
waste collection.
                                                                         11

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Noise
"VToisc is perhaps the most overlooked
    and underestimated  form  of
environmental pollution. This is partly
true because noise has long been
regarded as an inevitable
accompaniment to modern life. The
clamor of machinery and tools, the
roar of  aircraft and automobiles, the
racket  of appliances—all have been
considered to be the sounds of
progress. We have accepted the noise
and adjusted to it, without fully
recognizing its health effects.

It is known that continued exposure
to high noise levels results in hearing
loss. Some 16 million Americans, in
fact,  suffer some hearing loss because
of noise. Studies show that high noise
levels detrimentally affect work
12

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performance,  cause accidents  and
foster absenteeism in industry.

Perhaps the most serious concern of
noise pollution is that it diminishes the
quality  of life. People, especially
urban dwellers, are bombarded daily
by the clamor of  construction
equipment and the roar of traffic. The
home is no longer a silent refuge. It
reverberates with the cacophony of
kitchen appliances,  vacuum cleaners,
power mowers,  radios and television
sets. At the very least such noise
disturbs sleep, interrupts concentration
and  conversation, and jangles the
nerves. More serious, though, is a
buildup of stress which  can lead to
ulcers, gastrointestinal problems and
heart disease.
    Pollution  on  the job

    Pollution:  a  spreading pall  of  black
    smoke; scum-coated water; blue-grey
    smog- These are  familiar  pollution
    images. But  the environment  is  more
    than the sky, a  river  or a forest. It
    is also the  places where people work.
    And too many Americans today work
    in   environments  which  are    not
    healthy.  The National  Institute  for
    Occupational  Safety and  Health  esti-
    mates  that   as  many  as   100,000
    American workers  may die each  year
    from conditions  they are  exposed to
    in their jobs. Environmental standards
    for  workplaces  are being developed
    and enforced by the Department  of
    Labor.
    As of June 1975, the National Cancer
    Institute had  confirmed 27  cases  of
    liver angiosarcoma among  workers
    with a  history of  exposure  to  vinyl
    chloride, a major compound  used in
    making plastics. Angiosarcoma of the
    liver is a  rare  form of  cancer.  An
    American Cancer Society  survey re-
    corded  only  one  case  per  78,000
    deaths.  This  indicates  that  workers
    exposed  to  vinyl chloride are 3,000
    times  more   likely  to  develop  this
    disease  than the  general  public.  The
Department  of Labor has  adopted
vinyl chloride  exposure standards to
protect  workers within a  plant  and
EPA has  proposed standards  to pro-
tect  the  general public from atmos-
pheric  exposures   that  result  from
vapors being released by these plants.
At a small plant  manufacturing the
pesticide Kepone, about 70 employees,
out  of a total  workforce  of  150
during 16 months  of operation,  were
sickened with tremors, memory loss,
nerve damage,  blurred vision, erratic
eye  movements, chest pains and, in
some cases, at least  temporary  ster-
ility.
Among  the  pollutants  that  attack
workers are coal dust, asbestos fibers,
lead   particles,  uranium  radiation,
chemical   fumes,   deafening   noise,
pesticides,  and  glass  fibers. There  is
usually  a   long  latency period—per-
haps  as much  as  30 years—between
the  first  exposure  to  dangerous en-
vironmental  pollutants and  the oc-
curence of disease.  So  it may  be
decades before  we  will know  how
much harm pollutants in  the work-
place  are  doing   to the  Nation's
health.
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Pesticides
Tn contrast to most other contami-
•*•  nants,  pesticides  are  deliberately
introduced into the environment as a
killing agent to perform various
beneficial functions.  Improved
agricultural production, control of
dangerous insect-borne diseases such
as malaria, and greater sanitation in
homes and recreation areas  are only a
few of the many ways pesticides
benefit human health.
Widespread pesticide use has,
however, also been accompanied by
serious problems for man and his
environment. It is presently known
that many pesticides at various
exposure levels will cause illness.
Some highly toxic chemicals, such as
parathion, can cause serious illness or
even death if only one drop of the
concentrated substances touches the
skin.
Reactions to pesticide exposure vary
greatly. They include damage to the
central nervous system, respiratory
and digestive tracts, skin, eyes,
mucous membranes, visceral organs,
and the mind. Every year a number of
persons are  killed and still more are
made seriously ill by pesticides.
Improper application because of
failure to follow instructions on
pesticide labels or ignorance of
pesticide hazards causes most of these
incidents.

While we are well aware of the
immediate hazards, we do not know
enough about the long-range effects
on human health resulting from our
increasingly widespread exposure to
pesticides. Among the pesticide
characteristics which contribute to this
diffuse exposure  are mobility,
persistence,  and  bioaccumulation.
Pesticides can be transported great
distances by air and water.
Measurable  levels of DDT, for
example, have  been found in
Antarctic penguins, although  the
animals have never been directly
exposed to the compound. Some
pesticides do not break  down  readily.
Thus, they remain in the  environment
for very long periods and can  move
up the food  chain through the process
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                                       Radiation
of bioaccumulation. In other words,
minute quantities of chemicals
absorbed by plankton and insects arc
transferred, in constantly increasing
concentrations, up the food chain to
fish, birds,  other higher animals and
man. These chemicals are  stored in
body fat and tissues where they may
remain for  many years.

Scientific experiments  indicate that
some pesticides have caused
malformations  in the developing
embryos of test animals and that other
pesticides may cause cancer in certain
species. While  there is no  direct
evidence linking pesticide  residue to
similar health effects in man, the
potential for long-term effects on large
numbers of people cannot be
discounted.
  The nervous system —
  is it  affected?
  Beyond the physical  waste, environ-
  mental  pollution  may have  a  more
  profound  effect on man: on mental
  health, for example. Most lead poison-
  ing causes behavioral  difficulties, per-
  ceptual   disabilities,   and  emotional
  instability. Mercury poisoning causes
  emotional instability, tremors, fatigue,
  dizziness,  memory  and speech diffi-
  culties,  and headaches. Carbon mo-
  noxide   poisoning   causes   apathy,
  psychological   tiredness,   headaches,
  temporal-spatial  disonentation,  re-
  tardation,  and  psychosis.  Psychologi-
  cal impairment following exposure  to
  pesticides  has  been  discussed  else-
  where, and a number of  studies have
  linked excessive noise to higher mental
  hospital  admissions   as  well  as  to
  other psychological disturbances.
 Tncrcasing man-made radiation also
    poses  a  danger to our health.  The
 principal adverse effects that radiation
 can have on human health are genetic
 disturbances and cancer. Apparently,
 some body  tissues  are particularly
 vulnerable to irradiation, notably the
 blood-forming organs, thyroid, bone
 marrow, breast,  lung and reproductive
 organs. The young, particularly, the
 unborn, are  most susceptible  to
 radiation damage.
 We all receive radiation from natural
 sources over which we have little
 control. Our remaining exposure comes
 from medical and  dental X-ray
 machines; fallout from nuclear
 weapons testing; uranium mines, mills
 and fabrication plants; nuclear power
 generating and fuel-reprocessing
 installations; and various electronic
 devices.  Many hospitals and
 laboratories commonly use radioactive
 isotopes in basic  research and patient
 diagnosis and treatment. And
 construction materials with radioactive
 properties have been used for homes,
 schools, factories and other structures.
 In Tennessee, cement blocks arc
 often made of Conasauga shale, which
 contains high concentrations of
 thorium  and in Florida blocks are
 sometimes made  of phosphate rock,
 which contains high concentrations  of
 radium. In buildings constructed of
 these materials, radioactive gases seep
 out of the blocks and accumulate in
 the ambient  air.  Granite, too,
 frequently emits  gamma radiation.
 Despite this variety of sources, man's
 exposure to radiation thus far has
 been quite low. Nevertheless we know
 very little about the long-term effects
 of repeated exposure to radiation at
low levels. One major hazard is
                                   15

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damage to or alteration of human
genes,  since  natural background
radiation is believed to be one of the
causes  of natural  mutation. It  is
generally accepted that any amount
of radiation, however small, can
cause damage to genetic cells and
hence cause  an  indeterminate number
of undesirable mutations. Such genetic
damage is believed to be cumulative.
Also, it is generally accepted that any
increase in radiation exposure can
cause increases in  the frequency of
many cancers.
                                  nvironmenta! Protection  Agilicy
                                    V,  Library
                                  outh Dearborn Street
                                 go, Illinois   60604

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Carginogens,
Teratogens,

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I

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Carginogens,
Teratogens,
Mutagens

These three terms have become more
familiar  to many  Americans  as  we
have  become  more  aware  of  the
perils  of  environmental   pollution.
Carcinogens   arc   substances   that
cause cancer.  Teratogens cause birth
defects.  Mutagens  cause  hereditary
changes thai may  be passed from one
generation  to another

Carcinogens

The effect  of  carcinogens  on human
tissue  (if  exposure is  sufficient)  is
generally  irreversible.  Incidences  of
cancer today may reflect an exposure
many  years  ago.  Similarly,  carcino-
genic  contaminants   added   to  the
environment  today  may  not  reveal
their damage  until many years from
now.
Cancer  is  not one  disease.  It  is  at
least one  hundred diseases  that  in-
volve  derangement in  body  cells.
Many  cancers  are self-inflicted  by
habits  such as  smoking,  overeating,
overdrinking and sunbathing.
Carcinogens that  produce  cancer  in
experimental   animals  are  found  in
low  concentrations in food.  Others,
such as some air and water pollutants,
certain pesticides  and  food additives,
are  everywhere.   Not  only  are  we
ignorant  of the carcinogenic potential
of many substances repeatedly  intro-
duced  into the environment, but  we
also do  not  know  much  about  the
synergistic  effects  of  two  or  more
carcinogens or even a  single carcino-
gen in combination with various pro-
moting agents or  other  chemicals. It
is not widely appreciated that a com-
bination  of pollutants can be  more
damaging  than   the   sum  of  their
separate  effects.   Many  substances,
which are  not carcinogenic by them-
selves,  interact with other  substances
to promote the development of cancer.
Cancer has been  a major cause of
death in the United States since  1900.
In  this  century  there has been  an
absolute  increase  in  cancer  deaths
which  cannot  be  explained as  a  re-
sult of either the increase or aging of
the  population.   On  the  average,
cancer deaths  have increased by about
one percent per  year since 1933.
Cancer of the respiratory  tract has
shown the most rapid increase ever re-
corded for a non-infectious disease,1800
percent during the past 40 years. And
the death rate from  lung  cancer  for
urban   residents  is   twice  the  rural
rate, even  after  allowing for smoking
habits.  In the vast  majority of cases,
pollution in urban  areas  exceeds  the
levels in less populated regions.
Numerous  environmental  pollutants
are not  only  carcinogenic  but  tera-
togenic  and mutagenic as well. Tera-
togens may cause monstrous deformi-
ties. Congenital defects  account  for
14  percent of  all  infant  deaths  and
are the  third most  common explana-
tion for deaths  in the newborn. Many
substances  induce  abnormalties  in a
fetus  at levels below  those needed to
make the mother ill.  Methylmercury,
for example, affects prenatal develop-
ment; children  born to mothers who
have  eaten food contaminated by it
frequently  exhibit  a  disorder  resem-
bling  cerebral palsy. One of the  most
disquieting aspects  of  teratogens  is
that their potential for destruction  has
rarely been known in advance.  X-rays,
German measles,   mercury,  thalido-
mide—all extracted costly tolls before
their teratogenic features were recog-
nized.


Mutagens

Mutagens  result   in  transmissible
changes that affect potential offspring.
If a pollutant  damages a  cell while
its capacity for division  remains un-
impaired, the  result may be  defects
among  future generations.
Many chemicals which pollute  the  en-
vironment  are   mutagenic  in  large
doses. But  we  do not know whether
these  chemicals are  mutagenic  haz-
ards  at the  levels  they  presently
appear in the environment.

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