So Young. So Toxic
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by Jessica Alaimo Sunjournal April 29, 2007
AUGUSTA, Maine
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It doesn't take a lifetime of unhealthy living to accumulate toxins in your body. Ask 30-year-old Mainer Hannah Pingree, House majority leader in the Legislature and a walking chemical soup. She's not alone.
Hannah Pingree is a little leery of everything these days.
She's given up sushi and tuna, two of her favorite foods. She's reduced the amount of cosmetics she uses and hesitates before drinking bottled water. She diligently washes her vegetables.
Pingree recently had her body tested for 67 chemicals found in everyday items, and medical professionals detected 35 that are not supposed to be found in the human body.
All pose some kind of threat to her health. For instance, arsenic can cause cancer. A flame retardant commonly called "deca" can harm the reproductive system. Mercury can affect the brain.
Medical professionals took samples of her urine, hair and blood, Pingree said, and sent the tests out of state for a full evaluation.
Living on the island of North Haven, where she grew up and graduated school in a class of five, she thought she'd be a little farther from dangerous chemicals. She was wrong.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine sponsored the chemical tests for Pingree and 12 others as part of a study to raise awareness of toxic chemicals in our everyday environment. A full analysis of the study's findings will be unveiled later this week. For now, Matt Prindiville, toxics project director for NRCM, is mum on the details, including the 35 specific substances found in Pingree's body.
"We were looking to test a wide variety of Maine people for toxics in their bodies," he said. "They were from all walks of life, to show a cross reference of real Mainers."
Pingree represents youth, growing up in a remote area and a middle-income lifestyle, among other things. And her political power won't hurt the NRCM's awareness-raising effort either. Thirty years old - but looking years younger - she is the fifth-youngest member of the Maine House of Representatives and is the second most powerful person in the House as majority leader. Through her three terms in the House, she has become known for championing children's health issues.
Pingree said she was also selected because of her work on bills regarding hazardous chemicals. In 2004 she helped pass a bill to phase out penta and octa, the nicknames for two flame-retardant chemicals found in bedding and furniture.
This year she is backing a bill to phase out the flame retardant "deca," commonly found in television sets, mattresses and furniture. The bill, which has been strongly and publicly opposed by the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum, was given a stamp of approval by the state's Natural Resources Committee last Tuesday.Every person tested in the NRCM project had some level of deca and other flame retardants in their bodies, Pingree said. Deca, along with several other chemicals on the list, can harm women who are pregnant, or planning to be in the near future, and their developing fetuses.
Still, nobody is saying people should toss out every mattress and television set in their home just because it may be hazardous, said Andrew Smith, state toxicologist with the Environmental and Occupational Health Program. Most people won't suffer harm from minimal amounts of chemicals.
Travis Wagner, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Southern Maine, agreed that there is no way to avoid these chemicals, and small amounts are not harmful to most people.
However, he noted, cancerous chemicals, for example, may be one thing - among other factors - that triggers the disease in a susceptible person.
Both men said it's important people educate themselves so that they can make more informed decisions when they buy products - which is one of the goals of the NRCM's project
Set to wed this summer, Pingree said has no immediate plans to have a baby, but eventually she may. She said she does have concerns about her friends who are starting to get pregnant and the chemicals possibly in their bodies.
Pingree and the Natural Resources Council of Maine say they don't intend to scare people into moving into a bomb shelter and living off filtered water from a steel cup and organic bread. They simply want to raise awareness, and hope the public will support efforts to inform the public and reduce the amount of harmful substances in the environment.
"The average Maine citizen should not have to learn about all this information," Prindiville said. "That's the government's job."
Sushi was one of Pingree's favorite foods, until she discovered the high mercury levels it can contain. Of the 13 people tested, she had the highest mercury levels. Now she plans to go around to her favorite restaurants and ask them to warn people.
"Personally, I stopped eating sushi and tuna," Pingree said, but "you really can't live your life saying you're going to stop doing X, Y and Z."
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Source: Sunjournal
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