It is not criminal to injure schoolchildren with hazardous chemicals. True or False?

"School is suppose to be a safe place," cried an outraged parent to a national TV reporter.  True or False? Are schoolchildren safe? Does it matter if the children are harmed by bullets or by chemicals?  Does it matter if the criminal is a man or a businessman?

If man walked into a US middle school and threaten a child or teacher with deadly chemicals.  Ordered to stand down, he refused, holding them hostage for three days.  The incident would make international news.  Police and first responders would be called to the school. 

The man would have been arrested and held accountable for violation of law.  Children would have been offered counseling services.  The public would have been outraged while rushing to remove their children. Law makers would have acted quickly to prevent another incident and the US president would have reassured the public and . . .   It is criminal to threaten schoolchildren with bullets, even though no one was injured.  Witnesses who gave false testimony would face criminal charges.



But -

On October 8, 9, 10, roofing contractor Jim English knowingly gassed 1000 children and teachers at Long Beach Middle School in Mississippi with deadly chemicals.  The children and teachers were held hostage by laws requiring their attendance, despite hazardous conditions at the school and reports of dozens of injuries. 


The Long Beach police did not respond, nor investigate.  Office personnel denied emergency treatment of more than a dozen injured children, then ordered the injured back to class.  Assistance principal Richard Whalen demanded that Mr. English stop spraying the chemicals because children had been injured.  Mr. English refused. 

Mr. English was not arrested for endangerment of children by spraying chemicals,  even though more children and teachers were seriously injured.  First responders did not treat the children, nor offer counseling for those suffering trauma. 

The public was not outraged, choosing instead to ridicule the injured.  Jim English was never held accountable. Mississippi law makers did nothing.  The local papers published a misleading article, that quoting Long Beach School Superintendent Bob Ferguson that the chemicals were not toxic.

In the U. S. it is not criminal to injure schoolchildren with chemicals.  Those who gave false testimony to the court in the above true event were never held accountable.  In the twenty five years since the tragedy at Long Beach Middle School, no one has apologized, no lawmaker has ever tried to prevent another tragedy.  No U. S. President has acknowledged that U. S. schools are no safer now than they were in 1985.

Those who harm U. S. schoolchildren with deadly, cancer-causing chemicals are getting away with murder.  True.

Submitted by Nancy Swan, who was seriously and permanently injured from exposure to some of the most deadly chemicals manufactured while teaching at Long Beach Middle School in 1985.  No one was ever held accountable to the injured. Read more Toxic Justice - Nancy Swan

 

eBay Guides - Tibetan Silver - A Buyer s Advisory

eBay Guides - Tibetan Silver - A Buyer s Advisory

If you use Ebay to buy jewelry for yourself, a gift, or may be worn by a child or teen under 18, please read the entire advisory by clicking on the above link.  Highlights from this article are quoted below.

Metallurgical testing of twelve items offered for sale on EBay as Tibetan Silver indicates that these articles frequently contain no silver whatsoever. In addition, test results from the initial tests in 2007 found that high levels of lead and other dangerous metals such as arsenic can be present.

. . . adults exposed to lead can suffer increased blood pressure, fertility problems, nerve disorders, muscle and joint pain, irritability, and memory loss. Children are even more susceptible to the effects of lead exposure and even very low levels of exposure can result in learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder and behavioral problems, stunted growth, hearing impairment and kidney damage. Higher levels of exposure can cause permanent mental trauma, a vegetative or comatose state and even death. Children under the age of six are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of lead because their brains and central nervous system are still being formed. A recent tragedy in Minnesota highlights this point.
 

Kids exposed to mercury or lead more likely to have ADHD symptoms, Canadian study finds — Environmental Health News

Kids exposed to mercury or lead more likely to have ADHD symptoms, Canadian study finds — Environmental Health News

Kids exposed to mercury or lead more likely to have ADHD symptoms, Canadian study finds — Environmental Health News
Children exposed to higher levels of mercury or lead are three to five times more likely to be identified by teachers as having problems associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder… George/flickr Children in Arctic Quebec are highly exposed to mercury in the womb. By Marla Cone

MomsRising.org | Disney: Get toxic chemicals out of Princess and Spiderman lunch boxes

MomsRising.org | Disney: Get toxic chemicals out of Princess and Spiderman lunch boxes

Disney: Get toxic chemicals out of Princess and Spiderman lunch boxes

Phthalates are toxic chemicals already banned from children's toys because we know they're dangerous to kids. But they aren't yet banned from all products intended for kids: It turns out phthalates can be found in many back-to-school products as well, including lunch boxes and backpacks! This year, an independent study found levels of phthalates in Disney-licensed lunch boxes that would be illegal if these products were toys. In fact, these lunch boxes had levels 20 times higher than the legal toy phthalates limit!  
Kids and cartoons? Classic. Kids and chemicals? Not so much.
Join us and our organizational partners to tell Disney to do the right thing for kids and take toxic chemicals out of their lunch boxes!

Disney products should stand for the same values promoted in their films - the value of integrity, the honor and obligation to overcome difficult obstacles to do the right thing.

All you need do - to do the right thing- is click on the link above, SIGN a petition and SHARE it with others on social media and by email.

Pollution, Poverty, People of Color: Warnings about contaminated fish fail to reach people most at risk — Environmental Health News

Pollution, Poverty, People of Color: Warnings about contaminated fish fail to reach people most at risk — Environmental Health News

People of color eat a lot of locally-caught fish for economic and cultural reasons. And yet they are the least likely to be warned because state efforts fail to reach minority and low-income populations. “We believe that fish consumption is an environmental justice issue that stems from inadequate risk communication,” said researchers from University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment.  Read more http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2012/fish-advisories-and-environmental-justice

Abandoned factory packed with toxic chemicals a few blocks from 3 schools

Abandoned factory packed with toxic chemicals:

Slinger - Dozens of drums and barrels containing thousands of pounds of hazardous and toxic chemicals are stacked inside an abandoned metal plating factory on Oak St. in the heart of the village - surrounded by homes and only a few blocks from three schools.

• Should federal and state environmental agencies be required to notify neighborhood residents, schools, recreation and youth organization about toxic products nearby?  

• Who should initiate legislation to protect residents, especially children from contamination by storage and use of harmful chemicals in their neighborhoods?

Whisky waste offers water purification for 137M people

Whisky waste offers water of life - Features - Scotsman.com:

IT’S a project worth toasting. Scottish scientists have discovered that an innocuous by-product of whisky can to be used to strip pollutants from contaminated water supplies in a process which could save millions of lives in developing countries.

Common synthetic chemical tied to higher heart disease - Chicago Tribune

Common synthetic "non-stick" chemical tied to higher heart disease - Chicago Tribune:

"Unlike a lot of other environment contaminants, these chemicals were considered to be inert," Shankar said.
 Mukherjee, who wrote a commentary on the new study. . . s said people can check labels to make sure household products don't contain PFOA or toxic fluorocarbons in general.
. . .all Americans have some level of PFOA in their blood.

I no longer cook in non-stick pans.  Will this research change your consumption or use of non-stick products?

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/Uprco6 Archives of Internal Medicine, online September 3, 2012.

Featured Articles

Durban toxic water scare - People who swallow large amounts have died

Durban toxic sea water scare -

Durban’s sea water has the highest level of some toxic chemicals in the world according to data released by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research yesterday. . .

In humans, breathing toxic amounts of the compound can cause blood disorders, dizziness, headaches and changes in the levels of sex hormones and people who have swallowed large amounts have had seizures and others have died.

Click on underlined title to read more

Environmental Health Risks and Pregnancy a pdf booklet

EnviroPreg.pdf (application/pdf Object)

There are many factors in your physical
environment that could harm not only your
health, but also the health of your unborn baby.
The good news is you can take simple steps to
reduce these risks.
This brochure describes the most common
household, outdoor, and workplace hazards and
tells what you can do to make things safer for
you and your developing baby.

NIH Common Fund researchers link genetic variants and gene regulation in many common diseases | Pharmaceutical Processing

NIH Common Fund researchers link genetic variants and gene regulation in many common diseases | Pharmaceutical Processing:

Researchers supported by the NIH Common Fund have discovered that genetic differences linked to a wide variety of diseases, including many adult-onset diseases, influence how genes are turned on, or activated, during fetal development. These findings may help to explain why some environmental exposures in utero or during early childhood are known to increase risk of diseases that produce symptoms years or even decades later. In addition, researchers were able to pinpoint which cell types are affected by different diseases. These results provide new insight into disease mechanisms, and suggest novel targets for therapeutics development and disease prevention strategies.