Environmental Toxins

Topic Overview

The advances in research, industrial technology, and progress bring about several changes in the chemical composition of the environment. Industrial plants are the most obvious contributors to environmental toxins, but chemicals are now in everyday items nowadays. These environmental toxins must be appropriately handled and disposed of to not misplace them in our seas, air, and ground.

Innovators and Ideas

The reviewed article was a profile of Philip Landrigan, entitled “Philip Landrigan: Children’s health crusader.” Angela Pirisi wrote this article published in The Lancet, Vol 365 last April 9, 2005.

The article talks about Philip Landrigan, together with Herb Needleman, and all of his contributions to providing a safer environment for everyone, especially the children. His work had outlawed leaded gasoline almost worldwide. Philip Landrigan is an expert on environmental health and pediatrics. He was the first to document the effects of lead poisoning on American children, which eventually resulted in having a US government mandate to remove lead from gas and paint in 1976. With the reduction of lead, there was a 40% decrease in blood lead levels in every American child. He also helped persuade the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create the Environmental Epidemiology Unit, known today as the National Center for Environmental Health (Pirisi, 2005).

The author also showed comparisons of Landrigan’s work to different countries worldwide. The article also emphasized that Europe has stricter regulations regarding industrial chemical poisoning in everyday items. It took 20 years in the making to phase out leaded gasoline through the work of Landrigan (Pirisi, 2005).

The new points represented in this article include the fact that there seems to be minimal to no change if there is no external push from policies. With the help of these policies, new research and laws exist that help improve our response to the environmental crisis of toxins. An example of this is the Food Quality Protection Act (1996) which addresses child vulnerability to food chemicals (Pirisi 2005).

Overall, the work of Philip Landrigan has contributed significantly to the field of public health and environmental sustainability. Through his career and contributions, he has paved the way for more active research into toxins that affect our health significantly.

Organizational Profile

There are organizations worldwide dedicated to preventing and caring for the toxic environment. Some of these local organizations that have come up in our research are Environmental Defence Canada and Toronto Environmental Alliance. The mission of the organization, Environmental Defence Canada, states that it works with government, industry, and individuals to defend the planet’s resources (Environmental Defence Canada, n.d.). Toronto Environmental Alliance’s mission is to protect and educate the communities against the toxic chemicals found in pesticides and inform the community where these chemicals are found (Toronto Environmental Alliance, n.d.).

The organization to be discussed in detail is Environmental Defence Canada. The organization suggests that people should have the knowledge and tools necessary to help reduce their exposure to toxic chemicals in everyday products. The organization has four (4) important areas it acts upon: cosmetic products, cleaning products, cookware, food/ groceries. The organization also publishes informative articles to the public and is beneficial among its readers.

Conclusion

The environmental toxins present in our daily activities now have such a significant impact on our lives that it is difficult to ignore the issue at hand. Without proper knowledge and awareness on the topic, it is not easy to engage everyone into action. Therefore, it is best to get everyone’s attention by bringing to light some of the more practical effects of environmental toxins. Toxic substances are present in everyday objects, so we must use stricter regulations and guidelines on using these chemical toxins. It is also essential to involve the public to be more active and help further reduce these toxins.

Learning Activity