Slow Death By Rubber Duck

In the spirit of  Super Size Me, two of Canada’s leading environmental activists, Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie, locked themselves in an ordinary condo with some very normal household products and a lot of syringes. The intention was to ingest and inhale things that we use everyday and take before and after blood tests. The results?  Alarming evidence that our clothes, toiletries,  food and storage containers are killing us softly.

But surely, we can assume that everything we buy at the store is safe? Isn’t there some brood of bureaucrats or swarm of science geeks giving the healthy, green light to our stinky plug-in air fresheners and petroleum-based face creams?

The answer is no – not really.  There is a tendency to look at toxins in isolation and to grossly underestimate the damage they do.  A 2007 study from Simon Fraser University confirms just one of the many ways that toxin loads and their effects are downplayed.

Rick and Bruce decided to take the tests out of the laboratory and get answers in real time. They tested only be behaviour that normal people might do and the effect had to show up in four days or less.

They donned chemically treated, stain-resistant underwear and anti-bacterial socks and found that their toxin levels went through roof.   Conclusive studies already show that anti-bacterial soaps contain hormone-disrupting toxins and create health problems in children. Rick and Bruce washed their hands with anti-bacterial soap and found the levels of Triclosan in their blood increased  3,000 times.  This is the chemical linked to thyroid problems and known to produce anti-biotic resistant super bugs.

They microwaved their food in plastic containers for just two days and found their blood  levels of plastic-specific toxins increased by eight times.  They ate tuna for seven meals in a row and found their mercury levels tripled.  Of course, no one eats tuna for seven meals in row. But, some people eat sushi three or four times a week and heavy metals are not easily removed from the body.

Modern life is lived in a toxic soup and the best we can do is continually minimize our exposure and increase our body’s resilience.  Worrying is not the answer – but accepting ‘expert’ claims that levels are safe is just naive.   Begin with common sense – if something looks, feels or smells toxic,  it is.   Start looking for alternatives to plastic.  Replace your toiletries and cleaning products with natural alternatives.  Open your windows – get as much fresh air as you can.  Stay hopeful.   One way or another, this phase of human silliness is almost over.