Toxins, Chemicals, Pollutants, OH MY!

This quarter, graduate students enrolled in ENVS 597: Power, Privilege, and the Environment are writing short responses emerging from readings and/or discussions in class.

 

Toxins, Chemicals, Pollutants, OH MY!

By: Amy Fitkin

Picture this: You’re walking down the picturesque boardwalk of Newport Beach in sunny and beautiful Southern California. Sunglasses are on, and your bare feet pad along the warm concrete, flip-flops dangling from your hand. Smiling up, the warm rays kiss your face and excitment over the warming wather cheers your spirit; however, do you consider what else is touching your body?

 

Due to human impact and industry, our urban and next-to-urban environments are littered with toxins and chemicals, which we are exposed to daily. Is this exposure something we should be concerned about? Can we measure and know how many toxins are in our bodies now? These are the questions that a California environmental program called Biomonitoring California is attempting to tackle. They measure the levels of toxins in humans by monitoring their tissues and bodily fluid, such as blood and urine. Biomonitoring California is the result of the collaboration of three entities: The California Department of Public Health, The Department of Toxic Substances Control, & Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. All share the goal of assessing the types and quantities of toxins our bodies are exposed to daily. In addition, they research the common sources, such as household items, water sources, food sources, air quality, even the dust that gets kicked up.

 

Since 2006, when Senate Bill 1379 passed, allowing for Biomonitoring California to take foot, almost 200 chemicals have been tested in more than 7000 individuals. That number is continuily growing as we speak. In 2018 a statewide comprehensive survey, called the CARE (California Regional Exposure) study, began in in Los Angeles and has moved throughout the state. Lists of those chemicals are available online for the public to view, and as a layperson, you may recognize categories such as “Diesel Exhaust” or “Flame Retardants”; however, there are many categories that the majority of the public does not recognize. One such category is “Heterocyclic Amines” and “Synthetic Polycyclic Musks”. Those lists can be intimidating and can foster confusion and concern about these unfamiliar substances that we are all being exposed to.

 

So, all of this data has been collected, now what?

 

Biomonitoring California is able to narrow in on what objects, events and consumable items contain high levels of chemical contamination. Then they work with local and state organizations to make the necessary changes to lower and combat these toxins. The safety and well-being of its citizens is at a high priority for California’s health and environmental sectors. Identifying the culptits for major chemical and toxin producers is not only bringing to light the health hazards such chemicals bring to humans, but also how different communities are being collectively impacted.