Here’s the latest place you’re likely to be exposed to toxic pesticides: inside an ambulance.

Yes, the next time you’re lying flat on your back en route to the hospital, try not to think about the Nano-sized particles of disinfectant pesticides that were misted on every interior surface of the ambulance before you arrived.  Pesticides meant for use on hard, non-porous surfaces, not skin, not blankets used to keep you warm, not the bandages used to dress your wounds.

After receiving complaints of health problems suffered by paramedics working inside these “micro-misted” ambulances, the EPA has asked New Jersey-based Mammoth-Ocean Hospital Services Corporation (MONOC) to stop administering the misted pesticides until it can determine whether they are safe and if they are being used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Read the rest of this entry →

On my way into work last Friday I heard a story on NPR about a UCSF study that found dozens of toxic chemicals in the bodies of pregnant women. I’ve written before about the vulnerable environment of the womb, and while I’m not surprised by the findings of this latest report, its release struck a nerve nonetheless. You see, until the previous day, I had been a pregnant woman. In the first trimester with what would have been my third child. Losses happen and they occur far too frequently and impact far too many women.

The worst part, perhaps, is not having an answer as to why they happen. I took all the necessary precautions: cut out alcohol, coffee, ate well, exercised, and took prenatal vitamins. As far as monitoring what went into my body, I did everything right. What I couldn’t control, however, was the likely presence of toxic chemicals already in my body.  Chemicals like pesticides, flame retardants, BPA, all of which are known to affect reproduction.  Chemicals that could have interfered with my pregnancy. Read the rest of this entry →