Environmental toxins enter the brain tissue of polar bears (and therefore humans)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://scitech.au.dk/en/current-affairs/news/show/artikel/environmental-toxins-enter-the-brain-tissue-of-polar-bears/

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Environmental toxins enter the brain tissue of polar bears[/font]
[font size=4]Scientists from Denmark and Canada are worried by their new findings showing that several bioaccumulative perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are crossing the blood brain barrier of polar bears from Scoresby Sound, East Greenland.[/font]

2013.07.23 | Jens Christian Pedersen

[font size=3]PerFluoroAlkyl Substances (PFASs) and precursor compounds have been used in a wide variety of commercial and industrial products over the past six decades. Applications include water and oil repellent coatings, e.g. for textiles, paper products, carpets and food packaging, pharmaceuticals and surfactants in cleaning products and fire-fighting foams. PFASs are highly resistant to chemical, thermal and biological degradation.

PFASs and their precursor compounds have shown a dramatic increase and dispersal around the world over the past four decades. An increasing amount of information is becoming available on the toxicity of these compounds. Hence, studies have documented the toxicity of PFASs on wildlife and human health, including carcinogenesis, genotoxicity and epigenetic effects as well as reproductive and developmental toxicities, neurotoxicity, effects on the endocrine system and immunotoxicity.

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“If PFOS and PFCAs can cross the blood-brain barrier in polar bears, it will also be the case in humans. The brain is one of the most essential parts of the body, where anthropogenic chemicals can have a severe impact. However, we are beginning to see the effect of the efforts to minimize the dispersal of this group of contaminants.”

…

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) constitute a group of compounds where one end of the molecule consists of a carbon chain in which all the hydrogen atoms are replaced by fluorine atoms. This so-called perfluoroalkyl ”tail” can be short or long, but the strong C-F bonds make the tail more or less impossible to degrade, compared to the more well known CFC-bonds. The best known PFAS is PFOS with an eight-chained perfluoroalkyl tail.

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[KT2000]

1. so much is known

but kept suppressed about the damage done by toxic chemicals.
In one study, humans with chemical sensitivity were shown to have damage to nasal passages - the tight junctions were no longer tight. The olfactory bulb leads into the center of the brain. The integrity of the blood brain barrier can be compromised by exposures to certain chemicals and stress.

Have you read "They're Poisoning Us: From the Gulf War to the Gulf of Mexico, An Investigative Report" by Arnold Mann? Good read that explains why even the article you cite will be buried.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. "They're Poisoning Us: From the Gulf War to the Gulf of Mexico, An Investigative Report"

No, I haven’t read it.

But, I don’t think I need to.

You may notice, for example, I included a paragraph involving fluorine. Fluorine is almost magical in its ability to transport things across the blood-brain barrier.

Here’s a book from the National Academies of Science entitled Fluoride in Drinking Water:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11571

It’s rather chilling (just check out the Table of Contents.)
Try this chapter on for size:
7 Neurotoxicity and Neurobehavioral Effects

Did we stop adding fluoride to our drinking water as a result of this book? No. The book was neutralized, partly by recasting it, to focus on fluoride contamination, rather than “fluoridation.”

Most people associate fluoride with the practice of intentionally adding fluoride to public drinking water supplies for the prevention of tooth decay. However, fluoride can also enter public water systems from natural sources, including runoff from the weathering of fluoride-containing rocks and soils and leaching from soil into groundwater. Fluoride pollution from various industrial emissions can also contaminate water supplies. In a few areas of the United States fluoride concentrations in water are much higher than normal, mostly from natural sources. Fluoride is one of the drinking water contaminants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because it can occur at these toxic levels. In 1986, the EPA established a maximum allowable concentration for fluoride in drinking water of 4 milligrams per liter, a guideline designed to prevent the public from being exposed to harmful levels of fluoride. Fluoride in Drinking Water reviews research on various health effects from exposure to fluoride, including studies conducted in the last 10 years.

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=11571

[font face=Serif]
Read Full Report
Date: March 22, 2006
Contacts: Bill Kearney, Director of Media Relations
Christian Dobbins, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail <[e-mail]>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[font size=5]EPA Standard for Fluoride in Drinking Water Is Not Protective;[/font]
[font size=4]Tooth Enamel Loss, Bone Fractures of Concern at High Levels[/font]

[font size=3]WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standard for the maximum amount of fluoride allowed in drinking water -- 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water -- does not protect against adverse health effects, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. According to the most recent data, just over 200,000 Americans have drinking water sources containing fluoride levels at 4 mg/L or higher. The committee that wrote the report concluded that children exposed to the current maximum allowable concentration risk developing severe tooth enamel fluorosis, a condition characterized by discoloration, enamel loss, and pitting of the teeth. A majority of the committee also concluded that people who consume water containing that much fluoride over a lifetime are likely at increased risk for bone fractures.

The report does not examine the health risks or benefits of the artificially fluoridated water that millions of Americans drink, which contains 0.7 to 1.2 mg/L of fluoride. Although many municipalities add fluoride to drinking water for dental health purposes, certain communities' water supplies or individual wells contain higher amounts of naturally occurring fluoride; industrial pollution can also contribute to fluoride levels in water. Because high amounts of fluoride can be toxic, EPA places a cap, or maximum contaminant level, on fluoride concentrations in drinking water in order to prevent adverse health effects.

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Most exposure to fluoride in the United States results from consumption of water and water-based beverages, but dental products, food, and other sources contribute as well. Highly exposed subpopulations include individuals who have high concentrations of fluoride in their drinking water or who drink more water than the average person because of exercise, outdoor work, or a medical condition. Relative to their body weight, infants and young children are exposed to three to four times as much fluoride as adults. Children also may use more toothpaste than is advised or swallow it, and many receive fluoride treatments from their dentists. Fluoride accumulates in bone over time, so groups likely to have increased bone fluoride concentrations include the elderly and people with severe renal deficiency who have trouble excreting fluoride in their urine.

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[MarcPierre]

3. biological samples

This is really tragic. Did they find any solution to deal with this toxin issues and save these species of polar bears? I was unaware of the entire news.
____________
human tissue