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Article: The precautionary principle: an important issue for women's health activists: by the Boston Women's Health Book Collective.(Such sweet poison: chemicals in our environment and women's health)
- Article from:
- Women's Health Journal
- Article date:
- July 1, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Between 1980 and 1985, asthma rates in children have more than doubled. Swordfish and tuna are so contaminated with mercury that pregnant and nursing women are warned to not eat them. In the U.S., a woman's lifetime risk of developing breast cancer has risen from 1 in 20 in 1960 to 1 in 8 today.
More than 25 percent of the nation's children live in areas that do not meet national air quality standards for ozone smog, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide or lead. U.S. production of synthetic chemicals has increased over 100-fold since 1920. In 1998 alone, 7.3 billion pounds of toxic chemicals were released into the environment.
While it is difficult to know ...