Word: toxication
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Soon apples were ordered removed from school cafeterias in New York City, then Los Angeles and Chicago. Said one school official: "It was overreaction and silliness carried to the point of stupidity." Kenneth W. Kizer, director of the California department of health services, said the panic was creating a "toxic bogeyman." Still, a number of school systems across the country followed suit. Signs were posted above produce bins coast to coast pointing out the Alar-free apples. Makers of products like apple juice, a staple of the preschool diet, sent out releases saying their brands were safe. Washington State, which...
Some experts say the two incidents, taken together, show that the system works; after all, no one died. Others say it perpetuates the myth that life can be safe, although a look around at the filthy rivers, decrepit nuclear plants, air thick with pollution and tons of toxic wastes with no place to go shows that life is nothing of the sort. What the Alar alarm and the fruit furor do show is that certain risks -- those that are up close, personal and capable of capturing the public imagination -- make regulatory decisions politically easy. But while all the fuss...
...different pesticides. "I may have Alar on my apples, lead arsenate on my grapefruit, captan on my vegetables," says Jay Feldman, national coordinator of the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides. "Alone, each of them may constitute a negligible risk. But when you add them up, the total toxic burden is too high...
...dietary supplements. Some 40% to 60% of Americans routinely swallow vitamins, mineral tablets, protein powders and the like. Yet most people do not need more than the RDAs for vitamins and minerals, and they get that easily through a varied diet. Megadoses have no benefits and can be toxic...
Children may also be more vulnerable than adults to pesticides because their bodies are still maturing. Cells are rapidly dividing, and organs, like the liver, may not be as efficient in removing toxic chemicals. "We must revise all existing tolerances and set the levels for children," says Janet Hathaway, the NRDC's chief lobbyist in Washington. "We should be able to eat food without worrying that we are sowing the seeds of cancer...