Slow Death By Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things

Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie: Authors

The end of innocence. Even our favorite bath toy the iconic Rubber Ducky is not to be trusted. :(

Never doubt what a thoughtful and committed group of people can change the world, because they are the only ones that ever have.

Regulations set up to deal with old style pollution, burning rivers, oil slicks, smoke stacks. New kind of pollution, kids toys, products, us.

Toxic Nation: Celebrities, politicians, kids, families. We all have hundreds and thousands of chemicals in us. All of the politicians had higher levels of pollutants, especially teflon. :)

"How did this stuff get in me?" Was what tested individuals wanted to know. Impetus for their book.

They wanted to know two questions. 1) Can we see these chemicals in our own blood 2) Can we see the impact of introduction of chemicals in real time?

Used themselves as guinea pigs, much to the dismay of their wives. Cardinal rule for tests: Had to mimic real life. Brush teeth, shampoo, eat a tuna sandwich. Stuff like that.

Seven deadly synthetics:

Phthalates - most products that smell good
PFC's - non stick pans, stain repellants,
PBDE's - fire retardants, bedding, pc's
Mercury - neurotoxin
Triclosan - Colgate Total toothpaste
Pesticides
BPA

Showing charts:

Phthalates increase DEP 22x after only 2 days use of brand name off the shelf products
BPA - increase 7.5x after two days of eating out of plastic, used son's baby bottle and canned food, including our favorite childhood foods
Triclosan increase 2900x after two days of Colgate Total toothpaste - amazing
Mercury - 2.5x after eating tuna - sandwiches, tuna steak, sushi ate 7 meals with Tuna
Pesticides - Banned in parts of Canada, so couldn't test, found levels of chemicals banned 40 years ago in their blood
PFC's - 95% of Americans have this in their bodies. No significant increase due to extensive amount already in our bodies

Note: Most of these chemicals aren't necessary for product effectiveness, great salesmanship by chemical manufacturers.
Evidence of Significant Health Problems

Hormone Disruption
Altered male:female ratios
Synthetic estrogens

Links to modern epidemics
Asthma, Autism, Obesity, ADHD and ADD, Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease

Slide of impact on mouse breast tissue. Lots of clutter in the BPA slide.

Hope: Canada bans BPA in baby bottles
Moms were the drivers of this change. Women held rallies, verbally accosted public officials over the issue, happened when a conservative government in place, so there is hope.

What can you do? Read labels.

Detox Yourselves: Avoid

plastics, scents, tuna, nonstick, stain free stain repellent. Do: Eat organic whenever you can.

Websites: www.slowdeathbyrubberduck.com

Questions: We want names, what products?
Look for unscented or fragrance free products, avoid plasticware (there are biological alternatives)
How can you tell if cans are lined with BPA?
Pretty much all, EDEN Organic doesn't use
Del Monte to launch a tomato products package with no BPA
How do we know that replacements are safe?
We need to demand adequate review and assessment of new products/chemicals