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What is Toxic
Alert?
Toxic Alert is a public service of Jonathan Campbell, a health
consultant from Littleton, Massachusetts. His mission is to make complex technical information about
health and toxics in our environment so that it is accessible and understandable by most
people, and to provide alternatives and health information so that people can protect
themselves, their families, and their communities.
Along with articles by world-class journalists such as Paul Brodeur,
Bill Ravanesi, Larry Shook, and Tim Connor, much of the information is presented in the
form of short informational documents in simple language. They have been designed to be
usable directly, with little modification, for community public information and
organizing. (See below for more information on Toxic Alert and CQS).
This site also provides a link to community organizations that are
working to improve the environment, and to statewide and national organizations that can
provide information and help.
Toxic Alert Pages - General Information
Toxic Alert Hotlinks
Environmental
Topics - General
Biotechnology and Genetic
Engineering
Community Health and
Organizing
Dioxin and PCBs
Fertilizers - Toxic Waste, Fluorides, &
Radiation
Hazardous Waste
Media
Mercury
Newsletter Archives
Nuclear Matters
Pesticides
Pollution - Continual
Releases of Toxic Chemicals
Resources and Survival
Guides
Solid Waste (aka Trash)
Landfills, Incineration and Recycling
Sludge and Sewage
Toxic World, Toxic Culture
Why Toxic Alert?
The media tells us that the
environment is getting better, but there is clear evidence that it is not. Literally
hundreds of billions of pounds of toxic chemicals are released into the environment each
year. Cancer has reached epidemic proportions, especially breast cancer for women and
prostate cancer for men. Afflictions such as endometriosis, Attention Deficit Disorder,
and asthma, relatively rare or unknown at the beginning of the century, are now
commonplace. The sperm count among men in the industrialized countries has been cut in
half in the last 30 years. The EPA lists
40,000 Superfund contamination sites nationwide. Our food is routinely sprayed with
pesticides whose safety is in question.
Dioxin, a super-toxic by-product of the incineration of PVC plastic, and
PCBs, used in transformer and compressor motor oils, are everywhere. These are
hormone-disrupting chemicals: they interfere with the sensitive chemical messaging system
in our bodies. They are known to cause cancer and the other afflictions noted above.
We need to do something. But people must understand what is happening
around them before they can take on the polluters, the inertia of U.S. businesses, and the
opposition of the chemical giants. There is a wealth of highly technical papers signaling
the alarm and providing critical information about health and the environment, but little
that can be understood by ordinary folks. Toxic Alert fills this gap. As mentioned above,
the information at this site has been designed so that it is directly usable in public
information campaigns. Organizations and individuals are invited to copy these documents
and use them in their communities.
Note that for the moment, a few of the references are limited to New
England. More states - and countries - will be added as time permits. |
