How can we relate chapter 5 of environmental science and theology in dialogue to environmental toxin PFAS and analyze it Children in the SuburbsLife in the suburbs, however, does not insure safety from environmental toxins for Jimmie or Suzie.Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are a component of nonstick coatings, fabric, leather, foodpackaging, and other applications typical of convenience products seen in affluent suburbs. PFC usein the home translates to PFC accumulation in our bodies. PFCs are highly suspect for their effect onhuman health; they are linked in laboratory animal studies to liver and testicular cancer, immunesystem disorders, birth defects, and other medical issues. Even relatively low levels of PFCs inmaternal blood serum are associated with reduced birth weights. A recent study of the efficiencyof PFC transfer between mother and child by breast feeding indicated serious questions of healthrisks, sufficient for the study's authors to call for an assessment of hazardous exposure via nursing.PFCs give us nothing but convenience. Among the chemical compounds identified in umbilical cordblood at birth are eight PFCs used in fast food packaging and clothing, including PFOA, categorizedas a likely human carcinogen by the EPA's Science Advisory Board.53Like their rural counterparts, suburban Jimmie or Suzie will face a greater risk of leukemia if Dador Mom sprays pesticides in the house, an increased risk of childhood brain cancer if Mom or Daduse herbicides residentially, and an increased risk of leukemia if the level of PCBs in carpet dust(industrial chemicals banned in 1988 but often present indoors where their breakdown by sunlightand water is low) is high in the room where the child spends the most time.54 Childhood acutelymphoblastic leukemia rates are also increased by postnatal exposure to household air containingpaint fumes; even the type of chemical exposure we casually produce by repainting a nursery in asuburban home can have tragic consequences.55An additional health risk for suburban children is the scantily researched health risks associatedwith chemicals released from the crumb rubber layer in artificial turf playing fields. This cushioninglayer is generally made of ground recycled automobile tires, which contain a wide variety ofchemical additives and which are considered too toxic to dispose of in normal landfills or by oceandumping. Early indications are that volatile organic compounds with known health effects arereleased from the rubber subsurface layer and may pose a hazard to children whose sports orrecreational activities bring them into substantial contact with artificial turf.56 Another chemical group, known as phthalates, are plastic softening agents generally found in softtoys and flexible bottles, like the ones seen with young families at the sidelines of soccer games.Mothers with higher phthalate concentrations in their breast milk had male infants with altered earlysex hormone levels. The early disruption of sex hormone levels can alter important developmentalprocesses and cause significant differences in later stages of sexual maturation. Higher maternalurinary phthalate concentrations are associated with increased likelihoods of preterm birth.58 Higherlevels of prenatal phthalate exposure and phthalate metabolites in urine samples are correlated withlower IQ measures and other measures of cognitive ability.5957Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a petrochemical found in food or beverages sold in lined metal cans and inpolycarbonate beverage containers (including many baby bottles). BPA is a synthetic estrogen; evenin low doses it disrupts development of normal reproductive systems and is also implicated in a hostof other health-related issues. A recent study of umbilical cord blood in minority children 60 was thefirst to demonstrate BPA in the blood of newborns. This would be equally likely in Jimmie or Suzieof any race if they ate or drank from similar baby bottles or canned food sources. Major baby bottlemakers and beverage container makers are moving away from BPA following bad publicity aboutBPA entering formula when baby bottles are heated.6¹ Legislation mandating that change isspreading, but plastic linings of metal cans continue to contaminate the food in them with BPA.Other toxins that might affect Jimmie or Suzie in a modern suburban home include dozens ofbrominated flame retardants.62 Brominated flame retardants, also known as PBDEs, are absorbed bymothers and passed on through breast milk. The United States and Canada both allow these toxicmaterials to be used as fire retardants (in furniture, computers, TVs, automobiles, and so on) despitemedical evidence that has resulted in the banning of PBDEs by the European Union. The averagelevel of brominated fire retardants in the breast milk of twenty first-time U.S. mothers wasapproximately seventy-five times higher than was found in European women.63PBDE concentrations in breast milk in the United States are correlated to concentrations in house65dust and increased maternal consumption of dairy products and meat. 64 Research has also shownthat PBDEs, which pass to infants via breast milk, cause memory deficits, learning and hearingimpairments, and other sensory deficiencies. PBDE exposure at critical moments in prenatal braindevelopment can cause permanent harm.66 PBDE levels as low as four parts per billion (ppb) inanimal brain tissue or twelve ppb in animal brain fat cause permanent brain damage. Thirty percentof U.S. women have more than twelve ppb of PBDE in the fat of their breast milk; it is not knownhow that corresponds to resulting concentrations of PBDE in infant brain tissue.67PBDES produce infant developmental deficits by reducing thyroid function in pregnant mothers.Women with low thyroid hormone levels are much more likely to have babies categorized as havingIQs of less than 85 and IQs of less than 70. These IQ levels are likely to significantly limit theirpossibilities for a full life (two-thirds of children dropping out of high school have IQs below 85).PBDE effects on later thyroid function in children exposed before birth may or may not be aspermanent as the neurological deficiencies produced.68

In this topic, we are going investigate an critical issue that impacts both human wellbeing and the…

Answered: How can we relate chapter 5 of…

11th Edition

ISBN:9780134580999

Author:Elaine N. Marieb, Katja N. Hoehn

Publisher:Elaine N. Marieb, Katja N. Hoehn

Chapter1: The Human Body: An Orientation

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 1RQ: The correct sequence of levels forming the structural hierarchy is A. (a) organ, organ system,...