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Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power Review
Winner of the 2008 NAUTILUS SILVER AWARD in the category of Ecology/Environment/Sustainability and Conscious Media/Journalism New evidence seems to arrive daily—from stories about tainted pet food to toxic toys—of the dangerous consequences that lax environmental policies are having on the consumer products that we, and our children, use every day thanks to lobbying efforts by the U.S. chemical industry. User Submitted Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power ReviewsFebruary 25, 2008 A little something for most everyone I just finished this book chemicals in our food, electronics, and other products, and how regulation addresses them.And how that regulation affects markets. It has a neat little store of information on the current European initiatives to protect their consumers ( REACH program ) and relates American govt and businesses responses to it. (It may or may not surprise you that the Bush administration sent lobbyists (even including Colin Powell!) to push against raising standards. Below, a handful of highlights, and if you're interested, you can check the other reviews (which are quite good in their coverage.) - We're either ignoring or not adopting REACH standards for the most part. It's still perceived as too expensive. (EU experience has shows otherwise in cases.) I suspect that, for the transnational corporations, this'll change quickly, and they'll adopt. - Our goods across a wide swath from food to cosmetics will be blocked at the border and returned if they don't comply with REACH.(And GMO standards, etc.) - Not only the EU, but a large number of major traders are adopting these standards. Brazil, Mexico, and yes, China. - REACH does two things our EPA and FDA don't: it measures risk by citing chemicals with known bad effects (e.g. teflon), and not by the more common Monte Carlo and human/behavior models used here, and it considers ALL chemicals up for review, and unlike the EPA, it does not grandfather in tens of thousands of chemicals without testing. For these reasons, it is much stricter. -There a few interesting stories about how some nations in the EU wanted stricter standards (for, e.g. GMOs) but were bent back to the mean by the EU/Brussels.Austria being one example. - The information on GMOs in one chapter is very well presented. It gave a fascinating synthetic and integrated look at GMO across market, lobbying, technical, and regulatory considerations. I learned a lot in a few pages. EXPSOED gave me enough background to understand why we're increasingly talking about "toys with lead paint" here in the States but why many other countries no longer worry about this. The USA will become a dumping ground for potentially dangerous products refused by other major nations. It also, going back to GMO food, made it clear why ethanol is being pushed so hard by the Bush administration: the EU has *very* strict rules against GMOs, and most of our corn is now GMO, and largely unacceptable to the EU. The story from France about their anti-GMO crop destroying vigilante group was especially interesting! In any case, this book is highly recommended (it's a flash to read) by social theorists who want to see their theories played out in practice, by political hacks and business lobbyiests, by "green" types, by anti/pro globalizers, and by free-market wackos (that'd be me). Oh, and there's an interesting quote in their by Stiglitz, about how market capitalism is not good, because of the information asymmetry between the consumer and the producer. It made me think of Sy Syms (if you're an older NY'er, you'll remember old Sy) who always said "An educated consumer is our best customer". Amen, Sy. ( I would have given the book five stars -- it is well-referenced and thought out -- but the omission of any commentary whatsoever on Codex Alimentarius, and its sotto voce slant toward "only the State will protect us" took the edge of this otherwise very appealing book by Schapiro. Enjoy! February 22, 2008 Buy this book before you vote in 2008!!! I heard him on NPR and immediately bought his book! I found out that the European Union has rules about safety for toys, makeup, etc. which our corporate-lobbyist-paid-off government lead by the Republican Administration refuses to incorporate into law protecting us. Why won't they protect American children? Because they say it is 'bad for business.' Simply stated this means parents of children in Slovenia and all other EU countries don't have to worry about lead in toys, because of the EU's strong inforcement of these laws, but American parents DO have to worry. So in short -- China DOES make toys which are safe, and they sell them to EU countries. Things the EU refuses to allow on their shelves gets sent back to China and ends up in America. Also Shapiro let's us know cosmetic companies make products without lead and other cancer causing chemicals to sell in the EU due to the EU's strict laws protecting their citizens, but those same companies continue to make products with these banned chemicals and sell them eagerly in America. What the heck is up with that?!! Obviously we mere citizens cannot expect businesses to DO THE RIGHT THING because they do it only when forced to by the EU, but won't follow those standards unless our government forces them to provide safe products for American consumers. My opinion: If congress and the government agencies who are supposed to protect us can't get it together -- let's follow all the EU restrictions and say -- "We'll have what they are having!" Thanks for putting this issue out there in such a clear manner, Mr. Shapiro. My fellow Americans, buy this book and throw out the bums in 2008!!!!! February 3, 2008 Great idea, poor execution I really wanted to like this book. It's an interesting and important subject, a perfect fit for the kind of thing I usually like to read. Unfortunately, it doesn't live up to its tag line. "Toxic chemistry"? There's *no* chemistry at all here. I don't expect a book like this to read like a scientific journal, but it would have been nice if there had been just a little description of exactly what effect these chemicals have on our bodies. Similarly, a few anecdotes about people whose lives were directly affected by exposure to these awful chemicals would have done a lot to strengthen the message. I know the effects are diffuse, but a professional writer should be able to find *one case* to illustrate his point. So what do we get instead of word from either scientists or ordinary people? Endless quotes from envirocrats - regulatory officials on one side, chamber-of-commerce types on the other, plus consultants and lobbyists and lawyers for both sides. The author's only concern, pounded into us over and over and over and over and over again, is that the US is *losing its policy leadership* to the EU. The human toll hardly gets a nod; it's the economic and geopolitical implications that get this author's dander up. Even as economics, though, the book fails. There are a few vague numbers tossed around, but no properly-sourced charts or graphs to illustrate the magnitude of the economic effects involved. A picture would have been worth ten thousand of these words. This book could have been the Fast Food Nation of its topic area. Instead it is itself fast food - cheap mental calories, soon forgotten. What a shame. January 22, 2008 Increased Power of Corporations Leaves U.S. Consumers at Risk -- Will Europe Save Us? I encourage everyone who lives in or plans to visit the United States to read this book so you can appreciate how dangerous the products are that companies deliver here . . . even though many provide much safer versions in Europe and other parts of the world. Why? Governments outside the U.S. respond more to citizen concerns about safety than they do to pressure from product suppliers to reduce regulation. While some will see this as a Bush-bashing book, it seemed to me from reading Exposed that the prior Clinton administration didn't seem to do much better in safeguarding citizens from various toxic risks. What's the story line? It's convoluted . . . which is why I graded the book down one star. Let me see if I can encapsulate the key points in a brief list: 1. Industry lobbyists have succeeded in persuading the U.S. government for a long time to not test many suspect items for toxicity, presuming that if it's in use . . . it's okay. 2. Independent scientists report that most of these items aren't okay. 3. The new European government is heeding citizen concerns about harmful substances and is requiring that they be eliminated from products and landfills. This means reformulating products if you are a global company and recycling hazardous materials. 4. Because the European economy is larger than the U.S., most global companies are complying in Europe. Some are choosing to make all products to the European standard, but many leading U.S. companies still make and sell toxic versions for the U.S. Some Chinese manufacturers are doing the same. 5. Many governments are about to adopt the European standards so that almost any other country will be a safer place to avoid toxins than the U.S. 6. The U.S. government is lobbying like crazy in Europe and elsewhere for its views, and annoying foreign governments even more than before. 7. The U.S. has little or no influence on world standards for product and environmental safety as a result. The book suggests that the well documented problems of falling fertility in the U.S. are probably tied in some way to these unregulated toxins. Are free markets always good for us? This article suggests otherwise when no one wants to speak up about poisons. January 2, 2008 2 books in one While I enjoyed this book (it reads fluently), it seems that it tries to do 2 separate things. The first is an extended and repetitious treatment of how the U.S. has lost its world position and influence in the world-wide regulation of the chemical industry due to regulatory recalcitrance and inaction. The second relates how the impact of the U.S. policy of waiting for problems to "emerge" or waiting for the legal system to highlight "problems" (which may need regulatory adjustment) vs. the EU policy of "precautionary" regulation has put U.S. citizens "at risk" to numerous potentially hazardous chemicals. The second focus was of more interest to me and I thought there would be a more thorough treatment of these potential hazards. December 28, 2007 Toxin Alert I just finished reading "Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power"; there is no question that it honors its title and exposes "What's at Stake for American Power" in the world and at home. Clearly we have fallen behind the environmental curve and, while only citing the GOP / Bush power structure in passing, the burden of responsibility clearly falls on the Republican Party and all those who support it. It would be nice to say "politics aside" - but that is not an option. The issue is the politics of self-destruction in the name of short term profit and the right to poison as many people as possible. In that context, there is a Mindsay blog site on the web (shreckenangst) where the actions of politicians are judged against their enforcement of a doctrine labeled "The Most Harm to the Most People" - "Exposed" exposes in very readable terms the policies of governments which support, or refute, the Most Harm doctrine. Sadly, it is the United States which seems to bend over backwards to supports it; and the European Union which refutes it. The author describes these contrasting policies in terms of America insisting that third parties establish absolute proof of harm, while the EU relies on science indicating the potential for harm. Under EU policies, if it can cause cancer, birth defects, infertility or any other problem - it is to be banned. The result is, companies which do business in both America and the EU set up factories accordingly - healthy ones for the EU, and poisonous ones for America. China has adopted the EU policies for itself and is now dumping toxins in America - while American companies, because they cannot meet the EU or Chinese environmental standards, cannot trade products with those nations. Example: American Cars fail Chinese EPA standards and so our auto industry is blocked from the worlds largest single population of potential buyers. Read this book. 1. It is clearly a MUST READ for anyone who is not suicidal, and/or would prefer to see their children and grandchildren healthy - or at least as healthy as those in Europe. 2. It is clearly a MUST READ for anyone who remembers the time when America was the world's economic engine and leader - and would like to know why we are rapidly becomming a third world nation. December 24, 2007 Michael Moore, MAKE THIS INTO A MOVIE! Recommended reading for every human on the planet who can read. (Perhaps Mr. Bush can have someone read this to him from the cliff notes version since by his own admission, he does not read.) Having heard the author on Terri Gross and NPR, I sought out and read this book with alarming interest. I am now horrified and disgusted at our pathetic governing organizations. I knew our environment was bad, but I had no idea that it was nearly THIS bad. I've always been curious if every product we touch, eat, watch and drive in has something toxic in it and the author has confirmed my fears and more. Personally, I don't care if the U.S. is not the number one economy in the world OR a world leader in product safety. Economics and leadership are not important if your brain is rotting away or your kidneys decide to quit working or the air you breathe and the water you drink is filled with enough toxins to slowly kill you. And, thanks to every U.S. administration from Nixon on, that's what kind of toxic world we've left our children. Carcinogens, Mutagens and Toxins... we're bathed in them daily at our own expense and risk. Thanks for a great book and opening my eyes. Now, if only you could collaborate with Mr. Moore and get this on the big screen! December 16, 2007 A Hidden Cost of Privatized Health Insurance There probably isn't a single person in the United States whose health hasn't been affected by phthalates (pronounced tha-lates). These guys are plastic softeners. You'll find them in shower curtains, shampoo bottles, raincoats, perfumes, rubber duckies, teething rings, car dashboards--you name it. They're linked with endocrine ailments. They make your hormones crazy. They lower sperm counts, may be linked to prostate and breast cancers, and sexual disfunction. They can cause genetic mutations. And they're entirely unnecessary. There are other nontoxic additives to make plastic pliable. Oh, and one more thing: while perfectly legal in the U.S., phthalates are illegal in the European Union. In fact, as author Schapiro points out, a whole cesspool of toxic additives that are perfectly acceptable in the U.S. have been outlawed in the EU for a long time now. Chinese factories that try to sell phthalate-riddled plastic toys in Europe get their commodities rejected at the borders. Guess where they eventually wind up? Under your kid's Christmas tree. As Schapiro says (p. 189), the U.S. is becoming "a dumping ground or goods not wanted elsewhere in the world." That the FDA and other governmental agencies are doing a crappy job protecting us from harmful and unnecessary toxins in everyday commodities probably doesn't come as much of a shock to anyone. But Schapiro's speculation about why the EU does such a better job watchdogging its citizens is worth heeding. Health care in the EU is nationalized. The government, using in part taxpayer monies, picks up the tab for taking care of sick and dying people. In this kind of health care environment, you better believe that preventive medicine is a high governmental priority, because neglect today costs more tomorrow. So it's in the interest of the individual EU states, as well as their tax-paying citizens, to make sure that toxins stay out of their countries. Something to think long and hard about if you live in a country like the U.S. big on deregulation, privatized health care, and plastic stuff. November 27, 2007 Sheds Light on Bad Policy Undermining US Economy I bought and read this book together with How Everyday Products Make People Sick: Toxins at Home and in the Workplace where my review has ten links to other books that I will not duplicate here. I found the book sensible and compelling on three points: 1) Weak US environmental law are turning the US into a dumping ground for unhealthy products that Europe and Asia will not accept 2) The European Union is a bigger client of China's than the US 3) The European Union is not just making very strong and sensible regulation about public safety, it is carrying those requirements all the way to the Chinese factory floor, and in the process, making both China and Europe superior to the US on the manufacturing and sustainability fronts. I was especially concerned to read about toys made of plastic whos vapor emissions harm children over time. The author tells us that the US is suffering from "analysis paralysis" and that Europe is at least a decade ahead of us. The "dirty dozon" (sic--I count eleven) of the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are: · Aldrin · Chlordane · DDT · Dieldin · Dioxins · Furans · Heptachlor · Hexachlorobenzine · Mirex · Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) · Toxaphene Digital component waste is mentioned throughout the book. The book concludes with a look at genetically modified crops, and a French court finding that farmers were acting in self-defense when they destroyed such grops at research farms. REACH is the EU's Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals program and it is becoming a global standard (except in the US). Good notes and index. See also: Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead The Global Class War: How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win It Back Confessions of an Economic Hit Man Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It November 14, 2007 thank god for this type of information Very well. Very important information every child and adult, and especially parents should know. It is truly sad and astonishing how much disregard and selfishness there is in people who are the decision-makers in these situations. They either suffer from mental illness or they use other chemicals in order to avoid thinking about what they are causing in this world. For more Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power reviews click here.
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