If you\u2019re of a certain age, hearing the words \u201cDow Chemical\u201d will send a chill right down your spine. Dow\u2019s two most notorious (and lucrative) products, napalm and Agent Orange, were heavily used during the Vietnam war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Napalm was a flammable liquid, a mixture of a gelling agent and gasoline that, when sprayed, stuck to the victim\u2019s skin and caused severe burns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If it\u2019s possible to imagine a product more horrifying than napalm, it would have to be Agent Orange, an herbicide (kills plants) and defoliant (removes leaves from trees and plants) developed at the University of Chicago. Although some Agent Orange was used in World War 2 against the Japanese, dropping an atomic bomb (also a U of C product) on Hiroshima and Nagasaki made Agent Orange unnecessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US sprayed roughly 20 million gallons of Agent Orange over Vietnamese crops, jungles, and people, destroying millions of acres and sending Dow Chemical stock soaring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Health effects of Agent Orange When US soldiers were exposed to Agent Orange, their wives had miscarriages, their children were born with birth defects, and the soldiers themselves had a higher incidence of cancers and leukemias. However, getting disability compensation proved to be an uphill battle, with both Dow Chemical and the Veterans Administration denying war-related compensation for decades on the grounds that the veterans had become ill after the war was over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today you can view the grim bequest left to our men and women in uniform by Dow (and our government) by looking at the aptly named US Department of Veterans Affairs page \u201cVeterans’ Diseases Associated with Agent Orange<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m telling you all this to provide some historical background not only on Dow Chemical, but on our own government. While I\u2019m glad the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) exists, if for no other reason than to give us some awareness of our toxic environment, I just wish they were doing a better job, regardless of who happens to be in the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dow\u2019s chlorpyrifos: it\u2019s what\u2019s for dinner We humans have a lot of acetylcholinesterase in our own brains too, and exposure to chlorpyrifos has been linked to neurological effects in children, autoimmune disorders, and increased cancer risks. During pregnancy, chlorpyrifos has been shown to retard mental development in babies. Children are especially susceptible, their detoxifying systems not being fully developed until adulthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Except where chlorpyrifos has been banned, the world uses a lot of it, mainly on fruit trees and leafy plants like spinach. It was also used on lawns, especially golf courses, and for termite control. On the guardedly plus side, in 2000 chlorpyrifos was banned for home use and in 2012 in no-spray zones around schools, but still six million pounds of the stuff is sprayed in the US every year, 25% of it in California alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For years, a battery of environmental groups, including the Pesticide Action Network and the Natural Resources Defense Council, has been pressuring the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos altogether. Finally in 2015, environmentalists took the EPA to court for a complete ban. Obviously Dow Chemical \u201cremained confident\u201d about the safety of chlorpyrifos and confirmed that it had been well studied, despite the fact that in 2000 it was fined $2 million for making fraudulent safety claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re inclined to trust Dow\u2019s claims, read this damning overview<\/a> with its descriptions of ruined children and decide for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chlorpyrifos today One of the most hotly debated issues concerned the amount of chlorpyrifos left on fruit after being washed. Scientists felt that even though \u201cmost\u201d was removed, the small amount left on the fruit (residual toxicity) could accumulate and cause a person to develop clinical manifestations and an unpredictable future. Again, this argument was too vague to convince the authorities or Dow. Here\u2019s a list of foods with the highest and lowest amounts of chlorpyrifos residue<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The purpose of today\u2019s Health Tip is mainly to let you know that when it comes to protecting your health, you shouldn\u2019t rely on the government (regardless of which party is in control) to give you a straight answer. There are simply too many conflicting interests (lobbying groups, trade associations, equivocating and donation-controlled politicians) to trust anyone except yourself with your health and that of your family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy reversing the previous Administration\u2019s steps to ban one of the most widely used pesticides in the world, we are returning to using sound science in decision-making \u2014 rather than predetermined results,\u201d Pruitt said Wednesday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Environmental groups pointed to recent studies showing even minuscule amounts of chlorpyrifos, sold by Dow Chemical, can interfere with brain development of fetuses, infants and children. They accused Pruitt of putting the interests of big business over people.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>The human health effects of exposure to Agent Orange turned out to be disastrous. The Red Cross estimates that one million Vietnamese suffered disabilities or chronic health problems, a number vehemently disputed by both Dow and the US government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Now on to chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate insecticide developed by Dow in 1965 and a serious moneymaker, sold worldwide under a variety of brands. It works on the brain chemistry of insects by inhibiting the important brain chemical acetylcholinesterase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>The status of chlorpyrifos was up in the air when President Obama left office. Environmental groups were hugely disappointed that the EPA had dragged its feet on a decision, capitulating to pressure not only from Dow, but also from pesticide and agricultural trade associations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n