The removal of lead from gasoline some 25 years ago was an enormous accomplishment in the field of children’s health. According to Phil Landrigan, MD, one of the nation’s foremost experts on children’s diseases and environmental exposures, and Director of Mount Sinai’s Center for Children’s Health and the Environment, pesticides, fine particulate air pollution, and chemicals in drinking water are the next focus..(emagazine.com news archive vol.xii, no 5).

Sunday’s headline in the Naples, Florida daily News, read “Pesticides, the bitter harvest of Florida’s vegetable fields”. According to the new study, pesticides pollution to local rivers and estuaries is a huge issue, with farm chemicals causing most (77%) of the problems, followed by lawn care, mosquito spraying and golf courses..

Nearly half of all the chemicals used in the five counties that form Southwest Florida are sprayed in Collier County, most in agricultural

Why is this issue so critical for all of us?

“Seventy five years ago, infectious disease was the dominant cause of children’s disease: polio.

easles, pneumonia. Today, the major causes, after injuries, are chronic diseases, like asthma and cancer. I’m worried about a whole range of chemicals that have the potential to get into the developing brain, and cause damage”.(Landrigan, Ibid)

“We don’t know today  precisely how cigarettes cause lung cancer, but we know that they do, and we know how to prevent it. The same is true for a lot of chemicals . We do not know how they cause brain dysfunction, but we know that  they do.”(Landrigan, Ibid)

Recently, I was conducting a seminar for the moms- to- be at a nearby ObGyn office.

When I shared with them the harmful ingredients in some of their cleaning products , they were amazed and appalled. They thought, as so many do, that if a product is on the market shelf it must be safe for families to use. They saw an irony in the fact that people in the workplace see MSDS(Material safety data sheets )on products to which they are exposed, yet  the average consumer simply has no access to this information(The US Federal Code of Regulations exempts manufacturers from full labeling of products if used for household or personal use(USA FCR:Section 1910, 1200C, Title 29, section 1500.822Q1A).Bio- accumulation studies have shown that some  toxins can be stored in our adipose tissue(fat cells) for life!

Recently, at a trip to a memory clinic for the testing of one of my relatives I saw a sign that stated,” A brain is a terrible thing to waste!”. Pesticides and other toxic chemicals are everybody’s business- why not make it yours?

About the Author: Cynthia's mission is to help women like you build healthier, happier lives. A counselor and leader in the women's business community for over 30 years, Cynthia is committed to making a difference. She's spent the last six years in SW Florida making that difference through her roles as a health advocate and business mentor.