Dartmouth man part of national blood study

By PAMELA MAREAN
Standard-Times correspondent
SouthCoastToday.com - Massachusetts
May 20, 2007 6:00 AM
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/...NEWS/705200357

Blood and urine samples from Dartmouth resident Jerry Fishbein are being tested to see the types and amounts of toxins that accumulate during his everyday routine.

"I'm not different from most of my neighbors," said Mr. Fishbein, who explained that he doesn't have any unusual exposure to chemical hazards. And that is the point of the study.

Mr. Fishbein is one of five people in this state who are being tested, and one of 35 people spread out across six other states — Minnesota, Connecticut, New York, Illinois, Michigan and Alaska — participating in the study.

The test subjects represent a diverse group in terms of age, race and vocation, said Liese Jones of the national nonprofit organization Clean Water Action. "It's not a statistical type of sampling, but we want to be able to tell the story," she said.

Because it costs about $1,000 per person to run the blood and urine tests, only a few profiles are being used, but that might spark greater action, Ms. Jones said.

In Massachusetts, the four others being tested are a lawyer in Boston, a clergyman in Framingham, a state representative in Amherst and a youth outreach worker in Malden.

Clean Water Action sought out Mr. Fishbein because, as vice president of Service Employees International Union 1199, he represents the labor sector but "does not work in a factory exposed to high levels of chemicals," Ms. Jones said.

Selecting participants who have not been not exposed to hazards in their everyday lives was important in order to establish "that you don't have to be working in a factory and drinking polluted water in order to be exposed to the three chemicals we are testing for," Ms. Jones explained.

The toxins being studied are phtalates, commonly used in cosmetics and plastics; polybrominated diphenyl ethers, used as flame retardants for clothing, furniture and electronics; and bisphenol-A, used in plastic baby and water bottles and as a liner in tin cans.

"We probably all have them in our bodies. It doesn't have to be that way," Ms. Jones said.

Mr. Fishbein describes himself as someone who eats and exercises "pretty well."

He buys organic food sometimes and his family grows vegetables in their garden. He enjoys rock climbing and, although he would like to be in better shape, Mr. Fishbein feels he is likely an average or above-average individual in terms of self-care and risk factors.

Before his involvement in this study, Mr. Fishbein thought his greatest threat from pollution was exhaust from driving on the highway.

"The more I look at it, it's all over. There is no obvious brand to avoid, no one product versus another product that's exposing us. I'm exposed to chemicals just sitting in my living room."

The "body burden" testing will answer questions that Mr. Fishbein said he has had since researchers "poked me in the arm and explained what kinds of toxins they were looking at." The results of the blood and urine tests are due to be released this summer.

Mr. Fishbein's questions parallel those of the study itself. He wants to know, "At normal exposure, what's the impact? Are these chemicals accumulating in your body, my body? What are the alternatives? What importance will this have for future generations?"

The health ramifications for people polluted with phthalates, PBDEs and bisphenol-A are unclear, and the link between diseases and chemical buildup is not proven, Ms. Jones said. However, she said some of these chemicals are endocrine disrupters that could lead to infertility and hormonal cancers, such as breast and testicular cancers.

Some also could be contributing to illnesses that have "strong environmental links," such as asthma, learning disabilities and cancers. Ms. Jones said environmental links to Parkinson's disease and diabetes also are being researched.

"We're not talking about industrial chemicals dumped in waterways. Consumer products that we buy off the shelf are never tested to see if they contain chemicals that could be hazardous to our health. We need regulations to make sure consumer products are made safely and don't include toxic ingredients," Ms. Jones explained.

But help might be on the way. Legislators have proposed a bill targeting these very chemicals that "requires that we evaluate what's being used, what alternatives there are, and make a decision," Ms. Jones said.

"It's really common-sense legislation."

Clean Water Action is part of a coalition of 160 environmental advocacy groups called the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow. For more information about the study, contact Ms. Jones at (617) 338-8131, Ext. 204, or visit www.healthytomorrow.org.

I often wonder about what is in my water here. It comes from Lake Michigan where fish are dying at an alarming rate. I'm sure it has an effect on we humans. But really, who can you trust where your drinking water is concerned?? I read things too about "bottled water", which I never buy anyway.

I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and very little meat, except for chicken. I might have chicken 5 nights a week but really we don't know what they are being fed.

I do wash ALL my produce, but if the water from the tap is contaminated, Oh My, sounds bad, doesn't it. What's a person to do when there is nothing safe or clean anymore???

I know a woman who only ate rice. She was terrified of all food. Isn't that crazy?? And she was afraid of salt.