Since World War II, when the explosive growth of the chemical industry began, more than 70,000 chemicals have come into commercial use worldwide, and more than 1,000 new ones are proposed for manufacture each year. Yet, very little is known about the impact of most of these chemicals on human health. The National Academy of Sciences has estimated that fewer than 10% of them have been tested to the point where their ability to cause cancer or reproductive damage is understood.

In fact, almost nothing is known about the combined impacts of these chemicals. Most of us are exposed to thousands of these chemicals in our lives and many of the chemicals accumulate together in our bodies, building up to high levels after many years.

Fish-eating is a major route of exposure to many pollutants because fish are good at accumulating chemicals in their bodies. Other animals are also accumulators. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that 75% of the average American's dioxin exposure is through consumption of meat and dairy products. Breathing, drinking water, and skin absorption can be other major routes of exposure, depending on the type of chemical.

The following list describes numerous trends and conditions which together paint a picture of declining public health which could well be linked with toxic chemical pollution. It's clearly time to reduce this pollution.

Cancer incidence rates have increased dramatically in the last 40 years. The lifetime risk of being diagnosed with a life-threatening form of cancer is now 44.8% for men and 39.26% for women, according to the National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society. Until recently, the averages were lower --- 1 cancer per 3 people, and prior to that, 1 out of 4 people. (The rates are adjusted to account for the increase in the average age of the population.) Since 1971, the overall incidence of cancer has increased 18%, and the mortality rate has grown by 7%. Since 1950, cancer rates have increased by 43.5% overall. Some forms of cancer have increased much more.

The National Cancer Institute recently said that industrial chemicals and environmental chemicals that mimic hormones, and pesticides need to be investigated as causes of cancer. They added, "Cancers developing in reproductive tissues such as the breast, ovary, endometrium, and prostate account for approximately 30% of all cancers. These tissues are dependent on an interactive network of various hormones for their development. In recent years, investigators have shown that there is a relationship between the level and duration of hormone exposure and tumor development in these hormonally sensitive tissues." Many man-made pollutants such as PCBs and dioxin behave like hormones in our bodies, and interfere with natural hormone levels.

The U.S. EPA estimates that Great Lakes fish consumption will result in 38,255 extra cancers in the Great Lakes region over the coming 70 years (based on 5 chemicals --- but primarily PCBs). This estimate may be low. The Wisconsin DNR estimates that anglers eating fish from Little Lake Butte des Morts (a flowage at the upper end of the Fox River) face a 1 in 250 risk of cancer over their lifetime. This risk likely extends down the Fox River into Green Bay, because many downstream fish are at least as contaminated as those in Little Lake Butte des Morts.

From 1979 to 1987, the U.S. Center for Disease Control kept records of 38 types of birth defects and their incidence in roughly 15% of children born in the U.S. --- they found that 29 types of birth defects increased, 2 decreased, and 7 remained stable (changed less than 2%). Approximately 7% of all children were affected (250,000 children). In addition, from 1974-1980, roughly 560,000 infant deaths, spontaneous abortions, stillbirths and miscarriages were recorded due to defective fetal development.

There is abundant scientific evidence that birth defects in laboratory animals and humans have occurred (sometimes at high rates) as a result of exposure to five main classes of pollutants: radiation, pesticides, metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, etc.), solvents (such as toluene), and dioxin-like chemicals (including PCBs.)

Among children ages 6 to 11, the prevalence of asthma increased from 4.8% in 1971-74 to 7.6% in 1976-80 --- a 58% overall increase --- according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Roughly 1 out of 20 children is currently affected. Death rates increased 31% between 1980 and 1987, while the biggest increase in deaths occurred among children between the ages of 5 and 15. In inner cities, asthma is the leading cause of hospitalization among this age group.

Asthma is an immune system dysfunction, with attacks triggered by common air pollutants such as street-level ozone, nitrogen oxides, particulates, and sulfur dioxides.

The International Joint Commission, which oversees the boundary waters between Canada and the U.S., states, "One growing concern is effects on endocrine systems. Research has shown persistent chemicals such as PCBs, dioxins, atrazine, hexachlorobenzene, as well as other organochlorines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's), to be strongly implicated in the disruption of endocrine systems, including estrogenic effects, in laboratory animals and in wildlife. The substances appear to act as artificial, external hormones that disrupt the normal balance of hormonal activity in animals."

About 40 widely-used chemicals (pesticides, detergents, and plasticizers, as well as dioxins, PCBs, and furans) have now been identified as hormone mimics or disrupters.

The endocrine system is a complex set of bodily organs and tissues whose actions are coordinated by hormones which control sexual reproduction, growth, development and behavior.

Science News recently presented evidence from several sources that males of many wildlife species (birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals) are being "feminized" by exposure to low levels of chemicals released into the environment in huge quantities since World War II, causing reproductive failure. Physical and behavioral changes have occurred in wildlife and laboratory animals, including: reduced male hormones in males, slower sexual maturation, greater willingness of male offspring to assume a receptive female posture when approached by a sexually stimulated male, distinctly feminine-style regulation of hormones related to testosterone production in males, reduced sperm counts, hermaphroditic offspring (born with both male and female sex organs), reduced ovary size in females, and other behavioral changes.

Recent statistics raise concerns that humans could be reacting to chemicals just as birds, fish and mammals do. These effects likely wouldn't be obvious in people who are contaminated directly, rather the changes would occur in their children, who are much more vulnerable to changes and are exposed prior to conception, in their mother's womb, or during breast-feeding.

*Research shows that Men now experience:

--- Increased cancer of the testicles in many industrialized countries. In the U.S. the incidence increased 124% from 1950 to 1990.

--- Increased prostate cancer. In the U.S., the incidence increased 134% from 1950 to 1990.

--- Increased incidence of undescended testicles (cryptorchidism) in humans and in wildlife.

--- Reduction in sperm count by 50% among men in many industrialized countries.

--- Increased incidence of hypospadias --- a birth defect of the male genitalia.

--- Boys born to women contaminated with PCBs show increased incidence of reduced penis size.

--- Boys born to women contaminated by the drug DES (a hormone-mimic used during pregnancy in the 1950's) show increased tendency towards homosexuality, indicating the possibility that other hormone-mimicking chemicals could have the same effect.

*Research shows that Women now experience:

--- Increased incidence of breast cancer. In the U.S., the incidence increased 52% from 1950 to 1990.

--- Increased incidence of endometriosis and cysts --- painful, sometimes fatal, growth of excess tissue around a woman's ovaries and uterus. Scarring from this condition can cause sterility.

According to the National Research Council, only a handful of chemicals have been evaluated thoroughly for their impacts on the nervous system. A 1992 NRC report said, "There is convincing evidence that chemicals in the environment can alter the function of the nervous system." They suggest that chemical exposures may be responsible for some degenerative brain disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Lou Gehrig's disease.

Some local fish, such as Fox River Walleyes, are highly contaminated with mercury. Many fish throughout northern Wisconsin are similarly contaminated. Even at very low doses, mercury can damage the human central nervous system, impair mental development, and damage kidneys.

Researchers have found numerous examples of metabolic abnormalities in birds, fish, and mammals, correlated with exposure to toxic chemicals. The effects include impaired or abnormal use of energy, manufacture of tissue, or handling of resulting wastes. Could humans be similarly affected?

Approximately 15% of the American people --- some 37 million individuals --- may experience "increased allergic sensitivity" to chemicals, according to the National Academy of Science. The New Jersey Dept. of Health reported in 1990 that "chemical sensitivity does exist as a serious health and environmental problem." People who suffer from multiple chemical sensitivity exhibit a bewildering variety of symptoms and behavior when exposed to chemicals, making diagnosis difficult. In some people, symptoms are mild --- in others, disabling.

Several industrial chemicals have been found to cause immune system damage in laboratory animals and numerous species of wildlife. This leaves the animals more vulnerable to a wide range of secondary diseases and syndromes. Some chemicals, such as dioxin and certain pesticides, have been proven to suppress human immune systems.

Many species of birds, fish and other creatures in the Great Lakes region suffer from unusually high rates of thyroid dysfunction, which is part of the endocrine system. Human thyroid diseases have also become common. One in eight women currently suffer from dysfunctional thyroids --- leading to fatigue, nervous system impacts, weight problems, reproductive problems, and other effects.

Several studies (in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, and Taiwan) show that children of mothers exposed to PCBs show slight but persistent physical, mental and emotional retardation --- weak reflexes, poor muscle tone, smaller head circumference, sluggish responses, lower birth weights, etc. Preliminary results from several studies being conducted in the Great Lakes region by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry show that these effects are real and do persist into young adulthood.