Ozzias T. Villaver, Jr., Ed. D. | VigorBuddy
“Toxicoly is that any synthetic or natural chemical can be harmful if ingested in a large enough quantity.”
Toxin or poison is a chemical that adversely affects the health of a living human or animal by causing injury, illness or death. Chemicals vary in their toxicity. Some toxins or poisons can cause serious harm or death after a single acute exposure at very low dosages. Others cause such harm only at a dosage so huge that it is nearly impossible to get enough into the body to cause injury or death.
A long-term exposure to some chemicals in the environment can disrupt the body’s immune, nervous, and endocrine systems.
Ionizing radiation and some chemicals such as arsenic and dioxins can weaken the human immune system and leave the body vulnerable attacks by allergens, infectious bacteria, viruses and protozoan’s. Some natural and synthetic chemicals in the environment called, neurotoxins, can harm the human nervous system, (brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves). For example, many poisons are neurotoxins, they inhibit, damage or destroy verve cells (neurons) that transmit electrochemical messages throughout the body. Effects can include behavioral changes, paralysis and death. The endocrine system releases tiny amount of hormones into the bloodstream of the humans. Low levels of these chemical messengers t5urn on and off bodily systems that control reproduction, growth development, learning ability, and behavior. Hardly of the chemicals in commercial use have been screened for possible damages to human nervous, endocrine and immune systems.
The question now is, Why are children vulnerable to toxic chemicals than adult?
First, children breathe more air, drink more water, and more food per unit of body weight.
Second, they are exposed to toxins in dust or soil when they put their fingers, toys, or other objects in their mouth (as they frequently do).
Third, the immune systems and bodily processes for degrading or excreting toxins and repairing damage are usually less developed in children than in adults.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came out in its study in 2003 that children have 10 times the exposure risk of adults to cancer-causing chemicals. The risk of harm from toxins for children is even 100 times that of the adults.
In our country, usually as December is just a few days away, it is expected that hundreds of thousands toys and other forms of plastics will be circulating again along the busy streets and department stores. Thus, the Bureau of Food Administration (BFAD) will forewarn again the public consumers to be watchful and/or to ignore purchasing very cheap toys and the like which might contain high percentage of Lead; thus endangering the health/life of the children, particularly. BFAD will declare strongly again its stiff penalty for those manufacturers and sellers of products that had not passed the government agency’s approval. Because the “accumulations of high levels of toxins can overload the ability of one’s liver and kidneys, damage the skin or lungs, interfere with oxygen uptake or induce allergic reactions, cause more injuries or death.”
(Reference: Miller, Tyler Jr. G. Environmental Science Working with the Earth. Eleventh Edition. Australia. Thompson Brooks/Cole. @2006)
