HUFFINGTON
07.22.12
CHEMISTRY LESSONS
01
“Every human being is now subjected to
contact with dangerous chemicals, from
the moment of conception until death.”
A FEW YEARS before she was
pregnant with her first child, Elsie,
Hannah Pingree got tested for toxic
chemicals as part of a demonstration study by public health groups.
Although she has lived most of
her life on an island 12 miles off the
coast of Maine, her blood, hair and
urine showed high levels of flame
retardants, mercury and phthalates.
“I was living nowhere near anything
industrial,” says Pingree, former
Speaker of the Maine House and
now a consultant for “Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families,” a national
coalition working to reform toxic
chemical regulation. “ Q