SafeMinds board member Gayle DeLong published a study in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health that examines whether one of the environmental triggers of autism could be the battery of vaccinations that young children receive.  DeLong finds a relationship between the proportion of children who received the recommended vaccines by age 2 and the prevalence of autism (AUT) or speech or language impairment (SLI): The higher the proportion of children receiving recommended vaccinations, the higher was the prevalence of AUT or SLI.  The results suggest that although mercury has been removed from many vaccines, the remaining mercury as well as other culprits may link vaccines to autism.  Further study into the relationship between vaccines and autism is warranted.  Click here to view abstract.    

Mercury Emissions and Occupational Exposure

By Caroline Ganim for the SafeMinds Environmental Committee

Maybe the sky isn't actually falling, but the mercury in our atmosphere is a concern for every living thing on our planet.    Mercury is a global pollutant and there is no barrier that keeps it from crossing borders or oceans; it can remain suspended in the upper atmosphere long enough to circle the earth.  It is a chemical element which cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change forms.  Mercury is being discharged at alarming rates from coal-fired power plants, gold mines, cement kilns, incinerators and even crematories along with thousands of smaller sources.  In fact, coal-fired power plants are the largest source of anthropogenic mercury air pollution in the United States, emitting about 48 tons annually. Internationally, man-made mercury emissions totaled an estimated 1930 tonnes in 2005 (UNEP). 

If we are inclined to accept business as usual, we should also be ready to accept the following EPA estimated annual list of casualties and illnesses due to coal-powered plant emissions, including: 17,000 premature deaths, 120,000 asthma attacks and 850,000 missed days of work due to illness. Texas accounts for well over 15% of nationwide mercury emissions, while Pennsylvania follows at a distant second with 6.4%.

Once released from into the atmosphere, mercury settles in lakes and rivers, where it is methylated by bacteria and moves up the food chain to humans. According to the EPA, roughly half of our nation's lakes and reservoirs have levels of mercury that exceed safe levels. The U.S. Geological Survey found that 25 percent of fish sampled from U.S. rivers and streams have unsafe levels of mercury.   In addition to mercury, coal-fired power plants are emitting many other harmful toxins including: antimony, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, lead, manganese, nickel, arsenic, chromium, and selenium. Read more.    

Dr. Case builds the readers' knowledge from the bottom up as he offers historical and ethical perspectives on the Western approach to medicine. Case uses data to expose fraud and incompetence while declaring the need for a new paradigm in healthcare. In his introduction, the author defines his reasons for writing the book: to outline the real causes of disease and to propose solutions. From chapters entitled, "Genesis of the Medical Monopoly," to "Viruses: Message in a Bottle, Or Attack of the Living Dead," the author examines the hypocrisy and lack of scientific data behind what is foisted on the general public as good healthcare. 

Dr. Case, a chiropractor and natural healer, educates his readers in the basics of the healthcare industry and offers the reasons behind commonly held fallacies. He empowers and leads them through the jungle of medical theories and challenges them to find the "road less-traveled," one which leads to personal wellness and accountability. Case substantiates every claim in his book, with 20 pages of reference notes, followed by a 22 page index. He bases his text on his personal study in, "anatomy, physiology, pathology, histology, biochemistry, biomechanics, quantum physics, hundreds of thousands of hours of clinical practice, common sense, logic, and other modes of scientific study".  

Read full review.

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