The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a 10,000,000 square mile area in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

First discovered in 1997 by self trained ocean researcher Charles Moore, he named the stretch of ocean between the UK and China The Great Pacific Garbage Patch because of it’s 30 foot deep and 10,000 square mile mass.

The area is about twice the size of Texas.

Since it’s discovery, the area has been under study by environmental groups and Universities for it’s negative impact on aquatic wildlife.

In an August press release detailing a recent 3 week expedition through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by research scientists from the University of California, led by Miriam Goldstein and fellow researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California- San Diego, Goldstein commented, “It’s pretty shocking – it’s unusual to find exactly what you’re looking for”.

What they were looking for is the chemical breakdown of plastic, along with the toxic chemicals they contained, and their effect on marine life from the micro organisms and Plankton that are subject to the bio mass, to the predator fish that are higher on the food chain and consume the smaller aquatic life forms.

The concern is that the chemically contaminated larger fish, end up on our dinner plates.

In recent studies conducted by Dr Frederick Vom Saal from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and with joint researchers from Japan, studies showed an increase in onset Diabetes, Liver and Kidney disease, and most alarming, Miscarriages they believe to be related to oceanic fish consumption contaminated with residue from plastic containers and the toxic chemicals they contained.

Thomas Morton, a journalist on Charles Moore research vessel, the El Quido, returned from a one week stay in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and reported on the area as an “Ecological Catastrophe”.

Researchers on the vessel recorded a 6 to 1 ratio of Plankton VS Plastic and the normally soft saltwater in the area is a “Yellowish soupy mix”.

Plastic in salt water, unlike on land, does not Bio Degrade, it Photo Degrades, breaking down into miniscule particles small enough for fish to consume. The chemical compounds in the plastic remain and the toxins are transferred in trace amounts to larger game fish.

When asked if there was a solution to the problem on the horizon, Thomas Morton shrugged his shoulders and stated there was not.

“What is happening in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a global catastrophe and until all countries adopt a safe plastics dumping regulation, the bio mass in the middle of the ocean will continue to grow, and until the world population stops using plastic containers filled with toxic chemicals found in household cleaners, the problem will only worsen”.

Only a global co-operation of many countries taking immediate action, can minimize the health damage that will surely come from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Authors Note:

There has been over 85,000 new chemicals introduced to the American population since 1944 with little or no EPA regulations or testing for human exposure. 70% of these toxic chemicals are found in Household Cleaners.

Organizations such as Green Justice, a Law firm in New York have recently filed class action suits against 4 major cleaning solution manufactureres to disclose the chemicals used in their products. The case went public after the manufacturers were asked to disclose the chemicals used and they replied the chemicals were, “Company Secrets”

When asked for EPA intervention, the EPA said they have tested and approved only 4 chemicals in 2 years, citing claims the Budget Office of the White House is “Dragging their feet” and slashing the EPA budget for chemical testing, resulting in millions of Americans being put at risk of toxic chemical exposures.

To help us get EPA funding for future chemical testing, please do your part and sign the EPA Petition to force congress to make funding available to the EPA for chemical testing on products used in public schools.

Please sign the Petition here:
http://tinyurl.com/yh9mee3

I respectfully submit the following evidence to promote an EPA investigation against chemical toxins used in ordinary household cleaners.

Since the end of WW2 there have been 85,000 new chemicals introduced to mainstream America without EPA approval, and minimal regulation at best.

Of those 85,000 new chemicals, over 70% are found in everyday cleaners.

Recent studies of families living with asthma, conducted by the American Lung Association and the American Respiratory Association, have found direct links between household cleaners and the onset of asthma attacks.

Household cleaners have contributed to the onset of new adult asthma as reported by Dr. Jan-Paul Zock of Barcelona Spain in joint studies conducted at the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), the Municipal Institute of Medical Research (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain, the Respiratory Epidemiology and Public Health Group, the National Heart and Lung Institute, and the Imperial College, London, in the United Kingdom.
We live in an increasingly chemical society and these chemicals are being brought into our homes unaware: experts don’t know how dangerous these chemicals might be, but they are starting to worry.

Typically, the chemicals in cleaning products are found in small amounts, diluted with water. This does not necessarily make them safe. Ingestion of common household cleaning products by children accounts for 63% of the phone calls made to the National Poison Control Center.

Another thing to watch out for are aerosol sprays that contain nerve-damaging ingredients, such as hexane and xylene.

Also, aerosol sprays produce mist particles that can contain a high amounts of organic solvents, according to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. It warns that these solvents can be inhaled into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.

According to a 1999 study published in the weekly science and technology magazine, New Scientist, in homes where aerosol sprays and air fresheners were used frequently, mothers experienced 25 percent more headaches and were 19 percent more likely to suffer from depression, and infants younger than 6 months old had 30 percent more ear infections and a 22 percent higher incidence of diarrhea.

Some of the most alarming stories revolve around household cleaners containg chemicals known as ethoxylated nonyl phenols, which have recently been declared toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

Also known as endocrine disrupters, these chemicals are called “gender benders” by environmentalists because they are believed to cause reproductive problems for some animals. For instance, a group of Columbia River otters, with large doses of ethoxylated nonylphenols in their bodies, can no longer reproduce because their penises are too small.

More than 56 per cent of all nonylphenols used in Canada are found in cleaning products, notably in toilet cleaners and certain liquid laundry soaps.

Fomaldehyde is another chemical compound found in some household cleaners, but it is included as a preservative, not as a cleaning agent. Other chemicals commonly found in household cleaners include ammonia; nitrobenzene, which is a toxic organic compound frequently used in furniture polish; and phenol, or carbolic acid. Most ingredients in household cleaners are chemical compounds that are manufactured for other uses as well.

Recent medical studies have also proven a link between ordinary household cleaners and their direct impact on Asthma and Breast Cancer.

Findings also show a direct link between aromatic candles and liver disease, along with carcinogens that cause skin cancer and a multitude of other problems related to respiratory ailments directly caused by ordinary household cleaners.

News stations are reporting organized groups petitioning congress to set regulations on household cleaners and their 85,000 un tested chemicals used in household cleaners.

Household cleaners have never been regulated and manufacturers have been given a red carpet to use whatever chemicals they deemed worthy, with no regard for human safety.

And our Healthcare Industry is suffering to the tune of Billions annually.

If you want to make healthcare afforable, you have to start with prevention.

With that said, I respectfully request the EPA to consider a ban on all un approved household cleaners used in public schools and nursing homes until they are PROVEN SAFE.

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