“For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death.” Rachel Carson
Sometimes I have thoughts, like isn’t it strange that many people in this area died of Liver Cancer and they all seemed to live along a line that stretches from the Shell River down by Hwy 34 to past the electrical substation up on the prairie. They were neighbors and relatives.
A long time ago when I was little we used to go to visit my Uncle Hugo and my Aunt Mia quite often. Trucks with barrels would be going into the woods. Much later I found out that the land was owned by a chemical company. Could whatever was being dumped there..still be there? Buried?
Too bad I didn’t have a camera back then.
From the MSDS sheet for Vapam HL a soil fumigant: Warning: This product contains Metam Sodium, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. ( Probably means it may cause cancer in Minnesota too.)
Somewhere, somehow someone has to be accountable for how the land is treated. Has anyone thought about the birds that fly through..or the deer that wander through at night…how are they affected? What is the long term affect on the land?
Perhaps I am the only one that thinks about it..and wonders what we leaving for our grandchildren..besides a huge deficit are we leaving them a planet that will be so polluted with cancer causing agents they won’t be able to grow their own food? :(
I think about it too and wonder what the future might bring.
ReplyDeleteFunny isn't it how it seems that people quickly forget that there used to be lakes you could not swim in, that there were no fish in. I do find it amazing how quickly lakes like Lake Washington turned around. Not sayin' I drink water from it now but it certainly is not the industry garbage dump it was when I was a kid. But sometimes I wonder why we forget how it looked long long ago, how it looked a little bit ago and how it is now.
ReplyDeleteHow we take good things for granted.
I find it a bit amazing that chemicals that need MSDS sheets like this are still used in Minnesota or any where.
As for the dump in the woods, have you heard of how some mushroom mycelium can clean up toxic waste - make it completely disappear. Certainly no excuse to be careless by any means but that if carefully looked after I think that somethings could be greatly turned around.
We live near what used to be a land fill. A lot of people,who lived on streets near the land fill, both young and old, died of cancer. Here's a good one for you. A few years back they hauled in truck load upon truck load of dirt, made it level, and build duplexes on it, designed for people over 55 yrs old. They called it Coffee Hill. My take was if they rented to families or younger people the cancer risk was too great. I call it "Coffin Hill"
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for our childrens generation and what they have to look forward too!
ReplyDeleteVery sad. I think about these things, too. :(
ReplyDeleteIt looks very bleak for our children and grand children, but God has and always will care for us, I put my trust in him, not in any of our men leading this Country now, lots of hugs, Barbara
ReplyDeleteThis is a sad state of affairs ... it seems no place is really safe anymore. If it isn't the dumping of the chemicals, it's the chemical fertilizer that goes on the plants and goes in the ground water which makes water filtering necessary for anyone drinking it. And the chemicals in the plants themselves go into our bodies or into the animals that we eat, so the chemicals go EVERYWHERE. A sad, sad state.
ReplyDeleteYou are not the only one...unfortunately, too many don't care...it's us little people who do...and we can't seem to do much about it, but keep trying to live ...
ReplyDeleteI sat here for 5 minutes deciding if I should comment on this post or not. Why not? This subject makes me so very angry I become irrational. Not a good state to be making public comments. But still.....
ReplyDeleteYesterday I got an email from an angry gasoline user (aren't we all) touting how it's the "environmentalists" fault that gazillions of oil lies unused in Montana and the Dakotas, more than all the rest of the world combined. This fantasy inspired dream world, is funded and enouraged by the likes of the Koch brothers, Fix media etc. to build further support for their anti "socilism" drama against any government action which protects any laws for the masses and thus limits corporate greed. As, for example, they would dismantle the the clean air and water acts of the 70's, which began the long, slow and difficult process of making our world a little safer to live in.... And sadly, thats just the tip of the iceberg.
Very scary. I've seen the effects those chemical agents had on the farmers I took care of at the cancer center. They were exposed when applying it to their fields, but we get exposed from the run off. It's a battle that needs to be fought, but I don't see many willing to take up the cause.
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone, but it's probably harder in small towns and rural areas to find kindred spirits. On the other hand, if you felt like stirring up some excitement.... :-)
ReplyDeleteHas anyone ever pursued that chemical dump theory? If it's still there wouldn't the state of Minnesota remove it? If it's still there in concentrated form then removing it would stop the leaching into the groundwater. Do you remember where the trucks were driving?
ReplyDeleteWe have a manufacturer in our area that used to bury barrels of their waste until people who lived nearby started raising cane. Now a lot of those people have cancer of some type !!
ReplyDeleteGreed controls our world right now, making money overrules commonsense and common decency and no thought is given to the future generations. Makes me hopin mad !!!
What's amazing is it takes those of us with "common sense" to notice this. It's a horrible shame that many, many people have to suffer such horrible illnesses before anyone will notice the problem.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right to bring up this topic and pound on it. Many of these compounds are brought out and thought to be safe. Because of their complexity we later find that they are extremely harmful.
ReplyDeleteI think about it too. What are we doing to our Earth? And yes - who is accountable?
ReplyDeleteI am wondering if small towns are abused more? There is no way they would get away with this in larger cities, we have so many rules and regs...
ReplyDeleteBTW does anyone realize how many cancer causing pollutants are in our cleaning supplies? It might be a good thing to do a internet search on cleaning supplies, air fresheners, candles, detergents, and products like that. I switched decades ago, and will never go back.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
That is really really scary to have such a sign posted and to know what is being used on that land and surrounding areas. Makes me furious! You are smart to have brought this subject up. I think we forget what is really happening with all these chemicals. Need to stop and think about it!
ReplyDeleteI worry about it too, and don't know the answers. :(
ReplyDeleteI am getting a biopsy Friday on my thyroid which has developed nodules. I understand this is true for almost half of all women, and I suspect it's in response to some chemical or other I've been exposed to. And I agree with troutbirder: I almost cannot think of all the damage not only to humans but our wild friends... how to deal with this anger, I just don't know.
ReplyDeleteTerry and I think about this often. We try VERY hard to not spray...ever. Allowing the good bugs to do the work they can. In 42 years we have tried to be good neighbors to the enviroment.
ReplyDeleteOn the same hand, I also worry about those HUGE wind machines that generate power. They do damage to birds and the bats...we need those creatures. That is why they exist.
What a scary world this really is.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
I too am saddened that things like this happens from companies who truly don't care about the land or it's habitats.
ReplyDeleteGod bless and have a good day Hon!
I think about the birds especially -- even when the neighbors have the lawn treatment guys come around.
ReplyDeleteEven if the birds don't get sprayed, they eat the bugs and seeds..\
and the rodents get eaten by the bigger birds.
I still haven't gotten over my disappointment that a wetland nearby has been turned into a shopping center. no. I'm still fuming.