What are you doing for this Holiday Season? What gifts will you give? What resolutions will you make? Well here is an idea for you. How about giving the gift of better health to yourself and those around you, to the whole community in fact? How about making a New Years resolution to be more aware of our environment and helping others do the same? Below is an awareness sheet put together by Dr. Michael Ricos, in an attempt to improve the awareness of expatriates and local communities alike on the negative affect of dioxins on our environment and ultimately our own health.
“Dioxins” is the name of a group of toxic, chemical compounds that are formed as a result of burning commercial or municipal wastes and from burning fuels. In Bali, dioxins are mainly formed when farm and household wastes are burned. Burning chlorine-based compounds like PVC plastics makes the most dangerous Dioxins. Chlorine is in various plastics, so when these plastics are burned, chlorine is released and it quickly reacts with other compounds to make dioxin.
Dioxins are extremely long-lasting compounds, they do not break down quickly in the environment, and a large part of the current exposures to dioxins in the United States, is from the release of dioxins many years ago. Even if all dioxin production could somehow be stopped now, dioxins will still remain in our environment for many years to come.
Because dioxins don’t decompose (in the environment or your body) they bio-accumulate. This means that your body takes up and stores dioxins. Over time, low-level exposures will “build up” until health effects begin to occur. When released into the air, dioxins can be transported long distances. In water they can settle into river sediments, they can be transported further downstream or be taken in by fish. Most dioxins exposure occurs through the diet. Dioxins in the atmosphere are deposited on plants and are then eaten by animals. Dioxins concentrate up the food chain so that animals accumulate higher dioxin levels than the plants, which they eat. Carnivores, like us, accumulate the highest levels as dioxins accumulate in fat, in fact 95 % of dioxins we consume, come through our intake of animal fats.
As a society, we have been accumulating dioxin and dioxin-like chemicals in our bodies for years, so many of us are very close to “full”. It will only take a little bit more, to push us over the edge, and trigger negative health effects. Any exposure to dioxin, no matter how small, can lead to adverse health effects, so no additional exposure to dioxin is really safe. Scientist have shown that exposure to dioxins causes many health problems. Some dioxins are known to be deadly at very low concentrations: A millionth of a gram will kill a guinea pig; animals die from a wasting disease in 2 to 6 weeks. Immune system damage (in humans) also occurs, especially in children. Immediate effects from high levels include ‘Chloracne’ a severe skin disease with acne – like lesions that occur mainly on the face and upper body, other skin rashes, skin discoloration, excessive body hair, and damage to other organs such as liver, kidney and digestive tract.
The biggest health problem is that dioxins can cause cancer in adults. Workers exposed to high levels of dioxins at their workplace over many years have a greatly increased risk of cancer. But the problem with cancer caused by dioxins, is that it takes 20 years or more for these cancers to appear!! As dioxins cross the placenta in humans, even low levels during pregnancy result in reproductive or developmental effects like miscarriage, sterility as well as birth defects including – limb deformities neurological defects and changes to the immune system.The children of women who ate dioxin-contaminated cooking oil in Japan and Taiwan had many physical defects at birth and showed poor performance on intelligence tests when studied later. These children were poisoned by contaminated cooking oil eaten by their mothers before they were born! Affected children were still being born six years later! They were smaller than normal (200-250 g lighter), they had discolored skin and nails, abnormal teeth and gums, and many were apathetic and dull with low IQs scores and very bad short- term memory. They also showed very high rates of infections.
Problems also come through the father via changes in sperm and a reduced sperm count. Birth defects found in children of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, a dioxin, included deformities of the brain, the heart, genital organs, and urinary tract include cleft palate, club foot, the hand and limb and increased risks of spina bifida, congenital cancer, increased heart defects and Down’s syndrome. The fall in the rates of infant mortality since 1966-70 parallels the fall in dioxin levels. In Vietnam there is a 30% extra risk dying before the age of one year for people in the villages which were sprayed with Agent Orange.
Avoiding particular foods because of dioxins does not really help much, because once dioxins are in an ecosystem they are everywhere. However, lowering your intake of fats by eating lean meats and meat where fat has been cut off can help. For fish and poultry you can reduce fat by removing the skin to lower the risk of exposure to dioxin. You should not be eating fish from rivers, beaches and lakes where contamination has occurred. By far, the best strategy is to prevent contamination of your food supply by not producing dioxins in the first place and you can do this by not burning household rubbish.
In America, Europe, & Australia, new laws and community action have resulted in dramatic reductions in dioxin levels in the environment – and increased safety for everybody. Unfortunately, big problems with dioxin still exist in other countries like Indonesia. Worldwide, the burning of rubbish and farm wastes are biggest sources of dioxin contamination of the environment.
What can you do? STOP BURNING RUBBISH!! Don’t burn plastics and paper, as well as farm wastes like jerami. The leaders of your community are responsible for the safety of your own people. The best way to solve this problem is through education people about how to not produce dioxins in the first place.
Some suggestions:
1. Form a committee to start cleaning up dioxins in your village. Make up a list of other people who should be involved, explain the problem and get the support of your community leaders like the Kepala Desa and leaders in your Banjar.
2. Educate your committee first about dioxins and burning rubbish. Give a copy og this information to each of them explain to them the risk, and how we ourselves are responsible for producing them. Tell them that to stop producing more Dioxins we must… STOP BURNING RUBBISH!!! Throw rubbish in the DKP garbage collection system not in the river and do not burn it.
3. Have regular meetings to make sure everybody understands what they need to do, and for people to ask question. Every body must understand this is a big commitment and needs the active endorsement of your whole community.
4.Talk to everyone in your village, spread the message about dioxins. Make sure farmers and factories in your area understand, they must keep your village safe too.
5. Make a target date by which time all the people in your community must be educated about the problem and what can be done.
6.Tell your Banjar security when they see people burning rubbish to stop them and remind them about the risk to their health.
7. The leaders of your community must be strong and vigilant. Have a continuing program to find out where the sources of dioxin are in your community, mainly burning rubbish but textile dyes and pesticides made with chlorine increase the levels of dioxin in your community.
8. Call GUS at 759323 (www.gus-bali.org) for more information. We’ll answer your questions, and help you to Stop Dioxin Exposure in your village.
9.Have courage and determination it is a big job but the longest journey begins with one small step. And remember always lead by example!! Remember what you stand to win with a successful Dioxin Reduction Program. Less cancer, less disease, fewer birth defects, and more people who can bear healthy children.
Dr Michael Ricos.BSc,Hons,Phd
Dr Michael Ricos is a researcher who worked on Genes, Cancer and Birth Defects, in the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, National Cancer Centre and the National University Hospital of Singapore and the University of Adelaide Australia. He is now helping Yayasan GUS with their environmental work. He wrote this paper to help educate the people of Bali on the Risks of Dioxins.
Special thanks to Darsih from Ubud for forwarding this information.
For an Indonesian language version of this article email Kim at info@chcbali.com
