{"id":38742,"date":"2013-12-02T07:00:39","date_gmt":"2013-12-02T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetsave.com\/?p=38742"},"modified":"2013-12-02T07:00:39","modified_gmt":"2013-12-02T12:00:39","slug":"mercury-6-top-10-toxic-ingredients-used-fossil-fuel-industries-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetsave.com\/articles\/mercury-6-top-10-toxic-ingredients-used-fossil-fuel-industries-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons — #6 In "Top 10 Toxic Ingredients Used By The Fossil Fuel Industries" Series"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is part of a 10-part series on the “Top 10 Toxic Ingredients Used By The Fossil Fuel Industries.” Read, share, and check in tomorrow for the next part, which will focus on formaldehyde<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/a>Fossil Fuel Sources: Oil and Coal<\/p>\n In actuality, this is not a single listing — polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is an entire class of toxic chemicals, linked together by their unique chemical structure and reactive properties. I include them on this list because they are frequently cited collectively as a primary fossil fuel pollutant.<\/p>\n Many PAHs are known human carcinogens and genetic mutagens. In addition, there are particular prenatal health risks: prenatal exposure to PAHs is linked to childhood asthma, low birth weight, adverse birth outcomes including heart malformations, and DNA damage. Additionally, recent studies link exposure to childhood behavior disorders; researchers from Columbia University<\/a>, in a 2012 Columbia University study<\/a>, found a strong link between prenatal PAH exposure and early childhood depression. Infants found to have elevated PAH levels in their umbilical cord blood were 46% more likely to eventually score highly on the anxiety\/depression scale than those with low PAH levels in cord blood. The study was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives<\/a>.<\/p>\n The rapid development of the Alberta \u201ctar sands\u201d oil fields in Alberta, Canada, has coincided with both the discovery<\/a> of dangerous levels of PAHs in the region and<\/em> multiple reports of significantly higher rates of cancer and other diseases<\/a> in the adjacent communities. As reported<\/a> in one local newspaper:<\/p>\n More women in the community are contracting lupus. Infant asthma rates have also increased. During the summer months, it is not uncommon to find mysterious lesions and sores after swimming in Lake Athabasca. \u201cWhen you look at what is happening in the area, it can\u2019t not be related to development,\u201d says Eriel Deranger, a spokesperson for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. \u201cToo many times, we see things in the animals and health that the elders have never seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The BP\/Deepwater Horizon<\/a> oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 provides another window into the previously hidden dangers of PAHs in oil production. Following the massive spill<\/a>, scientists found PAH levels to be 40 times higher than before the spill.<\/p>\n Local fisherman, normally accustomed to some of the most abundant and healthy fisheries in the US, subsequently reported finding horribly mutated shrimp with tumors on their heads, some lacking eyes and eye sockets, clawless crabs \u201cwith shells that look like they\u2019ve been burned off by chemicals.\u201d An increasing number of scientists from diverse specialties<\/a> — biologists, fish physiologists, environmental toxologists — from Louisiana State University, North Carolina University, North Texas University, and others cite PAHs from the spill<\/a> as the most likely culprit.<\/p>\n The effects of PAHs to wildlife in the Gulf waters — coming to light several years after the spill — may merit attention across the American heartland as US domestic oil production increases dramatically.<\/p>\n6. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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