Coping with Life in the Anthropocene

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Coping with Life in the Anthropocene

By Alan S. Kolok

The Anthropocene is an epoch of time that is characterized by human activity and the impacts that we are having on the planet. While climate change may be the first attribute of the Anthropocene that comes to mind, a second is the unrelenting release of synthetic chemicals into the environment. Hardly a day goes by that we aren’t reminded on television, radio, or social media that our world is awash in synthetic chemicals, most of which did not exist a century ago. Many of these substances are mysterious, and their potential harm lies buried underneath names that are either pedestrian (such as microplastics or nanoparticles) or hidden within chemical jargon that is so unfamiliar that the substances are recognized as acronyms (DDT, BPA, PFAS) rather than by their proper names. Yet despite this lack of familiarity, some of these substances truly are threats to the environment and to human health and well-being.

The fate, transport, and biological impacts of some of these substances are truly impressive. Some have been transported around the globe, so that they are now found in the most remote regions of the Arctic and Antarctic. Far from being benign, some of these substances have become incorporated into the tissues of the seals, whales, penguins, and polar bears that live in these remote regions. The insidious and pervasive nature of these substances can be maddening and make the most stoic among us stop and pause. Fear of the unknown is paralyzing, however, all is not lost, as there are things to remember and actions to take that can keep the threat of these chemicals at bay.

1. Control what you can control.For most people, the number one concern related to synthetic chemicals is that exposure to them may be reducing their overall quality of life or shortening their lives altogether. In fact, it is easy to find evidence to support that fear. Whether it is artificial food coloring, sweetening agents, or artificial preservatives, a quick search on the internet will uncover so-called experts that purport that these additives are harmful, and perhaps deadly.

   It is important, however, to recognize that the top two leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease and cancer and that the primary risk factors associated with these diseases include diet, alcohol consumption, smoking, and exercise. These risk factors are lifestyle related, and exercising control over them can literally save your life. For most Americans, taking control of the major risk factors for these two diseases will go a long way toward good health, regardless of the artificial coloring agent used to color your favorite candy or the preservative used to prevent your bakery goods from spoiling.

2. Make wise environmental health decisions.There are numerous daily decisions that you can make to minimize your exposure to potentially harmful substances. The average adult makes approximately 35,000 decisions every day, including decisions regarding what they eat, drink, what conveniences they own, and how they structure their day. While most of those decisions do not impact health, some of them clearly do. The U.S. National Toxicology Program currently lists over sixty substances that are known human carcinogens, and obviously avoiding exposure to them would be beneficial to one’s health. Some of the substances (tobacco smoke, alcohol) are associated with lifestyle, while others can be avoided by practicing due diligence. For example, asbestos fibers are microscopic fibers that have historically been used in building materials, such as insulation and ceiling and floor tiles. When engaging in a home remodel, it would be prudent to have whatever ceiling or floor coverings will be removed tested for asbestos prior to deconstruction to factor out any unexpected exposure to asbestos. Another example of this is exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used to make certain plastics, including some plastic water bottles. While not directly identified as a carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program, BPA is widely recognized to be an estrogen mimic, and there are concerns that exposure to BPA is associated with a suite of chronic health issues. Fortunately, alternatives to plastic water bottles made with BPA exist on the market today, so exposure through this pathway is relatively easy to avoid.

3. Avoid oversimplificationGiven that some synthetic chemicals are toxic, it may appear prudent to just “go natural” and avoid all synthetic chemicals altogether.  This, however, is not true, as equating natural with healthy and synthetic with harmful is simply false. Plants, for example, naturally synthesize a wide variety of substances for their own benefit, and while some of these compounds (for example caffeine, quinine, and morphine) have been used by humans pharmacologically, others (strychnine) can be deadly. Similarly, not all synthetic chemicals are harmful. Indeed, many of the medical innovations that allow us to enjoy the longest lifespan that humanity has ever known come to us because of synthetic compounds. Many modern antibiotics and pharmaceuticals are synthetic chemicals without natural analogs, therefore, a portrayal of synthetic chemicals as “bad” and natural chemicals as “good” is not merely wrong but can be dangerous.

4. Avoid sweeping generalizationThe number of chemical substances in commercial production exceeds 350,000, although the total volume of synthetic chemicals produced is dominated by 6,000 or so chemicals. Given that so many different chemicals are being produced, is it necessary to evaluate every chemical on its own merits? Well, yes and no.

   On the one hand, the biological activity of a chemical, after you have been exposed to it, depends upon its structure, as very small changes in chemical structure can dramatically impact a substance’s biologic activity. In fact, the differences between the primary human male and female sex steroids, testosterone and estradiol, are so slight that the uninitiated may be hard pressed to identify the differences. Using this logic, one can make a case for needing to evaluate each of the 6,000 synthetic chemicals on its their merit, and to regulate their use accordingly.

   Understanding the potential toxicity of a chemical substance is no easy or inexpensive feat. Is there any way to reduce that overall burden? Fortunately, yes. At least some of these 6,000 chemicals are so structurally similar that they are often referred to by their class rather than by their individual names. For example, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) are just two of these classes where there have been discussions regarding whether these chemical substances should be regulated as classes, or whether there is more utility in regulating each chemical on a case-by-case basis.

   Regardless, being concerned about all of the synthetic compounds in the aggregate, makes about as much sense as being concerned about every animal that you can see in a zoo. While lions and tigers and bears can kill you, rabbits, goldfish and peacocks are harmless.

5. Environmental Compartments – exposure route mattersFor synthetic substances to cause harm, they must enter the body. Pragmatically, there are only three truly viable ways that this occurs, through the consumption of contaminated food, the drinking of contaminated water, or the inhalation of contaminated air. Not every substance is equally distributed in each of these compartments; therefore, the capacity for exposure is different depending upon the specificity of the chemical.
   
   Water. Many Americans take the quality of their drinking water seriously, as contaminated drinking water is an obvious health concern. This threat, however, is a nuanced one, as not everyone receives their water from the same water supply. Roughly 4 in 10 Americans use groundwater as their primary drinking water source, while the remaining population drinks surface water, the water from lakes, rivers and streams. The water quality of all surface water and some groundwater is subject to influence from modern contaminants, but there is a proportion of groundwater that is not. Indeed, knowing the age of the groundwater used to supply domestic water to homes is important when determining its susceptibility for contamination. Nationwide, just slightly less than 40% of the nation’s groundwater entered the aquifer (as infiltration from the surface) since 1953. While surface recharge, and the corresponding contaminants that can travel into the groundwater, may present a risk to 40% of the nation’s groundwater, the 60% of groundwater that is older, is free from any interaction with modern, anthropogenic surface contaminants.What you can do. If you are concerned about the safety of your home drinking water, and if you are supplied by a public delivery system, your water providers are legally required to inform you about the quality of your drinking water. In most places in the country, this information is supplied to you in an annual water quality report. From that report, you can get a better understanding of the chemical risks to your drinking water, and what your local public utility is doing to mitigate those risks. For individuals that receive their drinking water from self-supplied systems, there are commercial companies that you can employ to have your home water system tested. It can be pricey, but can also provide peace of mind.Americans can also purify their home water by running it through one of several commercially available filters. The cost of filtration can also get spendy, depending upon how much water you choose to filter per day. However, even if you live in an apartment or have a limited budget, you can still filter drinking water by using a purifying water pitcher, that is a pitcher that includes an activated carbon filter that the water trickles through before it is consumed. It is important to recognize that these systems store the chemical substances removed from the water within the activated carbon, and that the carbon source has a limit. If the limit of the filter is exceeded, then the filter will re-release chemicals back into the drinking water. Moral of the story: change the filter according to the set schedule provided by the manufacturer.

   Food. Food contamination is incredibly difficult to eliminate from the diet as the contamination can occur at multiple points throughout the food delivery chain. Food can be contaminated at its source, as the fat within animal protein (from beef to fish), for example, can contain potentially dangerous contaminants. Furthermore, for food that is commercially processed it is possible for the food products to pick up contaminants during processing, it is also possible for food to pick up contaminants during storage or during the cooking process.

   What you can do. The decisions that you can make to safeguard your food from contamination are as varied as the sources of contamination mentioned above. If you eat wild fish or game, check with your local authorities to see if there are consumption advisories that would pertain to the animals in the region where you are hunting or fishing. The source of that information may vary by state, but you can contact your local public health department, your state department of Health, or your state department of Environmental Quality to see if this applies to you.

   A note on food packaging. The packaging that food comes to us in is made from a variety of materials, including metal, glass, paper or paperboard, and plastics. Fresh fruit, vegetables and meats may have a relatively minimal exposure to food packaging materials, whereas processed and ultra-processed foods, will have a much more intimate relationship with the packaging. In some circumstances, the inner portion of the packaging associated with processed and preprocessed foods is coated with chemicals that minimize food sticking to the package, protect the food from spoiling, and extend shelf life. One definitive move that the consumer can take to ensure that the chemicals associated with the packaging do not become ingrained into the food is to remove the food from the packaging, prior to cooking or heating in the microwave.

   Indoor Air. In modern society, we are spending as much time in our households, or in offices as we ever had throughout history. With the advent of air conditioning, the indoor air environment has effectively been cut off from the outside air. While this environment helps to achieve temperature and humidity control, it has also led to a condition known as sick building syndrome, a condition in which building occupants experience adverse health impacts because of the quality of this recycled indoor air.

   Air pollution is difficult to define and isolate as it can be applied to gases and vapors, tiny or solid (dusts) or liquid (aerosols) suspended in the air. Chemical contaminants can become associated with the tiny particles, and the inhalation of particulate matter can also provide an exposure route for some chemicals. Other chemical contaminants are highly volatile and easily evaporate into the air where they can be directly inhaled.

   What you can do. At home, the homeowner has ultimate control over their air quality.  Ventilation of the inner rooms of your home, whether through air conditioning or simply by opening windows can be helpful, and indeed it is often the office buildings where the windows can no longer open that suffer the most from sick building syndrome. Even using ceiling fans will circulate the air and prevent areas from occurring in which the contaminants are found at unsafe concentrations. Relative to particles and the contaminants that they carry, it is wise to keep your home as dust free as is practical.

Summary

None of the information given above should be taken as medical or public health advice. Living in the Anthropocene is fraught with risks associated with either deliberate or accidental exposure to synthetic substances that can potentially be harmful, and if you suspect such an exposure, it would be wise to contact your primary care provider.

The objective of this article is to shed light on the chemical Anthropocene, and the chemicals that we may consequently be exposed to. From this perspective, fear is the enemy and knowledge is power. If you can understand the risks that these chemicals pose to you and if you do your homework accordingly, you can take meaningful steps to safeguard yourself and your family. Your health is certainly worth it.