Poisoned Nation

Pollution, Greed and the Rise of Deadly Epidemics

In July 2005, a renowned non-profit organization known as the Environmental Working Group conducted a study on newborn babies in US hospitals. They found 287 industrial chemicals and pollutants in the umbilical cord blood taken from a sample of ten babies. These chemicals included pesticides, flame-retardants, chemicals from non-stick cooking pans and plastics. On average, each baby has been exposed to 200 chemicals even before they were born.

Since when did we and our babies have so much chemicals swimming in our blood? It could be due to the fact that we have taken the chemicals around us for granted. It could also be that the interests of big corporations have taken precedence over the common man’s right to breathe in fresh, unpolluted air. Author Loretta Schwartz-Nobel shows us that it’s usually a lethal combination of the two.

Poisoned Nation is a thoroughly researched work that dwells upon real-life accounts of people who have suffered and died directly because of pollution and chemical poisoning. These include the rapid rise of cancer, autism among children and pollution related deaths worldwide. Through first hand interviews with ordinary citizens and environment experts alike, the issue of how so many different chemicals are now residing in our blood is given a much-deserved and through discourse

Immensely riveting read and highly recommended.