The Ames Test – Test developed using bacteria to determine if a substance is mutagenic (disrupts DNA or genetic codes) and therefore carcinogenic (can trigger cancer). (“Microbial Mutagenicity Assay: Ames Test” by Vijay Urvashi et al.)
DDT – Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is an organochlorine pesticide used broadly in the 1950s and early 1960s to kill mosquitoes carrying malaria and typhus. It was the first manmade toxic chemical discovered to be toxic to the environment and human health. Its harmful effects on birds were the subject of Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring. It is an endocrine-disrupting chemical, linked to breast cancer in daughters and granddaughters of women exposed in childhood. (United Nations Environment Program)
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) – Chemicals that interfere with the endocrine systems, impacting hormonal systems such as thyroid, immune systems, neurological and reproductive systems, even at low doses. (U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
Environmental Health – The concepts that manmade toxics can harm the environment and human health. (World Health Organization)
Love Canal – A contaminated Niagara Falls neighbourhood in New York state where people became sick. Resident Lois Gibbs organized her neighbours to evacuate the area. The harm was so great that the U.S. government created the Superfund policy to tax corporations to clean up their toxic hazards. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Precautionary Principle – A concept coined at the Wingspread Conference that says that if there is a reasonable risk of harm from something, it should not be allowed in the public sphere. (The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO))
Rachel Carson and Silent Spring – A biologist and writer and her book that contributed greatly to the launch of recent (last fifty years) environmentalism. Inspired the creation of the U.S. EPA and other government regulatory agencies worldwide. (RachelCarson.org)
Superfund – U.S. EPA policy that states that polluters must pay for their toxic exposures. Inspired by the Love Canal tragedy. (United States Environmental Protection Agency)
Wingspread Statement – First-ever declaration of concern about manmade toxic chemicals from an array of scientists; created at the Wingspread Conference hosted by Theo Colborn and Pete Myers. (Science and Environmental Health Network)