“Here are some other examples of toxic substances that researchers report are finding their way into the bodies of this planet's inhabitants:
“Industrial Chemicals: Under this heading exists a vast array of chemicals that are used in manufacturing. Not all such chemicals are toxic, of course. But workers in factories which produce or use such things as pesticides, petroleum products, plastics, detergents and cleaning chemicals, solvents, plated metals, preservatives, drugs, asbestos products, fertilizers, some cosmetics, perfumes, paints, dyes, electrical equipment, or any radioactive materials can be exposed, often for extended periods, to toxic materials. And of course, the consumer can be exposed to residual amounts of such chemicals when he uses these products.
“Agricultural Chemicals: Pesticides are the most obvious of the toxic substances to which workers in agricultural activities could be exposed. These include insecticides (insect-killing chemicals), herbicides (chemicals to kill unwanted plants such as weeds) and man-made fertilizers.
“Under the heading of herbicides come several which contain a substance known as ‘dioxin,’ known to be a highly toxic chemical, even in amounts almost too small to detect in the body. (Dioxin is found in ‘Agent Orange,’ a chemical defoliant used in the Vietnam War. This chemical was the subject of considerable publicity when it was found that some US soldiers were exposed to it, apparently with varying adverse effects.)
“Contact with checmicals used in agriculture can occur in a number of ways: The chemical can be carried on or in the plant itself and so eaten; it can be carried on the wind and be breathed in directly by those living or working in agricultural areas; or it can be even carried into drinking water supplies.
“Food, Food Additives and Preservatives: There are substances added to some commercially processed foods that are meant to ‘enhance’ color or flavor or, as mentioned above, to keep the food from spoiling. Also becoming more common are various artificial sweeteners used in ‘diet’ soft drinks and other commercially packaged foods. From research on these ‘enhancers’ and ‘sweeteners’ and ‘preservers’ it appears that a number of them are quite toxic, and the whole subject of food additives and preservatives has become a matter of concern to many people.
“There is another side to this matter of food. Research findings point to the possibility that rancid oils are a health hazard of a magnitude not previously suspected. Oils used in cooking or commercial processing of foods, where they are not fresh, pure and free of rancidity, have been linked by researchers with digestive and muscular ills, and even cancer.”
“Perfumes and Frangrances: Use of perfumes and frangrances in all sorts of products has become more and more prevalent in recent years. Everything from clothing to laundry detergent, from cellophane tape to wrapping paper is turning up with FRAGRANCE added to it. And that fragrance is almost always a cheap chemical derivative, an extract of coal tar which probably costs about ten cents a fifty-gallon drum. Findings seem to bear out that these chemicals, floating about in the local supermarket as ‘fragrances,’ are actually toxic and can end up in the food products sold there. And when you get a mouthful of this stuff it is no aid to digestion, believe me!
“Radiation: ...”
- L. Ron Hubbard