My heart and concerns also go out to all who survived those terrifying events, who were covered in the dust, breathing the smoke, whose homes and workplaces are ladened with debris. I shudder when I see the courageous rescuers working without proper protective respirators -- or with their respirators hanging on their chests.

The effects of chemical injury can be instanteous, but most often they are insidious and appear as separate diseases over a period of time; often to be endured concurrently. The more exposures one has, to even commonly but unwittingly used household, janitorial and personal care products, the more likely the result will be a lowering of one's threshold to various chemicals. One may discover that synthetically scented products, including pesticides and disinfectants (also classified as pesticides), tolerated in the past, will send one's body into asthma, migraines, sinusitis, laryngitis, or other common symptoms of chemical injury. See Julia Kendall's Making Sense of Scents at http://users.lanminds.com/~wilworks/ehnmsofs.htm#SYMPTOMS

Millions of us, nationwide -- and millions more worldwide -- all ages, all races, are living with chemical injury. Each of us, in our own way, learned early on in our debilitating and disabling illnesses that we are on our own. Sadly, too many of our representatives of our government agencies seem to work more with industry than on the issue of public health. And too many of our mainstream medical doctors do not recognize symptoms a body suffers as a result of air befouled by toxic chemicals found in commonly used consumer products. It is time our mainstream medical doctors learned to recognize symptoms of chemical injury. It is past time due for the medical industry to build databases, which will serve doctors as a diagnostic tool.

I've learned of cases where emergency room and other healthcare personnel had not recognized the symptoms of chemical injury. Unbelieveably, they failed to address the issue of chemical injury even when the patient has identified the source of his/her body's distress. Other folks have not been properly diagnosed and only learned later that it was that spritz of perfume at a store's counter that sent them into asthma, laryngitis and/or cold- or flu-like symptoms. This can happen to children as well as to adults. And not enough doctors recognize this fact.

Do your own research! EHN's website (www.ehnca.org) is a place to start. Then try to educate your doctor, employer, family and friends, your representative and senators and local officals. And join those already in the strugle for a world with fewer superfluous toxins. It will also be better for our fish and wildlife downstream. Not to mention your children, your grandchildren, your pets.

We all are stakeholders when it comes to breathing.

Opinion piece by Barb Wilkie

A few EHN (www.ehnca.org) links --

• Access -- EHN's Take Heart!
  http://users.lanminds.com/~wilworks/ehnhompg/takheart.htm

• Children / Kids / Schools / Students / Teens
  http://users.lanminds.com/~wilworks/ehnlinx/childstu.htm

• FDA Petition (replete with analyses)
  If you or loved ones, suffer adverse reactions to synthetic scents, OR if you simply feel the public has a right to know, please write to the FDA. Contact info available on the petition page. -- barb
  http://users.lmi.net/wilworks/FDApetition/bkgrinfo.htm
  • FDA Authority Over Cosmetics
    There is no authority over the synthetic fragrance industry. Check this out for yourself. -- barb
    http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-206.html

• Fragrances & Pregnancy
  http://users.lanminds.com/~wilworks/ehnlinx/p.htm#Pregnancy

• MCS Links ... includes International links
  MCS = Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
  http://users.lanminds.com/~wilworks/ehnlinx/mcs.htm

• Pest Mangement; Pesticide Info; "Pests"
  "Cide" means KILL, but not all pests are killed, and with a short life cycle, they quickly develop pesticide-resistant strains. Great for the pesticide industry, for they get to develop more cides. -- barb
  http://users.lanminds.com/~wilworks/ehnlinx/pestcide.htm

• Stuff Happens!
  I feel it is important to keep up with what is being said and used against us; to denigrate us. -- barb http://users.lmi.net/wilworks/ehnhompg/stufhaps.htm

• The Word IS Out!
  Links to validating information. -- barb http://users.lanminds.com/~wilworks/ehnhompg/wordout.htm