
The Body Toxic
How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-being
Nena Baker
North Point Press

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North Point Press
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
On Sale: 07/21/2009
ISBN: 9780865477469
288 PagesWe are running a collective chemical fever that we cannot break. Everyone everywhere now carries a dizzying array of chemical contaminants, the by-products of modern industry and innovation, that contribute to a host of developmental deficits and health problems in ways just now being understood. These toxic substances, unknown to our grandparents, accumulate in our fat, bones, blood, and organs as a consequence of womb-to-tomb exposure to industrial substances as common as the products that contain them. Almost everything we encounter—from soap to soup cans, computers to clothing—contributes to a chemical load unique to each of us. Scientists studying the phenomenon refer to it as "chemical body burden," and in The Body Toxic, the investigative journalist Nena Baker explores the many factors that have given rise to this condition.
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A CHEMICAL STEW: BODY BURDEN
The turnoff to the tiny hamlet of Bolinas is unmarked from California Highway 1 as it twists along Pacific Ocean headlands one hour north of San Francisco. Every time highway crews put up a sign pointing...
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Nena Baker reads from The Body Toxic in Portland
Watch this video to hear author Nena Baker read from her book The Body Toxic and speak to an audience at Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon.
Share ThisPraise for The Body Toxic
“Powerful . . .An eye-opening exposé.” —John Marshall, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Chilling.” —Kate Nolan, The Arizona Republic
“Illuminating . . . Throughout The Body Toxic, Baker gives consumers information to help them make ‘informed decisions.'” —Seth Shulman, The Washington Post Book World
“Startling.” —Elizabeth Grossman, TheOregonian