WEBVTT

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Female narrator:
One day, our ancestor,

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Homo erectus, discovered fire.

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- Huh?

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Well, what do you know, fire.

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Hm.

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Narrator: Ingeniously,
he used it for light...

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- Ah.

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Narrator:
For heat...

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- Ah!

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Narrator:
And for barbecued chicken.

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- Yum.

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Narrator:
The news spread quickly.

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Soon we were baking clay,
smelting ore.

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Humankind had fearlessly
embarked on the road

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to progress.

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Today,
thanks to human ingenuity,

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over 100,000 new chemicals,
synthesized in laboratories,

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fashion the world we live in.

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We\'ve introduced these amazing
molecules into our environment

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without really
considering whether nature

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would be able to recognize them

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and break them down.

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In our shortsighted rush to progress,

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we never imagined
that some of these molecules

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would one day work their way
into living organisms.

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- [speaking French]

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male translator: These test tubes
contain umbilical cord blood.

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We\'ve analyzed thousands
of them and found pollutants

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such as heavy metals,
organochlorine pesticides,

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PCBs and...

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That means that the mother
was exposed to these pollutants

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and transmitted them
through her bloodstream

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to her unborn child.

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Narrator:
Progress is merciless.

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After Homo erectus
and Homo sapiens,

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we now have Homo toxicus.

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Beep!

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As a representative
of this new species,

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I decided to sacrifice
a few drops of my blood

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for science.

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I\'m no hypochondriac,

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but there has yet to be
an exhaustive study

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on chemical contamination
of the Canadian population.

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Are these substances,
most of which have never been tested,

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harmful to our health?

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- [speaking French]

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male translator: During the 20th century,
industrialized nations

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underwent an
epidemiological transition,

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meaning that mortality
from infectious diseases

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greatly diminished,

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as mortality
from chronic diseases rose.

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Chronic diseases
affect an enormous percentage

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of the population
but over the long term.

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Examples are cardiovascular disease,
respiratory disease,

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and even cancer.

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- [speaking French]

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male translator: With the illnesses
that I see more and more often,

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such as allergies, asthma,
neurological problems, cancer,

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the environment
certainly plays a role.

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The problem is that, often,
our diagnostic system

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isn\'t capable of finding
which environmental factor

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caused the problem

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or which combination
of environmental factors

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predisposed the patient
to develop the disease.

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So the environment
is almost never mentioned

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in my diagnoses.

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Narrator:
I\'m lucky to live in a pleasant city

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not yet touched
by major air pollution.

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And I have no memories
of pollution in Turkey either,

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where I lived during the 1970s.

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But at that time, the country
wasn\'t yet very industrialized.

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The Bolge region, where I grew up,

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was rural, even bucolic.

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In any case, it\'s certainly
not where the word \"pollution\"

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was first coined.

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Unless I\'m mistaken,

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my toxic report
shouldn\'t be too catastrophic.

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- [speaking French]

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male translator: If we start
with heavy metals,

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we\'ve detected about
20 heavy metals in your blood.

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The levels are generally
within normal range.

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The only element
that\'s a little over is mercury.

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Nothing to worry about
according to the standards.

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For PCBs, your total
is just slightly above the norm.

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Pyrethrinoids, at 2,
is higher than most people.

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Here we see
your level of phthalates -

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a high concentration
of this pesticide.

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With this level of PBDEs,
we can\'t say.

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We have no evidence that
they don\'t have any effects,

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yet we certainly don\'t have
any evidence that they do.

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Narrator:
Lead, manganese, tin,

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brominated flame retardants,
beryllium,

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cadmium, arsenic,
non-stick perfluorocarbons, aldrin,

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chlordane, mirex,
hexachlorobenzene, phthalates,

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dioxins, and even DDT,

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a pesticide that\'s been banned
for more than 30 years.

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For over an hour,

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Dr. Weber listed
and explained the 110 contaminants

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found in my blood.

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- We\'re exposed to all kinds
of environmental pollutants,

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and the body has gotten used
to defending itself against them.

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So we can be exposed
to small amounts

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without being affected.

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The basic principle of toxicology

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is that it\'s the dose
that makes the poison.

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Narrator:
So I\'m exposed, but I shouldn\'t worry?

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- Exactly.

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[laughing]

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narrator:
It\'s reassuring to know

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that I have normal levels
of toxic substances

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in my bloodstream.

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But I mustn\'t complain.

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At a time of such prosperity,

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I\'m not going
to grumble over a few micrograms

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of phthalates.

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- So I\'m also giving them
to him through my milk?

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Narrator:
In North America,

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4 million tons
of chemical substances

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are emitted
into the environment each year.

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That\'s the price we pay
to produce and destroy

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everything we consume.

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And that\'s not factoring in
transport or pesticides.

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Obeying the immutable laws of gravity,

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these particles fall back to Earth
and into the water,

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where they disperse
and are absorbed by fish.

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Some of these particles,
such as mercury and PCBs,

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build up in their tissues

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and go on to contaminate
the rest of the food chain.

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So when a big fish
swallows a little fish,

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it absorbs
its stockpile of pollutants.

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And so on,

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and so on,

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to end up on my plate.

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- [speaking French]

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female translator: We know very little
what affect all these substances

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can have when put together.

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Narrator:
Well, that\'s just it.

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I\'ve got phthalates,
bisphenol A, heavy metals.

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All that, all together,

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that\'s not something
I should start worrying about?

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- Are you ill?

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Narrator: No, I\'m well;

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I don\'t have
any health problems.

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- Well, precisely.

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Therein lies the problem.

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What happens with these substances
is that we can only

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see their effects
on large populations.

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Their levels aren\'t high enough
to make people sick.

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There are studies
that show that,

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for example,
there\'s a connection

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between PCB concentrations
in the blood

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and thyroid hormone secretions.

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And that\'s
important information,

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because we know
that the number of people

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with thyroid problems is increasing.

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Narrator:
I said I wasn\'t ill,

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but I have had thyroid problems
that have come and gone.

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Could there be a connection?

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- We\'ll never know.

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With individuals,
it\'s very difficult to make a connection

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because individual illnesses
do not have a single cause.

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Narrator:
Like researchers who study populations

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with the most exposure to pollution,

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I land in Kangiqsualujjuaq,
a tiny village in Nunavik.

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Here,
as in the rest of the world,

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the young play ball.

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They enjoy
a little friendly competition.

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They pick up groceries
to help their parents.

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At school, the youngest learn
to read and write,

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just like
everywhere else the world.

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But one thing
differentiates them.

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Unhappily, the Inuit
have concentrations of mercury

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and PCBs in their bloodstreams

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that are among the highest
in the world.

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- Why are you teaching
with this microphone?

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- Because some students
can\'t hear well.

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They have hearing problems.

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- Many of them?

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- Yeah, quite a few.

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- I find that it\'s increasing.

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- You are worrying about that?

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- Yeah, kind of.

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It\'s kind of hard to speak
with the children like that,

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\'cause sometimes,
they don\'t understand

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what we\'re really trying to say.

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- Ear infections are a big problem

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here in the Great White North.

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There are specialized teams
that come here

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because there are
so many infants

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with recurring ear infections,

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whose eardrums
have deteriorated.

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So there are often severe
and irreversible auditory problems.

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That\'s why the schools
need to compensate

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with all that audio equipment
for these kids.

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There are a lot
of ear infections here, a lot, a lot.

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- [speaking French]

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male translator: What singles out
the health of Inuit infants

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is the very high percentage
of infections.

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So the question I was asking is,

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could the exposure
to these poisons,

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through breast milk
or during gestation,

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to PCBs, to dioxins, et cetera,

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be responsible at least in part
for weakening the immune system?

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Of course, there isn\'t
just one cause to illnesses.

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But could this contribute
to the plethora of infections?

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And indeed, in 1989,

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we began following
some children for one year

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to measuring their immune systems,
their infection rates.

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And we found that,

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if we controlled
all the other things,

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such as tobacco, et cetera,

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the facts showed that the more
the children were exposed,

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the more they suffered infections.

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- [speaking French]

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male translator: A lot of chemicals
of various types

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have an effect
on the immune system.

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Certain chemicals
will weaken the immune system

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so that the organisms
that are exposed to them

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will be less capable
of defending themselves

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against viral infections
or bacterial infections.

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We\'ll be more susceptible to cancers.

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Other chemicals will boost
the immune system.

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And one might think

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that if the immune system is stimulated,

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that\'s a good thing,

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we\'ll be better protected
from infection.

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But in fact,

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those chemicals will have
much more serious effects,

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like triggering autoimmunity,
triggering hypersensitivity,

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such as certain types
of allergies,

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by disturbing the immune system\'s
delicate balance.

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Narrator: It\'s Easter,

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and the whole village
has come together

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for a community dinner.

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Raw fish, beluga, and seal,
along with caribou,

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are staples of the Inuit diet,

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healthy food
that is also rich in tradition.

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Yet arctic marine mammals

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nowadays have
levels of contamination

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that can affect
fetal development

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and children\'s growth.

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These may only be
micrograms of toxins,

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but even micrograms
are too much.

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- [singing]

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- Now the turn
for the little girls is over.

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We\'re going to have
the taller girls.

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- [singing]

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narrator:
Inuit throat singing

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evokes the sounds of nature,

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like the sound of the wind,

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the same wind that,
day after day,

00:13:48.700 --> 00:13:51.633
carries our industrial
pollutants and our pesticides

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up to the arctic cold.

00:14:14.567 --> 00:14:18.167
- [speaking French]

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female translator: PCBs, or the big family
of the organochlorines

00:14:22.333 --> 00:14:24.900
and mercury will,
each in their own way,

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affect the speed at which
the optic nerve processes data.

00:14:29.367 --> 00:14:31.500
Children who are more exposed,
for example,

00:14:31.533 --> 00:14:34.033
will take a little more time
or a little less time

00:14:34.067 --> 00:14:36.233
before information is transmitted

00:14:36.267 --> 00:14:39.633
from visual stimulation
to the optic nerve.

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Mercury seems to cause the information

00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:49.833
to be transmitted more quickly
to the optic nerve,

00:14:49.867 --> 00:14:52.200
while PCBs
seem to cause the information

00:14:52.233 --> 00:14:54.833
to be transmitted more slowly.

00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:00.500
Quicker is not
necessarily better

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because it can mean
that the information

00:15:02.567 --> 00:15:05.800
is transmitted too fast
for the brain to have time

00:15:05.833 --> 00:15:07.967
to properly process it.

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- When we know the effects
that certain types of molecules

00:15:17.667 --> 00:15:20.000
can have on a child\'s
nervous system,

00:15:20.033 --> 00:15:22.700
we can extrapolate and say
that there are other molecules

00:15:22.733 --> 00:15:24.667
that we find in the South,
for example,

00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:27.100
the flame retardants, the PBDEs.

00:15:27.133 --> 00:15:28.900
The Inuit
are less exposed to them

00:15:28.933 --> 00:15:31.267
because PBDEs
are found in computers,

00:15:31.300 --> 00:15:32.933
electronics, et cetera.

00:15:32.967 --> 00:15:35.867
Therefore, our levels
are higher than theirs.

00:15:35.900 --> 00:15:38.567
But if we look
at these PBDE molecules

00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:41.867
and compare them with
the dinosaur PCB molecules,

00:15:41.900 --> 00:15:43.233
they\'re almost the same.

00:15:43.267 --> 00:15:44.667
In laboratory test tubes,

00:15:44.700 --> 00:15:47.167
they have almost
the same characteristics.

00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:50.433
Therefore, there\'s no reason for
them not to affect our children

00:15:50.467 --> 00:15:51.467
in the same way.

00:15:55.333 --> 00:15:56.867
Narrator:
Our children:

00:15:56.900 --> 00:16:01.433
here they are a few days before
classes let out for summer.

00:16:01.467 --> 00:16:04.833
Their school is in
the Rosemount area of Montreal,

00:16:04.867 --> 00:16:08.100
a nice school
in an ordinary neighborhood

00:16:08.133 --> 00:16:12.200
with kids exposed
to ordinary pollution.

00:16:12.233 --> 00:16:15.500
[bell rings]

00:16:41.633 --> 00:16:43.833
- In my class,
I have two students

00:16:43.867 --> 00:16:45.833
who, I was told
at the beginning of the year,

00:16:45.867 --> 00:16:47.800
have serious allergies.

00:16:47.833 --> 00:16:50.933
One is allergic to peanuts
and the other to fresh fruits.

00:16:50.967 --> 00:16:52.233
And I have another student

00:16:52.267 --> 00:16:55.367
who was recently diagnosed
with a peanut allergy.

00:16:55.400 --> 00:16:57.233
These children
have their EpiPens.

00:16:57.267 --> 00:16:59.400
It\'s very dangerous.

00:16:59.433 --> 00:17:01.167
There are others
with minor allergies

00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:04.733
that I don\'t have
to be as attentive to

00:17:04.767 --> 00:17:07.933
as with those
three specific children.

00:17:07.967 --> 00:17:09.733
- So that\'s three in how many?

00:17:09.767 --> 00:17:12.133
- 18, 3 out of 18 in the class.

00:17:12.167 --> 00:17:13.167
That\'s a lot.

00:17:17.167 --> 00:17:22.100
Narrator: The principal shares
one of his concerns with me.

00:17:22.133 --> 00:17:24.633
- If there\'s perhaps
a more noticeable change

00:17:24.667 --> 00:17:26.233
in the students -

00:17:26.267 --> 00:17:27.800
and it\'s not just
at this school,

00:17:27.833 --> 00:17:30.400
because I talk about it a lot
with other colleagues as well -

00:17:30.433 --> 00:17:33.667
it\'s the children\'s
attention deficit.

00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:36.700
[speaking French]

00:17:42.133 --> 00:17:44.533
- We\'re not talking
about physical health.

00:17:44.567 --> 00:17:46.267
These are kids who,
for the most part,

00:17:46.300 --> 00:17:47.933
are in great physical health.

00:17:47.967 --> 00:17:50.700
They\'re smart.
They\'re capable, very lively.

00:17:50.733 --> 00:17:54.833
They participate well
when they\'re motivated.

00:17:54.867 --> 00:17:58.133
But it\'s extremely difficult
to motivate them,

00:17:58.167 --> 00:17:59.400
to stimulate them,

00:17:59.433 --> 00:18:02.833
because their attention spans
are so poor.

00:18:02.867 --> 00:18:04.633
I don\'t want to generalize,

00:18:04.667 --> 00:18:06.733
but we\'re finding
more and more kids

00:18:06.767 --> 00:18:09.100
with attention deficit disorder,

00:18:09.133 --> 00:18:11.133
at least in my school.

00:18:11.167 --> 00:18:13.200
I\'ve been here for 16 years,

00:18:13.233 --> 00:18:15.767
and I\'ve noticed that
that\'s the most common problem

00:18:15.800 --> 00:18:18.667
pointed out by teachers.

00:18:18.700 --> 00:18:22.700
[speaking French]

00:18:26.800 --> 00:18:29.100
- It\'s certain
that children\'s behavior,

00:18:29.133 --> 00:18:31.667
their capacity to learn,
their attention,

00:18:31.700 --> 00:18:34.633
all will be influenced
by many factors.

00:18:34.667 --> 00:18:38.933
It is what we call \"multifactorial.\"

00:18:38.967 --> 00:18:40.833
There are social factors.

00:18:40.867 --> 00:18:42.900
There\'s the classroom environment.

00:18:42.933 --> 00:18:45.933
All that will affect
how children will respond.

00:18:48.300 --> 00:18:50.067
But research has been showing

00:18:50.100 --> 00:18:52.833
that there are other factors too,

00:18:52.867 --> 00:18:57.067
for example,
the role of certain toxic substances.

00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:03.733
Narrator: Our children are born
in comfort and abundance.

00:19:03.767 --> 00:19:06.200
And it\'s to protect them
from the risks of fire

00:19:06.233 --> 00:19:09.033
that we force the manufacturers
to coat their sleepwear

00:19:09.067 --> 00:19:13.000
with flame retardants
such as PBDEs.

00:19:13.033 --> 00:19:16.333
This chemical is also present
in stuffed animals

00:19:16.367 --> 00:19:19.267
as well as couches
and computers.

00:19:19.300 --> 00:19:21.333
Now from regular everyday use,

00:19:21.367 --> 00:19:23.367
these molecules
leach out of the items

00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:25.200
and enter the environment.

00:19:25.233 --> 00:19:29.000
Over the last 25 years,
concentrations of PBDEs

00:19:29.033 --> 00:19:32.167
in mothers\' milk
have multiplied a hundredfold.

00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:34.467
Even though we\'re still
dealing with trace amounts,

00:19:34.500 --> 00:19:37.133
the concentrations
in breast milk are now doubling

00:19:37.167 --> 00:19:39.933
every five years.

00:19:39.967 --> 00:19:41.267
- Weight gain

00:19:41.300 --> 00:19:44.333
hyperactivity,
adrenal gland atrophy,

00:19:44.367 --> 00:19:47.167
and a decline
in thyroid hormones...

00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:50.167
Broadly speaking,
those are the findings so far.

00:19:53.633 --> 00:19:57.467
We put the young rat on a platform.

00:19:57.500 --> 00:19:58.833
And over the platform,

00:19:58.867 --> 00:20:01.900
we have a camera
that films its movements.

00:20:01.933 --> 00:20:04.633
What we found is that
the pups that are exposed

00:20:04.667 --> 00:20:09.300
are much more active
than the control group.

00:20:09.333 --> 00:20:13.000
These are the three control pups

00:20:13.033 --> 00:20:15.300
that haven\'t been exposed.

00:20:15.333 --> 00:20:18.033
But the rats
that have been exposed to PBDEs

00:20:18.067 --> 00:20:19.233
move a lot.

00:20:19.267 --> 00:20:21.200
Their movements
are rather chaotic.

00:20:21.233 --> 00:20:23.233
I would even say
they\'re hyperactive.

00:20:26.567 --> 00:20:28.600
What\'s new with our research

00:20:28.633 --> 00:20:31.033
is that we\'re exposing them
to the same doses

00:20:31.067 --> 00:20:33.000
that we\'re exposed to

00:20:33.033 --> 00:20:37.733
or doses similar to those found
in the human population.

00:20:37.767 --> 00:20:40.400
We wanted to see if the effects
found at high doses

00:20:40.433 --> 00:20:42.833
would be found
at those lower doses.

00:20:42.867 --> 00:20:44.800
And we did find a lot of effects,

00:20:44.833 --> 00:20:49.033
even some that had never
been observed before.

00:20:49.067 --> 00:20:51.833
Hyperactivity and problems
with thyroid hormone levels

00:20:51.867 --> 00:20:55.267
had previously been found
at much higher doses.

00:20:55.300 --> 00:21:00.767
But we\'ve now found them at lower,
more realistic levels.

00:21:00.800 --> 00:21:02.367
Narrator:
In our day-to-day lives,

00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:04.567
our exposure to toxic chemicals

00:21:04.600 --> 00:21:07.900
is in the billionth- or even
trillionth-of-a-gram range,

00:21:07.933 --> 00:21:11.967
the equivalent
of a few grains of sand...

00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.067
tossed into
an Olympic swimming pool.

00:21:15.100 --> 00:21:17.267
Yet we\'re now
beginning to understand

00:21:17.300 --> 00:21:22.967
that even these amounts
alter our biological processes.

00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:25.100
- The changes we first see

00:21:25.133 --> 00:21:28.633
are not only warnings
of forthcoming diseases,

00:21:28.667 --> 00:21:31.800
they are also indicators
of tangible effects

00:21:31.833 --> 00:21:34.133
on the population.

00:21:35.333 --> 00:21:38.600
Let\'s say we\'re all
on a normal curve.

00:21:38.633 --> 00:21:43.533
On both ends, there are those
who have no behavioral problems

00:21:43.567 --> 00:21:46.333
and there are
disorderly children.

00:21:46.367 --> 00:21:49.367
Same thing
for what we call intelligence,

00:21:49.400 --> 00:21:53.633
the kind of intelligence
that\'s measured in school.

00:21:53.667 --> 00:21:55.533
So even
the slightest displacement

00:21:55.567 --> 00:21:58.300
at this curve by five points

00:21:58.333 --> 00:22:04.000
pulls all of society toward
the lower end of the scale.

00:22:04.033 --> 00:22:06.733
And that means we have
twice as many children

00:22:06.767 --> 00:22:10.067
with learning problems,

00:22:10.100 --> 00:22:12.333
twice as many
hyperactive children,

00:22:12.367 --> 00:22:15.300
and two times fewer
gifted children.

00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:22.900
- Toxicology, for a long time,

00:22:22.933 --> 00:22:24.733
the study of toxicology
has focused on,

00:22:24.767 --> 00:22:26.000
what do high levels do?

00:22:26.033 --> 00:22:27.833
What do high exposure levels do?

00:22:27.867 --> 00:22:31.233
And just about everyone agrees
that high exposure levels

00:22:31.267 --> 00:22:34.633
cause problems
of a lot of things.

00:22:34.667 --> 00:22:37.800
But toxicologists
have been blind to the fact

00:22:37.833 --> 00:22:41.867
that some contaminants
alter gene expression

00:22:41.900 --> 00:22:43.567
at really low levels.

00:22:43.600 --> 00:22:45.900
Genes are turned on and off
throughout life.

00:22:45.933 --> 00:22:49.533
There\'s a symphony of gene -

00:22:49.567 --> 00:22:52.833
of genes turning on and off,
on and off, on and off,

00:22:52.867 --> 00:22:54.333
and part way on, part way off.

00:22:54.367 --> 00:22:57.300
And they\'re sending signals
to one another.

00:22:57.333 --> 00:23:01.200
And they are making proteins
that we need to be healthy.

00:23:01.233 --> 00:23:03.400
And what we\'ve learned,
the core, the essence

00:23:03.433 --> 00:23:07.433
of this science is that
low levels of contamination

00:23:07.467 --> 00:23:10.300
can alter the ways
that genes behave.

00:23:10.333 --> 00:23:12.967
Narrator: At the heart of a cell,

00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:16.933
in its nucleus,
the genes lie dormant.

00:23:16.967 --> 00:23:18.433
A hormone materializes,

00:23:18.467 --> 00:23:21.267
a chemical messenger
on a mission.

00:23:21.300 --> 00:23:24.800
Its role: to activate a gene
at a precise moment

00:23:24.833 --> 00:23:29.267
in order to set off
a biological process.

00:23:29.300 --> 00:23:32.567
But its work is sometimes
disrupted by imposters,

00:23:32.600 --> 00:23:35.467
chemical substances,
which, at low doses,

00:23:35.500 --> 00:23:38.400
mimic our hormones.

00:23:38.433 --> 00:23:40.400
They can thus trick our receptors

00:23:40.433 --> 00:23:44.100
and activate genes
at the wrong time.

00:23:44.133 --> 00:23:47.933
Other chemical substances
can block our hormonal receptors

00:23:47.967 --> 00:23:49.433
and prevent a real signal

00:23:49.467 --> 00:23:51.600
from arriving
at the right moment.

00:23:53.700 --> 00:23:56.967
All these interferences
can suddenly, yet seriously,

00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:59.000
disrupt the precise mechanisms

00:23:59.033 --> 00:24:01.467
that preside
over fetal development

00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:04.133
and the proper function
or our endocrine,

00:24:04.167 --> 00:24:07.633
immune, nervous,
and reproductive systems.

00:24:11.800 --> 00:24:14.733
- One of the compounds
that has me most concerned

00:24:14.767 --> 00:24:18.833
is a plastic molecule
called bisphenol A.

00:24:18.867 --> 00:24:23.967
This molecule is able
to change cell signaling

00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:26.967
at the lowest levels
that have ever been tested,

00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:29.933
.23 parts per trillion.

00:24:29.967 --> 00:24:33.267
At that level,
it changes cell signaling.

00:24:33.300 --> 00:24:36.233
At a little bit higher level,

00:24:36.267 --> 00:24:39.333
it increases the risk
to breast cancer

00:24:39.367 --> 00:24:42.267
in rats and mice.

00:24:42.300 --> 00:24:44.100
At a little bit higher level,

00:24:44.133 --> 00:24:50.267
it increases - it causes
prostate cancer in rats.

00:24:50.300 --> 00:24:52.633
At somewhat higher level,

00:24:52.667 --> 00:24:55.767
it causes
insulin resistance in mice.

00:24:55.800 --> 00:24:57.833
Insulin resistance
is linked to obesity

00:24:57.867 --> 00:24:59.533
and diabetes.

00:24:59.567 --> 00:25:03.400
The U.S. EPA standard right now
for exposure,

00:25:03.433 --> 00:25:05.367
accepted safe level exposure,

00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:07.667
is 50 parts per billion.

00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:11.200
Based on experiments done
in the 1980s,

00:25:11.233 --> 00:25:13.167
the scientific Jurassic,

00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:18.233
that involved testing whether
a rodent would lose weight

00:25:18.267 --> 00:25:21.500
when exposed to high levels
of bisphenol A,

00:25:21.533 --> 00:25:24.233
they found that
at 50 parts per million,

00:25:24.267 --> 00:25:25.633
it lost weight.

00:25:25.667 --> 00:25:28.500
And they said, \"Oh, we don\'t
have to test any lower.

00:25:28.533 --> 00:25:31.900
\"We\'ll use some safety factors
a thousandfold,

00:25:31.933 --> 00:25:35.367
\"and we\'ll never test it
at that level.

00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:37.400
But we\'ll just say
that\'s safe.\"

00:25:37.433 --> 00:25:39.000
So that\'s
the current health standard,

00:25:39.033 --> 00:25:43.267
despite the fact that,
in the last seven years,

00:25:43.300 --> 00:25:48.633
there have been over 150 studies
by academic scientists

00:25:48.667 --> 00:25:53.200
saying that bisphenol A
causes health problems.

00:25:53.233 --> 00:25:54.533
Now, coincidentally,

00:25:54.567 --> 00:25:58.400
there have been 12 studies
funded by industry

00:25:58.433 --> 00:25:59.433
of the same thing,

00:25:59.467 --> 00:26:01.500
and none of them
have found health problems

00:26:01.533 --> 00:26:04.300
at those exposure levels.

00:26:07.233 --> 00:26:11.167
Narrator: It\'s impossible to escape
this insidious pollution.

00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:13.767
There\'s bisphenol A
in my water bottle,

00:26:13.800 --> 00:26:15.200
in baby bottles,

00:26:15.233 --> 00:26:19.333
and in the lining
of canned foods.

00:26:19.367 --> 00:26:24.433
PBDEs leach out of my computer
and other electronic devices.

00:26:24.467 --> 00:26:25.867
I inhale them every day,

00:26:25.900 --> 00:26:27.733
along with phthalates from vinyl

00:26:27.767 --> 00:26:30.100
and soft plastics
that some toys are made of

00:26:30.133 --> 00:26:33.867
and can be toxic
for reproduction.

00:26:34.800 --> 00:26:37.300
PFOAs found in stain repellants

00:26:37.333 --> 00:26:39.000
and in my nonstick cookware

00:26:39.033 --> 00:26:43.567
have been linked
to thyroid problems and cancer.

00:26:43.600 --> 00:26:47.033
So it\'s even seeping out
of the pink Teflon frying pan

00:26:47.067 --> 00:26:51.100
I specifically bought to support
breast cancer research.

00:26:51.133 --> 00:26:53.967
My household cleaners
contain glycol ethers

00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:56.000
and nonylphenols,

00:26:56.033 --> 00:26:57.633
and that\'s
not to mention parabens,

00:26:57.667 --> 00:27:00.167
a preservative
that mimics estrogen,

00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:03.200
found in my shampoo,
my sunscreen,

00:27:03.233 --> 00:27:06.200
my day cream,
and my night cream.

00:27:06.233 --> 00:27:08.300
[screams]

00:27:08.333 --> 00:27:10.200
[lightning crashes]

00:27:16.067 --> 00:27:18.533
My body is not a toxic dump.

00:27:18.567 --> 00:27:20.233
- And this year,
as a special treat,

00:27:20.267 --> 00:27:23.600
we are having the toxic dump.

00:27:23.633 --> 00:27:25.133
The toxic dump -
thank you to everyone

00:27:25.167 --> 00:27:27.667
who brought their cosmetics.

00:27:27.700 --> 00:27:30.133
- We have strong, strong feelings

00:27:30.167 --> 00:27:32.800
that there are
toxic carcinogenic,

00:27:32.833 --> 00:27:35.733
mutagenic,
and hormone-disrupting chemicals

00:27:35.767 --> 00:27:38.833
within the cosmetics
and the personal care products

00:27:38.867 --> 00:27:40.533
that women and men use,

00:27:40.567 --> 00:27:42.167
that children use;

00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:45.533
toothpaste, mouthwash,
lipstick, shampoo.

00:27:45.567 --> 00:27:46.633
It\'s everywhere.

00:27:46.667 --> 00:27:49.733
We want the cosmetic makers

00:27:49.767 --> 00:27:52.467
to join
the Safe Cosmetic Compact,

00:27:52.500 --> 00:27:54.100
to sign on and agree

00:27:54.133 --> 00:27:56.600
that they will take -
remove from the cosmetics

00:27:56.633 --> 00:27:59.233
and the personal care products
the ingredients

00:27:59.267 --> 00:28:01.633
that could be linked
to breast cancer.

00:28:15.267 --> 00:28:17.467
- [speaking French]

00:28:17.500 --> 00:28:19.367
female translator: In 2003,
when it happened,

00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:22.033
I would say,
four or five months beforehand,

00:28:22.067 --> 00:28:25.267
I was working on a series
of breasts with a group of women

00:28:25.300 --> 00:28:27.167
who were working
to make the public more aware

00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:30.500
of breast cancer prevention.

00:28:30.533 --> 00:28:32.633
Well, they had asked us,
a few artists,

00:28:32.667 --> 00:28:35.100
to work on the theme of breasts.

00:28:35.133 --> 00:28:36.800
I wasn\'t involved with it
at the time.

00:28:36.833 --> 00:28:38.433
So for six or eight months,

00:28:38.467 --> 00:28:41.333
I was making breasts,
breasts, breasts.

00:28:41.367 --> 00:28:44.500
The exhibition took place,
and I said, \"That\'s it.

00:28:44.533 --> 00:28:46.733
\"I\'ve done that
from every angle.

00:28:46.767 --> 00:28:48.667
I\'m going to work
on something else.\"

00:28:48.700 --> 00:28:52.200
And then I found out
that I had breast cancer.

00:28:52.233 --> 00:28:53.700
I felt like, \"Oh, my God.

00:28:53.733 --> 00:28:56.000
I really can\'t
get out of this theme.\"

00:29:01.133 --> 00:29:05.900
For sure, in my case,
there were many factors.

00:29:05.933 --> 00:29:11.167
On a personal level,
I was going through a breakup.

00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:15.400
It\'s almost certain that if
something is going to happen,

00:29:15.433 --> 00:29:18.700
it\'ll happen
when you\'re most fragile.

00:29:18.733 --> 00:29:19.833
On the other hand,

00:29:19.867 --> 00:29:22.933
there are certainly
others factors as well.

00:29:22.967 --> 00:29:24.200
I grew up in a small town

00:29:24.233 --> 00:29:28.500
where there was a huge pulp
and paper mill.

00:29:28.533 --> 00:29:31.000
When we were kids,
we played in soot.

00:29:31.033 --> 00:29:33.200
It was everywhere.

00:29:33.233 --> 00:29:35.133
When my mom hung
the clothes on the clothesline,

00:29:35.167 --> 00:29:38.633
they always ended up
with gray spots.

00:29:38.667 --> 00:29:40.833
When I was older,
one of my first jobs

00:29:40.867 --> 00:29:43.600
was as
a government horticulturalist.

00:29:43.633 --> 00:29:44.733
We grew spruce trees,

00:29:44.767 --> 00:29:47.200
thousands and thousands
of spruce saplings.

00:29:47.233 --> 00:29:52.600
We sprayed tons of pesticides,
insecticides, fungicides.

00:29:52.633 --> 00:29:54.300
And we were in there.

00:29:54.333 --> 00:29:56.200
The person who sprayed,
while spraying,

00:29:56.233 --> 00:29:59.067
would wear a suit and a mask.

00:29:59.100 --> 00:30:01.667
But as soon
as the chemicals were deposited,

00:30:01.700 --> 00:30:06.600
we would go into the fields
and conduct our tests.

00:30:06.633 --> 00:30:10.367
We were in direct contact
with all those chemicals.

00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:13.667
I did that job for seven years.

00:30:13.700 --> 00:30:18.600
So there, too, I was exposed
to all kinds of poisons.

00:30:18.633 --> 00:30:20.467
Yuck.

00:30:23.433 --> 00:30:27.267
- I would say that the majority
of cancers, 90% of cancers,

00:30:27.300 --> 00:30:29.933
are what we call
\"complex diseases.\"

00:30:29.967 --> 00:30:32.033
In every case,
we\'re talking about an illness

00:30:32.067 --> 00:30:34.067
that involves
environmental factors

00:30:34.100 --> 00:30:37.333
and that is also polygenic,
meaning there are many genes

00:30:37.367 --> 00:30:39.033
that are involved
at the same time,

00:30:39.067 --> 00:30:40.800
no exceptions.

00:30:44.967 --> 00:30:48.233
What leads to a tumor or cancer?

00:30:48.267 --> 00:30:50.133
It\'s a long process.

00:30:50.167 --> 00:30:51.667
As for adult cancer -

00:30:51.700 --> 00:30:54.333
I\'m excluding
pediatric cancer -

00:30:54.367 --> 00:31:00.333
the process
generally takes 20, 25 years.

00:31:00.367 --> 00:31:02.600
Therefore,
there\'s a first mutation

00:31:02.633 --> 00:31:04.667
that happens
in one of those genes.

00:31:04.700 --> 00:31:07.433
And the cells
that we call \"daughter cells,\"

00:31:07.467 --> 00:31:10.067
the cells that originate
from this mutated cell,

00:31:10.100 --> 00:31:13.400
will all have that mutation.

00:31:13.433 --> 00:31:16.300
Over the years,
a second mutation will occur

00:31:16.333 --> 00:31:18.067
and then a third mutation.

00:31:18.100 --> 00:31:20.033
Therefore,
there\'ll be an accumulation

00:31:20.067 --> 00:31:22.200
of mutations
in that original cell

00:31:22.233 --> 00:31:25.633
until it starts developing
a cancerous phenotype.

00:31:25.667 --> 00:31:28.467
And that can take 20, 25 years.

00:31:28.500 --> 00:31:31.633
So generally, when
a 50-year-old adult has cancer,

00:31:31.667 --> 00:31:34.733
the first mutation occurred
25 years before.

00:31:34.767 --> 00:31:36.033
And that\'s why,

00:31:36.067 --> 00:31:38.867
even though we know that cancer
is a complex illness

00:31:38.900 --> 00:31:40.933
and that
the environment is implicated,

00:31:40.967 --> 00:31:44.100
it\'s very difficult to put your
finger on the initial source

00:31:44.133 --> 00:31:47.333
that caused the first mutation
25 years before.

00:31:50.167 --> 00:31:52.200
- In your case,
it was hormone dependent?

00:31:52.233 --> 00:31:54.200
- It was hormone dependent.

00:31:54.233 --> 00:31:56.700
I think that
it was 85% hormone dependent

00:31:56.733 --> 00:31:58.067
or something like that.

00:31:58.100 --> 00:31:59.733
What they told me was,

00:31:59.767 --> 00:32:03.333
\"Your cancer is feeding itself
off your hormone production,

00:32:03.367 --> 00:32:06.767
\"so if you cut
the hormonal relationship,

00:32:06.800 --> 00:32:09.300
the cancer can\'t feed itself
and can\'t grow.\"

00:32:12.500 --> 00:32:16.767
I wanted them to give me
something they call Zolodex,

00:32:16.800 --> 00:32:19.500
injections that induce
menopause artificially.

00:32:19.533 --> 00:32:21.500
It cuts hormone production.

00:32:21.533 --> 00:32:23.000
Besides that,
I stopped eating beef

00:32:23.033 --> 00:32:25.700
because I had heard about
hormone injections in beef.

00:32:25.733 --> 00:32:28.433
I had cancer
a couple of years ago,

00:32:28.467 --> 00:32:31.267
and I want to know if you know
where your beef comes from,

00:32:31.300 --> 00:32:33.333
if it\'s been injected
with hormones.

00:32:33.367 --> 00:32:37.033
It\'s very important
for me to know.

00:32:37.067 --> 00:32:40.967
- I don\'t think so,
because it\'s all regulated.

00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:42.167
- But can you guarantee it?

00:32:42.200 --> 00:32:43.967
Do you have a document
that confirms that?

00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:45.433
- No.

00:32:45.467 --> 00:32:47.133
But I can ask the supplier.

00:32:47.167 --> 00:32:48.833
- Okay, well,
I won\'t buy any right now.

00:32:48.867 --> 00:32:50.067
I\'ll wait for the information,

00:32:50.100 --> 00:32:51.600
and I\'ll come back
and see you about it.

00:32:51.633 --> 00:32:52.900
- Okay, no problem.
I\'ll find out.

00:32:52.933 --> 00:32:53.933
- Great.
Thanks a lot.

00:32:53.967 --> 00:32:55.967
- Thanks.

00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:58.167
- So did you find out
about the beef?

00:32:58.200 --> 00:33:01.833
- Yes, I called
a little while ago,

00:33:01.867 --> 00:33:06.633
and they said that the beef
from western Canada

00:33:06.667 --> 00:33:09.200
has some hormones in it.

00:33:09.233 --> 00:33:10.600
It\'s just a bit, not a lot.

00:33:10.633 --> 00:33:13.733
- Okay, and your beef,
it\'s from western Canada?

00:33:13.767 --> 00:33:15.567
- Yes, our beef\'s
from western Canada.

00:33:15.600 --> 00:33:19.567
Yeah, but it\'s
government regulated.

00:33:19.600 --> 00:33:22.867
Narrator: Indeed, Canada has approved
the use of six hormones

00:33:22.900 --> 00:33:25.900
in order to increase
the competitiveness of beef

00:33:25.933 --> 00:33:29.000
and, of course, beef producers.

00:33:29.033 --> 00:33:33.800
In 2004, these three scientists
were fired by Health Canada

00:33:33.833 --> 00:33:36.200
because they opposed
a superior\'s decision

00:33:36.233 --> 00:33:37.767
to approve a veterinary drug

00:33:37.800 --> 00:33:41.467
that contained
two of these hormones.

00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:42.500
- At that time,

00:33:42.533 --> 00:33:45.333
I presented my concerns,

00:33:45.367 --> 00:33:49.500
which were that the hormones
were causing abnormal effects

00:33:49.533 --> 00:33:53.267
in the reproductive tracts
of very young calves,

00:33:53.300 --> 00:33:57.867
in which the drugs
and combinations were being tested

00:33:57.900 --> 00:34:01.733
and, as well,
tremendous decrease

00:34:01.767 --> 00:34:03.567
in the weight
of the thymus glands

00:34:03.600 --> 00:34:05.433
in these very young calves.

00:34:05.467 --> 00:34:09.933
So this information I referred
to the Human Safety Division

00:34:09.967 --> 00:34:11.933
for review.

00:34:11.967 --> 00:34:14.633
As far as I know,
it was never, ever reviewed.

00:34:14.667 --> 00:34:20.333
And the product was passed
by senior management

00:34:20.367 --> 00:34:22.300
over our recommendations

00:34:22.333 --> 00:34:25.767
not to pass the drug
for marketing in Canada.

00:34:25.800 --> 00:34:27.933
- What happened was,

00:34:27.967 --> 00:34:30.067
I got a call from the company.

00:34:30.100 --> 00:34:32.500
This was a hormone product.

00:34:32.533 --> 00:34:34.100
It was called Revalor H.

00:34:34.133 --> 00:34:36.400
It was produced
by a huge German company,

00:34:36.433 --> 00:34:37.700
multinational.

00:34:37.733 --> 00:34:40.900
And they said,
\"Don\'t give it to Dr. Haydon.\"

00:34:40.933 --> 00:34:42.133
I said, \"Why?\"

00:34:42.167 --> 00:34:43.467
\"She nitpicks too much.\"

00:34:43.500 --> 00:34:45.833
I said, \"But that\'s her job.

00:34:45.867 --> 00:34:49.433
\"That\'s her job to nitpick
and find problems.

00:34:49.467 --> 00:34:52.867
As auditor, that\'s what
she\'s supposed to do.\"

00:34:52.900 --> 00:34:55.400
And he said,
\"I will complain to your boss.\"

00:34:55.433 --> 00:34:56.767
I said, \"Yo, go ahead.

00:34:56.800 --> 00:34:59.200
Then I will say what I\'m saying
in front of my boss.\"

00:34:59.233 --> 00:35:01.767
And so when I went to him,
I said,

00:35:01.800 --> 00:35:03.800
\"This is producing
these effects.

00:35:03.833 --> 00:35:06.133
\"The thymus
and the uterus is enlarged.

00:35:06.167 --> 00:35:09.833
And all these effects
are occurring in the cows.\"

00:35:09.867 --> 00:35:10.933
So he said, \"So what?

00:35:10.967 --> 00:35:12.333
They\'re going
to be slaughtered.\"

00:35:12.367 --> 00:35:13.500
And I said, \"For God\'s sakes,

00:35:13.533 --> 00:35:15.400
\"they\'re going
to be eaten by people,

00:35:15.433 --> 00:35:18.400
\"and these hormones
cause cancer.

00:35:18.433 --> 00:35:21.233
\"And even a single molecule
can cause cancer.

00:35:21.267 --> 00:35:23.000
Don\'t you understand
that\'s our job?\"

00:35:23.033 --> 00:35:24.033
And he didn\'t.

00:35:25.367 --> 00:35:27.067
Narrator: According to Health Canada,

00:35:27.100 --> 00:35:29.567
hormone residues in beef
are so minimal

00:35:29.600 --> 00:35:32.500
that their consumption
is harmless.

00:35:32.533 --> 00:35:35.633
But that opinion isn\'t shared
by the European Union,

00:35:35.667 --> 00:35:38.533
which has banned the hormone
since 1988,

00:35:38.567 --> 00:35:41.567
concluding that
it was impossible to determine

00:35:41.600 --> 00:35:42.833
a safe level.

00:35:42.867 --> 00:35:44.433
The United States and Canada

00:35:44.467 --> 00:35:47.300
undertook proceedings
against the European Union,

00:35:47.333 --> 00:35:50.900
accusing them of erecting
unnecessary barriers to trade.

00:35:50.933 --> 00:35:53.467
Dr. Henrik Leffers,
a Danish scientist,

00:35:53.500 --> 00:35:55.567
is part of the committee
that put together evidence

00:35:55.600 --> 00:35:58.067
to support the EU\'s position.

00:35:58.100 --> 00:36:00.233
- The estrogen level
in prepubescent children

00:36:00.267 --> 00:36:03.433
is so low
that it cannot be measured.

00:36:03.467 --> 00:36:06.200
The technology we have
for measuring hormones,

00:36:06.233 --> 00:36:07.967
we cannot measure it.

00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:10.167
But we know
that the child\'s growth

00:36:10.200 --> 00:36:12.600
is dependent on those hormones

00:36:12.633 --> 00:36:16.367
that are present
below detection limit.

00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:20.367
So when you add more hormones,
for instance, from beef,

00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:22.933
there will be
an additive effect.

00:36:22.967 --> 00:36:26.067
There cannot be a threshold
or a security level.

00:36:26.100 --> 00:36:29.633
It will immediately add
to what\'s in there already.

00:36:29.667 --> 00:36:34.633
So in principle,
this should give a higher risk.

00:36:34.667 --> 00:36:37.267
It has not been proven
that there is a higher risk,

00:36:37.300 --> 00:36:40.400
but we have
considerably more breast cancer

00:36:40.433 --> 00:36:42.600
in the U.S.
than in Europe.

00:36:42.633 --> 00:36:47.000
So whether it\'s caused
by this hormone, I don\'t know.

00:36:47.033 --> 00:36:48.333
And nobody knows.

00:36:48.367 --> 00:36:50.467
But I can\'t see any reason

00:36:50.500 --> 00:36:52.433
why we should expose
the whole population

00:36:52.467 --> 00:36:56.433
to hormones that we know
in animal experiments are bad.

00:36:56.467 --> 00:37:00.100
Narrator: I\'ll take one of these.

00:37:00.133 --> 00:37:02.333
And are these local plums?

00:37:02.367 --> 00:37:04.900
I don\'t have
to worry about hormones

00:37:04.933 --> 00:37:07.100
since I hardly consume any beef.

00:37:07.133 --> 00:37:09.333
But my numerous
vegetarian meals,

00:37:09.367 --> 00:37:11.633
that aren\'t always organic,

00:37:11.667 --> 00:37:16.100
offer me a slew of herbicides,
fungicides, and insecticides

00:37:16.133 --> 00:37:19.000
used in agriculture.

00:37:19.033 --> 00:37:21.033
In the interest of productivity,

00:37:21.067 --> 00:37:23.833
eating has become
a risky business.

00:37:26.367 --> 00:37:27.767
- In our study on children,

00:37:27.800 --> 00:37:32.133
we observed particularly for
organophosphoric insecticides,

00:37:32.167 --> 00:37:35.067
that all of the children
had been exposed.

00:37:35.100 --> 00:37:36.467
99% of the children

00:37:36.500 --> 00:37:39.100
had been exposed
to that group of insecticides.

00:37:39.133 --> 00:37:41.867
And not only
had they been exposed,

00:37:41.900 --> 00:37:43.867
but they had been exposed
at higher levels

00:37:43.900 --> 00:37:46.567
than what we find
in scientific literature.

00:37:46.600 --> 00:37:48.533
There have been
large studies done,

00:37:48.567 --> 00:37:51.367
particularly
in the United States, Italy,

00:37:51.400 --> 00:37:53.400
and other European countries.

00:37:53.433 --> 00:37:55.867
And our children
were almost always found

00:37:55.900 --> 00:37:59.700
to have much higher exposure
than those in the other studies.

00:38:01.333 --> 00:38:02.633
It\'s possible that our children

00:38:02.667 --> 00:38:04.200
consume more fruits
and vegetables

00:38:04.233 --> 00:38:05.700
than American children.

00:38:05.733 --> 00:38:08.933
It\'s a hypothesis which
has not yet been validated.

00:38:11.267 --> 00:38:14.333
The second hypothesis is
that our fruits and vegetables

00:38:14.367 --> 00:38:18.167
possibly contain
more pesticides.

00:38:24.400 --> 00:38:27.567
Narrator: Could it be that because
our standards are less stringent,

00:38:27.600 --> 00:38:30.667
our children are more exposed?

00:38:30.700 --> 00:38:31.967
Compared to Europe,

00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:36.300
Canada permits twice
as much thiram on tomatoes,

00:38:36.333 --> 00:38:40.033
four times as much
carbofuran on strawberries,

00:38:40.067 --> 00:38:44.467
400 times as much permethrin
on certain leafy vegetables,

00:38:44.500 --> 00:38:48.000
and 1,400 times
as much methoxychlor

00:38:48.033 --> 00:38:50.433
on its fruits and vegetables.

00:38:50.467 --> 00:38:54.933
- All in all, we\'re talking
about low levels of exposure.

00:38:54.967 --> 00:38:57.567
But with all the uncertainties
associated with this,

00:38:57.600 --> 00:38:59.933
we must be very cautious.

00:38:59.967 --> 00:39:01.567
Recently, for instance,

00:39:01.600 --> 00:39:04.567
medical journals have
reported neurotoxic effects

00:39:04.600 --> 00:39:09.367
even at very low concentrations.

00:39:09.400 --> 00:39:12.033
So the fact that some types
of learning could be slowed down

00:39:12.067 --> 00:39:15.433
with low-dose exposure
over long periods worries us

00:39:15.467 --> 00:39:18.500
and leads us to seek ways
to diminish the use

00:39:18.533 --> 00:39:22.067
of these products and,
most importantly,

00:39:22.100 --> 00:39:24.800
to reduce the residues
found in food.

00:39:29.267 --> 00:39:32.267
Narrator: A few years ago,
for the good of our children,

00:39:32.300 --> 00:39:34.067
Quebec banned
the use of pesticides

00:39:34.100 --> 00:39:35.767
for aesthetic reasons,

00:39:35.800 --> 00:39:39.500
despite
manufacturers\' threats to sue.

00:39:39.533 --> 00:39:41.633
The same
well-intentioned logic

00:39:41.667 --> 00:39:47.267
should be used to ban pesticides
from agriculture as well,

00:39:47.300 --> 00:39:53.567
except that all our agriculture
relies on these pesticides.

00:39:53.600 --> 00:39:58.700
Banning them would mean changing
our way of doing things.

00:40:01.467 --> 00:40:04.000
And we are far from that.

00:40:04.033 --> 00:40:05.967
The need
for maximum productivity

00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:07.667
is stronger than ever

00:40:07.700 --> 00:40:11.267
and often comes with
a heavy environmental price,

00:40:11.300 --> 00:40:14.533
like in Chemical Valley
in Sarnia.

00:40:14.567 --> 00:40:17.833
Here we find,
squeezed into a few kilometers,

00:40:17.867 --> 00:40:20.067
a high concentration
of refineries

00:40:20.100 --> 00:40:24.033
and chemical plants,
a coal-fired power plant,

00:40:24.067 --> 00:40:27.900
and a toxic waste dump;

00:40:27.933 --> 00:40:30.633
a model of economic development

00:40:30.667 --> 00:40:35.467
or an environmental
sacrifice zone?

00:40:35.500 --> 00:40:38.700
We should ask the citizens
of Aamjiwnaang,

00:40:38.733 --> 00:40:40.467
an Indian reservation
in the heart

00:40:40.500 --> 00:40:43.300
of this colossal
industrial complex.

00:40:47.233 --> 00:40:50.767
- I also have to give my daughter
her puffer before she goes.

00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:52.033
It\'s five minutes apart,

00:40:52.067 --> 00:40:54.900
and we only did
the blue one so far, so...

00:40:54.933 --> 00:40:57.633
- Which one has a puffer?

00:40:57.667 --> 00:40:59.200
- She does.

00:40:59.233 --> 00:41:02.700
She\'s does right now, Jocelyn.

00:41:02.733 --> 00:41:06.567
- It\'s a problem here
in the reserve?

00:41:06.600 --> 00:41:08.067
- Yes.

00:41:08.100 --> 00:41:12.033
Yeah, all my kids had been on
this at one point or another.

00:41:12.067 --> 00:41:14.567
My two older ones
used to be always on it too,

00:41:14.600 --> 00:41:16.500
but they\'ve kind of outgrown it.

00:41:16.533 --> 00:41:17.733
Their lungs have matured more,

00:41:17.767 --> 00:41:19.100
so they\'re able
to handle it more.

00:41:23.733 --> 00:41:25.933
- Do you have to have a note
for her to take a puffer?

00:41:25.967 --> 00:41:27.467
- No, because
she can do it by herself.

00:41:27.500 --> 00:41:30.867
And plus, I signed a note
a couple of years ago,

00:41:30.900 --> 00:41:32.467
so they probably
keep it on file.

00:41:32.500 --> 00:41:35.033
- She\'s allergic
with the mosquitoes,

00:41:35.067 --> 00:41:38.033
that I have to take that there
and just - yeah.

00:41:38.067 --> 00:41:39.600
Actually, I don\'t think
I signed a note.

00:41:39.633 --> 00:41:40.833
I just handed it to the teacher.

00:41:40.867 --> 00:41:42.400
If she gets bit
and starts swelling up,

00:41:42.433 --> 00:41:43.733
give it to her.

00:41:43.767 --> 00:41:45.500
But it\'s got to be
prescribed, though.

00:41:47.067 --> 00:41:48.533
But I don\'t know.

00:41:48.567 --> 00:41:50.333
One of the day care teachers
were saying that

00:41:50.367 --> 00:41:52.333
there\'s a whole bunch of kids
that are all allergic

00:41:52.367 --> 00:41:53.367
to the mosquito bites.

00:42:02.633 --> 00:42:04.967
Narrator: Maybe you noticed,

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:08.600
only one boy got on the bus.

00:42:08.633 --> 00:42:13.467
And it\'s pretty much the same
at all the other bus stops.

00:42:13.500 --> 00:42:16.767
An unusual phenomenon has been
affecting the community

00:42:16.800 --> 00:42:18.733
since 1993.

00:42:18.767 --> 00:42:22.133
Male births
have been in decline.

00:42:22.167 --> 00:42:25.400
It\'s gotten to the point where,
today, in Aamjiwnaang,

00:42:25.433 --> 00:42:27.933
twice as many girls
are born as boys.

00:42:31.600 --> 00:42:33.767
- No, not the glasses.

00:42:33.800 --> 00:42:35.300
Thank you.

00:42:35.333 --> 00:42:38.000
- So you\'re lucky
that you had a boy.

00:42:38.033 --> 00:42:39.733
- Yeah.

00:42:39.767 --> 00:42:42.167
- And do you know now
if you have a boy or a girl?

00:42:42.200 --> 00:42:43.600
The ultrasound said it\'s a girl,

00:42:43.633 --> 00:42:46.033
but my husband, Ron,
still says it\'s a boy,

00:42:46.067 --> 00:42:48.567
so it\'s still up in the air.

00:42:48.600 --> 00:42:50.867
It was inconclusive
that it was a girl.

00:42:50.900 --> 00:42:53.767
It\'s just strong evidence
towards a girl.

00:42:53.800 --> 00:42:55.800
- He is your first baby?

00:42:55.833 --> 00:42:57.133
- Yes, yeah.

00:42:57.167 --> 00:42:59.733
I\'ve had
a few miscarriages before.

00:42:59.767 --> 00:43:01.200
- Ah, you too?

00:43:01.233 --> 00:43:04.300
- And then one afterwards,
like, one just before this one,

00:43:04.333 --> 00:43:06.167
we had a miscarriage.

00:43:06.200 --> 00:43:07.733
- How many?

00:43:07.767 --> 00:43:10.200
- In total, four miscarriages.

00:43:11.700 --> 00:43:13.167
When I got pregnant with Miskwa,

00:43:13.200 --> 00:43:15.467
our main worry was
that we wouldn\'t be able

00:43:15.500 --> 00:43:17.833
to carry him to term.

00:43:17.867 --> 00:43:20.667
So when we reached
the three-month mark with him,

00:43:20.700 --> 00:43:22.600
it was a major milestone.

00:43:22.633 --> 00:43:23.700
- Wow.

00:43:23.733 --> 00:43:25.167
- And then to find out
that he was a boy

00:43:25.200 --> 00:43:27.767
was, like, the best thing ever.

00:43:30.967 --> 00:43:32.167
I grew up here my whole life,

00:43:32.200 --> 00:43:35.933
and Suncor
was in my back -

00:43:35.967 --> 00:43:37.900
looking out my back window.

00:43:37.933 --> 00:43:40.767
Their flares at night
were our night-lights.

00:43:40.800 --> 00:43:42.600
We\'d get calls
at 3:00 in the morning

00:43:42.633 --> 00:43:44.733
to say \"Evacuate\" kind of thing.

00:43:44.767 --> 00:43:48.233
And we\'ve been like this
our whole life.

00:43:48.267 --> 00:43:49.267
- [sneezes]

00:43:49.300 --> 00:43:50.500
- Holy.

00:43:50.533 --> 00:43:51.533
- [sneezes]

00:43:51.567 --> 00:43:52.800
- Holy.

00:43:52.833 --> 00:43:53.900
- [sneezes]

00:43:53.933 --> 00:43:55.567
- Holy.

00:43:55.600 --> 00:43:57.467
Chemical Valley.

00:44:00.267 --> 00:44:02.767
- Here\'s Zach and his daddy.

00:44:02.800 --> 00:44:05.033
Hi, Zach.

00:44:05.067 --> 00:44:09.367
- Well, we have smells and
smoke and stuff all the time.

00:44:09.400 --> 00:44:11.300
We just had one on Monday.

00:44:11.333 --> 00:44:13.067
There was black smoke
coming from over here.

00:44:13.100 --> 00:44:14.667
Our supervisor called 911.

00:44:14.700 --> 00:44:17.000
And the gas people came out,

00:44:17.033 --> 00:44:18.933
and they asked questions,
I guess, to Suncor.

00:44:18.967 --> 00:44:21.800
And we never really
got an answer...

00:44:21.833 --> 00:44:23.333
on why there was black smoke.

00:44:23.367 --> 00:44:26.800
But it was coming from right
behind these trees right here.

00:44:26.833 --> 00:44:28.733
And then we went,
and we ended up going inside.

00:44:28.767 --> 00:44:31.033
We just make the decision
on our own to not stay outside.

00:44:31.067 --> 00:44:33.500
If we don\'t know what it is,
then we just go in.

00:44:43.000 --> 00:44:45.300
- I always have everything
that\'s close by

00:44:45.333 --> 00:44:47.067
and I know where to get it.

00:44:49.333 --> 00:44:50.867
- I\'m glad that you kept it.

00:44:50.900 --> 00:44:52.733
- Oh, heck yeah.
That ain\'t going nowhere.

00:44:52.767 --> 00:44:54.000
I did a lot of work on that.

00:44:54.033 --> 00:44:57.567
It ain\'t...

00:44:57.600 --> 00:45:02.167
Now, \'cause we put it
as a boy and a girl...

00:45:02.200 --> 00:45:06.433
So that\'s the female child
under the age of 16.

00:45:06.467 --> 00:45:10.300
Orange ones
are breathing problems,

00:45:10.333 --> 00:45:15.133
bloody noses, and sore throats.

00:45:15.167 --> 00:45:18.733
The blue;
this was interesting too,

00:45:18.767 --> 00:45:20.600
\'cause that can mean, like -

00:45:20.633 --> 00:45:23.333
that\'s hearing problems
or ear problems.

00:45:23.367 --> 00:45:24.967
Vision loss,

00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:27.700
learning
or development problems,

00:45:27.733 --> 00:45:29.300
behavioral problems,

00:45:29.333 --> 00:45:31.400
ADHD and stuff like that.

00:45:33.233 --> 00:45:35.500
This is the male child.

00:45:35.533 --> 00:45:36.900
- Wow.

00:45:36.933 --> 00:45:40.233
And these are your learning
disabilities again, right?

00:45:40.267 --> 00:45:41.633
- All those orange -

00:45:41.667 --> 00:45:44.100
- Those are the - the orange
are the breathing problems,

00:45:44.133 --> 00:45:46.367
respiratory problems.

00:45:46.400 --> 00:45:50.033
It\'s from your smoking
and your drinking and your alcohol,

00:45:50.067 --> 00:45:53.367
drugs, is why all this
is happening to us.

00:45:53.400 --> 00:45:56.000
That\'s what they keep saying.

00:45:56.033 --> 00:45:58.800
This is the female adult.

00:46:10.067 --> 00:46:14.133
These are the miscarriages
and stuff too.

00:46:14.167 --> 00:46:15.500
Sorry.

00:46:15.533 --> 00:46:17.367
- Miscarriages.

00:46:17.400 --> 00:46:19.733
- Yeah.

00:46:19.767 --> 00:46:22.067
It just hurts
to see all of this stuff.

00:46:22.100 --> 00:46:25.267
You know, me and Naomi Oliver,
we did this, right?

00:46:25.300 --> 00:46:27.000
We, you know,
we did the surveys.

00:46:27.033 --> 00:46:28.967
We checked off
who was going to get what dot

00:46:29.000 --> 00:46:30.067
and stuff like that, right?

00:46:30.100 --> 00:46:32.833
And she entered it
into the computer,

00:46:32.867 --> 00:46:34.033
and then I\'d put the dots on.

00:46:34.067 --> 00:46:35.333
We worked together all the time.

00:46:35.367 --> 00:46:37.900
And then at the end of the day,

00:46:37.933 --> 00:46:41.100
we\'d just sit there
and stare at it.

00:46:41.133 --> 00:46:43.467
And then, you know, we could
feel the lumps in our throats,

00:46:43.500 --> 00:46:45.300
the tears in our eyes.

00:46:45.333 --> 00:46:47.267
But then, you know, we just
carried on to get done,

00:46:47.300 --> 00:46:48.800
you know, do it,
just get it done.

00:46:48.833 --> 00:46:54.000
And then we had to take off,
like, a week or two just...

00:46:54.033 --> 00:46:55.667
to get away from it.

00:46:55.700 --> 00:46:58.267
And, you know,
people always ask me -

00:46:58.300 --> 00:46:59.633
all the time, you know,

00:46:59.667 --> 00:47:02.967
want me to recite
all this stuff, but...

00:47:03.000 --> 00:47:07.200
it\'s hard,
because you learn this stuff.

00:47:07.233 --> 00:47:09.000
But if you keep
thinking about it all the time,

00:47:09.033 --> 00:47:11.767
you\'re going to, you know,
hurt yourself inside too.

00:47:11.800 --> 00:47:14.333
So you got to walk away
from it for a while.

00:47:14.367 --> 00:47:16.567
I got to go blow my nose.
Sorry.

00:47:20.300 --> 00:47:24.200
- Sex ratio is a very,
very important end point.

00:47:24.233 --> 00:47:27.067
You know, it stands for -

00:47:27.100 --> 00:47:30.433
as a marker for other problems.

00:47:30.467 --> 00:47:32.400
It\'s not going to be
in isolation.

00:47:32.433 --> 00:47:35.967
You don\'t have an
altered sex ratio in isolation.

00:47:36.000 --> 00:47:42.300
Usual figures are 106 males
for every 100 females,

00:47:42.333 --> 00:47:44.600
so slightly more males
than females.

00:47:44.633 --> 00:47:49.367
However, before birth,
there are even more males.

00:47:49.400 --> 00:47:53.533
And they are lost through
miscarriage and stillbirth

00:47:53.567 --> 00:47:56.133
at a higher rate
than the females.

00:47:56.167 --> 00:47:58.167
And this continues.

00:47:58.200 --> 00:48:00.667
So at some point,
there is an equal number of males

00:48:00.700 --> 00:48:02.100
and females in the population.

00:48:02.133 --> 00:48:04.433
And then, eventually,
there\'s many more females.

00:48:04.467 --> 00:48:06.733
But this
shouldn\'t happen at birth,

00:48:06.767 --> 00:48:10.267
because we need that reserve
of males to be around

00:48:10.300 --> 00:48:14.700
because of this excess morbidity
to males throughout life.

00:48:16.533 --> 00:48:18.233
Narrator: One plausible hypothesis

00:48:18.267 --> 00:48:20.433
to explain this
disturbing shortage of boys

00:48:20.467 --> 00:48:22.833
would be that, since 1993,

00:48:22.867 --> 00:48:26.500
something has been making male
fetuses even more fragile.

00:48:26.533 --> 00:48:28.667
They can\'t make it to full term.

00:48:31.200 --> 00:48:34.267
- Something started in 1993?

00:48:34.300 --> 00:48:36.000
Did it happen then,

00:48:36.033 --> 00:48:39.900
or did it happen earlier
and the children were exposed,

00:48:39.933 --> 00:48:44.100
and then as adults,
something begins to happen?

00:48:44.133 --> 00:48:46.233
Was it a new process
that was entered into

00:48:46.267 --> 00:48:47.433
in the Chemical Valley?

00:48:47.467 --> 00:48:50.133
Was there,
for instance, one new plant

00:48:50.167 --> 00:48:51.733
or one new product
being produced,

00:48:51.767 --> 00:48:54.100
and then that added
into the mixture?

00:48:54.133 --> 00:48:58.867
I mean, we truthfully
don\'t know what triggered this.

00:49:00.800 --> 00:49:03.633
Narrator: Industry officials were
unavailable for comment

00:49:03.667 --> 00:49:06.267
during both my visits to Sarnia.

00:49:08.033 --> 00:49:09.733
At the time,
they seemed more concerned

00:49:09.767 --> 00:49:12.233
about the security
of their facilities

00:49:12.267 --> 00:49:14.700
than about
Aamjiwnaang\'s sex ratio.

00:49:14.733 --> 00:49:16.767
- We understand totally.

00:49:16.800 --> 00:49:19.333
- We are not terrorists.
We are just filmmakers.

00:49:19.367 --> 00:49:21.833
- We really don\'t know that.

00:49:21.867 --> 00:49:24.967
[siren whoops]

00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:28.933
narrator: The issue, however,
is far from trivial.

00:49:28.967 --> 00:49:31.567
The sex ratio
has also begun to drop

00:49:31.600 --> 00:49:33.900
in industrialized countries,

00:49:33.933 --> 00:49:36.433
a subtle yet noticeable decline.

00:49:39.067 --> 00:49:41.333
Could the hundreds
of endocrine disrupters

00:49:41.367 --> 00:49:43.000
present in our environment

00:49:43.033 --> 00:49:46.167
explain this disturbance
in human reproduction?

00:49:51.967 --> 00:49:55.467
Looking for clues,
biologists around the world

00:49:55.500 --> 00:49:58.100
closely observe wildlife,

00:49:58.133 --> 00:50:00.833
like this research team
I\'m accompanying

00:50:00.867 --> 00:50:02.700
on the Saint Lawrence River,

00:50:02.733 --> 00:50:05.433
not far from where
the entire city\'s industrial

00:50:05.467 --> 00:50:07.267
and domestic sewage is dumped.

00:50:13.567 --> 00:50:17.233
- The Saint Lawrence
is a pollution smorgasbord.

00:50:17.267 --> 00:50:19.567
There are thousands
of pollutants here.

00:50:19.600 --> 00:50:21.767
And we know that,
in this particular area,

00:50:21.800 --> 00:50:24.467
we find pollutants
that act like estrogens.

00:50:24.500 --> 00:50:26.067
They\'re called xenoestrogens,

00:50:26.100 --> 00:50:27.733
particularly nonylphenols,

00:50:27.767 --> 00:50:31.567
a common detergent
that is estrogenic.

00:50:34.367 --> 00:50:37.500
- What we notice
is that the more exposure

00:50:37.533 --> 00:50:39.267
to estrogenic products,

00:50:39.300 --> 00:50:41.367
the lower the spermatogenesis,

00:50:41.400 --> 00:50:43.800
meaning that the fish
produce less sperm

00:50:43.833 --> 00:50:46.500
and the the sperm that
is produced is less active;

00:50:46.533 --> 00:50:48.500
they swim less.

00:50:48.533 --> 00:50:49.867
That\'s important in fish,

00:50:49.900 --> 00:50:53.667
because the sperm is active
for only about 30 seconds.

00:50:53.700 --> 00:50:57.333
Thus, if they\'re slower,
they\'re active for less time.

00:50:57.367 --> 00:51:01.800
The chances of fertilization
decrease significantly.

00:51:01.833 --> 00:51:03.733
Moreover,
another thing we\'ve found

00:51:03.767 --> 00:51:07.567
is that together with this
decrease of spermatogenesis,

00:51:07.600 --> 00:51:10.233
this increase
of estrogenic pollutants,

00:51:10.267 --> 00:51:12.867
we found
many hermaphrodite fish,

00:51:12.900 --> 00:51:16.167
meaning ovaries are beginning
to grow in their testicles.

00:51:16.200 --> 00:51:20.000
So instead of producing sperm,
they\'re producing eggs.

00:51:20.033 --> 00:51:21.733
- Is it the majority of fish

00:51:21.767 --> 00:51:23.267
or only 2% or 3%?

00:51:23.300 --> 00:51:24.900
- In the most polluted areas,

00:51:24.933 --> 00:51:28.200
we\'re finding about
1/3 of the fish are effected.

00:51:30.700 --> 00:51:33.833
- I can\'t help but wonder
if that could affect us too,

00:51:33.867 --> 00:51:36.833
if it could affect
the human reproductive system.

00:51:36.867 --> 00:51:40.267
- It\'s very possible.

00:51:40.300 --> 00:51:42.367
There are studies
of the Great Lakes

00:51:42.400 --> 00:51:44.533
that reveal that people
who eat a lot of fish

00:51:44.567 --> 00:51:46.300
have lower IQs.

00:51:50.300 --> 00:51:52.367
And in an experiment
that we\'re conducting

00:51:52.400 --> 00:51:54.567
in conjunction with Daniel Cyr,

00:51:54.600 --> 00:51:59.067
we found that when female rats
eat fish from this area

00:51:59.100 --> 00:52:01.667
while they nurse their young,

00:52:01.700 --> 00:52:07.500
the male sperm of the subsequent
generation is affected,

00:52:07.533 --> 00:52:10.533
thus it\'s a concern
for humans as well.

00:52:13.500 --> 00:52:16.167
When we disturb the hormones,
or the endocrine system,

00:52:16.200 --> 00:52:17.867
of animals or humans,

00:52:17.900 --> 00:52:19.867
we see very serious
side effects.

00:52:19.900 --> 00:52:22.700
For me, it\'s one of the biggest
environmental problems

00:52:22.733 --> 00:52:24.167
in the world.

00:52:29.867 --> 00:52:31.433
Narrator: This same concern

00:52:31.467 --> 00:52:33.833
is what has brought
another group of researchers

00:52:33.867 --> 00:52:35.467
to the Barbue River,

00:52:35.500 --> 00:52:37.900
a tributary
of the Yamaska River,

00:52:37.933 --> 00:52:39.767
whose waters are so polluted

00:52:39.800 --> 00:52:42.100
that frogs are scarce.

00:52:42.133 --> 00:52:46.267
This river runs through
a region of corn and soy fields

00:52:46.300 --> 00:52:48.800
stretching as far
as the eye can see.

00:52:48.833 --> 00:52:51.000
The presence
in the water of atrazine,

00:52:51.033 --> 00:52:54.100
the herbicide
most widely used on corn,

00:52:54.133 --> 00:52:55.400
is suspected of affecting

00:52:55.433 --> 00:52:58.100
the batrachian\'s
reproductive system,

00:52:58.133 --> 00:53:01.533
which could, in part, explain
their declining population.

00:53:04.067 --> 00:53:07.167
- What we did when we came
on the Yamaska River

00:53:07.200 --> 00:53:09.733
was to collect the tadpoles
at the time of the year

00:53:09.767 --> 00:53:12.600
when the testes was developing.

00:53:12.633 --> 00:53:15.567
And we measured, in the water,

00:53:15.600 --> 00:53:19.100
over 65 pesticides, herbicides.

00:53:19.133 --> 00:53:22.833
And the only one that showed up
with a direct correlation

00:53:22.867 --> 00:53:27.233
between the degenerating testes

00:53:27.267 --> 00:53:29.933
and the levels of pesticide
or herbicide

00:53:29.967 --> 00:53:31.167
was the atrazine.

00:53:31.200 --> 00:53:34.033
And it gave us a very,
very high correlation,

00:53:34.067 --> 00:53:36.267
close to one.

00:53:36.300 --> 00:53:38.367
The interesting thing
about atrazine

00:53:38.400 --> 00:53:42.667
is that levels go up
at the same time

00:53:42.700 --> 00:53:45.567
as the tadpoles are developing.

00:53:45.600 --> 00:53:47.500
And that\'s what
makes it critical.

00:53:47.533 --> 00:53:50.500
Okay, so do you want to go
through these parts again?

00:53:50.533 --> 00:53:54.800
The germ cells that
are going to form into sperm

00:53:54.833 --> 00:53:57.600
for these organisms,
for their lifetime,

00:53:57.633 --> 00:53:59.667
are occurring and forming

00:53:59.700 --> 00:54:02.933
and undergoing their initial
development at that time.

00:54:02.967 --> 00:54:05.367
And so that if you
killed them at that time,

00:54:05.400 --> 00:54:07.500
then they\'re
not available subsequently

00:54:07.533 --> 00:54:11.667
for the continuing cycles
of spermatogenesis.

00:54:13.367 --> 00:54:17.500
- Could these small quantities
affect humans?

00:54:22.000 --> 00:54:24.533
- He gave you the answer.

00:54:24.567 --> 00:54:25.567
- The bullfrogs?

00:54:25.600 --> 00:54:28.400
- Yes.
[laughing]

00:54:28.433 --> 00:54:30.467
He says,
\"Absolutely, yes.\"

00:54:30.500 --> 00:54:35.600
I think the value
with working with hormones

00:54:35.633 --> 00:54:38.933
is that through evolution,

00:54:38.967 --> 00:54:41.267
they\'ve been
very faithfully conserved.

00:54:41.300 --> 00:54:43.867
So estrogen in lower forms

00:54:43.900 --> 00:54:46.233
is the same as estrogen
in higher forms

00:54:46.267 --> 00:54:49.800
and the receptor sites
on which they act.

00:54:49.833 --> 00:54:54.433
So there is a potential there
to be able to extrapolate.

00:54:55.900 --> 00:54:58.167
Narrator: Feminized fish?

00:54:58.200 --> 00:54:59.800
Infertile frogs,

00:54:59.833 --> 00:55:03.333
whose hormones resemble mine?

00:55:03.367 --> 00:55:08.200
Health Canada
must be really worried.

00:55:08.233 --> 00:55:12.333
- The frog is not a good model

00:55:12.367 --> 00:55:15.700
for assessing the risk to man.

00:55:15.733 --> 00:55:18.600
First of all, it\'s not a mammal.

00:55:18.633 --> 00:55:20.600
It\'s a frog.

00:55:20.633 --> 00:55:23.533
Secondly,
they live in the water.

00:55:23.567 --> 00:55:25.500
We don\'t
live in the water, madam.

00:55:25.533 --> 00:55:27.033
We live on land.

00:55:27.067 --> 00:55:30.567
Thirdly, they breathe
through their skin.

00:55:30.600 --> 00:55:32.800
So you see,
it\'s not a good model

00:55:32.833 --> 00:55:36.067
for estimating
what the risk to man will be.

00:55:36.100 --> 00:55:37.667
It\'s unquestionably a model

00:55:37.700 --> 00:55:40.267
for estimating the risk
to amphibians.

00:55:41.867 --> 00:55:43.800
Narrator: That\'s reassuring,

00:55:43.833 --> 00:55:46.500
but not entirely.

00:55:46.533 --> 00:55:49.700
True, I don\'t live
in pesticide-ridden water,

00:55:49.733 --> 00:55:52.267
but I do drink it.

00:55:54.533 --> 00:55:57.967
- You can see a slight
difference between the two.

00:55:58.000 --> 00:55:59.300
We add sand to the water

00:55:59.333 --> 00:56:02.500
in order to coagulate
any suspended matter.

00:56:02.533 --> 00:56:05.400
- Are there any pesticides
left in the drinking water?

00:56:05.433 --> 00:56:07.467
- Very little.
Very, very little.

00:56:07.500 --> 00:56:10.167
With the treatment we\'ve been
doing here for several years,

00:56:10.200 --> 00:56:12.100
we\'re able to control
the organic compounds

00:56:12.133 --> 00:56:13.867
found in the water.

00:56:13.900 --> 00:56:16.667
We\'re able to oxidize them
in the ozonation process

00:56:16.700 --> 00:56:19.200
and absorb them
with activated carbon filters.

00:56:23.167 --> 00:56:25.000
We\'re required
to test for pesticides

00:56:25.033 --> 00:56:26.233
four times a year

00:56:26.267 --> 00:56:30.367
for the water we distribute
to the population.

00:56:30.400 --> 00:56:32.167
And we\'re always
way below the levels

00:56:32.200 --> 00:56:35.033
stipulated by
the drinking water legislation.

00:56:37.233 --> 00:56:38.933
Narrator: It\'s true.

00:56:38.967 --> 00:56:43.100
None of the 32 or so pesticides
present in our drinking water

00:56:43.133 --> 00:56:45.133
exceed Canadian standards.

00:56:45.167 --> 00:56:47.533
Actually, we\'re far below them.

00:56:47.567 --> 00:56:49.500
But when these
individual pesticides

00:56:49.533 --> 00:56:52.533
are added together,
the overall total concentrations

00:56:52.567 --> 00:56:55.367
can be as high
as 30 micrograms per liter.

00:56:55.400 --> 00:56:58.200
And these combinations
have never been tested.

00:56:59.700 --> 00:57:02.400
- We wondered whether
the sperm count was different

00:57:02.433 --> 00:57:05.267
in different places
in the United States.

00:57:05.300 --> 00:57:08.633
And what we found
was that it was poorer,

00:57:08.667 --> 00:57:11.800
sperm quality was poorer,
not as good,

00:57:11.833 --> 00:57:15.800
in the rural
agricultural community

00:57:15.833 --> 00:57:17.433
of Columbia, Missouri,

00:57:17.467 --> 00:57:21.000
compared to the urban,
big-city communities

00:57:21.033 --> 00:57:24.433
in Los Angeles, New York City,
and Minneapolis.

00:57:24.467 --> 00:57:26.400
And so the first thing
that jumps out at you

00:57:26.433 --> 00:57:30.700
when you see that difference is,
\"Maybe it\'s a pesticide.\"

00:57:30.733 --> 00:57:33.267
So to look at that,

00:57:33.300 --> 00:57:37.133
we went
to our Missouri population,

00:57:37.167 --> 00:57:42.767
and we looked to see whether men
who had low sperm concentration

00:57:42.800 --> 00:57:45.967
had higher levels of pesticides

00:57:46.000 --> 00:57:49.767
than men with
a high sperm concentration.

00:57:49.800 --> 00:57:50.867
And that was what we found.

00:57:50.900 --> 00:57:52.633
That was also very surprising.

00:57:52.667 --> 00:57:54.100
- Yes?
- Yes.

00:57:54.133 --> 00:57:59.267
And because no one has studied
these kinds of pesticides -

00:57:59.300 --> 00:58:02.300
pesticides that are used today,
right now,

00:58:02.333 --> 00:58:05.700
all over the U.S. and Canada
very widely -

00:58:05.733 --> 00:58:08.567
and the ones that were
most strongly associated

00:58:08.600 --> 00:58:15.267
were Alachlor, Atrazine,
Metolachlor, Diazinon, 2,4-D.

00:58:15.300 --> 00:58:18.167
We had five
that were associated.

00:58:22.533 --> 00:58:25.267
- This is where I was born.

00:58:25.300 --> 00:58:28.533
I learned my very first word
by watching those farmers go by

00:58:28.567 --> 00:58:32.033
every morning,
\"tractor.\"

00:58:32.067 --> 00:58:38.467
Hey, that\'s my idol,
Jacques Cartier.

00:58:38.500 --> 00:58:40.667
He\'s the guy I admired
when I was young.

00:58:40.700 --> 00:58:42.633
I used to go to his house
with his son.

00:58:42.667 --> 00:58:43.667
- And he\'s a farmer?

00:58:43.700 --> 00:58:44.900
- A farmer, yes.

00:58:49.400 --> 00:58:51.100
Both my parents
were from the city,

00:58:51.133 --> 00:58:54.133
my father from Ste-Thérèse
and my mother from Laval.

00:58:54.167 --> 00:58:55.800
When they met,
they had the same idea.

00:58:55.833 --> 00:58:57.900
They both wanted
to live in the country.

00:58:57.933 --> 00:59:02.267
They bought this house
30 years ago.

00:59:02.300 --> 00:59:06.200
In 1980, I remember that
there was a big crisis here.

00:59:06.233 --> 00:59:08.100
Some trees
were going to be cut down.

00:59:08.133 --> 00:59:12.200
And my parents fought to keep
the trees on their property.

00:59:12.233 --> 00:59:14.433
That\'s when people started
cutting down trees,

00:59:14.467 --> 00:59:17.533
enlarging ditches,
draining soil.

00:59:17.567 --> 00:59:20.033
It was the beginning
of the new agriculture,

00:59:20.067 --> 00:59:21.900
corn, and monoculture.

00:59:21.933 --> 00:59:23.900
We saw families gradually
selling their cows

00:59:23.933 --> 00:59:27.533
to buy tractors and then
turning to monoculture.

00:59:27.567 --> 00:59:30.367
My parents came here so they
could raise their children

00:59:30.400 --> 00:59:33.800
in nature, in the country.

00:59:33.833 --> 00:59:37.167
Fresh air, that was the idea.

00:59:42.133 --> 00:59:44.800
This is a good example.

00:59:44.833 --> 00:59:47.767
Here, you can really see
the deforestation.

00:59:47.800 --> 00:59:51.400
Not a tree left anywhere,
or almost none.

00:59:51.433 --> 00:59:54.833
You know, in Montreal,
they have 25% tree cover.

00:59:54.867 --> 00:59:57.767
And in St-Aimé,
we have 4%.

00:59:57.800 --> 00:59:59.867
And when you have
only 4% tree cover,

00:59:59.900 --> 01:00:01.300
you have a big problem,

01:00:01.333 --> 01:00:03.533
because you no longer
have any pollinators,

01:00:03.567 --> 01:00:05.833
so species
don\'t reproduce anymore.

01:00:05.867 --> 01:00:07.767
And that affects
the animal chain.

01:00:07.800 --> 01:00:11.567
And that affects us.

01:00:11.600 --> 01:00:13.167
I\'ve been affected by it.

01:00:13.200 --> 01:00:17.667
It seems I have
reproductive problems.

01:00:17.700 --> 01:00:19.200
When I decide I want children,

01:00:19.233 --> 01:00:20.333
I\'ll likely have problems

01:00:20.367 --> 01:00:22.000
because of
the agricultural environment

01:00:22.033 --> 01:00:23.500
in which I was born.

01:00:23.533 --> 01:00:27.333
I\'ve been told that I have
an abnormally low sperm count.

01:00:27.367 --> 01:00:29.300
So I could
have children one day.

01:00:29.333 --> 01:00:30.633
It could happen,

01:00:30.667 --> 01:00:33.933
because all it takes is
one spermatozoid in a billion.

01:00:33.967 --> 01:00:36.800
But it\'s still a problem
I\'m facing.

01:00:36.833 --> 01:00:38.767
And I think
I\'m not the only one,

01:00:38.800 --> 01:00:40.233
though it\'s well hidden.

01:00:40.267 --> 01:00:41.400
And I don\'t think

01:00:41.433 --> 01:00:43.467
that there have been
studies on the subject.

01:00:43.500 --> 01:00:46.000
I would really like to know if
it\'s something that\'s happening,

01:00:46.033 --> 01:00:49.267
because I know that there\'s
a big problem with female frogs

01:00:49.300 --> 01:00:52.400
and that and there are
no longer any males.

01:00:52.433 --> 01:00:54.433
They\'re becoming females.

01:00:54.467 --> 01:00:56.867
That\'s a public health issue.

01:00:56.900 --> 01:00:59.533
Are there any studies
that have been done on that?

01:00:59.567 --> 01:01:01.867
When they tell me
I have the right to produce,

01:01:01.900 --> 01:01:05.600
I tell them, \"Well, I have
the right to reproduce.\"

01:01:11.267 --> 01:01:15.233
narrator: Alex will never know the cause
of his diminished fertility.

01:01:15.267 --> 01:01:17.733
But his questions
catch my attention.

01:01:17.767 --> 01:01:20.400
In Europe,
atrazine has been banned.

01:01:24.600 --> 01:01:28.900
- The decision in Europe was
based on a policy they have.

01:01:28.933 --> 01:01:31.433
It wasn\'t based
on a risk analysis.

01:01:31.467 --> 01:01:33.233
It wasn\'t based on science.

01:01:33.267 --> 01:01:36.867
And it wasn\'t based on atrazine.

01:01:36.900 --> 01:01:39.900
They have a policy
that prohibits concentrations

01:01:39.933 --> 01:01:41.833
of any chemical in ground water

01:01:41.867 --> 01:01:46.800
from exceeding
0.1 part per billion.

01:01:46.833 --> 01:01:50.900
- And that policy,
is it the precautionary principle?

01:01:50.933 --> 01:01:54.433
- We have a precautionary
approach in Canada too.

01:01:54.467 --> 01:01:57.933
And if we determine that there\'s
an imminent risk to health

01:01:57.967 --> 01:02:01.633
or to the environment,
we take the necessary measures

01:02:01.667 --> 01:02:03.800
to remedy the situation.

01:02:03.833 --> 01:02:05.867
That\'s what we\'ve done
in the past.

01:02:08.100 --> 01:02:09.767
And in the case of atrazine,

01:02:09.800 --> 01:02:12.167
it wasn\'t a question
of imminent risk,

01:02:12.200 --> 01:02:15.067
but we reduced
the application rates.

01:02:15.100 --> 01:02:16.667
We have mitigation measures

01:02:16.700 --> 01:02:18.933
that minimize
the associated risk

01:02:18.967 --> 01:02:21.633
to the environment
and human health.

01:02:29.900 --> 01:02:33.533
- What was shown in the lab is
that at 21 micrograms per liter,

01:02:33.567 --> 01:02:36.567
we see degenerating testes
with atrazine.

01:02:36.600 --> 01:02:40.700
It\'s often very uncomfortable
to speak out against atrazine

01:02:40.733 --> 01:02:45.867
because of the economic issues
and monies involved and so on.

01:02:45.900 --> 01:02:47.300
But still, as a scientist,

01:02:47.333 --> 01:02:48.667
there comes a point in your life

01:02:48.700 --> 01:02:52.667
where you feel that you
have to speak out and say,

01:02:52.700 --> 01:02:56.133
\"Yes, the weight of evidence
has tipped in the direction

01:02:56.167 --> 01:02:59.500
\"that atrazine - we should be
thinking very closely

01:02:59.533 --> 01:03:01.433
about removing atrazine.\"

01:03:01.467 --> 01:03:06.800
narrator: Biologist Tyrone Hayes
has come to the same conclusion

01:03:06.833 --> 01:03:08.533
and has been
shouting it loud and clear

01:03:08.567 --> 01:03:10.600
to the biggest
producer of atrazine,

01:03:10.633 --> 01:03:11.900
the multinational Syngenta.

01:03:11.933 --> 01:03:13.233
- Thank you.
Thank you very much.

01:03:13.267 --> 01:03:14.433
- Really fabulous job.

01:03:14.467 --> 01:03:17.033
- Oh, you\'re Sylvia Ruby.
Of course.

01:03:17.067 --> 01:03:18.467
Oh, yes.

01:03:18.500 --> 01:03:21.433
I had originally done the work
with Syngenta\'s money.

01:03:21.467 --> 01:03:23.267
And of course,
they wouldn\'t let me publish it.

01:03:23.300 --> 01:03:25.467
They wanted me to repeat it,
and I left and that was -

01:03:25.500 --> 01:03:26.767
Agencies that provide the money

01:03:26.800 --> 01:03:29.300
are very nervous
about the industry reaction.

01:03:29.333 --> 01:03:31.367
So it\'s very difficult
for me now to get government -

01:03:31.400 --> 01:03:32.933
they won\'t fund
any work on pesticides,

01:03:32.967 --> 01:03:34.267
the National Science Foundation.

01:03:34.300 --> 01:03:36.467
So they won\'t even
read a grant proposal.

01:03:36.500 --> 01:03:39.867
So most of my funding now comes
from other private industries,

01:03:39.900 --> 01:03:41.500
like a water company

01:03:41.533 --> 01:03:43.167
or just concerned citizens

01:03:43.200 --> 01:03:45.367
who have the money
to donate to the laboratory,

01:03:45.400 --> 01:03:47.333
because other places,
I think, fear so much

01:03:47.367 --> 01:03:52.733
what the industry influence
has over government officials.

01:03:52.767 --> 01:03:55.000
There\'s two other people here

01:03:55.033 --> 01:03:57.233
who are getting
the same effects with atrazine.

01:03:57.267 --> 01:03:59.300
And you know, I\'ve written
this paper in BioScience

01:03:59.333 --> 01:04:01.533
that shows that the only people
who get a negative effect

01:04:01.567 --> 01:04:03.933
are all being paid by Syngenta.

01:04:03.967 --> 01:04:06.000
I mean, it\'s just
a coincidence, though.

01:04:06.033 --> 01:04:07.233
I don\'t think we\'re going to see

01:04:07.267 --> 01:04:10.300
atrazine regulated
in this country.

01:04:10.333 --> 01:04:12.167
The industry
is too important here

01:04:12.200 --> 01:04:16.833
and has too much influence
over the government politics.

01:04:16.867 --> 01:04:18.933
If any regulation will occur,

01:04:18.967 --> 01:04:21.400
it\'ll be local,
state by state by state.

01:04:21.433 --> 01:04:23.833
And in a way - that\'s the way
it happened in Europe,

01:04:23.867 --> 01:04:27.800
as different countries banned it
until finally, the EU -

01:04:27.833 --> 01:04:29.633
the company doesn\'t want me
to say \"banned\" -

01:04:29.667 --> 01:04:31.533
denied regulatory approval.

01:04:31.567 --> 01:04:32.833
So individual countries did it.

01:04:32.867 --> 01:04:35.567
And then the whole EU says,
\"Okay, then we have to.\"

01:04:35.600 --> 01:04:37.800
But I don\'t think
the federal government here -

01:04:37.833 --> 01:04:40.333
um, maybe.

01:04:40.367 --> 01:04:42.733
But I think I\'m unrealistic
if that\'s true.

01:04:47.067 --> 01:04:50.333
Narrator: When there\'s a risk
of serious or irreversible harm,

01:04:50.367 --> 01:04:52.900
lack of scientific certainty
should not be used

01:04:52.933 --> 01:04:56.400
as a reason
for postponing decisions.

01:04:56.433 --> 01:05:00.367
That\'s the
precautionary principle.

01:05:00.400 --> 01:05:03.600
But it seems that what
is considered \"serious harm\"

01:05:03.633 --> 01:05:06.333
or \"imminent risk\"
is subject to interpretation

01:05:06.367 --> 01:05:08.733
from one continent to the next.

01:05:15.767 --> 01:05:19.200
- I\'ll show you my products.

01:05:19.233 --> 01:05:20.767
Here\'s the bottle
I found the other day.

01:05:20.800 --> 01:05:24.767
We used to use this,
actually, atrazine.

01:05:24.800 --> 01:05:26.267
This is what my father used.

01:05:26.300 --> 01:05:28.033
- How long has it been banned?

01:05:28.067 --> 01:05:30.533
- For four years, since 2002.

01:05:30.567 --> 01:05:33.967
And these are the products
that we use now

01:05:34.000 --> 01:05:37.300
that replace atrazine.

01:05:37.333 --> 01:05:40.233
We could go organic
and question all the products.

01:05:40.267 --> 01:05:44.100
That\'s one choice.

01:05:44.133 --> 01:05:48.400
Me, I decided to just
use it sparingly.

01:05:59.700 --> 01:06:01.100
[speaking French]

01:06:06.900 --> 01:06:12.800
[speaking French]

01:06:12.833 --> 01:06:13.900
- Is that your daughter?

01:06:13.933 --> 01:06:15.867
- Yes, this is my daughter,
Elena.

01:06:15.900 --> 01:06:18.167
We adopted her in Madagascar.

01:06:18.200 --> 01:06:20.800
She\'s been here for a year.

01:06:20.833 --> 01:06:22.467
- Why did you adopt?

01:06:22.500 --> 01:06:25.533
- Because we couldn\'t have
biological children,

01:06:25.567 --> 01:06:28.833
because, to be blunt,

01:06:28.867 --> 01:06:33.700
I have a very low sperm count.

01:06:33.733 --> 01:06:35.333
We turned to adoption.

01:06:35.367 --> 01:06:37.233
It was a very long process.

01:06:37.267 --> 01:06:39.900
We waited for Elena
for 15 months.

01:06:39.933 --> 01:06:44.600
We went to Madagascar
four times.

01:06:44.633 --> 01:06:46.533
They haven\'t found the cause.

01:06:46.567 --> 01:06:48.567
We don\'t know.

01:06:48.600 --> 01:06:49.633
Thought about everything:

01:06:49.667 --> 01:06:52.133
pollution, herbicides, all that.

01:06:52.167 --> 01:06:54.633
Since it wasn\'t as regulated
as it is today,

01:06:54.667 --> 01:06:57.667
we weren\'t protected
inside tractor cabs.

01:06:57.700 --> 01:06:58.833
And on top of that,

01:06:58.867 --> 01:07:01.733
we used to use products
that were a lot harsher

01:07:01.767 --> 01:07:03.600
than they are today.

01:07:09.733 --> 01:07:14.000
Corn crops,
especially given our climate,

01:07:14.033 --> 01:07:16.067
have to be weeded.

01:07:16.100 --> 01:07:19.200
If it rained enough,
we could do without that.

01:07:19.233 --> 01:07:21.933
But with our climate...

01:07:21.967 --> 01:07:24.000
We don\'t have seasons anymore.

01:07:24.033 --> 01:07:27.167
Our winters are very cold,
and then, bang, it\'s summer.

01:07:31.200 --> 01:07:33.933
The earth,
after four years of drought...

01:07:36.733 --> 01:07:40.733
And this year is the third year
that we haven\'t had any flies.

01:07:40.767 --> 01:07:42.167
I looked it up on the internet.

01:07:42.200 --> 01:07:45.867
When it\'s above 30 degrees,
flies stop reproducing.

01:07:45.900 --> 01:07:47.767
May not be the same for cows,

01:07:47.800 --> 01:07:49.500
but the cows
aren\'t going into heat,

01:07:49.533 --> 01:07:51.667
so we can\'t inseminate them.

01:07:51.700 --> 01:07:54.067
The cycle seems to be blocked.

01:07:56.500 --> 01:07:57.700
Narrator: We\'re not all equal

01:07:57.733 --> 01:08:00.533
when it comes
to environmental factors.

01:08:00.567 --> 01:08:04.500
Some men naturally produce
less sperm than others.

01:08:04.533 --> 01:08:05.833
They are the ones most at risk

01:08:05.867 --> 01:08:07.833
of falling below
the fertility threshold

01:08:07.867 --> 01:08:10.733
if there\'s a general decrease
in sperm production.

01:08:12.633 --> 01:08:17.800
Some studies put this decrease
at 2% a year since the 1970s,

01:08:17.833 --> 01:08:21.267
worrisome numbers that have
confounded many skeptics,

01:08:21.300 --> 01:08:23.467
such as Dr. Jacques Auger.

01:08:28.367 --> 01:08:29.600
- We were very surprised

01:08:29.633 --> 01:08:31.900
when the French study
showed a decrease

01:08:31.933 --> 01:08:35.967
not only in sperm counts
in the last 20 years

01:08:36.000 --> 01:08:38.300
but also a decrease
in the motility

01:08:38.333 --> 01:08:39.767
of the spermatozoa

01:08:39.800 --> 01:08:42.400
and an increase
in morphological anomalies

01:08:42.433 --> 01:08:45.933
of the spermatozoa.

01:08:45.967 --> 01:08:50.000
Look, you have
a fine specimen here.

01:08:50.033 --> 01:08:51.433
And then you see this one.

01:08:51.467 --> 01:08:54.700
It has
an irregular-shaped head.

01:08:54.733 --> 01:08:57.233
We were able to show
that the deterioration

01:08:57.267 --> 01:09:01.133
recorded in sperm count,
motility, and morphology

01:09:01.167 --> 01:09:05.833
correlated
with the year of birth.

01:09:05.867 --> 01:09:08.100
The more recently
these men were born,

01:09:08.133 --> 01:09:10.933
the poorer was the quality
of their sperm,

01:09:10.967 --> 01:09:12.967
which, of course,
immediately raises questions

01:09:13.000 --> 01:09:14.700
about environmental factors.

01:09:17.700 --> 01:09:20.733
Narrator: The \"your jeans
are too tight\" theory

01:09:20.767 --> 01:09:23.333
must be considered too,
of course,

01:09:23.367 --> 01:09:26.133
although, it doesn\'t explain
why laboratory rats

01:09:26.167 --> 01:09:27.833
exposed to endocrine disrupters

01:09:27.867 --> 01:09:30.867
suffer serious
reproductive damage as well.

01:09:33.967 --> 01:09:36.433
- If we expose rats
from conception,

01:09:36.467 --> 01:09:38.000
that is, in the womb,

01:09:38.033 --> 01:09:40.900
until adulthood
to doses equivalent

01:09:40.933 --> 01:09:44.667
to what humans are exposed to,

01:09:44.700 --> 01:09:48.200
we find
a lot of adverse effects:

01:09:48.233 --> 01:09:51.167
malformations,
undescended testicles,

01:09:51.200 --> 01:09:54.467
low sperm count, low fertility,

01:09:54.500 --> 01:09:58.333
altered sexual behavior,
et cetera, et cetera.

01:09:58.367 --> 01:10:00.567
Obviously, this raises
some major questions

01:10:00.600 --> 01:10:02.467
with regard to humans.

01:10:02.500 --> 01:10:04.333
Narrator: We\'ll
never have absolute proof

01:10:04.367 --> 01:10:07.133
without using
human test subjects.

01:10:07.167 --> 01:10:08.667
But more and more studies

01:10:08.700 --> 01:10:11.400
are leading toward
the same conclusion,

01:10:11.433 --> 01:10:14.867
studies on laboratory animals,
on human cells,

01:10:14.900 --> 01:10:19.800
and epidemiological studies,
which look at populations.

01:10:19.833 --> 01:10:23.033
For instance,
the one by Charles Sultan.

01:10:23.067 --> 01:10:28.067
In 2003, he conducted a study
in a Montpellier maternity ward

01:10:28.100 --> 01:10:30.700
to verify the prevalence
of genital malformations

01:10:30.733 --> 01:10:34.200
in male infants.

01:10:34.233 --> 01:10:37.367
- We\'ve been able to show that
the prevalence of hypospadias

01:10:37.400 --> 01:10:40.800
is ten times greater
than previously thought.

01:10:40.833 --> 01:10:44.000
The rate of male
pseudo hermaphroditism

01:10:44.033 --> 01:10:46.367
is up by a factor of 20.

01:10:46.400 --> 01:10:48.133
Also among children
who presented

01:10:48.167 --> 01:10:51.167
with a genital malformation,

01:10:51.200 --> 01:10:54.933
twice as many
were sons of farmers.

01:10:54.967 --> 01:10:58.767
This is a newborn.

01:10:58.800 --> 01:11:00.667
You see the scrotum.

01:11:00.700 --> 01:11:02.467
The scrotum remains open.

01:11:02.500 --> 01:11:04.000
There\'s a space here.

01:11:04.033 --> 01:11:08.300
And the opening is from
the penis to the scrotum.

01:11:08.333 --> 01:11:10.000
The flesh hasn\'t closed.

01:11:10.033 --> 01:11:11.800
It almost looks like a vagina.

01:11:11.833 --> 01:11:14.033
- That\'s it?
It looks like labia majora.

01:11:14.067 --> 01:11:15.367
- Exactly.

01:11:15.400 --> 01:11:17.267
What\'s the difference
between a man and a woman?

01:11:17.300 --> 01:11:19.133
They\'re the same.
They have the same origin.

01:11:19.167 --> 01:11:21.300
- I never realized that.

01:11:21.333 --> 01:11:23.133
- Of course.
They\'re the same.

01:11:23.167 --> 01:11:26.400
- I read that we\'re
all conceived female, right?

01:11:26.433 --> 01:11:28.600
- Yes, of course.

01:11:28.633 --> 01:11:30.700
And because of testosterone,

01:11:30.733 --> 01:11:32.700
this little gland -

01:11:32.733 --> 01:11:33.967
see, that\'s a clitoris.

01:11:34.000 --> 01:11:36.600
It\'s a clitoris.

01:11:36.633 --> 01:11:42.233
In males, the clitoris grows
because of testosterone.

01:11:42.267 --> 01:11:47.833
So here is a newborn
with a genital malformation,

01:11:47.867 --> 01:11:52.267
whose male hormone levels
are completely normal

01:11:52.300 --> 01:11:53.767
and whose genes,

01:11:53.800 --> 01:11:56.500
which are responsible
for activating those hormones,

01:11:56.533 --> 01:11:58.800
are normal as well.

01:11:58.833 --> 01:12:04.200
So the only hypothesis is that
during fetal life,

01:12:04.233 --> 01:12:05.933
some X factor

01:12:05.967 --> 01:12:09.467
interfered with the work
of the male hormones.

01:12:09.500 --> 01:12:12.933
And that X factor
could be a pesticide

01:12:12.967 --> 01:12:16.267
that, in labs, has been shown
to block testosterone action

01:12:16.300 --> 01:12:18.133
on cell lines.

01:12:18.167 --> 01:12:20.067
It takes the place
of the receptors

01:12:20.100 --> 01:12:24.333
and blocks the action
of testosterone.

01:12:24.367 --> 01:12:27.133
We\'re sitting on a volcano,
really.

01:12:27.167 --> 01:12:29.733
We\'re sitting
on top of a volcano.

01:12:50.967 --> 01:12:54.733
- What has possibly spared
the human race until now

01:12:54.767 --> 01:12:58.633
is the fact that our
reproductive cycle is long.

01:12:58.667 --> 01:13:01.033
The animal species
that have disappeared

01:13:01.067 --> 01:13:03.700
have had
shorter reproductive cycles.

01:13:03.733 --> 01:13:06.967
And the chemicals that
concentrated in one generation

01:13:07.000 --> 01:13:09.000
affected
the reproductive systems

01:13:09.033 --> 01:13:11.067
of subsequent generations

01:13:11.100 --> 01:13:13.133
with catastrophic effects
being observed

01:13:13.167 --> 01:13:15.467
in the third
or fourth generation.

01:13:15.500 --> 01:13:17.633
For an animal species
such as trout,

01:13:17.667 --> 01:13:19.500
which reproduces
every two years,

01:13:19.533 --> 01:13:23.667
after five or six years,
the species becomes extinct.

01:13:25.600 --> 01:13:27.200
I was born in the \'50s,

01:13:27.233 --> 01:13:29.133
so I wasn\'t exposed
to those chemicals

01:13:29.167 --> 01:13:33.433
while in the womb.

01:13:33.467 --> 01:13:36.833
But my children were exposed
in their mother\'s womb.

01:13:38.733 --> 01:13:41.967
They\'re the first generation
to be exposed in the womb

01:13:42.000 --> 01:13:44.700
to chemicals that could affect
their development.

01:13:47.133 --> 01:13:49.700
So the next generation
of human children

01:13:49.733 --> 01:13:51.833
will correspond
to the generation of animals

01:13:51.867 --> 01:13:53.933
that has shown
the most serious effects

01:13:53.967 --> 01:13:55.767
of chemical exposure.

01:14:01.433 --> 01:14:03.100
Narrator: We\'ve played with fire

01:14:03.133 --> 01:14:05.300
and turned ourselves
into guinea pigs.

01:14:06.933 --> 01:14:09.433
Through
thoughtlessness or greed,

01:14:09.467 --> 01:14:12.233
could we now be crossing
the line between progress

01:14:12.267 --> 01:14:14.033
and self-destruction?

01:14:17.300 --> 01:14:19.433
We didn\'t know any better.

01:14:19.467 --> 01:14:22.067
Fire fulfilled
its promise of progress,

01:14:22.100 --> 01:14:25.133
and we thought that the Earth
and its oceans were limitless,

01:14:25.167 --> 01:14:27.733
able to absorb all our waste.

01:14:27.767 --> 01:14:31.033
Now that waste
has found its way inside us.

01:14:35.033 --> 01:14:38.533
- I had my own blood tested.

01:14:38.567 --> 01:14:41.567
We found 110 chemicals.

01:14:41.600 --> 01:14:46.133
So shouldn\'t I be worried
about that?

01:14:46.167 --> 01:14:48.500
- I don\'t think so,
for the most part.

01:14:48.533 --> 01:14:52.133
For most of the chemicals
that Canadians are exposed to,

01:14:52.167 --> 01:14:55.567
we have a comprehensive
set of laws in Canada

01:14:55.600 --> 01:14:57.700
that help us
identify the chemicals

01:14:57.733 --> 01:14:58.733
that are of concern

01:14:58.767 --> 01:15:01.233
and to take the controls
to manage them.

01:15:01.267 --> 01:15:02.600
There\'s a variety of laws.

01:15:02.633 --> 01:15:06.767
They depend on the type of chemical
that we want to assess

01:15:06.800 --> 01:15:08.533
and to manage the risk from.

01:15:08.567 --> 01:15:11.767
So you\'ll probably be talking
to someone on pesticides,

01:15:11.800 --> 01:15:14.100
and that\'s the
Pest Control Products Act.

01:15:14.133 --> 01:15:16.267
And then there\'s an act
that deals with drugs

01:15:16.300 --> 01:15:19.400
and with cosmetics
and veterinary drugs.

01:15:19.433 --> 01:15:21.600
And the most comprehensive act,
of course,

01:15:21.633 --> 01:15:23.433
is the Canadian Environmental
Protection Act,

01:15:23.467 --> 01:15:25.300
which is the one
that I deal with.

01:15:25.333 --> 01:15:27.533
And that gives the federal government
the authority

01:15:27.567 --> 01:15:31.133
to require information
from industry

01:15:31.167 --> 01:15:33.900
so that we can assess the risk
of the chemicals

01:15:33.933 --> 01:15:35.300
and then to manage the risk

01:15:35.333 --> 01:15:39.200
in whichever way
we think is appropriate.

01:15:39.233 --> 01:15:41.200
Narrator: Did you think
that Health Canada\'s role

01:15:41.233 --> 01:15:42.300
was to protect your health

01:15:42.333 --> 01:15:44.600
through
a precautionary approach?

01:15:44.633 --> 01:15:46.133
Well, think again.

01:15:46.167 --> 01:15:49.200
Today it\'s all about
risk management

01:15:49.233 --> 01:15:53.500
and evaluating what constitutes
an acceptable risk.

01:15:53.533 --> 01:15:55.433
This approach
clearly demonstrates

01:15:55.467 --> 01:15:58.067
how Health Canada\'s mandate
has been eroding

01:15:58.100 --> 01:16:00.467
since the implementation
of smart regulation

01:16:00.500 --> 01:16:03.267
a few years ago.

01:16:03.300 --> 01:16:05.900
- The precautionary approach,

01:16:05.933 --> 01:16:09.333
the philosophy is,
protection first,

01:16:09.367 --> 01:16:11.600
primacy of protection.

01:16:11.633 --> 01:16:14.167
The smart regulation
approach takes -

01:16:14.200 --> 01:16:17.467
the criteria is risk management.

01:16:19.633 --> 01:16:22.900
What we\'re talking about
is a long-standing initiative

01:16:22.933 --> 01:16:25.200
of deregulation.

01:16:25.233 --> 01:16:27.133
It\'s corporate driven.

01:16:27.167 --> 01:16:29.733
It\'s supported
by business think tanks.

01:16:29.767 --> 01:16:32.233
And what is different about
the risk management approach

01:16:32.267 --> 01:16:33.567
is that it elevates

01:16:33.600 --> 01:16:36.533
economic competitiveness
considerations

01:16:36.567 --> 01:16:43.000
to the same level as questions
of health and safety

01:16:43.033 --> 01:16:44.933
and protection.

01:16:44.967 --> 01:16:46.667
So basically, it says, you know,

01:16:46.700 --> 01:16:49.400
you have to - you know,
\"If you\'re going to, you know,

01:16:49.433 --> 01:16:52.800
\"regulate us in a certain way,
you have to -

01:16:52.833 --> 01:16:57.233
\"you have to give equal weight
to our concerns

01:16:57.267 --> 01:17:00.933
about competition
and cost.\"

01:17:00.967 --> 01:17:02.767
narrator: It\'s perhaps
with that in mind

01:17:02.800 --> 01:17:04.233
that, in 2006,

01:17:04.267 --> 01:17:08.133
Canada courageously
banned the use of four PBDEs,

01:17:08.167 --> 01:17:12.067
which the industry had
already taken off the market.

01:17:12.100 --> 01:17:15.633
Four the most widely used
PBDE on the market,

01:17:15.667 --> 01:17:17.633
Health Canada
relies on the industry

01:17:17.667 --> 01:17:19.200
to take voluntary measures

01:17:19.233 --> 01:17:22.733
and for consumers to beware.

01:17:22.767 --> 01:17:27.067
- Health Canada recommendations
regarding PBDEs:

01:17:27.100 --> 01:17:30.200
Ask the retailer about PBDEs
before you make a purchase.

01:17:30.233 --> 01:17:32.600
Good luck with that.
Just try to.

01:17:32.633 --> 01:17:34.533
Limit your consumption
of fatty foods.

01:17:34.567 --> 01:17:36.033
That has nothing to do with it.

01:17:36.067 --> 01:17:39.333
Clean your house often.

01:17:42.700 --> 01:17:44.667
Narrator: Along the same lines,

01:17:44.700 --> 01:17:46.833
citizens wishing
to manage their risks

01:17:46.867 --> 01:17:49.467
should, in so far as possible,

01:17:49.500 --> 01:17:52.633
(avoid being a) an Inuit,

01:17:52.667 --> 01:17:55.500
(b) an aboriginal,

01:17:55.533 --> 01:18:01.100
(c) too poor to afford organic
food on a daily basis.

01:18:01.133 --> 01:18:03.967
They should also follow
the numerous recommendations

01:18:04.000 --> 01:18:05.267
offered by the industry

01:18:05.300 --> 01:18:08.333
for protecting themselves
from cancer.

01:18:08.367 --> 01:18:10.533
A diet rich in fiber,

01:18:10.567 --> 01:18:13.067
together with fruits
and vegetables,

01:18:13.100 --> 01:18:16.800
can reduce
your risk of cancer by 40%?

01:18:23.533 --> 01:18:29.300
I was careful to keep a sample
of my blood plasma as evidence.

01:18:29.333 --> 01:18:31.833
I wanted to present it
to the chemical companies

01:18:31.867 --> 01:18:35.200
and give them back
a few of their molecules,

01:18:38.800 --> 01:18:43.167
an unusual and somewhat
intimidating mission.

01:18:49.200 --> 01:18:51.800
- Is it normal that we have
so many chemicals

01:18:51.833 --> 01:18:53.333
in our bodies now?

01:18:53.367 --> 01:18:54.667
- Well, I think that\'s something

01:18:54.700 --> 01:18:57.867
we need to get
better information on.

01:18:57.900 --> 01:19:01.667
One of the things Canadian
Chemical Producers\' Association

01:19:01.700 --> 01:19:05.367
has done is, we very much
supported Health Canada\'s

01:19:05.400 --> 01:19:09.400
efforts to try to have a broad
biomonitoring program

01:19:09.433 --> 01:19:12.833
of chemicals so that
we can get a broad sample.

01:19:12.867 --> 01:19:17.000
I mean, what\'s in your blood
is obviously important to you.

01:19:17.033 --> 01:19:21.867
But up to now, we have done
samples of very few people.

01:19:21.900 --> 01:19:24.400
And we need to do
a much broader sampling.

01:19:24.433 --> 01:19:29.400
We need to get an understanding
of what is in people\'s blood.

01:19:29.433 --> 01:19:32.033
That will help industry
in terms of prioritizing

01:19:32.067 --> 01:19:33.267
what we need to work on

01:19:33.300 --> 01:19:37.700
in terms of reducing
our contribution to that.

01:19:37.733 --> 01:19:41.100
Narrator: The industry spokesman
fulfilled his role well.

01:19:41.133 --> 01:19:43.400
He stressed the voluntary
environmental measures

01:19:43.433 --> 01:19:45.533
taken by manufacturers.

01:19:45.567 --> 01:19:47.533
He confirmed
their willingness to cooperate

01:19:47.567 --> 01:19:51.200
with Canada\'s new
substances evaluation program

01:19:51.233 --> 01:19:55.933
and ensured that past mistakes
won\'t be repeated.

01:19:55.967 --> 01:19:59.233
But banning toxic substances?

01:19:59.267 --> 01:20:03.467
- The industry\'s position is
always, \"Let\'s do more studies.\"

01:20:03.500 --> 01:20:06.967
How much evidence do we need
to ban a product?

01:20:07.000 --> 01:20:11.733
- Banning is a very legitimate
risk management tool.

01:20:11.767 --> 01:20:14.167
But it\'s not the only
risk management tool.

01:20:14.200 --> 01:20:18.067
The essence of risk managing,

01:20:18.100 --> 01:20:22.667
if you can limit the exposure
and manage the exposure,

01:20:22.700 --> 01:20:25.433
then you have achieved
the result.

01:20:25.467 --> 01:20:29.100
- I wanted to give you that
as maybe a reminder.

01:20:29.133 --> 01:20:31.400
This is a little bit
of my plasma.

01:20:31.433 --> 01:20:32.467
- Okay.

01:20:32.500 --> 01:20:33.800
Well, look, we\'ll make a trade.

01:20:33.833 --> 01:20:35.700
I\'ll give you our book
about reducing emissions,

01:20:35.733 --> 01:20:36.733
and I\'ll -

01:20:36.767 --> 01:20:38.633
yours is a more personal one.

01:20:42.667 --> 01:20:44.267
Narrator: Let\'s face it;

01:20:44.300 --> 01:20:46.267
market forces
don\'t spontaneously

01:20:46.300 --> 01:20:49.567
tend to favor public health.

01:20:49.600 --> 01:20:51.533
- With tobacco,
the first victories came

01:20:51.567 --> 01:20:53.467
when we stopped
targeting individuals

01:20:53.500 --> 01:20:55.133
and telling them to quit smoking

01:20:55.167 --> 01:20:58.600
and starting targeting
marketing practices instead.

01:20:58.633 --> 01:21:00.933
Otherwise, you\'re,
like, 20 years behind.

01:21:00.967 --> 01:21:03.233
While you strive to protect
people from tobacco,

01:21:03.267 --> 01:21:05.400
the industry is already
ten years ahead,

01:21:05.433 --> 01:21:07.167
exposing them
to even more chemicals

01:21:07.200 --> 01:21:10.633
and getting them hooked.

01:21:10.667 --> 01:21:13.000
So yes,
individual decisions matter,

01:21:13.033 --> 01:21:15.767
but government ministers,
CEOs, and industry experts

01:21:15.800 --> 01:21:18.000
and those interested
in selling their products,

01:21:18.033 --> 01:21:19.700
their decisions
have a much greater impact

01:21:19.733 --> 01:21:20.933
than those of the consumers

01:21:20.967 --> 01:21:22.400
who are stuck
with these products

01:21:22.433 --> 01:21:24.933
and the chemicals they contain.

01:21:24.967 --> 01:21:28.433
- Oh, are we allowed
to misspell words?

01:21:28.467 --> 01:21:30.533
I\'m missing an \"N.\"

01:21:30.567 --> 01:21:32.400
\"Bannis.\"

01:21:32.433 --> 01:21:34.467
- Oh, maybe
we can work together.

01:21:34.500 --> 01:21:37.267
- Bannis.

01:21:37.300 --> 01:21:38.467
That\'s French
for \"banned.\"

01:21:38.500 --> 01:21:40.100
Thank you.

01:21:41.167 --> 01:21:42.667
- Would you like
something to eat,

01:21:42.700 --> 01:21:44.367
some hormones, some antibiotics,

01:21:44.400 --> 01:21:46.500
or perhaps some pesticides?

01:21:46.533 --> 01:21:48.533
- You have a choice
of salmon with PCBs

01:21:48.567 --> 01:21:49.767
or with mercury.

01:21:49.800 --> 01:21:51.900
- Hi, would you like some fruit?

01:21:51.933 --> 01:21:54.233
- Would you like to have
a taste of our toxic buffet,

01:21:54.267 --> 01:21:56.533
entirely approved
by Health Canada?

01:21:56.567 --> 01:21:58.700
Some pike filet, sir,
from the St. Lawrence,

01:21:58.733 --> 01:22:01.367
with flame retardants?

01:22:01.400 --> 01:22:03.633
- It\'s excellent, huh?

01:22:03.667 --> 01:22:04.800
- Yeah, they\'re good.

01:22:04.833 --> 01:22:06.167
- That\'s the problem.

01:22:06.200 --> 01:22:08.100
Mercury, pesticides,
are tasteless.

01:22:08.133 --> 01:22:10.267
The fruit is delicious, so good.

01:22:10.300 --> 01:22:13.267
- Wouldn\'t you like a little
tuna and mercury salad?

01:22:13.300 --> 01:22:14.467
- Thank you.

01:22:14.500 --> 01:22:15.800
- Here we have pesticide grapes.

01:22:15.833 --> 01:22:16.833
Tasty.

01:22:16.867 --> 01:22:17.933
- Oh, they look wonderful.

01:22:17.967 --> 01:22:20.367
Oh, I see you have
phthalates as well.

01:22:20.400 --> 01:22:22.333
- Phthalates are everywhere.

01:22:22.367 --> 01:22:25.033
They come from plastics
and vinyl.

01:22:25.067 --> 01:22:28.633
- There are antibiotics
in pork and chicken.

01:22:28.667 --> 01:22:32.767
- Nonylphenol garlic butter.

01:22:32.800 --> 01:22:34.567
What is that?

01:22:34.600 --> 01:22:37.767
- It sounds toxic,
even the name.

01:22:37.800 --> 01:22:41.133
- Yeah, I make my garlic butter
with margarine, Becel.

01:22:41.167 --> 01:22:42.367
I put garlic in it.

01:22:42.400 --> 01:22:43.400
I mix it.

01:22:43.433 --> 01:22:44.733
And it\'s mighty good,

01:22:44.767 --> 01:22:47.967
because Becel,
by itself, is tasteless.

01:22:48.000 --> 01:22:49.800
- I\'m started to get hungry.

01:22:49.833 --> 01:22:51.100
- Me too.
I\'m hungry.

01:22:51.133 --> 01:22:53.100
It looks so appetizing.

01:22:53.133 --> 01:22:56.033
- We eat that every day.

01:22:56.067 --> 01:22:57.567
There\'s nothing else to eat.

01:22:57.600 --> 01:23:00.533
- But if we don\'t eat that,
what do we eat?

01:23:00.567 --> 01:23:03.700
- We fast.

01:23:03.733 --> 01:23:05.000
Carole, help me!

01:23:12.833 --> 01:23:16.933
Narrator: Everything we eat and drink
is absorbed by our bodies

01:23:16.967 --> 01:23:20.167
and transformed into food
for our cells.

01:23:20.200 --> 01:23:23.700
Our cells replace themselves
from these substances.

01:23:23.733 --> 01:23:25.933
Our stomach, our intestines,

01:23:25.967 --> 01:23:28.967
are completely renewed
about every six months,

01:23:29.000 --> 01:23:31.767
our skin, every 28 days.

01:23:31.800 --> 01:23:35.733
We\'re a new person
every two years.

01:23:35.767 --> 01:23:37.300
Did we think we could get away

01:23:37.333 --> 01:23:41.900
with polluting
everything we\'re made of?

01:23:41.933 --> 01:23:45.167
Sometimes nature pays us back.

01:23:45.200 --> 01:23:47.100
This morning, in Montreal,

01:23:47.133 --> 01:23:49.833
municipal employees
are destroying vegetables

01:23:49.867 --> 01:23:52.133
grown in the community garden

01:23:52.167 --> 01:23:57.467
after tests revealed the
presence of lead in the produce.

01:23:57.500 --> 01:23:59.300
- This was your garden?

01:23:59.333 --> 01:24:00.867
Narrator: The garden
had been set up

01:24:00.900 --> 01:24:04.733
on a former dumping ground.

01:24:04.767 --> 01:24:07.767
In her intelligence,
nature also reminds us

01:24:07.800 --> 01:24:10.267
of the unity
of all living things.

01:24:10.300 --> 01:24:12.533
Along with the decline
of amphibians,

01:24:12.567 --> 01:24:15.733
we\'re witnessing the mysterious
disappearance of bees.

01:24:15.767 --> 01:24:19.867
80% of flowering plants
depend on these pollinators.

01:24:19.900 --> 01:24:22.267
But the insects
are dying by the thousands,

01:24:22.300 --> 01:24:23.733
far from their hives,

01:24:23.767 --> 01:24:25.933
victims
of a weakened immune system

01:24:25.967 --> 01:24:27.567
or nervous system.

01:24:33.267 --> 01:24:35.433
At the mouth
of the Saguenay River,

01:24:35.467 --> 01:24:36.967
the St. Lawrence belugas

01:24:37.000 --> 01:24:39.533
are also threatened
with extinction.

01:24:39.567 --> 01:24:41.833
Their toxic load is so heavy

01:24:41.867 --> 01:24:44.567
that their immune systems
can no longer protect them.

01:24:44.600 --> 01:24:46.367
The whales are dying from cancer

01:24:46.400 --> 01:24:48.700
at a rate similar
to that of humans,

01:24:48.733 --> 01:24:52.333
something seen
nowhere else in the world.

01:24:52.367 --> 01:24:54.800
Downstream,
in the depths of the estuary,

01:24:54.833 --> 01:24:59.333
the oxygen level barely reaches
that needed to support life.

01:24:59.367 --> 01:25:01.700
And upstream,
Lake Saint-Pierre,

01:25:01.733 --> 01:25:03.100
where Alex learned to fish,

01:25:03.133 --> 01:25:08.167
is silting up
and slowly disappearing.

01:25:08.200 --> 01:25:10.100
A river is dying.

01:25:10.133 --> 01:25:11.367
And for some men,

01:25:11.400 --> 01:25:14.800
so is their hope for offspring.

01:25:14.833 --> 01:25:18.933
And yet in the same blind race
for instant profit,

01:25:18.967 --> 01:25:22.367
we\'re introducing transgenic
foods and nanoparticles

01:25:22.400 --> 01:25:24.100
into our environment

01:25:24.133 --> 01:25:25.833
without really
studying the effects

01:25:25.867 --> 01:25:28.467
they could have on our health.

01:25:28.500 --> 01:25:31.900
By allowing one acceptable risk
after another,

01:25:31.933 --> 01:25:35.667
we\'re gradually contaminating
all life on this planet.

01:25:39.033 --> 01:25:41.233
And just as with climate change,

01:25:41.267 --> 01:25:44.600
no one knows when we will exceed
the breaking point.