Poisoned Profits

May 5, 2008
The authors of this unsettling indictment of American industrial mendacity detail the impact of the “trillions of tons” of largely unregulated toxic pollutants that have been poured into the environment after WWII when synthetic chemical compounds entered mainstream life. The Shabecoffs argue that the world is becoming a perilous place for the young; fetuses, newborns and toddlers are vastly more vulnerable to environmental contaminants than adults, and hazards lie latent in teething rings (leaching plastic toxins), bath water (laced with chemical contaminants), lush lawns (dusted with herbicides) and the very air they breathe—all contributing directly to a “rising incidence of childhood illness,” including asthma, autism, cancer—once “a rarity” among children—and even a drop in average IQ. The authors build their compelling case against polluters like dogged prosecutors, condemning “perpetrators,” including General Electric and Dow Chemical, slamming “co-conspirators,” most prominently compliant conservative governments, and exposing “witnesses for the defense,” among them misleading scientists-for-hire. The authors' passionate exposé of corporate America's behavior is numbing in its impact; an appendix detailing steps parents can take to reduce risk eases the angst.

Starred review from July 1, 2008
There is a countryin whichnearly one in three children suffers from some type of chronic disease and whose childhood cancer rates have risen some 67 percent in the last50 years. What is this country doing wrong tocause so many of its children such suffering? The country is the U.S., and the Shabecoffs, nationally known journalists, believe they know exactly what is causing our children so much illness. Sure, they say, lifestyle choices (bad diet, secondhand smoke, etc.) can account for a certain amount of ill health.The real malefactor, however, is greedy American industry, aided and abetted by a shortsighted economic system anda government that turns a blind eye when faced with damning scientific evidence of true crimethe crime of knowingly poisoning children, beginning when they are the most vulnerable: in utero. In the spirit of popular CSITV shows, the Shabecoffs lay out enough substantial incriminating data to indict, if not convict, a fair number of the usual suspects, from GE to Union Carbide to Monsanto to the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agencyto evenhigher. With questions asked and answered, the Shabecoffs compelling case decides in favor of looking out for the defenseless.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)