Newborns arrive with toxic chemicals in bloodstream
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BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Adults are exposed to toxic chemicals in food packing, textiles and carpets every day, and now scientists have found the chemicals even in newborns.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health tested nearly 300 umbilical cord blood samples and found that 99 percent of the newborns came into contact with the manmade chemical perfluorooctane sulfonate in the womb.

All of the tested newborns were exposed to the chemical prior to birth.

Scientists do not know the complete impact of exposure to the chemicals, but studies have shown very high levels of the toxins could cause tumors and developmental toxicity in animals.

The chemicals found in the newborns were at lower levels than most adults in the United States, and much lower levels than those that caused tumors in animals.

All children studied were born at Johns Hopkins Hospital from 2004 to 2005.


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2:20 PM MST on Sun., Feb. 10, 2008 re: "Inmate gets drunk on hand sanitizer"

Examiner Reader said:
Your alcohol facts are not quite straight. You mentioned Avant Hand Sanitizer- it has denatured alcohol. The denaturing process adds a bitter agent- it make sit taste horrible- definitely not a vodka type drink. That is why alcohol is denatured- to avoid abuse like this. It will likely make you vomit.

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6:48 PM MST on Wed., Aug. 8, 2007 re: "Inmate gets drunk on hand sanitizer"

Examiner Reader said:
Former Minneapolis Fire Chief: A First Responder in I-35W Bridge Collapse; Coordinates Helping Hand Contribution of Soapopular Hand Sanitizers For EMS Workers For Immediate Release Minneapolis, MN, Aug 8, 2007-- Former Minneapolis Fire Department Chief Bonnie Bleskachek, an embattled hero to many in the Minneapolis community, hasn't allowed recent personal controversy to stand in the way of helping Minnesota citizens in times of crisis. Since the August 1 catastrophe first occurred, Bleskachek has been working tirelessly by coordinating volunteer and emergency supply logistics, and she was the first to respond to an unsolicited call from a Connecticut company offering to contribute a shipment of Soapopular, a new, alcohol-free hand sanitizer, for emergency workers at the disaster scene.

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8:24 AM MST on Sun., Jun. 10, 2007 re: "Inmate gets drunk on hand sanitizer"

Examiner Reader said:
Hand-Sanitizer=Alcohol Poisoning.. As inane as the subject might seam, the exponential growth in the use of hand sanitizer products over the past few years has lead to an ever-increasing number of alcohol-poisoning instances--and too many within school/educational settings. Most recent report was two weeks ago in Hartford CT, where second grader, overloaded her hands from a Purell bottle on her teachers desk ,then licked it off--and was soon rushed to Yale University Hospital and diagnosed with alchohol poisoning. Thank goodness that some new manufacturers, including Soapopular--which offers a full line of Alcohol-FREE hand sanitizing products, are now getting retailers to put their products on their shelves. Soapopular, which is Canada's leading brand in the alcohol-free segment, made its debut last week here in the US.

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