Summary of article

In his article, "The pollution within", in National Geographic, october 2006, David Ewing Duncan discusses the issue of levels of toxicity present in our human bodies. According to his article, everyone is exposed to a number of toxic chemical by using nonstick pan products, sweet-smelling shampoos, plastic bags, and so on. These convenient things make our life much better, but they are also a shortcut to death.

People can be exposed to chemicals before they are born, in the womb of their mother. After they are born, they are affected by their mother's breast milk. And as the grow up, the gather many more chemicals through the air, water, soil and thousands of essential goods that are used in daily life.

People already know that the ocean of northern California contains mercury, so the author who usually doesn't eat fish, tested how much the level of mercury in his body changed after eating fish which is from the ocean just outside the Golden Gate. His level of mercury had more than doubled and the tester advised him to avoid repeating this kind of experiment.

We can't stop using man chemical products because these goods are necessary for our life. But many people have already known how much the exposure of chemicals are dangerous by reading articles, newspapers, or by watching the news. So we can try to reduce this exposure. For example, we can reduce the use of plastic bags or try to use public transportation or biking instead of using our own cars.