The great Invasion

We eat them, we breathe them, we touch them everyday. Without our knowing, thousands of invisible chemicals are part of our daily lives, embedded in our food and water, an integral part of our detergents, plastics, and fabrics. Brominated flame retardants, alkylphenols, permethrine, bisphenol-A, phthalates, parabens, organotins: the consumer society is taking a stroll inside our veins and organs, using obscure and unknown names. The bloodstreams of men, women, children and even polar bears carry chemicals that are supposed to be only found in modern world’s carpets and toasters.

Today, scientists worry about the impact of those chemicals on human health, on children’s especially. They think this continuous, invisible pollution is quietly poisoning humanity. Often ignored in the environmental debate, this silent pollution raises questions which go far beyond the fields of medicine and science. It also affects the organisation of our economic and political systems, as well as the foundations of our superabundance society.

Pariscience 2011
: Thursday 06th October 2011 from 15h45 to 17h15