ABSTRACT
Hardly a day passes without a news media report on the hazards of chemicals in our environment producing a possible cornucopia of diseases ranging from cancer, reproductive disorders, failed pregnancies, birth defects, asthma, emphysema, and any number of other diseases causing premature death or chronic illness. Some scientists report that chlorinated organic and heavy metals already abound in our
bodies, and are so ubiquitous that even the most remote life-forms in the Arctic oceans demonstrate measurable levels in their bodies. Some of these chemicals have been implicated in developmental diseases in amphibians. Chemicals such as certain types of pesticides can mimic natural regulatory chemicals in animals. Mimics of the chemical retinoic acid have been linked to deformities in amphibians and fish, resulting in an increasing incidence of extra and missing limbs.
