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Comment by nimos | Hacker News Reader

A lot of chemicals seem to have effects on the endocrine system. I wonder if there is potentially an issue with them in aggregate. Such that the dose of any single chemical isn't problematic but all of them together with similar effects causes a problem.

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>I wonder if there is potentially an issue with them in aggregate. Such that the dose of any single chemical isn't problematic but all of them together with similar effects causes a problem.

I've been wondering about this a lot in recent years. Particularly in regards to medications/pharmaceuticals but also environmental containments/traces (which can include pharmaceuticals of course), pair with this what we are just starting to understand about plastics exposure and pervasiveness and I really wonder why more health research and workplace safety resources aren't being directed to look at compound and long term exposures.

> I really wonder why more health research and workplace safety resources aren't being directed to look at compound and long term exposures.

Probably because no one wants to find the various smoking guns alongside the fears of what each of the ensuing lawsuits would cost. Ignorance is bliss as they say.

What would even happen if we found out plastics are unsafe in small amounts? You'd about have to remake half the world at this point.

That would require some interaction between the chemicals, that potentiates their effect. Or they act through common pathways.

But if the threshold effect is 1 microgram, and you're exposed to 1 picogram of 10 different chemicals all working through the same pathway, you're still below the threshold effect.

I think the idea was more if the threshold effect is 1 microgram and you're exposed to 100 picograms of 10 different chemicals.

you are right -- keyword search "body burden" or "forever chemicals"

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