this is fucking crazy...

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Paul Nshan Bedrosian <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: March 27, 2006 10:58:50 PM EST
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [sfpgj] toxic soda
>
> check this shit out...
>
> ----- Forwarded message from [log in to unmask]  
> -----
>    Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 09:20:25 -0500 (EST)
>    From: "Gary Ruskin, Commercial Alert"  
> <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Special alert: some school soft drinks may contain the  
> poison benzene
>      To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Dear friends,
> Just when we thought we’d heard all of the reasons to stop the sale  
> of soft drinks in school, we discovered another outrageous fact.
>
> Recent tests conducted by scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug  
> Administration and elsewhere have found that some soft drinks are  
> contaminated with the toxic chemical benzene at levels levels that  
> are above the U.S. legal limit for drinking water.  See http:// 
> www.commercialalert.org/issues-article.php? 
> article_id=915&subcategory_id=34&category=2.
>
> "Now, in addition to the calories, parents and educators should be  
> aware that some of the drinks they give children contain poison,"  
> explained Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Research  
> Center. "Here we've got a genuinely worrisome reason to focus on  
> soda in schools."
>
> Long-term exposure to benzene is associated with leukemia, aplastic  
> anemia and other blood diseases. According to a U.S. Environmental  
> Protection Agency factsheet, exposure even “for relatively short  
> periods of time” above the EPA limits for benzene in drinking water  
> can “potentially cause” effects such as “temporary nervous system  
> disorders, immune system depression, anemia.”
>
> Benzene is formed by a reaction of two soft drink ingredients --  
> ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and either sodium or potassium benzoate  
> (which are used as preservatives).   Here is a list of some soft  
> drinks that contain both ingredients:  http:// 
> www.commercialalert.org/softdrinklist.pdf.
>
> While we continue our campaign to end the sale of all sweetened  
> drinks and other junk food in schools because they promote obesity  
> and type 2 diabetes, we’re making a special effort to stop the sale  
> of soft drinks that may contain the toxic chemical benzene.
>
> On March 23rd, Commercial Alert and our friends sent letters to all  
> chief state school officers asking them to halt the sale of drinks  
> that may be contaminated with benzene.
>
> We need your help right now.  Ask your governor and state  
> legislators to halt the sale of these drinks in schools  
> immediately.  Take action now at:
>
> http://www.commercialalert.org/dia/organizationsORG/commercialalert/ 
> campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3122.
>
> Thank you so much for caring about the health of our children.
>
> -- Gary Ruskin, Commercial Alert
>
>
>
> /*Your email ID. <diaEmailID='98894134' thread=1255/>--*/
>
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
>