In January 2005, Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko, the informal leader of the Ukranian Opposition Coalition, became the third and current President of the Ukraine, after a revote, recount, and a runoff election against the state- sponsored opposition candidate.
Not exactly what one would call a clean victory, but given the story of intrigue that ran through this campaign, is one that certainly should have been expected.
In fact, during the campaign in 2004, Yushchenko became violently ill and was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, accompanied by interstitial edematous changes, due to a serious viral infection and chemical substances that are not normally found in food products. Yushchenko claimed such poisoning to be the work of government agents. After the illness, his face became heavily disfigured: grossly jaundiced, bloated, and pockmarked.
A British toxologist declared the changes in Yushchenko's face were due to chloracne, which can be the result of dioxin poisoning. Later, a Dutch toxicologist found levels of dioxin in Yushchenko's blood that were 6,000 times above normal and also stated his changes in appearance to be the result of chloracne.
Not exactly what one would call a clean victory, but given the story of intrigue that ran through this campaign, is one that certainly should have been expected.
In fact, during the campaign in 2004, Yushchenko became violently ill and was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, accompanied by interstitial edematous changes, due to a serious viral infection and chemical substances that are not normally found in food products. Yushchenko claimed such poisoning to be the work of government agents. After the illness, his face became heavily disfigured: grossly jaundiced, bloated, and pockmarked.
A British toxologist declared the changes in Yushchenko's face were due to chloracne, which can be the result of dioxin poisoning. Later, a Dutch toxicologist found levels of dioxin in Yushchenko's blood that were 6,000 times above normal and also stated his changes in appearance to be the result of chloracne.
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| Yuschenko, before and after dioxin poisoning |
So, what is dioxin? It is the name given to an entire group of poisons mainly derived from and related to Chlorine, which is universally used to chemically disinfect water. Chlorine kills germs, bacteria and other living organisms, and is contained in every ounce of water that comes out of municipal water treatment plants.
Now, the levels of chlorine in municipal water are nothing compared to the immediate danger of deadly bacteria in untreated water, and chlorine is certainly the least expensive and surest method of protecting consumers against such dangers; and by its self, the amount of chlorine in tap water has been shown to be of a safe level for exposure. But coupled with all the other environmental exposures to dioxins, and the fact that these chemicals bioaccumulate in our bodies, prudence would suggest that we limit every exposure that we can control.
These compounds readily pass through the cell wall and attach to the fatty acids of the cell, disrupting the life sustaining functions. It should be noted that the EPA sets the recommended exposure level to these compounds at zero.
It has been estimated that the "shower steam" in your bathroom can contain up to 100 times the amount of chlorine than the water, because chlorine evaporates out of water at a relatively low temperature. If you bathe or shower in unfiltered tap water you are inhaling and absorbing an unsafe amount of chlorine into your body. This single daily exposure accounts for almost half of the average person’s dioxin intake.
If you are running for president in a former soviet bloc nation, you should be sure- get your water from a well. Repeated exposures to these chemicals will not help you build up an immunity, but rather, lay the foundation for your opposition’s plot to remove you as a threat.
If you are just a “regular” citizen simply concerned about your health, you may want to heed that same advice. After all, you may never be the specific target of a murderous plot, but; in light of the EPA's recommendations, you certainly can not be too careful!
Now, the levels of chlorine in municipal water are nothing compared to the immediate danger of deadly bacteria in untreated water, and chlorine is certainly the least expensive and surest method of protecting consumers against such dangers; and by its self, the amount of chlorine in tap water has been shown to be of a safe level for exposure. But coupled with all the other environmental exposures to dioxins, and the fact that these chemicals bioaccumulate in our bodies, prudence would suggest that we limit every exposure that we can control.
These compounds readily pass through the cell wall and attach to the fatty acids of the cell, disrupting the life sustaining functions. It should be noted that the EPA sets the recommended exposure level to these compounds at zero.
It has been estimated that the "shower steam" in your bathroom can contain up to 100 times the amount of chlorine than the water, because chlorine evaporates out of water at a relatively low temperature. If you bathe or shower in unfiltered tap water you are inhaling and absorbing an unsafe amount of chlorine into your body. This single daily exposure accounts for almost half of the average person’s dioxin intake.
If you are running for president in a former soviet bloc nation, you should be sure- get your water from a well. Repeated exposures to these chemicals will not help you build up an immunity, but rather, lay the foundation for your opposition’s plot to remove you as a threat.
If you are just a “regular” citizen simply concerned about your health, you may want to heed that same advice. After all, you may never be the specific target of a murderous plot, but; in light of the EPA's recommendations, you certainly can not be too careful!
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