In
a neat neighbourhood in the Netherlands, Tom van de Water wakes up in
the morning. He is lying on a wooden cot, sheltered by a piece of
plastic, in the garden behind his house. He gets up, folds his blanket
and puts it away in a shed. He enters the house, goes into the kitchen
and puts on his suit for work.
Tom,
like many others, claims he suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
(MCS), a disease triggered by the daily use of common chemicals.
Filmmaker
Mark Aardenburg sees more and more chemicals used in everyday life and
questions how this affects us. Although Mark feels perfectly healthy,
the film will follow him as he tests his blood for high levels of
hazardous material, which could be caused by exposure to chemicals.
In
the US it is estimated 25 to 45 million people have a heightened
sensitivity to chemicals. In Europe however, there are no figures yet. |
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The
EU initially recognized the dangers of even small quantities of
chemicals and drafted a law in order to protect European citizens. The
powerful international chemical industry responded with intense
lobbying. When the law was finally passed it was a feeble version of
the initial proposal. Greenpeace even claims that the new law,
which came into effect in 2007, doesn‘t do anything to reduce harmful
chemicals, but simply serves the chemical industry.
The
industry (as well as most doctors) maintains that all chemicals are
tested thoroughly for safety before they are put on the market. They
claim it is not possible to become ill from the small quantities
encountered in daily life.
Why doesn’t medical science and
the chemical industry take diseases caused by chemicals seriously? Why
is European legislation on this issue so weak? How powerful is the
chemical industry?
© 2007 MovieTron |
