The Future
Working for a Change
The logic on which the EU’s based its decision raises some concerns for the future. Just about any mineral, chemical or compound, given in sufficiently high doses, will cause problems in laboratory animals. With the case of borates, this testing flaw is magnified. The laboratory animal of choice, rats, cannot vomit. Humans would vomit up any accidental mass overdose of borates long before toxic levels were reached.
Plus, it is nearly impossible to reach the toxic levels in humans. The average consumer would never be exposed to a product that was one hundred percent borates. Most products contain a lower percentage of borates. For instance, if you decided to eat a borate-treated piece of lumber – say a standard 2 x 4 – it would take 39 of them to reach toxic levels. That’s eating thirty-nine 2 x 4s. Everyday. And if you stopped eating them, your body would begin to rid itself of the excess borates and eliminate excess borate within 24 hours – thus reversing any negative effect.
Or, if someone accidentally ate and could keep down a borate-based granular pesticide bait, it would take the equivalent of eating 8 pounds or 90 cereal-sized bowls’ worth for a dangerous or fatal dose to be administered.
With either of these scenarios, the outcome is not likely.
The borate industry is working to try and have the EU see the error in their methodology and decision and have borate-based products be appropriately labeled.
And other mineral and chemical manufacturers are looking over their shoulders—hoping the EU doesn’t apply the same flawed logic to their industry.
