Hackensack, NJ –“Ninety percent of all cancers are believed to result from toxins in the environment, and the potential hazards are much closer than most people think,” said Deirdre Imus, President and founder of The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center™ at Hackensack University Medical Center, a not for profit corporation and a nationally recognized healthcare organization offering patients the most comprehensive services, state-of-the art technologies, and outstanding facilities.
In a new public service announcement, Mrs. Imus points out that there are more than 82,000 chemicals in our environment, yet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reviewed fewer than two percent for safety. The 60-second segment can be downloaded for review or rebroadcast from:
imusenvironmentalhealth.org.
“Unfortunately, environmental hazards are not always obvious. Yet they’re real, and they affect us all -- especially children,” she said.
Toxins are in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink. They’re in the cleaners under your sink, and the drycleaning you bring home. They may be in the fruit you buy -- even that glass of milk.
Calling children “our most precious resource,” Mrs. Imus says greater awareness is needed to help prevent environmental factors that may cause cancer, autism, asthma and other health problems.
The specific mission of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center is to identify, control, and ultimately prevent toxic exposures in the environment that threaten our children's health.
Closer Than You Think
Mrs. Imus recently received the 2005 “Excellence in Cancer Awareness” award from The Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation in Washington., D.C.
She is also co-founder and co-director of the Imus Ranch for Kids with Cancer, a 4,000 acre working cattle ranch in northern New Mexico, which provides the experience of the American cowboy to children suffering from cancer and various blood diseases, and to the siblings of children who have been victims of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Environmentally Responsible Cleaners
One of the Environmental Center’s most important programs is the award-winning Greening the Cleaning® program that includes a line of environmentally responsible institutional cleaning products. Now, Greening the Cleaning® products are available for the home through The Imus Ranch for Kids with Cancer (imusranchfoods.com).
Hackensack University Medical Center is a nationally recognized healthcare organization offering patients the most comprehensive services, state-of-the art technologies, and facilities. A leader in providing the highest quality patient-centered care, the institution has been recognized for performance excellence encompassing the entire spectrum of hospital quality and service issues.