DHMO is a colorless and odorless chemical compound. Dihydrogen monoxide is its proper chemical name, but it also goes by other names, such as dihydrogen oxide, hydrogen hydroxide, hydronium hydroxide or hydric acid.

Should we be concerned about this substance's affect on our safety and health? Most definitely. Both Canadian and American governments do not classify DHMO as a toxic substance, and yet it still is. A thimbleful of this substance can be deadly to humans.

Every year, DHMO causes thousands of deaths and millions of dollars of damage to property and the environment itself. Here are some dangers DHMO is known for:

• Death due to accidental inhalation, even if only in small quantities.
• Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO can cause severe tissue damage.
• Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns.
• DHMO leads to the corrosion and oxidation of many metals.
• DHMO is found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.

Although extremely dangerous, DHMO is nonetheless used in many household products. You may even be using it right now! So be very careful! DHMO is often used:

• By elite athletes to improve performance.
• As a spray-on fire suppressant and retardant.
• In abortion clinics.
• As an additive in food products, such as jarred baby food, baby formula, carbonated beverages (maybe like the one you're sipping on now!), and all-natural (if they are really all-natural) fruit juices.
• In cough medicines.
• In bubble baths, shampoo, shaving cream, deodorants and many other bathroom accessories.
• In the coffee available in coffee houses.

Now, even if you want your food to be protected from DHMO by washing it, studies show it will still have DHMO. Once contaminated, your food is pretty much contaminated forever.

Many groups around North America are trying to ban DHMO. Is it for the better? This substance is dangerous to everyone and everything, they say.

The funny thing about DHMO is, we need it to survive. That's right. We need it to survive because DHMO is WATER. That's right, WATER!

If we ban water, we will all wither away and die. Not a very good idea, is that?

The tale of DHMO tells us that we can't believe everything we read: I learned my lesson when a teacher told us about how bad DHMO was, and told us to write a letter to the premier of our province, encouraging them to ban the substance. I wrote the best letter ever, only to find out later that I was writing to ban water!

So be careful kids... not everything is as it seems.

NAEZ21


Thank you to my grade 7 environmental education class.
Site referenced: http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html
Search engine used: http://www.google.ca