WHEN man began to build cities to which the rural populace migrated, an ominous threat lurked in their crowded dwellings—disease. The widespread plagues that ravaged the cities of Eu rope during the Middle Ages are prominently mentioned in history. Decimating the population, some of them, such as bubonic plague ("black death"), came close to eliminating the culture of some countries. The diseases were not new, but the crowded and unhealthful living conditions of the cities contributed to their rapid spread.
Modern cities, however, have improved on the past—or have they? Perhaps there is as much to fear from city water today as there was a hundred years ago. Not from bacterial-caused diseases like typhoid and cholera, but from such things as hepatitis virus and cancer-causing chemicals given off by industry that are not removed in our water-purification plants. We certainly aren't experiencing epidemics like smallpox and plague. But a new set of diseases is beginning to emerge—some well-known old foes, and some much newer and less understood threats to our health and survival. And they are serious threats especially to those living in urban areas.
Admittedly, when Ellen G. White wrote the statements that follow, the conditions in the cities of our world left much to be desired as far as health was concerned. However, recent studies reveal that her messages are just as appropriate today, and perhaps even more so, since the dangers are unsuspected and often unknown.
"The physical surroundings in the cities are often a peril to health," she wrote. "The constant liability to con tact with disease, the prevalence of foul air are some of the many evils to be met." —The Ministry of Healing, p. 365. "The air, laden with smoke and dust, with poisonous gases, and with germs of disease, is a peril to life." —Ibid., p. 262.
Let's explore a few of the dangers pinpointed in these statements. Al though we can discuss only a few illustrations, they represent a broad spectrum of very real health hazards found in most cities. There are undoubtedly plenty of environmental diseases that we do not, as yet, know about, but these are a few that have been identified.
1. "The physical surroundings . . . are often a peril to health." One theory attributes the decline and fall of the Roman Empire to poisoning by drinking from lead goblets. We don't use lead containers for such a purpose today. Yet lead poisoning is still with us. Peelings of lead-laden paint attract the attention and mouths of unsuspecting children. And in the streets, automobile exhaust pipes spew out lead fumes for all to breathe.
2. "The air, laden with smoke and dust . . ." This also characterizes the lead fumes released from high-octane tetraethyl lead gasoline. But a far more important prophetic fulfillment is found in asbestos fibers. Some medical re searchers suggest that more than 80 per cent of all cancer comes from our environment. One particularly vicious form of cancer—mesothelioma, a rap idly spreading cancer of the lungs and abdomen—has been linked to asbestos. Asbestos workers develop more of this ailment than do others. But they are not the only ones at risk. A few years ago a young man of 30 died of mesothelioma. Investigation showed that he never worked with asbestos, but in early life he lived a short distance from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where large amounts of asbestos were used in building and remodeling ships.
Notice the long incubation time required for the development of the cancer! This is characteristic of most environmentally related cancers. Today's cases of full-blown disease are associated with the use of unsuspectedly harmful materials 20, 30, or 40 years ago. The implication is clear—the future health of our children is determined by what they are exposed to today!
One last look at asbestos. It can cause other types of cancers too. Also emphysema-like lung failure. Once in the human body, asbestos fibers can stay for life. They have been discovered in most tissues, including the liver, pancreas, lung, intestine, and kidney. And asbestos is used almost universally— some 3,000 products, including talcum powder and vehicle brake linings, use large amounts in their manufacture.
3. "Foul air." "The air, laden with poisonous gases." Carbon monoxide, for one, is odorless, colorless, tasteless, and extremely poisonous, and it is probably the most dangerous air hazard to city dwellers. It is formed from the incomplete combustion of any carbon-containing fuel such as wood, charcoal, or gasoline. A concentrated pall of this deadly material hangs over automobile-clogged streets during rush hour. Skyscraperlined thoroughfares and vehicle tunnels are especially hazardous.
What does it do? The gas unites with the hemoglobin of the red blood cells, cells that normally carry oxygen to the body tissues. Thus it decreases the amount of oxygen available. If one is already weakened by an ailment such as restriction of blood flow to the heart muscle (coronary artery disease) the result can be fatal. The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning should be familiar to anyone who has been cooped up in a poorly ventilated, cigarette smoke-filled room—headache, delayed reaction time, impaired ability to think, and irritability. School children in areas of high carbon monoxide levels are said to have lower reading scores. And automobile accident rates seem to be higher in such localities.
None of the disease-causing agents mentioned in this article can be seen, smelled, or tasted. They are unseen killers. Yet, if you are a city dweller they are things to which daily you are likely to be exposed, regardless of race, sex, or economic station.
Although few, if any, Edenic habitations are currently available to the per son of modest means, country living, away from the special hazards of city life, offers the best opportunity for a healthful life.
