Australian Zeolite

Toxins in Your Soup BPA

'Gender-bending' chemical found in tins of soup 'increases risk of heart disease and diabetes'

• Just five days of eating canned soup dramatically increases levels of hormone-mimicking bisphenol A

By Claire Bates

Last updated at 1:36 PM on 23rd November 2011

A hormone-mimicking chemical used in soup tins could increase your risk of heart disease and diabetes, scientists have warned.

Eating canned soup every day for just five days caused a 1,000 per cent increase in levels of bisphenol A in the body, they found.

Scientists blame this increase on manufacturers using BPA in the lining of soup tins to prevent them from rusting.

BPA is an organic compound that can mimic the body's own hormones and previous research has warned it can increase the risk of illnesses including heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

BPA is often used to line tin cans to stop them rusting and keep food fresh

It is known as the gender-bending chemical, after previous studies showed it can interfere with the way hormones are processed.

But scientists are split over its effects, with some maintaining it is perfectly safe and others linking it to cancer, obesity and diabetes.

BPA is also used to line other metal food containers polycarbonate bottles and some products used in dental surgeries. It has been banned from baby bottles in the EU.

The team, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, USA, studied how eating tinned sound affected the BPA of a group of volunteers.

They split 75 staff and students into two groups, one of which was ate a 350ml tin of vegetable soup daily for five days, while the other ate an identical-sized portion of vegetable soup made only with fresh ingredients. 

 After leaving their system to cleanse itself for two days, both groups swapped places. Results, published in the Journal of the Medical Association, showed BPA levels in urine samples of volunteers who'd just finished the tinned soup trial were over 1,200 per cent higher than those collected after the fresh soup trial.

Study author Jenny Carwile, a doctoral student at Harvard, claimed the increase could be temporary and that more research is needed.

She said: 'Previous studies have linked elevated BPA levels with adverse health effects.

'The next step was to figure out how people are getting exposed to BPA. We've known for a while that drinking beverages that have been stored in certain hard plastics can increase the amount of BPA in your body.

'This study suggests that canned foods may be an even greater concern, especially given their wide use.'

Co-author Professor Karin Michels added: 'The magnitude of the rise in urinary BPA we observed after just one serving of soup was unexpected and may be of concern among individuals who regularly consume foods from cans or drink several canned beverages daily.

'It may be advisable for manufacturers to consider eliminating BPA from can linings.'

The UK's Food Standards Agency said: 'Our current advice is that BPA from food contact materials does not represent a risk to consumers but the agency will be looking at this study, as it would at any new pieces of work, to see if it has any implications for our advice to consumers.

'The FSA bases its advices on the body of scientific evidence and the opinion of independent scientists.'

The Simple Test Which May Help Prevent Autism

The Simple Test Which May Help Prevent Autism

 Story at-a-glance

·         A new hypothesis states that impaired glucose tolerance and hyperinsulinemia may be a common underlying mechanism of type 2 diabetes and autism

·         Emerging research also suggests strong links between gut flora and both diabetes and brain disorders such as autism. The primary key to maintaining both healthy gut flora and optimal insulin levels is a low-fructose, low-carb diet, high in nutrient-dense whole foods

·         Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) is the result of poorly developed or imbalanced gut flora, which can have a disastrous effect on mental health and brain development and function. Interestingly, children who do not develop normal gut flora from birth also appear to be particularly prone to vaccine damage, and this knowledge may be a MAJOR key for reducing vaccine injuries, including autism

·         GAPS can be easily identified within the first weeks of your baby's life by analyzing his stool to determine the state of his gut flora, and a urine test to check for metabolites. These tests will provide a picture of the state of your child's immune system. If your child has abnormal gut flora, he will be more prone to vaccine damage, so avoiding inoculations until the metabolic characteristics of GAPS have been reversed is highly recommended

By Dr. Mercola

A review of genetic and biochemical abnormalities has revealed a possible link between autism and type 2 diabetes. 

It's still only a hypothesis, but according to Rice University biochemist Michael Stern, author of the opinion paper, these two conditions may have a common underlying mechanism: impaired glucose tolerance and hyperinsulinemia. 

Hyperinsulinemia, a common precursor to insulin resistance, is characterized by excess levels of insulin in your bloodstream.

Insulin resistance, in turn, is associated with type 2 diabetes, obesity, and many other chronic diseases.

Could it also be associated with autism?

According to Stern:

"It will be very easy for clinicians to test my hypothesis.

They could do this by putting autistic children on low-carbohydrate diets that minimize insulin secretion and see if their symptoms improve."

Sterns hypothesis also suggests that glucose tolerance in pregnant women may need to be addressed more seriously than it is now, in order to decrease the child's risk of autism.

As reported by Science Daily:

"... [A]t least four genes associated with increased frequency in autism are known to produce proteins that play key roles in a biochemical pathway known as PI3K/Tor ...  PI3K/Tor [is] the major pathway for insulin signals within cells, and insulin [can] affect synapses in a remarkably similar way to the mGluR defects associated with autism.

… "I discovered that gestational diabetes was the most important identified maternal risk factor for autism, but that 'no known mechanism could account for this,'" Stern recalled. "When I read this, I was speechless. That's when I realized that this was not obvious to others in the field, so I decided to write this up with the hope that clinicians might become aware of this and treat their patients accordingly."

In writing the article, Stern said he learned that the role of insulin in cognitive function is becoming more widely accepted…  Stern said he also found preliminary studies that indicated that low-carb diets were therapeutic for some individuals with autism and ASD.

"Based on what's already in the literature, insulin needs to be taken seriously as a causative element in autism," Stern said."

Diabetes, Autism and... Gut Flora: A Hidden Connection?

Sterns hypothesis linking autism and type 2 diabetes is an interesting one, and although it may initially sound far-fetched, other research suggests he may very well be onto something, especially if we consider the emerging research linking gut flora to both diabetes and autism.  Could it be that it's actually the gut microflora that is an underlying link between diabetes and autism?

There's no definitive evidence of this at the moment, but there appear to be some rather compelling "circumstantial evidence" leaning in that direction.

For example, researchers have found that bacterial populations in the gut of diabetics differ from non-diabetics, and imbalanced gut flora has also been linked to obesity and various brain- and mental disorders—from depression to autism.

Interestingly, obesity and diabetes appear to be associated with different bacterial populations according to one 2010 study. While the researchers found a positive correlation between ratios of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes and BMI, the reverse tendency was observed in those with diabetes, indicating that obesity and diabetes are associated with different groups of intestinal microbiota. They also found a positive correlation for the ratios of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes and reduced glucose tolerance.

The Gut-Brain Connection—A Hidden Key to Solving Autism Mystery?

In terms of treatment, Sterns hypothesis ends up coinciding quite nicely with the GAPS theory put forth by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. The low-carbohydrate diet he recommends will automatically help rebalance your child's gut flora, and Dr. Campbell-McBride's nutritional program has the identical focus.

Dr. Campbell-McBride has a full-time medical practice in the United Kingdom where she treats children and adults with autism and other neurological disorders, immune disorders, and digestive problems. Her groundbreaking research led her to create the Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Nutritional Program, which can help those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression and schizophrenia.

What is GAPS?

GAPS is the result of poorly developed or imbalanced gut flora, which can have a disastrous effect on mental health and brain development and function.

Interestingly, children who do not develop normal gut flora from birth also appear to be particularly prone to vaccine damage, and this may be a MAJOR key for reducing vaccine injuries. Dr. Campbell is actually convinced that autistic children are born with perfectly normal brains and sensory organs, but once their digestive system becomes a major source of toxicity instead of being a source of nourishment, they start to develop autistic symptoms. A vaccine may simply "push them over the edge."

Another group of children that may also over-react to vaccinations are siblings of children with autism, severe hyperactivity, obsessive compulsive disorder, mental conditions, and—again—type 1diabetes.

Heart Surgeon Admits Huge Mistake!

Heart Surgeon Admits Huge Mistake!

02-Nov-2009

By Dwight Lundell, MD.

We physicians with all our training, knowledge and authority often acquire a rather large ego that tends to make it difficult to admit we are wrong. So, here it is I freely admit to being wrong. As a heart surgeon with 25 years experience, having performed over 5,000 open-heart surgeries, today is my day to right the wrong with medical and scientific fact.

I trained for many years with other prominent physicians labeled "opinion makers." Bombarded with scientific literature, continually attending education seminars, we opinion makers insisted heart disease resulted from the simple fact of elevated blood cholesterol. The only accepted therapy was prescribing medications to lower cholesterol and a diet that severely restricted fat intake. The latter of course we insisted would lower cholesterol and heart disease. Deviations from these recommendations were considered heresy and could quite possibly result in malpractice.

It Is Not Working!

These recommendations are no longer scientifically or morally defensible. The discovery a few years ago that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart disease is slowly leading to a paradigm shift in how heart disease and other chronic ailments will be treated. The long-established dietary recommendations have created epidemics of obesity and diabetes, the consequences of which dwarf any historical plague in terms of mortality, human suffering and dire economic consequences.

Despite the fact that 25% of the population takes expensive statin medications and despite the fact we have reduced the fat content of our diets, more Americans will die this year of heart disease than ever before.

Statistics from the American Heart Association show that 75 million Americans currently suffer from heart disease, 20 million have diabetes and 57 million have pre-diabetes. These disorders are affecting younger and younger people in greater numbers every year.

Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.

Inflammation is not complicated -- it is quite simply your body's natural defense to a foreign invader such as a bacteria, toxin or virus. The cycle of inflammation is perfect in how it protects your body from these bacterial and viral invaders. However, if we chronically expose the body to injury by toxins or foods the human body was never designed to process, a condition occurs called chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is just as harmful as acute inflammation is beneficial.

What thoughtful person would willfully expose himself repeatedly to foods or other substances that are known to cause injury to the body? Well, smokers perhaps, but at least they made that choice willfully.

The rest of us have simply followed the recommended mainstream diet that is low in fat and high in polyunsaturated fats and carbohydrates, not knowing we were causing repeated injury to our blood vessels.

This repeated injury creates chronic inflammation leading to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity.

Let me repeat that. The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet that has been recommended for years by mainstream medicine.

What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods.

In Part 2 of this two-part article, I'll discuss which foods cause inflammation, how those foods trigger the inflammatory process, and the foods to eat that will cure inflammation.

Take a moment to visualize rubbing a stiff brush repeatedly over soft skin until it becomes quite red and nearly bleeding. Let's say you kept this up several times a day, every day for five years. If you could tolerate this painful brushing, you would have a bleeding, swollen infected area that became worse with each repeated injury. This is a good way to visualize the inflammatory process that could be going on in your body right now.

Regardless of where the inflammatory process occurs, externally or internally, it is the same. I have peered inside thousands upon thousands of arteries. A diseased artery looks as if someone took a brush and scrubbed repeatedly against its wall. Several times a day, every day, the foods we eat create small injuries compounding into more injuries, causing the body to respond continuously and appropriately with inflammation.

While we savor the tantalizing taste of a sweet roll, our bodies respond alarmingly as if a foreign invader has arrived declaring war. Foods loaded with sugars and simple carbohydrates, or processed with omega-6 oils for long shelf life have been the mainstay of the American diet for six decades. These foods have been slowly poisoning everyone.

How does eating a simple sweet roll create a cascade of inflammation to make you sick?

Imagine spilling syrup on your keyboard and you have a visual of what occurs inside the cell. When we consume simple carbohydrates such as sugar, blood sugar rises rapidly. In response, your pancreas secretes insulin, whose primary purpose is to drive sugar into each cell where it is stored for energy. If the cell is full and does not need glucose, it is rejected to avoid extra sugar gumming up the works.When your full cells reject the extra glucose, blood sugar rises producing more insulin and the glucose converts to stored fat.

What does all this have to do with inflammation?

Blood sugar is controlled in a very narrow range. Extra sugar molecules attach to a variety of proteins that in turn injure the blood vessel wall. This repeated injury to the blood vessel wall sets off inflammation. When you spike your blood sugar level several times a day, every day, it is exactly like taking sandpaper to the inside of your delicate blood vessels.While you may not be able to see it, rest assured it is there. I saw it in over 5,000 surgical patients spanning 25 years who all shared one common denominator - inflammation in their arteries.

Let's get back to the sweet roll. That innocent looking goody not only contains sugars, it is baked in one of many omega-6 oils such as soybean. Chips and fries are soaked in soybean oil; processed foods are manufactured with omega-6 oils for longer shelf life. While omega-6's are essential -they are part of every cell membrane controlling what goes in and out of the cell - they must be in the correct balance with omega-3's.

If the balance shifts by consuming excessive omega-6, the cell membrane produces chemicals called cytokines that directly cause inflammation. Today's mainstream American diet has produced an extreme imbalance of these two fats. The ratio of imbalance ranges from 15:1 to as high as 30:1 in favor of omega-6. That's a tremendous amount of cytokines causing inflammation. In today's food environment, a 3:1 ratio would be optimal and healthy.

To make matters worse, the excess weight you are carrying from eating these foods creates overloaded fat cells that pour out large quantities of pro-inflammatory chemicals that add to the injury caused by having high blood

sugar. The process that began with a sweet roll turns into a vicious cycle over time that creates heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and finally, Alzheimer's disease, as the inflammatory process continues unabated.

There is no escaping the fact that the more we consume prepared and processed foods, the more we trip the inflammation switch little by little each day. The human body cannot process, nor was it designed to consume, foods packed with sugars and soaked in omega-6 oils.

There is but one answer to quieting inflammation, and that is returning to foods closer to their natural state and

To build muscle, eat more protein.

Choose carbohydrates that are very complex such as colorful fruits and vegetables.

Cut down on or eliminate inflammation-causing omega-6 fats like corn and soybean oil and the processed foods that are made from them.

One tablespoon of corn oil contains 7,280 mg of omega-6; soybean contains 6,940 mg. Instead, use olive oil or butter from grass-fed beef.

Animal fats contain less than 20% omega-6 and are much less likely to cause inflammation than the supposedly healthy oils labeled polyunsaturated. Forget the "science" that has been drummed into your head for decades.

The science that saturated fat alone causes heart disease is non-existent.The science that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol is also very weak. Since we now know that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, the concern about saturated fat is even more absurd today.

The cholesterol theory led to the no-fat, low-fat recommendations that in turn created the very foods now causing an epidemic of inflammation. Mainstream medicine made a terrible mistake when it advised people to avoid saturated fat in favor of foods high in omega-6 fats. We now have an epidemic of arterial inflammation leading to heart disease and other silent killers.

What you can do is choose whole foods your grandmother served and not those your mom turned to as grocery store aisles filled with manufactured foods. By eliminating inflammatory foods and adding essential nutrients from fresh unprocessed food, you will reverse years of damage in your arteries and throughout your body from consuming the typical American diet.

(Dwight Lundell is the past Chief of Staff and Chief of Surgery at Banner Heart Hospital, Mesa, AZ. His private practice, Cardiac Care Center was in Mesa, AZ. Recently Dr. Lundell left surgery to focus on the nutritional treatment of heart disease. He is the founder of Healthy Humans Foundation that promotes human health with a focus on helping large corporations promote wellness. He is the author of The Cure for Heart Disease and The Great Cholesterol Lie.)

The pH Factor

 The pH Factor?

Foods are classified as either acidic or alkaline according to their own intrinsic acidity or alkalinity but nutritionists often speak of acid and alkaline forming foods, referring to the overall effect of the food after ingestion.

It appears that taking small steps to change your body’s pH will give you more energy, increase mental clarity, improve digestion and stabilise your weight naturally.

A diet high in acid-forming protein, sugar, caffeine and processed foods disrupts pH balance.

Why is pH Important?

 In man, organs such as the kidneys, liver, and especially the large intestine throw out waste and toxins and maintain our internal environment in as ideal a condition as possible. However, there is limitation for this. If we eat too much poison producing foods, or not enough materials which are needed to clear out the poisons, then our internal environment becomes beyond control, and away from the correct condition in which our cells can live. The cells become sick and die. Many sicknesses are a function of the body’s attempt to clean up this internal environment. Cancer is a condition in which body cells become abnormal due to the abnormal condition of body fluids.” Changes in the gastro-intestinal tract caused by improper nutrition, by the use of alcohol, nicotine, recreational and pharmaceutical drugs, result in pH changes, in a reduction of the absorption area and in various interactions.

Natural zeolite ZeoOne is not absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract neither does it enter blood but rather passes through, interacting only at the selective exchange and absorption level while in contact with blood vessels and lymphatic vessels of the intestinal wall, giving or taking away micro- and macro elements and catalyzing biochemical reactions which greatly assist in naturally balancing the pH of the body.

 What is pH?

All organic matter has a pH level, including humans. Maintaining the correct pH level is vital. A pH under 7 is considered acid, while a pH over 7 is alkaline. The pH of our blood must remain constant between 7.35 and 7.45. The condition of body fluids, including blood, should be alkaline. The pH level (the acid-alkaline measurement) of your internal fluids affects every cell in your body. Extended acid imbalances of any kind are not well tolerated by the body. Indeed, the entire metabolic process depends on a balanced internal alkaline environment. Every cell burns fuel to create energy. Most of this cellular waste is acid and is released into the blood for elimination from the lungs in the form of carbon dioxide and from the kidneys via the urine. In this way, the body regulates the acid level so that it does not become dangerously concentrated.

The body has an alkaline reserve that can neutralise acids. This excess of alkali is only a backup system with limited supply and the, more acid-forming foods eaten, the weaker the system becomes, so following a more alkaline-forming wholefood diet is essential to maintaining a healthy pH balance.

It appears that taking small steps to change your body’s pH will give you more energy, increase mental clarity, improve digestion and stabilise your weight naturally. The cells in your body function at peak efficiency and achieve peak longevity when bathed in slightly alkaline body fluids.

A diet high in acid-forming protein, sugar, caffeine and processed foods disrupts pH balance. The literature suggests that most degenerative disease attributed to ageing, such as cancer, osteoporosis and heart disease, and ailments such as allergy, kidney stones and gallstones can be linked to mineral deficiencies that result in body fluids becoming more acidic.

There are many factors that create an unhealthy pH level, including stress, certain medications, metabolic and muscular functions in the body, and the food we eat and the liquids we drink. Foods are classified as either acidic or alkaline according to their own intrinsic acidity or alkalinity but nutritionists often speak of acid and alkaline forming foods, referring to the overall effect of the food after ingestion. In other words, limes with a pH of 1.9 contain strong acid yet after ingestion they contribute to an alkaline environment.

In fruit and most vegetables, the organic acid (such as the acidity of an orange, which you can taste) contains many alkaline elements, such as potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium. Organic acids, when oxidised, become carbon dioxide and water; the alkaline elements remain and neutralise body acid. In other words, strangely enough, acid foods can reduce acidity in your body. This is the reason fruits and most vegetables are considered alkaline-forming foods. An important distinction to keep in mind is there are two types of acid and alkaline foods: one is acid or alkaline foods; the other is acid- or alkaline-forming foods.

 Alkaline-forming foods

Most fruits and vegetables as well as sea vegetables such as dulse, kelp, arame, nori and wakame are considered alkaline-forming as they are high in buffering minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron). Salt, because of its sodium content, is also considered alkalising.

Acid-forming foods

Bland-tasting foods such as flour, fish and grains are often, though not always, acid-forming. When metabolised, they leave sulfuric, phosphoric and hydrochloric acids behind. Vegetable foods that are acidic include cranberries, plums and prunes. Sugar, concentrated sweeteners, starches, grains, flours, fats and most animal protein foods also create acid when metabolised. Sugar is a dangerous acid-forming food. It has a significant effect in the body as it passes quickly into the bloodstream, creating an acidic condition, leading to mineral depletion, calcium loss and bone weakening. It also weakens the villi of the small intestine, impairing digestion. Regulated by insulin from the pancreas, excess sugar creates a blood sugar imbalance that can lead to diabetes or hypoglycaemia. Stored in the form of fatty acids, sugar can contribute to obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, certain cancers (especially lung and colon), osteoporosis and hyperactivity in children.

Pasteurised milk and milk products, such as cheese, are seen to be acid-forming as pasteurisation reduces the available calcium in milk, thereby lowering alkalising qualities (raw milk products are more alkalising because of the calcium).

It is also often suggested that high phosphorus and/or phosphoric acid content (found in meat and soft drinks) pulls calcium out of the bony structures (bones, teeth and nails) in the process of digestion and assimilation. This has a disastrous effect on bone density, leaving them porous and spongy. When calcium is pulled from the bones, it is released through the kidneys, resulting in stone formation (kidney stones) before it is excreted. It has been further suggested that addressing acid and alkali balance may be an important consideration when dealing with people suffering from chronic disease and cancer.

Feel the balance –what’s right for you.

The optimal acid/alkaline balance is individual according to metabolism, physical activity, what was eaten earlier and possibly the depth and speed of breathing (deep breathing alkalises the system). According to Dr T. A. Baroody in Alkalise Or Die, one part acid-forming (20 per cent) to four parts alkalising (80 per cent) is the ideal. As extreme exercise and highly physical activity create acid, this ratio may be appropriate for athletes if they wish to alkalise. However, less active people might handle more acid-forming food at times. As a maintenance level as few drops of ZeoOne in your drinking water everyday helps restore the pH of your body naturally.

David Wolfe & Dr Leigh Erin Connealy podcast alternative healing therapies and ZeoOne

David Wolfe and Dr. Leigh Erin Connealy
Saturday, 26 February 2011, 4:00:00 AM
David Wolfe Interviews Dr. Leigh Erin on alternative healing therapies and talking about ZeoOne.
22160-david-wolfe-and-dr-leigh-erin-connealy.mp3

Radiation Comparsions

 Radiation Comparisons

Sources: University of Tokyo (Komaba); Bob Bury (Royal College of Radiologists), Japan Times, 2 April 2011 (World); Japanese Government (Fukushima and one-off doses).

How Do I Know Zeo Zone Is the Real McCoy?

Australian Zeolite is recommended on Dr. Leigh Erin Connealy website, she is a leading holistic medical doctor in the USA and it is the only zeolite she recommends worldwide for her patients.

 Please see link below

http://www.perfectlyhealthy.net/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=ZEOONE

Other links for Dr Connealy

6 Hughes, Suite 110

Irvine, CA 92618

www.perfectlyhealthy.net USA

www.saludperfecta.net MX/SA

www.energiseforlife.com UK/Europe

Chemicals in Fish in Sydney Harbour

The poison that got away

Anne Davies INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR

October 30, 2010

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/water-issues/the-poison-that-got-away-20101029-177i0.html

Deadly catch ... Sara Gatavi reels in a fish at Woolwich. Carcinogenic chemicals from a former pesticides factory at Homebush are spreading throughout the harbour. Photo: Dallas Kilponen

They cover an area too large to be remediated and authorities say the only answer is to wait until sediments cover the contaminated layer, so the poison cannot be absorbed by fish and small invertebrates.

Even though the water quality in the harbour is much improved, the high levels of dioxins in areas where fish feed means the warning not to eat fish caught west of the Harbour Bridge, and to eat only 150 grams a month of fish caught east of the bridge, will likely remain for decades.

The data, collected by the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water in 2008, shows that large tracts of sediments in the harbour are more contaminated with dioxins than Tokyo Bay or New York Harbour, and are among the most contaminated in the world.

The department sampled more than 25 sites. They showed that directly outside the remediation area in Homebush Bay dioxin levels were 610 picograms per gram of sediment compared with 2.3 for a relatively pristine estuarine environment.

But there were also readings of 350 picograms 10 kilometres up the Parramatta River and significant readings as far east as Rozelle.

The tests confirm that Union Carbide is the source. The contamination has a ''signature'' that matches the cocktail of dioxins produced by Union Carbide during manufacture of the now-banned pesticide 2,4,5-T and the defoliant, Agent Orange, used during the Vietnam War.

The department's director of specialised regulation, Craig Lamberton, said lifting the ban would be ''a medium- to long-term thing'' and that a large-scale clean-up would be technically and financially impractical.

Asked if the ban could last as long as 50 years, Mr Lamberton said: ''I don't want to predict, but that's the kind of thing we are talking about. We think it will be decades.

''This strategy is about treating the worst of the contaminants. We have stopped new contaminants going into the bay by digging up all the soil on the site and treating it [and] removing all of the highly contaminated spots in the bay.

''The dioxins that are unrecoverable will be covered up by clean material, which means they won't be accessible and won't be available in the environment. They will still be there, they will eventually break down, but it's literally decades.''

Dioxins are classified as carcinogens and, as well as cancers, have been linked to birth defects and skin conditions. The exact health effects at lower levels are unclear.

For more than 20 years, waste from the Union Carbide site was used for landfill and was dumped into the mangroves where it leached into Homebush Bay. Union Carbide was allowed to leave Australia without a comprehensive clean-up of the site and in the 1980s it was discovered that it was the main source of contamination in fish in the bay.

In the 1990s the NSW government bought the site and promised $20 million towards a clean-up but it took until 2004 to orchestrate the remediation. It was not until 2005 that alarm bells rang when bream and prawns with high dioxin levels were discovered.

However, the warning not to eat fish caught west of the bridge, imposed in late 2005, is being ignored by many recreational fishers. A survey by the Department of Industry published a month ago found that 25.3 tonnes of fish were caught and kept by fishers in 2007-08.

Many of the recreational fishers have English as a second language, raising serious questions about whether the warning is getting through.