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CHICAGO – As modern life becomes more toxic and technology uses more chemicals within everyday foodstuffs and products, the consequence for disease and sickness as a result is an increasing threat. Ed Brown, a filmmaker and concerned family man, explores this phenomenon in a new documentary, “Unacceptable Levels.”

Brown was in Chicago recently with actress Mariel Hemingway, who advocates healthy living and environmental cleansing. The two promoted a screening of the film at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. “Unacceptable Levels” makes its release premiere on Saturday, August 3rd, in Austin, Texas.

Ed Brown talked with HollywoodChicago.com about the roots of his motivation to make this documentary, and how the subject matter affects everyone on earth.

HollywoodChicago.com: You were motivated to make this documentary because of personal issues having to do with exposure to chemicals. In the journey of your research, which particular fact spurred you forward and was the greatest motivating factor in completing the film?

Ed Brown: There are always going to be many motivating factors as to why I chose to do this film. It initially had to do with personal care products. My wife was showing me the ingredients to this particular brand, and asked me if I had ever looked at what went into the product. After I said no, she told me she’d Googled the ingredients and five of them were carcinogens. I thought, how on earth was she able to find this out and how on earth were we able to buy this?

Right after that I began to think that something was wrong with this system. That’s when everything snowballed in regard to the film. What began with personal care products, also began an exploration of water treatment, sunscreen and other products. So even if you eat organic or take care of food toxins, there are other products to take into consideration. But personal care items were definitely the touchstone.

HollywoodChicago.com: Which of your interview subjects surprised you the most, as in for the type of information they gave you versus the unlikely nature of that information coming from that particular source?

Brown: I interviewed over 70 people for the film, so it was an arduous journey at best. So many of the interviewees – if I had hair – did blow my hair back, as I talked to them. [laughs] But I always go back to a guy named John Stauber, who wrote a book called ‘Toxic Sludge is Good for You,’ a tongue-in-cheek title that is pretty much the PR stance that companies take regarding ‘bio-solids.’

I basically learned what bio-solids are, a made up name for toxic sludge, the waste products coming from human sewage. When I learned what was in this stuff – about 300 different contaminants including pharmaceuticals, PCPs, asbestos, radioactive waste, lead and mercury – is that all of this is in toxic sludge. When I was doing that interview, I had never heard anything like this. Add the fact that 60% of our crops are grown in this stuff, I thought ‘how far down does the rabbit hole go?’ And I found out there is no bottom to it.