There is clear and growing evidence that children today are exhibiting higher rates of allergies, attention deficit disorders (ADD, ADHD), autism, developmental defects, learning disabilities, brain cancer and acute lymphocytic leukemia. The prime suspect in all of these conditions is increased exposure to environmental toxins and our children are especially at risk. Even babies are being born “prepolluted” and the pollutants present are often in higher concentrations than in the mothers.
Why are our children so much at risk?
There are several reasons.
1) In utero, toxins may be secreted by the fetus but then they are reabsorbed again when the fetus swallows the amniotic fluid.
2) Fetuses, infants and young children do not have fully developed detoxification systems and so are more at risk from the chemical effects of toxins.
3) Cells are rapidly growing and dividing as tissues and organs develop and these processes are vulnerable to the action of toxic chemicals.
4) Infants and children consume more food and drink relative to their body weight than adults do and so they take in higher amounts of toxins relative to their body weight.
5) Babies and young children are crawling on surfaces that may have been treated with chemicals such as fire retardants and stain repellents and these substances will get onto the babies skin and into their bodies as the children put their hands in their mouths.
We have to be so vigilant today, especially with babies and young children, not only to protect them from obvious hazards such as road traffic but also from exposure to toxic chemicals.
What are these toxins?
In the latest study sponsored by the non-profit Environmental Working Group, umbilical cord blood of newborn babies in five states was tested between December 2007 and June 2008 and a total of 232 polluting chemicals found (1,2). These included lead, mercury, the plastic component BPA (bisphenol A) and chemicals normally found in cosmetics, fragrances, flame retardants, non-stick coatings, pesticides, rocket fuel and waste byproducts. These chemicals were clearly not filtered out by the placenta. This is the first time that synthetic musk chemicals and BPA have been reported in newborns.
Have they been tested for safety?
There are now over 80,000 chemicals that may be used in products in our environment and more than 3,000 of them are manufactured in quantities of over a million pounds each per year. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has required testing of only 200 chemicals and these tests are certainly not as rigorous as those required for pharmaceutical drugs. And yet we know that drugs approved for clinical use often have side effects and contraindications, some of which can be very serious. So it stands to reason that exposure to industrial chemicals which have never been properly tested could pose a serious threat to our health and wellbeing.
What’s being done about this?
Judging from the present state of affairs, the current law regulating toxic chemicals in the USA, the Toxic Substances Control Act, passed in 1976 and never amended, is woefully inadequate. When passed, it grandfathered in approx. 62,000 chemicals already in use, declaring them to be safe when there was little supportive evidence. Since that time, approximately 20,000 more chemicals have been introduced, again with little to commend their long-term safety. Now there is a new bill before Congress entitled the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act introduced by Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representatives Hilda L. Solis (D-CA) and Henry Waxman (D-CA) (3). It is designed “to protect Americans, especially children, from toxic chemicals in everyday consumer products. The bill would ensure for the first time that all the chemicals used in baby bottles, children’s toys and other products are proven to be safe before they are put on the market.” This legislation is currently working its way through Congress and the main points are as follows:
(i) Require Basic Data on Industrial Chemicals, (ii) Place the Burden on Industry to Demonstrate Safety, (iii) Restrict the Use of Dangerous Chemicals Found in Newborn Babies, (iv) Use New Scientific Evidence to Protect Health, (v) Establish a National Program to Assess Human Exposure, (vi) Expand the Public Right to know about Toxic Chemicals and (vii) Invest in Long-Term Solutions.
Here are the requirements of the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act as listed on the Environmental Working Group website (4).
The Act:
• requires that industrial chemicals be safe for infants, kids and other vulnerable groups;
• requires that new chemicals be safety tested before they are sold;
• requires chemical manufacturers to test and prove that the 62,000 chemicals already on the market that have never been tested are safe in order for them to remain in commerce;
• requires EPA to review “priority” chemicals, those which are found in people, on an expedited schedule;
• requires regular biomonitoring to determine what chemicals are in people and in what amounts;
• requires regular updates of health and safety data and provides EPA with clear authority to request additional information and tests;
• provides incentives for manufacturers to further reduce health hazards;
• requires EPA to promote safer alternatives and alternatives to animal testing;
• protects state and local rights; and
• requires that this information be publicly available.
It is imperative that this act be passed so that current and future generations will be protected from exposure to chemicals which can endanger our health.
© Christopher J. Jones M.Sc., Ph.D.
References
1) Fimrite, P. (2009) Study: Chemicals, Pollutants found in Newborns. San Francisco Chronicle; http://www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog/kid-safe-chemicals-act/
2) Environmental Working Group (2009) Cord Blood Contaminants in Minority Newborns. 60pp. http://www.ewg.org/files/2009-Minority-Cord-Blood-Report.pdf
3) Lautenberg, F. R. (2008) Newsroom: Press Release. http://lautenberg.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=298072
4) Environmental Working Group (2009) Kid-Safe Chemicals Act. http://www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog/kid-safe-chemicals-act/
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