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Is Your Baby Toxic from Environmental Pollution?
by Jeffrey Dach MD
There is alarming news from the University of California about toxic chemicals in virtually all pregnant women. Tracey Woodruff found 163 different chemicals in pregnant women including banned Flame Retardants and DDT. A previous 2004 study showed 287 toxic chemicals in babies cord blood samples. How do we avoid it and what can we do about it?
Tracey Woodruff found 163 different toxic chemicals in pregnant women (1-9).
Here is the partial list:
1) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
2) organochlorine pesticides, (DDT)
3) perfluorinated compounds (PFCs),
4) polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs),
5) phthalates
6) perchlorates
Banned Chemicals Dangerous to Health - Flame Retardants and DDT
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardant chemicals now banned in many states.
DDT is a pesticide banned in the United States since 1972. (1-9)
Hazardous pesticides poured at farm ending up as 287 Different Toxic Chemicals in the Baby
287 Different Toxic Chemicals in the Baby
A 2004 study showed 287 toxic chemicals in babies cord blood. Ten random samples of newborn umbilical cord blood from the Red Cross showed 287 environmental chemicals. (10-14).
287 Different Toxic Chemicals in the Baby
Here is a partial list of 287 toxic chemicals in the baby:
Mercury in all samples at 0.947 (ppb).
PAH - Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) 285 parts per trillion (ppt). (gasoline)
PBDB- Polybrominated dibenzodioxins 55.9 ppt. flame retardants
PFC- Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) Scotchguard fabric protectants, Teflon.
OC- Organochlorine pesticides (OCs) 18,600 ppt. - DDT, banned in 1972.
PBDE- Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) 6,420 ppt. flame retardant
PCN- Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) wood
preservatives .
PCB- polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) banned in 1976
Meet the most Contaminated Animal on the Planet
No Place to Run - Toxic Contamination in the Arctic Circle
You might think polar bears are safe from industrial pollution. You might think there are pristine places on the earth like the Arctic Circle that represent a safe haven from the chemicals. Perhaps we can run away and avoid this toxic chemical soup. Nope, think again. Arctic polar bears are the most contaminated on the planet thanks to a bio-magnification effect as we go higher up in the food chain.(15) The toxic chemicals get more concentrated as we trace it from insect to fish to polar bear fat stores. Toxic chemical laden wildlife are food staples for the native Inuit peoples of the Arctic Circle resulting in high levels of PCB contamination.(16)
Inuit People of the Arctic - Health Effects of Toxic Contamination
Inuit People of the Arctic Health Effects of Toxic Contamination
Arctic Inuit women consume 14 times the tolerable intake of chlordane, toxaphene, PCBs and other pesticides causing infertility, stillbirths and birth defects. Many of the children have compromised immune systems with increased cases of otitis media that leave them hearing impaired.(17-22)
What's going on in the Neighborhood - Thyroid Problems
Long term studies of contaminants in human milk were done in Sweden over 30 years finding a recent increase (doubling over 5 years) of banned PBDEs (used as a fire retardant) (23) This chemical contains bromine and is toxic to the thyroid gland.(24-26)
Hormonal Disruption
Volumes of research over decades have now fully documented the hormonal disruption of pesticides in wild-life and humans (27-31) Certain fruits and vegetables are higher in pesticide exposure and are to be avoided, or use organic. (32) Even though the toxic pesticides such as DDT, Lindane, Eldrin etc. have been banned in the US, they continue to be manufactured and exported to developing countries. 108,000 metric tons of banned pesticides were exported from the U.S. to developing countries from 1992 to 1994. (33) Global pesticide use has been increasing about 1% per year in step with population growth, also about 1% per year.(35)
Neurotoxicity
In addition to the thyroid and hormonal disruption, other studies have shown that organochloride pesticides cause neurotoxicity. (36)
The Politics of Pollution - Chemical Industry Lobby vs. The People
President Bush "Rolls Back" and Dismantles Environmental Protection
You might ask why we have such deplorable chemical pollution of the envornment, wildlife and the bodies of our children? Where is the regulatory oversight of the chemical industry? The answer is that regulation was dismantled under the Bush administration in order to placate the demands of the chemical industry for less regulation and more profits. Here is a list of the 100 worse "rollbacks" of environmental protection by the Bush administration.
Killed - The Toxic Substances Control Act - TSCA
In the first half of 2010, the chemical industry spent 40 million on lobbying , effectively killing the toxic chemical reform bill in Congress. "Despite overwhelming public support for stronger laws on toxic chemicals, Congress has heeded the aggressive opposition of chemical industry lobbyists rather than the support of the American electorate and failed to pass TSCA reform legislation three times in the last six years. However, the battle will continue at the federal level in 2011, with new TSCA reform bills expected to be introduced." Quoted from healthychild.org
If you want to save the environment from toxic chemicals, you have to fight the chemical industry lobbyists. Call your congressman in support of the TSCA bill.