English babies are soaking in a stew of chemicals
Unborn U.S. babies
are soaking in a stew of chemicals, including mercury, gasoline byproducts and
pesticides, according to a report released Thursday.
Although the
effects on the babies are not clear, the survey prompted several members of
Congress to press for legislation that would strengthen controls on chemicals
in the environment.
The report by the
Environmental Working Group is based on tests of 10 samples of umbilical-cord
blood taken by the American Red Cross. They found an average of 287
contaminants in the blood, including mercury, fire retardants, pesticides and
the Teflon chemical PFOA. “These 10 newborn babies ... were born polluted,”
said New York Rep. Louise Slaughter, who spoke a news conference about the
findings Thursday.
“If ever we had
proof that our nation’s pollution laws aren’t working, it’s reading the list of
industrial chemicals in the bodies of babies who have not yet lived outside the
womb,” Slaughter, a Democrat, said.
Cord blood
reflects what the mother passes to the baby through the placenta.
“Of the 287
chemicals we detected in umbilical-cord blood, we know that 180 cause cancer in
humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause
birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests,” the report said.
Blood tests did
not show how the chemicals got into the mothers’ bodies, or what their effects
might be on the babies.
Mercury and
pesticides
Among the
chemicals found in the cord blood were methylmercury, produced by coal-fired
power plants and certain industrial processes. People can breathe it in or eat
it in seafood and it causes brain and nerve damage.
Also found were
polyaromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which are produced by burning gasoline and
garbage and which may cause cancer; flame-retardant chemicals called
polybrominated dibenzodioxins and furans; and pesticides including DDT and
chlordane.
The same group
analyzed the breast milk of mothers across the United States in 2003 and found
varying levels of chemicals, including flame retardants known as PBD
Slaughter had
similar tests done on her own blood.
“The stunning results show chemicals daily pumping through my vital
organs that include PCBs that were banned decades ago as well as chemicals like
Teflon that are currently under federal investigation,” she said in remarks
prepared for the news conference.
“I have auto exhaust fumes, flame retardant chemicals, and in all, some
271 harmful substances pulsing through my veins. That’s hardly the picture of
health I had hoped for, but I’ve been living in an industrial society for over
70 years.”
The Government Accountability Office issued a report Wednesday saying
the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the powers it needs to fully
regulate toxic chemicals.
The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, found that the EPA’s Toxic
Substances Control Ac
“Today, chemicals are being used to make baby bottles, food packaging
and other products that have never been fully evaluated for their health
effects on children — and some of these chemicals are turning up in our blood,”
said New Jersey Democrat Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who plans to co-sponsor a bill
to require chemical manufacturers to provide data to the EPA on the health
affects of their products. REUTERS WASHINGTON -