Chemicals and Kids: Senate Panel Examines Toxic Health Effects

No matter how hard we try, it's difficult to avoid exposures to man-made chemicals. From lotions and shampoos to cleaning products and plastics, we unwittingly take in a slew of potentially sinister substances.

But what are the health effects? Unraveling the cause and effect of environmental chemicals is notoriously hard. But today, a Senate subcommittee seeks to pinpoint how daily exposures can threaten the health of our most vulnerable population -- kids, babies and those in the womb.

The Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health is hosting a hearing entitled, "Toxic Chemicals and Children's Enviornmental Health." In addition to statements by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and CNN Chief Medical Correspondant Dr. Sanjay Gupta, they will also hear from Steven Marcus, a Professor of Preventative Medicine and Community Health at the New Jersey Medical School and Frederica Perara, Director of Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health.

Dr. Perara's work in particular highlights just how rampant our chemical exposure is.

Perara has conducted two studies that follow mothers and their children from pregnancy into childhood. Monitoring air quality and chemical exposure of women in New York, the research team found that in the Northern Manahattan cohort, phthalates, used to make plastics more flexible, were detected in 85-100 percent of air and urine samples from pregnant women. BPA, an endocrine disruptor, was found in the urine of 94 percent of pregnant women, 97 percent of 3 year olds and 100 percent of 5 year olds.

In another New York-based cohort, they identified PBDE, a flame-retardant, in 81 percent of cord blood samples from newborns. Personal air monitoring showed that 100 percent of the pregnant women were exposed to the inhalable pesticide chloropyrifos and that 71 percent of umbilical cord specimens contained the chemical.

The four chemicals at the focus of her work are widely used. Phthalates are used to soften plastics and used in hairspray and perfume; BPA is used in everything from baby bottles and water bottles to receipts and canned food linings; PBDEs are a group of flame retardant chemicals applied to home furnishings, textiles and many other products. Chlorpyrifos is an organophoshate insecticide that has was phased out in home use in 2001, but is still used in agriculture.

In her hearing testimony, Perara notes that protecting pregnant women and their fetuses is crucial. The placenta does not protect the developing fetus from all toxicants, and infants and children are particularly vulnerable to chemical exposures. In utero environment could shape health over the lifetime.

Though it's not clear that these chemicals are the cause of specific diseases -- more research needs to be done -- their widespread use is a point of concern in the hearing. Our regulatory system is one that's an "innocent until proven guilty" approach. As Dr. Gupta notes in his statement at the hearing, "Out of 80,000 chemicals in commerce, the EPA has only required testing of 200 and restricted just five."

But what we don't know can hurt us. As evidence by health effects of chemicals like lead, mercury and asbestos, widespread use of chemicals without full knowledge of their health concerns can be disastrous.

The hearing is a step in the right direction. In addition, House, Reps. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) and Henry Waxman (D-CA) introduced the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act, H.R. 5820, a bill designed to reform the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. A similar bill in the Senate, the Safe Chemicals Act, will require industry to prove that a chemical will not cause harm before it can be used in the market. Sign this petition urging Congress to support the Toxic Substance Control Act, which will help ensure chemicals are safe before they hit the market.

Photo credit: Horia Varlan