Babies' vulnerabilty to toxins even greater than thought

Alister Doyle, Reuters, "Babies' vulnerabilty to toxins even greater
than thought", Vancouver Sun, May 25, 2007,
Link: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/n...7-603520edb214

Fetuses and babies are more vulnerable than previously thought to
chemical pollutants that can cause disease or disability, even in tiny
doses that do not harm adults, about 200 scientists said on Thursday.

The researchers urged tighter controls on toxic chemicals, some of
them used in making plastics or pesticides, saying that there was a
risk of disruptions at key stages of growth that could lead to brain
damage, malformation or cancers.

"Fetal life and early infancy are periods of remarkable susceptibility
to environmental hazards," toxicologists, biologists, pediatricians
and other experts from around the world said after talks in the North
Atlantic Faroe Islands.

"Toxic exposures to chemical pollutants during these windows of
increased susceptibility can cause disease and disability in infants,
children, and across the entire span of adult life," they said in a
final statement Thursday.

In some cases, damage to genes "may also be passed on to subsequent
generations," the scientists said at the talks, partly sponsored by
the UN's World Health Organization.

"We are beginning to understand that there are some very sensitive
processes that have to happen at a particular time and in a particular
sequence," said Philippe Grandjean, scientific chair of the meeting
who works at the University of Southern Denmark and the Harvard School
of Public Health.

"If they don't, you don't get a second chance," he told Reuters in a
telephone interview. "The child will be stuck with a brain, lungs or
an immune system that are not optimal."

He said that scientists have long known that smoking while pregnant or
exposure to lead, for instance, can damage a fetus and that recent
research is broadening the list of hazards.

"Some of the these effects may appear subtle -- a few IQ point losses.
But if you add several exposures and several such effects then it can
be very serious for the individual and so for society," he said.

The statement said, for instance, that "low-level developmental
exposure to a plastics ingredient, Bisphenol A, can result in
increased susceptibility to breast cancer or prostate cancer."

"Prenatal exposure to vinclozoline, a common fungicide, also promotes
later development of cancer," it said. Among other hazards, it listed
the banned pesticide DDT which is still in use in some African nations
to kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

On May 25, 9:31 am, Roman Bystrianyk wrote:
Alister Doyle, Reuters, "Babies' vulnerabilty to toxins even greater
than thought", Vancouver Sun, May 25, 2007,
Link:http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/n...36afd39-3974-4...

Fetuses and babies are more vulnerable than previously thought to
chemical pollutants that can cause disease or disability, even in tiny
doses that do not harm adults, about 200 scientists said on Thursday.

The researchers urged tighter controls on toxic chemicals, some of
them used in making plastics or pesticides, saying that there was a
risk of disruptions at key stages of growth that could lead to brain
damage, malformation or cancers.

"Fetal life and early infancy are periods of remarkable susceptibility
to environmental hazards," toxicologists, biologists, pediatricians
and other experts from around the world said after talks in the North
Atlantic Faroe Islands.

"Toxic exposures to chemical pollutants during these windows of
increased susceptibility can cause disease and disability in infants,
children, and across the entire span of adult life," they said in a
final statement Thursday.

In some cases, damage to genes "may also be passed on to subsequent
generations," the scientists said at the talks, partly sponsored by
the UN's World Health Organization.

"We are beginning to understand that there are some very sensitive
processes that have to happen at a particular time and in a particular
sequence," said Philippe Grandjean, scientific chair of the meeting
who works at the University of Southern Denmark and the Harvard School
of Public Health.

"If they don't, you don't get a second chance," he told Reuters in a
telephone interview. "The child will be stuck with a brain, lungs or
an immune system that are not optimal."

He said that scientists have long known that smoking while pregnant or
exposure to lead, for instance, can damage a fetus and that recent
research is broadening the list of hazards.

"Some of the these effects may appear subtle -- a few IQ point losses.
But if you add several exposures and several such effects then it can
be very serious for the individual and so for society," he said.

The statement said, for instance, that "low-level developmental
exposure to a plastics ingredient, Bisphenol A, can result in
increased susceptibility to breast cancer or prostate cancer."

"Prenatal exposure to vinclozoline, a common fungicide, also promotes
later development of cancer," it said. Among other hazards, it listed
the banned pesticide DDT which is still in use in some African nations
to kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

I sure hope this will awaken a sleeping giant!