The Environmental Working Group released a new study which found 232 toxic chemicals in 10 newborns from racial and ethnic minority groups. Among them were 21 contaminants never before detected in human cord blood, including BPA.
Babies are being born pre-polluted. Our toxic environment is affecting them before they are even born.
About the cord blood study
EWG tested the cord blood of 10 newborns in racial and ethnic minority groups. We have done 11 bio-monitoring investigations in recent years, with the goal of quantifying the ‘pollution in people’ to drive science and policy changes to protect public health.
What’s in the report?
*3-page Exec Summary outlining our major findings, including a discussion about bio-monitoring and how EWG’s studies complement the CDC’s
*A great FAQ about the study
*A Healthy Pregnancy tip sheet for readers who want to reduce exposures-- great tips!
*A chemical-by-chemical analysis that covers: definition, key findings, health risks, regulatory status, and a discussion.
Read Enviroblog's post on the study here.
and another by the report author, Dr. Anila Jacob, on EWG's toxics policy blog.
Questions about the report? Visit this link and ask away.
Thanks, Environmental Working Group, for shining a light on a problem that we cannot stand for. Babies need a safe, healthy, fair and equal start in the world!
1 comments:
Thanks Ms. Farber, for posting something about keeping our kids safe. I think making industrial chemicals safe for infants and children is something we can all get behind. To ensure that we really fix this problem we must include modern science language, which necessarily utilizes non-animal methods, in this bill; otherwise we'll have another outdated bill on our hands.
Currently, many toxicity tests are based on experiments in animals and use methods that were developed as long ago as the 1930’s; they and are slow, inaccurate, open to uncertainty and manipulation, and do not adequately protect human health. These tests take anywhere from months to years, and tens of thousands to millions of dollars to perform. More importantly, the current testing paradigm has a poor record in predicting effects in humans and an even poorer record in leading to actual regulation of dangerous chemicals.
Alternatives to animal testing exist in a powerful way and many scientists advocate them. Chemical reform should not only modernize policy, but modernize the science that supports that policy. Let's ensure Kids-Safe uses all the necessary tools to truly make our children, our environment, and animals safe.
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