Provided by: www.ewg.org

Question #1: How does this study compare to the government's National Exposure Report?
Question #2: Why test for chemicals in people? Risk assessment, public health policy
Question #3: Why did you test just 10 newborns?
Question #4: How do industrial chemicals get in my body?
Question #5: How can I reduce my chemical exposures?

Question #5: How can I reduce my chemical exposures?

Some exposures to pesticides and industrial chemicals are unavoidable. Persistent pollutants, some banned for decades, still contaminate the environment and end up in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.

Yet even exposures to persistent pollutants can be reduced through a varied diet that contains fewer meat and high fat dairy products. Other chemical exposures, like toxic substances in household cleaners, can be avoided altogether.

Some simple tips for reducing exposures to industrial chemicals are:

• Eat fewer processed foods, which often contain chemical additives.
• Eat organic produce. It's grown without synthetic pesticides and preservative chemicals.
• Don't microwave food in plastic containers, use glass or ceramics.
• Run your tap water through a home filter before drinking. Filters can reduce levels of common tap water pollutants.
• Eat fewer meat and high fat dairy products, which contain higher levels of some pollutants.
• Reduce the number of cosmetics and other personal care products you use, which can contain harmful chemicals and can be sold with no safety testing.
• Avoid artificial fragrances.
• Don't use stain repellants on clothing, bedding or upholstery.
• Reduce the number of household cleaners you use. Try soap and water first.
• Avoid using gasoline-powered yard tools — use manual or electric tools instead.
• Avoid breathing gasoline fumes when you're filling your car.
• Eat seafood known to be low in PCB and mercury contamination, including wild Alaska salmon and canned salmon. Avoid canned tuna — it contains mercury.

Particularly if you're pregnant, try to follow the tips listed above. Is there someone in your household who can take over using household cleaners and pumping gas while you're pregnant? Eat canned salmon instead of canned tuna. Paint the baby room well before you conceive. Don't use nail polish, which contains chemicals linked to birth defects in laboratory studies.

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More From Body Burden — The Pollution in Newborns
Executive Summary
Babies are Vulnerable
Human Health Problems on the Rise
Guide to testing.
Adult Blood Test Results.
Why are babies born polluted?
Guest Commentary
Peer Statement