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Peer Statement

Scientists' and Pediatricians' Statement on EWG Study of Industrial Chemicals in Umbilical Cord Blood

July 8, 2005

Over the past decade, scientists and medical experts have become increasingly concerned about the adverse effects of chemicals in the environment on children. This awareness has been fueled by a growing understanding of the potential for small amounts of chemicals to produce profound changes in development when exposures occur at critical periods of development. It is further increased by concerns about the vast numbers of potentially toxic chemicals to which the developing child is exposed, both before and after birth.

A recent study by the Environmental Working Group detected 287 commercial chemicals, pesticides, and pollutants in the umbilical cord blood from 10 newborn infants, randomly selected by the Red Cross from U.S. hospitals. The finding of these chemicals in the bloodstreams of the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society raises issues of substantial importance to public health and points to the need for major reforms to the nation's laws that aim to protect the public from chemical exposures.

The study confirms that even before birth, a child is exposed to hundreds of chemical compounds, many of which could harm that child's health and development. This is disturbing because scientific studies and empirical evidence have repeatedly shown that pre-natal and early childhood chemical exposures can be substantially more harmful than exposures that occur later in life.

The immature blood brain barrier may allow greater chemical exposures to the developing brain. A diminished ability to excrete and detoxify many chemicals can produce higher levels of chemicals circulating in the blood of the child than the mother. The occurrence of complex processes of cell growth and differentiation may provide the opportunity for irreversible effects to occur during critical windows of development. And the longer life span of the child compared to an adult allows more time for adverse effects to arise.

These health concerns are largely the results of gaping holes in the government safety net that allows this largely uncontrolled exposure. There are 75,000 chemicals in commerce, and at least 3,000 produced in quantities greater than 1,000,000 pounds per year. Yet we do not know how many of these chemicals end up in fetal blood and what the effects of these exposures are. Presumably, if EWG had tested for more compounds, more would have been detected, perhaps many more.

The federal law that ensures the safety of these chemicals has not been improved for nearly 30 years - longer than any other major environmental or public health statute. Because this law, the Toxic Substances Control Act, is so weak, a number of voluntary initiatives to gather health information about chemicals have been attempted. These efforts, however, have been largely ineffective at reducing exposure and do not substitute for a clear statutory requirement to protect children from the toxic effects of chemical exposure.

In light of the findings in the EWG study and a substantial body of supporting science, we strongly urge that federal laws and policies be reformed to ensure that children are protected from chemical exposures, and that to the maximum extent possible exposure to industrial chemicals before birth be eliminated entirely. The nation's pesticide law, the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act, was amended nearly a decade ago to require the explicit protection of infants and children from pesticides. Actions taken under FQPA have reduced or eliminated children's exposures to a number of highly hazardous pesticides, with no discernable adverse impact on the availability or price of a wholesome food supply. We recommend a similar standard be applied to commercial chemicals.

H. Vasken Aposhian, Ph.D. Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of Arizona Member, National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury Former Member, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee on Food Safety Biographical Information

Cynthia Bearer, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and Neurosciences Director, Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital Neonatology Fellowship Training Program Committee to Evaluate Children's Health, National Academy of Sciences Editorial Board, Neurotoxicology and Alcohol Health & Research Member, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Scientific Advisory Board Cleveland, OH Biographical Information

Alan Greene, M.D., F.A.A.P. Assistant Clinical Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine Attending Pediatrician, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University Danville, CA Biographical Information

Lynn Goldman, M.D., MPH Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences Vice Chairman, National Academies Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences Member, National Academies Institute of Medicine, Health Sciences Board Chair, National Academies Institute of Medicine Gulf War and Health Study Former Assistant Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances Former Member, Centers for Disease Control Lead Poisoning Prevention Advisory Committee Former Member, American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health Former Director, California Department of Health Services, Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control Baltimore, M.D. Biographical Information

Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., M.Sc., D.I.H. Diplomate, American Board of Pediatrics Professor of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine Director, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Center for Children's Health and the Environment Director, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Division of Environmental and Occupational Medicine Professor & Chair, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Community & Preventive Medicine Former Senior Advisor to Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Former Chair, National Academy of Sciences Committee on Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children Former Chair, National Academy of Sciences Committee on Environmental Neurotoxicology New York, NY Biographical Information

Bruce Lanphear, M.D., MPH Director, Cincinnati Children's Environmental Health Center Professor of Pediatrics and Environmental Health, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Member, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Children's Environmental Health Protection, Science and Research Work Group Cincinnati, OH Biographical Information

Herbert Needleman, M.D. Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Member, National Academies Institute of Medicine Author of over 70 papers on lead and children's health Awarded: The Charles Dana Award for Pioneering Achievement in Public Health American Public Health Association Edward K. Barsky Award University of Pittsburgh Chancellor's Award for Public Service Pittsburgh, PA

David Ozonoff, M.D., MPH Professor of Environmental Health Boston University School of Public Health Boston, MA Biographical Information

J. Routt Reigart, M.D. Director and Professor, Division of General Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina Member, The National Children's Study Federal Advisory Committee Former Chair, Centers for Disease Control Childhood Lead Poisoning Advisory Committee Former Chair, Centers for Disease and Prevention Control Childhood Lead Poisoning Advisory Committee Former Chair, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee Former Member, President George H.W. Bush's Council on Environmental Quality Task Force on Lead Poisoning Education Charleston, SC Biographical Information

Howard M. Snyder III, M.D. Senior Attending Urologist at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia Associate Director, Pediatric Urology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Professor of Surgery in Urology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Philadelphia, PA Biographical Information.

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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