Putting Children in Harm's Way

A recent report titled In Harm's Way links toxic exposures during early childhood or even before birth to lifelong disabilities including autism, attention disorders, and reduced IQ.

In Harm's Way walks us through a sampling of neurotoxic substances to which many or all American children are exposed, including toxic metals, nicotine, pesticides, organochlorides (e.g., dioxin and PCBs), solvents and food additives--and reviews existing human and animal data on developmental effects of these chemicals.

The effects vary dramatically depending on the timing of exposures. Tiny exposures that would have no noticeable effect at most stages of development can produce devastating damage if they occur during a "window of vulnerability" when certain organs are developing rapidly.

Under our current regulatory system, industrial chemicals need not be tested for toxicity before they are marketed. The EPA estimates that somewhere between 2400 and 4000 industrial chemicals now on the market are neurotoxic, but even this range is speculative because most chemicals in commercial use have not been tested. The EPA reported that about a billion pounds of known neurotoxins are released directly into air and water annually, but they only track 625 out of 80,000 industrial chemicals.

Currently, corporations that profit from these toxic substances are accepted--even by most environmentalists--as valid "stakeholders" in the process that determines "safe" levels of exposure. As a result, we have failed to protect our children from industrial poisons. Our regulatory system is like a trial in which the criminal defendant gets to serve on the jury.

If we want to have healthy children and protecting brain development comes ahead of protecting profits, we need to rethink our failed system of "risk assessment" to the precautionary principle--where chemicals are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

We also need to consider that genuine progress on environmental and health issues necessarily involves challenging corporate power directly and reserve our support for organizations that recognize and act based on this reality.

See Rachel's Environment and Health News #712 for an in-depth story on this issue.

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