Chemical Exposures Are a Major
Threat to Human Health and Reproduction, International OB-GYN Report
Warns
October 13, 2015
Story at-a-glance
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According to a report by the International
Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, chemical
exposures from pesticides, air pollutants, and
plastic chemicals represent a major threat to human
health and reproduction
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An Endocrine Society task force has issued a
scientific statement on endocrine-disrupting
chemicals, noting that everyone needs to take
proactive steps to avoid them
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Phthalates can be absorbed transdermally, through
your skin, via ambient air. Phthalates in vinyl
flooring can make pregnant women more susceptible to
high blood pressure and heart disease
By Dr. Mercola
According to a newly released report1,2
by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics3
(FIGO), which represents OB-GYNs in 125 countries, chemical
exposures represent a major threat to human health.
Toxic chemicals are all around us; in our food, water, air,
and countless commonly used products and goods, and this
onslaught is having a definitive effect — even when exposures
are relatively low.
This is particularly true during pregnancy and early infancy.
According to the report:
“Exposure to toxic environmental chemicals during
pregnancy and breastfeeding is ubiquitous and is a threat to
healthy human reproduction.”
The report is being shared during this year’s global
conference on women’s health issues in Vancouver, British
Columbia.
The group warns that international trade agreements currently
under negotiation lack protections against toxic chemicals, and
they also urge health professionals in all countries to advocate
for policies that help prevent toxic exposures and ensure a
healthy food system.
Environmental Chemicals Threaten Human Health and Reproduction
The FIGO report homes in on a number of the most pervasive
toxins, including:
Among the health outcomes linked to these toxic chemicals
are:
- Miscarriages
- Stillbirths
- Cancer
- Reduced cognitive function
- Hyperactivity
The Cost of Chemical Exposures Is Significant
The costs associated with these health outcomes are
staggering. For example, in Europe, costs associated with
exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals alone are
estimated at 157 billion Euros (which is approximately $177.1
billion) per year.
In 2008, the cost associated with childhood diseases linked
to toxic exposures in the US was estimated at nearly $77
billion.
To understand just how severe chemical exposures have become,
consider this: each year a total of 9.5 trillion pounds
of chemicals are manufactured or imported into the US, which
translates into 30,000 pounds per American!
All of these chemicals “go” somewhere... They go into food
production, building materials, household products, personal
care items, furniture, clothing — you name it, it will probably
have a variety of chemicals in it.
Chemical emissions and runoff also contaminate our soils,
water, and air. As noted by Mother Jones:4
“Dr. Tracey Woodruff, an associate professor at the
University of California-San Francisco, says while there are
ways individuals can limit their exposure — including
building better health practices overall and eating a
pesticide-free, healthy diet — more needs to be done to
protect everyone.
‘You can do some things to enhance your resiliency to
disease or decrease chemical exposures,’ she says, ‘but
there are a lot of things that are not in your control.’
That's why FIGO... is calling on health professionals
and legislators to support policies that prevent exposure
and offering recommendations that could help mitigate health
risks, including increasing access to healthy food and
incorporating environmental health into health care.”
Absorption of Phthalates Via Ambient Air Has Been Confirmed
The idea that chemicals affect your health should come as no
surprise. What may be surprising is the extent of your exposure.
Most of us go about our day, touching, eating, drinking, and
breathing with few concerns about what we’re actually coming
into contact with.
Lo and behold, scientific investigations have revealed that
even things like household dust, cashier’s receipts, and the
floor beneath your feet may be contributing to your health
problems.
Recent research5
even shows that when it comes to plasticizing chemicals like
phthalates, you don’t even need to come into direct contact with
the item in question.
Phthalates can be absorbed transdermally, meaning through
your skin, via ambient air. In fact, this may be “a potentially
important route of exposure,” the authors claim. Phthalates also
accumulate in household dust, posing a risk for toddlers and
pets that spend a lot of time crawling around in it on the
floor.
As reported by Environmental Health Perspectives:6
“Only recently have scientists started to model
dermal absorption of indoor air pollutants. ‘This study, as
proof of concept, successfully confirms predictions about
that pathway,’ says Gerald Kasting... [who] was not involved
in the study.
DEP and DnBP are not the only indoor organic
pollutants predicted to have meaningful uptake via dermal
absorption directly from the air. More than 30 semi-volatile
organic compounds commonly found indoors are predicted to
have dermal uptakes similar to or greater than inhalation
intake.
‘Our findings suggest that risk assessment models
should not ignore the dermal pathway. There are other
chemicals abundant in indoor air with the right physical
properties… to move from air through skin to blood,’ [study
author Charles] Weschler says.”
Vinyl Flooring Raises Risk of Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension
Related research7,8,9
shows that phthalates in vinyl flooring can make pregnant women
more susceptible to high blood pressure and heart disease.
Pregnant women who had the highest levels of phthalate
metabolites in their blood were nearly 300 percent more likely
to experience pregnancy-induced high blood pressure compared to
those with the lowest levels.
And again, even if you don’t walk barefoot on your vinyl
floors, the phthalates can migrate out of the floors and
contaminate the very air you breathe. The exact mechanisms
behind phthalates’ association with heart disease are still
under investigation, but it’s thought to be linked to its
inflammatory activity.
Organic Diet During Pregnancy Reduces Risk of Birth Defects and
Other Health Problems
Pesticide exposure is another great concern during pregnancy.
A number of studies have linked pesticides to birth defects, and
recent research10
shows that the risk of two common urogenital birth defects in
male children can be decreased by eating organic foods during
pregnancy. As reported by the Institute of Science in Society:11
“The study analyzed over 37,000 women and children
pairs, finding that women who consume any organic food
during pregnancy are 0.42 times as likely to give birth to a
boy with hypospadias as those who report seldom or never
eating organic food. This decrease is modest but
significant, and builds on a growing list of studies linking
pesticides and other endocrine disrupters to these types of
defects.”
Hypospadias is a condition in which the urethra is located on
the underside of the penis instead of at the tip. Prevalence of
this birth defect has risen in many countries, and now affects
about one in every 250 male children in the US. According to
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, rates of
hypospadias doubled between 1968 and 1993. Pesticides are not
the only chemicals increasing the risk of these kinds of birth
defects.
Phthalates have been found to play a role as well, which
isn’t so surprising when you consider that hormonal
abnormalities has been identified as the key causative
factor in this condition. Besides phthalates, a number of other
plastic chemicals are known to mimic and disrupt the balance of
sex hormones, including bisphenol-A and bisphenol-S (BPA
and BPS). Hormone-disrupting chemicals have also been
implicated in a number of other health conditions, including:
Diabetes |
Obesity |
Heart disease |
Infertility |
Hormone-sensitive cancers such as breast,
endometrial, and ovarian cancers |
Prostate cancer |
Thyroid disease |
Poor brain development and diminished cognitive
function in children |
Task Force Urges Everyone to Proactively Avoid
Endocrine-Disrupting Hormones
Based on a review of more than 1,300 studies, an Endocrine
Society task force recently issued a new scientific statement12,13
on endocrine-disrupting chemicals, noting that the health
effects of hormone-disrupting chemicals are such that everyone
needs to take proactive steps to avoid them. The statement also
calls for improved safety testing to determine which chemicals
may cause problems.
The task force, which is made up of doctors who actually
treat patients with hormone-related problems, warn that
endocrine-disrupting chemicals can have an impact on subsequent
generations, and they urge infertility doctors to advise their
patients to avoid hormone disruptors to improve their odds of
successful conception and a healthy baby. Doctors also need to
warn pregnant women and parents of young children about the
risks associated with common chemical exposures.
At present, there are some 85,000 chemicals in use in the US,
and no one knows exactly how many may act as hormone disruptors
as the vast majority of these chemicals have not undergone
safety testing. As noted by one of the members of the task
force, even if only 1 percent of these chemicals cause
hormone disruption, that would equate to about 850 different
chemicals, making avoidance difficult. That said, among the
chemicals most well-known for their hormone disrupting
potential, even at low doses, are:
- BPA/BPS, found in plastics, the lining of canned foods,
and cash register receipts
- Phthalates, found in soft plastics, vinyl flooring,
perfumes, soaps, shampoos, and cosmetics
- Certain pesticides
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Triclosan, found in a wide array of antimicrobial
products, such as soaps and hand sanitizers
Monsanto Sued Over Carcinogenic Herbicide
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's best-selling
herbicide Roundup, is one of the most commonly used herbicides
in the world. An estimated one billion pounds a year is sprayed
on our food crops, resulting in the average American eating
several hundred pounds of glyphosate-contaminated food every
year. In March, glyphosate was reclassified as a Class 2 A
“probable carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research
on Cancer (IARC), a division of the World Health Organization
(WHO).
The California’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
also issued a notice of intent14
to label glyphosate as “known to cause cancer.” Six months after
the IARC’s report became public, Enrique Rubio, a farm worker,
and Judi Fitzgerald, a horticultural assistant, sued Monsanto
claiming Roundup caused their cancers, and that the company
falsified safety data, intentionally misled regulators about
Roundup’s dangers, and failed to properly warn users about its
carcinogenic potential.
According to Reuters:15
“Attorney Robin Greenwald, one of the attorneys who
brought Rubio’s case, said on Tuesday that she expects more
lawsuits to follow because Roundup is the most widely used
herbicide in the world and the WHO cancer classification
gives credence to long-held concerns about the chemical. ‘I
believe there will be hundreds of lawsuits brought over
time,’ said Greenwald. Monsanto spokeswoman Charla Lord said
that the claims are without merit and that glyphosate is
safe for humans when used as labeled.”
More Legal Troubles for Monsanto
Monsanto’s legal troubles over its toxic products don’t end
there. A French appeals court recently upheld a guilty ruling
against Monsanto in the chemical poisoning case of a French
farmer who used Roundup. The company is also tying up the courts
in St. Louis, Missouri, where several residents have sued
Monsanto claiming they developed lymphohematopoietic cancer as a
result of PCB exposure.16
Monsanto was the primary manufacturer of PCBs in the US from
1929 until about 1977, and a number of lawsuits over PCB
pollution have been brought since the ban on PCBs took effect.
In 2002, Monsanto was found guilty of decades of "outrageous
acts of pollution" in the town of Anniston, Alabama. Residents
accused the company of dumping
PCBs into the local river and a landfill. Court records
showed Monsanto was aware of the toxic effects of PCB for at
least three decades, but that the company refused to take
corrective action due to cost.
All of Monsanto’s products are rooted in chemicals, and
there’s nothing “green” about that. Earlier this year, San Diego
sued Monsanto for polluting the Coronado Bay with PCBs. Monsanto
always has been, and still is, a chemical company.
Moreover, Monsanto has made a habit out of marketing its
chemicals as exceptionally safe and beneficial, only to decades
later be revealed to be exceptionally toxic. In recent years, it
has tried to greenwash its image, claiming it is now an
agricultural company. But let’s face it, its main bread and
butter are:
- Roundup, a carcinogen and promoter of antibiotic
resistance
- Genetically engineered Roundup resistant seeds, which by
their design end up being more heavily contaminated with
this toxin
- Genetically engineered Bt plants, which are actually
registered with the EPA as a pesticide,17
since the entire plant is designed to produce Bt toxin
internally
Biggest Carmaker in the World Found to Corrupt Pollution Sensors
on 11 Million Cars
FIGO’s report also discusses the hazards of air pollution,
which brings us to the Volkswagen scandal. As reported by
The New York Times18
in September, Volkswagen admitted equipping 11 million of its
diesel cars with software used to cheat on emissions tests.
According to the NYT report:
“The software sensed when the car was being tested
and then activated equipment that reduced emissions... But
the software turned the equipment off during regular
driving, increasing emissions far above legal limits,
possibly to save fuel or to improve the car’s torque and
acceleration.”
In a follow up article19
bearing the headline, “How Many Deaths Did Volkswagen’s
Deception Cause in the U.S.?”, The New York Times
addresses the potential health ramifications of Volkswagen’s
deception. “After consulting with several experts in
modeling the health effects of air pollutants, we calculated a
death toll in the United States that, at its upper range, isn’t
far off from that caused by the G.M. defect,” the article
states, referring to the General Motors ignition defect that
caused at least 124 deaths. In Europe, where Volkswagen’s
vehicles are far more common, the effect has likely been far
greater.
Air pollution generated by car exhaust fumes is well known to
cause both respiratory disease and heart problems, and as noted
in a third New York Times article,20
there’s a clear connection between cleaner air and longer life:
“Numerous studies have found that the Clean Air Act
has substantially improved air quality and averted tens of
thousands of premature deaths from heart and respiratory
disease... Applying that formula to EPA particulate data
from 1970 to 2012 yields striking results for American
cities.
In Los Angeles, particulate pollution has declined by
more than half since 1970. The average Angeleno lives about
a year and eight months longer. Residents of New York and
Chicago have gained about two years on average. With more
than 42 million people currently living in these three
metropolitan areas, the total gains in life expectancy add
up quickly.”
Tips to Help You Avoid Toxic Chemicals
Considering all the potential sources of toxic chemicals,
it’s virtually impossible to avoid all of them. However, you CAN
limit your exposure by keeping a number of key principles in
mind.
- Eat a diet focused on locally grown, fresh, and ideally
organic whole foods. Processed and packaged foods are a
common source of chemicals such as BPA and phthalates. Wash
fresh produce well, especially if it’s not organically
grown.
- Choose grass-pastured, sustainably raised meats and
dairy to reduce your exposure to hormones, pesticides, and
fertilizers. Avoid milk and other dairy products that
contain the genetically engineered recombinant bovine growth
hormone (rBGH or rBST).
- Rather than eating conventional or farm-raised fish,
which are often heavily contaminated with PCBs and mercury,
supplement with a high-quality krill oil, or eat fish that
is wild-caught and lab tested for purity, such as wild
caught Alaskan salmon.
- Buy products that come in glass bottles rather than
plastic or cans, as chemicals can leach out of plastics (and
plastic can linings), into the contents; be aware that even
“BPA-free” plastics typically leach other
endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are just as bad for you
as BPA.
- Store your food and beverages in glass, rather than
plastic, and avoid using plastic wrap.
- Use glass baby bottles.
- Replace your non-stick pots and pans with ceramic or
glass cookware.
- Filter your tap water for both drinking AND bathing. If
you can only afford to do one, filtering your bathing water
may be more important, as your skin absorbs
contaminants. To remove the endocrine disrupting
herbicide Atrazine, make sure your filter is certified to
remove it. According to the EWG, perchlorate can be filtered
out using a reverse osmosis filter.
- Look for products made by companies that are
Earth-friendly, animal-friendly, sustainable, certified
organic, and
GMO-free. This applies to everything from food and
personal care products to building materials, carpeting,
paint, baby items, furniture, mattresses, and others.
- Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter to remove
contaminated house dust. This is one of the major routes of
exposure to flame retardant chemicals.
- When buying new products such as furniture,
mattresses, or carpet padding, consider buying flame
retardant free varieties, containing naturally less
flammable materials, such as leather, wool, cotton, silk,
and Kevlar.
- Avoid stain- and water-resistant clothing, furniture,
and carpets to avoid perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs).
- Make sure your baby's toys are BPA-free, such as
pacifiers, teething rings and anything your child may be
prone to suck or chew on — even books, which are often
plasticized. It’s advisable to avoid all plastic, especially
flexible varieties.
- Use natural cleaning products or make your own. Avoid
those containing 2-butoxyethanol (EGBE) and methoxydiglycol
(DEGME) — two toxic glycol ethers that can compromise your
fertility and cause fetal harm.
- Switch over to organic toiletries, including
shampoo, toothpaste, antiperspirants, and cosmetics.
EWG’s Skin Deep database21
can help you find personal care products that are free of
phthalates and other potentially dangerous chemicals.
- Replace your vinyl shower curtain with a fabric one or
glass doors.
- Replace
feminine hygiene products (tampons and sanitary pads)
with safer alternatives.
- Look for fragrance-free products. One
artificial fragrance can contain hundreds — even
thousands — of potentially toxic chemicals. Avoid
fabric softeners and dryer sheets, which contain a
mishmash of synthetic chemicals and fragrances.
© Copyright 1997-2015 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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