In only seven years the number of chemicals known to be toxic to developing brains has doubled, according to a recent article on CNN.com. Are we putting our brains in danger?
The two scientists behind the study, Dr. Philip Landrigan at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and Dr. Philippe Grandjean from Harvard School of Public Health, are so shocked by the news that they are sounding the alarm and calling for a worldwide overhaul of the regulatory process.
In 2006, the same two veteran scientists published data identifying five chemicals (lead, methylmercury, arsenic, polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and toluene) as neurotoxicants—substances that impact brain development and can cause a number of neurodevelopmental disabilities, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, dyslexia and other cognitive damage.
Today, six more chemicals that affect our developing brains have been added to the list. Many are found in our food! They include: manganese; fluoride; tetrachloroethylene (a solvent); a class of chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, (aka flame retardants); and two pesticides, chlorpyrifos, which is widely used in agriculture, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT. At greatest risk? Pregnant women and small children.
“We are lagging behind,” Grandjean said. “And we are putting the next generation of brains in danger.”
Not surprisingly The American Chemical Council says the review is “highly flawed.”
You can read more on this story here.
