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Workers
inspect an area outside a retaining wall around storage tanks where a
chemical leaked into the Elk River at Freedom Industries storage
facility in Charleston, West Virginia, Jan. 13, 2014.
Jessica Berman
February 15, 2014
Experts
are calling for a targeted strategy to restrict the use of toxic
industrial chemicals, which they say are causing a “silent pandemic” of
brain disorders in children worldwide. Scientists are urging action as
more so-called neurotoxins have been identified but remain largely
unregulated.
A rise in the number of pediatric brain disorders,
including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, cerebral
palsy and autism, may be the result of increased use of unregulated
toxic chemicals around the world.
In the past seven years,
researchers have identified six new chemicals that have been shown to be
capable of damaging the brains of developing human fetuses and young
children. The discovery brings to twelve the number of confirmed
neurotoxins. Experts estimate one in six children worldwide suffers
from a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Pediatrician Philip Landrigan, chairman of the
Department of Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said exposure to neurotoxic chemicals was a serious problem that has reached pandemic proportions.
“Injury
to the human brain in early life leads to problems like loss of IQ,
shortening of attention span, behavioral problems. And these effects by
and large tend to be permanent,” he said.
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Number of chemicals linked to problems such as autism DOUBLES in just seven years
Researchers warn that chemical safety checks must be tightened
Many substances are found in everyday items like food, toys and clothes
And the study warns that these findings are just the tip of the iceberg
By
Damien Gayle
PUBLISHED: 08:09 EST, 15 February 2014 |
UPDATED: 08:41 EST, 15 February 2014
The
number of industrial chemicals known to trigger brain development
problems like autism has doubled in just seven years, experts warned
today.
A
new study suggests toxic chemicals may be triggering increases in
neurological disabilities among children, including autism,
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia.
The
researchers warn that chemical safety checks need to be tightened up
around the world to protect our vulnerable youngsters from a 'silent
epidemic' of brain disorders.
A
tractor sprays barley crops: Pesticides are among the toxic chemicals
which may be triggering neurological disabilities among children,
including autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia
Their
work also found that the list of chemicals known to damage the human
brain but not regulated to safeguard children had also risen from 202 to
214.
These substances are found in everyday items including food, clothing, furniture and toys.
'The
greatest concern is the large numbers of children who are affected by
toxic damage to brain development in the absence of a formal diagnosis,'
said Dr Philippe Grandjean, of the Harvard School of Public Health in
Boston.
'They suffer reduced attention span, delayed development, and poor school performance.
'Industrial chemicals are now emerging as likely causes.'
He
and his co-authors are calling for universal legal requirements forcing
manufacturers to prove that all existing and new industrial chemicals
are non-toxic before they reach the market place.
In
the EU, the Reach (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and
Restriction of Chemicals) regulations already impose such rules.
But without them being applied globally, the world faces a 'pandemic of neurodevelopmental toxicity', warned Dr Grandjean.
'Current
chemical regulations are woefully inadequate to safeguard children
whose developing brains are uniquely vulnerable to toxic chemicals in
the environment,' Dr Grandjean pointed out.
Neurodevelopmental
disorders such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD), dyslexia and cerebral palsy affect one in six children
worldwide.
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