Chemical body burden & effects on children

Scientists have begun to investigate the significance of low dose exposures, and the effects of toxins in developing babies and young children. Recent studies show that:

Breast-fed infants are exposed to levels of dioxin that exceed adult exposures by as much as a factor of 50.⁴
Animal studies of lead, mercury and PCBs underestimated levels of exposures that cause effects in humans by 100-10,000 fold.⁵
Brominated flame retardants (PBDEs), used in furniture and clothing, have been found to be persistent in the environment and to accumulate in women’s breast milk.⁶
The latest EPA findings indicate that 1 in 6 women (16%) of childbearing age in the U.S. exceed "safe" levels for mercury.

We cannot assume that products available for purchase have been tested for their impact on human health and the environment, because there is no legal requirement of industry to do so. Many of the long-term effects of chemicals used in products are still unknown, and there is growing evidence that we are exposing present and future generations to harmful consequences.

Sources

Moyers, Bill & Jones, Sherry, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report, Public Affairs Television Inc., 2001, http://www.pbs.org/tradesecrets/
Changing Our Waterways, WA State Dept. of Natural Resources, Dec. 2000
2000 Puget Sound Water Quality Management Plan, Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team, December 14, 2000

One in every 200 U.S. children suffer from developmental or neurological deficits caused by exposure to known toxic substances.

"Physicians for Social Responsibility," Sept. 2000 report

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