Top doctors have issued a global call to arms to regulate toxic chemicals that are linked to a spike in childhood cancers and autism.
A group of scientists and doctors from 17 institutions in the US and Europe called for a crackdown on more than 350,000 synthetic chemicals and microplastics which are found in everything from clothing to cosmetics and food packaging.
The researchers said these chemicals have increased 50-fold globally since 1950 and are expected to triple by 2050.
Yet less than one in five of the substances are tested for toxicity, the team from the Consortium for Children’s Environmental Health wrote in a medical journal.
At the same time, an alarming trend has seen childhood cancers increase by 35 percent in the last half-century, despite cancers in older people decreasing.
And autism rates have tripled in the last decade.
The team also suggests synthetic chemicals and microplastics could be responsible for sharp rises in childhood other illnesses like asthma and obesity.
The researchers also called for increased regulations on these chemicals and said manufacturers should be required to monitor their products similar to prescription drugs to look for long-term health issues.
The toxic chemicals have contaminated the air we breathe, food we eat and water we drink and have been found in virtually every major human organ, including the brain, where they cause widespread inflammation.
A group of independent scientists called for increased regulations surrounding toxic chemicals that have been linked to childhood cancer
The above chart from the Environmental Working Group shows a gradual increase in childhood cancers over the past few decades
Toxic chemicals like BPA and PFAS, also dubbed forever chemicals, have also been shown to disrupt the production of sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone, leading to reproductive issues, which may be contributing the West’s fertility crisis.
The authors wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine: ‘Protecting children from chemicals’ dangers will require fundamental revamping of current law and restructuring of the chemical industry to prioritize children’s health.
‘Under new laws, chemicals should not be presumed harmless until they are proven to damage health.
‘Instead, chemicals and chemical-based products should be allowed to enter markets and remain on markets only if their manufacturers can establish through rigorous, independent, premarket testing that they are not toxic at anticipated levels of exposure.’
The researchers said that toxic chemicals have been shown to cross the placenta, an organ that forms during pregnancy to provide the fetus with nutrients and oxygen.
They also noted children are more vulnerable to lasting harm from synthetic toxins because their organs are not fully developed, leaving them less able to filter out toxins.
Younger children are also more likely to put toys and other objects laced with synthetic plastics in their mouths, increasing exposure.
Microplastics have also been found in a mother’s breast milk, increasing the chance of them passing on to a child.
One study of children born in Sweden between 1960 and 2015 found that children whose mothers were exposed to the heavy metal arsenic were 38 percent more likely to develop childhood cancers like lymphoma.
Additionally, a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that mothers exposed to PFAS during pregnancy led to an increased risk of their children developing leukemia.
PFAS are microscopic substances that take thousands of years to break down in the environment or human body, earning them the name ‘forever chemicals.’
Their main purpose is to repel water and oil, which is what makes non-stick cookware easier to clean and why certain jackets and tents can withstand rain.
The chemicals can seep into the water supply from washing dishes and can enter food if packaging is made to be grease-resistant or if the non-stick coating on pots and pans begins to deteriorate.
The team called for several measures to reduce childhood exposure to environmental toxins.
They suggested new laws that require chemicals to be tested for safety and toxicity before they are allowed to enter markets.
The team also called for mandated chemical footprinting. Similar to carbon footprinting, this involves measuring the amount of chemicals produced by an individual or organization to help reduce exposure.
Dr Philip Landrigan, lead study author and epidemiologist at Boston College, said: ‘Pollution by synthetic chemicals and plastics is one of the great planetary challenges of our time.
‘It is worsening rapidly. Continued unchecked increases in the production of chemicals based on fossil carbon endangers the world’s children and threatens humanity’s capacity for reproduction.’
The US also falls behind countries in Europe when it comes to regulating these chemicals.
Europe, for example, has strict regulations against chemicals called phthalates, which are used in food packaging and cosmetic products.
At least nine commercially used phthalates are still authorized to be in cosmetic products in the US – compared to just one in Europe.
Though Europe also regulates levels of heavy metals like lead in baby food, the FDA also has no legally binding limits on these.
