Environmental Exposures

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines environment, as it relates to health, as “all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to a person, and all the related behaviors.” Environmental health consists of preventing or controlling disease, injury, and disability related to the interactions between people and their environment.

Environmental Health is broadly inclusive. It includes exposure to:

Industrial chemicals
Agricultural chemicals
Physical agents (heat, radiation)
By-products of combustion and industrial processes (dioxin)
Foods and nutrients
Prescription drugs
Lifestyle choices and substance abuse
Social and economic factors

Lead

Lead is a metal with many uses, but it has been recognized as a poison for well over 100 years. It is a powerful neurotoxin that accumulates in the body, and will cause serious neurologic and developmental disorders. Nonetheless, it is found in pipes, soil and food products. A zero tolerance level of lead has been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But in the USA alone 4 million households with women and children have unsafe lead levels. Pregnancy exposure is linked to spontaneous abortion, high blood pressure, fetal growth disorders and neurodevelopment. THERE IS NO SAFE LEAD LEVEL.

Mercury

Mercury, a byproduct of mining and industry, can bioaccumulate and enter our bodies by food intake. It can cause serious neurologic damage in the exposed fetus and infant. Exposure in women is mostly through seafood. Industrial emissions in the next few decades will result in a 50% increase in Mercury levels. It has serious global repercussions because of mining.

Alcohol

Alcohol in a mother’s blood passes to the fetus via the umbilical cord. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause miscarriages, birth defects and lifelong behavioral and intellectual disabilities. There is NO safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, but that does not stop women around the globe. Alcohol consumption is a reflection of social and cultural norms, and many women have not recognized the serious and permanent health impacts on a family’s life. Women find conflicting reports from research, often because the timing of exposure is often difficult to measure and impacts on development depend on the baby’s stage of development. Agreement is clear, once a woman determines she is pregnant, it is safest to avoid all alcohol intake until the baby is safely in the arms rather than the womb!

Tobacco

DES—Diethylstilbestrol—was a medication used in the 1940s through 70s, purportedly to reduce miscarriages but with no research to support that use. It is an Endocrine Disruptor, found to cause cancer and serious medical conditions in the children of exposed mothers, and in their offspring. In other words it has multigenerational effects! It is an example of the risk of endocrine disruptors on the health of future generations. BPA, another Endocrine Disruptor found in food products and life products, has been found to behave in a similar developmental fashion in the uterus of animals exposed to DES.

Air Pollution

Research has shown that air pollution is associated with more than just the expected asthma and respiratory difficulties. Around the globe, particulate matter found in air pollution is associated with premature delivery. The fetus exposed to such contaminations is at risk for a wide array of neurodevelopmental difficulties. Air pollutions is associated with childhood developmental delays, reduced IQ, memory loss and attention deficit disorders. Unfortunately, it is often the underserved population that has little recourse to avoid exposure to polluted air. Advocating for national standards and holding governments accountable to air quality is the only hope for change.

Drugs

Diethylstilbestrol

Phthalates

Phthalates are modern Endocrine Disruptors, commonly used as plasticizers, and therefore found in the vast majority of people, because of exposure from food and personal care products and almost all plastic-containing products imaginable. Eight million tons are consumed globally each year. There are proposed relations between phthalate exposure and prematurity, low birth weight, birth defects, and obesity. Its use in the European Union has been restricted

Perfluorooctanoic acid

Better known as PFOA , it is found everywhere. It is a synthetic chemical that was found in Teflon, GoreTex, stain resistant carpets and even microwave popcorn bags. It persists indefinitely in the environment, is toxic and most likely causes kidney and testicular cancer. As with most chemical exposures, animal research is much more common than indirect human studies. Remember that almost no research is performed on such chemicals before they are released into the environment, so the burden of proving harm falls on health researchers rather than requiring the chemical industry to prove safety before releasing such chemicals in the environment. PFOA has been linked to reproductive status, infertility, pregnancy-induced hypertension, thyroid dysfunction and low birth weight babies.

Thalidomide

Thalidomide was a medication taken by women in the 1950s for morning sickness, but resulted in severe skeletal birth defects. It was a medication prescribed by physicians for a woman to use during pregnancy, and the explosion of the birth defects jump started the awareness that exposures during pregnancy can impact a fetus. The burden of proof for safety was placed in the hands of pharmaceutical industry from then on