Gen Teflon: unborn US babies soaked in chemicals
July 14, 2005 - 2:30PM

Unborn US babies are soaking in a stew of chemicals, including mercury,
petrol by-products and pesticides, according to a report released
today.

Although the effects on the babies are not clear, the survey prompted
several members of US Congress to press for legislation that would
strengthen controls on chemicals in the environment.

The report by the Environmental Working Group is based on tests of 10
samples of umbilical cord blood taken by the American Red Cross.

They found an average of 287 contaminants in the blood, including
mercury, fire retardants, pesticides and the Teflon chemical PFOA.

"These 10 newborn babies ... were born polluted," said New York
Democrat Representative Louise Slaughter.

"If ever we had proof that our nation's pollution laws aren't working,
it's reading the list of industrial chemicals in the bodies of babies
who have not yet lived outside the womb," Ms Slaughter said.

Cord blood reflects what the mother passes to the baby through the
placenta.
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"Of the 287 chemicals we detected in umbilical cord blood, we know that
180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and
nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in
animal tests," the report said.

Blood tests did not show how the chemicals got into the mothers'
bodies.

Among the chemicals found in the cord blood were methylmercury,
produced by coal-fired power plants and certain industrial processes.
People can breathe it in or eat it in seafood and it causes brain and
nerve damage.

Also found were polyaromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which are produced
by burning petrol and garbage and which may cause cancer;
flame-retardant chemicals called polybrominated dibenzodioxins and
furans; and pesticides including DDT and chlordane.

The same group analysed the breast milk of mothers across the United
States in 2003 and found varying levels of chemicals, including flame
retardants known as PBDEs. This latest analysis also found PBDEs in
cord blood.

The Environmental Working Group report coincided with a Government
Accountability Office report issued yesterday that said the
Environmental Protection Agency does not have the powers it needs to
fully regulate toxic chemicals.

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, found that the EPA's Toxic
Substances Control Act gives only "limited assurance" that new
chemicals entering the market are safe and that the EPA only rarely
assesses chemicals already on the market.

"Today, chemicals are being used to make baby bottles, food packaging
and other products that have never been fully evaluated for their
health effects on children - and some of these chemicals are turning up
in our blood," said New Jersey Democrat Senator Frank Lautenberg, who
plans to co-sponsor a bill to require more testing of toxic chemicals.

Pollutants and other chemicals are believed to cause a range of
illnesses. But scientists agree the only way to really sort out the
effects is to measure how much gets into people and then see what
happens to their health.

Reuters