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Putting the Next Generation of Brains In Danger

Posted by Soulskill on from the won't-somebody-think-of-the-brains dept.

An anonymous reader sends this news from CNN: "The number of chemicals known to be toxic to children's developing brains has doubled over the last seven years, researchers said. Dr. Philip Landrigan at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and Dr. Philippe Grandjean from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, authors of the review published Friday in The Lancet Neurology journal say the news is so troubling they are calling for a worldwide overhaul of the regulatory process in order to protect children's brains. 'We know from clinical information on poisoned adult patients that these chemicals can enter the brain through the blood brain barrier and cause neurological symptoms,' said Grandjean. 'When this happens in children or during pregnancy, those chemicals are extremely toxic, because we now know that the developing brain is a uniquely vulnerable organ. Also, the effects are permanent.'"

2 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. Prepare the industry stonewalling. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The impact is not limited to loss of IQ points.

    "Beyond IQ, we're talking about behavior problems -- shortening of attention span, increased risk of ADHD," Landrigan said.

    Things that make it harder for people to do well in school and later on the job. And in extreme cases, contributes to being a poor and on the dole.

    Remember that folks when you or you hear someone bitch about the EPA and environmental regulations. We pay for it one way or another.

    Of course, industry will have their own scientists - like the cigarette industry - that will show this is "junk science" or some other critique to prevent or at the very least, slow down any sort of regulation.

    Profit and money is all that seems to matter to some people in our society.

    1. Re:Prepare the industry stonewalling. by nbauman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Pregnant women can take care of tobacco, alcohol, and cocaine themselves.

      (The numbers of women in that age group who smoke has gone down dramatically in the last generation, the women I know quit alcohol during pregnancy, and cocaine among pregnant women turned out to be exaggerated.)

      How can a pregnant woman protect herself against lead, if auto exhaust from leaded gasoline fills the air with it? Only government can do that job.

      Similarly, General Electric dumped hundreds of tons of PCBs into the Hudson River, where it's impossible to remove. Is that supposed to be the woman's responsibility and not GE's responsibility?

      Do you believe that every pregnant woman should get a degree in analytical chemistry and a home lab?

      Some things are individual responsibilities, and some things are government responsibilities. Actually, some things are corporate responsibilities, but the U.S. corporations don't accept those responsibilities so the government has to clean up after them.