You'll want to take action after reading the Environmental Working Group's latest cord blood report, released today. The results are devastating but not surprising.

The EWG tested the cord blood of 10 minority newborns. (Cord blood is the blood remaining in the placenta and umbilical cord after birth. EWG would have liked to do more, but it's about $10,000 per baby and their pockets aren't that deep.) They tested for some of the same offenders they tested for in 2005. And they tested for some new ones, including:

Bisphenol A, a.k.a. BPA, a ubiquitous ingredient in plastics and coatings that's been linked to a range of health problems, including cancer. (The Food and Drug Administration, which has to date sanctioned the use of BPA as safe, was to release a new safety report on the chemical this week, but delayed its decision. BPA was found in 9 out of 10 samples.)

Perchlorate, a rocket fuel component and, according to the EWG, a potent thyroid toxin that can disrupt production of hormones essential for normal brain development.

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), a toxic flame retardant chemical that permeates computer circuit boards, synthetic fragrances (Galaxolide and Tonalide), and common cosmetics and detergents, was also detected for the first time.

Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA, or C4), a member of the Teflon chemical family used to make non-stick and grease-, stain- and water-resistant coatings for cookware, textiles, food packaging and other consumer products, was also detected. 232 different chemicals, all told, were detected in the cord blood from these 10 babies.

Dr. Anila Jacob, EWG's senior scientist and co-author of the report, responded to conclusions that the only thing parents can really do is get political.

"That's accurate," she said. "There is no way to shop yourself out of this 100%. That's why we need good strong federal legislation. But there are some individual actions they can take to decrease the exposure. When Mom is pregnant she can decrease the use of canned foods, she can not microwave in plastic. Once she has her baby she can use a BPA-free baby bottle." I prefer glass. "Breastfeeding is best but if you're using formula, we recommend powder versus liquid canned infant formula. She should check with her pediatrician."

The way the current legislation is written, Jacob says, is backwards. "Chemicals are put in the marketplace without definitive safety testing. They have to be proven to be unsafe once they're on the market. During that period of time millions of people are exposed."

For the cord blood report, the babies were tested for over 300 chemicals. Most other studies only look at one or two chemicals. "We're concerned about what the mixtures are doing. I'm a physician. When I was training, we were taught about drug interactions, we have to consider those interactions. What about chemicals?" says Jacob. "Our study is showing each of these babies is exposed to at least 100 if not 200 chemicals each. We're very concerned about the individual effects but also the mixtures. Are there synergistic or cumulative effects? Our study brings these to mind. Mixture toxicity - how do these things effect us long term when all mixed up? We don't know."

The cord blood donations came from five different states. This is not a regional issue. This is the EWG's 11th biomonitoring project. They asked for minority cord blood because "in a sense our mission here is to map the degree of chemical contamination within the U.S. population," Jacob said.

"This is one segment that hasn't been tested very much for chemical exposure -- babies of racial or ethnic minority groups. We didn't look for chemicals based on mom's choices like smoking or alcohol, these are unintentional exposures with regard to consumer and home product chemicals."

Source
PregnancyWeekly.com