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US babies exposed to pollutants before birth

Jul 15,2005. WASHINGTON - Unborn American babies are soaking in a stew of chemicals such as mercury, gasoline by-products and pesticides, says a new report.

Although the effects on the babies are not altogether clear, the report has already prompted several members of Congress to press for legislation that would strengthen controls over 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.

The researchers 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 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.'

Cord blood reflects what the mother passes to the baby through the placenta. Blood tests did not reveal just how the various chemicals came to be in the mothers' bodies. But among the chemicals found in the cord blood were methylmercury, which is 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.

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

'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,' said New Jersey Democrat Senator Frank Lautenberg. 'Some of these chemicals are turning up in our blood.'

He 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 understand the effects is to measure how much gets into people and then see what happens to their health.

Source: REUTERS

Read the original study report here