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US Preschoolers Exposed to Dozens of Potentially Harmful Chemicals
American toddlers are regularly exposed to a vast mix of potentially harmful industrial and consumer chemicals, a new study has cautioned. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health’s Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes program, led by the University of California, Davis conducted one of the most extensive investigations to date into the chemical exposure among young children.
The study focused on a group of 201 children aged between two and four from four states: California, Georgia, New York and Washington. They tested for 111 different chemicals and detected 96 in at least five children, uncovering widespread contact with substances commonly found in plastics, personal care products, household dust, and air pollution.
Exposure to environmental chemicals — including pesticides, flame retardants, plasticizers, parabens, bisphenols and combustion byproducts — has been previously linked to developmental delays, endocrine disruption and rising health issues. Children encounter environmental chemicals through daily activities like eating, drinking, breathing air and touching surfaces.
Deborah H. Bennett, lead author and UC Davis public health professor, emphasized the urgency: “Our study shows that childhood exposure to potentially harmful chemicals is widespread. This is alarming because we know early childhood is a critical window for brain and body development.”
Many U.S. Babies May Lack Gut Bacteria That Train Their Immune Systems
About three quarters of babies born in the U.S. may not have enough friendly microbes in their guts to protect against developing allergies, asthma and eczema, a new study suggests.
In a large study of more than 400 babies, 24 percent had no detectable levels of Bifidobacterium, gut microbes that digest sugars in breast milk, researchers report June 24 in Communications Biology. “Nondetectable levels of the most fundamental family type of bacteria for the infant was really surprising to us,” says Stephanie Culler, cofounder and chief executive of Persephone Biosciences, the San Diego–based company that conducted the study. “It was just not there.”
The result also surprised microbiologist Jack Gilbert of the University of California, San Diego, but for different reasons. Extrapolating from previous studies, “I was expecting more like 50 or 60 percent of infants to not have any detectable Bifidobacterium in their in their stool,” he says. The finding is “maybe more reassuring than my prior estimates, but it’s still quite depressing.”
Antimicrobial Common in Everyday Items Linked to Allergic Conditions in Children
Triclosan is an antimicrobial chemical that was for decades added to everyday items like soap, toothpaste, cosmetics and even kitchen utensils and athletic wear, until concerns about potential health risks led manufacturers to phase it out of some products.
New research suggests there may be even more reason for concern.
A study led by scientists at Brown University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that children with higher levels of triclosan in their bodies were more likely to have allergy-related health issues, with young boys appearing most affected.
Published in Environmental Health Perspectives, the study followed 347 mothers and their children from pregnancy through the kids’ 12th birthdays. As part of the Cincinnati-based Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment Study, researchers analyzed urine samples collected up to 10 times over that period to assess triclosan exposure in children.
They found that children with higher levels of the chemical were more likely to develop allergic conditions like eczema and hay fever, a common allergy that causes sneezing, congestion and itchy eyes.
Rep. Thompson: Students Need Healthy Foods, Not Harmful Additives
Michigan House of Republicans reported:
State Rep. Jamie Thompson is championing a House plan that will protect Michigan children from dangerous dyes and additives in food products.
Thompson today voted to advance House Bills 4369, which prohibits schools from providing or selling foods with certain ingredients to students, specifically Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1 and 2, Yellow 6, brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate and propylparaben.
“Simply put, some of this crap should not be in food for our kids when we have seen evidence that it plays a role in debilitating conditions that make it harder to focus, learn and develop,” said Thompson, of Brownstown.
“This is a public health disaster in motion. As a mother and legal guardian to three of my four grandchildren, I have long had concerns about what these additives are doing for brain health and impulse control. Every parent wants to know that their kids are safe and healthy when they are at school, and nutrition is a major part of that.
“Through this plan, we can position Michigan as a leader in facing this problem, work in tandem with ongoing federal efforts, and set our kids up for healthier futures.”
