Environmental Toxins - Mount Sinai CEHC (list w/ links)

Environmental Toxins

Today, children are exposed to thousands of substances in the environment, most of which have never been tested for toxicity to children. Lead is perhaps the best-studied of the environmental threats to children, but there may be countless more that have never been studied. There is strong and growing evidence that exposure to toxic chemicals in the environment contributes to many diseases of children, among them asthma, learning disabilities, certain birth defects and childhood cancer.

• More than 80,000 new chemical compounds have been developed since World War II
• Of these, 3,000 are high-volume chemicals, with annual production exceeding one million pounds. These chemicals are used extensively in our homes, schools, communities, and they are widely dispersed in air, water, soil, and waste sites.
• Fewer than 20% of these high volume chemicals have been tested for their possible toxicity to children.
• Over 2.5 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are released to the environment in the US each year.
• Nearly 75% of the top 20 chemicals discharged to the environment are known or suspected to be toxic to the developing human brain. In addition, more than 4 billion pounds of pesticides - many of them neurotoxic - are applied in the US each year in agriculture, on lawns and gardens, and inside homes, schools, day-care centers and hospitals.
• National surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show measurable levels of high-volume synthetic chemicals in the bodies of nearly all Americans, including newborns, infants and in the breast milk of nursing mothers.

References:
United States Environmental Protection Agency. Chemical Hazard Data Availability Study:  What Do We Really Know About the Safety of High Production Volume Chemicals? Washington, DC: Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 1998.
United States Environmental Protection Agency.  Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Program. Washington, DC, February 21, 2008.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. Atlanta (GA): CDC, 2005.

A:

• Abestos
• Acetone
• Air Polluntants
• Ammonia
• Arsenic
• Artificial Turf

B:

• Benzene
• Bisphenol A

C:

• Carbon Dioxide
• Carbon Monoxide
• Chlorine

D:

• Diesel Exhaust
• Dioxins
• Drinking Water Contaminants

E:

• Endocrine Disruptors (BPA and Phthalates)
• Environmental Tobacco Smoke
• Ethylene Glycol

F:

• Flame Retardants (PBDEs or BFRs)
• Formaldehyde

G:

• Gasoline

L:

• Lead

M:

• Mercury
• Mold

N:

• Natural Gas
• Nitrogen Oxides

O:

• Ozone

P:

• Particulate Matter
• Perchloroethylene
• Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)
• Pesticides
• Phthalates
• Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
• Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
• Propane

R:

• Radiation
• Radon

S:

• Solvents
• Sulfur Dioxides
• Sun Exposure

T:

• Toluene

V:

• Vaccinations
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's)

W:

• Water and Soil Contaminants

SOURCE: http://www.mountsinai.org/patient-care/service-areas/children/areas-of-care/childrens-environmental-health-center/environmental-toxins


Additional Resources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• National Institute of Health Household Products Database
• National Institute of Health Toxtown

Childhood Asthma and How to Combat It

Childhood asthma is a debilitating disease that affects the lungs of young children and can last throughout adulthood.  Childhood asthma can be terrifying; it is also on the rise.

Childhood asthma is now the most common condition in the developed world, and things aren’t getting any better.

The problem is that the lungs are very sensitive organs that eagerly absorb inhaled air to pick up all the oxygen that they can. In the process, lungs also absorb any particles in the air straight into their tissues. You may not be surprised to learn that the air indoors is filled with all kinds of particles that can cause damage to the lung tissue.
High on the list are particles produced from (1)paint and (2)outgassing.
*VOCs and other fume particles are clearly bad news, causing a variety of illnesses throughout the body, but when a baby is raised in a home where there’s a lot of VOCs, its lungs can become permanently weakened.
 VOCs and other fume particles can come from paint, home cleaning products, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, bleach and ammonia (to name a few things).

You may have never heard of outgassing.  Here is some more detail . . . .  one way it happens is when particle board is used to build houses. They release particles (called" exhaling") from inside its fibers into the air. Unfortunately, particle board is put together with truly nasty chemicals like formaldehyde, which have been proven to cause lung damage when they are inhaled.

And before you start blaming these construction chemicals for all the asthma in the world, take a good look at the studies done in Australia and Europe that link childhood asthma to common household cleaners, especially bleach. Window cleaners, air fresheners, and disinfectants were also pinpointed.

If you are worried about your child developing an asthma condition or if they already have asthma you may feel a bit panicky. That is understandable and may be your call to action!

Fortunately there are things you can do to make your home safer and hopefully asthma-free.

First, be extra careful of what chemical cleaners, personal care products and cosmetics you use. When in doubt, always look at the labels. If there’s a warning sign, it’s there for a reason. Stay away from bleach and try using eco-friendly products, stain-fighting enzymes, and ionized water when possible.

Second, use green construction materials wherever possible. VOC-free paints and varnishes are a must. To get rid of the out-gassing effect, try using green particle board instead. This board uses recycled lumber materials and natural resins instead of formaldehyde and other nasty chemicals.

*VOCs  = Volatile Organic Compounds 
For more info on how to go greener and cleaner go here and then after you peruse the info . . . click on "request information" near the top.