Authors of a new study are calling for greater attention on the large amount of evidence that children's brain development is at risk due to common chemicals. The study, Project TENDR: Targeting Environmental NeuroDevelopment Risks was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Chemicals that should be looked into include lead and mercury; organophosphate pesticides used in agriculture and home gardens; phthalates, found in pharmaceuticals, plastics and personal care products; flame retardants known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs); and air pollutants produced by the combustion of wood and fossil fuels. This is according to University of Illinois comparative biosciences professor Susan Schantz, as per a report from Science Daily.
Common chemicals endanger children's brain development, study says https://t.co/9hVavh3H5r
— Mohamed S. Salama (@mssnews4all) July 1, 2016
Common Chemicals Affect Children Of All Ages
The authors of the study said that these common chemicals are harming the brain development of children from the fetus stage and continuing to later years, according to AFP News as posted in Yahoo News. "The human brain develops over a very long period of time, starting in gestation and continuing during childhood and even into early adulthood," Schantz was quoted as saying.
Two chemicals, PBDEs and phthalates, reportedly disrupt the function of the thyroid hormone. This hormone is necessary for healthy brain development in children. There have been studies that some phthalates are associated with deficit in attention, lower IQ and disorderly conduct in children.
Government Action On Chemicals
According to a report from UPI, the authors question the government's method for evaluating scientific evidence about contamination of the environment. The authors have suggested that there needs to be a new framework in evaluating the danger posed by chemicals.
Schantz, a comparative biosciences professor at the University of Illinois, reportedly said that there is no current information on the effect of most chemicals to the brain development of children. "They just haven't been studied. And if it looks like something is a risk, we feel policymakers should be willing to make a decision that this or that chemical could be a bad actor and we need to stop its production or limit its use."
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