Chemicals cited in diseases
Source: Agencies |
February 20, 2013, Wednesday
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MAN-MADE chemicals in everyday products are likely to be at least the partial cause of a global surge in birth deformities, hormonal cancers and psychiatric diseases, a UN-sponsored research team reported yesterday.
These substances, dubbed EDCs, could also be linked to a decline in the human male sperm count and female fertility, to an increase in once-rare childhood cancers and to the disappearance of some animal species, they said.
"It is clear that some of these chemical pollutants can affect the hormonal system and may also interfere with the development processes of humans and wildlife species," they said.
Declaring "a global threat that needs to be resolved," the team said humans and animals across the planet were probably exposed to hundreds of these often little-studied or understood compounds at any one time.
"We live in a world in which man-made chemicals have become part of everyday life," said their 28-page report, "State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, 2012," issued as a policy guide for governments.
EDCs include phthalates long used in making plastics soft and flexible. Products made from them include toys, children's dummies, perfumes and pharmaceuticals, as well as cosmetics like deodorants that are absorbed into the body.
Another is Bisphenol A, or BPA, which is used to harden plastics and is found in food and beverage containers, including some babies' bottles and the coating of food cans.
A few countries, including the United States, Canada and some European Union members, have already banned the use of some of them in certain products, especially those destined for the use of children.
But, the report said, "many hundreds of thousands" are in use around the world and only a small fraction had been assessed for their potential to spark disease by upsetting the hormonal systems of humans and animals.
Such chemicals can be absorbed into drinks and food from the containers they come in.
These substances, dubbed EDCs, could also be linked to a decline in the human male sperm count and female fertility, to an increase in once-rare childhood cancers and to the disappearance of some animal species, they said.
"It is clear that some of these chemical pollutants can affect the hormonal system and may also interfere with the development processes of humans and wildlife species," they said.
Declaring "a global threat that needs to be resolved," the team said humans and animals across the planet were probably exposed to hundreds of these often little-studied or understood compounds at any one time.
"We live in a world in which man-made chemicals have become part of everyday life," said their 28-page report, "State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, 2012," issued as a policy guide for governments.
EDCs include phthalates long used in making plastics soft and flexible. Products made from them include toys, children's dummies, perfumes and pharmaceuticals, as well as cosmetics like deodorants that are absorbed into the body.
Another is Bisphenol A, or BPA, which is used to harden plastics and is found in food and beverage containers, including some babies' bottles and the coating of food cans.
A few countries, including the United States, Canada and some European Union members, have already banned the use of some of them in certain products, especially those destined for the use of children.
But, the report said, "many hundreds of thousands" are in use around the world and only a small fraction had been assessed for their potential to spark disease by upsetting the hormonal systems of humans and animals.
Such chemicals can be absorbed into drinks and food from the containers they come in.
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