Opinion: 'Chemical brain drain' endangers generations of children
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2013/opinion-chemic...
Centuries ago, citizens of the Roman Empire and Japan's Samurai regime suffered
severe lead poisoning. The brains of their children were seriously damaged, and some
scholars say this could have contributed to the downfall of these mighty empires. In
this opinion piece, internationally renowned environmental scientist Philippe
Grandjean writes that today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this
time from a combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. He calls this threat "chemical brain drain." "It is
insidious and silent, as it is usually not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is
serious, as the combined deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of
children, upon whom our future relies," Grandjean writes. "Our knee-jerk demand for
proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way."
ShareThis
Grandjean's studies of childreninthe Faroe Islands, inthe NorthAtlantic, foundreducedlearningabilities in
childrenexposedto mercury in the womb.His work helpedtrigger U.S.healthguidelines formercury infish and
UnitedNationsefforts tocurbmercury pollution.
By Philippe Grandjean
For Environmental Health News
September 13, 2013
According to some scholars, toxic exposures contributed to the collapse of the
Roman Empire. Roman rulers were poisoned by water cisterns and food containers
fashioned from lead. These extreme exposures could have gradually made the
Patrician families deranged and infertile – leaving no competent leaders to run the
Empire. A similar fate seems to have befallen the Samurai regime in Japan. When
bones from a castle burial were analyzed, lead concentrations in the children
suggested severe lead poisoning. With damaged mental abilities, the Samurai
descendants would likely have been incapable of dealing with political crisis, possibly
contributing to the downfall of the Shogunate.
Today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this time from a
combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. The hidden threat that we now face
is what I call chemical brain drain. It is insidious and silent, as it is usually
not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is serious, as the combined
deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of children, upon
whom our future relies.
Only recently has it become clear that the brain is extremely vulnerable,
especially during its development in the womb and during infancy. In my
early career, I encountered some surprises that medical school had not
prepared me for, surprises that were fundamental to our understanding of
the frailty of the human brain. According to the medical tradition, the fetus
is well-protected inside the pregnant mother’s womb. But contrary to this
comforting notion, the placenta allows many toxic chemicals to seep
through, and some of these compounds can damage the brain’s sensitive
developmental processes. The mother may escape unscathed, but for her
child, such damage can be catastrophic.
Our highly sophisticated brains start out as a tiny strip of cells. A couple
of weeks after conception, these cells are ready to multiply. At its peak,
about 12,000 cells are generated every minute – 200 per second. Most do not remain
in the same place, but move to specific locations within the developing brain. Overall,
our brains develop by multiplication, migration, maturation and messaging – complex
steps, each of which has to happen in a specific fashion, in the correct order and at
the right time.
We are beginning to appreciate that this intricate timetable of closely connected
Chemical damage that occurs early on will
and complex processes is very sensitive. If some disruption happens, brain
likely remain throughout our lifespan.
development will be incomplete or abnormal, and there will be little, if any, time
and opportunity for repair. Thus, the final product, our mature brain, will not express the full potentials that we inherited from our
parents. Chemical damage that occurs early on will likely remain throughout our lifespan.
In the United States, one of every six children has a neurodevelopmental delay or a
neurological disease. No one knows how many of those children faced environmental
exposures that contributed to their problems. Chemical brain drain appears as a
silent pandemic that is almost impossible to quantify. Economists have calculated
that the value of lost IQ points in children exposed to chemical brain drainers
worldwide are worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Having studied brain
toxicity for 30 years, I realized that I must speak up. The adverse impacts on
developing brains are serious enough to demand a loud response. In my book Only
One Chance, I conclude: We get only one chance to generate a nervous system, so
developing brains need vigorous protection.
So far, convincing proof
of chemical brain drain
is available for only a
few well-researched
chemicals. The best
documentation
available is for lead
pollution, which has
ruined the lives of
countless children.
While we were slowly
gathering detailed
scientific
documentation, a whole
generation of
Americans, and children
around the world,
suffered loss of brain
Philippe Grandjean
function due to the
Achild in Ecuador undergoesa dexterity test as partof Grandjean's
pollution from our
research that linked impaired motor skills to pesticides.
careless use of lead in gasoline, paint and myriad consumer products. Only when the
scientific evidence became truly overwhelming was a consensus finally reached that
the public should be protected against this brain drainer. We are now discovering
similar evidence about other chemicals, such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), arsenic, some solvents, certain pesticides, and other industrial compounds.
But brain drain is not just a matter of a few annoying substances. When I scrutinized
the scientific and medical literature, I was able to identify more than 200 industrial
chemicals that had caused toxicity to the human brain one way or another, although
mostly in poisonings of adults. Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are probably even more of a threat to young
brains – and at much lower doses. However, to scientifically document this chemical
brain drain, evidence must be collated from meticulous studies of exposed children
as they grow up.
– Unfortunately, our research methods are inefficient tools to obtain the
Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
documentation we desire. Proper proof may take decades to gather for each
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are
individual chemical, one by one. Thus, useful knowledge has been accumulated
probably even more of a threat to young
only for a small number of the thousands of environmental chemicals, and for
brains.
the others, we do not know the potential for causing brain drain. Our knee-jerk
demand for proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way.
In the 1700s, the Duke of the German state of Württemberg decreed capital
punishment for lead poisoning of his citizens. While that is unreasonably harsh, we
need similar courage to act against chemical brain drain. A precautionary approach
to regulating chemicals would seem appropriate. Still, the precautionary principle has
been ridiculed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in statements such as: “It’s
no secret that [ACC doesn’t] think the precautionary principle is either precautionary
or a principle. It’s a blunt instrument being used by a number of organizations to
essentially ban chemicals.” While we should not institute indiscriminate bans on
chemicals, neither should we expose the next generation to likely brain drainers while
we wait for significant damage to be documented.
We must learn from the past. The first confirmation in a rat model that
methylmercury was toxic to the developing brain was published back in
1972. Yet children around the world are still exposed in the womb to
levels of mercury that studies have shown reduce their mental abilities.
We often suffer from “historical amnesia”, our common inability (or
unwillingness) to learn from past experience. Now we have the luxury of
looking back at the narrow-minded (and wrong) decisions that caused
disasters like leaded gasoline, Minamata disease or Morinaga milk
poisoning (arsenic). How will people in 20 years, or in 50, think about our
lax attitude toward pesticides and other brain drainers and our miserable
efforts to protect the brains of the next generation?
We use a specific part of our brains to plan for the future. Because some
chemicals affect very specific brain functions, my recurring nightmare is
that exposures during brain development are reducing our ability to plan
for the future, leaving us unable to prevent even more chemical brain
drain. It’s a vicious circle, and hopefully it is just a nightmare. But to
quote Jonas Salk, “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I’ve
conquered my nightmares because I’ve had dreams.” Protection against
chemical brain drainers should no longer be a dream. We need to make it
happen.
Philippe Grandjean is author of Only One Chance: How
Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development – and
How to Protect the Brains of the Next Generation. He is a
professor and chair of environmental medicine at the
University of Southern Denmark and an adjunct professor of
environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health. He
has spent his career studying how environmental chemicals
affect children's brain development. His studies helped trigger
an international response that led to a United Nations
agreement to control mercury pollution. He has studied
children in the U.S., Denmark and the Faroe Islands, as well as
parts of South America and Asia, and has published about 500
scientific papers on his findings. He blogs at www.chemicalbraindrain.info.
severe lead poisoning. The brains of their children were seriously damaged, and some
scholars say this could have contributed to the downfall of these mighty empires. In
this opinion piece, internationally renowned environmental scientist Philippe
Grandjean writes that today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this
time from a combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. He calls this threat "chemical brain drain." "It is
insidious and silent, as it is usually not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is
serious, as the combined deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of
children, upon whom our future relies," Grandjean writes. "Our knee-jerk demand for
proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way."
ShareThis
Grandjean's studies of childreninthe Faroe Islands, inthe NorthAtlantic, foundreducedlearningabilities in
childrenexposedto mercury in the womb.His work helpedtrigger U.S.healthguidelines formercury infish and
UnitedNationsefforts tocurbmercury pollution.
By Philippe Grandjean
For Environmental Health News
September 13, 2013
According to some scholars, toxic exposures contributed to the collapse of the
Roman Empire. Roman rulers were poisoned by water cisterns and food containers
fashioned from lead. These extreme exposures could have gradually made the
Patrician families deranged and infertile – leaving no competent leaders to run the
Empire. A similar fate seems to have befallen the Samurai regime in Japan. When
bones from a castle burial were analyzed, lead concentrations in the children
suggested severe lead poisoning. With damaged mental abilities, the Samurai
descendants would likely have been incapable of dealing with political crisis, possibly
contributing to the downfall of the Shogunate.
Today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this time from a
combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. The hidden threat that we now face
is what I call chemical brain drain. It is insidious and silent, as it is usually
not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is serious, as the combined
deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of children, upon
whom our future relies.
Only recently has it become clear that the brain is extremely vulnerable,
especially during its development in the womb and during infancy. In my
early career, I encountered some surprises that medical school had not
prepared me for, surprises that were fundamental to our understanding of
the frailty of the human brain. According to the medical tradition, the fetus
is well-protected inside the pregnant mother’s womb. But contrary to this
comforting notion, the placenta allows many toxic chemicals to seep
through, and some of these compounds can damage the brain’s sensitive
developmental processes. The mother may escape unscathed, but for her
child, such damage can be catastrophic.
Our highly sophisticated brains start out as a tiny strip of cells. A couple
of weeks after conception, these cells are ready to multiply. At its peak,
about 12,000 cells are generated every minute – 200 per second. Most do not remain
in the same place, but move to specific locations within the developing brain. Overall,
our brains develop by multiplication, migration, maturation and messaging – complex
steps, each of which has to happen in a specific fashion, in the correct order and at
the right time.
We are beginning to appreciate that this intricate timetable of closely connected
Chemical damage that occurs early on will
and complex processes is very sensitive. If some disruption happens, brain
likely remain throughout our lifespan.
development will be incomplete or abnormal, and there will be little, if any, time
and opportunity for repair. Thus, the final product, our mature brain, will not express the full potentials that we inherited from our
parents. Chemical damage that occurs early on will likely remain throughout our lifespan.
In the United States, one of every six children has a neurodevelopmental delay or a
neurological disease. No one knows how many of those children faced environmental
exposures that contributed to their problems. Chemical brain drain appears as a
silent pandemic that is almost impossible to quantify. Economists have calculated
that the value of lost IQ points in children exposed to chemical brain drainers
worldwide are worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Having studied brain
toxicity for 30 years, I realized that I must speak up. The adverse impacts on
developing brains are serious enough to demand a loud response. In my book Only
One Chance, I conclude: We get only one chance to generate a nervous system, so
developing brains need vigorous protection.
So far, convincing proof
of chemical brain drain
is available for only a
few well-researched
chemicals. The best
documentation
available is for lead
pollution, which has
ruined the lives of
countless children.
While we were slowly
gathering detailed
scientific
documentation, a whole
generation of
Americans, and children
around the world,
suffered loss of brain
Philippe Grandjean
function due to the
Achild in Ecuador undergoesa dexterity test as partof Grandjean's
pollution from our
research that linked impaired motor skills to pesticides.
careless use of lead in gasoline, paint and myriad consumer products. Only when the
scientific evidence became truly overwhelming was a consensus finally reached that
the public should be protected against this brain drainer. We are now discovering
similar evidence about other chemicals, such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), arsenic, some solvents, certain pesticides, and other industrial compounds.
But brain drain is not just a matter of a few annoying substances. When I scrutinized
the scientific and medical literature, I was able to identify more than 200 industrial
chemicals that had caused toxicity to the human brain one way or another, although
mostly in poisonings of adults. Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are probably even more of a threat to young
brains – and at much lower doses. However, to scientifically document this chemical
brain drain, evidence must be collated from meticulous studies of exposed children
as they grow up.
– Unfortunately, our research methods are inefficient tools to obtain the
Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
documentation we desire. Proper proof may take decades to gather for each
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are
individual chemical, one by one. Thus, useful knowledge has been accumulated
probably even more of a threat to young
only for a small number of the thousands of environmental chemicals, and for
brains.
the others, we do not know the potential for causing brain drain. Our knee-jerk
demand for proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way.
In the 1700s, the Duke of the German state of Württemberg decreed capital
punishment for lead poisoning of his citizens. While that is unreasonably harsh, we
need similar courage to act against chemical brain drain. A precautionary approach
to regulating chemicals would seem appropriate. Still, the precautionary principle has
been ridiculed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in statements such as: “It’s
no secret that [ACC doesn’t] think the precautionary principle is either precautionary
or a principle. It’s a blunt instrument being used by a number of organizations to
essentially ban chemicals.” While we should not institute indiscriminate bans on
chemicals, neither should we expose the next generation to likely brain drainers while
we wait for significant damage to be documented.
We must learn from the past. The first confirmation in a rat model that
methylmercury was toxic to the developing brain was published back in
1972. Yet children around the world are still exposed in the womb to
levels of mercury that studies have shown reduce their mental abilities.
We often suffer from “historical amnesia”, our common inability (or
unwillingness) to learn from past experience. Now we have the luxury of
looking back at the narrow-minded (and wrong) decisions that caused
disasters like leaded gasoline, Minamata disease or Morinaga milk
poisoning (arsenic). How will people in 20 years, or in 50, think about our
lax attitude toward pesticides and other brain drainers and our miserable
efforts to protect the brains of the next generation?
We use a specific part of our brains to plan for the future. Because some
chemicals affect very specific brain functions, my recurring nightmare is
that exposures during brain development are reducing our ability to plan
for the future, leaving us unable to prevent even more chemical brain
drain. It’s a vicious circle, and hopefully it is just a nightmare. But to
quote Jonas Salk, “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I’ve
conquered my nightmares because I’ve had dreams.” Protection against
chemical brain drainers should no longer be a dream. We need to make it
happen.
Philippe Grandjean is author of Only One Chance: How
Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development – and
How to Protect the Brains of the Next Generation. He is a
professor and chair of environmental medicine at the
University of Southern Denmark and an adjunct professor of
environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health. He
has spent his career studying how environmental chemicals
affect children's brain development. His studies helped trigger
an international response that led to a United Nations
agreement to control mercury pollution. He has studied
children in the U.S., Denmark and the Faroe Islands, as well as
parts of South America and Asia, and has published about 500
scientific papers on his findings. He blogs at www.chemicalbraindrain.info.
Centuries ago, citizens of the Roman Empire and Japan's Samurai regime suffered
severe lead poisoning. The brains of their children were seriously damaged, and some
scholars say this could have contributed to the downfall of these mighty empires. In
this opinion piece, internationally renowned environmental scientist Philippe
Grandjean writes that today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this
time from a combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. He calls this threat "chemical brain drain." "It is
insidious and silent, as it is usually not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is
serious, as the combined deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of
children, upon whom our future relies," Grandjean writes. "Our knee-jerk demand for
proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way."
ShareThis
Grandjean's studies of childreninthe Faroe Islands, inthe NorthAtlantic, foundreducedlearningabilities in
childrenexposedto mercury in the womb.His work helpedtrigger U.S.healthguidelines formercury infish and
UnitedNationsefforts tocurbmercury pollution.
By Philippe Grandjean
For Environmental Health News
September 13, 2013
According to some scholars, toxic exposures contributed to the collapse of the
Roman Empire. Roman rulers were poisoned by water cisterns and food containers
fashioned from lead. These extreme exposures could have gradually made the
Patrician families deranged and infertile – leaving no competent leaders to run the
Empire. A similar fate seems to have befallen the Samurai regime in Japan. When
bones from a castle burial were analyzed, lead concentrations in the children
suggested severe lead poisoning. With damaged mental abilities, the Samurai
descendants would likely have been incapable of dealing with political crisis, possibly
contributing to the downfall of the Shogunate.
Today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this time from a
combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. The hidden threat that we now face
is what I call chemical brain drain. It is insidious and silent, as it is usually
not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is serious, as the combined
deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of children, upon
whom our future relies.
Only recently has it become clear that the brain is extremely vulnerable,
especially during its development in the womb and during infancy. In my
early career, I encountered some surprises that medical school had not
prepared me for, surprises that were fundamental to our understanding of
the frailty of the human brain. According to the medical tradition, the fetus
is well-protected inside the pregnant mother’s womb. But contrary to this
comforting notion, the placenta allows many toxic chemicals to seep
through, and some of these compounds can damage the brain’s sensitive
developmental processes. The mother may escape unscathed, but for her
child, such damage can be catastrophic.
Our highly sophisticated brains start out as a tiny strip of cells. A couple
of weeks after conception, these cells are ready to multiply. At its peak,
about 12,000 cells are generated every minute – 200 per second. Most do not remain
in the same place, but move to specific locations within the developing brain. Overall,
our brains develop by multiplication, migration, maturation and messaging – complex
steps, each of which has to happen in a specific fashion, in the correct order and at
the right time.
We are beginning to appreciate that this intricate timetable of closely connected
Chemical damage that occurs early on will
and complex processes is very sensitive. If some disruption happens, brain
likely remain throughout our lifespan.
development will be incomplete or abnormal, and there will be little, if any, time
and opportunity for repair. Thus, the final product, our mature brain, will not express the full potentials that we inherited from our
parents. Chemical damage that occurs early on will likely remain throughout our lifespan.
In the United States, one of every six children has a neurodevelopmental delay or a
neurological disease. No one knows how many of those children faced environmental
exposures that contributed to their problems. Chemical brain drain appears as a
silent pandemic that is almost impossible to quantify. Economists have calculated
that the value of lost IQ points in children exposed to chemical brain drainers
worldwide are worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Having studied brain
toxicity for 30 years, I realized that I must speak up. The adverse impacts on
developing brains are serious enough to demand a loud response. In my book Only
One Chance, I conclude: We get only one chance to generate a nervous system, so
developing brains need vigorous protection.
So far, convincing proof
of chemical brain drain
is available for only a
few well-researched
chemicals. The best
documentation
available is for lead
pollution, which has
ruined the lives of
countless children.
While we were slowly
gathering detailed
scientific
documentation, a whole
generation of
Americans, and children
around the world,
suffered loss of brain
Philippe Grandjean
function due to the
Achild in Ecuador undergoesa dexterity test as partof Grandjean's
pollution from our
research that linked impaired motor skills to pesticides.
careless use of lead in gasoline, paint and myriad consumer products. Only when the
scientific evidence became truly overwhelming was a consensus finally reached that
the public should be protected against this brain drainer. We are now discovering
similar evidence about other chemicals, such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), arsenic, some solvents, certain pesticides, and other industrial compounds.
But brain drain is not just a matter of a few annoying substances. When I scrutinized
the scientific and medical literature, I was able to identify more than 200 industrial
chemicals that had caused toxicity to the human brain one way or another, although
mostly in poisonings of adults. Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are probably even more of a threat to young
brains – and at much lower doses. However, to scientifically document this chemical
brain drain, evidence must be collated from meticulous studies of exposed children
as they grow up.
– Unfortunately, our research methods are inefficient tools to obtain the
Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
documentation we desire. Proper proof may take decades to gather for each
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are
individual chemical, one by one. Thus, useful knowledge has been accumulated
probably even more of a threat to young
only for a small number of the thousands of environmental chemicals, and for
brains.
the others, we do not know the potential for causing brain drain. Our knee-jerk
demand for proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way.
In the 1700s, the Duke of the German state of Württemberg decreed capital
punishment for lead poisoning of his citizens. While that is unreasonably harsh, we
need similar courage to act against chemical brain drain. A precautionary approach
to regulating chemicals would seem appropriate. Still, the precautionary principle has
been ridiculed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in statements such as: “It’s
no secret that [ACC doesn’t] think the precautionary principle is either precautionary
or a principle. It’s a blunt instrument being used by a number of organizations to
essentially ban chemicals.” While we should not institute indiscriminate bans on
chemicals, neither should we expose the next generation to likely brain drainers while
we wait for significant damage to be documented.
We must learn from the past. The first confirmation in a rat model that
methylmercury was toxic to the developing brain was published back in
1972. Yet children around the world are still exposed in the womb to
levels of mercury that studies have shown reduce their mental abilities.
We often suffer from “historical amnesia”, our common inability (or
unwillingness) to learn from past experience. Now we have the luxury of
looking back at the narrow-minded (and wrong) decisions that caused
disasters like leaded gasoline, Minamata disease or Morinaga milk
poisoning (arsenic). How will people in 20 years, or in 50, think about our
lax attitude toward pesticides and other brain drainers and our miserable
efforts to protect the brains of the next generation?
We use a specific part of our brains to plan for the future. Because some
chemicals affect very specific brain functions, my recurring nightmare is
that exposures during brain development are reducing our ability to plan
for the future, leaving us unable to prevent even more chemical brain
drain. It’s a vicious circle, and hopefully it is just a nightmare. But to
quote Jonas Salk, “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I’ve
conquered my nightmares because I’ve had dreams.” Protection against
chemical brain drainers should no longer be a dream. We need to make it
happen.
Philippe Grandjean is author of Only One Chance: How
Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development – and
How to Protect the Brains of the Next Generation. He is a
professor and chair of environmental medicine at the
University of Southern Denmark and an adjunct professor of
environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health. He
has spent his career studying how environmental chemicals
affect children's brain development. His studies helped trigger
an international response that led to a United Nations
agreement to control mercury pollution. He has studied
children in the U.S., Denmark and the Faroe Islands, as well as
parts of South America and Asia, and has published about 500
scientific papers on his findings. He blogs at www.chemicalbraindrain.info.
Centuries ago, citizens of the Roman Empire and Japan's Samurai regime suffered
severe lead poisoning. The brains of their children were seriously damaged, and some
scholars say this could have contributed to the downfall of these mighty empires. In
this opinion piece, internationally renowned environmental scientist Philippe
Grandjean writes that today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this
time from a combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. He calls this threat "chemical brain drain." "It is
insidious and silent, as it is usually not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is
serious, as the combined deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of
children, upon whom our future relies," Grandjean writes. "Our knee-jerk demand for
proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way."
ShareThis
Grandjean's studies of childreninthe Faroe Islands, inthe NorthAtlantic, foundreducedlearningabilities in
childrenexposedto mercury in the womb.His work helpedtrigger U.S.healthguidelines formercury infish and
UnitedNationsefforts tocurbmercury pollution.
By Philippe Grandjean
For Environmental Health News
September 13, 2013
According to some scholars, toxic exposures contributed to the collapse of the
Roman Empire. Roman rulers were poisoned by water cisterns and food containers
fashioned from lead. These extreme exposures could have gradually made the
Patrician families deranged and infertile – leaving no competent leaders to run the
Empire. A similar fate seems to have befallen the Samurai regime in Japan. When
bones from a castle burial were analyzed, lead concentrations in the children
suggested severe lead poisoning. With damaged mental abilities, the Samurai
descendants would likely have been incapable of dealing with political crisis, possibly
contributing to the downfall of the Shogunate.
Today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this time from a
combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. The hidden threat that we now face
is what I call chemical brain drain. It is insidious and silent, as it is usually
not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is serious, as the combined
deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of children, upon
whom our future relies.
Only recently has it become clear that the brain is extremely vulnerable,
especially during its development in the womb and during infancy. In my
early career, I encountered some surprises that medical school had not
prepared me for, surprises that were fundamental to our understanding of
the frailty of the human brain. According to the medical tradition, the fetus
is well-protected inside the pregnant mother’s womb. But contrary to this
comforting notion, the placenta allows many toxic chemicals to seep
through, and some of these compounds can damage the brain’s sensitive
developmental processes. The mother may escape unscathed, but for her
child, such damage can be catastrophic.
Our highly sophisticated brains start out as a tiny strip of cells. A couple
of weeks after conception, these cells are ready to multiply. At its peak,
about 12,000 cells are generated every minute – 200 per second. Most do not remain
in the same place, but move to specific locations within the developing brain. Overall,
our brains develop by multiplication, migration, maturation and messaging – complex
steps, each of which has to happen in a specific fashion, in the correct order and at
the right time.
We are beginning to appreciate that this intricate timetable of closely connected
Chemical damage that occurs early on will
and complex processes is very sensitive. If some disruption happens, brain
likely remain throughout our lifespan.
development will be incomplete or abnormal, and there will be little, if any, time
and opportunity for repair. Thus, the final product, our mature brain, will not express the full potentials that we inherited from our
parents. Chemical damage that occurs early on will likely remain throughout our lifespan.
In the United States, one of every six children has a neurodevelopmental delay or a
neurological disease. No one knows how many of those children faced environmental
exposures that contributed to their problems. Chemical brain drain appears as a
silent pandemic that is almost impossible to quantify. Economists have calculated
that the value of lost IQ points in children exposed to chemical brain drainers
worldwide are worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Having studied brain
toxicity for 30 years, I realized that I must speak up. The adverse impacts on
developing brains are serious enough to demand a loud response. In my book Only
One Chance, I conclude: We get only one chance to generate a nervous system, so
developing brains need vigorous protection.
So far, convincing proof
of chemical brain drain
is available for only a
few well-researched
chemicals. The best
documentation
available is for lead
pollution, which has
ruined the lives of
countless children.
While we were slowly
gathering detailed
scientific
documentation, a whole
generation of
Americans, and children
around the world,
suffered loss of brain
Philippe Grandjean
function due to the
Achild in Ecuador undergoesa dexterity test as partof Grandjean's
pollution from our
research that linked impaired motor skills to pesticides.
careless use of lead in gasoline, paint and myriad consumer products. Only when the
scientific evidence became truly overwhelming was a consensus finally reached that
the public should be protected against this brain drainer. We are now discovering
similar evidence about other chemicals, such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), arsenic, some solvents, certain pesticides, and other industrial compounds.
But brain drain is not just a matter of a few annoying substances. When I scrutinized
the scientific and medical literature, I was able to identify more than 200 industrial
chemicals that had caused toxicity to the human brain one way or another, although
mostly in poisonings of adults. Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are probably even more of a threat to young
brains – and at much lower doses. However, to scientifically document this chemical
brain drain, evidence must be collated from meticulous studies of exposed children
as they grow up.
– Unfortunately, our research methods are inefficient tools to obtain the
Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
documentation we desire. Proper proof may take decades to gather for each
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are
individual chemical, one by one. Thus, useful knowledge has been accumulated
probably even more of a threat to young
only for a small number of the thousands of environmental chemicals, and for
brains.
the others, we do not know the potential for causing brain drain. Our knee-jerk
demand for proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way.
In the 1700s, the Duke of the German state of Württemberg decreed capital
punishment for lead poisoning of his citizens. While that is unreasonably harsh, we
need similar courage to act against chemical brain drain. A precautionary approach
to regulating chemicals would seem appropriate. Still, the precautionary principle has
been ridiculed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in statements such as: “It’s
no secret that [ACC doesn’t] think the precautionary principle is either precautionary
or a principle. It’s a blunt instrument being used by a number of organizations to
essentially ban chemicals.” While we should not institute indiscriminate bans on
chemicals, neither should we expose the next generation to likely brain drainers while
we wait for significant damage to be documented.
We must learn from the past. The first confirmation in a rat model that
methylmercury was toxic to the developing brain was published back in
1972. Yet children around the world are still exposed in the womb to
levels of mercury that studies have shown reduce their mental abilities.
We often suffer from “historical amnesia”, our common inability (or
unwillingness) to learn from past experience. Now we have the luxury of
looking back at the narrow-minded (and wrong) decisions that caused
disasters like leaded gasoline, Minamata disease or Morinaga milk
poisoning (arsenic). How will people in 20 years, or in 50, think about our
lax attitude toward pesticides and other brain drainers and our miserable
efforts to protect the brains of the next generation?
We use a specific part of our brains to plan for the future. Because some
chemicals affect very specific brain functions, my recurring nightmare is
that exposures during brain development are reducing our ability to plan
for the future, leaving us unable to prevent even more chemical brain
drain. It’s a vicious circle, and hopefully it is just a nightmare. But to
quote Jonas Salk, “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I’ve
conquered my nightmares because I’ve had dreams.” Protection against
chemical brain drainers should no longer be a dream. We need to make it
happen.
Philippe Grandjean is author of Only One Chance: How
Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development – and
How to Protect the Brains of the Next Generation. He is a
professor and chair of environmental medicine at the
University of Southern Denmark and an adjunct professor of
environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health. He
has spent his career studying how environmental chemicals
affect children's brain development. His studies helped trigger
an international response that led to a United Nations
agreement to control mercury pollution. He has studied
children in the U.S., Denmark and the Faroe Islands, as well as
parts of South America and Asia, and has published about 500
scientific papers on his findings. He blogs at www.chemicalbraindrain.info.
Centuries ago, citizens of the Roman Empire and Japan's Samurai regime suffered
severe lead poisoning. The brains of their children were seriously damaged, and some
scholars say this could have contributed to the downfall of these mighty empires. In
this opinion piece, internationally renowned environmental scientist Philippe
Grandjean writes that today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this
time from a combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. He calls this threat "chemical brain drain." "It is
insidious and silent, as it is usually not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is
serious, as the combined deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of
children, upon whom our future relies," Grandjean writes. "Our knee-jerk demand for
proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way."
ShareThis
Grandjean's studies of childreninthe Faroe Islands, inthe NorthAtlantic, foundreducedlearningabilities in
childrenexposedto mercury in the womb.His work helpedtrigger U.S.healthguidelines formercury infish and
UnitedNationsefforts tocurbmercury pollution.
By Philippe Grandjean
For Environmental Health News
September 13, 2013
According to some scholars, toxic exposures contributed to the collapse of the
Roman Empire. Roman rulers were poisoned by water cisterns and food containers
fashioned from lead. These extreme exposures could have gradually made the
Patrician families deranged and infertile – leaving no competent leaders to run the
Empire. A similar fate seems to have befallen the Samurai regime in Japan. When
bones from a castle burial were analyzed, lead concentrations in the children
suggested severe lead poisoning. With damaged mental abilities, the Samurai
descendants would likely have been incapable of dealing with political crisis, possibly
contributing to the downfall of the Shogunate.
Today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this time from a
combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. The hidden threat that we now face
is what I call chemical brain drain. It is insidious and silent, as it is usually
not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is serious, as the combined
deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of children, upon
whom our future relies.
Only recently has it become clear that the brain is extremely vulnerable,
especially during its development in the womb and during infancy. In my
early career, I encountered some surprises that medical school had not
prepared me for, surprises that were fundamental to our understanding of
the frailty of the human brain. According to the medical tradition, the fetus
is well-protected inside the pregnant mother’s womb. But contrary to this
comforting notion, the placenta allows many toxic chemicals to seep
through, and some of these compounds can damage the brain’s sensitive
developmental processes. The mother may escape unscathed, but for her
child, such damage can be catastrophic.
Our highly sophisticated brains start out as a tiny strip of cells. A couple
of weeks after conception, these cells are ready to multiply. At its peak,
about 12,000 cells are generated every minute – 200 per second. Most do not remain
in the same place, but move to specific locations within the developing brain. Overall,
our brains develop by multiplication, migration, maturation and messaging – complex
steps, each of which has to happen in a specific fashion, in the correct order and at
the right time.
We are beginning to appreciate that this intricate timetable of closely connected
Chemical damage that occurs early on will
and complex processes is very sensitive. If some disruption happens, brain
likely remain throughout our lifespan.
development will be incomplete or abnormal, and there will be little, if any, time
and opportunity for repair. Thus, the final product, our mature brain, will not express the full potentials that we inherited from our
parents. Chemical damage that occurs early on will likely remain throughout our lifespan.
In the United States, one of every six children has a neurodevelopmental delay or a
neurological disease. No one knows how many of those children faced environmental
exposures that contributed to their problems. Chemical brain drain appears as a
silent pandemic that is almost impossible to quantify. Economists have calculated
that the value of lost IQ points in children exposed to chemical brain drainers
worldwide are worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Having studied brain
toxicity for 30 years, I realized that I must speak up. The adverse impacts on
developing brains are serious enough to demand a loud response. In my book Only
One Chance, I conclude: We get only one chance to generate a nervous system, so
developing brains need vigorous protection.
So far, convincing proof
of chemical brain drain
is available for only a
few well-researched
chemicals. The best
documentation
available is for lead
pollution, which has
ruined the lives of
countless children.
While we were slowly
gathering detailed
scientific
documentation, a whole
generation of
Americans, and children
around the world,
suffered loss of brain
Philippe Grandjean
function due to the
Achild in Ecuador undergoesa dexterity test as partof Grandjean's
pollution from our
research that linked impaired motor skills to pesticides.
careless use of lead in gasoline, paint and myriad consumer products. Only when the
scientific evidence became truly overwhelming was a consensus finally reached that
the public should be protected against this brain drainer. We are now discovering
similar evidence about other chemicals, such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), arsenic, some solvents, certain pesticides, and other industrial compounds.
But brain drain is not just a matter of a few annoying substances. When I scrutinized
the scientific and medical literature, I was able to identify more than 200 industrial
chemicals that had caused toxicity to the human brain one way or another, although
mostly in poisonings of adults. Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are probably even more of a threat to young
brains – and at much lower doses. However, to scientifically document this chemical
brain drain, evidence must be collated from meticulous studies of exposed children
as they grow up.
– Unfortunately, our research methods are inefficient tools to obtain the
Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
documentation we desire. Proper proof may take decades to gather for each
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are
individual chemical, one by one. Thus, useful knowledge has been accumulated
probably even more of a threat to young
only for a small number of the thousands of environmental chemicals, and for
brains.
the others, we do not know the potential for causing brain drain. Our knee-jerk
demand for proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way.
In the 1700s, the Duke of the German state of Württemberg decreed capital
punishment for lead poisoning of his citizens. While that is unreasonably harsh, we
need similar courage to act against chemical brain drain. A precautionary approach
to regulating chemicals would seem appropriate. Still, the precautionary principle has
been ridiculed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in statements such as: “It’s
no secret that [ACC doesn’t] think the precautionary principle is either precautionary
or a principle. It’s a blunt instrument being used by a number of organizations to
essentially ban chemicals.” While we should not institute indiscriminate bans on
chemicals, neither should we expose the next generation to likely brain drainers while
we wait for significant damage to be documented.
We must learn from the past. The first confirmation in a rat model that
methylmercury was toxic to the developing brain was published back in
1972. Yet children around the world are still exposed in the womb to
levels of mercury that studies have shown reduce their mental abilities.
We often suffer from “historical amnesia”, our common inability (or
unwillingness) to learn from past experience. Now we have the luxury of
looking back at the narrow-minded (and wrong) decisions that caused
disasters like leaded gasoline, Minamata disease or Morinaga milk
poisoning (arsenic). How will people in 20 years, or in 50, think about our
lax attitude toward pesticides and other brain drainers and our miserable
efforts to protect the brains of the next generation?
We use a specific part of our brains to plan for the future. Because some
chemicals affect very specific brain functions, my recurring nightmare is
that exposures during brain development are reducing our ability to plan
for the future, leaving us unable to prevent even more chemical brain
drain. It’s a vicious circle, and hopefully it is just a nightmare. But to
quote Jonas Salk, “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I’ve
conquered my nightmares because I’ve had dreams.” Protection against
chemical brain drainers should no longer be a dream. We need to make it
happen.
Philippe Grandjean is author of Only One Chance: How
Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development – and
How to Protect the Brains of the Next Generation. He is a
professor and chair of environmental medicine at the
University of Southern Denmark and an adjunct professor of
environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health. He
has spent his career studying how environmental chemicals
affect children's brain development. His studies helped trigger
an international response that led to a United Nations
agreement to control mercury pollution. He has studied
children in the U.S., Denmark and the Faroe Islands, as well as
parts of South America and Asia, and has published about 500
scientific papers on his findings. He blogs at www.chemicalbraindrain.info.
severe lead poisoning. The brains of their children were seriously damaged, and some
scholars say this could have contributed to the downfall of these mighty empires. In
this opinion piece, internationally renowned environmental scientist Philippe
Grandjean writes that today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this
time from a combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. He calls this threat "chemical brain drain." "It is
insidious and silent, as it is usually not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is
serious, as the combined deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of
children, upon whom our future relies," Grandjean writes. "Our knee-jerk demand for
proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way."
ShareThis
Grandjean's studies of childreninthe Faroe Islands, inthe NorthAtlantic, foundreducedlearningabilities in
childrenexposedto mercury in the womb.His work helpedtrigger U.S.healthguidelines formercury infish and
UnitedNationsefforts tocurbmercury pollution.
By Philippe Grandjean
For Environmental Health News
September 13, 2013
According to some scholars, toxic exposures contributed to the collapse of the
Roman Empire. Roman rulers were poisoned by water cisterns and food containers
fashioned from lead. These extreme exposures could have gradually made the
Patrician families deranged and infertile – leaving no competent leaders to run the
Empire. A similar fate seems to have befallen the Samurai regime in Japan. When
bones from a castle burial were analyzed, lead concentrations in the children
suggested severe lead poisoning. With damaged mental abilities, the Samurai
descendants would likely have been incapable of dealing with political crisis, possibly
contributing to the downfall of the Shogunate.
Today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this time from a
combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. The hidden threat that we now face
is what I call chemical brain drain. It is insidious and silent, as it is usually
not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is serious, as the combined
deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of children, upon
whom our future relies.
Only recently has it become clear that the brain is extremely vulnerable,
especially during its development in the womb and during infancy. In my
early career, I encountered some surprises that medical school had not
prepared me for, surprises that were fundamental to our understanding of
the frailty of the human brain. According to the medical tradition, the fetus
is well-protected inside the pregnant mother’s womb. But contrary to this
comforting notion, the placenta allows many toxic chemicals to seep
through, and some of these compounds can damage the brain’s sensitive
developmental processes. The mother may escape unscathed, but for her
child, such damage can be catastrophic.
Our highly sophisticated brains start out as a tiny strip of cells. A couple
of weeks after conception, these cells are ready to multiply. At its peak,
about 12,000 cells are generated every minute – 200 per second. Most do not remain
in the same place, but move to specific locations within the developing brain. Overall,
our brains develop by multiplication, migration, maturation and messaging – complex
steps, each of which has to happen in a specific fashion, in the correct order and at
the right time.
We are beginning to appreciate that this intricate timetable of closely connected
Chemical damage that occurs early on will
and complex processes is very sensitive. If some disruption happens, brain
likely remain throughout our lifespan.
development will be incomplete or abnormal, and there will be little, if any, time
and opportunity for repair. Thus, the final product, our mature brain, will not express the full potentials that we inherited from our
parents. Chemical damage that occurs early on will likely remain throughout our lifespan.
In the United States, one of every six children has a neurodevelopmental delay or a
neurological disease. No one knows how many of those children faced environmental
exposures that contributed to their problems. Chemical brain drain appears as a
silent pandemic that is almost impossible to quantify. Economists have calculated
that the value of lost IQ points in children exposed to chemical brain drainers
worldwide are worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Having studied brain
toxicity for 30 years, I realized that I must speak up. The adverse impacts on
developing brains are serious enough to demand a loud response. In my book Only
One Chance, I conclude: We get only one chance to generate a nervous system, so
developing brains need vigorous protection.
So far, convincing proof
of chemical brain drain
is available for only a
few well-researched
chemicals. The best
documentation
available is for lead
pollution, which has
ruined the lives of
countless children.
While we were slowly
gathering detailed
scientific
documentation, a whole
generation of
Americans, and children
around the world,
suffered loss of brain
Philippe Grandjean
function due to the
Achild in Ecuador undergoesa dexterity test as partof Grandjean's
pollution from our
research that linked impaired motor skills to pesticides.
careless use of lead in gasoline, paint and myriad consumer products. Only when the
scientific evidence became truly overwhelming was a consensus finally reached that
the public should be protected against this brain drainer. We are now discovering
similar evidence about other chemicals, such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), arsenic, some solvents, certain pesticides, and other industrial compounds.
But brain drain is not just a matter of a few annoying substances. When I scrutinized
the scientific and medical literature, I was able to identify more than 200 industrial
chemicals that had caused toxicity to the human brain one way or another, although
mostly in poisonings of adults. Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are probably even more of a threat to young
brains – and at much lower doses. However, to scientifically document this chemical
brain drain, evidence must be collated from meticulous studies of exposed children
as they grow up.
– Unfortunately, our research methods are inefficient tools to obtain the
Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
documentation we desire. Proper proof may take decades to gather for each
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are
individual chemical, one by one. Thus, useful knowledge has been accumulated
probably even more of a threat to young
only for a small number of the thousands of environmental chemicals, and for
brains.
the others, we do not know the potential for causing brain drain. Our knee-jerk
demand for proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way.
In the 1700s, the Duke of the German state of Württemberg decreed capital
punishment for lead poisoning of his citizens. While that is unreasonably harsh, we
need similar courage to act against chemical brain drain. A precautionary approach
to regulating chemicals would seem appropriate. Still, the precautionary principle has
been ridiculed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in statements such as: “It’s
no secret that [ACC doesn’t] think the precautionary principle is either precautionary
or a principle. It’s a blunt instrument being used by a number of organizations to
essentially ban chemicals.” While we should not institute indiscriminate bans on
chemicals, neither should we expose the next generation to likely brain drainers while
we wait for significant damage to be documented.
We must learn from the past. The first confirmation in a rat model that
methylmercury was toxic to the developing brain was published back in
1972. Yet children around the world are still exposed in the womb to
levels of mercury that studies have shown reduce their mental abilities.
We often suffer from “historical amnesia”, our common inability (or
unwillingness) to learn from past experience. Now we have the luxury of
looking back at the narrow-minded (and wrong) decisions that caused
disasters like leaded gasoline, Minamata disease or Morinaga milk
poisoning (arsenic). How will people in 20 years, or in 50, think about our
lax attitude toward pesticides and other brain drainers and our miserable
efforts to protect the brains of the next generation?
We use a specific part of our brains to plan for the future. Because some
chemicals affect very specific brain functions, my recurring nightmare is
that exposures during brain development are reducing our ability to plan
for the future, leaving us unable to prevent even more chemical brain
drain. It’s a vicious circle, and hopefully it is just a nightmare. But to
quote Jonas Salk, “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I’ve
conquered my nightmares because I’ve had dreams.” Protection against
chemical brain drainers should no longer be a dream. We need to make it
happen.
Philippe Grandjean is author of Only One Chance: How
Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development – and
How to Protect the Brains of the Next Generation. He is a
professor and chair of environmental medicine at the
University of Southern Denmark and an adjunct professor of
environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health. He
has spent his career studying how environmental chemicals
affect children's brain development. His studies helped trigger
an international response that led to a United Nations
agreement to control mercury pollution. He has studied
children in the U.S., Denmark and the Faroe Islands, as well as
parts of South America and Asia, and has published about 500
scientific papers on his findings. He blogs at www.chemicalbraindrain.info.
Centuries ago, citizens of the Roman Empire and Japan's Samurai regime suffered
severe lead poisoning. The brains of their children were seriously damaged, and some
scholars say this could have contributed to the downfall of these mighty empires. In
this opinion piece, internationally renowned environmental scientist Philippe
Grandjean writes that today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this
time from a combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. He calls this threat "chemical brain drain." "It is
insidious and silent, as it is usually not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is
serious, as the combined deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of
children, upon whom our future relies," Grandjean writes. "Our knee-jerk demand for
proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way."
ShareThis
Grandjean's studies of childreninthe Faroe Islands, inthe NorthAtlantic, foundreducedlearningabilities in
childrenexposedto mercury in the womb.His work helpedtrigger U.S.healthguidelines formercury infish and
UnitedNationsefforts tocurbmercury pollution.
By Philippe Grandjean
For Environmental Health News
September 13, 2013
According to some scholars, toxic exposures contributed to the collapse of the
Roman Empire. Roman rulers were poisoned by water cisterns and food containers
fashioned from lead. These extreme exposures could have gradually made the
Patrician families deranged and infertile – leaving no competent leaders to run the
Empire. A similar fate seems to have befallen the Samurai regime in Japan. When
bones from a castle burial were analyzed, lead concentrations in the children
suggested severe lead poisoning. With damaged mental abilities, the Samurai
descendants would likely have been incapable of dealing with political crisis, possibly
contributing to the downfall of the Shogunate.
Today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this time from a
combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. The hidden threat that we now face
is what I call chemical brain drain. It is insidious and silent, as it is usually
not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is serious, as the combined
deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of children, upon
whom our future relies.
Only recently has it become clear that the brain is extremely vulnerable,
especially during its development in the womb and during infancy. In my
early career, I encountered some surprises that medical school had not
prepared me for, surprises that were fundamental to our understanding of
the frailty of the human brain. According to the medical tradition, the fetus
is well-protected inside the pregnant mother’s womb. But contrary to this
comforting notion, the placenta allows many toxic chemicals to seep
through, and some of these compounds can damage the brain’s sensitive
developmental processes. The mother may escape unscathed, but for her
child, such damage can be catastrophic.
Our highly sophisticated brains start out as a tiny strip of cells. A couple
of weeks after conception, these cells are ready to multiply. At its peak,
about 12,000 cells are generated every minute – 200 per second. Most do not remain
in the same place, but move to specific locations within the developing brain. Overall,
our brains develop by multiplication, migration, maturation and messaging – complex
steps, each of which has to happen in a specific fashion, in the correct order and at
the right time.
We are beginning to appreciate that this intricate timetable of closely connected
Chemical damage that occurs early on will
and complex processes is very sensitive. If some disruption happens, brain
likely remain throughout our lifespan.
development will be incomplete or abnormal, and there will be little, if any, time
and opportunity for repair. Thus, the final product, our mature brain, will not express the full potentials that we inherited from our
parents. Chemical damage that occurs early on will likely remain throughout our lifespan.
In the United States, one of every six children has a neurodevelopmental delay or a
neurological disease. No one knows how many of those children faced environmental
exposures that contributed to their problems. Chemical brain drain appears as a
silent pandemic that is almost impossible to quantify. Economists have calculated
that the value of lost IQ points in children exposed to chemical brain drainers
worldwide are worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Having studied brain
toxicity for 30 years, I realized that I must speak up. The adverse impacts on
developing brains are serious enough to demand a loud response. In my book Only
One Chance, I conclude: We get only one chance to generate a nervous system, so
developing brains need vigorous protection.
So far, convincing proof
of chemical brain drain
is available for only a
few well-researched
chemicals. The best
documentation
available is for lead
pollution, which has
ruined the lives of
countless children.
While we were slowly
gathering detailed
scientific
documentation, a whole
generation of
Americans, and children
around the world,
suffered loss of brain
Philippe Grandjean
function due to the
Achild in Ecuador undergoesa dexterity test as partof Grandjean's
pollution from our
research that linked impaired motor skills to pesticides.
careless use of lead in gasoline, paint and myriad consumer products. Only when the
scientific evidence became truly overwhelming was a consensus finally reached that
the public should be protected against this brain drainer. We are now discovering
similar evidence about other chemicals, such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), arsenic, some solvents, certain pesticides, and other industrial compounds.
But brain drain is not just a matter of a few annoying substances. When I scrutinized
the scientific and medical literature, I was able to identify more than 200 industrial
chemicals that had caused toxicity to the human brain one way or another, although
mostly in poisonings of adults. Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are probably even more of a threat to young
brains – and at much lower doses. However, to scientifically document this chemical
brain drain, evidence must be collated from meticulous studies of exposed children
as they grow up.
– Unfortunately, our research methods are inefficient tools to obtain the
Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
documentation we desire. Proper proof may take decades to gather for each
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are
individual chemical, one by one. Thus, useful knowledge has been accumulated
probably even more of a threat to young
only for a small number of the thousands of environmental chemicals, and for
brains.
the others, we do not know the potential for causing brain drain. Our knee-jerk
demand for proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way.
In the 1700s, the Duke of the German state of Württemberg decreed capital
punishment for lead poisoning of his citizens. While that is unreasonably harsh, we
need similar courage to act against chemical brain drain. A precautionary approach
to regulating chemicals would seem appropriate. Still, the precautionary principle has
been ridiculed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in statements such as: “It’s
no secret that [ACC doesn’t] think the precautionary principle is either precautionary
or a principle. It’s a blunt instrument being used by a number of organizations to
essentially ban chemicals.” While we should not institute indiscriminate bans on
chemicals, neither should we expose the next generation to likely brain drainers while
we wait for significant damage to be documented.
We must learn from the past. The first confirmation in a rat model that
methylmercury was toxic to the developing brain was published back in
1972. Yet children around the world are still exposed in the womb to
levels of mercury that studies have shown reduce their mental abilities.
We often suffer from “historical amnesia”, our common inability (or
unwillingness) to learn from past experience. Now we have the luxury of
looking back at the narrow-minded (and wrong) decisions that caused
disasters like leaded gasoline, Minamata disease or Morinaga milk
poisoning (arsenic). How will people in 20 years, or in 50, think about our
lax attitude toward pesticides and other brain drainers and our miserable
efforts to protect the brains of the next generation?
We use a specific part of our brains to plan for the future. Because some
chemicals affect very specific brain functions, my recurring nightmare is
that exposures during brain development are reducing our ability to plan
for the future, leaving us unable to prevent even more chemical brain
drain. It’s a vicious circle, and hopefully it is just a nightmare. But to
quote Jonas Salk, “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I’ve
conquered my nightmares because I’ve had dreams.” Protection against
chemical brain drainers should no longer be a dream. We need to make it
happen.
Philippe Grandjean is author of Only One Chance: How
Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development – and
How to Protect the Brains of the Next Generation. He is a
professor and chair of environmental medicine at the
University of Southern Denmark and an adjunct professor of
environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health. He
has spent his career studying how environmental chemicals
affect children's brain development. His studies helped trigger
an international response that led to a United Nations
agreement to control mercury pollution. He has studied
children in the U.S., Denmark and the Faroe Islands, as well as
parts of South America and Asia, and has published about 500
scientific papers on his findings. He blogs at www.chemicalbraindrain.info.
Centuries ago, citizens of the Roman Empire and Japan's Samurai regime suffered
severe lead poisoning. The brains of their children were seriously damaged, and some
scholars say this could have contributed to the downfall of these mighty empires. In
this opinion piece, internationally renowned environmental scientist Philippe
Grandjean writes that today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this
time from a combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. He calls this threat "chemical brain drain." "It is
insidious and silent, as it is usually not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is
serious, as the combined deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of
children, upon whom our future relies," Grandjean writes. "Our knee-jerk demand for
proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way."
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Grandjean's studies of childreninthe Faroe Islands, inthe NorthAtlantic, foundreducedlearningabilities in
childrenexposedto mercury in the womb.His work helpedtrigger U.S.healthguidelines formercury infish and
UnitedNationsefforts tocurbmercury pollution.
By Philippe Grandjean
For Environmental Health News
September 13, 2013
According to some scholars, toxic exposures contributed to the collapse of the
Roman Empire. Roman rulers were poisoned by water cisterns and food containers
fashioned from lead. These extreme exposures could have gradually made the
Patrician families deranged and infertile – leaving no competent leaders to run the
Empire. A similar fate seems to have befallen the Samurai regime in Japan. When
bones from a castle burial were analyzed, lead concentrations in the children
suggested severe lead poisoning. With damaged mental abilities, the Samurai
descendants would likely have been incapable of dealing with political crisis, possibly
contributing to the downfall of the Shogunate.
Today, our brains are being put to another extreme test, this time from a
combination of toxic chemicals that includes mercury, arsenic, pesticides
and persistent industrial compounds. The hidden threat that we now face
is what I call chemical brain drain. It is insidious and silent, as it is usually
not linked to any medical diagnosis, and it is serious, as the combined
deficits are affecting the brains of a whole generation of children, upon
whom our future relies.
Only recently has it become clear that the brain is extremely vulnerable,
especially during its development in the womb and during infancy. In my
early career, I encountered some surprises that medical school had not
prepared me for, surprises that were fundamental to our understanding of
the frailty of the human brain. According to the medical tradition, the fetus
is well-protected inside the pregnant mother’s womb. But contrary to this
comforting notion, the placenta allows many toxic chemicals to seep
through, and some of these compounds can damage the brain’s sensitive
developmental processes. The mother may escape unscathed, but for her
child, such damage can be catastrophic.
Our highly sophisticated brains start out as a tiny strip of cells. A couple
of weeks after conception, these cells are ready to multiply. At its peak,
about 12,000 cells are generated every minute – 200 per second. Most do not remain
in the same place, but move to specific locations within the developing brain. Overall,
our brains develop by multiplication, migration, maturation and messaging – complex
steps, each of which has to happen in a specific fashion, in the correct order and at
the right time.
We are beginning to appreciate that this intricate timetable of closely connected
Chemical damage that occurs early on will
and complex processes is very sensitive. If some disruption happens, brain
likely remain throughout our lifespan.
development will be incomplete or abnormal, and there will be little, if any, time
and opportunity for repair. Thus, the final product, our mature brain, will not express the full potentials that we inherited from our
parents. Chemical damage that occurs early on will likely remain throughout our lifespan.
In the United States, one of every six children has a neurodevelopmental delay or a
neurological disease. No one knows how many of those children faced environmental
exposures that contributed to their problems. Chemical brain drain appears as a
silent pandemic that is almost impossible to quantify. Economists have calculated
that the value of lost IQ points in children exposed to chemical brain drainers
worldwide are worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Having studied brain
toxicity for 30 years, I realized that I must speak up. The adverse impacts on
developing brains are serious enough to demand a loud response. In my book Only
One Chance, I conclude: We get only one chance to generate a nervous system, so
developing brains need vigorous protection.
So far, convincing proof
of chemical brain drain
is available for only a
few well-researched
chemicals. The best
documentation
available is for lead
pollution, which has
ruined the lives of
countless children.
While we were slowly
gathering detailed
scientific
documentation, a whole
generation of
Americans, and children
around the world,
suffered loss of brain
Philippe Grandjean
function due to the
Achild in Ecuador undergoesa dexterity test as partof Grandjean's
pollution from our
research that linked impaired motor skills to pesticides.
careless use of lead in gasoline, paint and myriad consumer products. Only when the
scientific evidence became truly overwhelming was a consensus finally reached that
the public should be protected against this brain drainer. We are now discovering
similar evidence about other chemicals, such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), arsenic, some solvents, certain pesticides, and other industrial compounds.
But brain drain is not just a matter of a few annoying substances. When I scrutinized
the scientific and medical literature, I was able to identify more than 200 industrial
chemicals that had caused toxicity to the human brain one way or another, although
mostly in poisonings of adults. Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are probably even more of a threat to young
brains – and at much lower doses. However, to scientifically document this chemical
brain drain, evidence must be collated from meticulous studies of exposed children
as they grow up.
– Unfortunately, our research methods are inefficient tools to obtain the
Due to the vulnerability of developing brains,
documentation we desire. Proper proof may take decades to gather for each
chemicals that are toxic to adult brains are
individual chemical, one by one. Thus, useful knowledge has been accumulated
probably even more of a threat to young
only for a small number of the thousands of environmental chemicals, and for
brains.
the others, we do not know the potential for causing brain drain. Our knee-jerk
demand for proof leaves the brainpower of the next generation in harm’s way.
In the 1700s, the Duke of the German state of Württemberg decreed capital
punishment for lead poisoning of his citizens. While that is unreasonably harsh, we
need similar courage to act against chemical brain drain. A precautionary approach
to regulating chemicals would seem appropriate. Still, the precautionary principle has
been ridiculed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in statements such as: “It’s
no secret that [ACC doesn’t] think the precautionary principle is either precautionary
or a principle. It’s a blunt instrument being used by a number of organizations to
essentially ban chemicals.” While we should not institute indiscriminate bans on
chemicals, neither should we expose the next generation to likely brain drainers while
we wait for significant damage to be documented.
We must learn from the past. The first confirmation in a rat model that
methylmercury was toxic to the developing brain was published back in
1972. Yet children around the world are still exposed in the womb to
levels of mercury that studies have shown reduce their mental abilities.
We often suffer from “historical amnesia”, our common inability (or
unwillingness) to learn from past experience. Now we have the luxury of
looking back at the narrow-minded (and wrong) decisions that caused
disasters like leaded gasoline, Minamata disease or Morinaga milk
poisoning (arsenic). How will people in 20 years, or in 50, think about our
lax attitude toward pesticides and other brain drainers and our miserable
efforts to protect the brains of the next generation?
We use a specific part of our brains to plan for the future. Because some
chemicals affect very specific brain functions, my recurring nightmare is
that exposures during brain development are reducing our ability to plan
for the future, leaving us unable to prevent even more chemical brain
drain. It’s a vicious circle, and hopefully it is just a nightmare. But to
quote Jonas Salk, “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I’ve
conquered my nightmares because I’ve had dreams.” Protection against
chemical brain drainers should no longer be a dream. We need to make it
happen.
Philippe Grandjean is author of Only One Chance: How
Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development – and
How to Protect the Brains of the Next Generation. He is a
professor and chair of environmental medicine at the
University of Southern Denmark and an adjunct professor of
environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health. He
has spent his career studying how environmental chemicals
affect children's brain development. His studies helped trigger
an international response that led to a United Nations
agreement to control mercury pollution. He has studied
children in the U.S., Denmark and the Faroe Islands, as well as
parts of South America and Asia, and has published about 500
scientific papers on his findings. He blogs at www.chemicalbraindrain.info.
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