Womb fails to shield babies from pollution

RichardR · 23rd July 2005, 05:20 PM

Tests on umbilical cord blood find hundreds of industrial chemicals

Quote:

Babies enter the world with hundreds of industrial chemicals, solvents and pesticides in their veins, according to a new study of umbilical cord blood released by the Environmental Working Group.

The finding, in the words of one public health expert, "completely destroys the long-held medical myth that the placenta is an impervious barrier."

The pollutants, the study concludes, cross the placenta as easily as residue from cigarettes or alcohol.

"To the same degree scientists have found toxic chemicals invading the bodies of adults," said Bill Walker, the group's West Coast president, "we are now finding they can reach infants in the womb, so they are literally born polluted."

Any thoughts?

American · 23rd July 2005, 05:30 PM

1- nature must compromise. For example, keeping pollution out may also keep nutrients out.

2- allowing pathogens in allows for development of an independent immune system. Can't live without that!

Chris Haynes · 23rd July 2005, 11:43 PM

Hmmmm... Let's see...

I was born in 1957 (yes, I am almost 50 years old!). My mother not only smoked but also drank lots of alcohol. Then as a child I played with the mercury from a broken thermometer. To top it off I ran behind the trucks that sprayed out the insecticide to kill mosquitoes in Ft. Jackson, SC! ALSO... I have been known to eat fish caught in the very polluted waters off of the Panama Canal area, birds shot with lead and apples sprayed with Alar.

I've been vaccinated against typhus, typhoid, yellow fever, small pox and other things (not measles, mumps or chicken pox --- I had to suffer through them as real diseases, including an influenza that almost killed me, oh, and dengue fever -- one of the perks of spending a good portion of one's youth in the tropics).

I used to slather myself with diesel oil since that was a more effective anti-insect guard than the Army issue spray we had (though it did make a good fire starter). Then there is the fact that it was common to warn us Army brats about un-exploded ordinance in our neighborhoods (like in Ft. Ord, CA). Oh, and then there were the walks I took through the pesticide ladened tobacco and corn fields in western Missouri when my dad was stationed at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Fun times. (not)

I now use sunscreen everyday (I'm a BIG risk for skin cancer. Not only did I spend most of my youth in the American South, Central and South America ... I am also a fair skinned red-head, I don't tan. I either get more freckles... or more likely BURN!).

According to some reactionaries, I should be dead --- or at the least severely mentally impaired.

I don't think so.

According to my annual physical I have a problem with cholesteral. So what the TESTS show is that I must avoid the evil butter, sausage and cheese. It doesn't help I am married to this Dutch/Canadian computer dude who can eat all the fat ladened butter, sausage and cheese he wants and still have disgustingly LOW cholesteral. Life is just not fair... Except that I can RAISE my GOOD cholestoral by excercising (I swim a mile two to four times a week) and by drinking more alcohol (yes! I will have another glass of wine!).

(typing errors do not count, I am on my third glass of wine)

To get to heart of the matter, one needs to read the actual 475 page report... I haven't slogged through it yet, but I bet my kids have fewer chemicals than me:
http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/3r...hirdreport.pdf

SezMe · 24th July 2005, 01:58 AM

At least we have a hint of why you have the handle you do.

Chris Haynes · 24th July 2005, 08:42 AM

(though really it is a play on my initials )

casebro · 24th July 2005, 10:45 AM

I think it's DDH. It is a residue of DDT in your metabolism. It can even be found in Mother's Milk. Sounds bad, eh? BUT DDH is also a residue of fat-burning in general. If the Mother is using nursing as a weight lose strategy, she is breaking down fat, and MAKING HER OWN DDH!

How many chemicals list as pullutants are made by the mammalian body? Some: Acetone, Formaldehyde, Acetic acid, Alcohol, Acetaldehyde...

So how many of those pollutants are likewise from inoccuous sources? I've read that 95% of the insecticide we are exposed to occur naturally in our food. Rats won't even touch the yellow squash in my garden- until the surface is broken. Seems the squash has an inherent waxy coating on it. I wonder what the metabolic residues from ingesting vegetable waxes are?

I'd say these findings are more doom and gloom that is not backed up in health and longevity studies. If we are so polluted, why are we living longer all the time?

Rolfe · 24th July 2005, 04:09 PM

Humans have a haemoendothelial placenta, which lets quite large molecules cross. This has advantages - it allows maternal immunity to be conferred without the necessity for suckling - and disadvantages - "haemolytic anaemia of the newborn" in other species is a disease of the foetus in man.

It's quite a complex subject. Just how do you design a placenta to let all the good things in, keep all the bad things out, and let all the other bad things pass out to be excreted? I wonder if they's done any comparative work on, say, horses, which have an epithelial/epithelial placenta which is much less easy to get stuff across.

Rolfe.

Zamzara · 25th July 2005, 01:33 AM

Quote:

...gasoline by-products, flame retardants, dioxin, wood preservatives and varnishes, even the key chemical used to make Teflon and other non-stick products...

known as dihydrogen momoxide.

23rd July 2005, 05:20 PM	#1
RichardR Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 2,281	Womb fails to shield babies from pollution Tests on umbilical cord blood find hundreds of industrial chemicals Quote: Babies enter the world with hundreds of industrial chemicals, solvents and pesticides in their veins, according to a new study of umbilical cord blood released by the Environmental Working Group. The finding, in the words of one public health expert, "completely destroys the long-held medical myth that the placenta is an impervious barrier." The pollutants, the study concludes, cross the placenta as easily as residue from cigarettes or alcohol. "To the same degree scientists have found toxic chemicals invading the bodies of adults," said Bill Walker, the group's West Coast president, "we are now finding they can reach infants in the womb, so they are literally born polluted." Any thoughts?
RichardR Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 2,281	__________________ Read: Skeptico - Critical thinking for an irrational world

23rd July 2005, 11:43 PM	#3
Chris Haynes Perfectly Poisonous Person Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Wacky Washington Way Out West Posts: 4,204	Hmmmm... Let's see... I was born in 1957 (yes, I am almost 50 years old!). My mother not only smoked but also drank lots of alcohol. Then as a child I played with the mercury from a broken thermometer. To top it off I ran behind the trucks that sprayed out the insecticide to kill mosquitoes in Ft. Jackson, SC! ALSO... I have been known to eat fish caught in the very polluted waters off of the Panama Canal area, birds shot with lead and apples sprayed with Alar. I've been vaccinated against typhus, typhoid, yellow fever, small pox and other things (not measles, mumps or chicken pox --- I had to suffer through them as real diseases, including an influenza that almost killed me, oh, and dengue fever -- one of the perks of spending a good portion of one's youth in the tropics). I used to slather myself with diesel oil since that was a more effective anti-insect guard than the Army issue spray we had (though it did make a good fire starter). Then there is the fact that it was common to warn us Army brats about un-exploded ordinance in our neighborhoods (like in Ft. Ord, CA). Oh, and then there were the walks I took through the pesticide ladened tobacco and corn fields in western Missouri when my dad was stationed at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Fun times. (not) I now use sunscreen everyday (I'm a BIG risk for skin cancer. Not only did I spend most of my youth in the American South, Central and South America ... I am also a fair skinned red-head, I don't tan. I either get more freckles... or more likely BURN!). According to some reactionaries, I should be dead --- or at the least severely mentally impaired. I don't think so. According to my annual physical I have a problem with cholesteral. So what the TESTS show is that I must avoid the evil butter, sausage and cheese. It doesn't help I am married to this Dutch/Canadian computer dude who can eat all the fat ladened butter, sausage and cheese he wants and still have disgustingly LOW cholesteral. Life is just not fair... Except that I can RAISE my GOOD cholestoral by excercising (I swim a mile two to four times a week) and by drinking more alcohol (yes! I will have another glass of wine!). (typing errors do not count, I am on my third glass of wine) To get to heart of the matter, one needs to read the actual 475 page report... I haven't slogged through it yet, but I bet my kids have fewer chemicals than me: http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/3r...hirdreport.pdf
	__________________ I used to be intelligent... but then I had kids "HCN, I hate you!" ( so sayeth Deetee at http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?p=1077344 )... What I get for linking to http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/

24th July 2005, 08:42 AM	#5
Chris Haynes Perfectly Poisonous Person Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Wacky Washington Way Out West Posts: 4,204	(though really it is a play on my initials )
	__________________ I used to be intelligent... but then I had kids "HCN, I hate you!" ( so sayeth Deetee at http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?p=1077344 )... What I get for linking to http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/

24th July 2005, 10:45 AM	#6
casebro Philosopher Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 6,787	DDT has a residue called DDH? I think it's DDH. It is a residue of DDT in your metabolism. It can even be found in Mother's Milk. Sounds bad, eh? BUT DDH is also a residue of fat-burning in general. If the Mother is using nursing as a weight lose strategy, she is breaking down fat, and MAKING HER OWN DDH! How many chemicals list as pullutants are made by the mammalian body? Some: Acetone, Formaldehyde, Acetic acid, Alcohol, Acetaldehyde... So how many of those pollutants are likewise from inoccuous sources? I've read that 95% of the insecticide we are exposed to occur naturally in our food. Rats won't even touch the yellow squash in my garden- until the surface is broken. Seems the squash has an inherent waxy coating on it. I wonder what the metabolic residues from ingesting vegetable waxes are? I'd say these findings are more doom and gloom that is not backed up in health and longevity studies. If we are so polluted, why are we living longer all the time?
casebro Philosopher Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 6,787	__________________ Please pardon me for having ideas, not facts. Some have called me cynical, but I don't believe them. It's not how many breaths you take. It's how many times you have been breathless that counts.

24th July 2005, 04:09 PM	#7
Rolfe Anti-homeopathy illuminati member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NT 150 511 Posts: 34,314	Humans have a haemoendothelial placenta, which lets quite large molecules cross. This has advantages - it allows maternal immunity to be conferred without the necessity for suckling - and disadvantages - "haemolytic anaemia of the newborn" in other species is a disease of the foetus in man. It's quite a complex subject. Just how do you design a placenta to let all the good things in, keep all the bad things out, and let all the other bad things pass out to be excreted? I wonder if they's done any comparative work on, say, horses, which have an epithelial/epithelial placenta which is much less easy to get stuff across. Rolfe.
	__________________ "The way we vote will depend, ultimately, on whether we are persuaded to hope or to fear." - Aonghas MacNeacail, June 2012.

23rd July 2005, 05:30 PM	#2
American Illuminator Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: CA Posts: 3,842	1- nature must compromise. For example, keeping pollution out may also keep nutrients out. 2- allowing pathogens in allows for development of an independent immune system. Can't live without that!

24th July 2005, 01:58 AM	#4
SezMe post-pre-born Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Santa Barbara, CA Posts: 16,370	At least we have a hint of why you have the handle you do.

25th July 2005, 01:33 AM	#8
Zamzara Thinker Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 162	Quote: ...gasoline by-products, flame retardants, dioxin, wood preservatives and varnishes, even the key chemical used to make Teflon and other non-stick products... known as dihydrogen momoxide.
Zamzara Thinker Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 162	__________________ "You're sensing energy? How many joules?"