According to the CDC 1:6 children have a neurodevelopmental disability (NDD) (CDC, n.d.). Industrial chemicals are known to cause neurodevelopmental disabilities so as a community we should work very hard to decrease the amount of toxins our children are exposed to.
A 2006 report from the Harvard School of Public Health discusses the alarming impact of industrial chemicals on children’s brains. They point out the glaring lack of research being done to determine which chemicals are harmful to developing brains and at what level of exposure that damage occurs.
In the same review the researchers involved with the discovery of the etiology of NDDs;
Conclude that industrial chemicals are responsible for what they call a silent pandemic that has caused impaired brain development in millions of children worldwide. It is silent because the subclinical effects of individual toxic chemicals are not apparent in available health statistics (Harvard, 2006).
The authors of a study published in The Lancet state,
Exposure to these chemicals during early fetal development can cause brain injury at doses much lower than those affecting adult brain function… The two main impediments to prevention of neurodevelopmental deficits of chemical origin are the great gaps in testing chemicals for developmental neurotoxicity and the high level of proof required for regulation (Grandjean et al, 2006).
These authors do identify some chemicals that are accepted in the scientific community, as being causal for NDDs with are lead, methylmercury, polycholoinated biphenyls, arsenic, and toluene. Silicofluorides are often contaminated with arsenic and heavy metals, which are the chemicals used to fluoridate the water supply.
In 2007, scientists from the Neurotoxicology Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified fluoride as having “Substantial evidence” of “developmental neurotoxicity”. A developmental neurotoxin is a chemical that can damage the young, developing brain.
References
CDC. (n.d.). Key findings: trends in the prevalence of developmental disabilities in U.S. children, 1997-2008. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. Retrieved from. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/features/birthdefects-dd-keyfindings.html
Grandjean et al. (2006). Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals. The Lancet. Retrieved from http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673606696657/abstract?isEOP=true
Harvard. (2006). A silent pandemic: Industrial chemicals are impairing the brain development of children worldwide. School Of Public Health. Retrieved from http://archive.sph.harvard.edu/press-releases/2006-releases/press11072006.html
Clean Water Sheridan 