Monday's Daily Grist included the headline "I Believe the Children Are Our Lab Rats: Pesticides could make kids dumb, diesel emissions make them sick". After the recent news about BPA in baby bottles, lead in children's lunchboxes, jewelry, and baby bibs, as well as the information on pesticides affecting intelligence and noxious school bus emissions, the Daily Grist just may be right. Our children are not being protected, thus many families chose green options, not only because they care about the environment, but for the safety of their children. Lab Rats: Photo courtesy of nature.com
Decisions are often made that based on profit, rather than protecting children's health. In the 1990s, childhood vaccinations contained a mercury-based preservative called thiomersal. Children receiving multiple thiomersal vaccines exceeded the federal guidelines for a single dose of mercury. Doctors and parents were outraged, and the consequences of exposure to thiomersal (such as a rise in Autism, ADD) have been debated. Presently, childhood vaccines in this country do not contain this dangerous preservative, but drug companies continue to sell thimersol vaccines to third world countries.
Recent news about the risks of Bisphenol-A (BPA) in plastic baby bottles and sippy cups have parents scrambling to buy alternatives. BPA is a hormone disrupting toxin known to cause developmental, neural, and reproductive harm. BPA free plastic bottles and glass baby bottles offer the best solution; however, don't be surprised if you find these items on backorder from merchants. In addition, Kleen Kanteen stainless steel sippy cups offer a safe alternative.
Although lead naturally occurs in the earth's crust, it highly toxic to humans. According to the CDC, "Nearly half a million children living in the United States have blood lead levels high enough to cause irreversible damage to their health." Lead has been removed from our gasoline, paints, etc., yet somehow this harmful substance is present in many children's products. The recent recall of bibs sold by Wal-mart, because they contained up to 16 times the legal limit for lead in paint, further begs the question: Are our children laboratory rats?
A recent study of over 1.5 million children found that babies conceived in the summer, when pesticide use is at its peak, are less intelligent than their peers. The first few months in utero are critical for brain development. According to Science Daily, "Exposure to pesticides and nitrates can alter the hormonal milieu of the pregnant mother and the developing fetal brain," said Dr. Winchester. "While our findings do not represent absolute proof that pesticides and nitrates contribute to lower ISTEP scores, they strongly support such a hypothesis."
If you have ever driven behind a diesel school bus, you know the fumes are noxious. These fumes can be even worse inside the school bus, where children ride, and have been linked to asthma and lung cancer. Yet, $1 billion pledged by Congress in 2005 to reduce school bus emissions has not been delivered. The alternative: let's run school buses on biodiesel or invest in hybrid school buses.
All children deserve green alternatives. They should not be laboratory rats sacrificed for corporate profit and greed!