Chemical Impacts on Reproductive Health

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Charlotte Brody, Safer Chemicals Healthy Families

Monday, December 21, 2009

On Dec. 15, Drs. Ted Schettler, Tracey Woodruff and Beth Jordan met with members of Congress to brief them on the impacts that chemicals have on rising reproductive health problems. Representatives Jane Harman (D-CA) and Lois Capps (D-CA) helped host the well attended event. Following is a summary of the meeting’s findings.

Approximately 80,000 chemical substances are registered for use in U.S. commerce as of 2006, with 700 new industrial chemicals introduced into commerce each year. These chemicals are distributed throughout homes, workplaces and communities, and contaminate food, water, air and consumer products. Everyone in the U.S. has measurable levels of multiple environmental contaminants in their body.

U.S. chemical production has increased 23.5-fold between 1947 and 2007. The pace of testing for safety has not kept up with chemical use and marketing. The EPA has only required testing on 200 of the 80,000 chemicals currently used and produced in the U.S.

Toxic Chemicals are a Threat to Reproductive Health

Our infertility rates are increasing: Among 15-24 year olds, the percent of women with impaired fertility has risen 90% in the last ten years.

Our hormones are changing. Testosterone levels have declined 10% over 20 years.

Newborn babies are born with up to 300 chemicals in their bodies. Adverse impacts on fetal and infant development can occur after chemical exposure, due to rapidly developing tissues and immature detoxification systems.

Exposure of dangerous chemicals to pregnant women and the fetus can result in:

Infertility or reduced fertility
Fetal death, miscarriage
Decreased birth weight
Birth defects
Childhood cancer such as leukemia

For example:

93% of the US population has measurable amounts of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in their bodies.

Over 6 billion pounds of BPA are released per year. Studies show BPA can have these reproductive health impacts:

• Infertility
• Reduced sperm count
• Prostate and breast cancer
• Early onset female puberty
• Diabetes and obesity

Notable Quotes from the Event

“We expect to know about drugs before they go to market, why not chemicals? Pharmaceutical companies must have data to show efficacy and safety prior to use. Do manufactured chemicals have to have data on safety before use? The answer is no.” -- Dr. Tracey Woodruff

“Reproductive toxicity of most chemicals is unexamined and unknown. We need to reduce our ignorance and uncertainty and test chemicals before they go to market and replace especially hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives.” -- Dr. Ted Schettler

“Although many Americans are doing their best to stay informed and shop wisely, we need companies to disclose what’s in their products and for the government to test all chemicals for safety.” -- Kirsten Moore, President & CEO of RHTP, event moderator

Congress is expected to overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act, which hasn’t been updated since 1976 in early 2010. The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition is working with groups across the nation to ensure that these changes protect the health and safety of Americans.

Bios of Key Speakers:

Tracey Woodruff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco and the Director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment. She has done extensive research and policy development on environmental health issues, with a particular emphasis on early-life exposures and development. She previously was at the US EPA, where she was a senior scientist and policy advisor in the Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation. She is an Associate Editor of Environmental Health Perspectives and on their Advisory Board. She received her Ph.D. and M.P.H. in the environmental health sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ted Schettler is Science Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network. He also serves as science director of the Collaborative on Health and Environment and science advisor to the Health Care Without Harm campaign. He has a medical degree from Case Western Reserve University and a masters in public health from Harvard University. Dr. Schettler is co-author of “Generations at Risk: Reproductive Health and the Environment”; “In Harm's Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development”; and "Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging". He has published a number of articles on related topics in peer-reviewed journals and has served on advisory committees of the US EPA and National Academy of Sciences.

Beth Jordan, MD is an internist specializing in Women's Health. Formerly of the Mayo Clinic, she now serves as the medical director of both the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and the Feminist Majority Foundation. She is a medical advisor to Ms. Magazine and is a former board member of Medical Students for Choice. Dr. Jordan was awarded the "Women Leaders in Medicine Award" in 2009 by the American Medical Student's Association.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Healthy Child Healthy World.

Posted by Lori Fisk Conners on 12/22/2009 at 08:28 AM

Perhaps it’s time that we go back to having milk, soda & juice in either paper cartons or glass bottles like in the old days. They can be recycled & won’t harm our bodies nor the bodies of our children or unborn children. It’s time that we stop allowing companies to place chemicals into our food chain & go back to cooking our foods at home to get better controls of what we are eating. Perhaps if we boycott all products in plastic bottles until they can repackage them in safer packaging it would be a good idea.

Posted by Charli on 12/21/2009 at 04:28 PM

Thanks for posting something about keeping our kids safe. I think making industrial chemicals safe for infants and children is something we can all get behind. To ensure that we really fix this problem we must include modern science language, which necessarily utilizes non-animal methods, in this bill; otherwise we’ll have another outdated bill on our hands.

Currently, many toxicity tests are based on experiments in animals and use methods that were developed as long ago as the 1930’s; they and are slow, inaccurate, open to uncertainty and manipulation, and do not adequately protect human health. These tests take anywhere from months to years, and tens of thousands to millions of dollars to perform. More importantly, the current testing paradigm has a poor record in predicting effects in humans and an even poorer record in leading to actual regulation of dangerous chemicals.

Alternatives to animal testing exist in a powerful way and many scientists advocate them. Chemical reform should not only modernize policy, but modernize the science that supports that policy. Let’s ensure Kids-Safe uses all the necessary tools to truly make our children, our environment, and animals safe.

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