Green Mama-to-Beware
The ABCs: Avoid These “Bad” Chemicals When You’re Pregnant
Here’s what you need to know about the most common toxins that we know are best to avoid as much as possible in pregnancy.
Heavy Metals
Of the heavy metals, arsenic, lead, and mercury are three of the most prevalent and are highly toxic, persist in the environment for many years, and can bio-accumulate (be stored) in our bodies. There are no safe levels. The research suggests that most, perhaps all, heavy metals pass through the placental barrier and can be detrimental to the growing fetus, permanently damaging organs and brain development. Studies have found mercury at double the concentrations in the baby’s cord blood compared to the mother. Arsenic has been found at about 80 percent concentrations in the baby’s cord blood. The other heavy metals — lead, cobalt, and selenium — seem to be somewhat more filtered by the placenta.
Arsenic can be naturally forming, but the one to watch out for is the inorganic version, which enters the environment from treated lumber, coal-fired power plants, and arsenical pesticide runoff. The latter has contributed to groundwater contamination and is the suspected source of the high levels of arsenic found in rice. Rice is now considered the highest food source of arsenic exposure for most people, especially babies who, relative to body weight, consume three times more rice than adults, primarily in the form of infant rice cereal. Arsenic is known to cause cancer (in other words, it’s carcinogenic), and recent testing by the FDA shows that pregnant mothers who eat more rice may have children with decreased learning performances.
Lead exposure has been linked with hyperactivity, lower IQs, and neurocognitive disorders such as ADHD; can damage kidneys, blood, muscles, and bones; and is likely carcinogenic. While lead is still found in 100 percent of babies born today, our exposure has decreased thanks to environmental regulations on coal burning, emissions, and the use of lead in consumer products such as paint and gasoline.
Mercury is a particular risk to babies-to-be and children. As with many heavy metals, small amounts of mercury occur naturally in the environment, but there is no known safe level or any use for it in our bodies. Instead, it poses a risk to a child’s developing brain, neurological system, and organs, and any amount can cause permanent damage. The good news is that by far the greatest human exposures to mercury come from man-made activities, such as coal-burning power plants, the healthcare sector, mining, and charcoal production. Because these sources are man-made, they can be regulated and improved. The greatest source of mercury exposure for most children is from fish, but they can also be exposed to significant sources from rice and medical products, such as amalgam fillings. These exposures are likely to be to methyl mercury, the most studied, and thus considered the most toxic form of mercury. Children can also be exposed to the less studied ethyl mercury from multi-dose vaccines. In Canada that might include the multi-dose flu vaccine, the tetanus toxoid vaccine, and the hepatitis B vaccine.
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
POPs are toxic chemicals that travel on wind and water and accumulate in the bodies of animals. They have found their way into the haze surrounding the Arctic and the polar bears, as well as into your unborn child, and they will likely find their way into your future grandchildren because they are readily passed across the placenta and stick around for a long time. POPs travel easily and far and don’t pay attention to international borders. Indeed, many accumulate in remote, seemingly pristine places like the polar regions and the Arctic, where they get stuck because of the wind patterns and the cold. Small amounts can cause big problems, including brain changes that can manifest in learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, thyroid problems, hormonal disruption, and cancer. Canada and more than 90 other countries regulate the 12 most dangerous POPs — including furans and dioxins — as part of the 2014 Stockholm Convention. The good news is that the POPs targeted under the original 1972 agreement, including DDT and PCBs, have been substantially reduced in the environment and in humans (although many of them, such as PCBs, are still found in nearly 100 percent of newborns). Unfortunately, there are still only 12 POPs targeted under the 2014 agreement, and many additional POPs are out there and new ones are being created.
Dioxin and certain pesticides are POPs, those nonstick substances on your frying pan are POPs, and so are those chemical flame retardants in your child’s foam mattress.
Chemical flame retardants to watch out for include brominated flame retardants (PBDEs) and the phosphate esters (Tris), including TDCP and TCEP phosphate. All three have been linked to serious health problems, including neurological disorders, hormonal disruption, organ damage, thyroid disorders, and fertility problems, and may be linked to cancer. Young children are still one of the groups most highly exposed to Tris flame retardants, although it was banned in 1977 from children’s sleepwear when it was discovered to mutate children’s DNA. PBDE levels are 75 times higher in American women than their European counterparts, likely because of a California law requiring flame retardancy for items sold in that state. Both the United States and Health Canada have asked manufacturers to phase out certain PBDE compounds, but PBDE — as well as Tris — are still on the market and common in children’s products. As well, many of the new chemical flame retardants on the market to replace them are thought to be just as bad, but are less tested.
Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are used to make things stain-, oil-, or water-resistant. They are used in stain guards to magically keep red wine from staining your white couch, make cookware nonstick, and make clothing waterproof. PFCs are also used in grease-resistant food packaging such as hamburger wrappers, chip bags, and microwave popcorn packages. They can even coat your dental floss. Two of the most infamous are PFOA and PFOS. Both have been found in nearly every human studied, and levels in children are often higher than in adults. PFCs have been linked to cancer and birth defects. Because of the known health concerns associated with PFOA and PFOS, they are mostly being phased out in the United States and Canada, but it’s best to beware of the alternatives for now as well.
Dioxin is formed as an unintended by-product of many industrial processes involving chlorine, including the manufacturing of pesticides, the production and incineration of PVC plastics, and paper bleaching. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are dioxin-like compounds that, unlike most dioxins, are intentionally produced for use in electrical insulators, fire-fighting compounds, paint, lubricants, and transformer fluid. Dioxin and its relatives are often referred to as super-toxins, and the IARC considers the most potent dioxins to be Group 1 carcinogens. They are linked to birth defects, infertility, reduced sperm counts, endometriosis, diabetes, learning disabilities, immune system suppression, lung problems, skin disorders, and numerous cancers. Traces of dioxins can be found in air, water, and soil, and — from there — they work their way up the food chain and into the fat of fish, animals, and humans. Diet, particularly meat and dairy, is considered our primary source of exposure.
Pesticides make up the majority of the POPS restricted under the Stockholm Convention. Nevertheless, pesticides such as DDT continue to be freely used in much of the developing world despite the known disastrous effects on human health and their ability to travel freely across the globe. Many newer pesticides are less persistent, but just as pervasive. For example, glyphosate is found in Round-Up, the world’s most commonly used agricultural pesticide and the second most-applied residential pesticide in the United States. Glyphosate is linked to miscarriage, reproductive damage, and ADHD, and animal studies show that it has the ability to alter genes.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
VOCs include a wide range of carbon-based chemicals that easily vaporize (off-gas) from numerous household and workplace sources. VOCs can cause immediate health issues, such as headaches, and numerous VOCs are linked to neurological and organ damage, chemical sensitivities, and cancer. Pregnant women are especially vulnerable, as studies have suggested that increased exposure is directly linked to lower neurological function in their offspring. VOC exposures are also linked to miscarriage and congenital malformations. VOCs react quickly, and concentrations will usually decrease over time. Examples of VOCs include formaldehyde, phthalates, gasoline, benzene, and solvents including toluene, xylene, styrene, and perchloroethylene (PERC), used in dry cleaning. Many VOCs, such as those found in cosmetic products, furniture, paints, and cleaning items, have an odour, and the “sniff test” can alert you to their presence. Women can be exposed to VOCs at work — in dry cleaners, photography studios, and nail or hair salons — and at home — from pressed-wood furniture, paints, air fresheners, copiers or printers, cigarette smoke, and other petroleum-based products.
Formaldehyde is a smelly, colourless, flammable VOC classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the IARC. It is known to cause cancer in humans and animals. It can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat and trigger asthma. Formaldehyde can be found in furniture and toys and anything else made of pressed wood or particle board. It can also be found in some glues, such as those used in hanging wallpaper or laying carpet, and it is a by-product released from as much as one-third of all cosmetics, such as shampoos — even those marketed to children. Emissions from furniture generally decrease over time (in other words, are off-gassed), but it can take as much as seven years just to reach minimal levels. Unfortunately, the let-it-get-old method of harm reduction doesn’t apply to everything that may contain formaldehyde. Old shampoo isn’t any safer than the new stuff.
Phthalates are VOCs and plasticizers found primarily in cosmetics and plastics. They are considered likely hormone mimickers and have been linked to preterm birth, infertility, and cancer. A CDC study found 75 percent of participants had detectible levels of phthalates in their bodies. The six phthalates considered most hazardous have been banned in the EU since 1999. The United States and Canada have also banned some phthalates in some children’s products and toys, but not in personal care products.
Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene can be found individually or together, referred to as BTEX, and can contaminate air, soil, and water. They range from known (benzene) to suspected human carcinogens. They can pass through breast milk and through the placenta. Some have been found to accumulate in a woman’s breast tissue. They are routinely found in petroleum by-products, and all or some can be found in solvents, paints, nail polish, hair dyes, some cleaning products, and cosmetics.
Toxic Plastics
Plastics are everywhere. They can do amazing things, but unfortunately many, if not most, of them come with some big health costs, including exposing us to chemicals that mimic estrogen. Some of the worst offenders include the following:
PVC, or vinyl, contains lead and phthalates, and releases dioxin. It is linked to neurotoxic effects and endocrine problems. It is found in soft, pliable plastic products like crib mattress covers and shower curtains and in vinyl blinds and siding.
Bisphenol-containing compounds including BPA and BPS and 38 other known or suspected endocrine disruptors contain bisphenol. BPA may cause problems of brain and hormone development, decreased sperm counts, erectile dysfunction, heart disease, diabetes, liver abnormalities, and breast cancer. BPS can disrupt a cell’s normal functioning and may lead to diabetes and obesity, asthma, birth defects, and cancer. Bisphenol-containing compounds, including BPA itself, can be found in hard plastic items, such as your water bottles and baby bottles, and in the lining of canned goods, including baby formula, even in ones labelled BPA-free.
Melamine is a chemical by-product of industrial processes and is added to some plastics (and some foods, such as in the baby formula scandal). It is linked to kidney failure. Melamine products may also release the toxin formaldehyde. It is found in many children’s plates and cups that are sold as “BPA-free” or “shatterproof” and it looks like hard plastic.
Polystyrene, or Styrofoam, contains the toxic substances styrene and benzene, suspected carcinogens and neurotoxins that are hazardous to humans. Hot foods and liquids, alcohol, oils, acidic foods, and red wine can cause Styrofoam to release toxins into the food or drink.
Twenty Concerning Cosmetic Ingredients