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WORD COUNT 680
DECEMBER 29, 2004
KID’S BRAINS STILL
GETTING POISONED – by Joyce Braithwaite-Brickley
A decision made 75 years
ago by the so-called best minds in
U.S. commerce and
government poisoned generations of American children, reducing I.Q. and
school performance, and causing lifelong behavioral problems for tens of
thousands. Despite grave public health concerns, auto and chemical companies
in the mid-1920s won permission to introduce lead to gasoline, reducing
engine knock and supporting the development of larger, more powerful cars.
Today we are still
cleaning up the mess. In
Michigan alone, largely
because of lead paint in older housing, more than 20,000 kids have levels of
lead in their blood that are associated with neurological problems. The
question for 2005 is: are we doing it again?
No, not with lead. To her
credit, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm in November embraced a plan to
eliminate childhood lead poisoning in
Michigan by 2010.
Granholm has put new leadership behind lead poisoning prevention and signed
new laws to accelerate the day when no
Michigan
child's brain is impaired by toxic lead.
Thanks to that initiative
-- and the national phase-out of lead in gasoline that began in the 1970s --
the average level in the blood of
U.S. children plummeted
more than sevenfold between 1978 and 1999. It's a huge victory for public
health.
Unfortunately, what one
hand of government giveth, the other may taketh away. As evidence grows that
an assortment of chemicals in pesticides, consumer products, and
manufacturing may be interfering with the development of children's brains,
state and federal agencies are doing little to control these toxins.
Consider that an
estimated 70,000 chemicals are now permitted for use in the
U. S., but that toxicity
to the developing brain and nervous system of children has been determined
for relatively few of them. Consider that
Michigan
and surrounding states and Ontario are among the biggest users of chemicals
and generators of chemical wastes. Consider, too, that in the Great Lakes
region, water circulates slowly, allowing chemicals and metals like mercury
to build up in fish and wildlife. Further many low-income families, people
of color and sport anglers consume lots of fish. Consider, finally, that in
the early stages of life, a child's brain and central nervous system are
undergoing remarkable development. The director of the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences has stated, "A little kid goes from a single
cell to a laughing, sociable, intelligent, friendly human being over a
course of two years -- that's dramatic growth and development." In this
exquisitely sensitive time, exposure to the wrong chemical at the wrong time
-- in doses that wouldn't faze an adult -- can have lifelong effects.
Studies of children born to heavy consumers of fish contaminated with PCBs
or mercury suggest that their brains are noticeably impaired.
It's not just
Great Lakes
fish that cause the problem. Dr. William Weil, a pediatrician and professor
emeritus at
Michigan State, advises women to also limit servings of tuna to one per week
and to avoid serving it to their young children. "The first trimester is
crucial for brain development," Weil said. "If you're going to get pregnant,
don't eat these fish for (the first) 120 days."
Although there is no
reason for panic, there is plenty of reason for action. When it comes to the
health of children's brains, there is no cost-benefit equation that can
properly render the chemical damage done by reduced intelligence, behavioral
problems, and the resulting emotional price that families pay. As a society,
we're smarter than we were in the 1920s -- so do we really want to make our
children dumber so we adults can enjoy "the good life" allegedly made
possible by chemicals?
The answer should be no.
And we can have most of that good life without hurting our children. If we
require testing to assure the safety of chemicals to children's brains
before they can be used, if we ban the chemicals that are suspected today of
harming children, and if we help parents protect their children from toxins
in every day life, we can avoid another lead-like catastrophe.
--
Joyce
Braithwaite-Brickley was assistant to the Michigan Republican Party chairman
and political advisor and campaign manager for former Gov. William G.
Milliken. Her essays have appeared widely in the state.
priorities@charter.net --
A photo of Joyce Braithwaite-Brickley is available
CLICK HERE
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