ÿþ<img src='smalllogo.gif' alt='Logo' /><br/><h1>Lancet underlines LEAS concern about toxins</h1><font face="Times"><font size="5" style="font-size: 20pt;">Backgrounder</font></font> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br/> </p> <h4 style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;" class="western">November 9, 2006</h4> <p>The report in the October 16, 2006 issue of Lancet, entitled Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals<sup><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote1sym" name="sdendnote1anc" class="sdendnoteanc"><sup>i</sup></a></sup>, pointed to a &ldquo;silent pandemic&rdquo; of neurodevelopmental disorders, potentially caused by fetal and early childhood exposure to industrial chemicals. While the neurotoxic effects of some of those chemicals are known, a lack of testing &mdash; especially testing that determines the effect on the developing brain &mdash; has raised the possibility that there could be many more that are unknown and unregulated. </p> <p>The chemicals identified as neurodevelopmental toxins in the Lancet report are in wide use throughout North America and the European Union. Many of them, such as xylene and toluene, are found in common consumer products such as paint products and graffiti removers. Many more appear in pesticide products, registered for both agricultural and domestic use.</p> <p>The pesticide example highlights the huge gaps in knowledge about the neurodevelopmental toxicity of chemicals currently. The US Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges that over 140 U.S.-registered pesticides are neurotoxic by their very mode of action, but the EPA has received developmental neurotoxicity testing data using validated protocols for only nine of them.<sup><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote2sym" name="sdendnote2anc" class="sdendnoteanc"><sup>ii</sup></a></sup> Similar figures do not exist for Canada, but the policies of Health Canada&rsquo;s Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) are closely harmonized with the U.S. suggesting that the picture isn&rsquo;t much different in Canada. In 2003, the Report of the Commissioner on Sustainable Development and the Environment stated that the federal government &ldquo;is not adequately ensuring that many pesticides used in Canada meet current standards for protecting health.&rdquo;<sup><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote3sym" name="sdendnote3anc" class="sdendnoteanc"><sup>iii</sup></a></sup></p> <p style="widows: 0; orphans: 0;">In Canada, as in the U.S. and Europe, there has been a significant increase in the incidence of such neurodevelopmental disorders as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). According to the trilateral Commission for Economic Cooperation, 28 percent of Canadian children (ages 0 to 11) have at least one identifiable learning or behavioural problem and 16 percent of Canadian children (ages four to five) show delayed vocabulary skills.<sup><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote4sym" name="sdendnote4anc" class="sdendnoteanc"><sup>iv</sup></a></sup> A 2003 review in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry reported a 50 per rise in autism to the current incidence rate of 6 per 1,000 population.<sup><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote5sym" name="sdendnote5anc" class="sdendnoteanc"><sup>v</sup></a></sup> Numerous studies have linked environmental toxins to the rise in neurodevelopmental disorders and impairment.<sup><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote6sym" name="sdendnote6anc" class="sdendnoteanc"><sup>vi</sup></a></sup></p> <p>The Labour Environmental Alliance Society believes that the federal government and regulatory agencies such as Health Canada should take a precautionary approach to toxic chemicals, including neurotoxins, developmental toxins and carcinogens. That approach should include ingredient and hazard labelling of all consumer chemical products and an expedited review of industrial chemicals currently in use, with priority given to those that potentially pose a risk to fetal or child development.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">LEAS has also been working with schools, through the Toxins-Free Schools initiative and the Cleaners and Toxins project, to review chemicals used in the school environment, including cleaning and maintenance products, as well as art and shop materials. There have been significant changes in cleaning product use over the past few years, and LEAS has worked with a number of districts to replace toxic products with safer substitutes. But there are many districts where changes have not been made, and LEAS is encouraging trustees, parents, custodians and teachers to push for a full inventory of potentially toxic chemicals in their schools and to encourage school boards to sign LEAS&rsquo; Statement of Principles on Toxins Free Schools.</p> <p lang="en-CA" class="sdendnote-western"><br/> </p> <div id="sdendnote1"> <p lang="en-US" class="sdendnote-western"><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote1anc" name="sdendnote1sym" class="sdendnotesym">i</a> Grandjean, Philippe; Landrigan, Philip, Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals. Lancet online edition.10.1016 Lancet. com</p> </div> <div id="sdendnote2"> <p lang="en-US" class="sdendnote-western"><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote2anc" name="sdendnote2sym" class="sdendnotesym">ii</a> Bellinger, David; Lanphear, Bruce; Vorhees, Charles. H. Protecting Children from Environmental Toxins. PloS Medicine online edition March, 2005, page 205</p> </div> <div id="sdendnote3"> <p lang="en-US" class="sdendnote-western"><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote3anc" name="sdendnote3sym" class="sdendnotesym">iii</a> Report of the Commissioner on Sustainable Development and the Environment, 2003. Managing the safety and effectiveness of pesticides. Available online at:</p> <p lang="en-US" class="sdendnote-western"> http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/c20031001ce.html#ch1hd3b</p> </div> <div id="sdendnote4"> <p lang="en-US" class="sdendnote-western"><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote4anc" name="sdendnote4sym" class="sdendnotesym">iv</a> Toxic Chemicals and Children&rsquo;s Health in North America. Commission for Economic Cooperation, May 2006, page 8.</p> </div> <div id="sdendnote5"> <p lang="en-US" class="sdendnote-western"><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote5anc" name="sdendnote5sym" class="sdendnotesym">v</a> <font face="ArialMS, Times, sans-serif">Fombonne, E., 2003: Modern Views of Autism, Can. J. Psychiatry, 48:503-505.</font></p> </div> <div id="sdendnote6"> <p lang="en-US" class="sdendnote-western"><a href="/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm#sdendnote6anc" name="sdendnote6sym" class="sdendnotesym">vi</a> Bellinger, David; Lanphear, Bruce; Vorhees, Charles. H. Protecting Children from Environmental Toxins. PloS Medicine online edition March, 2005. page 204</p> </div><br/><br/><small>http://leas.ca/Lancet-underlines-LEAS-concern-about-toxins.htm <br/>Updated: November 22, 2006</small>