Human reproduction, health broadly damaged by toxic chemicals - report

By Carey Gillam
Oct 1 (Reuters) - Exposure to toxic chemicals in food, water
and air is linked to millions of deaths, and costs billions of
dollars every year, according to a report published Thursday by
an international organization of medical professionals.
Among the poor health outcomes linked to pesticides, air
pollutants, plastics and other chemicals, according to the
report from the International Federation of Gynecology and
Obstetrics (FIGO), an organization representing obstetrical and
gynecological associations from 125 countries, are miscarriage
and still births, an increase in cancer, attention problems and
hyperactivity.
"Exposure to toxic environmental chemicals during pregnancy
and breastfeeding is ubiquitous and is a threat to healthy human
reproduction," the report states.
The piece was written by a team of physicians and scientists
from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, including
from the World Health Organization. It was published in the
International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics ahead of a
global conference on women's health issues next week in
Vancouver, British Columbia.
"We are drowning our world in untested and unsafe chemicals
and the price we are paying in terms of our reproductive health
is of serious concern," Gian Carlo Di Renzo, a physician and
lead author of the FIGO opinion.
Chemical manufacturing is expected to grow fastest in
developing countries in the next five years, according to FIGO.
The group said international trade agreements such as the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TPP), under
negotiation between the United States and the European Union,
lack much-needed protections against toxic chemicals.
The report also cited several examples of the range of the
problem: seven million people worldwide die each year because of
exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution; healthcare and
other costs from exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in
Europe are estimated at a minimum of 157 billion euros a year;
and the cost of childhood diseases related to environmental
toxins and pollutants in air, food, water, soil and in homes and
neighborhoods in the United States was calculated at $76.6
billion in 2008.
FIGO said health professionals should advocate for policies
to prevent exposure to toxic environmental chemicals as well as
to ensure a healthy food system, among other recommendations.