New Test Shows High Level of Chemicals in Kids

(2)

Add Your Vote

A new test called "body burden" test, a reference to the chemical "burden," or legacy of toxins, running through our bloodstream. Some scientists refer to this testing as "biomonitoring."

Michelle Hammond and Jeremiah Holland were curious when a friend at the Oakland Tribune asked them and their two young children to take part in a cutting-edge study to measure the industrial chemicals in their bodies.

Tests showed Rowan's blood had high levels of a chemical that can cause thyroid dysfunction in rats.

“In the beginning, I wasn't worried at all; I was fascinated," said 37-year old Hammond.

But that fascination soon became fear, as tests showed that their children -- Rowan, then 18 months, and Mikaela, then 5 -- had chemical exposure levels up to seven times those of their parents.
"Rowan's been on this planet for 18 months, and he's loaded with a chemical I've never heard of," Holland, 37, said. "He had two to three times the level of flame retardants in his body that's been known to cause thyroid dysfunction in lab rats."

Most of us haven not yet heard of body burden testing, but it's a hot topic among public health experts and officials who warn that the industrial chemicals we come into contact with every day are accumulating in our bodies and endangering our health in ways we have yet to understand.

Tags:

biomonitoring, body-burden-test, industrial-chemicals, thyroid-dyfunction, public-health, children, chemicals, polybrominated-diphenyl-ethers, PBDE, flame-retardants, enviroment

Posted By:

second_one

1 Year, 3 months, 3 Weeks, 2 days, 33 minutes ago

News

All Votes: 2

Bookmark

Report abuse

Comments (1) | Who voted on this story (2) | Email this story

UnitedProject.org Inc. (c) 2006-2008 All content published on UnitedProject.org is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by your physician or other healthcare professionals. If you think you are experiencing a medical problem or an emergency please contact your physician, local emergency room or call 911. Healthcare benefits and discounts are not insurance and not intended as a substitute for health insurance. Except when other source is cited, all content posted by members is licensed under Creative Commons Public Domain License.

We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

Site last updated 01/07/09 - loaded in 0.0414 seconds