(In CDC’s Environmental Health Laboratory,
ORISE Fellow José Perez injects
calibration
material into a mass spectrometer used to
analyze pesticide
levels in people.)
Dozens of chemicals are introduced into the marketplace each week. Of the 7 million known chemicals, 70,000 are in current use, and more than 1,000 are added worldwide each year. Many of these chemicals are toxic, and people are adversely affected through direct exposure or by eating the plants and animals that have these chemicals. The chemicals range from such primary elements as lead, mercury, and radiological materials to synthetic chemicals, such as dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and chlorinated pesticides. Other hazardous substances occur naturally, of which asbestos is a main example. At some point, every human is exposed to hazardous substances. Everyone carries a “body burden” of chemicals (the total amount of chemicals that are present in the human body at a given point in time). The major issue is not whether we are being exposed, but whether the exposures exceed the body=s ability to detoxify, adapt, or compensate to prevent toxic effects.
Children are especially at risk from exposure to hazardous substances. Children make up 10% of the world’s population. More than 40% of environmental disease cases occur in children aged 5 years and younger.
Children are uniquely vulnerable to toxicants in the environment. Pound for pound, children eat more food, breathe more air, and drink more water. Their hand-to-mouth behaviors and their activities close to the ground increase their chances for exposure to hazardous substances. Their metabolic pathways are immature, so they detoxify and excrete pollutants less efficiently than adults. In addition, children are growing and developing rapidly, which can be disrupted by hazardous substances in the environment. After childhood exposure, they can get diseases that can take many decades to develop.
The use of some hazardous substances to meet social and economic goals often prevails over environmental health concerns. Lack of effective policy and regulations to prevent exposures to hazardous substances often stems from a lack of scientific information necessary for accurate risk assessments and from the general public’s lack of education about environmental health effects.
Globally, disadvantaged populations are more exposed to hazardous substances as a result of exposures in the workplace, environmental contamination, unregulated disposal in garbage dumps, and a lack of knowledge about how to avoid exposure.
NCEH/ATSDR EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE
CDC analyzes and develops recommendations for addressing human exposures to hazardous substances. For more than 20 years, NCEH/ATSDR has investigated the health effects of hazardous substances in the U.S. environment, developing health consultations, health assessments, and health studies. Also, NCEH/ATSDR has developed and has made available 161 toxicological profiles on the most prevalent and toxic substances that are contaminating the environment. More than 75 nations use the information, research, and expertise developed by NCEH/ATSDR. NCEH/ATSDR’s health education program translates the research into public health action, trains health care providers, and empowers communities to take actions to prevent exposure to hazardous substances.
NCEH/ATSDR conducts research to improve biomonitoring methods. The laboratory has biomonitoring measurements for nearly 300 chemicals. NCEH/ATSDR runs a very successful program in childhood lead poisoning prevention. The agency also serves as the public health oversight authority for the Department of Defense’s task of destroying the entire U.S. chemical weapons stockpile, as required under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
All this expertise and experience can be deployed on a global scale, provided resources are made available to underwrite the expansion.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30333, U.S.A
Tel: (404) 639-3311 • CDC Contact Center: 800-CDC-INFO • 888-232-6348 (TTY)
