(In CDC’s Environmental Health Laboratory,
ORISE Fellow José Perez injects
calibration
material into a mass spectrometer used to
analyze pesticide
levels in people.)
Chemicals range from natural elements such as lead, mercury, and arsenic to synthetics such as dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and chlorinated pesticides. Not all chemicals are hazardous. Whether chemicals in the environment pose human health hazards depends on whether people are exposed (through contact, ingestion, inhalation, or absorption), the toxicity of the chemical, and the exposure dose. For some toxicants, such as lead, for example, much is known about the metabolism of the substance in the body, its health effects, and appropriate medical interventions for those who have been exposed. For others, such as endocrine disruptors, for example, we are only beginning to understand the mechanisms of action in the body and the potential effects on health.
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, and normal development can be disrupted by some hazardous substances in the environment. Although children make up 10% of the world’s population, more than 40% of environmental disease cases occur in children aged 5 years and younger.
Globally, disadvantaged populations are more exposed to hazardous substances as a result of exposures in the workplace, uncontrolled cottage industries, environmental contamination, unregulated disposal in garbage dumps, and a lack of knowledge about how to avoid exposure. In developing countries, weak governance and unenforced regulations also play a major role, as do unregulated consumer goods. Worldwide, 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.
NCEH/ATSDR EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE
CDC analyzes and develops recommendations for addressing human exposures to hazardous substances. For more than 25 years, NCEH/ATSDR has investigated the health effects of hazardous substances in the environment. Also, NCEH/ATSDR has developed and has made available toxicological profiles on more than 250 of the most prevalent and toxic substances that are contaminating the environment.
The NCEH laboratory can measure at least 300 chemicals in people’s urine or blood and provides quality assurance services to international laboratories. NCEH laboratory scientists have provided training on analytical methods for measuring toxicants in biological samples around the world; and epidemiologists, toxicologists and other staff have responded to global requests for health investigations, environmental health surveillance systems, emergency responses, and epidemiological studies.
Click here for a list of current NCEH/ATSDR projects related to this topic.
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)
