Environmental Causes of Disease

13 May 2009

by Dr. Peter deFur

A recent scientific paper in Neurotoxicology reported that the incidence of autism is higher in the immediate vicinity of hazardous waste processing facilities. Such facilities are incinerators and storage sites, some treat hazardous waste with other chemicals to neutralize or otherwise detoxify the chemicals. This finding adds to the number of health conditions associated with or caused by pollution.

Suggestions of environmental causes of autism are not new, nor are other children’s developmental problems. About ten years ago, a number of parents grew concerned that their children’s autistic condition was caused by exposure to mercury. The mercury was principally from either vaccines or atmospheric deposition. The former, mercury used to preserve vaccines, was not supported in several subsequent scientific reviews and studies, but that use of mercury was ended, and a number of people remained concerned. The latter was well known and remains the subject of much controversy. Mercury is found in coal and when coal is burned in power plants, mercury is released, only to be deposited downwind. Mercury that is washed into rivers (known in a number of slow-moving eastern rivers) is converted to a highly toxic form, methyl mercury, that is then readily taken up by fish and passed on to people who eat the fish. Methyl mercury causes developmental delays in children, seen as IG deficits.

Two of the best known examples of environmental pollutants that cause health problems are lead and mercury causing neurological damage. Lead’s neurotoxicity has been known for thousands of years, and the ill-advised addition of tetra-ethyl lead to gasoline gave all the proof anyone needed that even low level exposure is deadly. Mercury causes many of the same neurological problems. And then we can point to polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs, that also interfere with normal brain development, among other things. Two feature movies highlighted the health problems caused by solvents and chromium in drinking water. The chemical dioxin, a by-product of incineration and accidental contaminant of Agent Orange and some other chemical products, is known to cause several types of cancer, reproductive disorders, immune system impairment, and other disorders. It is not news that toxic chemicals in the environment can cause serious and permanent health impairment in people who are exposed.

Now we add the places that handle and dispose of the toxic materials, hazardous waste facilities, to the list of sources of these exposures. Simply living near one is hazardous to your health. But citizen groups such as the Center for Health Environment and Justice (CHEJ) have been making this point for many years. In the interest of full disclosure, ESC supports CHEJ for the work they do to aid communities that face contamination problems.

The news that autism is associated with hazardous waste facilities gives us more reason than ever to take several important steps to protecting health. First, we stop using some of the toxic chemicals. Lead was taken out of gasoline and paint, mercury removed from vaccines, and most of us now can and should use citrus based cleaning products. Last year, Congress required removal of phthalates from children’s toys and baby products. Second, we can reduce our use of hazardous materials, especially products that contain the most toxic chemicals. California passed a law requiring labeling when people may be exposed to carcinogens or agents that can cause reproductive or developmental disorders. Third, we can and must be more stringent in our measures to contain hazardous waste.