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Current query:Type: Scientific Studies
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Boys exposed to phthalates during pregnancy are less likely to choose “boy typical” toys such as trucks, suggesting that phthalates can alter brain development and gender-specific behaviors.
This is the first study to suggest a link between prenatal phthalate exposure and male behavior. The results indicate that phthalates can interfere with testosterone during development leading to a less masculinized brain. 16 November 2009. More...
Persistent pollutants measured in the blood of college students may be the remnants of past exposures instead of current exposures through food and dust, researchers conclude in a recently published study.
While different in structure and use, PCBs and DDT are types of long-lived pollutants that can persist in the environment, concentrate through food chains, and accumulate in fatty tissue of wildlife and people. They are slow to leave the body and are linked to some endocrine effects and cancers. 26 October 2009. More...
Flourescing fish may offer a quick and easy way to test if specific chemicals – or complex mixtures found in the environment – will affect the thyroid gland and its normal hormonal functions.
With so many chemical contaminants in the environment, rapid screening tools that target specific physiological processes or tissues are increasingly valuable to regulators and researchers. 2 October 2009. More...
Household dust is an important source of exposure to a lesser known – but ubiquitous and potentially toxic – flame retardant, reports a study from Belgium.
This study is the first to examine the relationship between dust, diet and serum concentrations of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs). Results are consistent with studies of other better known flame retardants, indicating that indoor sources may contribute most of human exposure to these chemicals. 8 September 2009. More...
A mother's contribution of pollutants to her offspring is more important to the survival of a young turtle than its exposure through food, according to a new wildlife study that compared the long-term effects of PCBs from both sources.
The results show for the first time that it is exposure from the mother, and not diet, that has more serious consequences for survival of these turtles. Additionally, the most severe effect --death-- was only seen after an 8-month delay. 3 September 2009. More...
New experiments with combinations of contaminants shows that mixtures can cause harm even when the level of each chemical in the mixture would cause no effect by itself.
Because people are exposed to hundreds of chemicals at a time--or more--these results indicate that setting safety standards based on the action of individual chemicals will not be sufficient to protect human health. 1 September 2009. More...
The common and highly-used herbicide atrazine can act within the brain to disrupt the cascade of hormone signals needed to initiate ovulation, finds a new study.
The results shed new light on the way atrazine affects the female reproductive system and the persistence of these effects when adults are exposed. 20 August 2009. More...
Scientists report that a number of Roundup formulations tested at very dilute concentrations can alter hormone actions and cause human liver cells to die within 24 hours of treatment.
The key factor affecting how dangerous the different formulations were lay in their "inert ingredients" ... chemicals usually protected by trade secrets clauses. 18 August 2009. More...
Sperm counts are lower in mice whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy to a mixture of particles found in diesel exhaust.
The results add to a small but growing series of studies that suggest exposure to diesel exhaust can disrupt the proper development of the testis in rats and mice and perhaps affect reproduction. 14 August 2009. More...
A new study conducted in New York City concludes that prenatal exposure to the common air pollutants – polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – can lower children’s IQ at kindergarten age.
While this is the first study to show that prenatal exposure to PAH can lower children’s IQ, PAHs are known to affect neurodevelopment, reproduction and growth, and to cause cancer. 13 August 2009. More...
Levels of contaminants in breast milk are more complicated than once thought; instead of a constant decline during nursing, levels may fluctuate from beginning to end, finds a new study that contradicts the long-held belief that the pollutants steadily wane.
The pollutants include flame retardants, dioxins and pesticides. Sometimes, concentrations actually increased over the course of breast feeding. 11 August 2009. More...
A new study in Mexico finds that women with higher exposure to phthalates during their third trimester of pregnancy were up to four times as likely to have their babies early.
This is the first human study to investigate associations between exposure to phthalates and preterm birth rates. Early births are of concern because they are associated with long-term health problems and are the leading cause of neonatal mortality in the United States, accounting for more than one third of infant deaths. 3 August 2009. More...
Women who are having difficulty conceiving may want to cut back on their soy consumption after a mouse study reveals that dietary exposure to genistein, a compound found in soy foods, can reduce the odds of a successful pregnancy in multiple ways.
The results reveal how natural compounds like genistein may have both risks – it can act as an endocrine disurptor to affect female reproduction – and benefits - such as protecting the heart. 28 July 2009. More...
Hudson Bay's polar bears are more contaminated with some pollutants now than in the past due to warmer temperatures that are melting ice sooner in the spring and forcing the bears to eat different food.
The bears now eat more harbor and harp seals and fewer bearded seals than before. This shift in diet resulted in higher levels of PCBs and flame retardants in their tissues. 27 July 2009. More...
The herbicide atrazine lowers the production of androgen hormones in male rats by altering the genes responsible for making them.
This is the first study to show that atrazine directly affects the genes responsible for hormone production in testicular cells. 27 July 2009. More...
Concentrations of PCBs, dioxins, and some flame retardant chemicals in human breast milk declined significantly between 1996 and 2006.
A new study of Swedish women confirms that PCBs -- a chemical used in electronics and transformers until the 1970s -- and dioxins and furans -- byproducts of industrial processes -- are less prevalent in breast milk now than in the mid 1990s. 24 July 2009. More...
A new study finds that a single tablet of an over-the-counter herbal medicine can raise the levels of phthalates in the body by 100-fold before being quickly eliminated.
The protective layer that coats the outside of drug capsules contains enough of a phthalate to drive levels in those taking the drugs above the daily intake limits designated by food regulatory agencies in Europe. 23 July 2009. More...
People who eat meat and poultry have significantly higher levels of common flame retardants compared to vegetarians.
The findings indicate that food may be a more important source of the contaminants, known as PBDEs, than previously thought. 22 July 2009. More...
Male rats reach puberty later and have skewed hormone levels after exposure to high concentrations of DEHP, a phthalate.
The researchers tested a wide range of DEHP levels in two different strains of rats and compared when the animals from the differen test groups hit puberty. The doses used – 10, 100, 300 and 900 milligrams per kilogram of rat body weight – are much higher than levels measured in people. 21 July 2009. More...
Chemicals heavily used in everyday products can end up in dust and increase people's exposure to the contaminants, reports a study by Belgium researchers who calculated exposure to bisphenol A, an antibacterial agent and a flame retardant through dust.
The researchers conclude that exposure to BPA, tetrabromobisphenol-A and triclosan from dust contributes to less than 10 percent of average total daily exposure. Diet and direct contact with personal care products are the the greatest contributors. 15 July 2009. More...
Researchers report that women with higher DDE blood concentrations were 2.5 times more likely to have high thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).
Increased concentrations of the long-lived pesticide residue were also associated with reduced thyroxine (T4) levels. Potential effects of chemicals on thyroid function during pregnancy are of concern because thyroid hormones play a crucial role in fetal brain development. 14 July 2009. More...
Women in menopause are more prone to the BPA-associated health effects of inflammation and oxidative stress than either men or women who are still menstruating, according to a study of Korean adults.
This is the first time BPA has been linked to these conditions in people and suggests older women may be more susceptible to the chemical's estrogen-like manner that drives these particular types of cell damage. Oxidative stress can be involved with aging, cancer and other disease states. 13 July 2009. More...
A new study from Harvard University has found that urine levels of BPA rise significantly when polycarbonate bottles are used for drinking water.
This is the first study to show that urinary levels of BPA are elevated after drinking cold liquids. 7 July 2009. More...
A team of researchers report that some low concentrations of a commercial brominated flame retardant mix – which have no effect in laboratory rats – caused pregnancy failures when fed to female mink.
The low levels tested also skewed thyroid hormone levels in juvenile offspring that were exposed during development and weaning. The younger animals were more sensitive to the chemicals than the adult animals. 30 June 2009. More...
Developmental exposure to PCBs can permanently damage hearing but co-exposure with methyl mercury reduces the effects.
The mercury doses were selected to achieve a ratio of PCBs to methyl mercury similar to that found in walleye caught by fisherman in Wisconsin, but the doses were higher than those typically encountered by people. 25 June 2009. More...
First time expectant mothers in the US have much lower blood levels of selected persistent organic pollutants than women did before the chemicals' ban and restrictions on use and emissions.
Levels of a PCB indicator fell drastically, from 140 nanograms per gram in women sampled between 1959-1966 to about 8 nanograms per gram in women from the more recent sample. Still, a metabolite of the insectide DDT, which has not been used in the US for 30 odd years, was detected in all of the women's blood. 23 June 2009. More...
A new study shows that pesticides, some already banned for decades from the US market, continue to persist in homes.
DDT and chlordane – two pesticides that have been banned for decades – were found in 42 percent and 74 percent of homes respectively. Chlorpyrifos and diazinon, both banned for several years, were detected in 78 percent and 35 percent of homes respectively. 16 June 2009. More...
Researchers have isolated a new estrogen-like compound in soy called glycinol. The authors report that glycinol appears to be as potent as other, similar compounds found in the legume and its many food products, such as tofu and soy milk.
Glycinol is a more effective estrogen mimic than other, more well known isoflavones commonly found in soy foods, including the widely studied isoflavones genistein and daidzein. 15 June 2009. More...
Some horse estrogens used in hormone replacement therapies make their way from people to wastewater and into fish where they may contribute to the feminization of the animals, reports a study from England.
Laboratory tests showed the hormones – one of which was more potent than human varieties – can turn on estrogen hormone systems in fish at very low concentrations. This is the first time scientists report that HRT-related horse estrogens in water coming into and leaving sewage treatment plants are estrogenic in fish. 9 June 2009. More...
Newborn girls exposed prenatally to phthalates scored poorly on a standard behavior test – and very differently from boys. The phthalate metabolites found in the mother's urine were associated with the girls' poor performance on tests of attention and alertness.
This is the first study to link phthalates to neurological development effects in humans. Previous health studies have linked phthalates to altered genital development, obesity, diabetes risk and poor sperm quality. 8 June 2009. More...
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