Gupta: Chemicals around us – we must know more

[Guest guest]

Gupta: Chemicals around us – we must know more

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/26/gupta-chemicals-around-us-we-must-\

know-more/?hpt=T1

This morning, I will be testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on

Environment & Public Works. When I received the call to do this, truthfully, I

was a little nervous. The topic is " Risks of toxic chemicals to children's

health, " something I have been interested in for a long time, and moreso after

having three kids of my own. In fact, for the last year, I investigated the

interplay between toxic chemicals and human health for a pair of documentaries

on CNN.

I learned more than a series of text books could've taught me. I spent time with

citizens in Mossville, Louisiana, arguably one of the most toxic cities in

America. For countless hours, I spoke to government officials and private sector

expert scientists both on and off camera. And, I looked carefully at the

research about the toxics we live with everyday. The most eye-opening part was

how much we don't know.

While I am not a toxicologist or chemist by training, as a neurosurgeon, I have

spent most of my life learning and trying to perfect the scientific method. Here

is what I can tell you: In science, we expect absolute proof. What's the old

adage? In God we trust; everyone else bring data. But, the reality is, we don't

always have that proof. And, it is the area of potential impact of toxics on

human health where the conventional scientific method is thoroughly challenged.

As things stand now: Out of the roughly 80,000 chemicals in commerce, only

around 200 have been tested, and only five have been restricted. I guess I

always assumed watchdog groups and the government had evaluated and signed off

on the safety of the chemicals we encounter in our lives. It's not to say that

all chemicals are bad. Again, it is how much we don't know.

Senate panel examining how chemicals in daily life affect kids' health

Make no mistake, learning things too late can be wildly dangerous. In the 1940s,

the pesticide DDT was declared harmless to humans and animals. Advertisements

showed housewives cheerfully spraying it all around the house, on the couches,

even spraying the dog. Today, DDT is banned in this country. We sometimes find

out chemicals we thought were harmless are not safe at all.

Lead is another example. Over the last 50 years, the acceptable levels of lead

in the human body have been lowered every decade. Now, we know no amount of lead

is safe. So many adults exposed to lead as children who suffered a whole range

of damage to the brain and nervous system wish they would've known then' what

they know now.

Experts all over the country told me a similar thing. In the United States,

chemicals are innocent until proven guilty. And, the only way they are proven

guilty is by health effects turning up in people who have been exposed, often

years later. In some ways, that makes us all guinea pigs.

And, in case you are curious: What I am describing isn't the same all over the

world. The European Union has adopted a different standard to evaluate

chemicals. It is more of a precautionary approach, and goes by the acronym

REACH. Simply, the burden of showing a chemical is safe has shifted from the

regulator to the producer. As a result citizens there know more about the air

they breathe, the food they eat and the water they drink. People in the industry

also told me this precautionary stance has not affected companies' bottom lines.

Besides the cost saving in waste disposal, experts seemed confident the

precautionary principle would spark innovation, create fewer hazardous chemicals

and allow companies to remain as profitable as ever.

This blog is already too long, and I have to go find a suitable tie to wear, and

yet – I didn't even write about what inspired me to show up before the Senate

today in the first place. I have three daughters now, and the world in which

they will live will be different than the one in which I grew up. How exactly it

will be different is up to us.