A new U.S. report documents a disturbing link between toxic pollutionand learning and developmental disabilities in children. The report,entitled Polluting our Future, echoes similar findings released lastmonth by a team of Canadian researchers. The Canadian report claims aconnection between environmental contaminants such as pesticides, smogand food additives and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder andother learning disabilities. For Great Lakes Radio Consortiumcommentator Suzanne Elston, the studies mark the end of a fifteen-yearsearch for answers:
Transcript
A new U.S. report documents a disturbing link between toxic pollution
and learning and developmental disabilities in children. The report,
entitled Polluting our Future, echoes similar findings released last
month by a team of Canadian researches. The Canadian reports claims a
connection between environmental contaminants such as pesticides,
smog and food additives and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
and other learning disabilities. For Great Lakes Radio Consortium
commentator Suzanne Elston, the studies mark the end of a
fifteen-year search for answers.
Almost right from the minute he was born, our son Matthew was a busy
boy. By the time he’d started school, he was quite a handful. At ten,
he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or
ADHD.
We’ve suspected all along that Matthew’s behavior was somehow linked
with a chemical imbalance. For years I couldn’t figure out how this
could’ve happened. When I was pregnant, I wouldn’t put anything in
my mouth or near my body that could possibly harm my baby – or so I
thought. I avoided everything from second-hand smoke to household
cleaners. I even went nine months without a cup of coffee. When it
came time to deliver, it was strictly au natural. As an infant,
Matthew was fed exclusively on breast milk until he graduated to our
own organically grown vegetables. Over the years, we’ve tried to
eliminate food additives and other possible chemical triggers from
his diet. In short, we couldn’t point to a single factor that could
be causing his behavior, or help to improve it. We even tried
Ritalin, with little success.
Now these two new reports have finally given us some insight into
what may have happened. Despite my precautions during pregnancy, I
was unknowingly exposed to all the environmental contaminants that
pollute the air and water in the Great Lakes basin.
As much as our son’s behavior is difficult to live with, his symptoms
are mild compared with some of the disabilities linked with
neurological toxins. According to the studies, mental retardation,
birth defects and autism are caused, at least in part, by toxic
exposure. The U.S. report says that disabilities in more than 360,000
children can be directly attributed to chemical exposure, and that
figure could go much higher. In total, 12 million U.S. children – or
one out of every six kids – has some kind of developmental, learning
or behavioral disability.
On a national scale, this is nothing short of a major environmental
disaster. We are permanently damaging our most precious resource. But
for the families who struggle with these children day to day, the
question becomes, “What now?’ After all these years of searching,
finally finding the possible cause of Matthew’s uncontrollable
behavior is cold comfort. Despite our best intentions in the world,
the damage has already been done.