70
Three disease catastrophes signaled wider and more consequential problems
with toxic exposures: in utero exposures to methylmercury (1950s), thalidomide
(1950s and 1960s) and diethylstilbestrol (1950s–1960s) (Cranor 2011, 2017a).
There is “no placental barrier per se: the vast majority of chemicals given a pregnant
animal (or woman) reach the fetus in significant concentrations soon after administration.” (Schardein 2000). Recently created plastic nanoparticles can also cross the
placenta, contaminating and potentially harming embryos or fetuses (Wick et al.
2010). Tiny doses of mutagenic carcinogens, lead, Thalidomide, and some other
compounds can trigger diseases (Cranor 2017a). And all of this may adversely
affect certain subsets of individuals because of identified susceptibility genes for
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Perera et al. 1999), organophosphate pesticides
(Huen et al. 2009) and methylmercury (Julvez et al. 2013).
Moreover, these are not merely theoretical points. Trasande and Liu (2011)
estimate that the annual costs of pediatric diseases of environmental origin include
the following: neurological conditions caused by lead ($50.9 billion) and
methylmercury ($5.1 billion), intellectual disability ($5.4 billion), autism ($7.9
billion), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ($5.0 billion), along with the immune
system disorder of asthma ($2.2 billion), and childhood cancer ($95 million). A best
total estimate of these diseases is $76.6 billion (see also Cranor 2017a).
Animal data reveal even greater concerns for ill-timed exposures: in utero
exposures to toxicants can trigger transgenerational reproductive and other disorders.
In utero toxic exposure when reproductive organs are developing causes
transgenerational reproductive harm and some cancers in males and females alike
through four generations (Cranor 2017a).
5 Occupational Risks to Adults and Children
Finally both parents contaminated with toxicants, not just women, can adversely
affect developing children. Males contaminated with Paxil, anesthetic gases, morphine, lead, mercury, pesticides, solvents, dyes, and paints can produce miscarriages, along with prenatal or neonatal problems (Cranor 2017a).
Contaminated parents raise urgent issues for occupational protections. Workers
are typically “callously” unprotected (Morris 2015a). For instance, “Yvette Flores’s
body was a ‘toxic warehouse before [her son] Mark was conceived.’” He was born
with “extensive cognitive impairment,” caused by in utero lead exposure (Morris
2015a) that violated his bodily integrity. At age 36 he has no ordinary opportunities
available to the vast majority of fellow citizens; he will need the care of an adult the
rest of his life because he cannot conduct daily living activities on his own. This
points to yet another issue of justice: occupational settings should have increased
(primordial?) occupational protections from risks to adults and their future children
(Cranor 2017a).
Postmarket laws are unjust; they cannot prevent chronic diseases and morbidity
in children or adults caused by others, permitting harm to both and undermining
lifetime opportunities for some of us. The developmental origins of disease and our
C. F. Cranor
Three disease catastrophes signaled wider and more consequential problems
with toxic exposures: in utero exposures to methylmercury (1950s), thalidomide
(1950s and 1960s) and diethylstilbestrol (1950s–1960s) (Cranor 2011, 2017a).
There is “no placental barrier per se: the vast majority of chemicals given a pregnant
animal (or woman) reach the fetus in significant concentrations soon after administration.” (Schardein 2000). Recently created plastic nanoparticles can also cross the
placenta, contaminating and potentially harming embryos or fetuses (Wick et al.
2010). Tiny doses of mutagenic carcinogens, lead, Thalidomide, and some other
compounds can trigger diseases (Cranor 2017a). And all of this may adversely
affect certain subsets of individuals because of identified susceptibility genes for
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Perera et al. 1999), organophosphate pesticides
(Huen et al. 2009) and methylmercury (Julvez et al. 2013).
Moreover, these are not merely theoretical points. Trasande and Liu (2011)
estimate that the annual costs of pediatric diseases of environmental origin include
the following: neurological conditions caused by lead ($50.9 billion) and
methylmercury ($5.1 billion), intellectual disability ($5.4 billion), autism ($7.9
billion), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ($5.0 billion), along with the immune
system disorder of asthma ($2.2 billion), and childhood cancer ($95 million). A best
total estimate of these diseases is $76.6 billion (see also Cranor 2017a).
Animal data reveal even greater concerns for ill-timed exposures: in utero
exposures to toxicants can trigger transgenerational reproductive and other disorders.
In utero toxic exposure when reproductive organs are developing causes
transgenerational reproductive harm and some cancers in males and females alike
through four generations (Cranor 2017a).
5 Occupational Risks to Adults and Children
Finally both parents contaminated with toxicants, not just women, can adversely
affect developing children. Males contaminated with Paxil, anesthetic gases, morphine, lead, mercury, pesticides, solvents, dyes, and paints can produce miscarriages, along with prenatal or neonatal problems (Cranor 2017a).
Contaminated parents raise urgent issues for occupational protections. Workers
are typically “callously” unprotected (Morris 2015a). For instance, “Yvette Flores’s
body was a ‘toxic warehouse before [her son] Mark was conceived.’” He was born
with “extensive cognitive impairment,” caused by in utero lead exposure (Morris
2015a) that violated his bodily integrity. At age 36 he has no ordinary opportunities
available to the vast majority of fellow citizens; he will need the care of an adult the
rest of his life because he cannot conduct daily living activities on his own. This
points to yet another issue of justice: occupational settings should have increased
(primordial?) occupational protections from risks to adults and their future children
(Cranor 2017a).
Postmarket laws are unjust; they cannot prevent chronic diseases and morbidity
in children or adults caused by others, permitting harm to both and undermining
lifetime opportunities for some of us. The developmental origins of disease and our
C. F. Cranor