Dr. Jill, Stein, M.D.This is a featured page



December 15,2008

Subject: Missouri Green Cleaning Committee

Dear Mr. Quinn, Dr. Thompson, and Missouri Green Cleaning Committee,

I am writing to you as a board member of Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, a former Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and co-author of an environmental health report on toxic chemicals and children's health. This report, In Harm's Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development, has been used as the basis of physician education programs in medical schools across the country. It also provides the basis for the "Pediatric Environmental Tool Kit" which is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and will soon be offered as an online course by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry of the US Center for Disease Control.

I appreciate having been informed by Sue Carroll that the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is developing guidelines to support an initiative to green the cleaning chemicals in schools, as a result of state legislature SB 1181. I strongly commend this exemplary initiative. I believe there are compelling public health, economic and moral imperatives for this program that will provide important protection for the health of children.

I was asked by Sue Carroll to comment on what children's age groups are at risk for harm from toxic exposures. The answer to that question is that children of all ages are at risk for neurotoxic threats – from fetal life, through infancy, childhood and adolescence – and should be considered sensitive populations.

That's because all stages of brain development, from conception until adulthood, represent windows of vulnerability, and are susceptible to disruption by even low-level exposures to neurotoxicants. Normal brain development depends on an integrated, carefully timed sequence of events. Even temporary disruption of any stage of this process can cause lifelong disabilities.

Not only is the brain still developing during adolescence, this period represents a time in which some kinds of chemicals may bioaccumulate, creating a reservoir that can later be passed to the fetus during pregnancy, and to the infant during breast-feeding. Therefore, reducing toxic exposures can benefit both current and future generations.

Chemical exposures during early life can also contribute to a variety of serious illnesses in later adulthood. For example, laboratory studies in animals now show that early life exposures to some pesticides increase susceptibility to damage later in life. In animal models early exposures to various pesticides cause later damage to brain cells known to be involved in Parkinson's disease.

Cleaning materials, it should be mentioned, often contain chemicals that may harm other organ systems in addition to the brain. Notably, they may contain respiratory irritants (such as monoethanolamine and ammonium quaternary compounds) and hormone disrupting chemicals (such as glycol ethers, alkyl phenol etholxylates and pthalates). Respiratory irritants add to the very substantial burden of asthma in children and adults, and hormone disrupting chemicals are linked to fertility problems and birth defects.

These and other emerging links underscore the importance of reducing exposure to known and potential toxicants in schools as well as other settings. We have provided hard copies of materials we hope will be useful to the development of guidelines for Missouri's clean green school initiative: "In Harm's Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development" and a companion brochure for health care providers entitled "Out of Harm's Way: Preventing Toxic Threats to Child Development". You can also access these materials directly from our website at

http://www.psr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=boston_ihwreport and http://www.psr.org/site/DocServer/Out_of_Harms_Way_-_Health_Care_Providers.pdf?docID=577 .

In addition, I am attaching copies of a recent report, entitled "Household Hazards – Potential Hazards of Home Cleaning Products". The report was written by Ann Blake, Ph.D, and Tony Ward, Ph.D, of the Center for Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Montana. It summarizes a substantial body of studies on respiratory and endocrine disrupting chemicals in cleaning agents.

I wish you the very best in your important work ahead.

Best regards,


Jill Stein, M.D.,
Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
66 Union Square, Suite 204
Somerville, MA 02143-3040
www.psr.org/boston

Return to Letters
Return Home


No user avatar
MOKIDSHEALTH 		Latest page update: made by MOKIDSHEALTH , Jan 22 2009, 9:47 AM EST (about this update About This Update MOKIDSHEALTH Edited by MOKIDSHEALTH

2 words added
1 word deleted

view changes
- complete history)
Keyword tags: Author In Harm's Way course for ATSDR Environmental Tool Kit Harvard Medical School In Harm's Way Pediatric Environmental Tool Toxic Exposures
More Info: links to this page

Threads for this page

There are no threads for this page.  Be the first to start a new thread.