Women and Chemicals

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What are the main harmful substances that women are exposed to? Heavy metals – lead and mercury Mercury Women are exposed to mercury directly as well as indirectly from the air they inhale and from the water and the food that they consume every day. As tests have shown, already many women have elevated levels of mercury in the blood, hair, urine, and breast milk. Mercury is toxic for the nervous system, the cardiovascular system and the kidneys. “It is generally accepted that developing organ systems (such as the foetal nervous system) are the most sensitive to toxic effects of mercury. Foetal brain mercury levels appear to be significantly higher than in maternal blood, and the developing central nervous system of the foetus is currently regarded as the main system of concern as it demonstrates the greatest sensitivity. Other systems that may be affected include the respiratory, gastrointestinal, hematologic, immune, and reproductive systems.“ 11 Methylmercury crosses the blood-brain barrier and also the placenta from mother to baby. It can cause mental impairments and learning disabilities, eye and hearing damage during pregnancy as a result of their mother’s exposure. Mercury can be passed on to the baby though breast milk. 12 Pregnant women are recommended as far as possible to not eat certain fish, since methylmercury bioaccumulates in the food chain, especially in fish. Mercury is also found in non-food products like cosmetics and medical accessories and aids such as dental amalgam fillings and thermometers. Lead Exposure to lead is extremely harmful to children and adults, since the health effects are generally irreversible and can have a lifelong impact. Most vulnerable the prenatal phase, as pregnant women can transfer lead to the foetus. The younger the child, the more harmful lead can be. WHO counts lead as a modifiable environmental factor among the top ten causes for the most dangerous children’s diseases. 13 Lead has also multigenerational effects, since it is mainly carried in the bone and can be mobilized during pregnancy. Thus, lead exposure in a pregnant woman’s history may affect the health of her children. 14 Common sources of lead exposure are paints, water from lead water pipes, contaminated soil and products such as toys, jewelry and cosmetics. 52
What are the main harmful substances that women are exposed to? Endnotes chapter 6 1 Global Chemical Outlook (2013), p.10 2 Global Chemical Outlook (2013), p. 187ff 3 PAN International (2013): List of Highly Hazardous Pesticides http://www. pan-germany.org/download/PAN_HHP_List_140527_F 4 Barrett, J. et al. (2009): Girl, disrupted. Hormone Disruptors and Women’s Reproductive Health. p. 9-11 5 UNEP/WHO (2012): State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals 6 www.endocrinedisruption.org 7 Barrett, J. et al. (2009): Girl, disrupted. Hormone Disruptors and Women’s Reproductive Health 8 Crain, DA. et al. (2008): Female reproductive disorders: the roles of endocrine disrupting compounds and developmental timing. In: Fertility and Sterility. 90, p. 911-940. www.fertstert.org/article/S0015– 0282(08)03555-3/abstract (retrieved February 2014) 9 Global Chemical Outlook (2013), p. 33 10 http://www.pops-gmp.org/index.php?pg=gmp-data-warehouse (retrieved May 2014) 11 UNEP DTIE and WHO (2008): Guidance for Identifying Populations at Risk from Mercury Exposure, p.4 http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/ Mercury/MercuryPublications/GuidanceTrainingmaterialToolkits/GuidanceforIdentifyingPopulationsatRisk/tabid/3616/language/en-U.S./ Default.aspx 12 UNEP (2008): Mercury, A priority for action, Introduction booklet, p. 5 13 http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/ preventingdisease.pdf 14 http://www.chem.unep.ch/pops/pdf/lead/leadexp.pdf, p.12 53
Page 1 and 2: Women and Chemicals The impact of h
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Page 5 and 6: 1 Summary 6 5 Women as agents of ch
Page 7 and 8: Summary mented by governments. UNEP
Page 9 and 10: WOMEN CAN BE KEY AGENTS OF CHANGE W
Page 11 and 12: Why women? Gender and other social
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Page 57 and 58: Existing initiatives Important prop
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Page 61 and 62: Conclusions and recommendations Dur
Page 63 and 64: Bibliography Bibliography Apelberg,
Page 65 and 66: Abbreviations ASGM Artisanal and sm

Women and Chemicals

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