This is the first page of a study from:
http://archive.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/execsumm.php
Executive Summary
Body Burden — The Pollution in Newborns
A benchmark investigation of industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides in umbilical cord blood
Environmental Working Group, July 14, 2005
Summary. In the month leading up to a baby's birth, the
umbilical cord pulses with the equivalent of at least 300 quarts of
blood each day, pumped back and forth from the nutrient- and
oxygen-rich placenta to the rapidly growing child cradled in a sac of
amniotic fluid. This cord is a lifeline between mother and baby,
bearing nutrients that sustain life and propel growth.
Not long ago scientists thought that the placenta shielded cord
blood — and the developing baby — from most chemicals and pollutants in
the environment. But now we know that at this critical time when
organs, vessels, membranes and systems are knit together from single
cells to finished form in a span of weeks, the umbilical cord carries
not only the building blocks of life, but also a steady stream of
industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides that cross the placenta
as readily as residues from cigarettes and alcohol. This is the human
"body burden" — the pollution in people that permeates everyone in the
world, including babies in the womb.
In a study spearheaded by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in
collaboration with Commonweal, researchers at two major laboratories
found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in
umbilical cord blood from 10 babies born in August and September of
2004 in U.S. hospitals. Tests revealed a total of 287 chemicals in the
group. The umbilical cord blood of these 10 children, collected by Red
Cross after the cord was cut, harbored pesticides, consumer product
ingredients, and wastes from burning coal, gasoline, and garbage.
This study represents the first reported cord blood tests for 261 of
the targeted chemicals and the first reported detections in cord blood
for 209 compounds. Among them are eight perfluorochemicals used as
stain and oil repellants in fast food packaging, clothes and textiles —
including the Teflon chemical PFOA, recently characterized as a likely
human carcinogen by the EPA's Science Advisory Board — dozens of widely
used brominated flame retardants and their toxic by-products; and
numerous pesticides.
Of the 287 chemicals we detected in umbilical cord blood, we know
that 180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain
and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development
in animal tests. The dangers of pre- or post-natal exposure to this
complex mixture of carcinogens, developmental toxins and neurotoxins
have never been studied.
Chemicals and pollutants detected in human umbilical cord blood
Mercury (Hg) - tested for 1, found 1
Pollutant
from coal-fired power plants, mercury-containing products, and certain
industrial processes. Accumulates in seafood. Harms brain development
and function. 
Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) - tested for 18, found 9
Pollutants from burning gasoline and garbage. Linked to cancer. Accumulates in food chain. 
Polybrominated dibenzodioxins and furans (PBDD/F) - tested for 12, found 7
Contaminants
in brominated flame retardants. Pollutants and byproducts from plastic
production and incineration. Accumulate in food chain. Toxic to
developing endocrine (hormone) system 
Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) - tested for 12, found 9
Active
ingredients or breakdown products of Teflon, Scotchgard, fabric and
carpet protectors, food wrap coatings. Global contaminants. Accumulate
in the environment and the food chain. Linked to cancer, birth defects,
and more. 
Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and furans (PBCD/F) - tested for 17, found 11
Pollutants,
by-products of PVC production, industrial bleaching, and incineration.
Cause cancer in humans. Persist for decades in the environment. Very
toxic to developing endocrine (hormone) system. 
Organochlorine pesticides (OCs) - tested for 28, found 21
DDT,
chlordane and other pesticides. Largely banned in the U.S. Persist for
decades in the environment. Accumulate up the food chain, to man. Cause
cancer and numerous reproductive effects. 
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) - tested for 46, found 32
Flame
retardant in furniture foam, computers, and televisions. Accumulates in
the food chain and human tissues. Adversely affects brain development
and the thyroid. 
Polychlorinated Naphthalenes (PCNs) - tested for 70, found 50
Wood
preservatives, varnishes, machine lubricating oils, waste incineration.
Common PCB contaminant. Contaminate the food chain. Cause liver and
kidney damage. 
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - tested for 209, found 147
Industrial
insulators and lubricants. Banned in the U.S. in 1976. Persist for
decades in the environment. Accumulate up the food chain, to man. Cause
cancer and nervous system problems.
Source: Chemical analyses of 10 umbilical cord blood samples were
conducted by AXYS Analytical Services (Sydney, BC) and Flett Research
Ltd. (Winnipeg, MB).
Chemical exposures in the womb or during infancy can be dramatically
more harmful than exposures later in life. Substantial scientific
evidence demonstrates that children face amplified risks from their
body burden of pollution; the findings are particularly strong for many
of the chemicals found in this study, including mercury, PCBs and
dioxins. Children's vulnerability derives from both rapid development
and incomplete defense systems:
- A developing child's chemical exposures are greater pound-for-pound than those of adults.
- An immature, porous blood-brain barrier allows greater chemical exposures to the developing brain.
- Children have lower levels of some chemical-binding proteins, allowing more of a chemical to reach "target organs."
- A baby's organs and systems are rapidly developing, and thus are often more vulnerable to damage from chemical exposure.
- Systems that detoxify and excrete industrial chemicals are not fully developed.
- The longer future life span of a child compared to an adult allows more time for adverse effects to arise.
The 10 children in this study were chosen randomly, from among
2004's summer season of live births from mothers in Red Cross'
volunteer, national cord blood collection program. They were not chosen
because their parents work in the chemical industry or because they
were known to bear problems from chemical exposures in the womb.
Nevertheless, each baby was born polluted with a broad array of
contaminants.
U.S. industries manufacture and import approximately 75,000
chemicals, 3,000 of them at over a million pounds per year. Health
officials do not know how many of these chemicals pollute fetal blood
and what the health consequences of in utero exposures may be.
Had we tested for a broader array of chemicals, we would almost
certainly have detected far more than 287. But testing umbilical cord
blood for industrial chemicals is technically challenging. Chemical
manufacturers are not required to divulge to the public or government
health officials methods to detect their chemicals in humans. Few labs
are equipped with the machines and expertise to run the tests or the
funding to develop the methods. Laboratories have yet to develop
methods to test human tissues for the vast majority of chemicals on the
market, and the few tests that labs are able to conduct are expensive.
Laboratory costs for the cord blood analyses reported here were $10,000
per sample.
A developing baby depends on adults for protection, nutrition, and,
ultimately, survival. As a society we have a responsibility to ensure
that babies do not enter this world pre-polluted, with 200 industrial
chemicals in their blood. Decades-old bans on a handful of chemicals
like PCBs, lead gas additives, DDT and other pesticides have led to
significant declines in people's blood levels of these pollutants. But
good news like this is hard to find for other chemicals.
The Toxic Substances Control Act, the 1976 federal law meant to
ensure the safety of commercial chemicals, essentially deemed 63,000
existing chemicals "safe as used" the day the law was passed, through
mandated, en masse approval for use with no safety scrutiny. It
forces the government to approve new chemicals within 90 days of a
company's application at an average pace of seven per day. It has not
been improved for nearly 30 years — longer than any other major
environmental or public health statute — and does nothing to reduce or
ensure the safety of exposure to pollution in the womb.
Because the Toxic Substances Control Act fails to mandate safety
studies, the government has initiated a number of voluntary programs to
gather more information about chemicals, most notably the high
production volume (HPV) chemical screening program. But these efforts
have been largely ineffective at reducing human exposures to chemicals.
They are no substitute for a clear statutory requirement to protect
children from the toxic effects of chemical exposure.
In light of the findings in this study and a substantial body of
supporting science on the toxicity of early life exposures to
industrial chemicals, we strongly urge that federal laws and policies
be reformed to ensure that children are protected from chemicals, and
that to the maximum extent possible, exposures to industrial chemicals
before birth be eliminated. The sooner society takes action, the sooner
we can reduce or end pollution in the womb.
Tests show 287 industrial chemicals in 10 newborn babies
Pollutants include consumer product ingredients, banned industrial chemicals and pesticides, and waste byproducts
td.tableindent { color: #333333; line-height: 100%; padding: 4px 10px 4px 10px; }
td.tablelighter { color: #333333; line-height: 100%; padding: 4px 10px 4px 10px; }
Sources and uses of chemicals in newborn bloodChemical family nameTotal number of chemicals found in 10 newborns (range in individual babies) Common consumer product chemicals
(and their breakdown products)47 chemicals
(23 - 38) Pesticides, actively used in U.S.Organochlorine pesticides (OCs)7 chemicals
(2 - 6) Stain and grease resistant coatings for food wrap, carpet, furniture (Teflon, Scotchgard, Stainmaster...)Perfluorochemicals (PFCs)8 chemicals
(4 - 8) Fire retardants in TVs, computers, furniturePolybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)32 chemicals
(13 - 29) Chemicals banned or severely restricted in the U.S.
(and their breakdown products)212 chemicals
(111 - 185) Pesticides, phased out of use in U.S.Organochlorine pesticides (OCs)14 chemicals
(7 - 14) Stain and grease resistant coatings for food wrap, carpet, furniture (pre-2000 Scotchgard)Perfluorochemicals (PFCs)1 chemicals
(1 - 1) Electrical insulatorsPolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)147 chemicals
(65 - 134) Broad use industrial chemicals - flame retardants, pesticides, electrical insultatorsPolychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs)50 chemicals
(22 - 40) Waste byproducts28 chemicals
(6 - 21) Garbage incineration and plastic production wastesPolychlorinated and Polybrominated dibenzo dioxins and furans (PCDD/F and PBDD/F)18 chemicals
(5 - 13) Car emissions and other fossil fuel combustionPolynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)10 chemicals
(1 - 10) Power plants (coal burning)Methylmercury1 chemicals
(1 - 1) All chemicals found287 chemicals
(154 - 231)
Source: Environmental Working Group
analysis of tests of 10 umbilical cord blood samples conducted by AXYS
Analytical Services (Sydney, BC) and Flett Research Ltd. (Winnipeg, MB).