Exposure to industrial chemicals in the womb or early in life can impair brain development but only a handful are controlled to protect children, researchers said on Wednesday.
One in every six children has some kind of developmental disability, and most of these affect the nervous system.
Exposure to toxic chemicals during fetal development can be linked to autism, attention deficit disorder, cerebral palsy and developmental delays, say the study’s authors.
There is also a lack of research and testing to identify which chemicals cause the most harm or how they should be regulated, they added.
“Only a few substances, such as lead and mercury, are controlled with the purpose of protecting children,” said Philippe Grandjean of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts and the University of Southern Denmark.
“The 200 other chemicals that are known to be toxic to the human brain are not regulated to prevent adverse effects on the fetus or a small child,” he added.
In a review published online by The Lancet medical journal, Grandjean and Philip Landrigan of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York identified 202 industrial chemicals known to be toxic to the human brain.