US scientists detect 55 chemicals in the blood of pregnant women and their children that have never been reported to humans and are related to plastic and cosmetics – along with 42 “mysterious” compounds
- Scientists have discovered 96 unique and strange chemicals in pregnant women
- The team found chemicals in the blood and in the newborns
- This suggests that chemicals travel to the baby through the placenta
- About 55 chemicals have never been reported in the human body
- The other 42 have no source or use – but experts say they come from products
- This includes plastics, cosmetics and even building materials
The scientists detected 109 chemicals during a study of 30 pregnant women, 55 of which were never seen in humans and 42 “mysterious chemicals” with no known sources or uses.
It is also believed that all 96 chemicals have been in the body for a long time, but only now have they been detected using high-resolution spectrometry – a technology that has only become accessible in the last decade.
A team at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) observed chemicals in women’s blood as well as their newborns, suggesting they were traveling through their mother’s placenta.
Although the chemicals are unknown, researchers suspect that they most likely come from consumer products such as cosmetics and plastics.
Scientists detected 109 chemicals during a study of pregnant women, of which 55 were never seen in humans and 42 “mysterious chemicals” without known sources or uses. Scientists have observed chemicals in the blood of women as well as their newborns
High resolution spectrometry (HRMS) was first developed about 50 years ago, but only in the last 10 years has it been made accessible to the scientific community.
This powerful tool is able to analyze dissolved organic matter by hitting it with a beam of light that shines through a sample and breaks it into different pieces based on particles, reports Popular Mechanics.
And each chemical element and compound in the sample produces its own signature, allowing scientists to determine them individually.
The UCSF team collected 60 blood samples from 30 different pregnant women, along with 30 umbilical cord samples.
The UCSF team collected 60 blood samples from 30 different pregnant women, along with 30 umbilical cord samples (stock photo)
Through HRMS, the analysis revealed 662 chemical signatures when hit with positive ions and 788 with negative.
The researchers then combined similar samples, sorted them and identified 109 unique results – many of them from different consumer products.
About 40 are used as plasticizers, 28 in cosmetics, 25 in consumer products, 29 as pharmaceuticals, 23 as pesticides and three as fire retardants.
The team also identified seven PFAS compounds according to which the EPA states are a group of man-made chemicals “that has been” manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the world, including the United States, since the 1940s. ”.
These compounds are mostly used in carpets and upholstery, among other construction tasks.
Plasticizers, according to the study, most likely come from food packaging and plastic utensils, along with appliances.
About 40 are used as plasticizers (this includes plastic containers for food), 28 in cosmetics, 25 in consumer products, 29 as pharmaceuticals, 23 as pesticides and three as flame retardants.
Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at UCSF, said: “These chemicals have probably been in humans for some time, but our technology now helps us identify more of them.
“It is very worrying that we cannot identify the uses or sources of so many of these chemicals.”
“The EPA needs to do a better job of asking the chemical industry to standardize its reporting of compounds and chemical uses.
“And they need to use their authority to make sure we have adequate information to assess potential damage to health and to remove hazardous chemicals from the market.”