US scientists detect 55 chemicals in the blood of pregnant women and their children that have never been reported in humans before and that are linked to plastics and cosmetics – along with 42 ‘mysterious’ compounds
- Scientists discovered 96 unique and strange chemicals in pregnant women
- The team found the chemicals in their blood as well as in newborn babies
- This suggests that the 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 construction materials
Scientists discovered 109 chemicals in a study of 30 pregnant women, including 55 who had never been seen in humans and 42 “mysterious chemicals” with no sources or known uses.
It is also believed that all 96 chemicals have been in the body for a long time, but have only now been detected through the use of high-resolution spectrometry – a technology that has only become accessible in the last decade.
A team from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) observed the chemicals in the women’s blood and also in their newborn children, suggesting that they travel through the mother’s placenta.
While the chemicals are unknown, researchers suspect they most likely come from consumer products such as cosmetics and plastic.
Scientists discovered 109 chemicals in a study of pregnant women, including 55 that had never been seen in humans and 42 “mysterious chemicals” with no sources or known uses. Scientists observed the chemicals in the women’s blood as well as in their newborn children
High-resolution spectrometry (HRMS) was first developed some 50 years ago, but was only made affordable to the scientific community in the last 10 years.
This powerful tool is capable of analyzing dissolved organic matter by hitting it with a beam of light that shines through a sample and breaking it into different pieces based on the particles, Popular Mechanics reports.
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 samples from their umbilical cords.
The UCSF team collected 60 blood samples from 30 different pregnant women, along with 30 samples from their umbilical cords (stock photo)
Using HRMS, the analysis revealed 662 chemical signatures on contact with positive ions and 788 with negative ions.
Researchers then combined similar samples, sorted them, and identified 109 unique results, many of which came 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 flame retardants.
The team also identified seven PFAS compounds that the EPA states are a group of man-made chemicals ‘that’ have been manufactured and used in various industries around the world, including in the United States, since the 1940s. ‘
These compounds are most commonly used in carpeting and upholstery, among other construction tasks.
The plasticizers most likely came from food packaging and plastic kitchenware, along with appliances, according to the study.
About 40 are used as plasticizers (including plastic food packaging), 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 quite some time, but our technology is now helping us identify more of them.
“It is very worrying that we cannot identify the uses or sources of so many of these chemicals.”
‘EPA should do more to oblige the chemical industry to standardize the reporting of chemical compounds and applications.
“And they must use their authority to make sure we have enough information to evaluate potential health damage and to remove chemicals that pose a risk from the market.”