The Faroes Statement:
Human Health Effects of Developmental Exposure
to Chemicals in Our Environment
In May 2007, researchers in the fields of environmental health, environmental chemistry, developmental biology, toxicology, epidemiology, nutrition, oncology, and pediatrics gathered at the International Conference on Fetal Programming and Developmental Toxicity, in the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic. As a result of discussions at this conference, the 24 member scientific committee produced the Faroes statement to summarize the scientific evidence that chemical exposures before birth make babies more likely to develop health problems--such as diabetes, prostate cancer, fertility problems and thyroid disorders later in life.
The Faroes Statement was published in July 2007 as an online article in the journal Basic & Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, and will also appear in a print issue of this journal in early 2008.
Philippe Grandjean, David Bellinger, Åke Bergman, Sylvaine Cordier, George Davey-Smith, Brenda Eskenazi, David Gee, Kimberly Gray, Mark Hanson, Peter van den Hazel, Jerrold J. Heindel, Birger Heinzow, Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Howard Hu, Terry T-K Huang, Tina Kold Jensen, Philip J. Landrigan, I. Caroline McMillen, Katsuyuki Murata, Beate Ritz, Greet Schoeters, Niels Erik Skakkebæk, Staffan Skerfving and Pal Weihe.
Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, OnlineEarly Articles.
Published article online: 30-Jul-2007. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-7843.2007.00114.x
link to full article online
Summary of Key Conclusions
"Three aspects of children’s health are important in conjunction with developmental toxicity risks.
First, the mother’s chemical body burden will be shared with her foetus or neonate, and the child may, in some instances, be exposed to larger doses relative to the body weight.
Second, susceptibility to a wide range of adverse effects is increased during development, from preconception through adolescence, depending on the organ system.
Third, developmental exposures to environmental chemicals can lead to life-long functional
deficits and disease."
"The old paradigm, developed over four centuries ago by Paracelsus, was that ‘the dose makes the poison’. However, for exposures sustained during early development, another critical, but largely ignored, issue is that ‘the timing makes the poison’. This extended paradigm deserves wide attention to protect the foetus and child against preventable hazards."
Summary of Key Recommendations
"The accumulated research evidence suggests that prevention efforts against toxic exposures to environmental chemicals should focus on protecting the embryo, foetus and small child as highly vulnerable populations."
"Prevention should not await definitive evidence of causality when delays in decision-making would lead to the propagation of toxic exposures and their long-term, harmful consequences.
"Risk assessment of environmental chemicals needs to take into account the susceptibility of early development and the long-term implications of adverse programming in a variety of organ systems. Although test protocols exist to assess reproductive toxicity, neurodevelopmental toxicity and immune toxicity, such tests are not routinely used, and the potential for such effects is, therefore, not necessarily considered in decisions on safety levels of environmental exposures."
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