Air Pollution
91% of the world’s population breathes polluted air! Yet over one-third of countries have no laws protecting outdoor air quality! The World Health Organization (WHO) released updated air quality guidelines and targets for common air pollutants. WHO’s new guidelines aim to push governments to reduce pollution levels, protect the health of children and adults, and prevent climate change.
Pesticides
Pesticides are chemicals designed to kill, repel or control unwanted pests, such as insects (insecticides), weeds (herbicides), fungus (fungicides), harmful to cultivated plants, humans and animals.
Only a small amount of the pesticides actually reach their target; most of it leaches in the environment, contaminating the air, water, soil, and our food. Persistent pesticides, like DDT, can still be detected in humans 50 years after they were banned. Scientists have found pesticides in:
• Blood, urine and hair
• Breast milk
• Cord blood of newborns
• Placenta
No Safe Level
No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to negatively affect a child’s intelligence, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. While the effects of lead poisoning may be permanent, if caught early, there are things parents can do to prevent further exposure and reduce damage to their child’s health.
PFAS: Forever Chemicals
Hundreds of everyday products are made with highly toxic fluorinated chemicals called PFAS. They build up in our bodies and never break down in the environment. PFAS are universally detected in pregnant women and cross the placenta. Very small doses of PFAS have been linked to cancer, reproductive and immune system harm, and other diseases.
Microplastics and Babies
Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic, often too small for the eye to see. And they’re everywhere.
A new study finds that they are released in huge quantities from plastic baby bottles when they’re used to prepare formula. The study suggests that bottle-fed infants around the world may be consuming more than 1.5 million particles of microplastics per day.
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What We Do
Little Things Matter raises awareness of the growing environmental risks we face as a global community by translating science into free, easy-to-understand and actionable materials. Our goal is to spread awareness about the effects of toxic chemicals on the health of our population and planet.
We believe that every child has the right to a healthy environment.
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Follow Our Footsteps
⭐ Recent Research ⭐
A study from Bangladesh found that “infants in high arsenic areas were more likely to be colonized with antibiotic resistant bacteria, compared to infants in low arsenic areas,” said co-first author Prof Mohammad Aminul Islam, Ph.D., of the @wsuvetmed
Safe drinking water is vital, especially for children’s growing bodies. Families need to know their water doesn’t contain harmful microbes or toxic chemicals, like arsenic. In areas where ground water contamination with arsenic is common, families should get their well water tested for arsenic. Government and development agencies should ensure that people have access to safe drinking water.
To combat antimicrobial resistance, it is critical to control the environmental drivers of antimicrobial resistance as well as responsible use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture.
Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3JsCwkG
@icddr.b @oregonstate @uoglobalhealth @uofwa @zamansohag08
🌟 Recent Research 🌟
Many people are producing home-grown eggs, but a new Australian study shows that backyard chickens may be lead poisoned.🐓🥚
The Australian researchers found that blood lead levels in backyard hens’ eggs was 40-times higher than levels found in commercially produced eggs; half of the eggs contained lead levels that could adversely affect consumers.
Is this a problem for my backyard chickens? 🤨
Lead in the soil was the main source of lead for backyard hens’ eggs. Older homes were more likely to have higher lead levels likely from legacy contamination of leaded paint and petrol. The researchers said, “in older, inner-city locations, it would be prudent to get your soils tested.”
To limit exposure to lead from soil, study author, Dr. Mark Patrick Taylor from @macquarieuni, recommends to:
- Not cut the grass too short to limits access to soil and dust;
- Mulch the soil beds where there are no plants;
- Build a raised bed for veggies and make it a feature using new soil;
- Give children a separate sand pit to play outside (suitable sand can be bought at a hardware store);
- Leave shoes off going into the house.
To create a clean chicken run, Dr. Taylor suggests to put geotex fabric down and to cover it with 10-15 cm of new clean soil.
Read more here: https://bit.ly/3bYpA7y
Study Link: https://bit.ly/3dPJSRq
✋ You asked… we answered! 👇
What is epigenetics?
How does a cell with the same DNA turn into a brain cell or a kidney cell?
Every cell in our body: brain cells, muscle cells, kidney cells – has the same sequence of DNA. Epigenetics are naturally occurring chemical modifications of DNA that turn on or off a gene without changing the DNA sequence. The genes in our DNA needed for a brain cell are left on and the other ones are turned off. The same thing happens to kidney cells.
Picture a tall office building with many windows full of highly trained technicians. The building is our DNA, the technicians (each trained in the formation of specific cells) represent the normal epigenetic process, and the windows are the genes. As the technicians come and go from their normal work, some lights in the windows are turned on, some are turned off in the process of creating healthy cells.
Can the environment change our DNA?
Toxic chemicals in the environment, like pollutants and heavy metals, can mimic and confuse the natural epigenetic process and incorrectly turn on or off genes. Imagine if the technician’s schedule was disrupted and they came and went at the wrong times. The genetic sequencing would be altered affecting the normal growth of cells.
Why is epigenetics important for children’s health?
We are still learning about how this impacts our health but we do know that some of these abnormal epigenetic changes can increase the risk for cancer or degenerative disease. This is especially important for children because fetal development and infancy are critical phases of developmental processes and fast growth takes place.
For more information on how epigenetics is affected by exposure to toxic chemicals, read here: https://bit.ly/3KGcN59
#Health #nontoxicliving #epigenetics
‼️New Research‼️
Why are farmers using more pesticides?
Bats eat bugs, but bats in the US have been dying due to white-nose fungus. So farmers in these areas have sprayed more pesticide on their crops. New research finds that infant mortality increased 7.9% as a result.
https://nyti.ms/4gti5lE
🌍✨ Time to Ditch the Glitter! ✨🌍
For the sake of our children and the planet, it`s time to stop using glitter. Glitter might seem harmless, but it’s made from harmful microplastics that can enter the body through skin contact, inhalation, or ingestion, leading to serious health risks such as nerve damage, hormone disruption, lung inflammation, and poor pregnancy outcomes.
🚫 Glitter is found in many everyday items, from toys to beauty products, but it`s not worth the danger. Instead, consider safer, eco-friendly alternatives like paper confetti, prisms for rainbows, or decorations made from natural fibers.
Let`s make a simple, impactful change to protect our children`s health and our planet`s future! 🌱🌈
For more on this important topic, check out the article by Jessica Lightfoot, MPH, at USC’s Center for Children’s Environmental Health. https://bit.ly/3XnFRqs
❓How does climate change and pollution affect children? ❓
Air pollution and greenhouse gases are released by the burning of fossil fuels in our cities and towns.
Car exhaust, heat waves, and wildfire #smoke exposure during #pregnancy are linked to numerous child health problems. During pregnancy, a fetus’s defence systems for detoxifying chemicals, and repairing the damage done to their #DNA, are not fully developed.
🤰 Baby’s early years = extra vulnerable to climate change 🔥 & pollution 🏭
“Children are suffering the most from health harms due to fossil fuel emissions, both from climate change and from toxic air pollution. Their health will benefit from reducing and eliminating these emissions as rapidly as possible and transition to clean and renewable sources of energy,” says Dr. Frederica Perera, an environmental health scientist and the founder of the Columbia Center for Children`s Environmental Health at @columbiauniversity
Read the review article here: https://bit.ly/3CaYWTO @nejm
#airpollution #FossilFuels #HealthyLiving
What is Radon?
#Radon – a radioactive gas with no odor, color, or taste – is produced when uranium degrades or decays. Radon seeps into homes from the rocks and soil. Radon adheres to airborne dust particles and, when inhaled, it becomes trapped in cells lining the lung’s airways. This gas can damage lung tissues and increase the risk of lung #cancer, especially in smokers.
How Dangerous is Radon?
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), smokers exposed to radon have a 25-fold greater risk of developing lung cancer than non-smokers.
Should I be Concerned About Radon in My House?
Radon gas can be found in poorly ventilated houses, especially in the basement. Radon enters through unfinished floors, wall slab joints, sump pumps, and cracks in the foundation.
The #WHO recommends reducing levels below 100 Bq/m3, but no safe level exists.
A recent study found that children who lived in homes with higher radon levels had higher concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers.
Find out if you live in an area with high radon. If you do, get your home tested for radon!
Remember that keeping your house ventilated is essential.
Learn more here:
https://bit.ly/3wI7MEv
https://bit.ly/3DwlOga
✋You asked... we answered! 👇
You asked: "Why are children more vulnerable to toxic chemicals?"
The #prenatal and early-life period have been identified as being more #vulnerable to the influence of #toxic #chemicals as compared to other periods. There are many biological reasons why these are more vulnerable than other stages of life. 👇
👉First, #fetuses and #babies/#infants have higher exposures to chemicals in the #environment due to their higher metabolic rate, which means that they are exposed to higher concentrations of chemicals per pound of body weight as compared to both older #children and adults.
👉In addition to their faster metabolic rate, fetuses and children are experiencing periods of rapid growth, especially in the #brain, and this makes these cells more vulnerable to toxic chemicals interrupting their growth. Not only are growing cells more vulnerable, but plasticity makes the body`s organs, including the brain, particularly sensitive to toxic chemical influences.
👉In addition, the developing brain is especially vulnerable because the blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain from unwanted chemicals, is not fully formed prenatally so it is more permeable than the mature brain.
👉Lastly, fetuses and young children have immature metabolic pathways and they are missing certain enzymes that metabolize and excrete chemicals, making it more difficult to rid the body of toxicity.
What other questions do you have for us? 🧐
Reference: Lanphear 2015
https://bit.ly/3pwYIyW
Little Facts that Really Matter - Fact #3
#Microplastics are the result of plastic breaking down into fine particles. These particles often contain toxic chemicals that can be hazardous to our health.
Studies have shown that microplastics, like #BPA and #pthalates, can negatively impact #brain development #fertility.
Watch this short clip on microplastics and read more about how you can avoid these chemicals here:
https://bit.ly/3rOidng
#littlefactsthatreallymatter #littlethingsmatter #plastics #chemicals #toxicchemicals #environmentalhealth #childrenshealth #childrendsenvironmentalhealth #environment
Meet Teresa Vincente
Teresa Vicente led a historic, grassroots campaign to save the Mar Menor ecosystem—Europe’s largest saltwater lagoon—from collapse, resulting in the passage of a new law in September 2022 granting the lagoon unique legal rights. Considered to be the most important saltwater coastal lagoon in the western Mediterranean, the once pristine waters of the Mar Menor had become polluted due to mining, rampant development of urban and tourist infrastructure, and, in recent years, intensive agriculture and livestock farming.
Worried by the slow death of the Mar Menor, Teresa was moved to action after a mass fish die-off in 2019. She became convinced that the only way to give the lagoon a chance of survival was to grant it legal personhood and recognize its rights. “Rights of nature” has been proposed and debated for years, but the theory did not gain much traction until recently: Ecosystems in Latin America and New Zealand had been granted such legal rights but none in Europe. Despite being told by experts that it was impossible, Teresa pushed ahead. Courtesy of the Goldman Environmental Prize
The Toxic Chemicals Line Up
Phthalates
Phthalates
EDCs
EDCs
Pesticides
Pesticides
Lead
Lead
Air Pollution
Air Pollution
PFAS
PFAS
Fluoride
Fluoride
Microplastics
Microplastics
PFAS
PFAS
little Steps big impact
Sometimes the events that alter history and have enduring impact happen behind the scenes or without much fanfare. Little Steps, Big Impact takes a moment to highlight those significant events and celebrate their contributions.
Shifting to phthalate-free products
can quickly lower toxin levels
A new study shows that young women who use conventional foundation, blush, and mascara have higher levels of phthalates in their blood. Phthalates are hormone-disruptors, and can mimic or block hormones from properly signaling in the body, disrupting important reproductive and neurological systems.
When the young women in the study stopped using
products with phthalates, the level of some chemicals
in their blood lowered up to 45% after three days.
To reduce the amount of phthalates in your blood, swap personal care products for those without phthalates, parabens, or PFAS (or just stop using them). Products without these chemicals can be found by searching EWG’s SkinDeep database.
little videos that capture the big picture
Expand your mind and understanding of how environmental toxic chemicals affect all of us with these short educational videos.
The Deadly Impact of Airborne Particles: air pollution is all around us, what can we do?
Little Things Matter: The Impact of Toxic Chemicals on the Developing Brain