We are awash in a sea of toxins, and it is destroying our health. Fifty-three pesticides classified as “carcinogens” are presently registered for use on major crops, including apples, tomatoes, and potatoes. Additionally, more than 10,000 additives are added to our food supply. In fact, an average American eats about 142 pounds of additives each year. According to the 2009 “The Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals”, the CDC has measured 212 chemicals in people’s blood or urine. Seventy-five of  these chemicals have never before been measured in the U.S. population. The new chemicals include acrylamide, arsenic, environmental phenols, including bisphenol A and triclosan, and perchlorate.

Research appearing in The Lancet (17 October 2016  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(16)30275-3) looked at Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and their link to disease and the possible contribution to an increase in medical costs (>1% of the gross domestic product [GDP] in the European Union). EDC exposure varies between the United States and Europe, due to a difference in regulations. The authors used this difference to quantify disease burdens and costs related to EDC exposure.

EDC exposure in the USA contributes to disease and dysfunction, with annual costs taking up more than 2% of the GDP ($340 billion, or 2.33% of GDP). In Europe, the cost is lower ($217 billion, or 1.28% of the GDP). Differences from the European Union suggest the need for improved screening for chemical disruption to endocrine systems and proactive prevention.

In the United States, there is a greater exposure to Polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs. These are organobromine compounds that are used as flame retardant. PBDEs have been used in a wide array of products, including building materials, electronics, furnishings, motor vehicles, airplanes, plastics, polyurethane foams, and textiles. They are structurally akin to the PCBs and other polyhalogenated compounds. Coincidentally, the United States had a greater loss of intelligence quotient (IQ) points loss and intellectual disability due to PBDEs (11 million IQ points lost and 43, 000 cases costing $266 billion in the USA vs 873, 000 IQ points lost and 3,290 cases costing $12.6 billion in the European Union).

In the European Union, organophosphate pesticides were the largest contributor to costs associated with EDC exposure ($121 billion), whereas in the USA costs due to pesticide exposure was much lower ($42 billion).