Salt of the Earth: We're not just skin and bones

Social justice news
April 2001

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Catholics call for an end to embryonic stem cell research
JustFaith joins the Catholic Charities family
Movieland's war on drugs could have real-world influence
Mr. Bush goes to Washington: a presidential track record
Rediscovering women's work in church history
We're not just skin and bones anymore

We're not just skin and bones anymore
Once upon a time, the saying "You are what you eat" might have been close enough to the truth, but in today's world "You are what you're exposed to" could be more accurate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in March released the first direct measurements of environmental chemicals in humans, and the results are a bit surprising.

First the good news: The CDC's study of 3,800 adults and children showed that nonsmokers have 75 percent less cotinine, a product of nicotine's breakdown, circulating through their systems than they did in 1991. Children's mercury and lead levels also decreased, however mercury concentrations in women of child-bearing age were higher than predicted, though within federal limits.

Widespread restrictions on smoking in public buildings and campaigns publicizing the dangers of tobacco led to the significant decline in cotinine levels, say researchers. They hope campaigns for other health risks will be as successful.

The not-so-good news is that there are plenty of other compounds and chemicals hanging around in our fatty tissue, making the modern homo sapiens a little more than nature intended. The CDC study tracked the presence of 27 chemicals in the human body; it found traces of 13 metals, 6 compounds related to our exposure to pesticides, cotinine, and 7 "phthalates," chemical compounds American bodies absorb because of exposure to consumer products such as soap, shampoo, nail polish, and flexible plastics. What the presence of these metals and compounds means to long-term good health remains a subject for speculation and further research.

Past reports of environmental exposure relied on soil, water, and air measurements to estimate the concentrations of foreign chemicals in humans. Improved laboratory testing and more advanced computer systems allowed researchers to examine blood and urine samples for this study, giving public health officials concrete numbers for the first time. It also gave them the tools to look at more metals and compounds. Previous surveys studied only lead, cadmium, and cotinine.

"This report is a major step toward assessing in the U.S. population which environmental chemicals are present in blood and urine samples, who is exposed, trends in exposure over time, and whether interventions to reduce exposure are working," says Richard J. Jackson, director of CDC's National Center for Environmental Health.

Eventually the CDC hopes to expand the report to include information about 100 chemicals and their concentrations in specific population groups and specific localities. The 1999 findings were taken from participants in the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a continuing U.S. health survey.—Anne Graber

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