Toxic Nation | Pollution. It's In You.

A new interactive web site graphically depicts the latest science surrounding the effects of controversial chemicals on babies in the womb. “Critical Windows of Development” is an electronic database that presents a timeline of fetus development and provides information on the potential health effects that can result from low exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

Many studies have shown the link between hormone-disrupting chemicals and health concerns including asthma, autism, cancer, and disease affecting the brain and reproductive system. It is believed fetal development represents the most vulnerable time of exposure to these controversial substances.

The new database compiles information from hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and uses it to create timelines showing the development of key bodily systems in humans and animals. Users can click on a chemical of interest (bisphenol A, phthalates or dioxins), and sections of the timelines turn red to show health impacts from low-dose exposure studies. Each triangle along each timeline represents a different study, and clicking on a triangle will provide users with a description of study findings and links to full scientific reports. New studies are continuously being added to the site, and site administrators are working to expand the database to include new chemicals.

The site is meant as a way for scientists, policymakers, journalists, academics and the public to learn about risks of fetal exposure in a user-friendly and visually interesting way. It is also meant to help spur regulatory action against these chemicals by providing evidence of possible dangers, and to provide scientists and academics with an opportunity to clearly identify present gaps in knowledge and to indicate where more research is needed.

Check out the web site here.

Learn more by reading this article by Marla Cone and Environmental Health News.

Sarah