Children and toxic substances: confronting a major public health challenge

Despite early warnings of lead toxicity, until recently this metal was added to a variety of consumer and industrial products. Today, thousands of children in the United States, and probably tens of thousands more worldwide, are suffering the consequences of exposure to lead. The lead story looms as major public policy failure that will eventually cost billions of dollars to remedy. Little is known about the toxicological properties of the more than 70,000 chemicals in commerce. Consequently, it seems likely that other "leads" are finding their way into our food, water, and air. Inadequate testing of chemicals to which the public is exposed presents a serious public health risk, particularly to children whose nervous systems are still developing. The Federal government should expand toxicological testing programs for existing and new chemicals, requiring increased developmental toxicological, particularly neurotoxicological, testing of chemicals to which the public is significantly exposed. In keeping with the concept of full-cost pricing, the costs of these tests should be incurred by the manufacturer, not the government, and should be considered a routine cost of product development.