Radiation Exposure Effects On Children

Kingdom. All children in both groups were born 8 years after the melt down. “

The following five to six years there was a noticeable increase in Leukemia patients. Women that were pregnant at the time of the bombing experienced higher rates of miscarriages and infant death. Fetuses exposed to the high levels of radiation through the following years were more at risk for intellectual disabilities, impaired growth and increased risk of cancer.

Research has found brominated flame retardants building up in the body and breast milk, and animal and some human studies have connected them to neurological problems, reduced fertility, changes in thyroid hormones and puberty at an earlier age. When bromine replaces iodine during pregnancy, expectant mothers may be at an increased risk for delivering preterm babies.These babies could also end up with neurological problems due to the bromine and the premature birth. Children exposed to bromine in brominated vegetable oil could also experience developmental

Women around world, especially pregnant women, are highly exposed to environmental contaminants by eating foods as well. Though, many pregnant women are not aware of high toxin levels present in food they eat and how much their infants are exposed through trans-placental and breast milk transmission from the mother. The article Dozens of Words for Snow, None for Pollution, by Maria Cone, talks about how pregnant women in Artic are at

Ira Helfand demonstrates ethos, or authority, to argue the fact that any amount of radiation can be detrimental to public health, no matter how small. In order to effectively represent authority with this claim, Helfand uses a report from the National Research BEIR VI, “It is the consensus of the medical and scientific community, summarized in the National Research Council BEIR VII report, that there is no safe level of radiation,” (Helfand, 2012. Para. 2). The National Research Council BEIR VII specializes in the study of nuclear energy. For this group to insist that there is not an amount of exposure to radiation that could be deemed as safe, it is more of an “eye-opener” on the argument. Consequently, including an expert organization’s findings into his article allows Dr. Helfand a security of authority on the

Pregnancy is a very difficult time in a women’s life, everything that is digested, breathed, and felt affects the fetus. Teratogens are factors that cause developmental problems of an embryo. These factors include stress; toxin such as drug and cigarette use, the health and even the age of the mother can have an impact on the development of the fetus. Teratogen can cause birth defect that may lead to life long consequences to the child. I am very passionate about this topic due to the alarming increase of birth defects and abnormalities that have been occurring during my generation. In America one in every thirty-three babies are born with a defect

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). CDC study on “prenatal and infant exposure to

As previously mentioned, environmental factors, such as exposure to taratogens, can affect the development of the unborn child. Broderick and Blewitt (2105) define a teratogen as “substances or agents that can cross the placental barrier and produce fetal deformities when taken or absorbed by the mother during pregnancy” (p.619). These substances include drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, pollution, stress hormones, poor nutrition, and diseases, such as AIDS. Consumption of drugs and/or alcohol can lead to low birth weight, as well as, physical, cognitive, and behavioral abnormalities. Furthermore, more recent studies are showing that exposure to pollutants can affect an individual’s development. For example, a study of the

“Fear vs. Radiation: The Mismatch by David Ropeik states that radiation is very destructive to humans and our bodies (Ropeik 1). In this article Ropeik contradicts the fact of whether it is as devastating as we make it seem. We fear what we do not know. That is why we get scared of radiation and nuclear weapons, because we cannot physically see it so we don’t understand what it really consists of. Fear is something brought upon ourselves and until we learn to control it, it will always be around. As a result, Ropeik discovers that radiation is deadly, but at a very low percentage (Ropeik 1). “For the entire population exposed, often to extremely high levels of radiation, that’s an excess cancer mortality rate of about two-thirds of 1

When a woman finds out she is going to have a baby, it should be the most exciting times in her life. However, there may be many teratogens that interfere with the pregnancy and may cause future issues for the child. A teratogen “is any agent that can potentially cause a birth defect or negatively alter cognitive and behavioral outcomes” (Stantrock, page 63).

While healthy babies are born every day, not everyone is so fortunate. In many cases, diagnostic radiology is required for patients during their childhood. Can having this radiation during the formative years lead to adverse effects later in life? The biggest concern from radiation is the risk of cancer. Cancer can occur at any dose from ionizing radiation because it is a stochastic effect, meaning that it is probabilistic. The probability of a stochastic effect, such as cancer, increases as the dose increases. While receiving this radiation may be necessary, it can cause some serious trouble later in life, such as breast cancer, leukemia, and thyroid cancer.

Air pollution can be undoubtedly harmful to pregnancy. Substances such as carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, benzene, emissions from solid biomass, and nitroarenes all contribute to air pollution. Studies done in North Carolina, California, and East India all conclude the same thing; air pollutants do affect the health of babies during pregnancy. The most severe affects from these toxins include cancer, short-and-long-term morbidity, and stillbirth. Still damaging, yet less traumatizing effects include low birth weight, small for gestational age, and preterm birth. PM2.5 is particulate matter in the air. One study shows it reduces birth weight by 3.1 g (Gray, 2013). Because most of air

Infertility affects millions of married couples around the world, and at least 40 percent of infertility is attributable to male factor infertility. The prognosis for male infertility treatment is extremely poor, and only 15 percent of infertile men can be treated. Occupational exposure represents the highest level of exposure to chemicals that could potentially produce adverse effects on the reproductive system via inhalation, skin absorption, or ingestion. Thousands of chemicals exist in the workplace; there is limited or no toxicological information available for many industrial chemicals. Furthermore, even for compounds for which there is toxicological testing data, the data often do not include assessment on reproductive and developmental

One study suggests that it is the mother’s exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)—emitted by burning fossil fuels—that is the main issue; however, new evidence takes that idea even further. A new study looks at how unborn children exposed to high levels of pollutants in car exhaust are five times more likely to develop an attention disorder by age 9. [8] Air pollution can leave its mark; kids with ADHD, for example, have a higher risk for poor academic performance, risky behaviors, and there’s even the possibility of decreased earnings in adulthood. There is even some evidence linking indoor air pollution with

The main argument that people use to keep themselves from accepting the harsh reality of radioactive poisoning is that since there have been no radioactive leaks in the United States recently, we are not at risk. This also is untrue; back in April, there was a radioactive leak in New Mexico. So far, doses of radiation to the surrounding population are low, but even those low levels of radioactivity can have harmful effects on the body in the long term.