ATSDR Archives

August 2, 2023

Worrisome levels of potentially cancer-causing metal found in children’s diets

By Grace van Deelen

Young children are being exposed to a potentially cancer-causing heavy metal known as cadmium through many of the foods they eat, often at levels that exceed safety standards, according to a new study.

Cadmium has been shown to contaminate water, air and crops, including a range of foods considered healthy that are used in baby food. The study, which was published last week in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicity, found that the cumulative average daily levels of cadmium ingested by children were higher than daily cadmium intake levels considered safe by the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

For instance, children between 6 months and 24 months who consumed spinach and rice at least once a week ingested cadmium that exceeded the ATSDR guidelines by up to 200%, the study determined. The authors of the study warned that the findings are particularly concerning because the bodies of young children are still developing, and may be more susceptible to the effects of heavy metal exposure.

The study comes after a 2021 US Congressional report showed dangerous levels of metals in infant food, prompting the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to launch a research and action plan to assess the risks of heavy metals in foods.

November 4, 2022

Industrial chemicals threaten hunting and fishing traditions

By Shannon Kelleher

For more than a century, members of the indigenous Penobscot Nation, who live along the Maine river from which they take their name, have mourned the loss of the migratory fish that sustained their ancestors.

Dams built by developers in the 19th and early 20th centuries along the Penobscot River cut off access to the ocean, preventing native fish from returning each year to spawn in their historic habitats.

A years-long restoration project was completed in 2016, reopening 2,000 miles of river to Atlantic salmon and other fish considered important nutritional sources for the people of the region as well as fish-eating birds and mammals, including eagles and river otters. Eleven species of native migratory fish returned to the Penobscot River due to the restoration project.

“We were very excited,” said Daniel Kusnierz, the tribe’s water resources program manager. “These would have been the species the tribe would have relied on heavily for food.”

But the celebration was short-lived: Though the fish have returned, researchers from the Penobscot Nation and government agencies have documented an array of toxic chemicals contaminating them, including dreaded per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances linked to various cancers and other health problems.

Known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” the class of industrial chemicals is almost impossible to eradicate and is increasingly documented in fish and other wildlife around the world. The plight of the Penobscot Nation is yet another example of how people everywhere are finding it increasingly difficult to escape the legacy of industrial pollution that threatens human and environmental health.