This week we examine 10 reasons why birth defects are rising and will almost certainly continue to rise. The main reason why birth defects will continue to increase is that more than 500 new chemicals are introduced into commercial use each year. In addition to 500 new chemicals appearing each year, more than 50,000 chemicals already in commercial use have never been tested for their ability to cause birth defects. The prevailing American philosophy is that chemicals are innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, when new chemicals are released into the environment, the burden of proof rests on the general public to show that damage has occurred before scientific studies are undertaken to describe the damage in detail.
Scientific studies can take years to complete.
Even when an effect is grossly obvious, pinning down the cause can take a decade or longer. For example, mercury poisoned dozens of babies in the womb at Minamata, Japan, in 1955 but scientists did not clearly establish the cause for 15 to 18 years. After research scientists are convinced, there is a long delay before the general public learns the facts, if it ever does. A society that demands scientific certainty before it will restrict the use of suspected teratogens, guarantees that the rate of birth defects will continue rising. Scientific certainty about anything involving humans is, and will remain, elusive and rare.