Our neurotoxic world (part two): Industrial chemicals - a silent pandemic?Our neurotoxic world (part two): Industrial chemicals - a silent pandemic?
All In The Mind
Lead in paint. Methylmercury in fish. Arsenic in groundwater. Just some of the toxic insults on our vulnerable brains. But are they the thin end of the industrial chemical wedge? Could the world's children be experiencing a silent pandemic in neurodevelopmental disorders? Harvard's Professor Phillipe Grandjean thinks so, and joins Deborah Cory-Slechta at Rutgers University to unpick the latest compelling science. Don't miss two of the world's trailblazers in neurotoxicology.
30:05•17 Feb 2007
Industrial Chemicals, Children’s Brains and a Silent Pandemic?
Episode Overview
- The developing brain is highly vulnerable, and even low-level exposure to neurotoxic chemicals like lead and methylmercury can reduce IQ and alter behaviour.
- Many effects are "subclinical" and only visible at the population level, meaning individual children may appear normal but function below their potential.
- Children are exposed to mixtures of chemicals alongside other risks such as chronic stress, malnutrition and poverty, which can combine to worsen brain impacts.
- Current regulatory testing is slow, limited and often based on adult safety, leaving thousands of industrial chemicals under-tested for developmental neurotoxicity.
- The guests argue for precautionary policies and stronger public pressure on agencies to limit exposures to pregnant women and children, while avoiding panic and unsafe DIY remedies like chelation.
“"Human exposure is involuntary. This isn't something that we ask to be exposed to."”
Gain insights from experts and survivors on how everyday chemical exposures might be shaping our brains without us realising. This episode of All In The Mind zooms in on neurotoxic industrial chemicals, asking whether children across the globe could be facing what Harvard physician Professor Philippe Grandjean calls a "silent pandemic" of neurodevelopmental problems.
Host Natasha Mitchell chats with two leading figures in neurotoxicology: Professor Deborah Cory-Slechta from Rutgers University and Professor Philippe Grandjean, who has spent decades studying methylmercury exposure in the Faroe Islands. Together they unpack what makes a substance a neurotoxin, why the developing brain is so vulnerable, and how even low levels of exposure to lead, mercury, pesticides and other chemicals may be quietly eroding IQ and attention.
You’ll hear why Cory-Slechta thinks that studying "one chemical at a time" is misleading, given that children are always exposed to mixtures, alongside other pressures like stress, poor nutrition and poverty. Her animal studies show that "you don't see an effect of lead alone or stress alone, but only when I put them together" – a stark warning for anyone who assumes small exposures are harmless.
Grandjean raises the alarm about regulatory gaps, pointing out that "human exposure is involuntary" and that many chemicals used in commerce remain barely tested for effects on the developing brain. Yet both guests push for a cool-headed response: less panic, more pressure on regulators to use precaution and design testing that, as Cory-Slechta puts it, "mimics human reality".
If you care about mental health, child development, or how environment and stress intersect with brain function, this conversation offers plenty to chew on. It may leave you asking: what kind of chemical legacy are today's children inheriting, and what are we prepared to do about it?
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