The Battle Creek (Michigan) Enquirer, June 9, 2003

DIAPER STUDY YIELDS DISTURBING RESULTS OF TOXINS IN NEWBORNS

By John J. Vander Meer

KALAMAZOO -- Area scientists have found a way to use more than 800 sets of dirty diapers.

The unique study, conducted by researchers from Western Michigan University and Michigan State University's Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, paints a disturbing picture of the quality of health of babies born in southwestern Michigan.

Soiled diapers of newborns were analyzed and, according to the study's initial findings, half of the children born in Kalamazoo hospitals during a 10-month period in 2002 were exposed to lead while still in the womb, and about 5 percent of babies born already had suffered lead exposure at levels typically associated with neurological problems.

"It's scary," said Dr. Michael Liepman, director of psychiatry research at MSU/KCMS and one of the study's main researchers. "If this holds up we're going to have a real public health issue to deal with."

Lead exposure has been linked to mental retardation, seizures, delays in motor development, kidney disease, and other developmental problems, said Jay Means, professor of environmental chemistry and toxicology at Western Michigan University and the study's lead researcher, in a press release from the university.

Exposure in the womb to lead and other toxic chemicals was analyzed by collecting blood from umbilical cords as well as samples from the first sets of diapers soiled by newborns. The diapers contained meconium, the bowel discharge from infants during their first 24 to 48 hours of life. It reflects the accumulation of bile secreted during the last five months of a pregnancy.

Beginning in March 2002, Liepman, Means and their team worked with staff members at Borgess Medical Center and Bronson Methodist Hospital to collect nearly 3,000 cord blood and meconium samples from newborns.

The samples were used to check levels of heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs and herbicides as well as recreational and psychoactive drugs. About 200 randomly selected samples were screened to determine whether and how much of a toxic substance was transferred between mother and child. So far 110 meconiums and 24 cord bloods have been analyzed.

Liepman said the researchers ran into problems when state officials said they would subpoena any records identifying test subjects' use of drugs.

"If you do this study and you won't give us this information, we will throw you in jail," Liepman remembered law enforcement officials saying to him.

Liepman said that has limited the effectiveness of the information yielded by the study. Because samples are collected anonymously, researchers have no way to provide feedback to parents whose children may be at risk from high exposure levels.

In addition to the high levels of lead exposure, researchers found a wide range of exposure to other dangerous substances. For instance, PCBs and DDT, which can lead to reduced IQ and other developmental problems, were found in about 15 percent of the samples.

Mercury and cadmium also showed up in 15 percent of the samples, while the tobacco-related compound cotinine was found in more than 30 percent of the samples.

"It's kind of a little time bomb that's ticking away that nobody realizes is going to have an effect on the health of your child," said Liepman, who expects the study should be completed by the end of the summer. "What I'm realizing is... they're not as protected as I might have thought."

John J. Vander Meer covers health issues. He can be reached at 966-0665 or johnvm@battlecr.gannett.-com

Copyright 2003 Battle Creek Enquirer