This entry was posted on Thursday, January 19th, 2012 at 4:45 pm and is filed under Autism News, Autism Research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Birth Defects Near Mountaintop Mining
, 01 19th, 2012
Last summer a study found that there was a spike in birth defects in Appalachian communities near mountaintop coal mining sites. When the mountaintops are blasted to get to the coal below, mercury, lead, arsenic and other toxins are released into the air. We already know that birth defects mercury poisoning is a big deal, but the study stopped short of laying the blame solely on mountaintop mining.
The study acknowledged that women in these rural communities are less likely to have access to quality prenatal healthcare. This, too, can lead to birth defects. That being said, the author of the study emphasized that mountaintop coal mining is certainly detrimental to the health of all people in the vicinity, not just pregnant women; although, their unborn children are particularly vulnerable.
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