A new study has found that endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment are placing pregnant women at risk from giving birth to boys with a genital defect, a condition known as hypospadias.
Currently, about one in every 1,000 boys born in the United States has the condition, which requires surgery before the age of two. Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment comes from paints/solvents/adhesives, detergents, pesticides, cosmetics, and industrial chemicals. Those who work in specific professions have been found to be at higher risk, especially cleaners, hairdressers, beauticians, and laboratory workers.
What types of endocrine disrupting chemicals are there?
At least 50 types of chemicals are suspected of having properties that include endocrine disruption in very low doses. And many of these chemicals are dispersed throughout the environment even though they haven’t been manufactured in some time because of previous dissemination. They can also interact with other chemicals to produce particular health problems.
Similarity to Asbestos
There are some similarities between endocrine disrupting chemicals and asbestos, for example, a toxic substance that has caused such health issues as mesothelioma. Similar to litigation over toxic exposure to these substances, which results in injury, any legal claim would have to prove that manufacturers breached a duty, and this breach was a cause of the injury. It is this causation which can be difficult to establish, and largely relies on first establishing scientific certainty regarding the link between endocrine disrupting chemicals and specific conditions, such as cancer.
However, courts do seek to balance the cause-in-fact requirement with the need to compensate victims injured by the wrongful actions of companies that produce and release chemicals that cause damage. Still, existing studies must demonstrate that exposure to the chemical more likely than not caused the injury in order to strike that balance in our legal system.
DES
DES is a synthetic estrogen–an endocrine disrupting chemical. Due to its unique effects, courts have traditionally relaxed the requirement in these cases that the injured victim be able to specifically pinpoint which party (or company) definitively caused the exposure. In this case, children who were exposed to the chemical in utero were often unable to pinpoint which specific company manufactured the product taken by their pregnant mothers (given how many companies manufactured DES). Some courts responded to this dilemma by applying a market-share doctrine in these cases, distributing the blame and responsibility amongst all of the various companies that manufacture the chemical.
Litigation
Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) works with state departments to safeguard the environment, it is not always possible to monitor all of the many chemicals that are released into the environment and cause illness and injury in people. If you have fallen ill or experienced an injury because of toxic chemical exposure, litigation over these chemicals may be the right path to take.
Having spent years litigating against these bad actors and negligent parties, the attorneys of Harrell & Nowak can be your environmental hazard lawyer in New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, and other areas throughout Louisiana. Exposure to toxic chemicals can cause respiratory illness and injury, neurological disorders and many forms of cancer. If you have fallen ill because of toxic chemical exposure, contact the lawyers at our New Orleans firm, also serving Metairie, Kenner, and nearby communities.