Exposure to toxic chemicals in food, water and air is linked to millions of deaths, and costs billions of dollars every year, according to a report by an international organisation of medical professionals.

Among the poor health outcomes linked to pesticides, air pollutants, plastics and other chemicals are miscarriage and stillbirths, an increase in cancer, attention problems and hyperactivity, says the report from the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), an organisation representing obstetrical and gynaecological associations from 125 countries (including Malta).

“Exposure to toxic environmental chemicals during pregnancy and breastfeeding is ubiquitous and is a threat to healthy human reproduction,” the report states.

The piece was written by a team of physicians and scientists from the US, the UK and Canada, including from the World Health Organisation. It was published in the International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics ahead of a global conference on women’s health issues currently being held in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“We are drowning our world in untested and unsafe chemicals and the price we are paying in terms of our reproductive health is of serious concern,” Gian Carlo Di Renzo, a physician and lead author of the Figo opinion.

Chemical manufacturing is expected to grow fastest in developing countries in the next five years, according to Figo.

The group said international trade agreements such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TPP), under negotiation between the US and the EU, lack much-needed protections against toxic chemicals.

The report also cited several examples of the range of the problem: seven million people worldwide die each year because of exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution; healthcare and other costs from exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in Europe are estimated at a minimum of €157 billion a year; and the cost of childhood diseases related to environmental toxins and pollutants in air, food, water, soil and in homes and neighbourhoods in the US was calculated at $76.6 billion in 2008.

Figo said health professionals should advocate for policies to prevent exposure to toxic environmental chemicals as well as to ensure a healthy food system, among other recommendations.

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