Women and Chemicals: A Public Health Burden
by Sherika Whitelocke-Ballingsingh, Poison Information Coordinator, Caribbean Poison Information Network, University of Technology, Jamaica
The startling results from my medical check-up were a wake-up call to me about the silent impacts of everyday chemical exposures on my health, as a woman. I practice doing my annual medical checks each year, just to confirm to myself that I am taking care of my body and that everything is in check. However, three years after working in a new environment, my medical results showed imbalances in my hormone levels. This was a major concern for me, which had me pondering what the cause was.
I started evaluating my diet and physical routine and could not identify a gap. Then I did an environmental assessment of my working area and started paying close attention to the chemicals that were used to clean my office, and that is when I realized the root problem. The products used were all-purpose soaps, sanitizers, and others that cannot be identified by name, this is because they are not packaged in standardized, labeled containers. It was also difficult to understand the chemicals that they contain due to incomplete or incorrect labeling. I could only get information from requesting to inspect the bulk package which too has limited information on active ingredients, with only just the name of chemical and manufacturer information displayed. This posed a major problem for me because to identify the actual ingredients within each chemical I had to call the manufacturers and the information is usually never available upon request.
This is just one example of the potential impact that chemicals have on women’s health. There are numerous other examples of chemicals affecting women globally, with spiraling health burdens for women in many countries (though without gender specific data to give a comprehensive and true reflection, the full magnitude is hard to quantify). Below are extrapolations from global data that give some perspective on the problems and actions that can be taken to alleviate exposure and protect the health of women.
The relationship between chemicals, gender and sex are complex. Those of us born as female face specific chemical threats due to biology: chemical exposures can threaten our reproductive health and increase risks of conditions related to our biological sex, like breast or cervical cancer. Social mores around gender roles can also create disparities that lead to certain exposures that impact women more than men. For example, in societies where women are expected to do more housework, women face greater exposures to toxic cleaning chemicals.
Conversations in the public health arena have begun to include data on gender and biology, informing policy on the differentiated impact chemicals have on men and women. In taking a more microscopic look at the associations between chemicals, gender, and biology, we have seen a trend in health burdens and the prevalence of diseases that are associated with reproductive health for both men and women, as well as an increase in emerging rare types of cancers for specific body organs.
The changes in disease patterns are because, throughout the entire life cycle of many chemicals, there is constant exposure to humans. The 2021 data addendum from the World Health Organization estimated that public health burdens for selected chemicals resulted in two million lives and fifty-three million disability-adjusted life years lost in 2019. This data is alarming and does not even capture all chemical exposures.
The burden of chemicals on women is more dominant in developing countries due to the industrialized activities of wealthy investors, the absence of occupational health and safety policies to protect workers' health, and cosmetic products loaded with toxic ingredients created for women of color. The present data, even though inadequate, has propelled the need for urgent actions to protect women's health and break the present health disparity from chemical poisoning.
Chemicals of concern such as Diethyl hexyl phthalate, Bisphenol A, dibutyl phthalate, tetra lead trioxide, chlorinated paraffin, and dechlorane-plus found in numerous products that are used daily are disrupting the normal hormonal function in women and further impact fetal development. Children are the most vulnerable to the global disease burden attributable to age. This data is just the beginning. Women are bombarded with pesticides, heavy metals, and environmental pollutants. The uninterrupted exposure to chemicals can be described as chemical stifling; without the provision for the body to breathe correctly, women are silently dying at every click of the clock. However, all hope is not lost if immediate and effective actions are implemented by the chemical industries and enforced by government policies and regulations.
Recommendations continuously emphasized are transparency in data for chemical products, and control and restriction on the further production and use of known harmful chemicals. The chemical industry should be held responsible for funding mitigation of the problems they create, restricting the use of chemicals that are of health concern, and stopping the production of toxic products marketed to women. Robust policies and regulations must be enforced globally to lessen the health burden. Further, interrogating and diversifying our understanding of gender and expanding our concepts of gender norms and roles in societies can help protect women against the risks of exposure. These recommendations can help to reduce death and diseases and improve the quality of life for women and their offspring.
Sherika Whitelocke-Ballingsingh is the Poison Information Coordinator for the Caribbean Poison Information Network, University of Technology, Jamaica. She is a Chevening Scholar and member of IPEN and the UNEP Women Major Group