In an article published on December 5, 2017, the non-profit organization Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) reported on a new scientific study calculating the economic health costs associated with exposure to environmental chemicals. The study was published on the same day in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health and conducted by Philippe Grandjean from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, U.S., and the University of Southern Denmark, together with Martine Bellanger from the EHESP School of Public Health, France. In their calculation, the authors considered exposures to neurotoxicants, air pollution, and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and made cost estimates for the U.S., the EU, OECD countries, and industrializing countries. Their results suggest that environmental chemical exposures contribute to health costs that may exceed 10% of the global gross domestic product (GDP). HEAL stated that “the new findings are yet another reason to bring health to the top of the policy agenda and focus more on prevention strategies against non-communicable diseases, in Europe and beyond.”
Read more
HEAL (December 5, 2017). “Human exposure to preventable environmental chemicals is resulting in health costs of 10% of global GDP.”
Brian Bienkowski (December 5, 2017). “Toxic exposures may cost the world 10% of GDP: Study.” Environmental Health News
Chemical Watch (January 24, 2018). “‘Environmental chemicals could cost 10% of global GDP.’”
Reference
Grandjean, P. and Bellanger, M. (2017). “Calculation of the disease burden associated with environmental chemical exposures: Application of toxicological information in health economic estimation.” Environmental Health 16:123 (published online December 5, 2017).
