ot: Children Exposed to Water Tainted with TCE More Likely to Use Drugs

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rachloroethylene-more-likely-to-use-drugs.html

Children Exposed to Water Tainted with Tetrachloroethylene More

Likely to Use Drugs

<http://sph.bu.edu/insider/Recent-News/children-exposed-to-water-tainted-with-te\

trachloroethylene-more-likely-to-use-drugs.html>

Published on Friday, 02 December 2011 15:31

Children exposed to contaminated drinking water before birth and as

infants and toddlers are more likely to use illegal drugs later in life,

according to a new study by researchers at the BU School of Public Health.

The study, published online in Environmental Health, is the first to

examine associations between prenatal and early-childhood exposure to

PCE (tetrachloroethylene) and the development of risky behaviors

--including smoking, drinking and drug use-- as teenagers and adults.

The study examined Cape Cod residents who were exposed to PCE, a known

neurotoxin that was used in the vinyl liner of drinking water pipes from

the late 1960s through 1980. Those pipes no longer leach PCE, but the

chemical is still widely used in dry cleaning and metal degreasing

solutions and is a common drinking water contaminant.

The study found that people with high exposure levels during gestation

and early childhood had a 1.5 to 1.6-fold increase in the risk of using

two or more illegal drugs as teenagers or adults. Specific drugs for

which increases were observed included cocaine, hallucinogens, club

drugs, and Ritalin without a prescription. Thirty- to 60-percent

increases in the risk of certain smoking and drinking behaviors also

were seen among highly exposed people. Prior studies have shown that

chronic or high exposure to PCE among adults can have adverse effects on

cognition, behavior and mood....

- - - -

open access:

Affinity for risky behaviors following prenatal and early

childhood exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated

drinking water: a retrospective cohort study

<http://www.ehjournal.net/content/10/1/102>

Aschengrau A, Weinberg JM, Janulewicz PA, Romano ME, Gallagher LG,

Winter MR, BR, Vieira VM /et al./ /

Environmental Health/ 2011, *10*:102 (2 December 2011)