Nicholas Kristof, “Do Toxins Cause Autism?,” The New York Times, February 25, 2010

“Concern about toxins in the environment used to be a fringe view. But alarm has
moved into the medical mainstream,” writes New York Times op-ed contributor
Nicholas Kristof in this February 25, 2010, piece examining a purported shift in how
the scientific community perceives the likelihood that ubiquitous chemicals affect
the developing brain. Kristof references a forthcoming opinion piece in Pediatrics
that reportedly cites “historically important, proof-of-concept studies that specifically
link autism to environmental exposures experienced prenatally.” Although
the Pediatrics editorial apparently focuses on the impact of medications such as
thalidomide, misoprostol and valproic acid, Kristof extends his concern to other
chemicals such as phthalates and bisphenol A. “At a time when many Americans still
use plastic containers to microwave food, in ways that make toxicologists blanch,
we need accelerated research, regulations and consumer protection,” he opines.

While Kristof warns against “sensationalizing risks,” he nevertheless urges consumers
“to be wary of personal products . . . unless they are marked phthalate-free” and
advises children and pregnant women “to avoid most plastics marked at the bottom
as 3, 6 and 7.” Expounding these precautions, Kristof maintains that “in the case of
great health dangers of modern times—mercury, lead, tobacco, asbestos—journalists
have been too slow to blow the whistle. In public health, we in the press have
more often been lap dogs than watchdogs.”