"My daughter developed ‘breast buds’ (hard lumps under the nipple that are the first signs of breast development) when she was seven,” says California mom Susie Shane. “I freaked out! It was just a hunch, but I got rid of all the plastic we used. We used to drink out of those hard plastic bottles and reuse water bottles. At school she got hot lunch that was cooked in plastic. I didn’t know what else to do.”

To Shane’s surprise, “the breast buds went away within three or four weeks and didn’t come back for two years.”

After that, Shane started reading up on the rising rates of “early puberty”—more and more very young girls developing and getting their periods. Shane, whose daughter is black, was shocked to learn that, on average, “black girls reach puberty a year earlier than white girls.”

Causes of early puberty include obesity and low birth-weight (both on the rise), certain kinds of stress, and some of the chemicals in plastics, pesticides, and other products. (see The Falling Age of Puberty in U.S. Girls).

Early puberty is dangerous

Shane also learned that “girls who reach puberty early are at much greater risk for breast cancer. And there are other health risks—diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

And she worried about “the social effect. Girls who reach puberty early are at increased risk of drug and alcohol use, early sexual activity and pregnancy, low self-esteem and suicide. It’s not good to grow up too early! It’s better to be a little girl until your brain is (more) developed.”

Chemicals in our food

Shane learned about chemicals that cause early puberty, including phthalates (some types now banned by a federal law signed in August) and Bisphenol-A (BPA), which is used to harden plastic products and line food cans. She’s suspicious of all plastic—a friend also eliminated plastic when her young daughter developed pubic hair, and the pubic hair disappeared. But, Shane says, plastic with recycling numbers 3 and 7 are the “known evils.” There are alternatives—glass or metal containers for food and water, pottery or glass for use in microwaves.

Not just plastic

Elizabeth Hoffman, too, was concerned when “at seven, my daughter went from being a ‘lean bean’ to a more womanly figure with breast development and hips.” Although her daughter’s doctor wasn’t sure it was early puberty, Hoffman started talking with her daughter about chemicals that could lead to problems—and getting rid of products that contained them. “I changed our personal care products, our kitchen utensils, our water bottles, our bedding, our hand soap, shampoos, and sun lotions,” Hoffman remembers.

Finding safe alternatives

The Breast Cancer Fund, an organization working to “eliminate the environmental causes of breast cancer,” recently published a detailed report on early puberty—a risk factor for breast cancer (see The Falling Age of Puberty in U.S. Girls). The organization provides information on “a lot of simple things we can do to reduce our exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals,” says Brynn Taylor, senior manager for science and education at the Breast Cancer Fund. “It doesn’t have to be a great sacrifice. It’s more about being aware of what’s going into our lives, thinking about all the things we touch—shampoo, makeup, deodorant, household cleaners—and finding safe alternatives.”

Personally and politically

But “consumers shouldn’t have to go into stores and know about all the ingredients,” Taylor adds, “Our motto is ‘we can all be active both personally and politically.’”

The Breast Cancer Fund “works to get individual chemicals out of our products,” like the new law banning phthalates. “But at that rate,” Taylor points out, “it would take 100 years. We need comprehensive reform of the way we treat chemicals—they should be proven safe before they are put into our consumer products.”

The Falling Age of Puberty in U.S. Girls

Key points from this 2007 Breast Cancer Fund report:

Trends in early puberty

• Age of breast development and menstruating has been getting earlier for 100 years, partly because of better health and nutrition. But environmental pollution and health problems also play a role.
  
  
• Now almost 15% of girls in the U.S. begin breast development before they are nine. Of African American girls, 15% begin breast development before they are eight.
  
  
• Early puberty affects five times as many girls as boys.

Early puberty in girls

• Increases risk of breast cancer
• Increases rate of risky teen behavior (drug/alcohol use, early sexual activity)
• Increases risk of becoming a victim of violence
• Increases risk of depression and anxiety

Causes of early puberty

Known causes:

• Low birth weight/premature birth (the rate is rising)
• Obesity (tripled among children in the last 30 years)
• “Hormone-disrupting chemicals,” including: BPA, phthalates, and vinyl plastics
• fire retardants and pesticides
• some hair products used by African Americans
• some hormones in meat and milk
• tobacco smoke

Possible causes:

• Formula-feeding babies
• Physical inactivity
• Family stress or absence of father
• TV viewing

Policy recommendations

• Screen chemicals in our products to identify hormone disrupters
• Inform the public about chemicals in our products
• Conduct “biomonitoring,” (measuring chemicals in the bodies of a sample group of people)
• Support breastfeeding
• Increase children’s access to healthy food and exercise
• Reduce pollutants that cause low birth weight, including tobacco smoke, solvents, and mercury
• Ban BPA, all phthalates, and vinyl plastics
• Support organic agriculture
• Require “least toxic” pest control methods in schools

Take Action

To join the grassroots movement to get toxic chemicals out of the environment:

• Breast Cancer Fund, 866-760-8223, www.breastcancerfund.org, provides lots of ways to get involved, from sending an email to attending an event in your community to organizing a session in your home where people can learn about safe cosmetics.
  
  
• Make Our Milk Safe (MOMS), 510-814-0360, www.safemilk.org, has supported bills to eliminate toxic chemicals and participated in a national campaign that got Target stores to take polyvinyl chloride out of Target-brand products. MOMS plans to help members in the same community form activist MomSquads.
  
  
• Lideres Campesinas, 909-865-7776, www.liderescampesinas.org, educates women farmworkers about how to protect themselves and their families from toxic pesticides and how to organize in their communities to create pesticide-free “barrier zones” around homes and schools.
  
  
• California Safe Schools, 818-787-8965, www.calisafe.org, helps parents organize and promote school policies to get rid of toxic pesticides and promote integrated pest management.
  
  
• Childproofing Our Communities, 703-237-2249,www.childproofing.org, provides information on environmental hazards and coaching for community groups that want to take action.

For information on getting toxics out of your child’s environment:

• Healthy Children, Healthy World, http://healthychild.org
• The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, www.safecosmetics.org
• Breast Cancer Fund, www.breastcancerfund.org Environmental Working Group, www.ewg.org

Extra resources from the Children’s Advocate bulletin

• Childproofing Our Communities offers ways to take action on environmental health issues, including holding an environmental health workshop, helping students become environmental leaders, and an environmental health checklist for schools.
  
  
• Environmental Working Group offers resources for families about harmful chemicals and how to reduce families' exposure to them. Tools include a cosmetic safety database, guide to pesticides in produce, and ways to cut down on toxins in the home

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