Man-made chemicals harm the intelligence of children in Europe, damaging their memory and IQ levels, the environmental group WWF said in a report out Wednesday calling for new laws to regulate the industry.
Chemicals used in daily life damage a child's brain development and may also have caused an apparent rise in disabilities or illnesses such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and autism, the report "Compromising our Children", found.
The loss of one IQ point can result in a drop in lifetime earnings of 2.39 percent, the WWF said, noting that the longer term implications are unknown.
Despite wide recognition about the damaging effect of chemicals, there is a lack of available safety information on a majority of the 70,000 man-made chemicals on the market, the WWF charged.
"It seems unbelievable that, although science has shown that chemicals are affecting children's mental abilities and their ability to make sense of their world, we are still missing vital safety data on most chemicals in use today," said Gwynne Lyons, WWF toxics advisor.
"Even when studies suggest some chemicals can affect brain development, swift action is not taken. In effect we are all living in a global chemical experiment of which we don't know the outcome," she said in a statement.
The WWF report concentrated on children in industrialised Europe to raise awareness about the issue while the European Union discusses new legislation - known as REACH - which is being drawn up to regulate industrial chemicals.