Things that go unseen don't tend to get much attention.
Chemical pollution is one of those things that most people aren't tuned into.
But bear with us. University of Newcastle Laureate Professor Ravi Naidu's thoughts on the issue are worth hearing. If you're game.
Professor Naidu was in Rome this week for a meeting on pollution. Topics reckons it's good to know that some people are focused on the problem.
When we chatted to him this week, he pointed out that expectant mothers' exposure to chemical pollution in the environment causes children to be born with toxins in their bodies.
"Exposure to pollutants kills nearly 13 million people annually, based on data from the World Health Organisation, but we still don't pay much attention to the issue," Professor Naidu said.
He said climate change and plastic pollution get a lot of attention, as their effects can be seen.
"We don't see what's present in the environment, in the water we drink or the air we breathe. Pollutants are also found in soil, which is a huge concern as this impacts food security as well as soil health and soil biodiversity."
He said the toxins present in our environment and their threat to the biosphere shouldn't be ignored.
"What we do not recognise is that pollutants, once introduced, are present in the Earth's critical zone that is defined from the top of trees to water under the ground.
"This zone contains the air we breathe, all our food security in the soil, the crops and ground and surface water as well.
"It is a critical zone of sustainability which is so important for humanity, yet people don't focus on that."
Professor Naidu's research delves into contaminants in the environment and the path they take to the human body.
He leads the Newcastle-based CRC CARE [Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment], which examines how industrial activities contaminate the environment and how this affects people.
Worldwide research shows that PFAS chemicals have been detected in 30,000 samples of umbilical cord blood in 40 studies over the last five years.
Professor Naidu said most babies are "exposed to pollutants in their mother's womb".
"People don't realise that children are born with these toxins in their bodies. Babies' first mouthful of mother's milk contains toxins because mothers are exposed to chemicals."
Nonetheless, medical officials say the benefits of breastfeeding greatly outweigh the potential risks.
Striking Facts
An average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants were found in umbilical cord blood from babies in research done in US hospitals 20 years ago.
The Lancet Planetary Health journal reported last year that air, water and toxic chemical pollution caused 9 million premature deaths worldwide every year.
The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution conservatively estimated that chemical pollution contributes to about 1.8 million deaths a year.
About 350,000 different types of artificial chemicals exist in the global market, with production expected to increase in the decades ahead.
The identities of more than 50,000 chemicals remain publicly unknown because corporations label them as confidential.
What else can we say to that but "crikey!"
To see more stories and read today's paper download the Newcastle Herald news app here.
