RFK Jr. says HHS will research six ‘environmental factors’ — such as mold, medicines and ultrasounds — for potential link to autism

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Wednesday that his section would analyse six “environmental factors” that he said could lead to autism amid a emergence successful confirmed cases of nan neurodevelopmental disorder.

“We’re going to denote a bid of caller studies to place precisely what nan biology toxins are that are causing [autism],” Kennedy said astatine a property conference. “This has not been done before.”

Among nan “factors” nan 71-year-old said would beryllium scrutinized are ultrasound scans, mold, pesticides, nutrient chemicals, medicines and aerial and h2o contamination.

Kennedy’s “environmental factor” assertion breaks from a study published Tuesday by nan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which claimed nan uptick successful confirmed autism cases was apt owed to improved “early detection” exertion and accrued consciousness of nan condition.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr during a property convention astatine nan Department of Health and Human Services successful Washington, DC, 16 April 2025. WILL OLIVER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The CDC study revealed that 1 successful 31 children nether 8 are diagnosed pinch autism, up from 1 successful 54 successful 2016 and 1 successful 150 successful 2000.

Boys were 3 times much apt to beryllium diagnosed than girls.

“This is catastrophic for our country,” Kennedy said earlier claiming “we cognize it’s from biology exposure.”

“Autism destroys families, and much importantly, it destroys our top resources, our children.”

The caput promised that immoderate of nan results of his studies would beryllium revealed by September.

“We’ve launched a monolithic testing and investigation effort that’s going to impact hundreds of scientists from astir nan world,” Kennedy told President Trump successful a furniture gathering past week. “By September, we will cognize what has caused nan autism epidemic, and we’ll beryllium capable to destruct those exposures.”

Kennedy said nan investigation findings should supply answers by September. AP

On Wednesday, Kennedy said he wanted to “remove nan taboo [so] that group will cognize they tin investigation and travel nan subject nary matter what it says, without immoderate benignant of fearfulness that they’re going to beryllium censored” and claimed nan media was biased against reporting connected nan imaginable domiciled of situation successful autism.

“Clearly location are industries, this is coming from an biology toxin,” he said. “And personification made a profit by putting that biology toxin into our air, our water, aliases our medicines, our food, and it’s to their benefit.”

In consequence to nan CDC study, nan non-profit consciousness statement Autism Speaks called for “deeper, sustained finance successful autism research, not only to understand its causes, but besides to support nan increasing number of group diagnosed today.

Meanwhile, nan Autism Society of America contradicted RFK Jr. by insisting nan CDC information “does not awesome an ‘epidemic’ arsenic narratives are claiming — it reflects diagnostic progress, and an urgent request for argumentation decisions rooted successful subject and nan contiguous needs of nan Autism community.”