Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a press conference on Wednesday that the autism epidemic is caused by environmental toxins, and is commissioning a series of studies on numerous toxins.
Kennedy specifically cited mold, pesticides, other food chemicals, and medicines as potential toxins contributing to the epidemic. He also suggested ultrasound scans could be a factor, given the timing of such technological advances.
&#8220;This is a preventable disease,&#8221; the secretary said. &#8220;We know it&#8217;s environmental exposure. It has to be. Genes do not cause epidemics. It can provide a vulnerability, but you need an environmental toxin.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;re going to announce a series of new studies to identify precisely what the environmental toxins are that are causing it,&#8221; Kennedy added. &#8220;This has not been done before. And we&#8217;re going to do it in a thorough and comprehensive way, and we&#8217;re gonna get back with an answer to the American people very, very quickly.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
RFK JR: &#8220;We&#8217;re going to announce a series of new studies to identify precisely what the environment toxins are that are causing [autism]. This has not been done before&#8230;&#8221;<a href="https://t.co/rOzWHkd5KU">pic.twitter.com/rOzWHkd5KU</a>
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a href="https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1912557979133485298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<p class="paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm9k7q43e00003b6ofcu5wxqc@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph" data-article-gutter="true" data-analytics-observe="off">Dr. Walter Zahorodny, an associate professor at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, joined RFK at the presser and emphasized that the rise in autism cases cannot be attributed to better diagnosis alone.
<p class="paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm9k88o2p000v3b6odujp2jlu@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph" data-article-gutter="true" data-analytics-observe="off">“I would urge everyone to consider the likelihood that autism – whether we call it an epidemic, a tsunami or a surge of autism – is a real thing that we don’t understand, and it must be triggered or caused by environmental or risk factors,” Zahorodny <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/health/rfk-autism-epidemic/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We need to address this question seriously because, in my opinion, for the last 20 years, we’ve collected data but not made real progress in understanding what causes autism or how to effectively prevent it or treat it effectively.”
Last week, Kennedy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-jr-sets-tight-deadline-to-announce-cause-of-autism-epidemic?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=RFK+Jr.+Sets+Tight+Deadline+To+Announce+Cause+Of+Autism+Epidemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promised</a> to announce the specific causes of the epidemic by September.
“The autism rates have gone from 1 in 31 from 1 in 10,000 when I was a kid,” RFK said to President Donald Trump. “At your direction, we’ve launched a massive testing and research effort that’s going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world.”
“By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we will be able to eliminate those exposures,” he added.
The Autism Society of America <a href="https://autismsociety.org/statement-on-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-comments-regarding-the-cause-of-autism-and-misleading-deadline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> Kennedy over the announcement, calling it &#8220;harmful, misleading, and unrealistic.&#8221;
&#8220;Autism is a complex developmental disability shaped by genetic, biological, and environmental factors,&#8221; the organization said. &#8220;It is neither a chronic illness nor a contagion, that qualifies harmful language like &#8216;epidemic,&#8217; and to do so is both inaccurate and stigmatizing.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-jr-sets-tight-deadline-to-announce-cause-of-autism-epidemic?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=RFK+Jr.+Sets+Tight+Deadline+To+Announce+Cause+Of+Autism+Epidemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RFK Jr. Sets Tight Deadline To Announce Cause Of Autism Epidemic</a>

RFK Jr

RFK Says ‘We Know’ Environmental Toxins Are Causing Autism Epidemic

Health Care

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Toxin

A recent fire at one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery storage facilities poisoned a vital nature reserve in Northern California.
High levels of nickel, manganese, and cobalt were found in the soil within 2 miles of the Vistra Moss Landing Power Plant and Energy Storage Facility, KQED <a href="https://www.kqed.org/news/12024233/monterey-county-battery-fire-linked-surge-heavy-metals-nature-reserves-soil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, citing measurements taken by scientists at San Jose State University. Those heavy metals were found in soil samples shortly after the facility caught fire on January 16.
The fire burned for several days, NBC Bay Area <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/california/heavy-metals-elkhorn-slough-battery-storage-fire/3773937/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, and noted that the increase in toxic metals related to baseline measurements that had been conducted prior to the fire. Initially, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under then-President Joe Biden, along with local authorities, claimed the fire at the energy storage facility released no toxins.
Local officials said they didn’t detect higher levels of pollutants, KQED reported, and a company hired by the power facility also found no evidence of heightened toxic metals. A Facebook group of nearly 3,000 people in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, however, contains allegations that people are suffering from headaches, sore throats, nausea, and other conditions they believe are linked to the fire.
Dr. Ivano Aiello, the chair of San José State’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, told KQED that his lab tested soil within two miles of the Elkhorn Slough nature preserve and found that samples from around 100 locations showed concentrations of three toxic heavy metals hundreds of times higher than before the fire. He noted that the fire caused the increase in findings because the heavy metals were only found in the top layer of soil, suggesting they were recent.
“They are clearly the type of material from a battery, so you can link directly the occurrence increasing of this toxic heavy metal to the source, which is a battery,” he told the outlet. “The line of evidence from a scientific perspective is pretty solid. There’s no other explanation as to why before the concentrations were much lower and now are much higher, and those elements are linked to those nanoparticles.”
Though local outlets have covered the story, it has not received national attention, possibly because the facility was used to store solar power during the day and provide it to consumers in the evening. Had the facility been a nuclear power plant, the story would likely have become international news.
Today, however, the same voices who would otherwise oppose nuclear power for the threat it poses to crops and nature are silent about their preferred energy source causing damage to the surrounding area.

California Power Plant Fire

Nature Preserve Poisoned After California Lithium Battery Facility Catches Fire, Scientists Say

California

Environment

Fire

U.S.

“50 Shades of Grey” actor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">Jamie Dornan</a> was hospitalized last year after coming in contact with a toxic caterpillar, according to his friend.
Gordon Smart appeared on the BBC <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">podcast</a> “The Good, the Bad and the Unexpected” and recalled the incident, which he said occurred after visiting a golf course in Portugal. Smart said he and Dornan thought they were just experiencing hangover symptoms after spending the previous night consuming alcohol, but later discovered it was something more serious.
Smart said he began feeling a &#8220;tingling in his left hand and tickling in his left arm&#8221; which he feared at first could be the sign of an impending heart attack.
&#8220;Now, I’m a fairly healthy guy but once you start thinking you’re having a heart attack, you’re pretty sure that you’re convincing yourself that you are having one,&#8221; Smart said. The Scottish journalist explained how he went to the hospital before Dornan did, but when he returned the actor was experiencing the same symptoms and was then taken to the hospital as well, per <a href="https://www.etonline.com/jamie-dornan-was-hospitalized-with-heart-attack-symptoms-after-contact-with-toxic-caterpillars-says">Entertainment Tonight</a>.
“Jamie said, &#8216;Dear me. Gordon, about 20 minutes after you left, my left arm went numb, my left leg went numb, my right leg went numb, and I found myself in the back of an ambulance,'&#8221; Smart told the podcast hosts. &#8220;Anyway, as he left the hospital, the paramedics asked them for a selfie, which is really what you want when you’re being wheeled out of a hospital room.&#8221;
Smart said the doctor told him the next week that his and Dornan&#8217;s symptoms could be the result of coming in contact with the Pine processionary caterpillar (Thaumetopoea pityocampa), which has toxic proteins and, as Smart said, “have been killing people’s dogs and giving men in their 40s heart attacks,” the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/22/entertainment/jamie-dornan-had-a-freak-health-scare-his-friend-reveals/">reported</a>.  
&#8220;It turns out we’d brushed up against hairy processionary caterpillars and have been very lucky to come out of that one alive,&#8221; Smart <a href="https://www.etonline.com/jamie-dornan-was-hospitalized-with-heart-attack-symptoms-after-contact-with-toxic-caterpillars-says">added</a>. &#8220;The good news is it wasn’t a caffeine overdose, it wasn’t a hangover — it was a poisonous, toxic caterpillar.&#8221;
Dornan began his career as a model in 2001. He starred as the male lead, Christian Grey, in the popular &#8220;50 Shades&#8221; franchise between 2015 and 2018, and has been in several other notable TV and film projects. Dornan is the recipient of two Irish Film and Television Awards and has been nominated for a BAFTA Television Award and a Golden Globe Award. He currently stars in the TV drama series &#8220;The Tourist.&#8221;

Jamie Dornan

‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ Actor Experienced Heart Attack Symptoms From Toxic Caterpillars, Friend Says

'Fifty Shades Of Grey' Actor Experienced Heart Attack Symptoms From Toxic Caterpillars, Friend Says

actors

Celebrities

Entertainment

Some people eager for a real taste of the American West have taken their predilections so far they are willing to lick toads to get high.
On Halloween, in what was definitely more a warning about a trick rather than a treat, the National Park Service (NPS) put out a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=503416565159338&amp;set=a.227456602755337" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warning</a> for visitors not to lick Colorado river toads.
“These toads have prominent parotoid glands that secrete a potent toxin,” NPS warned. “It can make you sick if you handle the frog or get the poison in your mouth. As we say with most things you come across in a national park, whether it be a banana slug, unfamiliar mushroom, or a large toad with glowing eyes in the dead of night, please refrain from licking.”
The Colorado river toad measures seven inches long; it emits a “weak, low-pitched toot, lasting less than a second.” It can live for 20 years while hibernating underground for most of each year, only to appear after heavy summer rains.
The “toads are found in southern parts of Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Texas as well as in Florida and Hawaii,” the National Capital Poison Center <a href="https://www.poison.org/articles/poisoning-from-amphibians-204" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explains</a>. “These toads have poison glands on their backs and behind their eyes that produce a toxic fluid with several kinds of chemical compounds.”
NCPC adds that the toads secrete cardioactive steroids that can “cause serious, life-threatening toxicity.”
Yet “toad medicine circles” have proliferated. “People pay anywhere from $250 for a ceremony in the East Texas woods to $8,500 for a more gilded beachfront setting in Tulum, Mexico, to consume the toxin,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/20/us/toad-venom-psychedelic.html#:~:text=Toxin%20Is%20Booming.-,Some%20Warn%20That's%20Bad%20for%20the%20Toad.,at%20risk%20of%20population%20collapse." target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a> noted.
“In recent years, psychedelic enthusiasts have been rounding up Sonoran Desert toads in order to obtain their secretions, which contain a powerful hallucinogenic substance called 5-MeO-DMT,” <a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/53.7/south-wildlife-a-hallucinogenic-toad-in-peril" target="_blank" rel="noopener">High Country News</a> reported in June 2021. 5-MeO-DMT can be dried into crystals and then placed in a pipe to be smoked.
The toads have remained abundant in Arizona. Thomas R. Jones, Amphibians and Reptiles Program manager with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, admitted, “We think poaching takes place. And there have been some anecdotal reports of it (happening). But even our law enforcement guys don’t have a good feel for toad poaching. &#8230; that could be because it’s not on their radar.”

Menu

Toxin

RFK Says ‘We Know’ Environmental Toxins Are Causing Autism Epidemic

Nature Preserve Poisoned After California Lithium Battery Facility Catches Fire, Scientists Say

‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ Actor Experienced Heart Attack Symptoms From Toxic Caterpillars, Friend Says

Don’t Lick The Toads To Get High, National Park Service Warns