Our bodies contain a toxic cocktail of 300 dangerous chemicals Source: Evening Standard; London (UK)

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This is a story by way of the American Chemical Society -- it confirms a

paper I did a few years back for an organic chemistry class -- is it any wonder

cancer rates are way up.

 

Love, Liz

 

Our bodies contain a toxic cocktail of 300 dangerous chemicals

Source: Evening Standard; London (UK)

Publication date: 2003-05-16

 

 

NEARLY 300 dangerous chemicals can be found in humans, according to research

released today.

Most people across the world are contaminated with toxic industrial

chemicals, say environmentalists, and many of the substances have been linked to

cancer, birth defects and immune system damage.

Calling for such chemicals to be outlawed, the Worldwide Fund for Nature

(WWF) warns that routine exposure to them is an " uncontrolled global experiment

that needs to be stopped " . The European Union is drafting legislation on the

control of industrial chemicals - but the WWF says its proposals are weak and

likely to be ineffective.

The WWF reviewed existing research data on the exposure of people and

animals to industrial chemicals. Among the substances it is concerned about are:

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) - a flame retardant in fridges, paints and

varnishes, implicated in learning difficulties, low birthweight, and male

reproductive disorders Lindane - a pesticide and wood preservative found on some

cereals, tomatoes and chocolate. It has been linked to cancer and nervous

disorders

DDT ( dichloro- diphenyl-trichloroethane) - an insecticide banned in the

developed world but still widely used elsewhere. It has been linked with breast

and

testicular cancer, low infant birth-weight and premature births HCB

(hexachlorobenzene) - a fungicide implicated in damage to the liver, thyroid

gland,

nervous system, bones, kidneys, blood, and immune and sex hormone systems.

Even people and wildlife in remote regions - including polar bears, seals

and beluga whales - are contaminated, the WWF says.

WWF scientist Dr Richard Dixon said: " We are neglecting human health if we

permit the continued use of chemicals that can build up in our bodies, or

disrupt our hormones, when safer alternatives are available.

" Yet that is exactly what new European legislation is seeking to do. It

seems that the costs to health are yet again being sidelined. A robust European

Chemicals Regulation will bring benefits to the chemical industry and ensure a

safer, healthier future for our children and wildlife. "

I had to change my lifestyle

ELIZABETH Slater-Green is a living example of how ordinary Londoners can

carry a cocktail of toxins in their bodies, writes Geraint Smith.

She also shows, however, that just a few lifestyle changes - including

adopting an organic diet, avoiding ready meals, and banning dry cleaning and

super-strength cleaners - can help get rid of them in a couple of years.

Mrs Salter-Green, 39, is the scientist who leads investigations of toxic

chemicals for the WWF. In 2000 she had her body tested for poisons because she

wanted to start a family. Living in Olympia with her husband, her lifestyle was

typical of millions.

" There was nothing particularly bad, " she says. " I avoided pesticides in the

garden and so on, ate ordinary food, and did nothing that was obviously

likely to do any harm. "

The test results were shocking. In her body fat were chemicals so toxic they

might have stopped her conceiving, according to doctors at London clinic

Biolab. They included pesticides, fungicides and flame retardants linked with

cancer, liver disease, nervous system damage and disruption of the hormonal

system.

Some have been banned in the West for decades, but are still present in

imports from other parts of the world. " It was a wakeup call, " Mrs Salter-Green

said. " I had to change my lifestyle significantly.

Two years later, her baby girl Florence safely delivered, she was tested

again. Most of the chemicals had been reduced to a trace.

Publication date: 2003-05-16