Toxic shock: We’re full of poisonous chemicals

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8124-910943,00.html

 

November 29, 2003

 

Toxic shock

by Simon Crompton

We’re full of poisonous chemicals but don’t panic

It all sounds very frightening. New research has shown that dozens of toxic

industrial chemicals are accumulating in our bodies, and there’s nothing we can

do about it. The study took blood from a cross-section of the population and

found that each of the 155 volunteers tested was contaminated with chemicals —

most of which they didn’t even know existed. The pesticide DDT and types of

non-degradable chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, used in

electrical insulation) were found in all but one of the volunteers. One person

registered 49 different toxins.

How and where the general public collects these persistent pollutants is a

mystery. It seems we are all involved in a game of Russian roulette where we may

be unwittingly exposed at any time or any place. But food, water, house dust and

our household appliances are all potential sources of contamination.

NI_MPU('middle');“The number, types and concentrations of chemicals found in the

survey, and the UK population, are deplorable,” says the study by the World Wide

Fund for Nature (WWF).

The organisation campaigns to expose increasing environmental contamination by

industrial chemicals and could be seen as having an interest in doom-mongering.

But its findings come from a group of leading academics at Lancaster University

and reflect widespread concern about the number of chemicals we are exposed to.

This year the report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution said

that “where chemicals are found in biological fluids... they should be removed

from the market immediately”.

So how worried should we be and is there anything we can do? Behind the scary

headlines, there are some points to reassure us. First, many of the dangerous

chemicals have already been banned and toxin levels in human tissue are now

likely to be much lower than they were a decade ago.

“People shouldn’t be too alarmed,” says Dr Gareth Thomas, research associate at

Lancaster University’s environmental science department. “Most of these

chemicals — the pesticides like DDT and the PCBs — were used in the 1950s and

1960s and were restricted in the 1970s. Concentrations in people and the

environment have generally been dropping steadily since they were restricted.”

We also need to get the health risks of these chemicals into perspective.

Concerns centre not on any immediate effect on health but what happens over time

as they begin to accumulate. The health risk to humans has never been firmly

established.

There is some evidence in animals that, as they build up in tissue, many of

these chemicals increase cancer risk and disrupt the way hormones regulate the

body. Long-term exposure to PCBs has been linked to neurological and other

problems in animals. Polar bears with high concentrations of PCBs and

pesticides, for example, have been found to display ambiguous genital

characteristics.

These effects are likely to be greatest on embryos and the very young, when the

body is developing at its fastest. One of the most worrying findings of the

Lancaster study is that women have lower levels of PCBs than men because they

off-load the chemical burden on their children through breast-feeding. Dr Thomas

says hormonal disruptions might occur at the concentrations commonly seen in

humans.

But this has never been proved. Nor have other adverse effects in humans. This

is a point that WWF is happy to acknowledge.

“It’s amazing how few of these chemicals have been tested for adverse health

effects,” says Matthew Wilkinson, WWF’s UK toxics policy officer. “Our point is

that it will take a long time to find proof and in the meantime the chemicals

are accumulating, We want all these chemicals banned because of current

uncertainty, not proof.” The European Commission has said that 99 per cent of

chemicals are inadequately regulated.

WWF and other campaigners are now focusing on banning a wide range of currently

unrestricted persistent chemicals. They are particularly concerned about a

chemical sprayed on to or built into household appliances to stop them bursting

into flames.

Sofas, computers, televisions and many textiles contain flame retardants. The

WWF study found one type in 7 per cent of the volunteers and concluded that the

general public had levels in their blood as high as those who worked with flame

retardants in industry.

With pressure now being exerted on the European regulatory bodies to ban all

substances which accumulate in tissue, the hope is that future generations will

see continuing declines in these contaminants. In the meantime, there is not

much we can do to get rid of these unwanted additions to our body chemistry. All

we can do is reduce the likelihood of being exposed to more. Since flame

retardants seem to find a way into our bodies through inhaled house dust, it’s a

good idea to open your windows and let in a good waft of fresh air every now and

then. Dr Thomas also recommends avoiding pesticides on food and in the garden.

 

 

 

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