- They are the tiny and potentially lethal guests that
have taken up permanent residence inside the body of almost every adult
Briton.
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- A toxic cocktail of 27 chemicals is circulating in the
bloodstream of the average person, a disturbing new scientific study has
proved.
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- The by-products of modern living - including PCBs, pesticides
and even flame retardants required by law - are endlessly circulating in
the bloodstream, where they are suspected of triggering a number of diseases
including cancer.
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- One of the most worrying aspects of the research is that
some of the contaminants lurking inside our bodies were banned by law more
than 30 years ago.
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- Scientists tested more than 150 volunteers aged between
22 and 80 for traces of 77 chemicals that pollute the environment. Volunteers
included Holyrood MSPs Sarah Boyack and Christine Grahame, as well as one
leading European politician.
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- The survey found the people they studied had between
nine and 49 of the substances - routinely sprayed on crops, added to products
such as paints, and used to protect furniture against fire - in their bodies.
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- None had a bloodstream totally clear of contaminants
and the average figure for the number of pollutants was 27. Readings for
locations in central Scotland were similar to those for the rest of the
test sites, which included London, Cardiff and Belfast.
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- Dr Gareth Thomas, who analysed the results at the department
of environmental sciences at the University of Lancaster, said: "In
each of these groups there are chemicals that might produce a higher rate
of cancer. There is also a multiplier effect that derives from being exposed
to a number of chemicals."
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- Unborn and newborn babies were also vulnerable, Thomas
said. "Children are most at risk from this shower of chemicals when
they are either gestating or when drinking their mothers' milk. One solution
will be to limit everyone's future exposure and come up with safer alternatives."
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- The chemicals tested fell into three main groups in widespread
use over the past 50 years. Many were first made when manufacturers had
no legal requirement to carry out safety tests but which have subsequently
been linked to several cancers, reproductive disorders, a decline in fertility
rates, birth defects and respiratory conditions such as asthma.
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- PCBs were used as paint additives and as insulators in
the electricity industry and although they were banned in 1970 are still
present in water and soil from which they make their way into the food
chain.
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- The pesticides included known hazards such as DDT. The
flame retardants, known as PDBEs, have been used extensively in textiles
and plastics and in polyurethane foam for furniture and upholstery to reduce
fire risk. Tiny pieces can flake off and be inhaled.
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- One of the Scottish volunteers had the highest recorded
level in the country of one type of PCB.
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- The tests were commissioned by the international environmental
campaigning group, WWF, to coincide with attempts by the chemicals industry
to fight a tough new testing regime for its products being introduced across
Europe.
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- WWF, which will publish the results this week, said they
provided hard evidence of the levels of past exposure to chemicals across
the country. "The industry may say the levels found were safe but
the reality is that no one knows for sure," a spokesman said. "You
can have a lag of 20 to 30 years - even longer - before you begin to see
certain effects."
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- He added: "We want the industry to take this issue
seriously and limit exposures for future generations."
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- Boyack, the former Scottish Executive environment minister,
who has spent her life living in urban areas, including Edinburgh, Glasgow,
London and Stirling, said she had agreed to be tested because there were
"major public health issues involved".
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- She had 26 different PCBs, seven flame retardants and
four pesticides in her blood - 37 chemicals in all. Levels of some PCBs
and pesticides were well above average.
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- "These tests bring chemical contamination down to
a human level," said 42-year-old Boyack. "I was curious to know
what my exposure has been. It's a snapshot of my life so far but what I
don't know is what will accumulate over the next 20 years or at what point
it becomes a danger to my health. It all points to the need for a better
testing regime."
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- Simon Pepper, head of WWF Scotland, who has spent the
past 25 years living in rural Perthshire, said his test revealed "worryingly
high" levels of some PCBs and pesticides.
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- His body contains 38 of the 77 chemicals tested for -
well above the average figure. "I am alarmed because basically it
means I am a walking toxic dump," said Pepper, 56.
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- "I was not high in flame retardants but many of
the younger people who were tested were. Itís probably because I
havenít bought any new furniture recently."
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- Another volunteer was Margot Wallstrom, the Swedish EC
Commissioner for the Environment, who had 28 different chemicals in her
blood, including traces of all three groups.
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- Wallstrom is in charge of piloting through new registration,
evaluation and authorisation of chemicals (Reach) legislation throughout
the EU. The aim is to gather crucial safety information on up to 30,000
potentially hazardous chemicals circulating in an array of everyday consumer
products and subject them to a stricter testing regime.
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- Environmental groups say the original proposals have
already been seriously weakened because of opposition from the chemical
industry, which claims the new regime will force up costs and lead to widespread
job losses.
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- "Reach could bring worldwide benefits for human
health and the environment. But it looks as if the European Commission
is giving too many concessions to industry," said a WWF spokesman.
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- The Chemicals Industry Association, which represents
the industry, said it did not want to comment on the survey results until
they were published.
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- On the Reach proposals, a spokesman said: "We are
a heavily regulated industry already and we want to make sure that we have
regulations that work."
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- - jwatson@scotlandonsunday.com
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- ©2003 Scotsman.com
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- http://www.news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=1292612003
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