06/10/2005 - Brussels, Belgium/Gland,
Switzerland Results from WWF's first European-wide
family bloodtesting survey released today
found a total of 73 man-made hazardous chemicals
in the blood of 13 families (grandmothers,
mothers and children) from 12 European countries.
The highest number of chemicals was detected
in the grandmothers' generation (63). However,
the younger generation had more chemicals
in their blood (59) than their mothers (49),
and some chemicals were found at their highest
levels in the children.
WWFs Generations X survey (with participants
aged 12 to 92) confirms the results of previous
tests on Members of the European Parliament,
EU ministers, scientists, and celebrities.
"It shows we are all unwittingly the
subjects of an uncontrolled global experiment,
and it is particularly shocking to discover
that toxic chemicals in daily use are contaminating
the blood of our children," said Karl
Wagner, Director of WWF's DetoX Campaign.
Blood samples were analyzed for 107 different
man-made persistent, bio-accumulative and/or
hormone disrupting chemicals from five main
groups. Results reveal that every family member
is contaminated with a cocktail of at least
18 different man-made chemicals, many found
in everyday consumer goods.
Newer chemicals in widespread use, such as
brominated flame retardants, perfluorinated
chemicals and artificial musks contained
in daily use items such as computers, textiles,
cosmetics or electrical appliances can be
found more frequently and often at higher
levels in the youngest generation. In contrast,
the grandmothers generation is the most contaminated
with older, banned chemicals, such as DDT
and PCBs.
"How much more evidence is needed before
industry and European politicians accept that
these hazardous chemicals cannot be adequately
controlled?" added Wagner.
"The draft EU chemicals law, REACH,
is currently facing a frontal attack from
the chemical industry and European legislators
seem happy to let them pull the strings while
ignoring their responsibility to protect our
health."
The flame retardant TBBP-A, used in printed
circuit boards in electronic appliances, was
found in 18 family members (3 grandmothers,
7 mothers and 8 children). The highest level
was found in a child. Of the 31 different
PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ether) flame
retardants analyzed in the survey, 17 were
found in the childrens' generation, compared
to ten in the grandmothers' and eight in the
mothers'. And the highest level of Bisphenol-A,
an oestrogenic (hormone mimicking) chemical,
used for the manufacture of certain plastic
bottles and CDs was found in a child.
WWF warns that these results are very worrying
as most of the chemicals found only break
down very slowly, persist in the environment
and accumulate in our bodies to ever increasing
levels during the life span. The study raises
the question of whether future generations
will be more exposed to potentially carcinogenic
or endocrine disrupting chemicals that may
lead to negative long term health effects.
NOTES:
WWF's Generations X study was done in Belgium
(2 families), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Sweden
and Luxembourg.
WWF looked for 107 different man-made chemicals
from 5 main groups and three substances: 12
organochlorine pesticides (including DDT);
44 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); 33 brominated
flame retardants; 8 'non-stick' perfluorinated
chemicals (PFCs), including PFOS and PFOA;
7 artificial musks (used in cosmetics and
cleaning products); 2 antimicrobial (triclosan
and it's breakdown product, methyl triclosan);
and the polycarbonate plastic monomer Bisphenol-A
(an endocrine-disrupter).
This study was done with the support of
the EEN (EPHA Environment Network) and Eurocoop
(European Community of Consumer Cooperatives).
