Thursday 17 July 2003

Other people who have already been tested include MEPs Jill Evans, Robert Evans, Mary Honeyball, Caroline Lucas and Graham Watson, plus former UK Environment Minister Michael Meacher.

The blood samples will provide a snapshot of our exposure to persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals, which build up in our bodies. Many of these chemicals can be found in every day items in our homes, such as sofas and TVs, and exposure to them is contaminating our bodies.

Dr Michael Warhurst, WWF's European toxics policy officer, said: "WWF believes that current chemicals regulations are not adequately protecting the public - and wildlife - from the hazards posed by chemicals. We must phase out the chemicals that contaminate our bodies, as the lesson of history is that they are usually found to be toxic eventually - by which time there is no way to remove them."

Commissioner Wallström said: "The debate about EU chemical law can get very technical, but what really matters is the health of people and the environment. I am very curious to know how many of these chemicals are in my - and other people's - bodies."

A phase out of chemicals that contaminate was recently supported by the UK's Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, a committee of experts, in their detailed report on the problems posed by chemicals: "where synthetic chemicals are found in elevated concentrations in biological fluids... and the tissues of humans... regulatory steps should be taken to remove them from the market immediately".

The blood testing is happening as the European Commission processes thousands of responses from its internet consultation on new chemicals regulation.

"New regulations must be in place as soon as possible to get rid of the chemicals that contaminate us" added Dr Warhurst.

The blood samples will be sent to an independent laboratory for chemical analysis and the results will be available later this year. WWF is testing for more than 70 chemicals in all, but there are many more WWF is unable to test for due to financial constraints. The chemicals being tested for are from three groups, all of them are very persistent and very bioaccumulative:
1. Organo-Chlorine Pesticides (OCPs)
2. Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and
3. Poly Brominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) (used as flame retardant chemicals).

Two of these groups (OCPs and PCBs) are known to be very persistent in the environment and there is some existing evidence of them building up in humans and wildlife around the world.

However there is far less information regarding the presence of the third group (the PBDEs) in the population. The results will provide interesting data on the levels of contamination of this newer group of chemicals. It could potentially demonstrate the persistence of these chemicals which is the fundamental reason why they, along with other chemicals that are persistent, should be phased out.